Courtly Lives - Muslim Notebook

This is a photo of Iranian women who were marching for the Shiite Muslim government in 1979, after the fall of the Shah.

Muslim Notebook

440 A.D. the Quraysh family [ancestors of Mohammad] win control of Mecca. The Quraysh was a tribe of traders. The leading families of the Quraysh did not believe that Mohammad was the messenger of God. Many thought that Mohammad was spiritually descended from Abraham. Abraham founded a high monotheistic faith and Mecca. Muhammud saw Abraham as neither a Jew or a Christian, but a common ancestor of both, and of Muslims too.
Mohammad himself was a judge (peacekeeper) and worked as a lawmaker with a number of deputies, a military levy of believers, and he had a public treasury made up of gifts and tribal taxes. Most tribes agreed to his taxes, because he controlled the oases and the markets.

Islam means submission to God (Allah).

Muslim means one who "submits himself/herself to God (Allah).

Jewish rabbis, Christian monks, and Arab soothsayers predicted the coming of a prophet.

Muhammad ibn Abdullah - their prophet was born into an aristocratic family of declining wealth, about 570 C.E. His visions came from the angel Gabriel was in 610 A.D.

Qur'an (Koran) - Islam's collected scriptures. Qu'ran means recitation and it consists of 114 chapters [suras]. The longest chapter is about 700 lines, the shortest about two lines. A 7th century Arabian document. However, since Mohammad could not read or write, these words were recorded as others. How they interpreted them has been the reason for various Muslims sects, since Mohammad's death.

Hadith (traditions) - text recording what the prophet said or did.

Mecca _ a town in western Arabia. A place of pilgrimage (Hogue).

There were 860 million Muslims in the world in 1990. Most live in the Middle East, northern Africa, central Asia, and Indonesia; with substantial minorities in the west and other parts of the world.

Salaam means peace.

Jihad means "Holy War" against nonbelievers.

Muhammad meditated in the Caves of Mount Hira, near Mecca.

Muhammad's father, Abdullah, died before his birth. His mother, Aminah, died when he was six. His grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, died soon after his mother. Muhammad's uncle, Abu Talib, then cared for him. Abu Talib was the leader of the Hashimite branch of the Quraish clan (a tribe of Mecca). The Quraish had responsibility for the Ka'aba, a Meccan shrine and place of pilgrimage.

Muhammad means "worthy of praise."

Muhammad married a business lady called Khadija, whom he married when he was 23 years old.

Khadija was a rich widow who hired Mohammad to lead her camel trains. She proposed their marriage.

Mohammad was a skilled archer, swordsman, and wrestler.

al-Amin meant "reliable," a word often used to describe Mohammad.

In 619, Mohammad's wife, Khadija dies, after bearing him six children.

Mohammad has a dozen wives after the death of Khadija.

Mohammad never took extra wives before Khadija's death.

622 (the hijra) - Mohammad emigrates from Mecca to Madina, which was located about 200 miles north of Mecca.

629 - pilgrimages begin to Mecca.

Mohammad died in 632 C.E. Before his death, on his last visit to Mecca he spoke: "know that every Muslim is a Muslim's brother, and that the Muslims are breathen, fighting them should be avoided, and the blood shed in pagan times should not be avenged; Muslims should fight all men until they say, 'There is no god but God (Allah).'"

Muslims first clashed with Christianity in the Middle Ages.

At the time of Muhammad, the Middle East was dominated by the Christian, Byzantium, Zoroastian Persian, and Sassanian empires.

One thousand years later, Islam is challenging the West and its modern traditions of democracy and capitalism, and its liberal social values.

And fight in the way of God with those who fight with you, but aggress not: God loves not the aggressors.
from the Qur'an 2:187

In 1990 there were about 2.5 million Muslims in France.
In 1990 there were about 1.5 million Muslims in Germany.
In 1990 there were about 1 million Muslims in Great Britian.
In 1990 there were more than 6 million Muslims in the United States. Many settled in Chicago, which had 25 mosques or Friday prayer centers. Dearborn, Michigan also has a big Muslim population.

The Five Pillars of Islam

Profession of faith [there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger/prophet].

Compulsory Prayer [salat] - is performed five times a day, facing the holy city of Mecca:

at dawn
noon
mid-afternoon
evening
night

Communal prayer, at the Mosque, is on Fridays, which is proceed by ablutions [wudu] to ensure bodily purity.

Giving alms to the poor The legal "zakat" is giving 1/40th of you income voluntarily [sadoqa]. Christians request 1/10th of your income.

fasting is to foster obedience to God and unity among Muslims.
During Ramadan (ninth month of the Islamic year), all adult Muslims in good health (excluding pregnant women) fast from dawn until sunset, for 29-30 days.

