Historical background· The religion began after the angel Gabriel relayed a message from God to Muhammad, the founder. · Muhammad and his followers fled due to fear of persecution. The year of this “migration” marked the beginning of the Muslim ear. · Before Muhammad, people were polytheistic and believed in several God’s. · Leaders feared that the new religion would threaten their own prestige and economic prosperity. · Muhammad and his followers were ridiculed, and persecuted. In the middle of this hardship, Muhammad’s wife, Khadija, and his uncle, Abu Talib, died, so depriving the Prophet of their great support. · The Prophet experienced the event known as the Night Journey and Ascension to Heaven, during which Muhammad was accompanied by Gabriel from the sanctuary of Mecca first to Jerusalem and then to Heaven. · The move to Yathrib, known as the Migration (Hijra), was later adopted as the start of the Muslim calendar. Upon arrival in Yathrib, Muhammad built the first mosque in Islam, and he spent most of his time there, teaching and remoulding the characters of the new Muslims from unruly tribesmen into a brotherhood of believers. · The Islamic state stretched by the end of its first century from Spain, across North Africa, to Sind in north-west India. · After the Second World War there was another major influx of Muslims into all areas of the world, including Europe, America, and Australia, and many people from these continents converted to the new faith. |
"The Life of Muhammad and the Historical Background." The Life of Muhammad and the Historical Background. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=8154>. Background Information on Islam. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.truthinlovetomuslims.com/node/12>. |