1. What is the difference between a. and a. In Islam: Empire of Faith, the Muslims were willing to throw away their lives to support their beliefs. When the people of Mecca saw that passion, along with the destruction of the statues of their deities, they began to follow Islam and its teachings. Other parts of the world (Northern Africa, Southern/Western Asia, etc.). followed suit after seeing how the Muslim people spread their message without force. The goal was not to force everyone to become Muslim, which can be seen in how Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived alongside each other as Islam spread outside of Mecca and Medina. Unity in Islam can be seen in the call to prayer. It is meant to affirm the unity of Muslims under Allah as they constantly repeat prayers about unity to …show more content…
It can be assumed that when Allah sent an angel to recite the teachings of Islam to Mohammed, the angel spoke in Arabic to ensure that Mohammed completely understood and could efficiently convey Allah’s message to them. This itself promotes unity. By having the Qur’an in only Arabic, with no other translations (reduces the sacredness of the Qur’an), Muslims around the world must now learn to read and speak in Arabic. If a group of Muslims from different backgrounds were to come together for prayer, they could do so with ease since they all know how to pray in Arabic. If the Qur’an were to be translated into another language, then the meaning could be lost in translation or misunderstood due to cultural differences. According to WhyIslam.org, “The Qur’an was revealed in a particular context and must be understood in that context.” Additionally, Arabic is one of the most advanced languages in the world, so there is no other way to truly express the deeper meanings of the teachings of Islam. Sufism is a different branch of Islam that focuses more on spirituality and is a bit more isolated than mainstream
The Muslim Empire began to expand vastly under the Umayyads, with the empire becoming so large many people were converting to Islam religion. The Umayyads were the second of the four major caliphates after the death of Muhammad. The Empire used many different ways to spread the Islamic civilization consisting of war, classes, and appeal. The Islamic civilization spread so strongly because of the way it allured the common man.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, no one imagined that the next great world power would emerge from Saudi Arabia. Especially, because ancient empires thought that the land was worthless but they didn’t know that it had great trade routes. Trade brought them in connection with other civilizations and that’s how the city of Mecca, located in Saudi Arabia became known. The city of Mecca was a mix of religious beliefs, they used to worship many gods and had their own rituals. The world of Islam took place in Mecca where Muhammad was born in 570 CE. He became known as “the Prophet,” he was meant to be God’s final prophet. The main two groups of Islam are the Shia and Sunni; which they were created after Muhammad’s death. The Islam religion as
The Pillars are a list of rules that give five key practices that the observant Muslim should follow. An individual must follow these five rules: openly declare devotion to their god, Allah, pray five times daily facing towards the holy city Mecca, fast and abstain from secular pleasures during the month of Ramadan, pay an alms tax for the welfare of the poor, and make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during one’s life if circumstances allow (Smart 290). These guidelines provide an obvious way to distinguish the religious insider from the outsider and work to reinforce a continual sense of community among the insiders (Smart 291). The concept of jihad works to legitimize the expansion of Islam. Jihad, or the “struggle on behalf of the faith” resulted in two different interpretations (Smart 299). Firstly, the Qur’an states that it is the duty of religious adherents to fight against polytheists, Christians, and Jews until they pay the jizya, or tax, acknowledging Muslim supremacy (Smart 299). However, a branch of Islam called Sufism softened this doctrine to imply that jihad is not a physical conflict, but is instead an internal struggle to eliminate temptations and foster obedience to God (Smart 300). This concept is shown in action when examining the chronological expansion of Islam. In the classical and medieval periods of Islam, stretching from the early seventh
Expansion of the Muslim Empire The Muslim empire expanded vastly from 622 CE to 750 CE. This empire could be compared to the Holy Roman Empire, one of the greatest in the world. There are three main reasons to explain how the Muslim empire reached its height: battling for land, signing peace treaties, and granting stipends. Every Muslim who was in the military fought against other civilizations for land. After that, they made an agreement, or a peace treaty, with the people of the land they conquered.
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.
rompt: List and explore in depth the factors that contributed to the rapid and widespread adoption of the Islamic Faith and the creation of an empire that extended from Spain to the farthest borders of the Persian Empire.
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...
