Islam One of the 3 Great Monotheistic Religions of the World o Great Holy Book of Islam is the Quran o Abraham is the first Muslim Abrahamic Faith o Islam means Submission or Submission to God o Believers in this faith are called Muslim o Muslim means submits to the will of God All 3 faiths believe in 1 God trace their origins back to Abraham but believe their path is the true word of God o Muslim God is Allah Arabic word for God Muhammad is the Prophet of Islam and is born around the Year of 570 AD in Arabia o Arabia around 570 AD was a third world country o Arabs were in small nomadic groups wandering to Oasis to Oasis No central government in Arabia o Series of nomadic tribal groups These groups wandered from oasis to oasis Not developed or united Each group usually were in conflict with another one o There was no economic political or religious unity From Arabia to Africa existed the trans Saharan trade route o Goods that were traded included Salt Gold Rubber Slaves Arabia was located in the center of two of the greatest ancient world trade routes o The Silk Road o The Trans Saharan trade route o Camels were very important for the trade caravan they can carry large amounts of goods and don t need lots of water making them the perfect tool for desert trade Cities were lined on these roads o One of these cities was the city of Mecca Was a very rich important and influential city In Mecca was located the Ka ba The Ka ba is one of the most important religious shrines in ALL of Arabia gave Mecca a very important status This was a place of peace a place of meetings etc Arabs would make a pilgrimage regularly to this shrine This shrine brought many tourists to Mecca so brought a lot of wealth to Mecca Mohammed was orphaned at a young age o An uncle took him in raised him in the Mecca o Mohammed became a merchant Met other religious groups such as Christians and Jews o Mohammed married Khadija Khadija was a very wealthy widow took over the business o Mohammed was always considering the bigger questions of life Human suffering True place in the universe o At about age of 40 610 AD Mohammed wandered off on a religious retreat to Mt Hira While meditating he is approached by the angel Gabriel this is the first revelation Mohammed the Prophet received All these revelations are written in the holy book Quran o Mohammed tells his wife to Khadija Mohammed then starts preaching in Mecca about believing in only one god He preached about charity and other things Not very successful in Mecca o Mohammed converted Khadija and his his adopted nephew Ali Also converted a very important figure Abu Bakr who was a prominent figure in Mecca o Mohammed took a journey Hijra to Medina The year 622 AD becomes year 1 in the Islamic calander A H means in the year of Hijra o Mohammed establishes a very large community of followers in Medina the Umma He turns his attention back to Mecca to try again Mohammed and his believers found themselves in war with the people of Mecca A famous battle is the Battle of Badr that Mohammed won Another battle where Mohammed is the battle of Uhud Battle of the Ditch where Mohammed won o Mohammed established himself as the preeminent figure in Arabia He forged alliances and united them o Ali and Mohammed remove all idols to the false gods from the Ka ba He removed all but one idol which was god o The Exordium Qur an sura 1 chapter 1 of the Qur an In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the Worlds The Beneficent the Merciful Master of the Day of Judgment Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help Keep us on the right path The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors Not the path of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down nor of those who go astray o 5 Pillars of the Faith Prophet Shahada There is no God but God and Muhammad is his Salat Pray 5 times a day and communal worship on Friday Zakat Charity Sawm Fasting most importantly during Ramadan Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca o Muslims see Muhammad as the last of the prophets All previous prophets misunderstood the message of God Muslims however respected Jews and Christians as People of the Book They were distinguished as monotheistic versus polytheistic o If you fought in the name of Islam Jihad if you are the victor you are rewarded with the spoils of war If you die you still get to go the heaven for fighting in the name of Islam Therefore this was a win win situation which made Muslims very zealous in battle Abu Bakr Riddah Ali o One of the leading Figures of Islam o Muhammad s father in law o A time period where the tribes that had alliances with the Prophet decided that since the Prophet was dead the alliance is dead Abu Bakr kept this alliance alive continued Muhammad s work Let a series of wars led an assault on Syria o Great friend of the Prophet o Renaissance Man o When the 1st 2nd and 3rd Caliph was chosen Ali was not picked This raises questions about Ali o The Investiture of Ali ad Ghadir Khumm the story goes that Muhammad is the successor or the Prophet o 656 AD the Iranian Caliph was murdered Mu swiyah o Battle of power between Mu swiyah and Ali o Hunted the killers of the 3rd Caliph o Rumors said Ali was the murderer Aisha o Wife of the prophet At negotiations Ali is killed by his followers Mu awiyah is the founder of the Umayyad Dynasty First great dynasty of Islam o This dynasty lasted from 661 750 o Followers of Ali were called the Ali ids o The Ali ids were led by one of the Prophet s Sons o They were all killed in a battle however the Ali ids do not disappear The Ali ids became known as the Shi ites the Sunni s are the other groups Ali married the prophet s daughter Fatima o This raised the question that they are the true heirs of Islam o Shi ites and Sunnis understand the Quar an differently The Imam position surfaced o The Imam had secret knowledge about Islam Muslims didn t force Christians to convert to Islam Muslims imposed a tax on Christians in Egypt This tax was much lower than the tax imposed on them by the emperor of Constantinople This made a lot of Christians in Egypt convert to Islam o The Umayyad ruled this large empire successfully The Umayyads are the first successful dynasty of Islam Conquered a large amount of territory stretching from the Indus River to Spain By about 570 AD the Umayyads were accused of being not very …