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Muhammad and The Foundation of Islam

Muhammad and The Foundation of Islam Muhammad and The Foundation of Islam Thesis: The goal of Islam is to create, improve, and prepare within man the proper attitudes and qualities of Islam. A. Islam is a universal religion of monotheism. B. Islam is an Arabic word meaning submission, surrender, and obedience. A. The preachings and teachings of Muhammad frightened and angered the B. Muhammad accepted work from Khadija and had led a few caravans for her. A. The Quran or Koran is the sacred text of Islam. B. It is composed of some 300 pages which are divided into 114 Surahs A. It is the most sacred shrine of Islam. B. Before the Prophet and his doctrine, the Kaaba was used for the practice of A. Women do have quite a significant role in the religion of Islam. B. A woman is regarded as little more than a possession, first of her father and her family, and subsequently, of her husband and his family. A. Marriages are usually arranged by the families. B. The preferred marriage is between two Muslims Muhammad and The Foundation of Islam As a religion, Islam is based on the teachings of Muhammad, embodying a sound belief in one God (Allah). Islam is an Arabic word meaning submission, surrender, and obedience (Maududi, 1). It also stands for peace. Its followers are known as Muslims or Moslems. Islam emerged in Arabia, specifically in the city of Mecca, in the seventh century C.E. (Matthews, 386). With the evolution of Islam in Mecca, Mecca is known as the center of Islam. Islam is the youngest of the major world religions with the exception of Sikhism, which is a derivative of Hindu and Muslim beliefs that appeared in India. Islam is a universal religion of monotheism. The goal of Islam is to create, improve, and prepare within man the proper attitudes and qualities of Islam Muhammad was born in 570 C.E. to Abdullah and Aminah. Muhammad began preaching in Mecca around 610 C.E. He made slow progress in the beginning. Many of the more powerful and wealthy citizens scorned Muhammad and his preachings. The preachings and teachings of Muhammad frightened and angered the Meccans. Some of the Meccans plotted to kill Muhammad, but their assassination attempt failed. After the assassination attempt, Muhammad fled to the city Yathrib, now known as Medina in 622 C.E. Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca and occupied the city in 630 C.E. Because of Muhammad’s beliefs in one god, he and his followers destroyed all the idols in the shrine and turned the area around it into a Muslim temple of worship. With all of these major changes, the Meccans finally acknowledged Muhammad as the final prophet and accepted the religion of Islam. At the age of 25, Muhammad married Khadija, a rich Kurai*censored*e widow, and prospered as a trader between Damascus, Busra, Mecca and Yemen (N.I. Matar, 13). Khadija was fifteen years older than Muhammad. Muhammad accepted work from Khadija and had led a few caravans for her. Credit should be given to Khadija for Muhammad’s success with Islam because it was her wealth that enabled him to spend a significant amount of time in religious meditation and isolation. Even though she was some years older than her twenty-five-year-old employee and had been married twice, she asked him to marry her (Phipps, 35). The Quran or Koran is the sacred text of Islam, believed to contain the revelations made by Allah to Muhammad. All Muslims study the Quran. The Quran is the final evidence of the Divine origin of the Prophet’s mission (Phipps, 9). The holy Quran is a collection of the divinely inspired utterances and discourses (Ahmed, 16). It is composed of some 300 pages which are divided into 114 Surahs (chapters). The general tone of the holy Quran is sombre and meditative. It is a dialogue between God and humanity. At the core is a moral earnestness (Ahmed, 16). The Quran also teaches that humanity is created by God and therefore God understands its weaknesses and in Allah humans find the source of peace. Islam’s appeal lay – and – lies in the simplicity: one God, one Book, one Prophet (Ahmed, 17). Islam is a religion of balance, equilibrium, and compassion. The Islamic virtues are courage, generosity, cleanliness, and piety: and in his life the Prophet exemplifies them (Ahmed, 17). The Kaaba or Caaba is the most sacred shrine of Islam. It’s a small, cubeshaped building with a flat, roof near the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca. The Kaaba is also known for its famous Black Stone, enclosed in a silver ring that rests in the eastern corner of the Kaaba. Before the Prophet and his doctrine, the Kaaba was used for the practice of polytheism. There were, for example, according to the Muslims, 360 idols in the Kaaba, a shrine revered by the pagan Arabs because of the Black Meteorite stone in one of the walls (Nazir-Ali, 26). Its veneration was retained in Islam after it was purified of idolatry (Nazir-Ali, 26). The Kaaba is the chief goal of the annual pilgrimage of Muslims. Muslims everywhere are taught to turn their faces toward the Kaaba when in prayer. According to the tradition of Muslims, the Kaaba was originally built by Abraham and Ishmael and the Black Stone was given to Abraham by the angel Gabriel. Pilgrims run and walk around it seven times, praying and reciting verses form the Koran. They touch or kiss the stone to end the ceremony. Muslims claim that the Kaaba was God’s house originally built by Adam, repaired by Abraham and restored by Muhammad (Nazir-Ali, 27). Inside of the Kaaba, there is nothing. It is an empty space. The size, shape, color, and geographic location aid in purifying the mind for complete meditation and concentration on Allah. Kaaba is only a cornerstone, a sign to show the road (Shariati, 22). Women do have quite a significant role in the religion of Islam. The female and male characters are particularly important to demonstrate certain ideas about guidance (Wadud, 32). Women’s religious and moral duties vary according to social and marital status. Even an unmarried woman or one whose husband is not mentioned is linked with some male (Wadud, 33). A woman is regarded as little more than a possession, first of her father and her family, and subsequently, of her husband and his family (Esposito, 96). The status of woman and the family in the Muslim family law was the product of Arab culture, Quranic reforms, and foreign ideas and values assimilated from conquered peoples (Esposito, 96). Marriage in Islam is strongly recommended on religious, moral, social, psychological and physiological grounds (Abdul-Ruaf, 13). Marriage is regarded as the norm, a safeguard on chastity, and essential to the growth and stability of the family, which is the basic unit of society. Being regarded as a sacred covenant, marriage legalizes intercourse and the procreation of children. This ceremony also symbolizes two families coming together. Marriages are usually arranged by the families. They identify a worthy partner and finalize the marriage contract. The official marriage ceremony is quite simple. It consists of an offer (usually by the male’s family) and an acceptance by the parties at a meeting before at least two witnesses. A celebration follows shortly after. The preferred marriage is between two Muslims. However, while a Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman, Muslim women are prohibited from marrying a non-Muslim (Esposito, 97). Bibliography:

Word Count: 1269