INTRODUCTION

Muslims were regarded as arch nemesis of Christians b/c Islam was the only
world religion that came into existence after Christianity
The European image of the prophet is distorted, refer to him as Mahomet
Scottish for devil
Quran was translated in several languages and several scholars began to show
interest in Arabic language
Islam means to surrender to the divine will
The word quran means recitation
Desert that is northeast of Yemen is called empty quarter
A Muslim is someone who recognizes that there is one god, believes in gods
angels, fulfills cultic duties, does salat, is combined with zakat
Islam had become interwoven in western culture, because reps of Arabic natural
sciences brought invaluable treasures to medieval Europe.
o Eastern influences also discovered in stories etc.
o Crusades supplied the west with precious goods, as well many names of
stars and mathematical terms as well as chemical expressions are part of
Arabic heritage
th
19 century, a scholarly approach to Islam began
o Gustav Weil tried to describe the life of the prophet by separating historical
events from legends
Muhammad saw himself as the 1st messenger to Arabs after Abraham but no one
believed him except the lower classes
Bedouins didnt worship stones, trees and water
Some inhabitants of Yathrib, north of Mecca, invited over Muhammad over into
their house
o Muhammad with his friend Abu Bakr went to settle in Yathrib and soon
Yathrib became known as the city of the prophet or madinat an-nabi
Muhammad was convinced he was preaching the same truth as Jews, Christians
but they thought otherwise
Ghazwa was a way of expressing vitality and seemed like a competition
The basic form of social system was tents pitched together making a hay which
consisted of a clan, several clans together made a tribe, the clan would have one
shaykh which called itself one name: Banu Hashim
Ali was Muhammads cousin and the first male to convert to islam, he married
Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad
Muhammads duty was to warn people about the DOJ
Islam is an act not a thing
Ibada means worship
Gabriel split open Muhammads body and washes his heart and bowels in a
golden basin and then put them back, he then led him to Jerusalem where he
prayed a prayer at the farthest mosque
Law of retaliation reigned supreme lex talionis
A poet in Arabic is known as Shair one who knows

Meccan suras have 3 periods: early, middle, and late. Early suras are generally
brief, middle suras are longer and more formal
Hafiz al-Quran translates to the guardian of the Quran that is the one who has
memorized it and keeps it alive, this person then becomes a reciter, qaria
Khatma is the closing of a recitation, the conclusion of the Khatma is the
beginning of another
a muslim shouldnt handle a copy of the Quran unless they are ritually pure
the art of citation in Arabic is called ilm al-tajwad aka qiraa and tilawa
quran is used as a protective device from evil etc.
islam is the religion of the quran
sufiism is the remembering of god
tafsir translates into interpretation
Mushaf was another term for Quran
o There are 114 chapters called suras
o Go from long to short, the 1st sura is an exception called Al-Fatiha
o Chronological order to the suras: in order which was revealed

ARABIA BEFORE ISLAM

Caves and stones were considered sacred and filled with blessing power, Baraka
Trade markets etc. held during 4 sacred months during which fighting and killing
werent allowed, called jahiliyya

DEFINITIONS
Homoou-sion to Patri: son is of the same substance as his father
Torah: scroll that contained the first 5 books of Hebrew Scriptures
Mishna: is the 1st written recording of the Oral Torah
Asabiya: was a powerful group feeling
Talmud: culmination of the process and the ultimate commentary on the
Mishna
Halakha: Jewish law and the philosophy of law
Aggada: collective Jewish literature that contains biblical narratives/tales
Gemara: the completion of the Mishna
Hijaz: coastal region in the western Arabian Peninsula
Hilm: knowledge
Daughters of Allah:
Sirat Rasul Allah: Arabic term used for the biographies of Prophet Muhammad
Salat: is ritual worship, was the 1st duty placed upon the early Muslims
Baraka: blessing, spiritual power possessed by some individuals
Jahiliyya: time of ignorance, also includes the notion of barbarism
Hanif: men who believed in one god but werent yet Muslims as the Quran
didnt exist yet
Israfil: angel of the trumpet
Sura: a chapter or section in the Quran
Tauhid: is the concept of one god in Islam (monotheism)
Zakat: payment used for charitable and religious purposes

