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Islam origins ap world history
History the islamic world
Prophet Muhammad on how he impacted Islam
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Religion is an important factor in many lives in today’s society. A particular western religion that is taken very seriously by many is known as Islam. Essentially, Islam means “submission”, or in other words a person is to abide by God and peace will follow. In order to comprehend the Islamic religion, it is consequential to view the major themes associated with this religion. By going through the central themes of Islam it could help others comprehend what is involved with this specific religion.
The beginning of Islam all started in Arabia around 570 C.E. when a prophet was born. This prophet was known as Muhammad, although it is said that he has multiple names, which was born in a city called Makkah, or Mecca. This man lived a normal life by getting married and having children. He would venture out into the desert every now and then to pray and fast. It was during one time in the desert within a cave that an archangel known as Gabriel approached him. It is at this time that Gabriel gave Muhammad the first verses of the revelation. This would continue on for years up until Muhammad’s death. All of the verses that he was provided would eventually end up into the sacred text known as the Qur’an, or Koran. During Muhammad’s time of receiving the messages from God, his tribe wanted him dead as they did not want to change their way of living. Before his own tribe killed him, he was invited to travel to a city known as Yathrib to be their ruler, which this city would later be called Madinah. Muhammad and his followers set out for this particular city around June 622, which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
During Muhammad’s time, he united many areas in Arabia and was able to establish a religious communi...
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...ethics, and so forth. The crucial piece of information to remember about this religion is that they greatly emphasis unity and have a great amount of diversity. Even though it is a diverse religion, all of the Muslims are monotheistic and solely believe that Allah is the creator of everything, including humans. As a human being they believe that they are in debt to God or simply stated as according to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “Therefore, all that we are and all that we have belongs to God for which we are indebted to Him and for whose gifts we must give thanks (shukr)” . God is the Absolute and the main point of the Islamic religion is that it is crucial to worship him and follow his commands, and that will lead to peace among everyone. This particular religion has continued to rapidly grow throughout the world and as with most religions, it will continue to grow.
Islam the complete ‘surrender to Allah’ is a living religious tradition with the principal belief in one God – Allah. Islam has remained the same in its principle beliefs of Allah, His Angels, His Prophets, His Books, The Last Day and his complete authority over destiny and has also changed over time to ensure that Islam remains a living religious tradition. Over its history Islam has had many significant people including Al Ghazali and Aisha Bint Abu Bakr who have ensured that Islam remains living in the hearts and minds of its adherents. In addition to significant individuals participation in the Five Pillars e.g. the Hajj ensure that Islam will continue to be the living religious tradition that it is.
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
The religion of Islam dates back to the 7th century CE and the life of its founder, Muhammad of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. Islam is an Arabic word meaning: making something safe and secure, making something sound and whole, entering into peace and tranquility, and surrendering to something other than oneself. A follower of Islam is called a Muslim. In the religion of Islam, it requires the belief in certain core tenets, which include the articles of faith and the five pillars of worship. These two combined, form the Islamic creed.
The article also discusses the origins of Islam as well as the beliefs of Islam. The theme in volume two is the “relationship between the expansion and fragmentation of Islamdom into autonomous, local dynasties” (Turner 192). According to the author, “The background of Islam was the emergence in the Axial Age of a new conception of religion, not as a tribal commitment” (Turner 192). The main issue of the religion was the fact that other Muslim communities were challenged by different religions and the refusal to accept the teaching of Islam. The author also discusses the rise of sufism. The author refers to sufism as relgious cement (Turner 193). Turner mentions that the author of The Venture of Islam would like to see Islamic influences in technological advances because of the moral roots of
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
In the early 6th century, Muhammad introduced Islam into the Arab world, and asserted that there was only one true God. Islam demanded that believers obey God’s will and laws (Islamic Law, web). By introducing Isla...
Islam, on the other hand, started in Mecca, where Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) was born. He was believed to be that last nabi (messenger) that Allah will give to the world. The religion was not well accepted in its city of origin though, due to the opposition the Prophet faced as a nascent community . Later, he was invited to Medina and Islam expanded from there.
