After the holy Qur'an, the sayings of the Prophet hadith and descriptions of his way of life sunna are the most important Muslim texts. The power of the Quraish derived from their role as successful merchants. Several trade routes intersected at Mecca, allowing the Quraish to control trade along the west coast of Arabia, north to Syria, and south to Yemen.
Mecca was home to two widely venerated polytheistic cults whose gods were thought to protect its lucrative trade. After working for several years as a merchant, Muhammad was hired by Khadija, a wealthy widow, to ensure the safe passage of her caravans to Syria. They eventually married. Divine Revelations When he was roughly forty, Muhammad began having visions and hearing voices. Searching for clarity, he would sometimes meditate at Mount Hira, near Mecca. On one of these occasions, the Archangel Gabriel Jibra'il in Arabic appeared to him and instructed him to recite "in the name of [your] lord.
These early revelations pointed to the existence of a single God, contradicting the polytheistic beliefs of the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula. Initially overwhelmed by the significance of what was being revealed to him, Muhammad found unflinching support in his wife and slowly began to attract followers.
His strong monotheistic message angered many of the Meccan merchants. They were afraid that trade, which they believed was protected by the pagan gods, would suffer. From that point forward, Muhammad was ostracized in Mecca. For a time, the influence and status of his wife and his uncle, Abu Talib, the chief of the clan, protected Muhammad from persecution.
After they died, however, Muhammad's situation in Mecca became dire. The Hijra Emigration became the only hope for Muhammad and his followers' survival. In , they headed to Medina, another oasis town, where they were promised freedom to practice their religion. The move from Mecca to Medina is known as the hijra —the flight—and marks year 1 of the Islamic, or hijri , calendar. Spreading the Message of Islam In Medina, Muhammad continued to receive divine revelations and built an ever-expanding community around the new faith.
The conflict with the Quraish continued, but after several years of violent clashes, Mecca surrendered. Muhammad and his followers soon returned and took over the city, destroying all its pagan idols and spreading their belief in one God. One night, while the Prophet was sleeping, the Archangel Gabriel came and led him on a journey. There he prayed with other prophets such as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus, and ascended to the skies, where he was led by Gabriel through Paradise and Hell, and finally came face to face with God.
Adultery can carry the penalty of death by stoning. However, many Muslims do not support such extreme measures. The prophet Muhammad is credited with building the first mosque in the courtyard of his house in Medina.
Mosques today follow some of the same principles he established in A. Muslim prayer is often conducted in a mosque's large open space or outdoor courtyard. A mihrab is a decorative feature or niche in the mosque that indicates the direction to Mecca, and therefore the direction to face during prayer. Men and women pray separately, and Muslims may visit a mosque five times a day for each of the prayer sessions.
In addition to hosting prayers, mosques often function as public gathering places and social centers. While some Muslims use their faith to justify terrorism, the vast majority do not.
In fact, Muslims are frequently victims of violence themselves. Recent surveys have found that in countries with high Muslim populations, the majority of Muslims have overwhelmingly negative views of terrorist groups like ISIS. While Muslims aim to clear up misconceptions about their faith, the religion continues to spread rapidly.
Experts predict Islam will surpass Christianity as the largest religion by the end of the century. Islam, BBC. What is Sharia Law and How is it Applied? Pew Research Center. The Islamic Calendar: TimeandDate. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Zoroastrianism is an ancient Persian religion that may have originated as early as 4, years ago.
Zoroastrianism was the state religion of three Persian dynasties, until the Today, with about million followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion behind Christianity and Islam.
Followers of Judaism believe in one God who revealed himself through ancient prophets. The history of Judaism is essential to understanding the Jewish faith, which has a rich heritage of law, With about million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one of the major world religions.
Its practice has historically been most prominent in East and Southeast Wicca is a modern-day, nature-based pagan religion.
Though rituals and practices vary among people who identify as Wiccan, most observations include the festival celebrations of solstices and equinoxes, the honoring of a male god and a female goddess, and the incorporation of The Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish heresy throughout Europe and the Americas.
Beginning in the 12th century and continuing for hundreds of years, the Inquisition is infamous for the severity of its tortures and its Mormons are a religious group that embrace concepts of Christianity as well as revelations made by their founder, Joseph Smith. Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world, with more than 2 billion followers. The Christian faith centers on beliefs regarding the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
While it started with a small group of adherents, many historians regard The Bible is the holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth from its earliest creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have undergone changes over the centuries, Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Muslims are monotheistic and worship one, all-knowing God, who in Arabic is known as Allah.
Followers of Islam aim to live a life of complete submission to Allah. Muslims contend that Muhammad was the final prophet. Mosques are places where Muslims worship.
The Quran or Koran is the major holy text of Islam. The Hadith is another important book. Muslims also revere some material found in the Judeo-Christian Bible. Followers worship Allah by praying and reciting the Quran.
They believe there will be a day of judgment, and life after death. Hijra In , Muhammad traveled from Mecca to Medina with his supporters. Sunnis and Shiites When Muhammad died, there was debate over who should replace him as leader. Some of these include: Wahhabi : This Sunni sect, made up of members of the Tameem tribe in Saudi Arabia, was founded in the 18th century.
Followers observe an extremely strict interpretation of Islam that was taught by Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab. Alawite : This Shiite form of Islam is prevalent in Syria. Followers hold similar beliefs about the caliph Ali but also observe some Christian and Zoroastrian holidays.
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