Birth of Islam and Muhammad\'s

Birth of Islam and Muhammad's Teachings

Islam, one of the three major monotheistic religions of the world with more than a billion adherents all over the world, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons ever since the 9/11 terror attacks. Almost every terror attack around the world nowadays is invariably attributed to 'Islamic terrorists' and the publicity generated by such attacks tend to put the religion of Islam in an unfavorable light. It is important, therefore, to learn more about the great religion of Islam: its early history, the personality and life of its founder, its basic beliefs, the teachings of the Qur'an, the concept of Jihad in Islam, the various sects in Islam, and the challenges faced by the Muslims and Islam in the modern world. All these topics have been briefly discussed in this research paper about Islam.

The Birth of Islam and Muhammad's Teachings

Islam originated in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century AD when the sacred book of Islam, the Holy Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (born in Mecca in 570 AD) in a series of revelations. The new religion of Islam, preached by Muhammad, taught that there was but one God and that Muhammad was His last prophet and messenger. It recognized and respected other founders of major religions such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus Christ but considered them to be merely prophets of Allah and mere mortals. Muhammad, himself, never claimed divine status for himself, calling himself only a messenger from God (Dallal, 2008).

When Muhammad started preaching the new religion of Islam in his home town of Mecca, he was met with extreme hostility by most of the inhabitants since his teachings were a major departure from the existing morals and traditions of the time. Only a few dedicated followers, such as his wife Khadijah, his young cousin Ali, his friend Abu Bakr, and his freed slave, Zayd believed him at the outset. Most of the influential Quraysh tribe, to which Muhammad himself belonged, ridiculed Muhammad and prosecuted his followers. The prosecution and Muhammad's tribulations reached a peak when Muhammad's uncle, who was a man of some influence in the Quraysh tribe and protected him to some extent as well as his beloved wife, Khadijah, died in the same year (around 622 AD).

It was then that Muhammad, along with the rest of the Muslims, decided to migrate to Yathrib -- an oasis to the north of Mecca, whose people were inclined to believe in Muhammad's prophethood. The move to Yathrib (later renamed Medina or the 'City of the Prophet') proved to be a turning point in Muhammad's life and the fortunes of the new religion and in recognition of its importance, the year (622 CE) of the migration (hijra) marks the start of the Islamic calendar (Fisher, 2008, p 381). It was in Medina that Muhammad set up the foundations of an Islamic society and government and the religion of Islam started to flourish.

The Meccans viewed Muhammad's move to Medina with suspicion and declared war on the city. After a period of restraint, when Muhammad built up his forces, open hostilities broke out between the Muslims and Meccans and a number of wars followed. By 630 CE, the followers of Muhammad and the Muslim army had become strong enough to be able to advance on Mecca with such a large force as to conquer the city without significant opposition. In contrast to the tribal traditions of the time, Muhammad even forgave his enemies who had prosecuted him so cruelly when he was in Mecca and declared a general amnesty for everyone. As a result, many Meccans embraced Islam. Prophet Muhammad, however, returned to Medina, which he had made the political and cultural center of Islam, and oversaw the growth of the new religion to most of the Arabian Peninsula as well as northern Africa, and the Persian states of Bahrain, Oman, and Yemen during his lifetime. Muhammad died a natural death in 632 CE (Fisher, 2008, pp. 379-381).

Core Islamic Beliefs

The core doctrine of Islamic religion revolves largely around a strict monotheism (or the Oneness of God), the five pillars of Islam, and its six articles of faith.

The Oneness of God: Islam lays great stress on the "oneness" of God (Tawhid in Arabic) and the strict monotheistic doctrine finds a prominent place in the Qu'ran, and the Sunnah (teachings of Prophet Mohammed). To a Muslim, God is the Almighty Creator and Sustainer of the universe who has no equal and nothing is comparable to Him. In fact, in the Islamic doctrine, even associating any deity or personality with God is considered to be the most deadly sin (Shirq), which God will never forgive. As a corollary to the concept of Tawhid, Muhammad (and all other prophets) is not considered to be divine and is, therefore, not worshipped; Islamic law forbids representations of God and the prophets, and worship toward images and icons is strictly forbidden in Islam (Al-Muhajabah, 2008)

The Five Pillars of Islam: The 'five pillars of Islam' consist of bearing witness to faith (shahada); reciting of the daily prayers (salat), fasting (sawm), the pilgrimage (hajj), and the religious tax (zakat).

