Muhammad ibn Abdullah was born in 570 A.D. in Mecca. As a child, he lost his mother, father and grandfather to death. He had to live with his uncle. His uncle was head of the Quraish clan. This clan had the responsibility for the Ka'aba, a Meccan shrine and place of pilgrimage in Arabia. Most of the people in Mecca were polytheistic; worshipped many "gods" and natural phenomena. Two of the main religous practices in this polytheistic culture were offering sacrifices and going on pilgrimages. In 610 A.D., Muhammad was sitting in a cave when he received the first of a series of mystical visions. He eventually believed that the archangel Gabriel was deliving God's message to him. The message was that there was one true God and that idolotry was an abomination. It wasn't until 612 A.D. that he began to preach and he began to get converts. Muhammad recited these revelations to his disciples since he could not read or write. They wrote his revelations down and this collection became the Qur'an (Koran). In 612A.D., Muhammad and his followers moved from Mecca to Medina.This date starts a new time period for the Muslims. Hegira is the depature of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina and the beginning of the Muslim era. Thus, starting with 622A.D., Muslims now have their own calendar with A.H. 1 (and so forth).
Get This to Understand Where We Are Today!
Muhammad organized a small army to establish peace among the various tribal fighting groups in Medina. Through combat and diplomacy he acheived stability in the region. A mosque was built and a government was formed to set rules for the people in all walks of life: religous, economic, political and social. In 630 A.D., after 6 years of fighting, Muhammad conquered the city of Mecca. He destroyed every shrine and idol there except the Kaaba. Mecca is the most sacred place on earth to the Muslims. He was a combined religous leader and government ruler enforcing the worship of Allah. Muhammad died in 632 A.D.
Just this snapshot alone should help one better understand why the Middle East is why it is!
The Five Doctrines
Doctrine #1 : God
God's name is Allah. Muslims believe in his existence and preeminence. They believe in his omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence (Christians believe these things except for the name Allah). Muslims memorize the "99 beautiful names" for Allah and they describe a characteristic of Allah. Missing from this list of characteristics is ...Love. The Qur'an does not describe Allah as loving. His character is described in terms of judgement and power. Allah does love those who are good (do good deeds and practice 5 pillars) but Allah does not love the person whose bad deeds outweigh the good things he/she has done. Allah only loves the good. Muslims also take offense to the notion that a person can know God. They do not believe in a personal relationship with God. They believe he is mysterious and distant. Muslims also believe that Christianity is polytheistic because of the Trinity. They believe Christians worship three gods. Because of the Trinity, Muslims view Christians as unbelievers. These are major differences between Christianity and Islam.
Doctrine #2: Angels
Muslims believe that each human has two recording angels that keep track of their good deeds and their bad deeds. This is done throughout an entire lifetime. On Judgement Day, the deeds are weighed to see which one, good deeds or bad deeds, outweighs the other.
Doctrine #3: Sacred Scriptures
According to Islam, Allah has revealed himself through four sacred writings:
- The Torah (Books of Moses in the Bible)
- The Zabur (Psalms of David)
- The Injil (The Gospel of Jesus Christ)
- The Qur'an (The revelation of Muhammad recited to his transcribers)
The Qur'an prevails over all these because it was Allah's last revelation. Much of the teaching about God in the Qur'an is consistent with the teachings in the Bible. Muslims accept the Torah and the Gospels but believe that Jews and Christians have misinterpreted them. They believe them to be corrupt and the Qur'an to be in the original perfect state. They believe it to be Muhammad's exact revelation on paper and nothing errant about it. Most of the work to collect all the revelations into the Qur'an are based on the work of Zaid ibn Thabit.
Doctrine #4
Muslims believe that over 100,00 prophets have been sent to human beings throughout history. The Qur'an list less than 30. Here are some:
- Adam
- Noah
- Abraham
- Moses
- David
- Solomon
- Jonah
- John the Baptist
- Jesus
Muslims recognize Jesus as an important prophet but not the Son of God. To them this is blasphemy and the Qur'an denies that Jesus is the Son of God. Interesting enough that Muslims believe that He was sinless and Muhammad was not. The Qur'an teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin. Muslims respect and honor Jesus but they consider him less significant than Muhammad. Muhammad was the greatest of the prophets and the message he brought applies to everyone for all time.
