SECTION 5

The Rise of Islam

Early Religion
Most Early Arabs were polytheistic, many recognized a chief, or
supreme god who they called Allah which is Arabic for “God.”
Allah was symbolized by a sacred black stone, each tribe had
their own stone, but there was one central stone called the Black
stone which was placed in the shrine called the Kaaba.
This shrine was located in the city of Makkah (Mecca) in what is
now Saudi Arabia.

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The Life of Muhammad The Quran is written in Arabic, which was the language of
Muhammad was born in Makkah in present-day Saudi Muhammad. The Quran is considered to only be true when
it is written in its original language. Translations are thought
Arabia to a merchant family. His parents died when he was
to lose the true meaning of the original words which are be-
young and he ended up living with his uncle who was a mer-
lieved to be a direct revelation from God. The Muslim obser-
chant and he became a caravan manager.
vance of Ramadan is to commemorate the recording of the
Muhammad married an older widow named Khadija. Over holy text.
time, he found the richness and corruption of the merchants
and townspeople to be troubling. He decided to visit the hills
to meditate. Muslims believe that while he was meditating in After the Revelation
the hills he received revelations from God through the Angel After Muhammad received his revelation he went to his wife
Gabriel. Khadija, she was his first convert to the new religion. He be-
gan to try to convert the people of Makkah to his message,
but he was unsuccessful. After three years he was forced to
Muhammad’s Revelation 14th FinalRevelation go to the city of Yathrib, which later became Medina. This
Muslims believe the Angel Gabriel told Muhammad to recite flight, or migration, is known as the Hijrah and marks the
what he heard, it was believed that Allah had already re- beginning of the Muslim calendar. This was in the year 622
vealed himself through Moses and Jesus, but now had a final AD.
revelation for man.
This final revelation became the religion of Islam. Which
Acceptance in the city of the Prophet
means submission to the will of God.
In Yathrib, Muhammad was accepted and gained followers.
The city will eventually be renamed Medina (which means
The Quran (Koran) the city of the prophet).
The revelations to Muhammad were written down by scribes One of the groups which converted to the new religion of Is-
and became known as The Quran, which is the holy book of lam were the Bedouins who were desert Arabs. This new
Islam. The Quran contains ethical guidelines and laws by community became the first to practice the religion.
which Muslims (followers of Islam) should live their lives.

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After several years, Muhammad became both a spiritual and The Five Pillars of Islam
political leader, there was not an idea of the separation of 1-Declaration of Faith(Shahadah)
church and state. He raised an army and conquered the city
of Mecca. Muslims must state that there is no God but Allah and
Muhammad is his prophet.

The Kaaba
2-Daily Prayer(Salah)
After Muhammad took the city of Mecca he cleansed the
Kaaba of idols and dedicated it to Allah, who he taught was Muslims must pray five times a day facing the Kaaba in
the one true God. All Muslims are encouraged to make a pil- Mecca.
grimage to Mecca known as the Hajj at least once in their Pre Dawn
life if they are physically and financially able. Noon
Afternoon
The Teachings of Muhammad Sunset
Islam is Monotheistic, like Judaism and Christianity. Islam Evening
teaches a belief in an afterlife, those who hope to achieve this
afterlife must submit to the will of Allah. Muslims do not be-
lieve the Muhammad was divine, they believe that he was a 3-Charity(Zakat)
man. Islam is seen not just as a religion, but as a way of life. Muslims are supposed to help others and donate part of their
Muslims believe that Islam was God’s final revelation for income to charity.
mankind. Muslims feel that in order to achieve salvation that
they must obey the will of Allah, or God. In order to do this 4-Fasting(Siyum)
they must follow the five major principles of Islam known as Muslims must fast from sunrise to sunset during the holy
the Five Pillars of Islam. month of Ramadan which celebrates the recording of the
Quran.

Ramadan is the9th
Month of the muslim
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calender
 5-Pilgrimage(Hajj) Islam is considered more than just a religion, it is seen as a
Once in a lifetime, if they are physically and financially able , way of life that encompasses politics, economics, and social
Muslims are to journey to Mecca (Makkah) in Saudi Arabia life.
and perform the rituals of the Hajj. According to the Quran, all people were equal in the eyes of
Allah, but in reality, the Muslim Empires did not follow this
ideal. There was a well developed upper and lower class.
Islamic Law
nosuccessor Non-Muslims were not considered equal to Muslims and
After the death of Muhammad in 632 AD, there were further slavery was widespread (as in the rest of the ancient world).
interpretations of his teachings. These are known as the Slaves were usually non-Muslims because Islamic law made it
Hadith. There are different versions of the Hadith for dif- illegal for one Muslim to enslave another. Slaves served in the
ferent branches of Islam. military or served as domestic servants. Slaves could some-
These teachings were further interpreted in the Shari’ah. times purchase their freedom and it was considered a good
This is a set of laws which regulate many aspects of Muslim act to free ones slaves.
life. It does not separate between church and state and cov-
ers family life, business, government, and moral conduct.
The Role of Women
Muslims are expected to practice honesty and justice in deal-
Originally, the Quran granted women spiritual and social
ing with others and are forbidden to gamble, eat pork, drink
equality with men. Both men and women were to be friends
alcohol, or engage in dishonest behavior.
and protectors of one another.
Women could earn a living and own and inherit property.
Islamic Society They played a prominent role in the rise of Islam. Men and
A follower of Islam is a Muslim. Friday is the Holy Day and Women had assigned social duties, but most societies in
the house of worship is known as a Mosque. In the mosque, which Islam arose were male dominated.
the imam leads daily prayer while the muezzin calls people Women in these societies had to have a male guardian and
to prayer five times a day from towers call minarets that parents arranged marriages for their children. Men could
surround the mosque. have up to four wives, but they had to pay a dowry (gift of
money or property) to their wives’ families. Women did have

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the right to divorce and adultery was forbidden for both men
and women.
After the spread of Islam local traditions began to assert
themselves and many of the rights that were initially given to
women in Islam were replaced by older traditions which de-
nied women equal rights.
The veil worn by Muslim women is traditionally called the
Hijab. The ideal of women wearing veils was common in
many Middle Eastern cultures
before the advent of Islam. In
Ancient Mesopotamia a veil
was a symbol of status, purity,
and moral character.

Malala Yousafzai
Malala is a young girl originally from the Swat Valley in
modern day Pakistan. After the Taliban gained power,
Malala began to openly speak out about supporting women’s
education. In 2012 while on her way to school, two members
of the Taliban boarded her bus and shot her in the head. She
survived the attack and continues to this day to be an advo-
cate for the rights of women throughout the world.
In 2014 Malala became the youngest person to win the No-
bel Peace Prize. She was just 17.

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