REL 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Salah, Hagiography, Polytheism
Islam
I. Historical Origins
A. Emic Account
1. Adam and Eve: 1st Muslims even though they failed,
they still tried to obey God
• Jesus = Isa: 2nd most important prophet
o Mohammad is 1st
o All prophets are human beings
o God will send Jesus back at the end of time
o People took the preahig’s of all the prophets
and corrupted them
▪ Mohaad’s teahigs ere the ol
oes ot orrupted ad God’s perfet
ord as’t haged last prophet
• Everything physical in the universe obeys Gods laws
o Example: If you drop a pen it falls
2. Etic/Scholarly Account
• Islam was a new religious movement in the 7th
century about 14 centuries ago
o Started with Mohammad in Arabia outside
Mecca
• No evidence the teahigs i the Qur’a ere taught
or followed before it was written
• No evidence people called themselves Muslims
B. Life of The Prophet
1. Childhood
• Born in 570 CE in Mecca, Arabia
• Father and Mother both die when he is young
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2
o His grandfather then dies and he is raised by
his uncle who is a caravan trader
• Ei “tor: the to agels
o Mohammad is outside playing and two angels
come down from heaven and lay him on the
ground. They reach into his chest and either
put something in or take something out.
o Hagiography: saintly, heroic, mythical
biography
2. Adulthood
• Ei stor: the floodig of the ka’ah
o Ka’ah is a ue shaped uildig i the eter
of Mecca. It was a kind of temple that families
would store statues of their gods and
goddesses.
▪ Each family had their own god and
goddesses that they would worship
o One day it flooded and people were moving
their statues out and there was a black stone
i the eter of the ka’ah. People ere
arguing would should move it out and they
chose the next person to walk in to decide
what to do.
▪ This was Mohammad
o He put the stone on his cloak so each person
could hold a corner and help carry it out.
▪ This shows how wise and practical he is
• Caravan Trader:
o Must be a honest person
• Kadijah: wealthy women Mohammad worked for
o Since she was a women she could not do
business so Mohammad would do it for her
o They married and had 2 boys and 4 girls
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3
▪ The two boys died in infancy
3. Prophet-hood
• 610, Ramadan
o Mohammad would retreat in a cave to escape
polytheism.
• Gabriel
o The ark angel Gabriel come to Mohammad and
told hi to reite
o The third tie he told hi this, he did’t read
or write, bits and pieces of the word of God
started pouring out of Mohammad
• Revelation
o Preaches in Mecca from 610-632 (death)
4. Hijrah: 622 CE
• Mecca Al Medina
o migratio
o Prophet is invited to go to Al Medina to be
leader of everything
▪ Meccans were persecuting Muslims
5. Meccans Attack: 624-627 CE
• Meccans are determined to get rid of the Prophet
and his followers because his ideas are spreading
• They send 3 large armies over the course of 3 years
and each time they are defeated by a much smaller
Muslim army
6. Siege of Mecca: 630 CE
• The Prophet gathers his army and lays siege on the
city of Mecca
• Meccans surrender but the Prophet does’t let his
army kill anyone and destroy their city only
banishes them
• The Prophet is now the ruler of Mecca and Al
Medina
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Document Summary
They reach into his chest and either put something in or take something out: hagiography: saintly, heroic, mythical biography, adulthood, e(cid:373)i(cid:272) stor(cid:455): (cid:862)the floodi(cid:374)g of the ka"(cid:271)ah(cid:863, ka"(cid:271)ah is a (cid:272)u(cid:271)e shaped (cid:271)uildi(cid:374)g i(cid:374) the (cid:272)e(cid:374)ter of mecca. 3: all of sadia arabia is becoming muslim, sunna (cid:862)the e(cid:454)a(cid:373)ple the prophet sets(cid:863, he sets an example here that violence should only be used as self-defense, death: 632 ce. I(cid:373)a(cid:373): i(cid:374)falli(cid:271)le di(cid:448)i(cid:374)e leader; (cid:272)a(cid:374)"t be wrong about anything: o(cid:272)(cid:272)ultatio(cid:374): (cid:862)hidde(cid:374)(cid:863) The fiver pillars (of all forms: shahadah, (cid:862)(cid:374)o god (cid:271)ut god a(cid:374)d moha(cid:373)(cid:373)ad is his prophet(cid:863, if you recite this on your own will in front of an adult. Muslim, and you are not muslim, it is seen as a conversion: devotional prayer. 7: god tells abraham to bring hagar and ishmail to the valley and baca (mecca) and leave them there, they are running out of water but when.