ISLAMIC RELIGION

Islamic religion is one of the religions that emerged from the Ancient Near East, particularly in
the Arabian peninsular, and it is also one of the Abrahamic religions. Adherents of Islamic
religion are commonly known as Muslims and the Islamic community is called ‘ummah’. Islamic
religion is founded on the divine revelations given by Allah to Muhammad (SAW) who is referred
to as ‘rasul Allah’ meaning ‘messenger of Allah’ and followed by the teachings, life and
examples of the Prophet contained in the Sunnah/Hadith, which both form the primary sources
of the Islamic law and code of conduct called Sharia. Like the case of other world religions,
Islam has been through many eras in the history of its emergence as a basic religion of the
world. Today, Islam is one of the most widely practiced religions in the world with Muslims found
in all the continents of the world and are more prominent with the institution of Shariah in many
parts of Asia/Middle East and northern Africa. Sub-themes to be covered under this module
include:

the Life of Prophet Muhammad, Pre-Islami Period ,The Period of Strife ,The Period of Rashidum
Khalifs ,The Ummayad Dynasty, The Abbasid Dynasty Sects in Islam, The Shariah The Articles
and Pillars of Faith Islamic Festivals

The Life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

Prophet Mohammed (SAW) who received the divine revelation on which Islamic religion is
founded was born in Quraysh tribe around 570 CE, ‘the year of the elephant’ in Mecca, Arabia.
This year was called ‘the year of the elephant’ as it was marked by the event of Abhraha, the
Christian king of Himyarite marched into Ka’ba with a large army riding on an elephant.
Muhammad had the misfortune of losing his father before birth and his shortly after birth. This
made him come under the guardianship of his grand-father, Abd Al Mutalib who also passed
when Muhammad was just eight and his uncle Abu Talib took over the responsibility. The
Muhammad joined his uncle in the caravan trade and later worked for a rich widow, Khadija as a
merchant whom he later married regardless of the of age difference as she was fifteen years
older. The prophet was very upright in his ways and was accepted by many for his ways. He
sometimes withdraws into the cave in Mount Hira for meditation, where he eventually got the
call as a prophet in the first revelation in the appearance of Angel Gabriel (Jibril in Arabic) where
he was made to recite the words of the revelation and the angel pronounced him the messenger
and prophet of Allah.

Pre-Islamic Period

The Prophet started his mission in the pre-Islamic Arabia that was popularly called ‘jahiliyah’
meaning ‘period of ignorance’ characterized with tribal strife, oppression, unbelief, sexual
immorality and other moral decadence. The prevailing orientation of the people was centered on
earthly possessions and the strong desire to maximize pleasure on earth as they had no belief
in after-life. The major concern of the people at this time was tribal loyalty and struggle for
superiority or domination. Though the people recognized Allah as the Supreme Being, but unlike
in Islamic belief, the Meccan society was polytheistic, they worshiped other gods who were
deities and were associated to God. Examples some some triple female gods identified as
daughters of Allah, and ‘Hubal’ recognized as ‘god of rain’. The Ka’aba in Mecca was
recognized at this time as the sacred place of peace and housed several idols and images.
Mecca was very famous because of the presence of Ka’aba which was a place of pilgrimage for
people from far and near, during which a lot of economic go on. The Ka’aba is believed to have
been built by Abraham and his son Ishmael who settled with Hagar his mother in Mecca.

The Quraysh was the most prominent tribe of the Arabians at this time and they were influenced
the culture and spirituality of Jews, Christians, desert monks, and Hanifs (pious ones) around
the region. The Meccan society before Islam was highly classified with social inequality, class
distinctions and slavery.

The Period of Strife and the First Islamic Community

When the Prophet Muhammad started receiving the revelation, he was overcome with fear and
anxiety that he ran to members of his household for refuge. Khadija and Ali were the first to
believe in the revelation and the teachings of the Prophet, and Khadija further took the Prophet
to her cousin Waraqah Ibn Nawfal, a Christian knowledgeable in the scriptures. When Prophet
Muhammad started preaching the absolute oneness of Allah and the standard of worship and
life God desires from the people, the polytheistic society of Mecca did not welcome this
teaching, with the thought that it will erode the social, cultural and religious elements of the
society, particularly the fame of Ka’ba as the home of pilgrims.

