World Religions, Sixth EditionWarren Matthews

Chapter Ten:

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Arabic Background

Arabic society is based on clan and tribe

There is no constitution or police protection, only the tribe

Loyalty runs both ways

Bedouin tribes travel all the time

City tribes participate in commerce, putting together caravans for

distant trading

Arabic Background

The city of Mecca has always been a religious and commercial

center

The Ka´bah was a religious center

Originally had 360 idols installed

Housed the Black Stone, a symbol of divine power

Commercial caravans across Arabia were commonly organized in

Mecca

The Grand Mosque, Mecca, Site of the Holy Ka´bah

Life of Muhammad

Born in 570 CE in the city of Yathrib

Born after his father's death

Sent for six years to live and grow as a bedouin boy

Orphaned when his mother died on a trip to Yathrib

Raised by his grandfather and then his uncle

Life of Muhammad

Led caravans for Khadijah, a wealthy widow and trader

Muhammad married Khadijah at age twenty-five

The two were married for twenty-five years before she died

Had at least two sons

Had four daughters – Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm-Khulthum,

and Fatima

Married several other wives later in life

All his children except Fatima died before he did

Life of Muhammad

In 610 CE, Muhammad was meditating in a cave on Mt. Hira

Received message from the angel Gabriel

Was terrified by the experience

Looked for reassurance to a one-god believer

Assured him that this was typical of a message from God

Accepted by wife Khadijah

She encouraged him to proclaim his message

Early converts were members of his family and persons of no

status

Life of Muhammad

Leaders in Mecca were unreceptive

Especially the Quraysh tribe, the guardians of the Ka´bah

Opposition included derision and economic boycott

Eventually there were assassination attempts

In 620 CE, relatives in Yathrib asked him to arbitrate conflicts

He accepted but required them to become Muslims

Yathrib became the setting of the Muslims as a community

Following an assassination attempt, he left Mecca to locate in

Yathrib (which therefore became know as “Medina”)

Life of Muhammad

Living in Medina

Muhammad formed the ummah (the community of Muslims)

Continued to receive revelations of parts of the Qur´an

Continued to deal with opposition

Consolidated rule in Medina

Conducted an on-again, off-again war with Mecca

Dealt with the other tribes in Arabia

Sometimes diplomatically

Sometimes militarily

Life of Muhammad

In 630 CE, Muslims reached a victory at Mecca

Meccans negotiated a surrender

Ka´bah remained

Idols were destroyed

Pilgrimage to Mecca remained

Continued expansion of Muslims militarily

Defeated by the Byzantine empire

Muhammad made his farewell pilgrimage to Mecca in 632 CE,

delivered a final sermon, and died there

The Ascent of Muhammad to Heaven on Buraq, Guided by Gabriel

Five Pillars of Islam

Shahada – a sincere declaration of faith in the oneness and

uniqueness of God, and in Muhammad’s role as messenger of God

Salat – prayer in a prescribed manner at five designated times daily

Zakat – payment of a portion of one’s income for the support of

disadvantaged Muslims

Sawm – fasting during the daylight hours of the month of Ramadan

Hajj – travel, if one is physically and financially able, at least once in

one’s lifetime to the city of Mecca during the month of pilgrimage

Muslims Praying in Malaysia

Islam After Muhammad

The Qur´an is the Word of God

It is the very mind of God, which cannot make mistakes nor change

It cannot be translated, since God cannot change

The Sura (chapters) of the Qur´an are organized by length (not

sequence)

Many parts of the Qur´an are considered excellent Arabic poetry,

although the longer ones less so

Some find contradictions in the Qur´an

Eighteenth-Century Qur´an created for the Sultan of Morocco

Islam After Muhammad

The Sunna are collections of reports, or “hadiths,” of the words and

actions of Muhammad

These do not hold the same weight as the words of God

However, they uphold Muhammad as a model

He best understood God’s will for a person’s speech and

behavior

He acted accordingly

Islam After Muhammad

Caliph (successor)

Muhammad did not name a successor

Community was split three ways

Community chooses best replacement

Family member of Muhammad

Best among companions

Companions chose Abu Bakr

Father-in-law to Muhammad

Military leader

Islam After Muhammad

Caliph (successor)

Eventually Islam split over whether to follow the designated caliph

or a member of Muhammad's family (Ali)

Ali and his son were murdered by the caliph's followers

Ali's followers left the others and became the Shi´a Muslims

Followers of a spiritual leader called an “imam”

The others, who followed the caliph, became know as Sunni

Islam After Muhammad

Expansion under the Caliphs

Raids into Byzantium resulted in conquest of the Middle East

Egypt and North Africa were conquered

Persia fell

European advance was checked at Tours in 732 CE

Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians were tolerated

The experiences in governing large areas provoked much thought

and development in Islamic thinking

Muslim Expansion from Arabia into Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Asia

