CHAPTER TWO - ISLAM
MUHAMMAD
Muhammad was born in
570 CE into a divided, resource-scarce
Muhammad was a resident of
In 610 CE, while on a
religious retreat, Muhammad (40 years old at the time) underwent an episode
which he interpreted as a profound religious experience. He believed he
received messages (auditory - he heard messages); he interpreted these
as revelations from an entity he identified as the angel Gabriel.
Recognize, he did not interpret this religious experience as communication from
one of the many Arab deities - he felt that he was being spoken to by the angel
messenger of the one god of the Jews and Christians - the one god
Allah. As a result of this experience, Muhammad rejected his earlier
polytheistic beliefs and converted to the belief in one god. Further, he
believed that Allah, through the angel Gabriel, had chosen him as a messenger -
a prophet. The messages that Muhammad believed he received from Allah
are the foundation of the Islamic religion. Between 610 until his death in 632
CE, Muhammad continued to receive what he interpreted as revelations from
Allah. Declaring his status as the prophet of God, he spread these
messages and structured them into the religion of Islam. (see timeline of
Muhammad's life)
QUR'AN
The fundamental beliefs of
Islam are found in messages Muhammad believed he received and that he taught to
others as a prophet. The first messages began with his experience in 610;
Muhammad believed that he experienced other revelations until his death in 632.
All of these messages were preserved and passed on verbally since, according to
Islamic traditional beliefs, Muhammad was illiterate. (In fact, this
emphasis on the spoken word, on song and story, reflected a traditional focus
of Arabic culture.) It was not until in 651 CE, almost 20 years after his
death, that the revelations of Muhammad were written down. This
compilation of the revealed teachings of Muhammad is the sacred text of Islam -
the QUR'AN (Koran.) It consists of 114 chapters (surahs) and contains
over 6000 verses.
It is
essential to understand the power and sacredness of the Qur'an for Muslims. The
Qur'an is believed to be the accumulation of the exact words of Allah,
conveyed through the angel Gabriel and revealed to Muhammad. The Qur'an, in
short, is believed to be the direct word of Allah - not the words of
Muhammad or any other human. It is therefore a text that cannot be ridiculed or
revised. (In fact, even in the present day, the author Salmon Rushdie had to go
into hiding after a death sentence was imposed on him by Islamic religious
authorities for what they perceived as the sacrilegious treatment of the Qur'an
in his literary novel The Satanic Verses.) Recognize, the Qur'an
is considered the sacred word of God only when written in Arabic, the
language of the prophet Muhammad. When translated into other languages, it is
considered an "interpretation" of the Qur'an, and does not have the
same sacred status.
The Qur'an is in the form
of almost lyrical prose which many historians see as a clear reflection of the strong oral
and poetic tradition of Arabic culture. The Qur'an is not to be simply read
silently by devout followers, it is to be recited aloud (in fact Qur'an means
"recitation".) The ideal for a devout Muslim is to recite stanzas of
the Qur'an on a daily basis, and ultimately to commit the entire text to
memory; to be able to recite the direct word of God is the goal of a Muslim.
The Qur'an contains many
elements. Parts of the text are prayers to be
offered to Allah; there are also explanation stories of the relationship
between the one
god Allah and prophets before Muhammad, and the explanation of Muhammad's life and
appointed role. The Qur'an contains a number of laws or strictures on
behavior; some of these laws echo the moral and ritual emphases of the Judaic
law code. For example, the eating of pork is forbidden by the Qur'an, as is
gambling and sexual indulgence. Another law is the condemnation of usury
- the lending of money in order to gain interest. The drinking of alcohol is
forbidden. These are not negotiable laws - for a devout Muslim, these are laws
laid down by the direct words of Allah. In areas where Islam later took root,
these strict religious strictures influenced laws, social and economic
relations.
RELATIONSHIP TO
CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM
The Qur'an contains the
fundamental ideas of Islam. First and foremost is the idea that there is only
one true god. At the heart of Islam is the same fervent monotheism that
underlies Judaism and Christianity. In fact, Muslims believe that they
worship the same god as Jews and Christians. According to the Qur'an, Allah
chose messengers (prophets) in the past to teach of the truth of the one true
god, and how to show reverence and obedience to God. The first such
prophet identified by the Qur'an was Abraham. Islam, then, is directly
connected to Judaism and the sacred text of the Qur'an identifies Abraham
as the first prophet chosen by Allah. Other Jewish figures in the Qur'an
include Job, David and Joseph.
Because people failed to
properly maintain their relationship with God, the Qur'an tells that Allah had
to renew the message and thus there have been many prophets. These earlier
prophets are also described in the Qur'an. Early prophets revered by
Islam are those Jewish prophets also respected in Judaism. Moses, for
example, is described in the Qur'an as an important prophet. The Qur'an
also identifies Jesus of Nazareth as a prophet of God - not as the son of God
and not as a Savior, but as a human messenger chosen to convey God's
messages. Mary and John the Baptist are also Christian figures described
in the Qur'an.
And, according to the
Qur'an, Muhammad was chosen as a prophet. However, Muhammad is identified as
the final prophet, referred to as the "seal of the prophets".
The messages conveyed to Muhammad, according to Islam, are the final and
definitive messages from God regarding duties, laws to follow and how to show
reverence to Allah and prepare for the Judgment Day.