In addition to the teaching on the oneness of God, the Prophet also advocated moral life, acts of
charity and the day of judgement. As one would expect, after the death of Khadija and
Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib, the prophet and the followers had no more protection. This was
followed by a fierce persecution that made the Prophet and his followers to migrate to Abyssinia
(Ethiopia) in 619 CE which was a Christian country where they were received. Muhammad had
a divine encounter called ‘miraj’ in his one-night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem. He was
made to speak with the prophets who have gone before him, and this made him more resolute
in the mission. The Prophet and his followers became a community ‘ummah’ for the first time
when they fled to Yathrib (Medina) in a journey called ‘Hijrah’ and later marked the beginning of
Islamic calendar. Medina was later called the ‘city of the prophet’, as this was when the group
assumed the form of a community and the structure of the religion was laid. Medina was not a
complex society like Mecca, having only the Jews and two rival Arab tribes (Kharja and Araj).
With his charismatic qualities, the Prophet was able to unite all these groups as one in a
document of agreement known as the ‘Covenant of Medina’ that also instituted a
commonwealth system. The Jews had freedom to practice their faith but were expected to align
with the commonwealth union.

The Conquest of Mecca

The Muslims who fled with the Prophet from Mecca to Medina and the and Medina converts
called ‘Ansar’ meaning ‘helpers’ lacked sufficient resources for survival. So, they started
attacking Meccan caravans from Syria and looting their goods, which made the Meccans to
stage an attack of Medina in the ‘Battle of Badr’. Fortunately, with a fewer number of soldiers the
Muslims were able to defeat the Meccans and this battle is celebrated is recognized in the
Quran. Later, the Meccans prevailed over the Muslims at the ‘Battle of Uhud’ after which the
Muslims expelled the Jews from Medina, alleging that they were allies to the Meccans, and also
because they wanted to eliminate any form of external influence in Medina. The Muslims
continued to attack Meccan caravans and they grew in military strength. In 627 a large army of
Meccans invaded Medina to take over the city, but thanks to the timely information the Muslims
received, they dug tranches round the entrance of the city with which they used to defeat the
Meccan forces. This was called ‘Battle od Trenches’, which put a stop to the rivalry of Mecca
and a peace agreement was reached. This agreement was breached by the Quraysh after two
years and this prompted the Prophet to invade Mecca, and the people willingly submitted to
Islam.

The Rashidum Caliphs

This refers to the four orthodox or rightly guided caliphs that ruled in succession after the death
of the Prophet. These caliphs were recognized in Islam as ‘Khalifat Rasul Allah’ meaning
‘Successor/Representative of the Messenger of Allah’. The fact that the Prophet did not appoint
a successor or specified guidelines for appointing one led to tension. The Sunnis, who were the
group that followed the traditions of the prophet and make up the majority of the Muslims held
that the prophet did not appoint a successor, while the minority group called the ‘Shi’a’ means
‘party’ believed the prophet appointed his cousin and son in law, Ali. Thus, eventually the
majority favoured Muhammad’s closest companion and father-in-law called ‘Abu Bakr (r.
632–634). At the end of his reign, Abu Bakr was said to have appointed Abu Bakr Umar (r.
634–644) who was also father of one of the wives of the Prophet. The succession tension
continued and Umar was eventuall assassinated. Before his death, Umar selected six people to
be responsible for determining the next caliph after him and this led to the emergence of
Uthman (644–656) who was also assassinated. The last caliph was Ali (656-661). The era od
the caliphs is remembered for the completion of the compilation of the Quran.