Higra: Muhammads departure from Mecca to Medina

Bismillah: in the words of god is to be said before every act
Fatra: time period (6 months) in which Muhammad didnt have contact with
his divine source
People of the Book: Christians and Jews who have twisted and corrupted
messages from scriptures
Dahr: like the concept of fate, it erases lives, possessions, and the deeds of
human beings
Umma: whole community of muslims bound together by the ties of religion
Wird: ritualized private prayer which concentrates on the recitation of the
Quran
Tribal Humanism: biographer of Muhammad binding people togther
Dua: is an individual address to God
Id al-adha: the festival of sacrifice
Mawlid: festival that celebrates the birth of Muhammad
Hejaz: region where islam was born and developed cradle of islam
Semites: arabs that could speak a language belonging to a large family of
related toungues including Hebrew and SyriacHadith Qudsi:
Ghazwa: adding to the tribes store of goods through raiding
THE PRE-ISLAMIC NEAR EAST

Near east dominated by 2 great empires: Eastern Roman or Byzantine

o Successful in maintaining political and administrative unity
Christianity dominated the near east
Faith began when Jewish followers of a Palestinian teacher (Joshua) made a claim
that their rabbi was the expected messiah (champion) and that he had risen from
the dead
o As a result followers of Jesus galvanized (stimulated) by the certainty and
thus went around Jewish communities spreading the news
Christian faith almost torn apart from controversy
o People knew Jesus was human and that he had resurrected from dead. But
wondered how he could be both human and god.
o Arius said that Jesus wasnt god
o Council of Nicaea established a foundation of Homoou-sion to Patri
o Claimed that Mary (mother of Jesus) could not be called mother of god
rather mother of Christ
o Nestorius thought that god self-manifested in manhood, so Jesus was like
god in hidden form
o Council of Chalcedon condemned Mary as the mother of god
Contest b/n Antioch and Alexandria, contest b/n diff. styles of piety (devotion),
scripture etc.
o Council of Chalcedon condemned Mary as the mother of god
o Pope Leo declared Jesus as one and not 2 ppl
The big types of Christians: Orthodox Chalcedonians, Monophysites and
Nestorians

o Marcionites rejected old testament, creator of material world was evil being
Katir, the head of Zoroastrian priesthood
o Katirs inscription reflects 2 important features: (1)Zoroastrian linked with the
imperial rule (2)Zoroastrian establishment felt threatened by other
challengers
Zoroastrian cosmology is characterized by the struggle b/n the good (Ahura
Mazda) and the bad (Ahriman)
Founde of prophet named Zarathustra
Arabs trace back their roots to 2 major sources: northerners and southerners.
Southerners centered on in Yemen (aboriginals) whereas northerners settled in
Hejaz etc.
o Northerners are thought of as descendants of Ishmael
o Southerners regards itself as descendants of biblical forbearers (Joktan who
was the grandson of Shem)
The dominant pattern of life was pastoralist as people were divided into
individual tribes with alliances in b/n which were easily dissolved in the case of a
disagreement
o Pastoralists moved their flocks and people etc. around according to the
availability of pastureland
o Main way of life was raising camels and sheep and hunting or raiding
Arabian way of life was highly conservative, rare change
Muslims incorrectly names Zoroastrians as fire worshippers b/c their religion
symbol is fire
According to Sasanian, religion and state are twins
JUDAISM

Jews took place after the Babylonian destruction of the Temple, and concentrated
around the canal system
The torah was transmitted from teacher to teacher, rabbi to rabbi until it was
recorded in the Mishna
People who werent Jewish werent allowed to read the Hebrew Scriptures
Talmud study consisted of two kinds of material:
o (1)commandments called Halakha and narratives called Aggada
o Also dealt with 2 revelations: the written Torah in the Mishna and the oral
Torah

THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD

Muhammad was born in 570 in Mecca as a member of the Hashim clan of the
Quraish
He later married his employer names Khadijah who was older than him
o He had 4 children (girls) but the 2 sons died in childhood, then his wife died
when he was 50
He liked to go to mount Hira to mediate until he started seeing visions and
hearing voices, until he realized it was an angelic voice telling him a message

Ibn Ishaq was a minor scholar of medina, compiled the 1 st biography (sira) of
Muhammad
o Two genealogies (study of family ancestries): (1) 1 st genealogy traces the
ancestry of Muhammad, son of Abd Allah, the founder of Mecca to Ismail,
Ibrahim, Shem, Noah, to Adam. (2) the 2nd genealogy gives a more detailed
account of Ismails decedents
Dhu Nuwaz, a convert to Judaism takes the throne in Himyar and massacred
many Christians during the year of the elephant. He also foolishly sets out to
destroy the Kaba in Mecca with the force led by an elephant named Mahmud, this
expeditions leads him to encounter Muhammads grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib
who was the leader of the Quraysh.
o He is the one that discovered the Zamzam
o Mahmud the elephant refused to move and knelt down whenever he faced
the Mecca
o Abrahas army was defeated by birds carrying clay stones
o Mecca saved by divine (godlike) intervention
o Muhammad was born
Muhammads father died before his son was born, his mother, Amina, had heard
a voice before her son was born
o His foster mother was named Bedouin
o Miraculous sign were shown after his birth: his mothers ailing donkey
perked up, her livestock started producing more milk, and the family
prospered
o He had a seal of prophethood on the seal of his shoulders
o He said that every prophet at some point was a shepard
o He married a woman named Khadijah
Bahira told Abu Talib to protect Muhammad from the Jews, as they would try to
harm him if they knew of his true identity
There are two terms that apply to Muhammad: nabi and rasil. Nabi means
prophet and rasil means messenger who can communicate with god
During one of his stays in mount Hira during the month of Ramadan of his fortieth
year, Muhammad was visited by an angel named Gabriel
o Gabriel gave Muhammad what would become the first of the Quran
o Waraqa (Khadijahs cousin) assured Khadijah that Muhammad had been
visited by the great Namus, they very one that visited Moses
Once Gabriel came to Muhammad, Khadijah tried to see if he was good or bad, so
she uncovered her veil, resulting in Gabriel walking out of the room, deeming
modesty
For 3 yrs Muhammads message spread quietly and privately and soon he had
followers
o 1st follower of Muhammad was Khadijah, 2nd was his 10 yr old cousin (Ali the
son of Abu Talib), 3rd Zayd, 4th Haritha, 5th Abu Bakr
Gabriel taught Muhammad how to perform the salat
o Noon prayer, evening prayer, sunset prayer, night prayer, morning prayer
God eventually instructed Muhammad to go public with his message

When Muhammad tried to convince the Qurayshi leaders by multiplying

food/drink, they just laughed at him, and when he was persistent, they
plotted his downfall
There were many proofs for resurrection (1) it cant be difficult for god to reunite
the already existing parts and particles. (2) growth of a desert after a rainfall. (3)
gods unlimited power (ex: fertility)
Muhammad travelled to Jerusalem accompanied by Buraq and Gabriel, there he
met Moses, Abraham, and Jesus and led them to prayer
Bilal has become a symbol of racial intolerance in Islam for African and African
American muslims
Muhammad was given a tour of heaven and hell
o As he ascended the 7 heavens, he met a prophet on each level
o Adam in the 1st, Jesus and his cousin John 2nd, Joseph 3rd, Idris in 4th Aaron in
5th, Moses 6th, Abraham 7th
After Khadija had passed away, Muhammad married several wives whom were
mostly widows, his favourite however was Aisha
Mecca had become dangerous for Muhammad so he decided to along with Abu
Bakr hid in a cave for 3 days, the Quraysh was plotting to kill him, they passed by
the cave but noticed that a web was spun around it and decided to not look in
there.
o Later Muhammad and Bakr travelled back to Medina taking backroads and
this was later recognized as the beginning of the lunar calendar, not the first
day of Muhammads arrival, the day is July 16, 622.
o Umma muslima is human communities united by a common faith
Battle of the trench was when a large force of men walked up to the Mecca and
Muhammads convert suggested they dig a trench to withstand the long siege
Muhammad made a treaty with the Meccans called the treaty of alHudaybiya
Muhammads first act was to purify the Kaba by destroying the polytheistic idols
Muhammad was involved in his daughter in law, Zayd was Muhammads adopted
son and husband of Zaynab
Muhammad died on March of 632, and was buried beneath Aishas house
o