Thus, Islam is connected to
Judaism and Christianity directly, both by the common belief in one god (the same
god according to Islam) and by a shared respect for important religious
leaders. For Muslims, the early prophets were revered and respected
messengers of God. Muslims call Jews and Christians "people of
the Book" - since their religious leaders are referenced in the
Qur'an. The difference between these three monotheistic religions, of
course, is the question of which prophet/teachers' messages are to be followed.
For Jews,
the teachings and messages of the early prophets and the scriptures of the
Jewish Bible/Old Testament represent the wishes of God. For Christians,
Jesus was not merely a prophet, he was the Messiah and the teachings of the New
Testament represent the true wishes of God. For Muslims, the Qur'an is the
final representation of God's laws and wishes; the messages of Muhammad as the
final prophet have more authority and complete the teachings of the earlier
prophets. It is in large part due to these fundamental differences that these
monotheistic belief systems, which have a common foundation, now exist as three
separate, and often conflicting, religions. (see discussion of this
comparison)
In addition to the Qur'an,
the Sunnah
and Hadith
are also revered and influential texts. These works contain the description and
interpretations of the sayings and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The
power of precedent established by the Prophet Muhammad's life and words, then,
greatly influenced the development of Islamic law and culture. (see excerpts)
Where something is not addressed in the Qur'an, the precedent of the Prophet
Muhammad's life (in other words, how did Muhammad live and what did he say)
often establishes what is religiously acceptable for a Muslim. Based on
all of these sources, Islamic authorities then developed a body of influential
Islamic law known as the Shari'ah.
DUTIES OF A
MUSLIM
An important idea contained
in the Qur'an is the idea of a Judgment Day (described vividly). The
"goal" is to go to heaven, and avoid hell. For those accepting
the teachings of Muhammad, the underlying duty is to show reverence and
obedience to God in preparation for the Judgment Day. In fact,
Islam means "submission (or surrender) to God" and a Muslim is
"one who submits." Allah is seen as an
all-powerful, and all-knowing God of judgment, but also a God of mercy and
compassion.
It is the duty of a Muslim
to show proper respect and reverence to this god. There were (and are) two key
ways to display the surrendering of oneself to Allah. First, one must know,
recite and obey the laws of the Qur'an. Again, this did/does not mean simply
reading the text. It means reciting surahs on a daily basis, really knowing
the Qur'an.
The second area of
religious duty for a Muslim is to observe five key practices that were
identified and defined by Muhammad. The five major practices, to be done
throughout one's life, are referred to as the Five Pillars of Faith
(sometimes referred to as the Five Pillars of Islam). Only the first two,
the profession of faith and daily prayer, are explicitly stated in the Qur'an.
The other rituals took form during Muhammad's lifetime and have the force of
the prophet's authority. While these pillars underwent some changes during
Muhammad's lifetime, by the time of his death in 632 CE, the specific
obligations of these pillars were established. Since these are still key
obligations fulfilled by Muslims, I will write in the present tense.
FIVE
PILLARS OF FAITH
Shahada - The profession of
faith. A Muslim is to make the public profession "I bear
witness that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His
messenger." The fundamental idea of monotheism is contained in
this statement, as is the authority of Muhammad. This profession is often made
on a daily basis as part of prayers.
Salah - Daily prayer. This is prayer that
occurs five times a day. The person is to pray facing the
direction of
Zakah - Almsgiving. An important part of
Islam is the idea of compassion, especially for the less fortunate. One of the
pillars of faith is the giving of alms to the poor in one's society. In some
Muslim countries, there is an institutionalized form of this obligation in the
form of a charity tax.
Sawm - Observance of Ramadan. Ramadan is
the holy month in Islam. It is a 30 day period which occurs on the ninth month of the Islamic
year, based on a lunar calendar. The month of Ramadan occurs during a period
that had earlier been a time of religious observance in pre-Islamic Arabian
culture. During the period of Ramadan, one fasts and prays intensively. By
fasting, this means not eating and not drinking during the daylight
hours (if health permits). Only when the sun has set can one eat and drink.
This is considered an extremely important time of purification and piety.
Hajj - Pilgrimage. It is expected that
at least once in your life, if health permits, you are to make a pilgrimage to
the holy city of Mecca, and more specifically, to the Ka'aba. There are many
rituals associated with the pilgrimage. It is a time to display religious
purity, equality and humility before Allah. In Muhammad's time, this journey
was to take place on foot - thus the rich walk alongside the poor. In
present times, while Muslims come from around the world, they still walk part
of the way into the city and to the Ka'aba. Pilgrims wear white to
symbolize purity and equality with each other. Once reaching the Ka'aba, Muslim
pilgrims circle the Ka'aba seven times. In addition, as part of the Hajj, there
are other sacred sites that a Muslim is to visit, performing established
prayers and rituals.
(go to link of
"virtual hajj" -step by step description)
The Five Pillars of Faith
took form during Muhammad's life, although during his lifetime of
interpretation and teaching there were some important changes that took place
in his teachings. For example, initially the holy city towards which one prayed
and made the pilgrimage was not
Note:
These are some of the
fundamental ideas of Islam. Based on the revelations Muhammad believed he
received, and his efforts to pass them on, a new religion took form between 610
- 632 CE. In the next chapter we will discuss Muhammad's attempts to
spread these ideas in
Go to
useful summary explanations of key Islamic beliefs and vocabulary)
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Interesting Related Web Sites
Internet Islamic
Sourcebook
Quran - text and other links
GO TO CHAPTER THREE