Muhammad and The Foundation of Islam

Muhammad and The Foundation of Islam

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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 ri...

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...cal 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).