The period from the 8th – 13th century CE was a period in which we saw the emergence of a super empire known as The Muslim empire. The prophet Muhammad around 622 CE founded the Muslim empire. His writings were documented in a holy book called the Qur’an, which is the basis of Islam. During the time between the 8th-13th centuries the Muslim empire had expanded all the way from Spain to India. The empire, headed at the time by the Abbasid caliphate, was one of the largest and most influential empires of its time until its defeat by the Mongols. This time period is known by many as the “Golden Age” of Islam. Using its geographical position, foundations laid down by the prophet Muhammad, and the introduction of new technologies such as paper
Islam is a major world religion. Its origin can be traced back to 610 CE in Arabia. The basis of this religion is the revelations to the prophet Mohammad. Dissatisfied with his life, he traveled to deserts, hills, and the wilderness surrounding Mecca, where he lived, to meditate and reflect. He became a new man through his revelations, which many of his followers believe Allah transmitted to him through his angel Gabriel. Islam was originally an Arab religion, but many different beliefs and practices were added to it, making it extremely popular and aiding in its rapid spread. This new religion spread to many different areas surrounding Arabia, both under Mohammad and after his death. The Muslim Empire grew to encompass Spain and the Eastern Roman Empire as well Persia and Africa. Many different practices and methods were used to spread Islam. The religion itself was appealing to, in addition to the inhabitants of Arabia, other people in the surrounding areas because of its distinct religious beliefs and practices, such as the five pillars, as well as the humility and prayerfulness of the Islamic people. They fought cruel, vicious wars with their enemies. Many different things motivated the warriors to expand, but above all, the riches they would gain from the people of the Fertile Crescent encouraged them to expand.
The world you once knew is falling to ashes and food is become such a scarcity that people are fighting over a few pieces of bread. The political class is too busy fighting among themselves to care for anyone else. Children are roaming the streets and begging for work to feed their dying, hungry stomachs. This is not a scene from a horror movie, but rather the reality of the beginning of post classical era. In these times of hardship the people turned to a higher power, which resulted in a religious boom. The main religion during the post classical era that had the greatest impact on people was Islam due to Muhammad, trade routes, the Black Plague, conquests and Islamic culture.
The Catholic Church was the most powerful churches across Europe and the middle ages. After the fall of Rome, no state or government united the people who lived in Europe. Kings and queens received much of their power from their alliance and protection of the Church. King Charlemagne was named the Emperor of the Romans later afterwards. He was the first leader since Rome’s fall 300 years before this. Over time, Charlemagne’s kingdom became the Holy Roman Empire. Innocent people across Europe had to “tithe” which was 10 % of their earnings each year that goes to the Church. At the same time, the Church was exempt from most taxes. These policies helped the church to profit a great amount of money and also power. As Islam began to spread, it became larger and more powerful. After the Prophet Muhammad’s death, Muslim armies conquered large parts of the Middle East, being united under the rule of a single caliph. At its high point, the Islamic world about three times bigger than all of Christendom which is the worldwide community of Christians. Under the rule of the caliphs, great cities advanced an amazing growth in cultural life. Muslim dynasties were soon established and many successful empires in India were among the largest and most powerful empires in the world. The Islamic golden age included creations in much advancement of culture and science, biology, physics, medicine, mathematics, Art and architecture. This golden age of Islam is mostly due to a new writing system and reestablished government and declined again from the Mongol invasions. The crusades had a big impact on Europe and had lasting effects, good and bad. Towards the end of the 11th century, the Catholic Church began to send military expeditions to remove Muslim “...
At the first glance, Islam and Christianity appear to have nothing in common, however; as you go beyond the surface, they appear to have many similarities such as their beliefs of God, their beliefs of life after death, their holy scriptures, and their prayers. These religions, although two entirely different beliefs, share a similar origin. Like many other religions, they both claim to be the one and only true way to God. In order to truly see and understand their similarities, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam. Throughout the course of this essay, I will compare the many facets that show the alikeness between these two growing religions.
However, it is known that the Quran can only be understood in its original language, Arabic, if it was translated into modern English, many different people would start to have many different interpretations of its meaning, which would then cause arguments on which interpretation is right or wrong. My personal view on this topic is that I think the Quran should be kept in its original language, Arabic, as I believe it was revealed in Arabic for a reason known only to its creator, and Allah’s word should not be tampered with.
A vital part of Islam's success was that it had great religious unity. All Muslims believed in the same one god, Allah, the same rules, the Five Pillars and the same book, the Koran. This meant Muslims trusted each other and thought of each other as brothers. All achievements were seen as a way to help Islam to become bigger and stronger.
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.