Doctrine #5: Future Judgement
Remember the doctrine of angels? There are two angels, good and bad, that record all your actions. Allah weighs these actions against each other to see which way the scale tips. This determines a person's eternal destiny!LOOPHOLE!!!
There is a loophole that would allow a Muslim-and only a Muslim-to avoid judgement. Those who die as martyrs in defense of the Islamic faith or in a "holy war" (a jihad) go directly to heaven and avoid the uncertain outcomeof waiting to see which way the scales tip.
The Five Pillars
If the scale is going to tip in favor of a Muslim then they perform certain good deeds that are compatible with the teachings of the Qur'an and the Hadith. Chief among these are the Five Pillars of Faith. A muslim must perform these if the scales are to tip in their favor.
Pillar #1: Recite the Creed
It is called the Shahadah. The english translation is "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messanger."Muslims are expected to recite this publicly and doing so throughout their lifetime confirms a persons membership in the Islamic faith.
Pillar #2: Pray the Prayers
Prayer is the discipline most consistent Muslims practice because it shows obedience to Allah. Prayer is a ritual that occurs five times a day: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, after sunset and at night. Prayers must be said facing the city of Mecca. Prayers can be said anywhere except on Fridays at noon when Muslims must come to the mosque.
Pillar #3: Give the AlmsAlms equal 2.5 percent of a person's income. The money is given to the Muslim community to benefit widows, orphans, the sick and travelers. ALms are also used for the institutional and administrative purposes of Islam (i.e. - building mosques, salaries of Muslim missionaries).
Pillar #4: Fasting
Muslims observe an entire month of fasting during Ramadan. Muslims abstain from food, drink and pleasures during the month. Any eating must be accomplished after sunset and before dawn.
Pillar #5: The Pilgrimage
The Qur'an requires that a Muslim make a pilgrimage(hajj) to Mecca once in a lifetime. There are exceptions for the sick and poor. To Muslims, the hajj is a symbol of the global unity of Islam and everyone's quality before Allah.
Sects
The two major sects are the Sunnis and the Shi'ites. There was a split of these two groups that happend not long after Muhammad's death in 632 A.D. The Shi'ites broke away because they believed that Muhammad's successor should be in Muhammad's bloodline. They also believe religous leaders should be political leaders. The Sunnis believe that the leaders should be elected and their should be a separation of religion and government.
Recap
- Allah - The most powerful ruler in the universe. The oneness of his character contradicts the Christian Trinity.
- Humanity - They are in charge of creation and under Allah's authority. They are to instill moral order through the teachings of Islam. Conscience is a higher value than love.
- Sin - The human tendency to sin comes from a weakness rather than from a sin nature.
- Salvation and Afterlife - The two recording angels record your good and bad deeds and weigh them on the final judgement. This determines eternal life for the muslim. Remember the Loophole!!!
- Morals - Otlined in the Qur'an.
- Worship - It is best revealed by strict adherence to the five pillars.
- Jesus - A great prophet but certainly not God. Muhammad was a mere mortal (Like Jesus) but was the greatest prophet.
Islam and Christianity
The Muslims believe that Allah does not love and that he is not a personal god. They believe justice is his strongest characteristic. Christians believe God's biggest characteristic is love (John 3:16) and that He desires a personal relationship with His creation. Muslims do not accept Jesus as the Messiah, nor are they looking for one. Islam is a religion where works equals salvation whereas Christians believe works are a byproduct of salvation. Christians only believe the Bible.
Discussion
After studying Islam, what is your thoughts on the present situation in the middle east and the world? Does this help you understand where they are coming from and why they do what they do???
Bickel, Bruce and Stan Jantz. World Religions and Cults 101. (Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, 2002), 61-79.
