Islam

1
Islam
2
Essentials of Islam
3
I. Monotheistic religious tradition originating
in the 7th century CE under the prophet Muhammad
ibn Abdullah (570-632 CE).
II. The term Islam literally means
submission or surrender. A Muslim is a person
who submits or surrenders himself to God.
4
III. Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam is a
religion based on sacred scripture. For Muslims
the foundation of Islam is the Quran, a text
allegedly dictated to the prophet Muhammad by the
angel Jibreel (Gabriel)
5
IV. Central to Islam is belief in God as an
all-powerful, wholly transcendent being who
created the universe and controls its every
detail.
The Arabic word for God is Allah, which is a
contraction of al (the) and ilah (God).
According to Islam, God has ninety-nine names,
each of which signifies some aspect of Gods
nature. God is, for example, the merciful and
the just.
6
V. Islam is continuous in several respects with
the religious traditions of Judaism and
Christianity.
A. Islam accepts some of the fundamental ideas
and stories found in Judaism and
Christianity Ethical Monotheism Divine Creation
of the Universe Story of Adam and Eve God Spoke
to the Patriarchs and Prophets (e.g., Abraham,
Moses, Elijah) Coming Day of Final
Judgment Bodily Resurrection from the
Dead Afterlife in Hell for the Wicked
7
B. Muslims trace their ancestry back to Abraham,
specifically to his son Ishmael. The Quran says
much about the patriarch Abraham.
C. Islam accepts some of the teachings of Jesus,
but they regard Jesus only as a prophet of God.
Islam explicitly rejects the Christian claim that
Jesus is God.

1. Muslims believe the Quran to be the infallible
   and eternal Word of God, and Muhammad is the
   final prophet in the history of prophets seal
   of the prophets.

8
Prophets and Messengers
Islam distinguishes between prophets and
messengers.
A Prophet (nabi) conveys a message from God to a
specific people at a specific time. A Messenger
(rasul) is a prophet sent to a specific community
but his message is universally binding sacred law
(shariah). Muslims regard Muhammad not merely
as a prophet but as a messenger of God.
9
Life of Muhammad
10
I. Muhammad (570-632 CE) was born in Mecca, in
what is today Saudi Arabia. Born into the Quraysh
tribe, he was raised primarily by his grandfather
and uncle.
11
II. As an adult Muhammad worked as a caravan
driver for a wealthy widow named Khadijah.
Muhammad subsequently married Khadijah in 595 CE.
12

• III. At age 40, while on a religious retreat in a
  cave at Mount Hira (near Mecca), Muhammad is said
  to have received his first revelation from God.
• A being of light came to Muhammad and held
  before his eyes a cloth covered with writing. He
  was told to recite what was written.
• Muhammad was initially skeptical of the
  revelation, but became convinced that the being
  of light was the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) and that
  the message was from God.

13
Mount Hira
14
IV. Muhammad received many subsequent
revelations, which he shared with his family and
friends. They became the first Muslims.
15

• When Muhammad first began to share his
  revelations with the general public, the
  population was skeptical of the purported
  revelations.
• Muhammad proclaimed only one true God, Allah, as
  the object of worship. This contradicted the
  belief system of many of his contemporaries who
  were polytheists. This, along with Muhammads
  opposition to statues and images, threatened the
  Meccan pilgrimage trade.
• Muhammad also denounced usury and the failure to
  keep fair contracts. This contradicted many
  widespread business practices at the time.

16

• 619 Mohammad and many of his followers faced
  opposition by the Meccan population. Some of
  Muhammads followers, concerned with their
  safety, fled to Ethiopia.
• Muhammads wife (Khadijah) and uncle (Abu Talib)
  died within a couple of months of each other.