Islam After Muhammad

Shari´a Muslim law developed from:

Ijma – consensus of Muslim religious specialists

Qiyas – drawing analogies from examples in the Qur´an and

Sunna to new situations not explicitly mentioned in those texts

Ra´y – personal judgment of the arbitrator

Islam After Muhammad

Schools of Sunni Shari´a

HanafiHanafi

MalikiMaliki

ShafiShafi´ii

HanbaliHanbali

Comparison of Shi´ites and Sunnis

Shi´ites, a minority (10-15 percent), regard themselves as pious,

true descendents of Muhammad’s family, guardians of revelations

Beliefs include celebration of history of persecution and martyrdom

with accompanying rituals of self-flagellation

Sunnis reject Shi´ite claims and argue that the caliph need not be a

blood relative of Muhammad

Rather, for Sunnis, election is a legitimate form for succession

Comparison of Shi´ites and Sunnis

For Shi´ites, leadership is matter of majority rule

They reject Sunni claims for the “hidden imam” who will appear as

the Mahdi

Shi´ites believe that the Mahdi rules through their imams whereas

Sunni caliphs are limited to things such as leading services in the

mosque

Although they initially divided over questions of proper succession,

additional differences developed over time

Muslim Spiritual Experiences

Sufis are Muslim mystics whose goal was experiencing union with

God

Al-Ghazali, a highly respected scholar, became interested in

mysticism and left teaching to pursue this life

Taught that to submit to God and his revelation was highest

practice

Brought respect to Sufism

Overcame tension with the orthodox community

Muslim Spiritual Experiences

The experience of God is sought by sincere Muslims, though it is

second to submission

Asceticism, though not a rule, was admired

Theology in forms of speculation on nature of God, apologetics, and

explanation of devotional life of mystics

Dancing Dervishes Whirling into a State of Ecstasy

Muslims and Other Religions

Conquered persons that were “peoples of the Book” (Jews and

Christians) were not required to convert to Islam

Instead they paid taxes to retain their faiths

They also remained, at best, second-class citizens

All others were given the choice of conversion or death

Muslims and Other Religions

European Crusades

Response to stories of the harsh treatment of pilgrims visiting the

Holy Lands

Answer to appeals for help by the Byzantine Empire

Temporary successes

Established a Latin Kingdom in Palestine for a short time

Marked by massacres and mistreatment by both sides

Muslim influence on Architecture at the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain

Muslim Responses to Modernism

Muhammad Ibn ´Abd al-Wahhab argued for an outright rejection of

modernism, espousing a purist, fundamentalist vision of Islam

Wahhabism has struck a responsive chord in Saudi Arabia and parts

of Africa, India, and Indonesia

Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (1838-1897) was one leader for Muslims in

the fight against the colonialism of Muslim territories by European

powers

Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) in Egypt and Sayyid Ahmad Khan

(1817-1898) in India held that Islam was entirely compatible with

rationalism and science

The Taj Mahal, the Muslim Mausoleum in Agra, India

Islam in the U.S.

Muslims of the Midwest are frequently descendants of Syrian and

Lebanese Muslims who immigrated to the United States around the

turn of the twentieth century

Muslims on the East Coast are frequently recent immigrants from

more conservative Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and

Saudi Arabia

Islam in the U.S.

Black Muslims in the U.S. share the innovative interpretations of

Islam offered by early advocates of Black Islam, such as:

Noble Drew Ali (1886-1929)

Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975)

Malcolm X (1925-1965)

Two major Black Muslim organizations in the U.S. today:

American Muslim Mission, an organization recognized for its

orthodoxy by many immigrant Muslims in the United States

Nation of Islam, holds innovative interpretations of Islam offered

by early Black Islam advocates, led by Louis Farrakhan

Islam Worldview

Oneness and uniqueness of God upheld as a central conviction

Emphasis placed on submission of one’s will to the will of God

Annual communal celebrations

Id al-Fitr, marking the end of the fast of Ramadan

Muhammad’s birthday

Judgment occurs after death, determines fate in paradise or hell

The World

God created a good world

Rejected tendency towards pantheism of earlier leaders

Islam Worldview

Humans are created to enjoy God’s creation

All things are good in proper perspective

Women are men’s helpers, though they have some privileges

Sin is refusal to submit to God

Salvation is acknowledging God and his prophet Muhammad

Ethics are encouraged through practice of the Five Pillars of Islam,

which strengthen success in living

Afterlife is dependent on earthly deeds and God’s judgment