The History of Islam
Islamic religion dates back almost as far as Christianity being created approximately 600 years. After the founding of Christianity and just under Christianity as the second largest religion, with 1.8 billion followers worldwide. Even though historians aren’t completely sure where it originated, they believe that it was founded in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century.
Muslims believe that Islam is a faith that has always existed and that it was slowly revealed to humanity by a number of prophets, but the final and complete revelation of the faith was made through the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE. The word “Islam” means “submission to the will of God.” The prophet Muhammad was born in, Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 570. It is a monotheistic religion which means they only believe there is only one true God. They worship one, all-knowing God, who in Arabic is known as Allah. They believe that several prophets were sent to teach Allah’s law. They respect some of the same prophets as Jews and Christians, including Abraham, Moses, Noah and Jesus. Their places of Worship are called Mosques. Other holy places for them include the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina.
The religion first started in Mecca and Medina but quickly spread to Southeast Asia through Muslim traders along the main trade-route. While the first for caliphs reigned , which are religious rulers, Arab Muslims conquered large regions in the Middle East, including Syria, Palestine, Iran and Iraq. After that, it spread through Europe and Asia.
After Muhammad had passed away, Islam behind to spread very rapidly. There behind to be a series of leaders, known as caliphs, started to become successors to Muhammad. This leadership position became known as the caliphate. The first caliph was Abu Bakr, he was Muhammad’s Father-in-law and a very close friend. He died only two years after he was elected to caliph and was replaced by Caliph Umar, another father-in-law of Muhammad.
When Muhammad died there was a debate over who should replace him as a leader, which lead to a schism in Islam, and two major sects emerged: the Sunnis and the Shiites. The Sunnis make up 90% of the Muslims worldwide. They believe in all that the first four caliphs were the true successors to Muhammad. While the Shiites believe that only the caliph Ali and his descendants are the real successors to Muhammad. They deny the legitimacy of the first three caliphs.
Even though those are the main types there are still different branches of Islam. The Wahhabi is made up of members of the Tameem tribe in Saudi Arabia, was founded in the 18th century. They have to follow very strict Islamic Rules that were taught by Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab. Then there is the Alewife, who are mostly found in Syria. They have very similar beliefs about the caliph Ali but also observe some Christian and Zoroastrian holidays. After that, there is the Nation of Islam which is mostly African-Americans. It was founded in Detroit, Michigan in the 1930s. The last is the Charities or the Ibadis, this Sect broke off from the Shiites after a disagreement on a new leader. They are known for radical fundamentalism.
The Quran is the most important holy book among the Muslims. In the Quran it contains some of the basic information that can be also found in the Hebrew Bible and also revelations that were given to Muhammad. It’s considered the most sacred word of God and supercedes any previous writings. Most of the Muslims believe that the Quran is Muhammad’s words that were written down by his scribes because Muhammed never learned how to read or write. It contain 114 sourish (chapters) and is written with Allah as first person, speaking through Gabriel to Muhammad. Many scholars believe that the Quran was compiled under the supervision of Caliph Abu Bakr after Muhammad’s death.
They also follow Five Pillars to their faith, which include: Shahada is to declare ones faith to the God and belief in Muhammad. Then there is Salat which is to pray at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. Zakat is to give to those in need. Then Swam is to fast during Ramadan and last is Hajj which is to make a trip to Mecca in ones lifetime if possible.
Their legal system is called Sharia Law. The Sharia Law is a faith-based code of conduct that directs them on how they should live in every aspect of their life. It requires them to dress modestly, both men and women. It also outlines marriage guidelines and other moral principles for Muslims. If they commit a crime the Sharia Law is known for having very harsh punishments. Examples are for theft the punishment is getting your hand cut off and for committing adultery you could get stoned to death. But many Muslims don’t believe in this type of extreme measures.
The Islamic Religion has two major holidays: Eid al Adha and Eid al-Fitr. Eid al Adha is the celebration of the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah. Eid al-Fitr is to celebrate the end of Ramadan, which is the holy month of fasting. There is a couple other holidays they celebrate, such as the Islamic New Year and the birth of Muhammad.
Over the past years, Islam has been associated with terrorism and mass murders. The very controversial term “racial Islam” has become a well-known label to describe the acts of violence. Some Muslims use their religion to justify the acts of violence, the majority of them don’t. Some are often victims of violence themselves. Recent surveys have found that countries with high Muslim population have overwhelmingly negative views of terrorist groups like ISIS.
While Muslims continute to clear up the misconceptions of their faith, the religion continues to grow very rapidly. Expects believe that Islam will surpass Christianty in amount of members by the end of the century.
