Islam

Islam

 

  1.   The History of Islam

 

  1. The man, Muhammad
  2. Born in Mecca around 570 a.d.
  3. His father died before he was born
  4. His mother died when he was six
  5. He was raised by his grandfather and later by his uncle.
  6. At about 25, he married a wealthy 40-year-old widow, Khadijah
  7. There is evidence that in his early life Muhammad suffered from epileptic seizures
  8. Muhammad became disillusioned with the polytheism of the time in his native Arabia.
  9. He embraced the idea of a transcendent and true God found in Christianity and Judaism.
  10. Muhammad was an illiterate but highly religious man; retreating to caves to fast and pray was a common practice for him.
  11. “That he was in the main simple in his tastes and kindly in his disposition there can be no doubt; he was generous, resolute, genial and astute; a shrewd judge and a born leader. He could, however, be cruel and vindictive to his enemies; he could stoop to assassination; and he was undeniably sensual.” (Sir Norman Anderson, ed., The World’s Religions, Grand Rapids, MI:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1976, p. 60)

 

  1. Muhammad’s Call
  2. At the age of 40, Muhammad had his first visions (a collection of which makes up the Qur’an.
  3. Muhammad could not decide if these visions were from God or from another source; his wife convinced him they were of God and became his first convert.
  4. “It seems, however, that Muhammad himself was at first doubtful of the source of these revelations, fearing that he was possessed by one of the Jinn, or sprites, as was commonly believed to be the case with Arab poets and soothsayers. But Khadijah and others reassured him, and he soon began to propound divine revelations with increasing frequency (ibid., p. 55)
  5. Muhammad received these visions from about 610 until his sudden death in 632 a.d.

 

  1. The Hijira (the “flight”)
  2. Muhammad’s revelation were not well accepted in Mecca.
  3. He and his followers withdrew to the city of Yathrib (modern Medina, which means “City of the Prophet”).
  4. The Hijira signifies the turning point of Islam.
  5. All Islamic calendars date from the Hijira, July 16, 622.
  6. In Medina, Muhammad was very sympathetic to Christianity and Judaism, but they rejected him and his teachings.
  7. Because of this rejection, Muhammad decided against Jerusalem as the center of the Muslim faith and turned rather to Mecca where the famous black stone was enshrined in the Ka’aba.
  8. Muhammad denounced all the idols which surrounded the Ka’aba and declared it the shrine of the one true God.
  9. Upon his return to Mecca, Muhammad cleansed the Ka’aba of the idols, even scraping the paintings of Abraham and the angels from its walls.
  10. For the rest of his life, and from Mecca, Muhammad zealously and militantly propagated Islam.
  11. The new faith quickly spread throughout the area.

 

  1. After Muhammad’s death
  2. The sect of the Sunnis
  3. The Sunnis believe that all authority in Islam is to come from the Qur’an, then from lower writings if the Qur’an has no direct statement.
  4. The Sunnis make up about 80% of modern Muslims.
  5. The Shi’ites
  6. The Shi’ites believe the leader of the Muslims should be a direct descendant of Muhammad himself through Ali’ the fourth Caliph.
  7. The Iranian government was taken over by Shi’ites by overthrowing the Shaw.
  8. The Sufis
  9. Because Muhammad was a devout and holy man
  10. And because Muhammad was a mystic, seeing visions and receiving revelations,
  11. And because Islam has no priesthood or holy order,
  12. A movement arose within Islam looking for a more devout and priestly life, a more mystical life.
  13. These became known as the Sufis, the Muslim mystics.
  14. The Baha’i Faith has its roots also in Islam.

 

  1. Contemporary Islam.

 

  1. With the rise of Israel as a world power, Islam has risen as well, seeing Israel and Judaism as threats to their way of life.