The period of the Rashidun caliphate was toppled by the Umayyad caliphate/dynasty was
established by the children of Uthman, Mu’awiya I and Marwan I who were governors of Syria
from which the name of the dynasty was formed. The Umayyad dynasty rose to become one of
the greatest empires ever in history and was overthrown by the Abbasid dynasty led by another
uncle of Prophet Muhammad Abu al Abbas from whose name the dynasty was named. It was
said that the members of Muhammad’s family supported by the Shi’as who felt they have been
denied of their entitled position by continued to mount aggression and propaganda on the
Umayyad rulers until it was defeated during the reign of Marwan II, the last Umayyad ruler and
Abu al Abbas became the first Abbasid ruler. The Abbasid dynasty was later taken over by the

Mongols.

Sects and Schools of Thought in Islam

Sunnis: This is the largest sect in Islam which originated after the death of the prophet, as their
major argument was that the prophet never appointed a successor and believed that the Muslim
community are conferred with the privilege of democratically electing a successor by majority
vote. Hence, they recognized the four caliphs as rightly guided. The Sunnis derive their name
from ‘Sunnah’ which means the teachings, actions and practices of the Prophet.

Shi’as: The Shi’a sect is the second largest and very prominent in Islam. They also emerged
after the death of the Prophet and promoted the idea that the successor of Muhammad must be
from his household, putting forward Ali as the appointed by the Prophet. So, they rejected the
authority of the first three caliphs. This sect believes in the divine authority of the Quran and the
teachings of the Prophet.

Kharijites: This was like a militant group that were assumed to have been responsible for the
assassination some of the Rashidun caliphs.

Asha’rites: This was a group that promoted the theological teaching that the knowledge and
attributes of God are beyond human understanding. Also, that faith of a believer can increase or
decrease, and a person of low faith is incapable of distinguishing between what is sinful and
what is not.

Maturidi: This another theological based sect that holds that a believer’s faith is static, and only
the ‘taqua’ meaning ‘acts of piety’ may increase or decrease, hence, the human mind is able to
determine what is evil without relying on revelation.

Mutazila: This was a theological school of thought influenced by Greek philosophy as they
based their teachings on logic and rationalism, which they tried to combine with Islamic faith.
Some of their topics of debate include the nature of the Quran, whether it is co-equal with God,
the problem of evil in the world, freewill and predestination and the fate of sinners, especially as
it concerns punishment for sins and evil in hell.

Sufism: This is like an ascetic sect in Islam. It is the belief in spiritual heights with God can be
attained through self-denial, mortification of the body and secluded life from the society to
engage in meditation and reflection. It is basically resorting to inner self like intuition or divine
illumination to direct.

Sources of islamic moral teachings

Islamic religious teachings and ethical standard are all contained in the law called ‘shariah’. The
Shariah means the ‘a pathway to peace’ or a ‘beaten path. This is why Islamic religion is often
seen as a religion of peace, following the tenets of the Shariah law which is outlines principles
that cover every aspect of human existence for the purpose of achieving a peaceful society.
Therefore, the sources of Shariah are the same as the sources of Islamic doctrinal and ethical
teachings and they include:
 ●​ The Quran: The Quran refers to the authentic words of Allah that were revealed to the
Prophet and was transmitted by the Prophet by memorizing and reciting to a scribe
(writer) for documentation. It is the primary and the bedrock of all the sources of Islamic
faith, that must not be contradicted by other sources.
●​ The Hadith and the Sunnah: The hadith and the sunnah represent the oral and written
traditions, respectively. They contain all spoken words, actions, decisions and practices
of the Prophet and his early followers in accordance with the provisions of the Quran.
●​ The Ijma: This is simply the Islamic community of faithful led by the clerics. This is
basically a secondary source of law, and it is based on the collective instructions of the
leaders of the Islamic community guided by the Quran and the Hadith/Sunnah.
●​ The Qiyas: This refers to human informed reason based on the knowledge of the
primary sources of law.

Pillars of Faith

●​ Belief in the Absolute one of Allah, the Shahada

●​ Belief in Prophet Muhammed as the Prophet of God
●​ Belief in the Holy Book
●​ Belief in angels
●​ Belief in retribution and the Day of judgement

Articles of Faith

●​ Declaration of the absolute oneness of God (Shahada)

●​ Prayer (Salah)
●​ Almsgiving (Zakat)
●​ Fasting (Sawn)
●​ Pilgrimage (Hajj)