The Influence On Mohammed The Profit And Islam On Arabia Essay, Research Paper

THE INFLUENCE OF MOHAMMED THE PROPHET

AND ISLAM ON ARABIA

The success of the Arabian civilization is due to the

contributions and efforts of one single man by the name of Pbuh

Mohammed. Mohammed was a prophet who was responsible for the

creation and development of the Islam religion which would later

become the foundation of the Arabian society. Other than the fact that

he developed a religion that is accepted world wide, he granted the

people of Arabia with a new culture and way of life. There is no way to

measure the importance of this one man?s life, or the impact that he

had on both Arabia and the rest of the world. Arab civilization truly

began in AD 570 with the birth of a man that would grow up to

develop the foundation for every aspect of the Arabian life.

The Islam religion is the first and oldest of its kind. The

development of this Muslim belief caused a great turning point in the

development of the Arabian civilization. It would eventually grow and

develop, forming the foundation of the entire Arabian Empire. The

word Islam itself means submission to the will of the Gods. While the

word Muslims, the name given to followers of the Islam religion,

simple translates into those who submit. The religion began with one

follower named Mohammed, and expanded to the present day

estimate of about 750,000,000 ( , ). The Muslims believe in one

God and one God only, Allah. They believe that he stands alone and

has absolute control over the actions of all people on earth.

Muslims also believe that all men are equal to Allah. For this

reason, the importance of acts of charity, and easing the

suffering of those in need were greatly stressed by Mohammed.

At the time this was directed towards the poor, the women and

the children of Arabia. Islam religion is said to be a cross

between Christianity and Judaism. There are many similarities

between the Christian and Jewish God, and Allah. Muslims

believe that there was a man by the name of Jesus, but that he

was one of the six prophets that Allah chose to help Him

communicate His word to the people here on earth. They accept

the virgin birth of Jesus, but deny His divinity and resurrection.

They considered Mohammed, who was born in AD 571, ( , )

to be the final and the greatest of all the prophets. Not only was

he an outstanding preacher of God?s word, but he took on both

political and military roles while living in Yathrib (modern day

Medina). It is said that while meditating in a cave on Mount Hira,

the angel Gabriel spoke to Mohammed and told him to “read the

name of the Lord, who created man from a lot of blood” ( , ).

The voice of this heavenly angel was sent down by Allah to

communicate his words of wisdom to Mohammed. In about AD

613, after three years of living the life intended by Allah in

private, the angel Gabriel was said to appear to him once again

and tell him to “Arise and warn” ( , ). That is when

Mohammed began to preach the word of Allah in public. Over

the next twenty three years Mohammed attempted to improve the

society?s morality. His speeches were often written down by

more than one of his many followers. They greatly inspired the

Arabian people to live a life following the words of Allah, and

made them want to learn more about the wishes of their God.

Directly following the death of Mohammed, his followers began

to compile the notes from his speeches into a Holy book, which

eventually was called the Koran. People believed that the words

of Allah were delivered to Mohammed piece by piece from

Gabriel and therefore believed this Holy book to be the exact

words of God delivered to them through Mohammed. This Holy

Book holds one hundred and fourteen chapters that are

memorized by many people throughout the world. It describes

what one must do to be loved and accepted in the eyes of Allah.

This religion was a gradual development that took twenty three

years to complete, but when it was finished, it outlined the

beliefs and lifestyle of the Muslim Arabs.

As Mohammed the prophet spread the word of God, new

tradition and development of the Arabian culture began to take place.

The roles among the society became clearly defined. Especially

between the two genders and those of various social status. The

society developed into a very male dominated one that focused of

male honor. Women were believed to be weak, and more subjected

to temptation. While men?s lives were focused on success and pride,

women?s were focused on trying to keep others, especially their

husbands, happy. In a way, they were treated almost like slaves, in

the sense that their life was dedicated obeying the wishes of other

people in an attempt to make others happy, or satisfied with them. To

do any less would be a great disgrace to both your husband, and

family, one which could never be erased. The most distinctive

tradition that developed is the clothing and role of Arabian women.

By the age of twelve, a young lady?s body must be completely

covered from head to toe. The only skin allowed to be shown is a

small part of the skin around your eyes, that was revealed by the veil.

