Islamic Religion Essay, Research Paper

Todays Muslims are branded as terrorists

or fudamentalist. But their religion is a gentle religion. On

the Arabian Penninsula, home of the Arabs, was isolated

and they were able to develop their civilization without

outside influences. It is about 1 million miles square, that is

located between the Red sea and the Persian Gulf. There

are two distinctive regions. The first has well-watered

valleys between mountains and the second is arid plains

and desert. Grass grows quickly during the showes of the

rainy season. In ancient times the Arabs were bedouin

(nomads that hersed sheep, goats, and camels. and lived in

tents made made of felt from camel or goat hair.) They ate

fresh or dried dates and drank milk from their herds. On

special occasions they ate mutlon. their tribes were made of

related families. They valued family ties becuase because

they ensured they ensured protection and survival. They

had a chief (sheikh). The sheikh ruled as long as the tribe

allowed him. They had a counsil of elders. There was

warfare over waterholes and pastures. Their way of

punishment is an eye for sn eye and a tooth for a tooth. To

improve warrior skills they had camel and horse. They had

story telling in frount of the campfire. They had poetry

about battles, desert, camels, horses, and love. In 500

A.D. they started a town called Makkah, which was fifty

miles inland of the Red sea. Trade was mostly of animal

producys for weopeans dates grains, spices, jewels ivory,

silk, and perfumes. They had caravans travel there from as

for china. Arabs had and worshipped many ditied business

ties were replaceing family ties, and old tribal laws were not

adequat Byzantine and the Persin armies were threatining to

conquer them. The tribes had the some language but they

had no central goverment, or sense of unity, The Arabs

searched for new beliefs. The prohet of Islam was

muhammad. He was born in Makkah in 570 A. D. . He

was orphaned at an early age and was adopted by his

uncle. He worked as a carovan leader on a trade route. He

was know to be honest and able. His employer khadij’a ,a

weakthy window if age 40, put him in charge of this

business and proposed marriage to him. He went to a cave

outside the city in 610 A.D. to pray and fast reveloution

(vision) there. He was told to recite. "Recite in the name of

your lord, the creator who created man from clots of

blood. Rwcite! Your lord os the most bountiful one who by

the pen has taught mankind things they didn’t know.” His

second vision to rise and worn people. In 613 A.D. he

preached to his family and friends that there was one god.

And all that belived in him are equal.The rich shared with

poor lots of the converts were poor. The rich merchants

and the religious leaders did not like,Mushamad and the

Muslims were persecuated. After some theats on his life in

632 A.D. he sent 60 families to Yathrib.And then follewes

them in secret(Known then as the Hjrah immirgration). 622

A.D. os know on the Musslim calandar as the frist year.

Muhamad became the rules of Yathris then it was called

Medinch al-Neb orMadinah ”the city of the priphet.”The

Madinch Compact of 624 A.D. was the foundation of

Islanie state. Muhamad was the Judge and commander in

chief. Quxan was their bible of Ialam. They extended

proection, to Jews and christiand who accepted Islams

political authoriyt. Makkems invaded Yathrib,and the

Muslims fought in self defense.The Makkans were

defeated. And the Muslims won support of the Arab

groups outside of Madinsh. They later invaded Makkah

and hod little resistance.They accepted Islamic Religion and

Muhammad. Islanic Religion and Muhammed. They

destroyed idols, and turned the shrine of prohet Abraham

into a place of worship. Makkah was the spiritual capital

and Mdinth into the political capital. In 631 A.D. the

Arabian Peninsula was supported by an army representing

each of the Arab tribes. Muhammad later died at Madinah

in 632 A.D. Beliefs The Quran was the divine messages

from God over a peroid of 22 years. It was written down

or memorized that was compiled into a written

collection(Quran). is the final matters of faith and lifestyles.

It was written in Arabic. It is stories, teachings, and

exhorations of what is written in the Bible. Values Basic

Moral values in the Quran are similar to Christanity and

Judasim.Murder, lying, stesling and adultury are

condemened.Honor parents, protect wideous and orphans,

show kindness to neighoors and give maney to the poor.

They weren’t allowed to eat pork. drink alchol; gambaling.