Throughout his life, the Prophet Muhammad proved to be exceptionally adept at uniting diverse groups, negotiating a series of alliances and loyalty arrangements that spanned religious, tribal, ethnic, and familial lines (Berggren 2009). Among other things, this ability enabled Muhammad to forge a shared identity and found a nascent Islamic state from a diverse and even heterogeneous community (Rahman 1982; Ernst 2003, pp. 87-93). This diversity proved to be both a source of strength and conflict for Islam, and following the death of Muhammad early Islamic communities engaged in extensive debates not only about the nature of his teachings or how to carry his legacy forward, but also about the terms that should be used to define his authority. Although this debate produced a colorful array of movements within the tapestry of early Islamic civilization, this essay offers a critical examination of two particularly distinct perspectives on the nature of prophetic authority: namely, those articulated
During this time, Mecca was mostly populated with polytheistic followers. In 610 C.E, Prophet Muhammad, had his first revelations that advance the Islamic culture. His revelations became a way of life for his followers. When the religion started rising in numbers, Muhammad and his followers was exiled from Mecca. When the followers migrated to Medina, Islam began to spread. This religion had much influence in the locations it was practiced in. The Quran is the way of life to its people. The five pillars expressed in the Quran were the religious laws Muslims were expected to follow. They were expected to only accept there is one God and one messenger, Muhammad, pray five times a day, give the poor 2.5 percent of their savings, fast during the month of Ramandan, and pilgrimage to Mecca, where the Holy Ka’ba is located. Besides the religious impact, Muhammad also created a political empire. He united different tribes and customs. Muhammad was very influential that after his death, the religion faced a challenge. They did not have a successor or leader, so many followers left the religion, refused to pay taxes, and wars begun. In the mid- seventh century, the Muslims started wars with the Byzantine and Persian Empires and conquered them. Muslims ruled over many religious groups including Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians. As the Muslims became powerful, they created laws that taxed other religious groups to practice their faith. In the “Pact of Umar”, Christians agreed under extreme circumstances in order to practice their faith. They agreed to not fix the damages done to their churches, to not display any religious ornaments, to not spread the faith, and many more. The Muslims conquered and progressed in
Islam is a religion that is based on the submission oneself to the will of God, who is called Allah. Muslims are the people believe in that, regardless of their culture, background or ethnicity. It is believed that God’s prophets brought a message for the people to worship one God without intermediaries and that prophet Muhammad was the end of G...
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
Esposito begins by tracing the historical development of Islam from its humble beginnings with Muhammad and his revelation of the Quran. He describes the basic tenets of belief that are found in the Quran, along with its development through the Golden Age of Islam expansion during the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. He continues looking at its growth and enlargement up to the modern period, where the “neorevivalists” attempted to harmonize the basic principles of Islam with the ever-growing thoughts of the enlightened and western-dominated contemporary life. Through it all, though there were changes that occurred as was necessary with the passing of time, Islam was able to keep its core beliefs relatively intact and this has led to a stronger commitment and foundation for their belief and practice.
Gulevich, Tanya, and Frederick S. Colby. Understanding Islam and Muslim Traditions. Detriot, Michigan: Omnigraphics, Inc., 2004. Print.
“Islam (religion).” Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. 2010. Encyclopedia Brittanica. 11 January, 2010. < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/295507/Islam>
The Quran retains many of the similar aspects of the Christian perspective of God. Through studying the aspects of the Islamic faith years ago, and reading the book of the Muslims this present year, I have come to understand why Muslim’s believe what they believe. The Quran contains the fundamentals of the Islamic faith, which include the five pillars of faith and the six main articles of faith. Allah is eternal and all-powerful; he is claimed to be the only God. In the Quran, God is mentioned numerous times helping the reader to understand who He is. As well, humanity is an important aspect, for the Quran is directed towards humanity to follow God, for they are the most important existence on the earth.