World History I: Chapter 6 Section 1: The Rise of Islam

Life Events

• Muhammad was born in 570 in Makkah (Mecca) to a merchant family.

The earliest full accounts of Muhammad’s life do not appear until well into the eighth century, over a century after the death of the alleged Prophet. The most important of these is Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat rasul Allah.

Early sources--Both al-Tabari and Ibn Ishaq--rely heavily on hadith, traditional sayings and actions attributed to the Prophet and largely passed down via oral transmission. Hadith were often distorted for partisan purposes, and the accuracy of oral tradition can legitimately be questioned.

The pagan Ka'bah was an unpretentious cube-like building of primitive simplicity, originally roofless, serving as a shelter for a black meteorite which was venerated. At the birth of Islam the structure was that rebuilt in 608 probably by an Abyssinian from the wreckage of a Byzantine or Abyssinian ship destroyed on the shore of the Red Sea. (History Of The Arabs, Philip K. Hitti, 1937, p 96-101)

Muslims believe (without proof) that the revered "black stone" (Alhajar Al-Aswad) is a special divine meteorite, that pre-dates creation and fell at the foot of Adam and Eve. It is presently embedded in the southeastern corner of the Kaba. Muslims touch and kiss the black stone during Hajj but non-Muslims are strictly forbidden to touch it.

• Muhammad worked as a shepherd in his teens and often accompanied caravans with his uncle to various places, such as Syria.

Muhammad married eleven or thirteen women. Muslims refer to them as Mothers of the Believers (Arabic: Ummahāt ul-Muʾminīn).

Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad. Traditional sources state that she stayed in her parents' home until the age of nine when the marriage was consummated with Muhammad, then 53, in Medina.

Muhammad's Claimed Revelations

Muhammad claimed his first revelation in 610 on the mountain of Hira.

The codification of the Qur’an occurred from the caliphate of Uthman (644-656) to that of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (685-705), based upon several minority hadiths. Ultimately, there is an emergence of an identifiable Islamic theology and history well into the mid-eighth century, over a century after the Prophet’s death.

• Muslims believe the angel Gabriel came to Mohammed and allegedly provided the early Koran.
• Yet, though Muhammad was illiterate, he supposedly recited the first part of the Koran.

• After a long time, Mohamad claimed another Revelation and more thereafter.
• They supposedly arrived for 22 years, and began to threaten humanity if they didn't turn in the direction of God's will, in addition came regulations on behavior and rules for non-Muslims as well.

The Battle of Medina

Sira, p463-4: Then they {the tribe of Quraiza} surrendered, and the apostle [Mohammed] confined them. . . . Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. . . . There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the Apostle they asked Kab what he thought would be done with them. He replied, "Will you never understand? Don't you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death!" This went on until the Apostle made an end of them.

Thus do we find the clear precedent that explains the peculiar penchant of Islamists to behead their victims: it is merely another precedent bestowed by their Prophet.

You can look up the following passages in any Qur'an. The first number is the chapter or "sura" number, the second number is the verse. Here's what the Qur'an says about non-Muslims:

They (people of the book, meaning Jews and Christians) disbelieve in Allah and confound truth with falsehood (3:70-3:71). Christians lie when they talk about the son of God (18:4-5).

Jesus taught them compassion and mercy in the Gospels, but Christians turned to monasticism…many of them are evil-livers (57:27).

Fight against them, kill, convert, or subdue them and (only if it is beneficial to Islam) force them to pay a tax that Muslims do not have to pay (9:29-35). If they refuse to pay, kill them. (Other option is slavery).

Non-Muslims are condemned to hell/cursed/doomed/bad/evil/turned into swine or apes, etc. (2:61, 4:48, 4:50, 4:116, 4:47-52, 4:55, 4:157, 4:160, 5:12-5:13, 5:37, 5:51, 5:53, 5:59-60, 5:72-73, 5:79, 9:29-35, 18:52, 33:26, 59:14, 98:1).

Jews will face Allah’s wrath because they made friendships with those who disbelieve (5:80).

Must convert to Allah only, or else be doomed (2:62-65, 3:85). Note that 3:85 refers explicitly to the Islamic religion as the “Surrender.” Jews are wrong-doers who will face a painful doom unless they believe in Allah (4:160-161).

He who ascribes partners to Allah is lost, as if a bird has snatched him out of the air and taken him away (22:31)

Mohammad (Allah) says Jews look ugly and they are foolish (62:5). Jews are greedy (2:91), and are evil-livers (5:59).

Allah will mock Christians when they burn in Hell, asking them Where are your partners now? (40:73).

Priests and Rabbis do “evil work” (5:63). Many Jews guilty of evil conduct (5:81). Jews act like Christians when they are around Christians (5:82).

Some of them (people of the scripture) are believers, but most of them are evil-livers (3:110), wretchedness is upon them because they disbelieved, slew the prophets wrongfully, were rebellious and transgressed (3:112).

Muslims won’t get hurt fighting them (the people of the book), who will turn and flee and afterwards will not be helped (3:111)

The Jews and Christians flung the scripture behind their backs and gained evil (3:187)

Christians and Jews who disbelieve scripture are the worst creatures in Allah’s sight (98:6) and will receive hell-fire.

Idolaters are unclean (9:28). Turn away from idolaters (6:106). Don’t pray for idolaters (9:113). Let the idolaters kill their own children (6:137).

Works Cited

"The Great Shepherd Restores Our Souls (Psalm 23)." CREATION OUTREACH. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. <http://creationoutreach.com/id15.html>.

Kjeilen, Tore. "Muhammad - LookLex Encyclopaedia." LookLex [Travel Guides / Encyclopaedia / Language Course]. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://i-cias.com/e.o/muhammad.htm>.

"Major Events in the Life of Prophet Muhammad." Islamic Civilization. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/milestonesp.html>.

"Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet . Life of Muhammad: HTML Timeline | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/timeline_html.shtml>.

"Nilacharal." Tamil Magazine, Tamil News, Poem, Story, Movie & Song Reviews. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nilacharal.com/news/religion/islam2.html>.

Spielvogel, Jackson J., and Dinah Zike. World History. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill Glencoe, 2010. Print.

The Life of Muhammad

THE END

• Muslims contend he received messages from God through the angel Gabriel on the hills of meditation telling him to "recite what he hears".

(not actual picture of Muhammad and Khadjia)

• After being married to Khadija, Muhammad became torn between the humble life style of the Makkan people and the materialistic desire of the rich.

Social Influences on Muhammad

• Meccans deal with difficulties by visiting the hills of meditation

• At the age of five, Muhammad's mother, Aminah, died and he was orphaned.
• Mohammed lived with his grandfather until he passed away two years later and then Muhammad lived with his paternal uncle.

Mecca was seen early on as holy city of great

importance to Muslims.

Healthy Muslims should make a pilgrimage to Mecca

at least once.

• After a difficult childhood growing up without his two parents, Muhammad became a caravan manager.
• He soon married a rich, older widow at the age of twenty-five. Her name was Khadija. She was almost forty at the time of their marriage.