ﷲ Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all his prophets to every people; ﷲ Beginning with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, Ezekiel, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, Zechariah, John (the Baptist), Jesus and ending with Muhammad

Adam Noah Abraham Moses Jesus Muhammad

ABRAHAM SARAH HAGAR Isaac Esau Jacob 12 Tribes of Israel Ishmael 12 Arabian Tribes

Muhammad “Peace Be Upon Him” ﷲ This phrase said with all prophets in Judaism and Christianity ﷲ He is a brother in faith to Jesus and Moses ﷲ All from Middle East: Common Heritage ﷲ All believe in the same one God ﷲ God: from the beginning has sent righteous leaders called prophets ﷲ Prophets: messengers who receive knowledge from God, not God themselves, but speak for God

ﷲ Moses gave same messages as Jesus and Muhammad ﷲ Jesus came to correct mistakes ﷲ Muhammad came to correct mistakes and to add to what had been lost

ﷲ Islam is not a new religion, according to Muslims: ﷲ but is the original path of monotheism ﷲ also developed into Judaism and Christianity ﷲ same god -Allah

ﷲ Creed is very simple ﷲ “There is no God but God and Muhammad is his messenger.” ﷲ Strict monotheists

ﷲ Muslim: ﷲ “one who submits” or “one who commits himself to Islam” ﷲ Islam: ﷲ to accept, to submit, to commit oneself, submission, surrender, peace ﷲ An ongoing commitment ﷲ By saying, “I am a Muslim” does more than affirm membership in a community, one is saying, “I am one who commits himself to God” ﷲ Over 1.5 billion are members ﷲ conservative estimate, fastest growing religion today

ﷲ Islam has kept to one basic scripture, preserved from the 1 st state of textural purity. ﷲ same today as when 1 st written down ﷲ Muslims believe that the Torah and the Bible, like the Qur’an, is the word of God. ﷲ “People of the Book”

The Qur’an ﷲ Muslims believe it contains the word of God. ﷲ 114 suras (surah) --chapters. ﷲ Written in Arabic.

ﷲ Qur’an means “to recite” or “recitation” ﷲ Muhammad’s revelations were compiled into the Qur’an after his death. ﷲ Muslims revere Muhammad for transmitting the revelation and for translating it into action

ﷲ Very little info on Muhammad’s life in the Qur’an itself ﷲ most info comes from the Hadith: ﷲ Sayings/practices of Muhammad ﷲ body of tradition originating from 1 st generation Muslims

Many nomadic, spoke Semitic languages, cultural differences, enemies on all sides; Jews, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans. Internal Rivalries: what put Mecca in the most dangerous position was tension between rival tribes

ﷲ South Arabia- advanced astral cult- centered on a moon god; polytheistic ﷲ Areas where Jews and Christians were strong (trading centers) many abandoned old gods for monotheistic ideas.

ﷲ Majority of Arabs worshipped local gods and goddesses- ﷲ some were tribal ﷲ some presided over certain geographical areas and all who entered these areas were ordered to worship them

ﷲ In Mecca: 3 main Goddesses ﷲ Al Lat- mother goddess; the sun ﷲ Al Manat- goddess of fate ﷲ Al Uzza- the morning star (pale Venus) ﷲ Idols were the center of worship

Angels and Jinn: (djinn) Angels: were morally irreproachable and of a beneficent nature Beings of light Created to be loyal to Allah

Jinn: according to legend, created from fire two thousand years before Adam ﷲ Could at will appear to human eyes or remain invisible.

ﷲ Mecca: The Ka’ba (means cube)– (also Kaaba) ﷲ Housed the most holy relic in Arabia- a meteorite built into the corner of the “cube”. No exterior ornament- covered today with a tissue of black cloth.

