Religion Project Research Paper: Islam Islam is the second most popular religion around the world, with about 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. It is a monotheistic religion founded during the 7th century by a prophet named Mohammed. Islam originated in Mecca where Mohammed was born. Islam is among the three Abrahamic religions that worships the same God, with the other two being Judaism and Christianity. Although the religion is often misunderstood, it is very much complex and rich in history and culture. This paper will examine the tenets behind the Islamic religion, its people’s ways of life, its empires, and how it grew to become a religion worshipped by almost a quarter of the world population.
Islam is a relatively new religion
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Islam originated in Mecca(3 John Renard). Mohammed was born in Mecca(5 John Renard). He was the prophet to Islam(8 John Renard). Mohammed was born in Mecca and since he was the prophet he helped spread the religion in Mecca. Islam was very popular in Mecca(4 John Renard). It brought the different tribes and leaders together to worship one god. The different tribes believed in different gods so Islam brought them together to belive in one god. Mohammed was born in Mecca(5 John Renard). Mohammed was born in Mecca but raised by his uncle because his parents died when he was six. His uncle was a tribe leader so Mohammed stuck by him most of the time and learned from …show more content…
The Koran or Quran was a very sacred book to the Islamic people(38 John Renard). The Quran was a sacred text in the holy lands. The Quran contains teachings on everything one needs to know to be a faithful believer of Allah. So the Quran provides a solid base and general guidelines and the prophet would preach the specifics. The Hadith is a book with a record of the words and deeds Mohammed did( The Hadith, Matt Slick). The Hadith can be called the sunnah. The sunnah were transmitted by word or mouth down through the centuries having been memorised by Mohammeds companions and then later by subsequent Muslims. The Sunnah is a verbally transmitted record of the teachings of the teachings,deeds, and sayings of the Islamic prophet Mohammed. The Sunnah makes up two primary sources of Islamic theologe and law. The Shariah is a fundamental and comprehensive law. It is detailed system of religious law developed by Muslim scholars in the first three centries of Islam. There are many laws developed by Mohammed that focus on the Islamic
The town of Mecca was the birthplace of Islam, at first the leaders of the city refused the changing of this new religion and forced Muhammad to leave. Muhammad returned and preached to the people about what he had heard, that there is only one god. Islam spread quickly for two main reasons they are the message and military conquest.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, no one imagined that the next great world power would emerge from Saudi Arabia. Especially, because ancient empires thought that the land was worthless but they didn’t know that it had great trade routes. Trade brought them in connection with other civilizations and that’s how the city of Mecca, located in Saudi Arabia became known. The city of Mecca was a mix of religious beliefs, they used to worship many gods and had their own rituals. The world of Islam took place in Mecca where Muhammad was born in 570 CE. He became known as “the Prophet,” he was meant to be God’s final prophet. The main two groups of Islam are the Shia and Sunni; which they were created after Muhammad’s death. The Islam religion as
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
Throughout his life, the Muslim ummah, Arabic for “community” began, which was the basis for the Empire.
The spread of Islam would not have occurred without Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islamic religion, who succeeded to win support for his spiritual and political status within Arabia in the early seventh century. After receiving divine revelations from God Allah, Muhammad slowly acquired a small following and eventually some families had converted to Islam; however, not everyone was convinced by his messages. This was especially true of the pagan rulers of his Qurash tribe in Mecca. A series of conflicts between the Qurash and Muslims started in 630, when the Qurash broke an earlier peace treaty that had been established. This led Muhammed to move Mecca with his mens and take the city without any killing or wounding of people. He then destroyed the idols around the Kabah and devoted it to God again. Opposition and consequent persecution by Pagan rulers of Qurash tribe in Mecca caused the early Muslims to move to Yathrib, which appeared to be actually beneficial to them. By the time of Muhammad’s dealth in 632, as Karen Armstrong, a british author of numerous works on comparative religion explains, “almost all the ...
Muhammed was a man with a lot of spiritual insight, but he became depressed by the commercial greed and the excess of polytheism around him, he spent most of the time in seclusion and meditation. Muslims believe that while Muhammed was meditating in a cave, the archangel Gabriel appeared to him. The vision came to him first in 610 A.D. and thereafter at intervals over the next 22 years, revealing the word of Allah. Muhammed is believed to have been illiterate, for that reasons he dictated the visions to his companions who wrote them down. Then 30n years later the writings were compiled in the Koran. The Koran is the Muslims most holy book.
Islam, on the other hand, started in Mecca, where Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) was born. He was believed to be that last nabi (messenger) that Allah will give to the world. The religion was not well accepted in its city of origin though, due to the opposition the Prophet faced as a nascent community . Later, he was invited to Medina and Islam expanded from there.