The veil is very well recognized by foreigners. Veils have been worn

by women of the middle east since at least 1500 BC. There are both

traditional and practical reason why this garment is worn. First of all it

protects women?s faces from the hot desert sun and dry windblown

sand. The religious purpose is that goes along with the whole

conservative women?s role that was laid out by Mohammed. Another

traditional outfit worn by Muslim woman is the abaaya. The abaaya is

a long black outer cloak which drapes over a woman, covering her

body from head to toe. The Practical use of the abaaya is that in the

winter, it keeps one warm, and in the summer, it prevents the

evaporation of the moisture on women?s body. Although both these

garments have practical purposes, the main reason that they were

worn by woman was for extra precautions. They were used to

safeguard ones modesty and insure that one would not receive a bad

name. A conservative women “reveals nothing with her looks, words

or actions which she displays” ( , ) . It was the men?s job to keep

the woman in line; always obeying the laws created for conservative

woman. If a woman was caught out of the traditional attire, or if she

earned herself a bad reputation in any other way, shape, or form,

than she would be punished in the town square in front of everyone.

This was the officials way of preventing any other woman from

rebelling. Punishments included horrendous tortures such as the

cutting off of one?s hand. You could earn a poor reputation very easily,

for example, if you are caught talking to a male who is not directly

related to you. You were really frowned upon if you made any sort of

contact with a man outside of your family, even if it was just a simple

hello. For this reason, marriages were arranged by the parents of the

couple. However, it was more of a suggestion by the family, it was

never forced on them. The Prophet Mohammed believed in

polygamy, therefore, men were allowed to have as many a four wives.

The one condition was that they all had to be treated equally. If the

man could not do so, than he must choose one of the women to keep

as his wife and let the rest go. Women however, were only allowed to

have one husband. Women really did not have many options. They

were not religiously, or riotously protected from harm unless they

were proved to be a conservative woman with a good name. The

cleaner your background, the more protection you would receive.

Woman were very much babied in this society. They were not free to

make their own decisions. They were not allowed to enroll in school,

to have important jobs, or to be seen in the company of a man that

was not related to them. While men were off working hard, women

had the option of being homemakers, which was much more socially

preferred, or of working in the medical, social, or educational field.

The only exception being that all of your CO-workers and customers

had to all be female. Women really had no choice but to obey the

very unfair rules because they were not free to leave the country and

to protest would mean severe punishments. However, growing up in

that environment, made the woman accept their roles without a lot of

fuss. The Islam religion defined and changed the roles of various

people throughout the Arabian society.

Finally, the impact that Mohammed made on Saudi Arabia and

the rest of the world was very dramatic. The Arab?s worship of jinn

spirits was quickly replaced by the Islam religion. This new found

religion along with the inspiring words of Mohammed, encouraged the

Muslims to preach the word of Allah and convert as many people as

possible. The Muslims began to set out and conquer many cities

and countries. The Muslims would continue to conquer large lands

which belonged to the “civilized” world, hundreds of years later. The

Beginning of the Muslim calendar is marked at the beginning of

Mohammed and his followers? migration to the city of Yathrib, which

is known today as Medina. The Koran was not only the book of the

Islam faith and rituals, but of the government and law. It laid out

common sins and laid out punishments for them. They holy book

defined the social status of women and men. It provided Arabia with

a good sense of how to govern family life and it offered clear

guidelines on personal behavior and legal matters. There was no real

distinction between the church and religious activities, and the

government and the state. The holy book was a guideline of which

the Muslims looked to, for answers to their everyday lives.

Mohammed created a religion that would eventually spread world

wide personally effect and change the lives of over seven hundred

million people. Mohammed placed the grounds for the development

of the Arabian lifestyle, which would spread like wildfire, shaping the

lives and cultures of civilizations around the world.

To Muslims, Pbuh Mohammed?s life was of greater importance

the life of Christ, and all others who were sent to earth by God. His

life changed the faces of many cultures and civilizations world wide.

His words and actions were greatly influential and are still studied and

recited by scholars and many others today. He was a man who made

history, from the day he was born until the day he died. Those who

were followers of this great man realized that after his life had

finished, the world, and Arabia would never be the same.