ﷲ Looooooong ago, people of Arabia startled by a rush of a meteor ﷲ interpreted as a glowing rock from heaven ﷲ awed inhabitants worshipped it ﷲ called it “the black stone that fell from heaven in the days of Adam”

ﷲ Year after year tribes came on a hajj (pilgrimage) to offer near it sacrifices of sheep and camels and to run the circuit of the stones seven times and kiss it in the hope of heaven’s blessing on them ﷲ In time, the cube shaped Ka’ba was built and the holy stone was placed in the southeast corner, images of local deities were placed inside

ﷲ 1.Adam built the original Ka’ba ﷲ lost over time/destroyed ﷲ Ishmael and Abraham rebuilt it. ﷲ Near the Ka’ba is the holy well; ZamZam- water sacred to pilgrims ﷲ 2.Abraham- while on a visit to see his outcast son Ishmael ﷲ They built the Ka’ba and imbedded the black stone in it

ﷲ Tradition of the well: ﷲ After Hagar was expelled from Abraham’s tent, she came with infant son Ishmael to future site of city of Mecca. Was a barren valley and b/c her child was dying of thirst, she left him on the hot earth while she desperately searched for water. ﷲ Ishmael in a tantrum, kicked his heels into the ground and the waters of the ZamZam welled up into the depression ﷲ In recognition of this event it was considered good fortune to add to the circling of the Ka’ba going to the well

ﷲ Within the Ka’ba were murals on the walls, numerous idols to the various Gods were inside ﷲ Hubel- chief male deity, Al-Lat, Al- Manat, Al- Uzza and far off Allah who was formless ﷲ Mecca was already a holy city, and surrounding areas were considered sacred territory and pilgrims had to disarm when entering it ﷲ City was pilgrimage center and very dependent on commerce

ﷲ Tradition says that Mecca has never fallen to invaders ﷲ Legend says that in the year that Muhammad was born, “In the Year of the Elephant”, the Abyssinian (Christian) governor of South Arabia marched on Mecca in force with battle elephants, saying he wanted to destroy the heathen shrine. ﷲ Attacks by Birds and small pox defeated him right before the attack

ﷲ into the Quraysh tribe of the Clan Hashemite ﷲ Father died before he was born and his mother died when he was 6 ﷲ Was raised by his uncle Abu Talib (Taleb) ﷲ Born in poverty ﷲ Worshipped Hubal and Al-Uzza, the belief in jinn, Satan and good and evil omens

ﷲ As he grew he looked at Meccan religion critically, began to find society distasteful ﷲ Disliked quarreling of tribes over: ﷲ Religion and honor ﷲ Idolatry ﷲ Polytheism ﷲ Animism ﷲ Immorality at religious celebrations ﷲ Drinking, gambling, dancing

ﷲ Why were his views changing? How did he become receptive to the ideas of the one God that paralleled Judaism and Christianity? ﷲ No direct evidence that he had knowledge of the Old and New Testaments ﷲ He did express a respect for the written scriptures and people who used them (People of the Book)

ﷲ Maybe learned about Judaism and Christianity during caravan trading trips to Syria ﷲ Maybe learned from Jewish and Christians traders passing through Mecca ﷲ Maybe some of his friends knew this information ﷲ Waraqa (Waraka)- cousin of his wife was Christian

ﷲ Muslims believe he did not take info from others and put it in the Quran ﷲ Quran was not the work of Muhammad, was revealed to him by angelic messenger sent from God ﷲ Most will acknowledge that he received a foreknowledge of ﷲ truths and moral laws from prophets like Abraham, Moses and Jesus to prepare him to understand and interpret what was revealed to him

ﷲ Muhammad: ﷲ adopted by Uncle Abu Talib ﷲ married Kadijah (Khadijah)- had 7 children ﷲ only daughter Fatima survived him ﷲ adopted a slave boy, Zaid (Zayd) (Christian) ﷲ Raised Ali (his cousin, son of uncle Abu Talib) ﷲ Abu Bakr- one of his earliest converts, kinsman from Quraysh tribe

entering a period of spiritual stress ﷲ Had come to a common belief (common to Christian and Jews) that there would be a final judgment and punishment for idolaters by everlasting fire ﷲ The one true God could not be represented by an image, but only by prophetic spokespersons ﷲ Wondered if God would send a prophet to the people of Arabia ﷲ Began to wander the hills around Mecca

ﷲ Kadijah comforted him and encouraged him to overcome his fear ﷲ Many believe that along with the revelations that lasted the rest of his life ﷲ he also made a magical night journey on the winged mare Buraq- ﷲ enabling the prophet to visit the heavens and appear before Allah (around age 50)

ﷲ Arabia was now, through Muhammad, being provided a scripture of a later date and greater authority than the scriptures of the Jews and Christians ﷲ Same basic message of the One God ﷲ Final revelation; last prophet God would send to the people of the world