They have rules for marriage, disorce, family life businss

prastices, and property inheritences. Law is not seperated

from religion. There is no rated in order of clergy. Sharii’ ah

organization moral principles into a body of law. Based on

Quren and Hadith ( sayings of Muhammad) covered all

aspects of Muslism private and public lifes. Five pillars of

Islam faith Confessions of faith: "There is no god but God,

and Muhammad is the messenger of God." All Muslisms

are requiered to submit to god’s will as given in the Quran.

Muhhammad role is stress in the Confession, that he is just

the messenger and not devine.. Musliums think that he is

the last and the greatest of the Prophets. They see life as a

preparation of Judgement Day. And when they rise from

the grave, they will be judge dor their actions( heaven or

hell). allah is also the god of the Jews, christans, Adam ,

Abraham, Moses, and Jeuses. They are all given c onsider

to be prophets. Musliums have great respect for the Bible,

Judasim, and Christianity. They believe that the Arabs rea

decendents of Ishmauel, son of Abraham. Prayer: They

pray five times a day sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset and

evening facing Makkah using the same motion and words.

They kneel, bow, and touch their foreheads to the ground

(sign of submission). They pray no matter what. Friday at

noon in a mosque( shrine, court, school, and shelter).

Imam(leader of the prayer) can be any male with the

proper religous training. Alms are chartity done privately

and a state tax. Fasting: Is in the month of Ramadan ( the

ninth month of the Ariabian calander).They can not eat or

drink from sunrise to sunset. After the fasting they have a

three day feast. Children, sick and pregant women are

excempt. Cannon sounds for the prayers. Pilgemage-

(Haji) everyone goes to Makkah at least once in their life.

Once they go they are honored in their community. Haji is

two months and ten days after Ramadum fast. They have

three days of ceremony, prayer, and sacrifice. Now they

worship at Kaaba, Nakkah, and madinah. It is a visible

expression of unity and an expression of ideas. Role of

Women "Men are responsible for women". Womens

postion is largely defined by her relationship with her male

relatives and Husbends. They stopped the tribusl killing of

baby girls. They limited polygamy down to 4 wives. But

they had to be equal to each other. Women had control

over her own property and she could inhert property from

her father and remarry. Their lives are invested into the

family and household. Muisana the wife of Mu’awiyat

wrote: " The coarse cloth woven in serenity of the desert Is

more precious to me then lucuries robes of a Queen I love

the bedouins tent, caressed by the murmuring breeze and

standing amid boundless horizons, More than the glided

halls of marble in their royal splender. I feel more at ease

with my simple crust than with the delicies of the court; I

prefer to rise early with the caravan Rather than to be inthe

golden glare of the sumptous escourt. The barking of the a

watchdog keeping away strangers Pleases me more than

the sounds of the trbourine played by court singers; I prefer

a desert cavlier, generous and poor To a fat lout inn purple

living behind closed doors." -Najib Ullah, Islamic literature

Men Men were active in politics, army, bussiness, and

fields. They went to the bath houses for relaxation and to

work out. Boys entered school at age seven. They take

writing and reading. Which are Arab admires. They went to

Madrasa ( theroloigical school) after they finished regular

school. Houses They are plain with very little furnture. They

used carpets, small objects of art, and pillows. They sat on

the rug and used pillows to lean on. During meals

household members sit in a circle and ate from large trays

of bread, fruits, and meats. Islamics Trade spices, textiles,

glass, and carpets. Men met in bazaars ( market places) to

converse and business. food was difficult to grow in alot of

Islamic country. They Irragated, rotated, and fertilized land.

Large landowners who owned the more productive got

grants from the goverment. they hire nearby farmers to

help. They produced wheat, rice, beans, cucumbers, celery

and perfume. Islamic scientest translate the scintfic books

into Arbaic. They invented algebraand equations to define

curves and lines. Their work in geometry lead to invention

of trigometry. They accuratly predicted the solar eclipses.

they accuratly measured the circumfrence and size. they

were unmatched until the 1990’s. They produce the most

accurate maps of the eatern Hemesphere. They developed

alchemy, the branch of science that try to convert iron into

gold. al-Ruiz classfied chemical subsyances into animal,

plant or mineral. He wrote a medical encyclepida and a

handbook that told the differences betwees small poxs and

measles. Their knowledge of medicine was centuries ahead

of the rest of the world.