17
VII. Night of Ascent In 620 Muhammad had a
religious experience in which he was transported
to Jerusalem and from there the angel Jibreel
(Gabriel) guided Muhammad into heaven, where he
conversed with many of the great prophets of the
past.
18
Dome of the Rock (in Jerusalem)
19
VIII. 622 Muhammad arrived in the city of
Yathrib (250 miles north of Mecca) to arbitrate
between two feuding tribes. Muhammad established
the first Islamic commonwealth at Yathrib, which
became known as the city of the Prophet or
Medina (the city).
20
Mosque in Medina
21
IX. 624 In response to Muslim raids on Meccan
caravans returning from Syria, the Meccans sent
an army to Medina. In the Battle of Badr, the
Muslims defeated the Meccans.
X. 625 the Meccans prevailed over the Muslims
in battle at Mount Uhud (near Medina), where
Muhammad was badly injured.
XI. 627-628 Meccans attacked Medina in the
Battle of the Trench (627). The Muslims
withstood the attack. The Meccans were
consequently forced to seek a truce (628).
22
XII. 630 The Quraysh breached the truce
established two years earlier. Muhammad sent an
army to Mecca to conquer Mecca. The Meccans
surrendered without opposition and accepted
Islam.
XIII. 632 Muhammads death.
Within 80 years the Muslims would administer the
largest empire the world had ever known,
stretching from southern France through North
Africa and the Middle East into India and Central
Asia (Hussain and Ayoub, in Oxtoby and Segal
(eds), World Religions, p. 205).
23
(No Transcript)
24
Five Pillars of Islam
25
I. Creed (Shahadah) There is no God but Allah,
and Muhammad is his messenger. The creed is a
simple affirmation of monotheism, and it
expresses belief also in Muhammad as a messenger
of God.
II. Prayer (Salat) Muslims are called on to
pray five times a day (before dawn and at midday,
mid-afternoon, sunset, and nighttime). A.
Prayers are preceded by water cleansings. B.
Prayer is announced by a muezzin, who calls out
from the top of a tower (minaret) connected to
the mosque. C. Muslims pray toward the holy city
of Mecca. D. Public prayer is offered on Fridays.
26
III. Charity to the Poor (Zakat) Islam requires
that Muslims donate a certain percentage of their
total income, herds, and produce each year to the
poor. In addition, Muslims are also expected to
perform regular acts of generosity and charity
for the poor.
IV. Fasting During Ramadan (Sawm) Muslims
abstain from food and drink from dawn until dusk
during the 9th month of the Muslim (lunar)
calendar. Fasting is a widespread practice within
the religious traditions of the world.
27
V. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) A Muslim is
expected to visit the holy city of Mecca at least
once during their lifetime.
28
(No Transcript)
29
The Holy Quran
30

1. The sacred scripture of Islam is called the
   Quran. Quran means the recitation. Muslims
   believe that the text of the Quran (in Arabic)
   was revealed to Muhammad during a 22 year period
   by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel), roughly between
   610 and 632 CE.

II. The Quran is only fully authoritative in
Arabic, the original language of the Quran.
Translations are regarded as interpretations. The
first official version of the Quran was produced
within 20 years of Muhammads death.
31
III. The Quran is divided into 114 chapters
(surahs). The order of the surahs is not
chronological. The final surahs (also the
shortest) are generally believed to be earliest
teachings of Muhammad, whereas the longer surahs
represent Muhammads later teachings.
113 Surahs are preceded by the invocation in the
name of God, the All-merciful, the Compassionate.
32
IV. The Quran discusses historical persons
found in the Jewish and Christian scriptures
(e.g., Abraham, Moses, Jesus), provides practical
admonitions about everyday life, describes events
in the life of the prophet Muhammad, and lays out
a variety of religious doctrines (e.g., ethical
monotheism, creation, sin, righteousness, day of
final judgment, the afterlife, relationship
between Islam and other religions).
33
In the name of God, The Compassionate, The
Merciful. Praise be to God, Lord of the
Universe, The Compassionate, the
Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Judgment! You
alone we worship, and to You alone we turn for
help. (Opening of the Quran)
34
V. In addition to the Quran, Muslims accept the
Hadiths (recollections), a collection of
sayings of Muhammad, as a document of secondary
but great importance to the faith.
35
(No Transcript)