ﷲ *go back to your notes and fix this: Ali was not formally adopted by Muhammad, just raised by him. –Thanks Marwa! ﷲ At 1 st, Muhammad shared what he had learned with few people: ﷲ Kadijah, Ali, Abu Bakr, and Zaid. ﷲ After 3 years began to preach publicly. ﷲ 1 st preachings involved a warning of divine judgment day, talked of dark days ahead, power and judgment of God

ﷲ Opposition in Mecca: ﷲ Many, especially in the Quraysh tribe were unimpressed with him: ﷲ they did not object to his insistence in One God, but to his claim to be a Prophet ﷲ seemed to be a claim of leadership over them ﷲ His prophecies emphasized social injustices and duties to the poor ﷲ Wealthy families felt it endangered their social and economic interests in Mecca

ﷲ Seemed to be doomed to have a small following: ﷲ only Kadijah, Ali, and Abu Bakr. ﷲ his uncle never converted, but helped support him his whole life ﷲ 1 st 4 years, only about 40 converts

ﷲ As Muhammad’s revelations continued: ﷲ Quraysh tribe scattered thorns on gathering sites, threw filth and dirt on him, incited riots against him. ﷲ Wanted to be directly violent against him, but Abu Talib protected him. ﷲ The Umayyads and others in the Quraysh tribe issued a ban or boycott against the Hashemites. ﷲ Restricted them to the town where Abu Talib lived- very desolate, struggled to survive.

ﷲ 50 th Year- Year of Sorrows ﷲ Lost Kadijah who had been his greatest supporter and then 5 weeks later lost his uncle. ﷲ Put him in a precarious position- ﷲ He feared his clan might be persuaded to imprison or execute him.

ﷲ People of the city of Yathrib wanted Muhammad and his message in their city. ﷲ Political reasons; his message would help stop blood feuds ﷲ Fled Mecca to Yathrib: ﷲ City was renamed Medina ﷲ “City of the Prophet” ﷲ 622 CE: ﷲ This is the 1 st year of the Muslim calendar

ﷲ Muhammad established a theocracy in Medina ﷲ Set up a constitution for the city ﷲ Brought peace to the city ﷲ Given unrestricted power over the city

ﷲ His house became a worship center ﷲ -1 st Mosque (Masjid) ﷲ Held weekly services on Friday ﷲ Prayer/prostration: ﷲ 1 st faced towards Jerusalem ﷲ but Seventeen months after Muhammad arrived in Medina he was instructed by Allah to face the Ka’ba in Mecca

ﷲ Why change from Jerusalem to Mecca? ﷲ Allah told him to do so, and he and all praying with him faced Mecca ﷲ Others believe that he changed direction because of growing conflict with Jews in Medina. ﷲ Muhammad had recognized Jesus: said his message completed the Torah. ﷲ Jews did not recognize Jesus, and some were politically allied with the Quraysh tribe who opposed him.

ﷲ Call to open prayer on the Mosque’s roof ﷲ 1 st only on Friday’s, but then everyday at the appropriate times for prayer.

ﷲ Warfare with Mecca: ﷲ Meccans worry that Medians under Muhammad would conquer their city. ﷲ So they declared war 1 st ﷲ Muhammad directed the 1 st raid and was victorious ﷲ war continued for several years, each side was violently attacking ﷲ Eventually Muhammad negotiated a peace between the two cities

ﷲ 630 CE Prophet returns to Mecca ﷲ Ka’ba (Kaaba) was purged of idols and became the center of Muslim worship ﷲ Muhammad treated all equally, new converts, old, men, women… ﷲ Faith began to spread outward from Mecca ﷲ The prophet became devoted to uniting all peoples under this one God

The successor? ﷲ Muhammad died in 632 CE, but left no clear direction as to who should lead after him: ﷲ Caliph: ﷲ successor to the prophet

ﷲ 1 st Caliph- Abu Bakr ﷲ But many believed that Ali should be the Caliph ﷲ Beginning of the Sunni/Shi’a (Shia) Split ﷲ Sunni: Caliph’s should be elected by those closest to the Prophet ﷲ Shi’a: Caliph’s should be members of the Prophet’s family

ﷲ Mission of Islam is to reform society and to actively combat oppression and corruption ﷲ Call people back to faith and to create a just moral order in the world as the embodiments of God’s commandments

