Section 1: The Origins of Islam

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Section 1 The Origins of Islam

• By Silvia Camara

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Main Idea

• Muhammad, a merchant whom Muslims believe was the
  last prophet, reported that he received messages
  from God. The religion he taught, Islam, drew
  many followers.

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Key Terms and People

• Bedouins small groups of nomadic peoples in
  Arabia
• Muhammad prophet of Islam whom Muslims recognize
  as Allahs messenger to all humankind. His
  teachings form the basis of Islam
• Hegira Muhammads journey from Mecca to Medina
• Islam a monotheistic religion whose prophet is
  Muhammad and whose holy book in the Quran. The
  term means achieving peace through surrender to
  God
• Muslims followers of Islam

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Key Terms and People

• Quran sacred text of Islam
• Five Pillars of Islam behaviors and obligations
  that are common to all Muslims, which include the
  profession of faith, the performance of the five
  daily prayers, the giving of alms, the
  requirement to fast, or the Journey to Mecca, or
  Hajj
• Mosque a building for Muslim prayer
• Jihad struggle for the faith. Can be thought
  of as an individual or communal strugggle. The
  term embraces notions of defending the Muslim
  community and holy war.

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The Arabian Peninsula

• The Arabian Peninsula is a harsh land with a vast
  interior.
• Was sparsely populated 1,500 years ago by small
  bands of bedouins
• Farming was limited but commerce flourished
  because trade routes passes through the
  peninsula.
• Towns that depended on trade grew.

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Mecca

• Was the most important of merchant towns near the
  Red Sea.
• Mecca served as a trade center and also had
  religious functions.
• The Kaaba is at its center and in the 500s was
  already considered sacred.
• On its walls was a stone, possibly meteorite.
• Inside the Kaaba small statues of local gods they
  worshipped but Allah was supreme.

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Muhammad the Messenger

• Born around 570 Muhammad ibn Abd Allah, he lost
  both his parents and was raised by his uncle Abu
  Talib.
• Was a successful merchant. At 25 he married an
  older widow and had 6 children, all who died
  young except his daughter Fatimah.
• Had always been a religious man and had the habit
  of leaving his home to live for extended periods
  of time in a cave to pray and reflect.
• In 610 he was commanded by and angel to speak
  revelation from Allah.

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Muhammad the Messenger

• He was unsure of the meanings of the visitation
  but after more visits from the angel Muhammad
  concluded God had chosen him.
• He moved in 622 from Mecca to Yathrib (Mecca) and
  his journey came to be known as the hegira
• Muhammad spent a decade building up his community
  of fellow believers which grew rapidly. They
  were called Muslims and followed the religion of
  Islam.
• He fought against the Meccans who wanted him
  stopped. The Meccans lost and Muhammad controled
  Mecca.

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Basic Ideas of Islam

• Writings of Muhammads revelations were collected
  into the Quran.
• The Quran lays our the Five Pillars of Islam
• Profession of faith.
• Performance of five daily prayers
• Giving of alms
• Requirement to fast
• Journey to Mecca

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Basic Ideas of Islam

• The Quran provides guidelines for moral behavior
  and relationships among people.
• There is also a requirement of Jihad, or the
  struggle to defend Islam and convert people.
• The Sunna is a record of Muhammads daily life,
  behavior, and teachings. Means tradition.
• The Sharia is a legal system that reflects the
  various rules by which all Muslims should live
• Muslims are told to respect Jews and Christians
  as people of the book because they share
  tradition of prophets from God.

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What Was Arabia Like at the Time of Muhammads
Birth?

• The Arabian Peninsula is a harsh land with a vast
  desert interior. Some 1,500 years ago, Arabia was
  sparsely populated. In the desert, small bands of
  bedouins. Commerce flourished and towns grew.

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Why Was Commerce Lively In Arabia?

• In Arabia, farming was limited, but commerce was
  lively because trade routes converged at the
  Arabian Peninsula.

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Why was Mecca an Important Town?

• The most important of these towns was Mecca,
  near the Red Sea. Besides being a trade center,
  Mecca also had a religious function. At Meccas
  heart was a large cube-shaped structure called
  the Kaaba. The site drew many religious pilgrims.
  Many gods and goddesses were worshipped in Mecca.
  They called the supreme God Allah.

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What were Muhammads Messages and How were they
Received?

• He awoke from sleep to find himself in the
  presence of an angel who commanded him to speak
  messages, or revelations, from AllahGod.
  Muhammad reported many messages from the angel.
  Among them was that Allah was the one and only
  true and all-powerful God. Other messages
  included instructions about how people should
  live if they hoped to please Allah and live in
  paradise after death.

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How do Judaism and Christianity fit into the
teachings of Islam?

• Like the Jewish and Christian faiths, Islam is
  monotheistichaving only one God. The Quran
  teaches that Allah, the name of God in Arabic, is
  the same as God in the Jewish and Christian
  traditions. Muslims believe that the sacred texts
  of Judaism and Christianity also come from
  Allahbut that the Quran carries the greatest
  authority because it represents Gods final
  message to humanity.

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why did Muhammad and his followers move to
Yathrib?

• Some powerful Meccans did not accept his
  teachings. They disliked his criticism of their
  traditional beliefs in many gods. Only the
  protection of Muhammads uncle Abu Talib kept him
  safe. When Abu Talib died in 619, Muhammad knew
  that he and his followers were not safe in Mecca.
  In search of a new home, Muhammad visited the
  nearby city of Yathrib, where people were open to
  his preaching. In 622 Muhammad moved from Mecca
  to Yathrib, which came to be called Medina, the
  Prophets city.

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What are some basic ideas of Islam?

• he Quran lays out five basic acts of worship
  that are central to Islam and that Muhammad
  himself fulfilled. These acts are called the Five
  Pillars of Islam. Following the guidelines for
  moral behavior and relationships with people
  outlined in the the Quran, jihad, following the
  Sunna and Sharia, and respecting other religions.

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Who wrote the Quran?

• As Muhammad gained political power, the
  revelations continued. Since Muhammad could not
  read or write, he recited the revelations. His
  followers memorized the words and some followers
  wrote them down. These writings, which Muslims
  believe are direct revelations from God, were
  collected years later into the Quran , the
  sacred text of Islam.          

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Why are Muslims to read the Quran in Arabic?

• Muslims believe that only in its original Arabic
  language can one know the full meaning and beauty
  of the text. The Quran has been translated into
  other languages, but Muslims do not consider
  these translations to be true representations of
  the Quran.

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What is the hadith?

• Each of the individual reports in the Sunna on
  Muhammads actions is known as a hadith

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What is the difference between the Sharia and the
Sunna?

• The record of Muhammads behavior and teachings
  is known as the Sunna, which means tradition.
  It includes hundreds of individual lessons or
  reports on Muhammads actions.
• Over time, Muslims developed a legal system that
  reflects the various rules by which all Muslims
  should live. This system is called Sharia

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Why might there be differences in the
interpretations of Sharia

• Sharia law has never become standardized, but it
  does outline a method of reasoning and argument
  for legal cases. Numerous schools of thought
  contributed to the creation of Sharia law, which
  is not recorded in a single book. It is made up
  of opinions and writings over several centuries.
  Differences in interpretation vary among the many
  people within the Islamic world.