Islam, Muslims and Their Beliefs

Islam, Muslims and Their Beliefs

Islam, Muslims and Their Beliefs

I. History of Islam/Muslims

Islam originated in the Middle East more than 1,300 years ago and now has about a billion adherents worldwide, making the religion second only to Christianity in total membership. After its founding in the seventh century C.E., the faith quickly spread throughout Africa, where it won many converts (Ahmad, 10).

A. History of Ibrahim, Hagar, Ismail

Abraham or Ibrahim, called the 'Friend of God', is the most significant and, with Moses, the most often mentioned of the former prophets in the Qur'an (Al-Faruqi, pg 50). He is regarded as the rebuilder of the Ka'ba in Mecca (Haramain), after its decimation by the inundate, and as the propagator of the initial untainted monotheism, the 'religion of Abraham', later refurbished and finalised by the Prophet Muhammad. Ismail is his second son, born to his wife Hager (www.articles.cnn).



B. History of Prophet Mohammad and the revelation of the Quran

The Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 C.E. in the city of Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula now known as Saudi Arabia. The Prophet Muhammad's parents died when he was very young, and he was raised by his uncle Abu Talib (www.bton.com).

In the year 611 C.E., on the 27th day of the month of Ramadan, Muhammad had retreated to the cave of Hira just outside Mecca as he customarily did in order to pray, meditate, and reflect on questions of great importance to him, such as the purpose of life and the struggle between good and evil (Ali, pg.88). On this particular day, however, while he was in deep thought, the Prophet Muhammad heard a powerful voice call him. When he asked who was calling him the voice commanded him to “read.” Muhammad replied that he could not read (Armstrong, 52). Muhammad was then squeezed in the grip of a very strong hug for a moment and the voice commanded him a second time to read, to which Muhammad replied again that he could not read. Muhammad was squeezed once again, and a third time was commanded to read (Atiya, pg.14).

C. The caliphs - Sunni/S'hia

The word caliph , from khalifa in Arabic, means representative or steward (Ayoub, pg.63). In the Qur'an the word is applied to Adam and to humankind in general, to refer to our responsibility and dominion over the earth and all God's creations. In the early days of Islam, the men who took up leadership responsibility following Muhammad's death were known as caliphs. The first four stand apart from those who followed and are collectively referred to by Sunni Muslims as “al-khulafa' ar-rashidun” or the “rightly guided” caliphs (http://bton.com/sidebar/proverbs/a.html). They were among Muhammad's closest companions and so learned from him firsthand. However, unlike the Prophet, the caliphs did not receive divine revelation. Nevertheless, they were respected for their spiritual knowledge, though they did not have absolute authority in religious matters. Known as the shia tu Ali, quite literally the party of Ali, these ...