ﷲ Beliefs: ﷲ Prescriptions for social conduct ﷲ to bring remembrance of God into every aspect of daily life and practical ethics

ﷲ Injunctions against: ﷲ Drinking alcohol ﷲ Eating certain meats ﷲ Halal: Acceptable foods ﷲ Haram: Unacceptable foods ﷲ pork, rodents, predatory animals, improperly slaughtered meats ﷲ Gambling ﷲ Sex outside of marriage ﷲ Sexually provocative dress, talk, or actions

ﷲ Positive actions/beliefs: ﷲ Commands justice, kindness and charity ﷲ Women have legal rights ﷲ Right to own property ﷲ Right to divorce ﷲ To inherit ﷲ To make a will

Shahada (Shahadah) 1 1 ﷲ The testimony. ﷲ The declaration of faith:

Salat 2 2 ﷲ The mandatory prayers performed 5 times a day: * dawn * noon * late afternoon * sunset * before going to bed ﷲ Wash before praying. ﷲ Face Mecca and use a prayer rug.

2 2 ﷲ The call to prayer by the muezzin in the minaret. ﷲ Pray in the mosque on Friday.

Zakat 3 3 ﷲ Almsgiving (charitable donations). ﷲ Muslims believe that all things belong to God. ﷲ Zakat means both “purification” and “growth.” ﷲ About 2.5% of your income.

Sawm 4 4 ﷲ Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. ﷲ Considered a method of self- purification. ﷲ No eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan.

Eid Al-Fitr End of the Ramadan holiday.

Hajj 5 5 ﷲ The pilgrimage to Mecca. ﷲ Must be done at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime(if possible) ﷲ 2-3 million Muslims make the pilgrimage every year.

5 5 ﷲ Seven times around Ka’ba (Kaaba) ﷲ Field where Adam and Eve worshipped the one God ﷲ ZamZam ﷲ Sacrifices to remind of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice to God ﷲ The meat is then given to the needy

5 5  Those who complete the pilgrimage can add the title hajji to their name.

ﷲ Eid al-Fitr: End the fast of Ramadan: ﷲ Joyous celebration, gifts exchanged ﷲ Eid al Adha: Feast of Sacrifice ﷲ When pilgrims outside of Mecca have returned halfway from the great pilgrimage and are making a feast of sacrifice ﷲ Ritually offering the allowed animals and the joyous sharing of the meat

ﷲ New Year Festival ﷲ Festival of the Prophet’s Birthday ﷲ Festival of the Prophet’s night journey

ﷲ Fastest growing religion in the US: 2/3 are immigrants, 1/3 are converts, esp African Americans ﷲ Was encouraged in early 1900s as a form of separation from white oppression ﷲ Nation of Islam ﷲ Many African Americans practiced traditional Islamic culture and stuck to teachings of Quran

Islam ﷲ Religion ﷲ Allah is unlike anything; always divine; never appearing in human form on earth ﷲ Prophet Muhammad (b.570) is the final prophet/messenger of God Nation of Islam ﷲ Religion and Political Organization ﷲ Allah is a black man; appeared in 1930 in the form of Wallace Fard Muhammad (the founder of the N.O.I) ﷲ Elijah Muhammad (b.1897) is a prophet/messenger of God

ﷲ 5 Prayers required daily; Friday services ﷲ Fasting during the month of Ramadan ﷲ Ramadan; Eid Al Fatr ﷲ 5 Prayers required daily; others say no prayers required; Optional Friday services ﷲ Fasting during December; (whites overindulge in December; deny them your $ and gluttony) optional fasting in Ramadan ﷲ Savior’s Day (celebrates birth of W. Fard; Feb 26 and Elijah Muhammad Oct 7)

ﷲ Zakat: ﷲ Universal Brother/Sisterhood ﷲ Day of Judgment; Afterlife (Heaven and Hell) Race and color do not determine destiny ﷲ Holy Qu’ran; Hadith ﷲ Only required to pay Federal taxes; optional tithing ﷲ Black Nationalism/Racial Separation ﷲ Current life is ‘heaven” for the white man and “hell” for the black man; there is no afterlife ﷲ Holy Qu’ran, Bible and other revealed books by W. Fard and Elijah Muhammad