Furthermore, Sharia is not only an arrangement of laws but also the proper way of life, and guidance of Allah. For example, in Sharia there are differences between the various schools of law as to the level of what a woman may wear and reveal in public. (Friedland) The Qur 'an is the key source of the Sharia, both the Qur 'an and Hadith push the thought of modesty in the way women of the Islamic faith dress when in public. In essence Sharia is simply endeavors by Muslims to make an arrangement of common society and administration with equity and
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today. The religion spread throughout the 7th century world like wildfire. Islam is one of the three major monotheistic religions that all started around the same time. The other two religions are Christianity and Judaism. All of these religions are categorized as Abrahamic religions.
According to the secular history, the begging or rise of Islam is greatly linked to the prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last in the line of prophets and not Jesus. They believe this because Muhammad was the chosen recipient and messenger for the word of God through the divine revelations. All those who choose to follow the Muslim religion constantly strive to live life as Muhammad did and to follow his example. In Islam the Qur'an is the most important holy text with the sayings of the prophets (Hadith) and the way of Muhammad's life (Sunna) also being very important. Islam can be traced back to the 7th century, therefore making it one of the more recent great world religions. The prophet Muhammad began to introduce Islam in 610 A.D. after experiencing the confrontation by the Angle
Understanding of Islam and origin of Islam are interrelated with each other. The history of Islam covers about the religion of Islam and his followers known as Muslims. The commencement of Islam was from Arab. The tribe of Quresh was in power to whom our beloved prophet Muhammad (PUBH) belonged. Muhammad (saw) belonged to the clan of Quresh who were the guardians of Makkah. Islam preceded when the revelation came to holy prophet (PBUH) by the angel Gabriel in 610. The rise of Islam was gradually increased specially in 628 when treaty of hudabiya was signed. It was the beginning of
Islam is a major world religion. Its origin can be traced back to 610 CE in Arabia. The basis of this religion is the revelations to the prophet Mohammad. Dissatisfied with his life, he traveled to deserts, hills, and the wilderness surrounding Mecca, where he lived, to meditate and reflect. He became a new man through his revelations, which many of his followers believe Allah transmitted to him through his angel Gabriel. Islam was originally an Arab religion, but many different beliefs and practices were added to it, making it extremely popular and aiding in its rapid spread. This new religion spread to many different areas surrounding Arabia, both under Mohammad and after his death. The Muslim Empire grew to encompass Spain and the Eastern Roman Empire as well Persia and Africa. Many different practices and methods were used to spread Islam. The religion itself was appealing to, in addition to the inhabitants of Arabia, other people in the surrounding areas because of its distinct religious beliefs and practices, such as the five pillars, as well as the humility and prayerfulness of the Islamic people. They fought cruel, vicious wars with their enemies. Many different things motivated the warriors to expand, but above all, the riches they would gain from the people of the Fertile Crescent encouraged them to expand.
Islam is a monotheistic religious tradition that developed in the Middle East in the 7th century C.E. Islam, which accurately means surrender or submission, was created on the educations of the Prophet Muhammad as an expression of surrender to the will of Allah, the creator and sustainer of the world. The Quran, the sacred text of Islam, covers the teachings of the Prophet that were exposed to him from Allah. Critical to Islam is the belief that Allah is the one and true God with no partner or equal. Islam grew almost immediately beyond its birthplace in the Arabian Peninsula, and now has important impact in Africa, throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
In Judaism, the holy book was known as the Torah. It is comprised of the five books in the bible. Human beings had an obligation to honor the holy text and serve God by practicing what was stated in the bible. However, in Christianity, the holy text is based on both the Old and New Testament. This bible consisted of teachings and life of Jesus. Lastly, for the Islam religion, their holy text was the Quran. The bible was inspired by God and gave many people inspiration and guidance in their lives. Thus, many people will apply what was stated in the bible to their lives to live righteously. All three religions required individuals to read their holy texts, pray, and stay faithful to
The beginning of Islam all started in Arabia around 570 C.E. when a prophet was born. This prophet was known as Muhammad, although it is said that he has multiple names, which was born in a city called Makkah, or Mecca. This man lived a normal life by getting married and having children. He would venture out into the desert every now and then to pray and fast. It was during one time in the desert within a cave that an archangel known as Gabriel approached him. It is at this time that Gabriel gave Muhammad the first verses of the revelation. This would continue on for years up until Muhammad’s death. All of the verses that he was provided would eventually end up into the sacred text known as the Qur’an, or Koran. During Muhammad’s time of receiving the messages from God, his tribe wanted him dead as they did not want to change their way of living. Before his own tribe killed him, he was invited to travel to a city known as Yathrib to be their ruler, which this city would later be called Madinah. Muhammad and his followers set out for this particular city around June 622, which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.