Bearing witness to faith (shahada) consists of reciting the kalima, which says, "there is none worthy of worship save Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." All Muslims, and those who convert to the Islamic faith, recite the kalima as testimony to their faith; they are thus expected to profess and act upon this belief in the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad but to be admitted into the community of Muslims, all one has to do is to recite the kalima ("Pillars of Islam" n.d.).

The daily prayers (salat in Arabic) are the most fundamental rites of Islam, preceded by the ablutions and the call to prayers (adhan) and it is incumbent upon all adult Muslims to pray five times a day at certain times of the day such as dawn (fajr or subh), noon (zuhr), midafternoon (asr), sunset (maghrib), and evening (isha); the prayers are preferably offered in a congregation in a mosque but can also be performed at home. The ritual consists of a sequence of units called bowings (rak'as) during which the worshiper stands, bows, kneels, and prostrates while reciting verses from the Qur'an (Dallal, 2008).

Similarly, fasting is incumbent upon all Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, when according to a saying of the Prophet (hadith) "the gates of heaven are opened" (quoted by Nasr, n.d.) and the Muslims who fast are rewarded by Allah's special blessings. Fasting consists of abstention from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual intercourse from sunrise to sunset during the month. During the month of Ramadan, the Muslims usually engage in acts of worship beyond the ordinary, such as voluntary night prayer, reciting the Qur'an, and paying voluntary charity to the poor. Some of the benefits that Islamic scholars attribute to fasting are that it introduces physical and spiritual discipline, serves to remind the rich of the misfortunes of the poor, and is supposed to 'purify' the soul of a believer (Dallal, 2008).

The religious tax (zakat) makes it obligatory upon all Muslims of means to give as charity 2.5% of all their savings to the poor every year. The giving of zakat not only aims at an equitable distribution of wealth but also offers a means to a Muslim to 'purify' his or her wealth and to attain salvation. Islam strongly encourages the giving of charity to the poor, the orphans, and the widows but distinguishes between general charity (sadaqa) which is voluntary and zakat which is obligatory (Ibid.)

The hajj (annual pilgrimage) to the Holy Ka'aba is a religious ritual, during which Muslims from all over the world gather in Mecca to celebrate sacrifice made by Abraham. All Muslims who can afford to make the trip to Mecca are obligated to do so, at least once in their lifetime ("Hajj and Eidul-Azha" 2001). There are elaborate obligatory rituals that are to be performed by a hajji during his pilgrimage to the Ka'aba including the shaving of heads by men (although this is not obligatory), putting on seamless white sheets by the women as well as men (symbolizing the equality of all Muslims before God), and prohibition of wearing jewelry or perfumes, sexual intercourse, and hunting during the course of the hajj (Ibid).

The Six Articles of Faith: These are the six basic beliefs of Muslims, which can be categorized as: (1). Belief in Allah; (2).Belief in Angles; (3). Belief in the Books (Scriptures) of Allah; (4). Belief in the Prophets of Allah; (5). Belief in the Day of Judgment and the life here-after; and (6). Belief in the Divine Laws.

The Holy Qur'an

Islam's holy book, the Qur'an is at the heart of the Islamic religion rather than the Prophet himself mainly because Muhammad himself emphasized in his teachings that the one and only, all-knowing, all-powerful God was supreme and he (Muhammad) was a mere mortal and his messenger. Hence, the message contained in the holy book -- the Qur'an -- which is supposed to be the word of God Himself, is of great importance to the Muslims.

