Download Chapter 7 Islam Study Tool - Kent City School District

Chapter 7 Islam Study Tool
ORIGINS
-Muhammad was born in Mecca, which lies in present day Saudi
Arabia.
-Growing up he saw that the rich were starting to ignore the poor,
which went against many of Mecca’s old traditions
-He became very saddened by this and would go to the hills outside of
Mecca where he would meditate and think on his own.
-This is where and angel would appear before him telling him to
“Recite” the name of the lord
-A few years later he would begin teaching about how there was only
one god, Allah and that he was receiving messages from him to spread
his word.
-Before Islam was created, many Arabs practiced polytheism. (Belief
in more than one god)
-What made Muhammad’s teachings different is that he preached that
there was only one god.
-This upset the rulers of Mecca, as they did not appreciate a person
dissenting against what they taught so they threatened Muhammad
and even planned to kill him.
-A nearby city called Medina welcomed Muhammad and his
followers with open arms. So in 622 Muhammad and his followers
would make this trip to Medina, which would be known as the Hegira.
-622 would stand as the date where Islam became an official religion
and this also marks the first year of the Islamic calendar.
-People who are Islamic in faith are called Muslims
-After several years of fighting, the people of Mecca gave in and
accepted Muhammad’s teachings.
-Early on, Muslims showed tolerance by accepting other people’s
religions beliefs.
BELIEFS
-The holy book of the Islamic faith is called the Qur’an
-The central teaching of the Qur’an is that there is only one god and
Muhammad is his prophet.
-The Qur’an was a collection of Muhammad’s teachings, which
Muslims believe to be the word of God as it was told to Muhammad.
-Content that is provided in the Qur’an includes guidelines for moral
behavior.
-The Hadith is a written record of Muhammad’s words and actions;
this provided the basis for the Sunnah.
-The Sunnah refers to the way Muhammad lives and provided a model
for the way that Muslims should live.
-Islamic law, or Shariah, relies on the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and human
reason to judge the rightness of actions.
-The 5 pillars of Islam are five acts of worship that is required of all
Muslims. They include:
1) Proclamation of faith-Muslims must proclaim that there is only one
god, Allah and that Muhammad is his prophet.
2) Muslims must pray 5 times a day facing Mecca.
3) Muslims must give charity, or take care of those less fortunate
4) Muslims must fast, or go without eating during daylight hours
during the holy month of Ramadan.
5) Muslims must take part in The Hajj, or make a trip to Mecca
sometime in their life if they are physically able to.
VOCAB TO KNOW
-Nomads live life traveling from one place to another in search of
food and water.
-It is not easy being a Muslims but they must make an effort or Jihad,
as they struggle internally to stay faithful. They must stay faithful
even in hard times even when it isn’t easy.
-Water on the Arabian Peninsula is located mainly in scattered Oases,
or fertile lands where water is available.
Cultural Achievements from the Muslim community came in many
different forms. They were influential in Math by creating the number
system we use today and creating Algebra. In medicine they created
the world’s first pharmacy school. In philosophy they stressed that
reason may sometimes even trump religion. In Astronomy they
helped build better clocks. They helped in geography by creating
more accurate maps then what was available before. Finally they
were an influence with literature with stories such as The Thousand
and One Nights.