Islam
The word Islam means "submission to God". The Holy Quran describes Islam as an Arabic word Deen (way of life). The followers of Islam are called Muslims. The literal meaning of Muslim is "one who surrenders" or "submits" to the will of God. In order to understand Islam, the basic portrayal of belief in Quran must be considered. According to Quran, those who submit to one God are Muslims. Aisha Y. Musa writes in his article, Jews in the Quran: An Introduction that, "Islam is the religion of all the prophets from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses, Jesus and Mohammad. (10:71-72, 84; 2:128-133; 5:110-112)." Quran also declares that all the prophets who came before Mohammad and their followers were all Muslims.The origin of Islam dates back to the creation of the world. All the prophets who came to this world preached the same message of believing in one God and to accept them as His messenger. The prophets were also blessed with a manifestation of divine will or truth. Likewise, Prophet Mohammad was also a messenger of God. He revealed the truth and the way of life through the Holy Quran.
Before the birth of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the Arab society believed in multiple Gods. Although the Arabs believed in the unity of God, but they also claimed that God has entrusted His duties to various gods, goddesses and idols. For this purpose, they had more than 360 idols. They considered angels as the daughters of God. They were ignorant of social values. They were nomadic people who were dependent on cattle for their living. There was no government or law. All power existed with the rich. The society was full of barbarity and brutality. Tribes fought with each other over trivial matters for centuries. A slight argument over horses or water could lead to the slaughtering of thousands of innocent people.
It was the birth of Prophet Mohammad in 570 A.D in the city of Makkah which brought a revolution to the entire fate of the nomadic Arabs. He became famous among the people of Makkah at a very early age because of his allegiance and reliability. He was widely known as Al-Ameen (honest, trustworthy.)
At the age of 40, when Mohammad was meditating at Mt. Hera, he received a revelations from God. The angel Gabriel said to him, "Iqra" which means "to read". Mohammad replied "I cannot read". Gabriel embraced and released him. Then the first five verses of God was revealed to him which said, "Recite in the name of your Lord who created! He created man, out of a (mere) cloth of congealed blood. Recite; and thy Lord is most bountiful. He who had taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not." (96:1-5)
Mohammad started proclaiming the message of believing in one God. The people who once called him "Trustworthy" and "Honest" boycotted and plotted to kill him. In 622 A.D., due to worsening living conditions and social isolation, Prophet Mohammad migrated to Medina along with his followers. This flight was known as Hijrah and marks the beginning of the Muslims calendar. Mohammad's message spread rapidly and the number of followers increased in Medina. During the next few years, a series of battles were fought between various tribes of Makkah and the Muslims of Medina. In 628 A.D, the Treaty of Hudaibiyah was signed between the two parties. Truce was declared for 10 years. The treaty was broken in 629 A.D by the non-Muslims of the Makkans. Mohammad moved towards Makkah with 10,000 men and the battle was won without a single bloodshed. Mohmmad died in 632 A.D , at the age of 63 in the city of Medina. Mohammad's death brought a huge catastrophe among Muslims. People could not believe that Mohammad had left them forever. Many of the followers were perplexed and distraught, and claimed him to be still living. At that time Mohammad funeral, Abu Bakr, who was the most respected of all the followers affirmed that, "O people, those of you who worshipped Mohammad, Mohammad has died. And those of you who worshipped God, God is still living."
Abu Bakr was chosen as the first Caliph (leader). Before his death in 634 A.D., Umar ibn ul Khattab was appointed as his successor. During the ten years of his rule, Muslims conquered 22 hundreds thousands miles of area. Mesopotamia and parts of Persia were taken from the Sassanids Empire (Iranian Dynasty), and Egypt, Palestine, Syria, North Africa and Armenia from the Byzantine Empire. He was devoted and committed to his people and established an empire of peace, justice and dignity. The teachings of Islam started to spread through love. The principle of equality among all the people irrespective of race, color, caste, and creed won the hearts of the people. Within a few years, a lot of people accepted the message of Islam. By the tenth century, Islam dominated the half of the world known at that time.
Mohammad Ali writes in his article, "The condition of Arabs before the advent of the Holy Prophet and the Transformation He Wrought in Them," says that "From such debasing idolatry, the holy Prophet uplift the whole of Arabia in a brief span of twenty years . . . is not this the mightiest miracle that the world has ever witnessed ? . . . It was this fallen humanity whom the Holy prophet raised to the highest level of moral rectitude."
Mahatma Gandhi, in his unique style, says "Some one has said that Europeans in South Africa dread the advent Islam - Islam that civilized Spain, Islam that took the torch light to Morocco and preached to the world the Gospel of brotherhood. The Europeans of South Africa dread the Advent of Islam. They may claim equality with the white races. They may well dread it, if brotherhood is a sin. If it is equality of colored races then their dread is well founded."
Sarojini Naidu explains his point in Ideals of Islam by saying that "It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: 'God Alone is Great'... I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother."
Professor Hurgronje writes "the fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations ".