ARTICLES

Arabian Peninsula known in Arabic as jazirat al-arab which translates to the

island of the arabs
o Separated from the neighbouring world by natural barriers such as: water on
3 sides: Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Red Sea, the Syrian
desert on the 4th
o The principle cities of Islam (Mecca and Medina) are located in the rugged
inhospitable area in the western part of the peninsula known as Hijaz
Arabs divided into 2 major groups: Yamani (south) and Mudari (north)
Arabia Felix means happy arabia. Based on the belief that the inhabitants of
the Mediterranean Basin possessed a lot of wealth obtained from their trade
Ethical values were determined by Bedouin lifestyle

Life in the desert was a constant struggle for survival, with no central
authority to regulate
o Bedouins were characterized by their high mobility, they journeyed long
distances on camels etc. in search of pastures/waterholes etc.
o Nomadic Bedouins resided in tents made of camel or goat hair
o A typical tribe would consist of the chief, shaykh and his family
Since the Bedouin didnt have a stable source of livelihood or resources, they had
to resort to raiding and robbing
Oral speech was highly valued by Arabs
o Believed that words possessed magical qualities
o Had competitions b/n poets representing diff. tribes and the winning poem
was memorized and carried across Arabia orally
Northern/central Arabia had to trade, thus traded with Palmyra which is present
day Jordon. While in west-central Arabia (in the Hijaz) commercial activities were
centered around Mecca
Although the Mecca at first consisted of a cluster of mud houses and looked more
like a village, the Bedouin tribes viewed it as sacred due to the pagan sanctuary
o Warfare, hunting, and settling of tribal scores was prohibited on this territory
Arabian lore featured supernatural beings such as jinn and ifrits (spririts) and the
evil female demon called ghul
o To placate (satisfy) the, one had to utter charms or make small sacrifices. If
this didnt help then there were specialists known as kahins (soothsayers)
who claimed they could communicate with these supernatural beings
While pagans (a person holding religious beliefs) constituted of majority of
Arabias population, it also home to 2 monotheistic communities: Jewish and
Christian
The 5 pillars of islam: faith (shahada), prayer (salat), charity (zakat), fasting
(sawm), and pilgrimage (hajj)
o Witness to faith (shahada) consists of repeating 2 phases, there is no god
but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of god
o Various elements connected with salat: such as standing, bowing,
prostrating, and facing the qibla. There is salat-al: fajr, zuhr, asr, maghrib,
and isha. The call of prayer is given by adhan. The Friday noon prayers are
led by an imam. Special prominence is also given to the witr prayer which is
performed at night.
o Zakat should be made without drawing attention to the one who is giving.
o During the month of the hijri calendar. It is considered good to read the
Quran during the month of Ramadan, which is why it is split up into 30 equal
sections, one for each day.
o You can fast on other days as well: you may fast for breaking an oath, or
while on hajj you may fast to retract a divorce
o Prior to hajj itself, ritual purification is taken, pilgrims participate in prayers
and invocations mosques around the Kaba. Then they assemble outside in
Mina and stay there for a night, the next morning they depart for Arafat and
o

assemble on mount of mercy where prayer ritual is performed and the stand
from until the sun passes from the meridian to sunset.
The mosque acts as a source of identity for the individual believers and a symbol
and center of purity for the muslim community
Other ritual activities include: Mawlid, visiting tombs of holy men and women etc.