The Arabian Peninsula, The Prophet Muhammad,

And the Birth of Islam

(570 – 632 AD)

The Arabian Peninsula

• Why was this a good location for trade and the spread of ideas?– climate– Mecca

Arab life in the 600s AD• How did Bedouins

live? - nomads -

herders - clans• Where were settled

communities located?- oases- market towns- coastal areas

Mecca at the Birth of Muhammad

• The Ka’aba– Who built it?

Abraham– How was it used?

Over 360 idols for traders and religious pilgrims

• Belief in one god - Allah

What were Muhammad’s Revelations?

• Through the Angel Gabriel1) Allah is the one God2) Muhammad receives the Qur’an in Jerusalem

What’s up with this painting? Why is this a controversial location?

Why were Muhammad’s ideas unpopular in Mecca?

• What is going on in this painting?

• Abu Bakr– Muhammad’s first

convert– Father of Khadijah– 1st Caliph

(“successor”)– Qur’an recorded

under his rule

How was the Hijrah a Turning Point?

• 200 mile escape to Yathrib, renamed Medina (“city of the Prophet”)– Muhammad builds

first mosque– Attracts converts– Muslim calendar (this

year is 1433 A.H.)

Why was Muhammad’s return to Mecca important?

• In 630 AD, Muhammad’s forces capture Mecca– He removes the idols from the Ka’aba– He unifies much of the peninsula under Islam by his

death two years later

The 3 Holiest Places in Islam

- Know their names and locations