The distinctive factor that sets Islam apart from the other monotheistic religions, is the way it was conceived.
On the one hand, Islam unraveled as the legacy and syncretism of the vast array of religions and customs that were in its midst, yet on the other, it made headway in an exclusive manner, according to its own new modus operandi.
Based on this, the case of Islam must be interpreted as emergence out of a particular set of contexts, rather than the rise of a new religion completely disassociated with the environment.
Hence, it is more appropriate to see Islam as the outcome of an interactive dialogue with preexisting beliefs, so as not to incur in a misleading and ill-informed analysis of it.[ Marshall G. S. Hodgson, The Venture of
…show more content…
Nevertheless, this essay sets out to outline in a fairly balanced way, the points of consonance and the points of tension of Islam among the pre-Islamic rich cultural and religious variety.
For the sake of coherence and clarity, I shall delineate and expound on the elements of continuity and change of Islam with antecedent practices in two distinct moments and in their entirety, instead of switching between the two throughout.
The Qurʾan itself in specific suras, implies that Islam stands in continuity with previous beliefs; the notion of fitrah is an example.
Fitrah can be defined as the insight given unto man at the time of creation, the special intuition instilled in them to recognize the existence of God.[ Qurʾan, sura Al’Araf 172]
In addition to that, the linkage with antecedent beliefs, specifically with the Judaeo-Christian prophets can be found in sura Al’Ahzab 33:40. There is an acknowledgment of the preexisting messengers, of which Mohammad is the seal and perfect conclusion: khatam al nabiyyin.
A parallelism of the messenger of God being a fulfillment of previous condition can be seen in the Book of Matthew, which describes Jesus as the repletion of scriptures.[ Matthew
…show more content…
However, they did not fall into a particular denomination.
This was therefore an archetypal approach to Islam in which the seminal figure of Abraham contributes in the common heritage of the belief in a single God.
Some scholars do suggest that the Sabiʾans, ‘a local group of tolerated monotheists’[ G.P. Makris, ‘The Islamic Community through history’ in Islam in the Middle East: A Living Tradition (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2007), p.19] also be included under this broad generic category of preexisting monotheists, by virtue of the scriptural passage in AlʾBaqarah.[ Qurʾan AlʾBaqarah 2:62]
Given this point, the standpoint of having exclusively one God, to some extent stood in cohesion with the time, therefore the message of the Prophet could be effortlessly understood by his listeners.
In fact, these vague creeds foreshadowed Islam and were an indication that the Hijaz region in the Arabian peninsula was already undergoing a religious ferment[ Jonathan P. Berkey, ‘Arabia before Islam’ in The formation of Islam:Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 48-49] and that momentum was reclaimed by
In 610 CE A man named Muhammad was outside of a cave meditating and soon began hearing voices. As he listened he heard them say “Give birth to a religion called Islam.” Islam began to spread faster than any other religion. Other religions disagreed with this because they didn’t want to believe that Islam was bigger and better than their religion. After about 140 years, many followers of Islam had created an empire that ruled the Middle East and spread across to North Africa to Europe.
Islam spread within a span of 100 years. In 610, Muhammad made a visit to a cave on Mount Hira to pray. This experience changed his life and he realized that Allah was the one true god. After receiving Allah's words for two years, Muhammad decided it was time to talk. Soon Muhammad's teachings, called Islam, reached Europe, North Africa, and Asia.
As people began to convert over to Islam many people became convinced of the religion over others especially,
Initially the Meccan’s were unwilling to accept the thought that there was only one God due to the Meccan’s profited from a polytheistic society. The second reason was that Muhammad’s version of morality that he preached was not accepted by the degenerate public due to they were known to enjoy their gambling’s and orgies. Lastly since this was a class driven society the privileged refused to believe that Allah saw all people as equals. Q1e) In chapter 81 it references Gabriel’s message to Muhammad.
Islam went from a couple of people to all of Arabia, North Africa, Spain and South Asia. It all started when Muhammad visited a cave to pray. He thought the people of Mecca were to greedy. An angel came to the cave and made Muhammad speak Allah’s words. Allah was the monotheistic god, for Islam.
In addition, Brigitte claims that Islam incarnates violence and accuses it to “supersede” any man-made law via the Sharia law. To respond to her claims, the author
Though many early Saudi Arabians protested against this religion, because they either didn’t want to lose money from pilgrimages or they believed in more than one God, they finally converted due to many battles. Thereon
The Islam religion, believed by Muslims, has spread across the globe at rapid speeds. Muhammad ibn Abdullah started the religion. The religion began in Mecca. The religion was made known in 610 CE. The two major themes of the religion are “Allah is the one God” and the importance of charity.
The Wahhabi and Salafist movements have become increasingly influential throughout the Middle East and the world. They have been an integral part of the dynamic religious conflict in the Middle East and have helped propagate the current terrorist movements throughout the world. To understand what makes these movements so popular, we must revisit the roots of Wahhabism and Salafism and their similarities and differences. Wahhabism was founded by Mohammed Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the eighteenth century. Wahhabism “stresses the absolute sovereignty of God.”
The use of leadership helped to expand the Islamic Empire since people were forced to believe. Islam never interfered with the dogmas of any moral faith, never persecuted… Islam “grasped the sword” in self defense; Christianity grasped it in order to stifle freedom of thought and liberty of belief. Wherever Christianity prevailed, no other religion could be followed without molestation. The Moslems, on the other hand, required from others a simple guarantee of peace, tribute in return for protection, of perfect equality – on condition of the acceptance of Islam (Doc 6).
The Qur’an acknowledges Moses, Jesus, and Abraham as prophet, but in the viewed of Muslim. Muhammad was the final prophet to herd the strayed to submit to Allah. The Qur’an was very different from to other religions. For example, it was written from the words
The book deals with the history of Islam and provides arguments over the liberal interpretation of the religion. The book puts the blame on the Western imperialism and the self-serving misinterpretations of Islamic law by the past scholars for the controversies which are taking place within Islam. The work by Reza Aslan challenges the clash of civilizations. The book
Long ago, during the 7th century, there was a man named Mohammed (PBUH) who lived in a city called Mecca. One day, while he was meditating in the cave of Hira, a voice came to him and said “Proclaim!” He then starts to preach and spread the teachings of a religion known today as, Islam. As he began to teach, he started to gain followers and supporters. Eventually, after many conflicts and Mohammed’s (PBUH) death, the religion was able to spread much bigger rather than the Arabian Peninsula.
A. PREAMBLE The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 has sparked intense curiosity and interest in the world especially the West to learn and investigate the religion of Islam. The Muslim people are portrayed as violent and barbaric, and Islam as oppressive and antithesis to human rights values. Thus, escalation of public opinion about Islam has encouraged debates and forums, and also stirred demonstrations and movements which have compelled the Muslims to speak out their minds and interpret and recast their texts viz. Quran and Sunnah of prophet Mohammad and even question and challenge the prevailing culture and practices, and domineering structures.
3. The rejection of Islam by many Jews and Christians (“peoples of the book”) in Arabia surprised Muhammad since he brought his message in the name of the tradition