The Begining of Islam

The Beginning of Islam Muhammad was born around 570 C.E. He taught the faith called Islam. Which became one the major religions of the world. Islam was started by Muhammad and it spread throughout the Arabian peninsula and beyond, during the 600s and 700s C.E. Makkah became Islam’s most sacred city, and the Ka’bah would become the center of Islamic worship. With a century of Muhammad’s death a vast Muslim empire stretched from North Africa to central Asia. Islam has its root in Arabic where Muhammad where Muhammad was born. By the time that Muhammad was born, Makkah was also a religious center. People came from faraway places to trade there. Many Arabs lived a nomadic way of life in the desert environment. Although Arabs on the peninsula weren’t united as a nation, they shared cultural ties. One of the cultural ties they shared was languages Around 570 C.E, Muhammad was born in Makkah. Muhammad’s early life was ordinary. As a boy, he tended his families flocks of sheep and goats. As Muhammad grew up he took on more duties and made more trading journeys, Khadijah a widow impressed with his abilities and honesty, proposed to marriage. Muhammad and Khadijah had several children. As a result she continued the bloodline of Muhammad. In about 610 C.E, Muhammad went to meditate in a cave in the mountains. There, according to Islamic teachings, Muhammad received the call to be a prophet, or a messenger of Allah. He told of being visited by the angel Gabriel who brought revelations, or revealed teachings, of God. Islam is based on monotheism, or the belief in a single God. Gradually, a small group of followers developed at Makkah, they were called Muslims. Eventually, some followers wrote down these words, and collected them in the book of, Qur’an, the holy book of Islam. Around 613 C.E, Muhammad began to preach to other Makkans. Most Makkans, however, rejected Muhammad’s teachings. To prevent the spread of the prophets message, some Arabs called Muhammad a liar. Some persecuted his followers. Despite this treatment, the Muslims would not give up they’re faith. Muslim tradition tells story of the night journey, in a which winged horse took Muhammad to Jerusalem, the city toward which Muslims had directed their prayers. Muhammad met and prayed with earlier prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Then the horse guided Muhammad through the seven levels of heaven, and Muhammad met God. By the time of Muhammad’s death, most of central and southern Arabia was under the control of Muslims. Now his followers had to choose a new leader to preserve the community. They chose Abou Bakr, Muhammads friend and father in law. Abu Bakr became the first Caliph, or Muslim ruler. He also completed the unification of Arabia. After Bakr died In 634, Caliph Umar continued expand the Muslim empire by conquest. In addition to spreading the faith of Islam, conquest allowed Muslims to gain new lands, resources and goods. By 643, the Muslim empire included lands in Iraq, Persia, the eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa. Upon Umars death in 644, Uthman became the third caliph. Alli Talib, Muhammads cousin and his daughter Fatima’s husband, agreed to become the fourth Caliph. In 622, Muhammad and his followers left Makkah on a journey known as the hijrah. Yathrib was renamed Madinah, short for “city of the prophet”. Over the next six years in Madinah, Muhammad developed a new Muslim community as more Arabs converted to Islam. In 624, fighting broke out between the Muslims and the truce. In March 632 Muhammad led his final pilgrimage to Makkah. Shortly after his return to Madinah, Muhammad died. Soon after Ali’s death, Mu’awiyah, the leader of the Umayyad’s claimed the caliphate. Most Muslims called the Sunnis came to accept him. But a minority of Muslims known as the Shi’ah, or “party” of Ali, refused to do so. Mu’awiyah put down a revolt by Ali’s supporters. He also founded the Umayyad dynasty. Slowly the lands of the Muslim empire took on more elements of Arab culture. The Muslim empire continued to expand.