Summary Of Muhammad A Prophet For Our Time By Karen Armstrong

“Fight in the name of God and in the ‘path of god’. Combat those who disbelieve in God.” The quote above is an excerpt from Matthew Gordon’s book, “The Rise of Islam”. Throughout the course of history, many religions have had a profound effect on western civilization. During the early 5th century a religion arose that had an extremely important impact on western civilization. The Arabic prophet Muhammad founded the religion known today as Islam. Violence, diplomacy, Arabic tradition, and public law played a vital role in the rise and conquest of Islam. These four key elements that fostered the rise of Islam helped establish one of the largest religions in western civilization.

Muhammad was known as the prophet of Islam. After receiving messages from Allah ( the concept of God in Islam) for two years, he thought it was time to preach the word of Allah. Through that Muhammad successfully was able to spread the word of Allah not only through religion but also politically to. Through the government Islam was able to spread even more after the four “rightly guided” caliphs (caliph means successor or deputy) continued to spread Islam. People seeked for new religious ideas.

In 570 C.E., a man was born who would later go on to become the final prophet of the fastest growing religion in the world. Muhammad was a merchant trader from Mecca. He was praying in a cave near Mt. Hira when he first heard the words of Allah from Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad kept silent about the encounters besides telling his wife until two years later. He decided it was time for the world to hear the message of Allah. From there stemmed the religion of Islam in Mecca. The lifestyle of Islam spread quickly due to pre-existing trade routes, the appeal of the religion and through military conquest.

The spread of Islam throughout the world was among the most significant worldwide movements in history. Beginning as the faith of a small community of believers in Arabia in the seventh century, Islam rapidly became one of the major world religions. The core beliefs and culture of this faith is the belief that Muhammad (570-632), a respected businessman in Mecca, a commercial and religious center in western Arabia, received revelations from God that have been preserved in the Qur'an. The core of Islam remains the same today after 1396 years. Islam still translates to “submission” and Muslims still live by the Qur’an and follow the 5 Pillars of Islam. However, throughout the Pre-Islamic, Umayyad, and Abbasid

The Honorable Messenger Elijah Muhammad, in his book the Theology of time stated, “This represents Ezekiel’s Wheel,” “They actually have it up there; the devil knows it’s up there, this is why he continues to go up there.” “Trying to locate it from the moon and watch for this plane, so he would be able to shoot a rocket at it.” The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “Allah taught me that and showed me the plane and that the beings that fly the plane look like us.” “The Government has the drawings of it on their blackboard at the FBI headquarters.” The Honorable Messenger Elijah Muhammad also stated that the planes were like unto our brother and Prophet Jesus-you could not catch him and they could tune in to you and at any time get away.

Chraibi’s book Muhammad: A Novel is a fantastic, powerful read because it is just that: a novel. It is a fictional story, but written by an author who had an unusual, mystical calling himself to write the book. By using original aspects from the traditional biographies of Muhammad and then adding his own personal, esoteric twist on these characteristics, Chraibi creates a work of literature that is truly compelling and shows Muhammad’s journey to becoming a prophet in a mystical light. Two central distinctions, namely Muhammad’s relations with Khadija and Bahira, add the spice in this novel that really help the reader grasp what is mystical about both this literature and most importantly, Muhammad himself.

This chapter begins with the Muhammad and the message he brings. It all began in the Arabian Peninsula, which was mostly desert. The people who lived there were called Nomadic Bedouin, and they are organized in family and clan groups. The importance of long-distance trade networks became important again between China, India, and Persia, Byzantium. The section starts talking about the early life Muhammad ibn Abdullah was born in to a Mecca merchant family in 570 C.E. He had a difficult life growing up, but in 595 C.E, he married a wealthy widow. By the time, he was thirty he became a merchant and exposed too many faiths. He had a spiritual transformation at the age of forty, and declared that there was only one true god, whose name was Allah, “the god.” His believe that Allah would soon bring judgment on the world, and the divine messenger, Gabriel, delivered these revelations to Muhammad. The Quran, also known as the “recitation,” is the holy book of Islam. Muhammad followers complied with his revelations. They had works of poetry and definitive authority on Islam;

Muhammad was born in the year 570 A.D. in the city of Mecca, located now in what is known as Saudi Arabia. His father, Abdullah died before he was born and his mother, Amina passed away when Muhammad was around five or six years old. He was then brought up by his grandfather, ‘Abdul-Muttalib, who treated him with the utmost love. Two years passed before his grandfather also passed away and Muhammad was left in the care of his uncle, Abu Talib and his wife, Fatima. They treated him just as well if not better than their own children. The love they had for the young boy was matched by no one.

