Islam (Intro Video)

SOL WHI. 8

Muhammad

• Born around 570 CE in a town called Mecca.

• Considered to be the greatest PROPHET of Allah (God) by Muslims.– Prophet = inspired teacher of the will of god

• Founder of the Muslim religion of Islam.– Islam means submission – submission to Allah (God).

Pictures of Muhammad and Allah

God is supposed to be the focus, not Muhammad or Jesus or anyone else.

Muhammad

• Once Muhammad began preaching about Islam, people began feeling threatened and ran Muhammad out of Mecca.

• In 622, he fled to Medina. – Original name was Yathrib.– Renamed Medina (which means the city of the prophet)

• In 630, Muhammad led the people of Medina into Mecca.– Conquers Mecca and brought Islam to Mecca.

• Muhammad would die in 632 after a brief illness.

Islam the Religion

• Islam is a monotheistic religion like Christianity and Judaism.

• The Qur’an (Koran) is the sacred text of the Islam faith (comparable to the bible).

• Muslims believe Judeo-Christian prophets such as Moses and Jesus, but believe Muhammad is the greatest prophet.

• Five pillars of Islam

Five Pillars of Islam Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7pBGqMvN0o

• All Muslims believe in the Five Pillars of Faith and hold them as sacred.1. One God

2. Daily Prayer

3. Alms (Charity) for the poor

4. Fasting

5. Hajj (religious journey)

Five Pillars of Faith

One God

• Muslims believe that there is one God whose name is “Allah”.– Arabic word for God.

Daily Prayer• Muslims believe they must pray at least 5 times a

day.– Before sunrise, after sunrise, at noon, before sundown,

and after sunset.

• Face the city of Mecca (Kaaba) to pray• Pray in a mosque (place of worship)

Black Stone of Kaaba

Alms (Charity) to the Poor

• Muslims believe in giving back to the poor and helping those who are less fortunate.– Other religions share similar views for charity

to poor.

Fasting• Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset during the holy

month of Ramadan.• Ramadan is the holy season for Muslims, a time of

cleansing of the soul and sacrifice.– 9th month of Islamic calendar– Exception: ill, traveling, pregnant, breastfeeding, diabetic or

going through menstrual bleeding– Refrain from consuming food, drinking liquids, smoking, and

engaging in sexual relations

Hajj

• Every Muslim must take a Hajj during their lifetime.

• A Hajj is a religious journey back to the holy land of Mecca.– Muslims worship at the mosque in Mecca.– Thousands of Muslims complete the Hajj each

year.

Five Pillars of Islam Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7pBGqMvN0o

Jihad (video)

• Many Muslims look at jihad, or effort in God’s service, as another duty. It means a “struggle within or struggle to introduce Islam to others”.

• Jihad is often translated as “holy war” because of conquests that were made with military force.

Those who readily fight in the cause of God are those who forsake this world in favor of the Hereafter. Whoever fights in the cause of God, then gets killed, or attains victory, we will surely grant him a great recompense.

Qur'an 4:74

• Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path.

• You must not mutilate dead bodies.

• Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man.

• Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful.

• Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save for your food.

• You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone

Abu Bakr

Historical Turning Points

• 637 - Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and Damascus. – Trading centers before rise of Islam.

• Death of Ali

– He was elected the fourth caliph in 656 CE. He was fatally stabbed by a disillusioned follower. Murder led to a permanent schism in the Islamic world.

– Schism: split in the Church

Divisions in Islam

• There are two main sects of Islam.

• This division began not long after the death of Muhammad.

1) Sunni

• Believe the caliph (leader) should be chosen by the Muslim community.

2) Shiite

• Believe the caliph should be a direct descendant of Muhammad.

Historical Turning Points

• 732 - Muslim defeated at the Battle of Tours by Christians.– Christian armies were led by Charles Martel.– Stopped the spread of Islam into Western Europe

• 762 - Islamic capital moved to Baghdad. – Capital moved several times, Medina to Damascus.

Historical Turning Points

• Fall of Baghdad to the Mongols.

– Ferocious assault on the city in 1258. They burned buildings and slaughtered 50,000 inhabitants, including a caliph.

– Caliph: Islamic ruler, political successor of Muhammad.

Spread of Islam

• By 632, Islam began spreading throughout the Arabian Peninsula and across Africa and Asia into Spain– Weak Byzantine and Persian Empires

• Expanded despite great distances, desert environments, and mountain barriers.– domestication of the camel enabled traffic to cross the

deserts

• Slavery not based on race

Diffusion along trade routes

Islamic Achievements (video)

1) Language

• Arabic alphabet– Language of Islam– Became the unifying language of the Middle East.

• Qur’an written in Arabic

• Helped to facilitate (make) trade across Islamic lands.

• Translated ancient Greek and Roman texts in Arabic.– Later translated into Latin after being rediscovered by Europeans

Why did a unified (unite/bring together) language help facilitate trade across the Islamic Lands?

Arabic

Islamic Achievements

2) Mathematics

• Muslims adopted the Indian system of numbers which utilized the concept of zero.– Arabic Numerals

• Invented Algebra.

• Used math to build Mosques, survey land, design pumps, and foundations.

Islamic Achievements

3) Science

• Chemist al-Razi identified diseases and created a medical encyclopedia.

• Physician, Ibn Sina, described bodily functions and diagnosed treatments for diseases.

Islamic Achievements

4) Literature• Qur’an, first and greatest Islamic work, is still the

sacred text of Islam.• “Arabian Nights” – collection of folk tales

– “One Thousand and One Nights” – another name

• Islamic civilization will also believe in the importance of knowledge and construct universities.

WISH – “One thousand and One Nights”

Islamic Achievements

5) Art and Architecture

• Calligraphy - elegant handwriting.

• Since the Qur’an banned representation of living creatures– calligraphy was used for decoration.

• Continued to create mosaics.

Architecture Continued

• Mosques - Adopted the domes and arches of the Byzantine architecture.– Holy churches of Islam.– Face Mecca – the holy city of Islam.

• Perhaps the greatest Islamic building is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock

Mosques

Mosques