The book itself consists of the revelations made to Muhammad over a number of years, following the first revelation made to him while he was meditating in a cave near Mecca. It is divided into 114 chapters (called suras) that have been assembled in a descending order from the longest to the shortest chapter. The book is believed to be the word of God (as revealed to Prophet Muhammad) by the Muslims and sets forth the basic requirements of Muslim life, including spiritual, social, and legal codes of conduct. The Qur'an is written in the Arabic language and has a lyrical beauty that is difficult to translate into other languages. Like all profound works of literature, the verses of the Qur'an are thought to carry several layers of meaning. This may be one of the reasons why the verses have been given various interpretations by different scholars over the centuries.

Some non-Muslims and critics of Islam blame the Qur'an for the wave of mindless terrorism perpetrated by the 'Islamic terrorists' in recent times and have even termed it as a 'terror manual.' (Kamat, 2008). They point to certain verses in the Qur'an in which the Muslims have been urged to fight and kill the 'non-believers.' This criticism, of course, is grossly unfair since there are various other passages in the Qur'an as well, which extol the virtues of peace and tolerance. For example, in Chapter 109:6, the Qur'an dismisses the notion of compulsion in religion by stating: "To you be your way, and to me mine." (Ali, 2000, p. 167). It must be remembered that at various times during Muhammad's lifetime, the newly formed religion was threatened with extinction, and the verses that exhort the Muslims to fight must be seen in that context.

Jihad

The concept of 'Jihad' in Islam has come under much scrutiny of late due to the activities of various so-called "Jihadi" organizations, which have carried out terrorist activities around the world in the name of Islam. The general impression about jihad in the West is that it is Islam's "holy war" and justifies the wanton killing of non-Muslims, including women and children. The literal meaning of the word 'jihad' in Arabic is "to struggle." Physical jihad, i.e., fighting against the enemies of Islam is only a small part of the wider context of jihad. The more profound form of Jihad in Islam is the "personal jihad" or the struggle to conquer the forces of evil in oneself on one's society. Prophet Muhammad, on his return from a battle is reported to have remarked, "We return from the little jihad to the greater jihad." And another of his hadith (saying) quotes him as saying: "The best jihad [struggle] is (by) the one who strives against his own self for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic," (Quoted by Robinson, 2003). The Qur'an itself describes Jihad as a defensive war by declaring, "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors." (Chapter 2, verse 190) the concept of 'Jihad' in Islam, therefore, is not such a monstrous notion after all.

The Sects in Islam

Despite the emphasis on "oneness" and the struggle by Muhammad for unity among all Muslims, irrespective of caste, color, or creed, serious differences arose among the Muslims after Muhammad's death in 632 CE on the issue of his succession, eventually leading to the formation of different sects. Since Muhammad did not designate his successor, Abu-Bakr -- his old friend and companion -- was named as the first Caliph. Supporters of Ali -- Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law (he was married to Muhammad's daughter, Fatima) believed that Ali was his rightful successor and had been unfairly deprived of his right by Abu-Bakr and others. This gave rise to a permanent split in Islam and the Shi'ite sect.

Currently, there are three main factions among Muslims: the Sunnis, the Shi'ites and the followers of Sufism. Sunnis are the mainstream Muslims and form the vast majority. Literally, the word Sunni means the followers of the teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad (the "Sunnah"). The Sunni doctrine places strong emphasis on the all-encompassing nature of God's (Allah's) power and the importance of human fate. Sunnis believe that the succession of the Caliphate to Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthmann, and Ali (in that order) after the Prophet's death was correct. The Shiites, on the other hand believe that Prophet Muhammad's true successor was his son-in-law, Ali, whose right of succession was usurped by Abu Bakr et al. This difference was the bone of contention between the Sunnis and Shi'ites that became more pronounced after the tragic death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussain (Ali's son) at the hands of the Caliph's army in the 9th century. The Shiites later developed a doctrine of divine right of authority and infallibility to the descendants of Ali, whom they call "Imams." They believe in 12 Imams, the last of whom is said to have disappeared in 880 AD, but who is expected to return some day to restore justice in the world, according to the Shi'ite belief. (Fisher, 2008, pp. 399-401)