Islam
Origins and Basic Principles
Courtyard of the Great Mosque at
Herat, Afghanistan. Photo:
http://www.islamicity.com/
Origins
• Arabia (Mecca & Medina)
• 7th century
• Pre-Islamic Religious Life
• Muhammad the Prophet
• Born about 570 C.E. in Mecca. Died 632.
• Member of the Quraysh tribe
• Messenger of God: About 610 C.E.
receives visit from angel Gabriel and
begins recitation (the Qur’an)
Basis of Islam: Qur’an, Sunna, & Hadith
• Qur’an
• Word of God (Not
Muhammad)
• One god
• Ethical monotheism:
God as just &
judging
• Oral & written
• Most authoritative
source of Islamic
doctrine & practice
• Hadith
• Based on Sunna:
custom of the
Prophet
• Hadith: customs in
written form
• Confirm, extends,
elaborates on the
Qur’an
Doctrines & Pillars of Islam
• 5 main doctrines of
Islam
• Faith in the unity of
God
• Angels as helpers of
god
• Belief in the
scriptures & the
prophets
• Final judgment
• Divine decree
(predestination)
• Five main pillars of
Islam
• Shahada (faith)
• “There is no god but
God. Muhammad is
the messenger of
God.”
• Prayer (salat), 5
times a day at set
times
• Almsgiving (zakat)
• Fasting (sawm)
during Ramadan
• Pilgrimage to Mecca
(Hajj)
The spread of Islam
• Muhammad’s
migration to Medina
(Hijra) 620 C.E.
• Return to Mecca, 620
C.E.; city converts to
Islam
• Muslim conquests 630s720s
• North of Arabia (presentday Syria, Iraq, etc)
• Egypt 640 C.E.
• North Africa 655 C.E.
• Spain 718 C.E.
The Great Mosque , Cordoba, Spain.
(Built 784-6 , 961-6 , 987-90 , and other
restorations). Photo: IslamiCity.
Expansion of Islam: Major Cities
Map: Thomson/Wadsworth
Current Distribution of the World’s Religions
Map: Thomson/Wadsworth
Major subtypes of Islam: Sunnism & Shi’ism
• Emerged in the late 7th
c. through political
divisions over
leadership of the
Muslim community
• Differences in belief:
• Shiite belief in the
Imamate: leadership of
the Muslim community
through familial
connection to the
Prophet
• About 85% of the
world’s Muslims are
Sunni
A young Shiite woman of Iraq worshipping at
the end of the Ashura holiday commemorating
the death of Hussein in 680 C.E.
Sufism
• Islamic mysticism:
emphasis on
spiritual
interpretations of
Islam
• Emphasis on God’s
love, piety,
simplicity,
informality, the
“inner way” (tariqa)
• Organized into Sufi
orders (tariqat)
Miniature painting of Rumi by Hossein Behzad
• “Dance, as though no one
is watching,
Love, as though you've
never been hurt before,
Sing, as though no one can
hear you,
Work, as though you don't
need the money,
Live, as though heaven is on
earth.”
~Jalal al-Din Rumi~
Other topics
• Sharia Law
• 4 Sunni “schools”of
Jurisprudence
• Jihad (Striving)
• The Status of Women
• Islam & Science
An astrolabe, developed
by Muslim scientists in the
7th century.
University Mosque at al-Azhar, established in 969 in Cairo
& one of the oldest universities in the world.