History Of Islam Essay -- essays research papers fc

When Charles Martel defeated the Muslims in Spain and stopped their advance into greater Europe (Ahmed 67)0, he most likely did not know just how much of an effect his victory had on the history of not only Europe, but of the known world. The fact that Islam may have overtaken the rest of the world had it not been for that crucial battle attests to the strength of this relatively new religion. If the strength of the religion is dependent upon those who start it, then it is important to analyze the life of the one key character in history who began it all. That key character is Muhammad, the man that is known as the first and last true prophet of Islam. Muhammad, the great prophet and founder of Islam, was born in 570 AD, and was soon an orphan without parents. He was raised by a family of modest means and was forced to work to support himself at an early age. He worked with a travelling caravan as a driver and at the age of twenty-five, married his employer, a woman by the name of Khadija, by which he had four daughters and no sons. In Mecca, the Ka'ba had long been a pagan pilgrimage site. A black stone, which had fallen to the earth, was kept in the cube that also held 360 idols representing different gods and prophets, one for each degree of the earth. The environment in which Muhammad was raised was a polytheistic society that had a strong emphasis on religion but not religious purity. This clear lack of religious dedication upset Muhammad greatly, and he began to speak out against the practice of idolatry. By this time Muhammad had gained a large following. By the age of forty, Muhammad began to receive visits from the angel Gabriel, who recited God's word to him at irregular intervals. These recitations, known as the Qur'an, were compiled by Muhammad's followers around 650 or 651. The basic message Muhammad received was that of submission. The very word Islam means "surrender" or "submission". The submission is to the will of Allah, the one and only true God. Muslims are those who have submitted themselves. The basic theme of Islam is very simple and clear: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah (Denny 67-70). Islam teaches that there is one God, the creator and sustainer of the universe. Muhammad taught his followers that this God, Allah, is compassionate and just. Further, he taught them that becaus... ...lly ignored by Christians for many years. The fact that these prophets had very little success was repeated in many of Muhammad's own experiences, while he preached the oneness of God to the Arabs in Mecca. The main point of his message was that he was the last in the series of prophets, the last person that would reveal the divine truth. Muhammad changed the religious world a great deal with a his only twenty-two years of leadership and service. He is considered the last and greatest prophet of God by more than a few Muslim believers, and it has been predicted that by the year 2000, one-fourth of the world's by then six billion people will call themselves Muslims (Braswell 207). Works Cited Ahmed, Akbar S. From Samarkand to Stornoway Living Islam. Great Britain: BBC Books, 1994 Braswell, George W., Jr, Islam: Its Prophet, Peoples, Politics and Power. United States of America: Broadman & Holman, 1996 Denny, Frederick Mathewson. An Introduction to Islam. New Jersey: Macmillan, 1985 Esposito, John L. Islam: The Straight Path. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998 Mayer, Ann Elizabeth. Islam Tradition and Politics Human Rights. Colorado: Westview Press, 1995 History Of Islam Essay -- essays research papers fc When Charles Martel defeated the Muslims in Spain and stopped their advance into greater Europe (Ahmed 67)0, he most likely did not know just how much of an effect his victory had on the history of not only Europe, but of the known world. The fact that Islam may have overtaken the rest of the world had it not been for that crucial battle attests to the strength of this relatively new religion. If the strength of the religion is dependent upon those who start it, then it is important to analyze the life of the one key character in history who began it all. That key character is Muhammad, the man that is known as the first and last true prophet of Islam. Muhammad, the great prophet and founder of Islam, was born in 570 AD, and was soon an orphan without parents. He was raised by a family of modest means and was forced to work to support himself at an early age. He worked with a travelling caravan as a driver and at the age of twenty-five, married his employer, a woman by the name of Khadija, by which he had four daughters and no sons. In Mecca, the Ka'ba had long been a pagan pilgrimage site. A black stone, which had fallen to the earth, was kept in the cube that also held 360 idols representing different gods and prophets, one for each degree of the earth. The environment in which Muhammad was raised was a polytheistic society that had a strong emphasis on religion but not religious purity. This clear lack of religious dedication upset Muhammad greatly, and he began to speak out against the practice of idolatry. By this time Muhammad had gained a large following. By the age of forty, Muhammad began to receive visits from the angel Gabriel, who recited God's word to him at irregular intervals. These recitations, known as the Qur'an, were compiled by Muhammad's followers around 650 or 651. The basic message Muhammad received was that of submission. The very word Islam means "surrender" or "submission". The submission is to the will of Allah, the one and only true God. Muslims are those who have submitted themselves. The basic theme of Islam is very simple and clear: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah (Denny 67-70). Islam teaches that there is one God, the creator and sustainer of the universe. Muhammad taught his followers that this God, Allah, is compassionate and just. Further, he taught them that becaus... ...lly ignored by Christians for many years. The fact that these prophets had very little success was repeated in many of Muhammad's own experiences, while he preached the oneness of God to the Arabs in Mecca. The main point of his message was that he was the last in the series of prophets, the last person that would reveal the divine truth. Muhammad changed the religious world a great deal with a his only twenty-two years of leadership and service. He is considered the last and greatest prophet of God by more than a few Muslim believers, and it has been predicted that by the year 2000, one-fourth of the world's by then six billion people will call themselves Muslims (Braswell 207). Works Cited Ahmed, Akbar S. From Samarkand to Stornoway Living Islam. Great Britain: BBC Books, 1994 Braswell, George W., Jr, Islam: Its Prophet, Peoples, Politics and Power. United States of America: Broadman & Holman, 1996 Denny, Frederick Mathewson. An Introduction to Islam. New Jersey: Macmillan, 1985 Esposito, John L. Islam: The Straight Path. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998 Mayer, Ann Elizabeth. Islam Tradition and Politics Human Rights. Colorado: Westview Press, 1995