The Qu'ran is recited daily.

The Night of Power (Lailatul-Qadr) is celebrated as the night the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad.
Ramadan ends with Eid ul-Fitr, the breaking of the fast.

Pilgrimage or hajj to Mecca, which all Muslims are expected to make once in a lifetime.

Besides the pillars, there is jihad or "striving in the path of God." Jihad as "Holy War" is NOT a pillar, because it is a duty imposed on the community as a whole, not on every individual.
Cremation is universally forbidden since the dead body is not to be harmed. How might this be interpreted in the ashes of the people killed in the World Trade Center???
The dead are always buried with the head facing Mecca.
Dhimmis are considered second-class Muslims.
Shadada is the profession of faith: "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger.
Imama is what they call their turban.
Martyrs are thought to go directly to their eternal reward, ahead of all others.
Paradise is guarded by the angel Ridwan, while hell is guarded by the angel Malik.
Muhammad, their prophet, could neither read or write.
Muslim calendar begins in year 1 A.H. (anno hijra).
Khavaja was the name given to slave merchants. Muslims made their slave purchases in Europe. Under their law, no one living under Islamic rule could be enslaved. The Koran states that slaves should be treated with kindness and compassion; freeing slaves is an act of charity. Arab slave markets have existed since the 13th century, and well before. Slaves were converted to Islam. Thirteenth century slaves were recruited for service in the 13th century Mamluk armies. Most of these slaves were taken from the Turkish steppes and were people from southern Russia and the Ukraine.
Muslims are:
1. Sunnis are those who follow the traditional path. They believe that the community of Islam is infallible and cannot err.
The Sunnis Final Prophet is called Muntazar. He is thought to have white horse and is waiting. Sunnis make up about 90% of all Muslims. Al-Mahdi means: "the one who is at the end of time." He is thought to be the replacement to Mohammad, and is thought to unite the races of the world.
2. Shiites are those who follow the path of Ali. They believe that only the descendants of Ali are infallible. Ali ibn Abu Talib (c. 600-661), is the cousin of Muhammad and fourth caliph and the first Shi'ite iman. He lived in Muhammad's house. Ali married Muhammad's daughter, Fatima. Ali believed the third caliph, Uthman, had betrayed Muhammad's teachings and did not support Mohammad. Ali was assassinated in 656. Ali was opposed by Aisha, Muhammad's widow. Aisha was said to be one of the most favored of Muhammad's wives. Husain, son of Ali, the 4th caliph (656-661) was the founder of the Shi'ite movement.
The Shi'ite's last prophet is the 12th Iman. 10% of all Muslims are Shi'ite. They believe that the 12th Iman is hiding somewhere, and that Allah allowed him to wait until the final judgment to return. He will appear along side of Jesus, whom Allah took to heaven 2,000 years ago. They believe that on March 21, in the new millenium (now) that both prophets will come and give Israel back to the Islamic world. The 12th Imam is also known as Qa'im ("the promised one"). He is thought to "manifest the perfection of Moses, the splendor of Jesus, and the patience of Job." He will chastise the infidel and the blasphemer.
Some think this will be Mohammad in disguise, who will "fill the earth with justice after it has been filled to the brim with tyranny." He will return when the Islamic masses reach a critical mass of agitation for political reform and clamor for the return of religious fundamentalism."
"The [12th] Imam will bring Israel back [to Islam] ... All nations will be converted [to Islam]. Ali (c. 650), Naze Ulaga.

Khidr, the Sufi Final Lawgiver.
Khidr, guide to the Islamic spiritual underground, is the Sufi final prophet. He is the Sufi version of the Shi'ite 12th Imam and Muntazar of the Sunnis. He also will appear on March 21 of some future year. Khidr's motto is said to be: "Each man is a man of brighter prospects because each man has God (Allah) in his ultimate flowering ... Only by living it will you know it."
The Fatimid Dynasty - was a Muslim Shi'ite dynasty that ruled from 909-1071. Their empire was in Egypt. At one time, they held North Africa, Palestine, Syria, and Sicily. There were descended from Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, and Ali, her husband [and Muhammad's cousin].
Reference:
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SOURCES USED:
Clarke, Dr. Peter B. (editor). The World's Religions: Understanding the Living Faiths. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1993.
Freeke, Timothy. The Illustrated Book of Sacred Scriptures. Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 1998.
Hogue, John. Messiahs: The Visions and Prophecies For the Second Coming. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1999, 32.
Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab People. Cambridge, MA.: The Belnap Press of Harvard University Press, 1991.
Tanter, Raymond. Rogue Regimes: Terrorism and Proliferation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.
What Life Was Like: In the Lands of the Prophet. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books.

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