History of Prophet Muhammad's (P.B.U.H) Life
Mohammad was born in 570 A.D in the city of Makkah. The name Mohammad itself means "Higly Praised". He was the only son of Abdullah bin Al-Muttalib and Amina Bint Wahb. His father, Abdullah, died before his birth and his mother, Amina, died when he was only six. Mohammad's parental grandfather, Abdul Al Muttalib, the most respected leader of Makkah, took care of him until he died when Mohammad was eight. He then remained in the protection of his uncle, Abu Talib, for many years. God, the Almighty, reminds Mohammed of his blessing in the Holy Quran, "Did God not find you an orphan and give you shelter and care? And he found you wandering, and gave you guidance. And he found you in need, and made you independent." (93:6-8)At the age of twelve, Mohammad started working as a trader. Soon he became very famous because of his loyalty and reliability. He was widely known as the "Trustworthy". When he was twenty-five, Khadijah, a forty-year-old rich merchant widow proposed to him. He accepted the proposal after considering the advice of his uncle. In spite of so quickly becoming rich, famous and powerful, Mohammad never indulged himself in the mundane world.
At that time, the Arabs believed that God has entrusted His duties to various gods, goddesses and idols. For this purpose, there were more than 360 idols in the Holy Kaaba. Mohammad disliked the worshipping of idols. He was influenced by the Hanefites, a group of people who rejected idol worshipping. He spent much of his time at Mt. Hera praying to God. It was in 610 A.D at Mt. Hera when angel Gabriel appeared and revealed to him the message of God. Khadijah was the first one to accept this message. Even those people who denied his message considered him to be honest and reliable. As Prophet Mohammad started proclaiming the concept of believing in one God, the people started getting against him. After the death of Khadijah and Abu Talib in 619 A.D, the people of Makkah plotted to kill Mohammad on various occasion. He sought refuge to protect his life.
Prophet Mohammad kept on proclaiming the word of God. In a few years, the city of Makkah was conquered without a single bloodshed. Prophet Mohammad set up an example of amnesty and forgiveness by pardoning everyone. He declared, "No blame will there be on you today. Go, you are free." He proclaimed, "I trample under my feet all distinctions between man and man, all hatred between man and man." He pardoned his worst foes. He even forgave those who killed his beloved uncle, Hamazah, ripped his body apart, and chewed a piece of his liver. Soon, the message of God spread all over the world. Mohammad died at the age of 63 in the city of Medina.
Quotes on Mohammad
Mohammad leads the list of the world's most influential persons in the book The 100 by Michael Hart. He praises Mohmmad by saying that "He was the only man in the history was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels."
Professor K.S. Ramakrishna writes in his book Muhammad the Prophet of Islam that "The personality of Mohammad! It is most difficult to get into the truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes. There is Mohammad the Prophet, there is Mohammad the General; Mohammad the King; Mohammad the Warrior; Mohammad the Businessman; Mohammad the Preacher; Mohammad the Philosopher; Mohammad the Statesman; Mohammad the Orator; Mohammad the reformer; Mohammad the Refuge of orphans; Mohammad the Protector of slaves; Mohammad the Emancipator of women; Mohammad the Law-giver; Mohammad the Judge; Mohammad the Saint. And in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is like, a Hero."And Diwan Chand Sharma wrote in The Prophets of the East "Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him."
R. Bosworth-Smith praises the life of Mohammad in his book Mohammed & Mohammedanism by stating that , "Head of the state as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but, he was pope without the pope's claims, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue. If ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a Right Divine, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without instruments and without its support. He cared not for dressing of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life."
Professor K.S. Ramakrishna writes in his book Muhammad the Prophet of Islam that "He (Mohammad) had not studied philosophy in the school of Athens of Rome, Persia, India, or China. Yet, He could proclaim the highest truths of eternal value to mankind. Illiterate himself, he could yet speak with an eloquence and fervor which moved men to tears, to tears of ecstasy. Born an orphan blessed with no worldly goods, he was loved by all. He had studied at no military academy; yet he could organize his forces against tremendous odds and gained victories through the moral forces which he marshaled. Gifted men with genius for preaching are rare. Descartes included the perfect preacher among the rarest kind in the world."
George Bernard Shaw, a famous writer and non-Muslim says about Mohammad in his book The Genuine Islam that, "He must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness."
Terminology
Allah The Supreme Being. The name of God.
Hadith The sacred sayings of Muhammad, handed down by oral tradition and finally written down. Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca. One of the five pillars of the Islamic faith.
Hijrah Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D.
Islam "submission to the will of Allah"
Koran (Qur'an) The inspired word of God given to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel.
Makkah The birthplace of Muhammad, and the holy city of Islam.
Medina Holy city named for Muhammad after he fled there in 622 A.D.
Muhammad Prophet and founder of Islam. Born around 570 A.D., died 632 A.D.
Muslim Followers of Muhammad. It literally means one who submits to the will of Allah.
Mosque Islamic place of worship.
Muezzlin Muslim caller who announces the hour of prayer.
Peace Be Upon Him An expression used by Muslims to show respect and reverence to all prophets of Allah. Muslims usually say it just after mentioning the name of Prophets.
Ramadan The ninth and one of the most sacred month of the Muslim year. It is the month in which Holy Quran was revealed to prophet Muhammad. It is now considered as a month of fasting.
Salat Muslim daily prayer ritual. One of the five pillars of Islam.
Shi'ites Muslim sect which insists that Muhammad's son-in-law 'Ali was Muhammad's rightful successor.
Sufi A Muslim mystic and/or ascetic.
Sunnites Largest Muslim sect which acknowledges all of Muhammad's successors.
Surahs What the chapters of the Qur'an are called.
