Islam

The Arabs

• Arab (abhar = to move or pass)• majority of Arabia’s first inhabitants were

Bedouins (nomadic Arabs)• origins: Africa or Mesopotamia?• valued camels and swords above all

else• had no strong central government• practiced animistic polytheism

• towns developed as Arabs carried goods between the Indian Ocean & the Mediterranean, the end of the Silk Road.

Islam

•trace their ancestors to Abraham & his son Ishmael, who were believed to have built a shrine at Makkah (Mecca) called the Kaaba (shrine with 300 religious idols)

•Important trade stop and religious center of Arabia

•people settled there because of the fresh water well

•population very diverse: Arabs, Christians, Jews, etc.

Islam

The Life of Muhammad • Muhammad received revelations from

God while meditating in the hills. • he believed Allah revealed himself partially

through Moses (Judaism) & Jesus (Christianity) & that Allah’s final revelations were to him.

• his revelations became the Quran, the holy scriptures of Islam.

• Islam = “peace through submission to the will of Allah.”

Islam• Major points of Muhammad’s

public teaching:– There was only one God (Allah)

and all should submit to him– All believers in God were equal– The rich should share with the poor– People should live righteously– All people would be subjected to a

Judgment Day

Islam

• The Prophet’s companions credited him with miracles: – passed through the

seven levels of heaven in the “Night Journey”

• Muhammad’s companions desired to maintain an Islamic community– recorded his revelations into Qur’an; his

personal deeds into the Sunna• Both provide guiding rules and principles for all

Muslims

Islam• Quran contains ethical guidelines for Muslims

(those who practice Islam)• one God = Allah; Muhammad is God’s

prophet.• people in Makkah didn’t believe him, so

Muhammad & some of his followers moved north to Madinah (Medina = “city of the prophet”)

• Muhammad won support from residents of Madinah & surrounding Bedouin tribes.

• formed the first community of practicing Muslims.

Islam• In 630, Muhammad returned to Makkah with

ten thousand men.

• city surrendered & many residents converted to Islam.

• declared the Kaaba a sacred shrine.

• All Muslims are encouraged to make a pilgrimage, known as the hajj, to Makkah.

Islam

The Teachings of Muhammad • Islam is monotheistic.

• Allah is the all-powerful creator of everything.

• Islam offers salvation & the hope of an afterlife to its followers.

• Muhammad is not considered divine, as Jesus is in the Christian religion; he’s a prophet who conveys Allah’s final revelations.

• To obey Allah’s will, Muslims must follow an ethical code comprised of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Islam

The Teachings of Muhammad (cont.)

1. Shahada: belief–there is no deity but the One God, & Muhammad is his messenger

2. Salat: prayer–perform prescribed prayers 5x/day

3. Zakat: charity–give part of one’s wealth to the poor

4. Sawm: fasting–refrain from food & drink from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan

5. Hajj: pilgrimage–make a pilgrimage to Makkah at least once in a lifetime.

• The faithful who follow the law are guaranteed a place in an eternal paradise.