5 comments:
Wow! That is pretty eye opening. My cousin Shea and her family are missionaries in a Muslim couuntry and they have shared some with me about how difficult it is for Muslims to convert to Christianity, but this helps to expound upon that. The loop hole especially shows why these people go around killing people, because that, in their belief, is the only way to definitely know they are going to heaven. Scary to think about! We know this is a lie from satan that these people are caught up in and we definitely need to continue to be in prayer for all countries and specifically the muslim ones in war right now. (spiritually and militarily) I am glad that I know the truth of Jesus Christ and do not feel a burden like they do to have to try to do good deeds to go to heaven. That would definitely be hard. They must be so miserable to think they have to be "good" enough. This definitely helped me to learn some new and interesting facts about Islam and other beliefs. As a Christian, I realize more and more the depth of sin and lies of the world and need to be on my knees daily for the world.
The more I learn about other religions, the more I realize how our is so simple. You don't have to worry about making sure your good outweighs your bad in order to get to Heaven. And you certainly don't have to go around killing people who do not believe the same as you to get to Heaven. We just have to accept Christ and He does the rest. Yes, we need to live walking in His ways, but once you've accepted Him, this seems to come natural. You want to live for Him. Which also comes to the point of them not believing God loves us and wants a relationship. How can you love a God with all your heart when you don't feel that He loves you back? Or wants to have an ongoing relationship with you? That, to me, is really sad.
As far as the way the Middle East is right now. I have to say at least they are totally commited to their god. I do believe that if America was as commited to God as they are, things would be a lot better around here. That's what my prayer is for this country. Not that we would go around killing people, but that, if needed, we would be willing to die for Him. To show Him He is the God of this country.
Just as Anissa said, the only positive thing about the Isamic religion is the fact that they would die for their God. I do not see many Americans going to the extremes that Muslims do to please God. At the same time, it is difficult for me to praise their extremism when so many Americans are dying in Iraq. I suppose no matter how many facts I know about the Islam religion, I will never be able to comprehend the horrors of the Middle East.
Just as Anissa said, the only positive thing about the Islamic religion is the fact that they would die for their God. I do not see many Americans going to the extremes that Muslims do to please God. At the same time, it is difficult for me to praise their extremism when so many Americans are dying in Iraq. I suppose no matter how many facts I know about the Islam religion, I will never be able to comprehend the horrors of the Middle East.
Just watch them on the news...picking up rocks or broken glass or throwing any kind of debris. Mob and street violence, burning American flags or pictures of our president…what's that about? They are angry, irrational, and totally unreasonable! Most wild animals have better behavior than many Muslims! Understand? Nope! However, I can picture adding Jesus to that mixture and seeing why they were so determined to crucify Him.
Those of us who are parents must take note of the danger the Muslin culture exhibits by teaching "hatred" to their children. Satan would like to trap us in the same way. I am so glad that the grace of God appears to ALL MEN, Jews, Gentiles, Muslims, etc.
Another "bone to pick" with these people: I do not appreciate their behavior toward women. After the Gulf war in the early 90's, Louis and I had an auto dealership and dealt with several Muslins. We shipped cars to Dubai as well as sold to the local Arabs. We really got to know some of them pretty well. Wyeil, from the west bank of Jordan, wanted to espouse Danielle to one of his sons. She was 5 years of age at the time. This proposition was posed after a long conversation with him about how the Jordanian men could have up to 4 wives at one time. Needless to say, my response to him was rather blunt and emphatically against! Another dealer was "Jihad". At the time, I had no idea what that meant. Looking back now, it is a wonder they didn't try to blow us up or something. The conversations about the difference in our "religions" were really intense as each side wanted to learn more about the other. And the "women" issue, totally unreasonable! We had many personal contacts with the Arab men and their sons for many months and ONLY ONE TIME DID I EVER SEE A WIFE and only briefly with a very short introduction. Yeah, they did not want their wives around me...I wonder why? Do they really think I could influence them? :)
Anyway, Muslims are no different than any other godless society. Without Christ they are doomed to Hell, not because of their actions, but because of their spiritual conditions, or the lack of. And, I don't like the way they treat women!
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