•Muhammad’s escape from Mecca to Medina is know as the:

Hajj or Hijrah?

•Submission to the will of Allah:

Islam or Muslim?

•Muhammad:

Last of the prophets or first of the prophets?

•Most important city in Islam

Medina or Mecca?

•Delivered revelations to Muhammad

Gabriel or Michael?•Define revelations:

Why did Islam spread so fast and what

Muslim beliefs spread with it ?

SOL: WHI.8aNCSS: I

Reasons for Quick Spread

1.) Byzantine and Persian Empires had weakened

2. Christians/Jews not forced to convert, but Polytheists were…

- Willing to do so because Islam promised “equality”

3. Muhammad called for “Jihad” (Holy War against non-believers)

- motivated Arab armies

•Where have we heard of Jihad before?

•Islamism?•Al-Qaeda?•Osama Bin Laden?

Beliefs & Practices of Islam

1.) 1 god – Allah

2.) Good/Evil exists

3) Free Will

4.) Final judgment day

5.) Heaven/Hell

6.) Qur’an (Koran) = Holy Book

5 Pillars of Islam

1.) Faith– “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad

is the messenger of Allah”

2.) Prayer– 5 times a day

– May assemble in Mosque – Islamic house of worship

– To bring them closer to Allah

– Pray towards Mecca

3.) Alms–Support of those less fortunate

–Religious tax

–Alms=charity

4.) Fasting– Holy month of Ramadan

• (9th month of Islamic calendar – month during which Qur’an was revealed)

– No drinking/eating between dawn/dusk– Reminds Muslims of greater needs

5.) Pilgrimage– Also known as Hajj– Made to Mecca at least once in a lifetime

Muslim way of life

• Personal lives not separated from religious lives

• Forbidden: – To eat pork – Drink alcoholic beverages

• Communal prayer on Friday afternoons – the Mosque

• No priests or central religious authority

• Imams – prayer leaders in Mosques

Sources of Authority

1. Allah – expressed his will to Muhammad through

Gabriel2. Qur’an

– Only Arabic version is true3. Sunna

– Muhammad’s exampleBest model for proper living

4. Shari’a– Body of law = family life, moral conduct,

business & community life

People of the Book• Jews & Christians &

Muslims considered “People of the Book”

• Qur’an word of Allah; same as Old Testament for Jews & New Testament for Christians

• Belief in Heaven & Hell & afterlife

• All three trace ancestry to Abraham

•What other religions have dietary restrictions?

•Judaism?•Christianity?•Hindu?

Pillar Four: Fasting

Pillar 3: Charitable Giving

“I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.”

Pillar One: Belief

Pillar Two: Prayer

Pillar 5: The Hajj