ﷲ 1.5 Billion Muslims in the world; 7.8 million in the US; Fastest growing religion in the world and the US ﷲ All people are equal before God; anyone can be a Muslim ﷲ No pre-marital relationships (no dating) ﷲ Teachings are from the prophet Muhammad and Holy Qu’ran ﷲ Between 20,000 and 100,000 in the US; none known outside the US; slowly declining ﷲ Black man is the original man; whites not allowed in N.O.I ﷲ Dating is allowed ﷲ Teachings are from W. Fard Muhammad, Elijah Muhammad and Holy Qu’ran

Muslims in America

1.Indonesia183,000,0006.Iran62,000,000 2.Pakistan134,000,0007.Egypt59,000,000 3.India121,000,0008.Nigeria53,000,000 4.Bangladesh114,000,0009.Algeria31,000,000 5.Turkey66,000,00010.Morocco29,000,000 * Arabs make up only 20% of the total Muslim population of the world.

ﷲ Many Muslim countries are attempting to return to traditional Muslim law ﷲ Rather than conform to the modern world, modern world should conform to them ﷲ Many Muslim countries have extremists gov’t that are taking liberties with divine law and not following Qur’an ﷲ Majority of Muslims respect the teachings of the Qur’an and Muhammad and only wish to live in peace

ﷲ Islam spread by personal contacts, trade and appeal of the religion ﷲ Not by the sword: ﷲ Quran forbids coercion in religion: ﷲ Recommends Muslims invite others to the way, by wisdom, teaching and example

Jihad? ﷲ Striving/Struggle ﷲ internal fight against right and wrong, error and truth, selfishness and selflessness ﷲ Protect way of God against forces of evil, safeguarding one’s life, faith, honor, integrity of the community

Spread of Islam ﷲ Many military battles, but not for purpose of spreading Islam, respect always for Jews and Christians- but many had to pay taxes to live in Muslim dominated areas. ﷲ After Muhammad’s death- Islam spread to all of Arabia, to present day Pakistan, Spain, Northern Africa, Eastern Europe, Russian Steppes, India and Indonesia. ﷲ Stopped in 732 CE at Battle of Tours

Why was Islam able to spread so quickly and convert so many to the new religion?

ﷲ Easy to learn and practice. ﷲ No priesthood. ﷲ Teaches equality. ﷲ Non-Muslims, who were “Peoples of the Book,” were allowed religious freedom, but paid additional taxes. ﷲ Easily “portable”  nomads & trade routes.

ﷲ During times when London and Paris were muddy alleyways, Muslim Spain, esp the city of Cordova had: ﷲ 700 mosques ﷲ 70 libraries ﷲ 300 public baths and the streets were paved. ﷲ In the early 1000s Muslims began to have conflicts with Christians

ﷲ The Caliph, Al Hakim broke with Islamic tradition and began persecuting Christians: ﷲ Destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem- helped to provoke the crusades ﷲ Crusaders slaughtered the inhabitants of Jerusalem- beheaded 70,000 captives ﷲ Saladin: took back Jerusalem in 1187 and treated the Christian pop. with dignity

ﷲ Islam honors prophets of all traditions, but this religion was denounced by the medieval Catholic Church ﷲ Christianity had considered itself the one- true religion and launched efforts to bring whole world under its wings. ﷲ Islam believes they are the one-true religion ﷲ Christian church depicted Muhammad as an idol worshipper, the anti-Christ, prince of darkness, one who was worshipped as a god. ﷲ Medieval Christians so horrified by this, launched the inquisition and crusades

ﷲ But hatred and animosity btwn groups was born, esp in Europe. ﷲ By 1500,in Spain, after the Muslims either had been killed or left the country

ﷲ Islam spread eastward as well into northern India. Muslims destroyed many Hindu temples and idols ﷲ Mogul Empire in India ruled by Muslims ﷲ Emperor Akbar called together spiritual authorities in Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Christianity: 1 st interfaith dialogue!!! ﷲ British rule in India: tried to emphasize the differences btwn Hindus and Muslims. ﷲ divide and conquer

ﷲ Gandhi in 1900s sought to end British rule and oppression and unite the Hindu and Muslim peoples ﷲ after his death, East and West Pakistan established for Muslims and India became Hindu. ﷲ Conflicts over new territory and many 1000s of deaths, disputes continue today