ISLAM - “to submit”
“There is no god but Allah:
Muhammad is the prophet of
Allah”
Call to prayer
Muhammad “The Prophet”
• born @ 570 CE in Mecca
• raised by an Uncle
– Quraish clan
• Hermit: spent time in
solitude
– prayed in mtn caves
– Angel Gabriel appeared to him
• “RECITE”
• became QURAN
• Ramadan was t/month that
Quran was recited to Mu.
• Khadija
– 1st convert to Islam
– Muhammad’s 1st wife
– merchant
HEJIRA
• 622 CE
• first year of Muslim
Calendar
• migration of Mu. &
Muslims fm Mecca to
Medina
– Medina (City o/t Prophet)
• 2nd holiest site in Islam
• 630 CE: war w/
Meccan’s
– captures Mecca
• dedicates KA’ABA to Allah
• smashes all idols
• holiest site in Islam
Muhammad’s Miracles
• Heart cleansed with
snow by two angels
• ascension to heaven:
– Dome o/t Rock
• 1500 Muslims drank
water from one vessel
from Mu’s hand
FIVE PILLARS of ISLAM
• Proclamation of Faith
• Prayer five times a day
– facing Mecca
• Alms (charity) to the
poor & aged
• Fasting during Ramadan
– Gabriel spoke to Mu
– Hejira
– no food/water btwn
sunrise & sunset
KA’ABA in MECCA
• Hajj: pilgrimage to
Mecca ONCE in a
lifetime
• Muslim holy book
– sits at the right hand of
Allah
• exact word of Allah as
revealed to Mu. by Angel
Gabriel
– God becomes the Word
• SHARIA LAW
– authority on religion,
politics, law, economics &
social life
– forbidden to translate from
Arabic
• link btwn all Muslims
The QURAN
Quranic teachings
• “people of the book”
– Jews & Christians
– treat w/ tolerance
• be merciful & compassionate
• repeat 1st Pillar three times in
front of male Muslim to
become a Muslim
• “I divorce you” x3
• Paradise or Hell (Judgment
Day)
• Hadith: traditional sayings o/t
prophet
• Inshallah (the will of God)
– Belief in predestination
– God controls all that happens
GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM
• 1st four Caliphs: successors to the Prophet
The Arab-Islamic
Conquest
EXPANSION OF ISLAM
• ARAB-MUSLIM CONQUEST
• Arab armies united by their
belief in Islam
• Muslim warriors who died in
combat won a place in Paradise
– Jihad
• lure of riches (loot)
• tolerant conquerors
– special non-believers tax
• Commerce spread
• The WAQF is born:
Islamic Sects (divisions)
• Sunni Muslims
– any devout male Muslim can
be Caliph
– high moral character
– majority
• Shi’ites (Shiah or Shia)
– only descendents of
Muhammad can be Caliph
– 12th Imam will return on
Judgement Day
– only Imams can guide
Muslims to salvation
– minority (except Iran & Iraq)
• Sufism: mystical Islam
Islamic Art
Mosques
What is a muezzin?
____________________________
What is a minaret?
____________________________
Islamic Customs and Laws
• Follow strict dietary laws– HALAL - name of Allah must be mentioned
while animal is slaughtered –
– Can’t eat pork
• Can’t drink alcohol
• No gambling
• Can’t kill animals for sport
• Strict punishments for crimes- In some
strongly Muslim countries there’s little
difference between religious laws and country
laws. (i.e. Shari’ah)
• 99 names for God/Allah:
http://www.islamicity.com/Mosque/99names.htm
Women in Islam
• Men & women are
spiritual equals
• Hijab shows Muslim
identity
– recognize intelligence, not
sexuality
– seen as feminine
• Surah 4:3:
If you fear that you
shall not be able to deal justly with
the orphans, marry women of your
choice, two or three or four; but if
you fear that you shall not be able to
deal justly, then marry only one.
• Hadith:
“seeking knowledge is
mandatory for all Muslims”
The Islamic
• Umayyad Dynasty (661(Arab) Empires
750 CE)
– Damascus is capital
– emphasized Arab culture
• Arabic main language
• gov’t jobs went to Arabs
• Abbasid Dynasty (7501258 CE)
– Baghdad (God given) is
capital
– more than 1 million ppl
– Muslim more important
than being Arab
– built libraries, hospitals,
irrigation, mosques,
Golden Age of Islam
(1st four Caliphs: successors to the
Prophet)
• Abu-Bakr (632-634 CE)
• Mu’s father-in-law
– Ayesha
• united all Arab tribes
• Umar (634-644)
–
–
–
–
Ridda Wars
captured Baghdad & Jerusalem
most of Persia conquered
murdered by Persian slave
• Uthman (644-656)
– captured Egypt & N. Africa
– assassinated by fellow Muslims
• Ali (656-661)
– Mu’s son-in-law (Fatima)
The Arab-Islamic Conquest