A desert peninsula in 6th century was the cross roads of the world, the bridge between Europe, Asia and Africa. Arabia was a vacant wasteland of desert, rarely seeing any life besides that of the trade caravans. City states dominated the political life and the only form of centralized government was in chaos. This was Arabia in the 6th century, this even though Christian was to become the staging ground for the growth of the 2nd largest religion that exists today. This is where the "Prophet" Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca.

Prior to reading an excerpt on Islamic theology and Islamic philosophy in the book Introduction to Islam by Carole Hillenbrand, I did not realized the tremendous effect and contributions Muslims had on the fields of theology and philosophy. According to Hillenbrand, “the term normally used for “theology” in Islam is kalam, which literally means “speech”” (Hillenbrand, 170). Similar to all religions, those following the Islamic faith would eventually be faced with opposition and questions about the teachings of Islam. Hillenbrand explained that Muhammad was not looked to as a theological figure because he merely gained his revelations from the all-knowing God, Allah; therefore, Islamic theologians would begin to emerge overtime. These Islamic theologians would engage in debates on core issues and topics that oppositioners had with the islamic faith, such as

The role of Prophet Muhammad, as both a temporal and religious leader was undeniably an important factor in the success of the Arab conquests. These events took place between 622 and 750, first involving the establishment of a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula, then leading to a Muslim Empire which stretched from central Asia to North Africa and was one of the largest the world has ever seen. This overwhelming success merits explanation, yet this is difficult to establish with certainty, due to the small number and poor quality of surviving sources. Muhammad’s main role was to provide a unifying influence, both during his lifetime when he united a

The Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570 AD. He was raised by his uncle because his father died before he was born. Muhammad started working for a woman named Khadijah and soon after that they were married. Muhammad began having visions and hearing voices when he was around forty. Muhammad always took journeys to sacred sites near Mecca. On one pilgrimage, he was meditating in a cave when the Angel Gabriel appeared. He came to believe that he was called to be a prophet and a teacher of a new faith. This was the first of many revelations that became the basis of the Qur`an, the holy book of Islam. Muhammad began to attract followers because of his strong monotheistic message. He built an expanding community around the new faith. Muhammad's message was well-received by the poor and slaves but many others were opposed to this message. The Sunnah is the second most important source of authority for Muslims. This refers to the practices, customs, and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad that are considered to be a perfect example. While he was

The Muslim prophet, Muhammad, was born in 570 in the city of Mecca. Muhammad lived a normal life just like any Muslim, until he began seeing visions believed to be inspired by Allah. Muhammad believed that since Allah has already revealed himself to Moses and Jesus, it was now his turn to receive the final revelations. After receiving them, Muhammad tried to convince his people that the revelations were true, but most thought he was insane and crazy, or that he would upset the social and political order of society. As a result, Muhammad and some of his followers left to the rival city of Yathrib in 622. Yathrib was later renamed Medina, which meant “city of prophet”, as he began to win support from the residents in Medina and on the surrounding country side. With these people, Muhammad formed the first Muslim community.

As a religion, Islam is based on the teachings of Muhammad, embodying a sound belief in one God (Allah). Islam is an Arabic word meaning submission, surrender, and obedience (Maududi, 1). It also stands for peace. Its followers are known as Muslims or Moslems. Islam emerged in Arabia, specifically in the city of Mecca, in the seventh century C.E. (Matthews, 386). With the evolution of Islam in Mecca, Mecca is known as the center of Islam. Islam is the youngest of the major world religions with the exception of Sikhism, which is a derivative of Hindu and Muslim beliefs that appeared in India. Islam is a universal religion of monotheism. The goal of Islam is to

For about fifteen hundred years, Saudi Arabia’s history has centered on one major theme: Islam. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born around 570 A.D. in the city of Mecca. Early in the 7th century A.D., according to Islamic belief, Muhammad, while meditating in a cave on Mount Hira, was visited by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel