Islam: a Brief Historic Overview

Islam is a major world religion founded in Arabia and based on the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. The Arabic word Islam means "to surrender," but as a religious term in the Qur'an, it signifies surrendering to the will or law of God. All devout Muslims, regardless of their race, learn to read Arabic so they may read the Qur'an in its native tongue. Additionally, Muslims have their own calendar based on the phases of the moon. Islam is known for its lack of racial discrimination, as all people are considered equal in the eyes of Allah. This principle, along with the Arabic language, unifies Muslims across the globe. Islam has flourished in diverse climatic, cultural, and ethnic regions. Although exact statistics are not available, the Muslim world population is estimated at more than 1 billion. In Europe, Islam is the second-largest religion after Christianity. So how did Islam become so universal? What makes Islam such a major world religion?

Islam: A Concise Historical Overview

To understand Islam better, one must first know something about the Prophet Muhammad. The founder of Islam was Muhammad, whom the Qur'an describes as the Seal of all Prophets, meaning that the prophethood was completed with him. Although the exact date is unknown, Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570 AD. His father died before he was born, and he lost his mother when he was six. After this, an uncle raised him. Not much is known about his childhood, except that he was very trustworthy and had a good sense of human relationships. Because of this, he became known as al-Amin (the trusted one).

Muhammad was forty when the angel Gabriel came to him and revealed the Qur'an. In 610, he began to preach the first of a series of revelations granted to him by Allah. The divine messages, received during solitary visits into the desert, continued for the rest of his life. After four years, he had converted approximately 40 people to his views, and he then began to preach openly in his native city of Mecca. Muhammad advocated improving the lives of slaves, women, orphans, and the poor. This quickly angered the rich people who dominated Mecca. They persecuted some of Muhammad's weaker followers, and in 615, he ordered 83 families to take refuge in Ethiopia. In 622, after careful considerations, Muhammad asked all of his followers to leave Mecca and travel to Medina. This event marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad soon held authority, having been recognized as a lawgiver and prophet. Arab and Jewish opposition to him in Medina was crushed, and war began against Mecca. Arab tribes declared their allegiance to him, and Mecca surrendered in 630. Muhammad died suddenly in 632. After his death, his followers compiled everything they believed was the word of God in a document known as the Qur'an, the holy Scripture of Islam. The Qur'an is considered the final and most nearly perfect revelation of God.

Pre-Islamic Arabia and the Emergence of Islam

Before Islam became dominant, religion in Arabia was based on idolatry and polytheism. Although they held beliefs about an afterlife, they were not very clear. This made it easy for Islam to convert people who wished for a more structured religion. The religions that came before Islam had no strict dogma, and idolatry was a major part of worship. The central sanctuary at Mecca once held around 360 idols. Islam incorporated many of Arabia's native beliefs into its religion. Such practices as the pilgrimage to Mecca were absorbed, in modified form, from Arabic paganism. People had been making pilgrimages to Mecca long before Muhammad brought Islam to them and the pilgrimage of Hajj. The circumambulation that Muslims perform at Hajj was an old pagan tradition, used as part of ceremonies to the gods. Even the name Allah is derived from a pagan god. Allah is the general Arabic term for the supreme being rather than the name of a particular deity. Rather than introducing a new god, Muhammad denied the existence of the gods worshipped before his prophethood and proclaimed the omnipotence of Allah. This facilitated the conversion of pagans to Islam, as they could recognize the name and it didn't feel like a complete abandonment of their religion.

Not much is known about Pre-Islamic Arabia. One of the few facts agreed upon is the diversity of Arabian society prior to Islam. It was comprised of diverse communities with different customs, languages, and lifestyles. There was also no political unity. This time before Islam is called Jahiliyyah, or the age of ignorance.

The Expansion and Influence of Islam

Islam emerged in Arabia in the seventh century and declared itself to be a re-emergence of the old monotheistic religion that had once existed there. Important elements from Judaism and Christianity were incorporated into Islam, making it closer to these faiths than any Indian religion. When Muhammad converted his birth city of Mecca, he destroyed all the idols within the Ka'ba and dedicated the place to Allah. During the first centuries of Islam (7th-10th century), its law and theology were developed. Islam expanded rapidly after the death of Muhammad. At his death, Islam had spread across the entire Arabian Peninsula. By 661, Egypt and Persia had also been converted. By the 8th century, Islam had reached as far as Spain, France, and Constantinople. It was not merely a question of conquest; the Islamic faith had enormous appeal, and people were converted to it wherever the Arabs conquered and settled. Converts were encouraged by the promises that Allah made about heaven.

The Islamic view of society is that the goal of all Muslims is to establish God's rule on earth. Islamic philosophy is based on the belief that all spheres of life form a unity that must be infused with Islamic values. This accounts for Islam's strong emphasis on social duties. Its mission is to command good, prohibit evil, and reform the earth.

Conclusion: The Appeal of Islam

It is impossible to be sure of how Islam grew to be such a major world religion. Much of it has to do with the appeal of Muhammad. He was a kind and generous man with a strong sense of faith that inspired others. Islam also became so powerful because of its strong confidence in an afterlife. People want to believe in a place where they could be rewarded for good deeds and punished for bad deeds. The fear of eternal punishment would also have affected people's decisions. They would convert to save their souls. But most important was the knowledge that whatever hardships they must face, when death came, they would be rewarded. A Muslim knows that when they die, there will be an everlasting paradise waiting for them.

References

• Esposito, J. L. (2005). Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press.
• Armstrong, K. (2002). Islam: A Short History. Modern Library.
• Watt, W. M. (1974). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press.