Islam
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La ilaha illa Allah wa Muhammadan rasul Allah.
There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger. |
Islam, the youngest of the great religious traditions, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century A.D, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muhammad was born in 570 A.D. in Mecca and died in 632 in Medina. Arabia of Muhammad's youth was a polytheistic environment with gods and goddesses which he grew to oppose. Muhammad, as a merchant, travelled widely and was familiar with Christians and Jews. The religion revealed to Muhammad was a monotheistic religion with one God, Allah. Muhammad married his employer, the wealthy Khadijah, who was 15 years older than Muhammd. She bore him five children prior to the advent of Islam and she became his first female convert. She remained his only wife until her death.
Muhammad had both followers and enemies in Mecca. In 622 A.D. Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina. This is known as the date of the Hijra (migration) and the Islamic calendar begins from this date. Eventually, Muhammad returned to overtake Mecca as a Muslim city and Islam was expanded throughout Arabia.
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oasis in Arabia |
After Muhammad's death there was some dispute about the rightful heir to the Caliphate. The Shia sect believes that 'Ali (Muhammad's cousin and husband of Muhammad's daughter Fatimah) and his descendants were the rightful heirs. The Sunni did not follow this belief, but instead held that other Companions of the Prophet should be elected to this position. The first four Caliphs (Rashidun Khalifat), or religious leaders following Muhammad were: 1-Abu Bakr, 2-Umar ibn al-Khattab, 3-Uthman ibn Affan, and 4-Ali ibn Abi Talib. |
Map of the Middle East in the 6th Century A.D.
Saudi Arabia today
Pre-Islamic Arabian culture:
Basic background:
Muhammad: Islam after Muhammad:
Sunni Islam:
Shi'ah Islam (Twelvers):
Ismaili Islam (Seveners):
Wahhabi Islam:
Alawi Islam:
Sufism or Tasawwuf:
al-Qur'an
The Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad little by little. Eventually the verses he had received were gathered and organized into the Qur'an.
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"In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.Show us the straight way, The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray." |
The Five Pillars of Islam
Shahadatan: Declaration of Faith in God and Muhammad as his prophet;
Salat: Five daily prayers;
Zakat: Almsgiving to the needy;
Sawm: Self-purification through fasting from dawn til dusk during the month of Ramadan;
Hajj: The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able.
Adhan: Call to Prayer
Allahu Akbar
Allah is Great
(said four times)
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God (Allah).
(said two times)
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
(said two times)
Hayya 'ala-s-Salah
Hurry to the prayer (Rise up for prayer)
(said two times)
Hayya 'ala-l-Falah
Hurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)
(said two times)
Allahu Akbar
Allah is Great
[said two times]
La ilaha illa Allah
There is no god except the One God (Allah)
For the pre-dawn (fajr) prayer, the following phrase is inserted after the fifth part above, towards the end:
As-salatu Khayrun Minan-nawm
Prayer is better than sleep
(said two times)
Call to prayer (adhan) by a Mu'adhan
The first Muezzin in Medina, Bilal, was Abyssinian |
Adhan Audio:
Muslims in prayer in Damascus |
Arabic Calligraphy
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Use of elaborate Arabic calligraphy replaces images of humans and animals in Islam.
These three images are all of the Bismillah |
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The Ka'abah at the Mosque in Mecca, site of the Hajj
Islamic Architecture of Mosques
Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo |
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Muqarnas in mosque in Isfahan
Blue Mosque in Istanbul |
Madrasah-i Shah, Isfahan, Iran
Lotfallah Mosque, Isfahan |
Bibi Khanum mosque, Samarkand, Uzbekistan |
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Inside the Dome of the Rock, al-Sakhra
The bare rock is seen in the middle of the room. |
Muslims originally faced Jerusalem to pray, later the Qiblah or direction of prayer was changed to face Mecca.The dome commemorates the spot where Muhammad and the Angel Gabriel once stood. Muhammad made the night journey (al-Miraj) to Jerusalem on a legendary white winged-beast, part donkey, part mule (al-Buraq).
The Dome of the Rock, al-Sakhra or Haram al-Sharif
Muhammad's Night Journey to Jerusalem:
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Reading
Read chapters 20 and 21 prior to the next class
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