 

  1. Arab nationalism is coupled with the Islamic faith has served as a reason to fight Israel for many in the Arab world.

 

III.  The Teachings of Islam

 

  1. The teachings of Islam are in two major areas, faith and duty or practice.
  2. Muslim theology tells a man what he should believe
  3. Muslim theology comes from the Qur’an
  4. Muslim law tells a man what he should do
  5. Muslim law (Shari’a) covers every detail in human life from the prohibition of crime to the use of a toothpick., from the organization of the State to marital intimacies

 

  1. The Origin of the Qur’an
  2. The Qur’an is a collections of visions, ecstatic seizures, into which Muhammad would fall and speak of the visions.
  3. Soon after his death, these visions were written down and assembled into the Qur’an

 

  1. The Five Articles of Faith
  2. God
  3. There is only one true God and his name is Allah. Allah is all-knowing, all-powerful, and the sovereign judge.  Yet Allah is not a personal God, for he is so far above man in every way that he is not personally knowable.
  4. “The emphasis of the God of Islam is on judgment, not grace; on power, not mercy. He is the source of both good and evil and his will is supreme.”  (Handbook of World Religions, p. 389.
  5. Angels
  6. It was the angel Gabriel who appeared to Muhammad delivering the visions which became the Qur’an. Jinn are creatures which fall somewhere between angels and men.  They can be good or evil.
  7. Scripture
  8. There are four books recognized as inspired

1) The Torah

2)  The Psalms of David

3)  The Gospel of Jesus Christ

4)  The Qur’an

  1. Muslims believe the first three books have been corrupted by Jews and Christians.
  2. The Muslims also believe that since the Qur’an is God’s most recent revelation, it supersedes all other works.
  3. Prophets
  4. Allah has spoken through numerous prophets through the ages.
  5.   The six most important prophets are the following:

1)  Adam

2)  Noah

3)  Abraham

4)  Moses

5)  Jesus

6)  Muhammad — the last and greatest of Allah’s messengers

  1. Last Days
  2. In the last days, those who follow Allah and his messenger, Muhammad, will go to Islamic heaven.
  3. Those who don’t will be tormented in hell.

 

  1. The Five Pillars of Faith

 

  1. The Creed (Kalima)
  2. “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet”
  3. This must be said in order to become a Muslim and is repeated often by the faithful.
  4. Prayer
  5. Ritual prayer
  6. Five times per day

1)  Upon rising in the morning

2)  At noon

3)  In mid-afternoon

4)  After sunset

5)  Before retiring

  1. The worshipper must recite the prescribed prayers
  2. He must face the Ka’aba in Mecca.
  3. Almsgiving
  4. Muhammad was an orphan and wanted to help the needy
  5. All Muslims are legally required to give one-fortieth of their income to those who are destitute.
  6. Since those who receive the alms are helping the almsgiver to salvation, they feel no sense of debt to the giver. On the contrary, the giver should be grateful he has someone to give to.
  7. Fasting (Ramadan)
  8. Faithful Muslims fast during daylight hours during this month.
  9. Fasting develops self-control, devotion to God, and identity with the destitute.
  10. No food, drink, smoking, or sexual pleasures may be enjoyed during the daylight hours.
  11. The Pilgrimage (Hajj)
  12. The Hajj is expected of Muslims at least once in their lifetimes.
  13. It is difficult; the old or infirm may send someone in their places.
  14. “When the pilgrim is about six miles from the holy city, he enters upon the State of ihram; he casts off, after prayers, his ordinary clothes and puts on two seamless garments; he walks almost barefooted and neither shaves, cuts his hair nor cuts his nails. The principle activity consists of a visit to the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram), the kissing of the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad); seven circumambulations of the Ka’aba three times running and four times slowly; the visit to the sacred stone called Maqam Ibrahim; the ascent of and running between Mt. Safa and Mt. Marwa seven times; the visit to Mt. Arafat; the hearing of a sermon there and spending the night at Muzdalifa; the throwing of stones at the three pillars at Mina and offering sacrifice on the last day of Ihram, which is the ‘id of sacrifice (‘Id al-Adha)”  (Encyclopedia Britannica, p. 664)

 

 

 

  1. Islam and Christianity

 

  1. Islam denies the existence of the Trinity

 

  1. Allah is divorced from his creation, cannot even be associated with it.

 

  1. Allah is impersonal toward his creatures.

 

  1. Allah is not immutable.  He can change his mind, be both good and evil.

 

  1. Allah does not have the attributes of love, holiness, and grace.

 

  1. Islam teaches the Bible was originally accurate but corrupted by the Jews and Christians

 

  1. Islam teaches that Christ was not God, but merely a prophet.

 

  1. Islam teaches Christ was not without sin

 

  1. Muslims do not believe Jesus died on the cross

 

  1. Most Muslims believe it was Judas who was crucified
  2. Others believe Jesus was crucified but didn’t die

 

  1. Muslims believe God has no son.