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God/Allah
The God of Islam is the God of Abraham, of Moses, of
Mary, and Jesus. Islam shares the same stories of
creation and redemption of the Jews and the
Christians. But for Muslims, Islam is like the final
chapter, the completion and utmost version of
monotheism. Islam is therefore the fulfillment of both
Judaism and Christianity just as Christianity sees itself
as the fulfillment of Judaism. Everything in Judaism
and Christianity from Abraham to Jesus usher in the
possibility of Islam and the prophet Muhammad.
What is God like?
 The God of Islam is uniquely one. This unified oneness of
God means that Muslims disagree with human efforts to
divide God into multiple parts or persons as in the trinity
as in Christianity.
 This one God is the creator God. God is outside of
creation and time, and as the creator has the ultimate
power, judgment, and authority over all people.
 Allah is an all-knowing God.
 Human Traits: The God of Islam is often described in
terms of human traits.
Jesus in Islam
 Jesus in Islam: Jesus (who the Qur’an refers to as
Isa) was revered by Muhammad as a prophet or
messenger of God, but is not seen as a son of God,
because this would suggest Jesus is a partner/or
partaker in God’s divine rule which undermines
God’s oneness.
Texts of Islam
 Qur’an
 divided in chapters called suras
 the suras explain attributes of God, how people should live
in accordance with God, and the ultimate fates of those
who are good and those who are bad.
 Sira
 Sira is like the biography of Muhammad
 Sunna
 The Sunna tells Muslims how to live rightly.
Muhammud
 For Islam, Muhammad is a prophet, or messenger of
God. But he is also a military leader and head of
state. He actually held political power, unlike Jesus,
Buddha, or Confucius, who were strictly spiritual
leaders. The 3 roles of Muhammad form the basis
for understanding how the world should work for
Muslims. Namely, they should not separate religion
from politics, from economics, or even war.
The Life of Muhammud
 He was born in approximately 570CE to an elite family of
the Hashim clan in Mecca which was a predominantly
Arab city.
 At 40, he goes to find his true calling and goes to the
mountains outside of Mecca for a month, meditating and
reflecting on his life. In this time, he was visited by the
angel Gabriel who explained that he would receive
messages from God and then must teach these
messages. Khadijah, upon hearing this, seeks the help of
a Christian friend to verify that Muhammad was in fact
being called by God and not tempted by Satan.
 In 622, Muhammad and his followers (a few hundred)
emigrate to Medina.
 In 630, Muhammad returns home to Mecca, gaining
followers along the way. By the time he gets to
Mecca, the city was ready to embrace Muhammad,
and he returns to pray at the Kaaba build his own
mosque. He returns again to Medina to live out his
life, making one final trip to Mecca in 632.
Pilgrimage and Mecca
 On Muhammad’s last journey to Mecca, he was
joined by tens of thousands of people. This final
journey marked the first Hajj or pilgrimage of Islam.
By returning his people to the Kabba, Muhammad
was returning his people to the ancient monotheism
of Abraham and Ishmael.
 Muhammad dies on June8, 632, in Medina. It is said
that he dies in the arms of his favorite wife, Aisha
Life after Muhammad
 Abu Bakr, and the next 3 successors were deemed
“rightly guided caliph,” but there were internal
conflicts about who was the best to lead.
 Those who supported Uthman Ibn Affan grew into
Sunni Islam (spreading across Arabia, Africa, and
into Europe/Spain especially). The other group
claimed that caliphs should be picked from the
familial lines of Muhammad and therefore follow the
line of Caliph Ali Talib develops into Shia Islam
(Iran/Persia)
Sharia: Islamic Law
 Sharia:
 [Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam suggests that humans have
strayed from God. Therefore, Muhammad gives 3 ways to return
to the Lord: 1) by his “actions” 2) “the consent3) “the sayings”
 Sharia is Islamic Law and it is based on the Qur’an and the Sunna
(those teachings of right living and traditions based on the life of
Muhammad (from the Sira).
 Sharia is also interpreted and continulally developed through a
system of scholarship and jurisprudence called Qiya and Ijima.
 If something comes into question, then the action is rated
according to a scale that reflects its keeping or contrasting to
Sharia. (Obligatory or halal, Recommended, Permitted, Disliked,
Forbidden or haraam)
Pillars of Islam
 Core beliefs of Islam: The community of believers of
Islam is called the ummah
 The core beliefs that unite Muslims can be found in the 5
required observances that the Qur’an prescribes. These
are the “Pillars of Islam.”
 1. Declaration of Faith
 2. Salat (Prayer)
 3. Zakat (purification
 4.The Fast of Ramadan
 5. Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)
Sunni and Shia (Shii)
 Sunni and Shia Islam
 Sunni and Shia Muslims are the 2 major groups of Islam (think
back to Protestant and Catholic divisions in Christianity).
Sunnis represent about 85% of Muslims, and Shia make up
about 15% predominantly in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Lebanon.
 Sunni’s believed Muhammad’s successor should be based on
the most capable of qualified person for the job, not
hereditary.
 Shia Muslims believed that the successor should have been Ali
Talib, Muhammad’s first cousin and closest living male relative
(none of his sons survived infancy) should be the Imam, as they
called their leader.
Sufi Muslims
 Sufi Islam:Mystical Islam
 Sufis are part of a mystical tradition of Islam called
Sufism. Sufism began as a reform movement, like
many mystical traditions, in response to what pious
practitioners saw as the excesses of society and
popular Islam. In addition, Sufism was different
because they didn’t believe that strict adherence to
Islamic laws and rituals was the ultimate path to
God. They advocated an inner-path.