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What is Islam?
The word "Islam" means peace and submission. Peace
means to be at peace with yourself and your
surroundings and submission means submission to the
will of God. A broader meaning of the word "Islam"
is to achieve peace by submitting to the will of
God.
This is a unique religion with a name which
signifies a moral attitude and a way of life.
Judaism takes its name from the tribe of Juda,
Christianity from Jesus Christ, Buddhism from Goutam
Buddha and Hinduism from Indus River. However,
Muslims derive their identity from the message of
Islam, rather than the person of Muhammed (P), thus
should not be called "Muhammadans".
Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that
God revealed through all His prophets to every
people. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam
is both a religion and a complete way of life.
Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and
forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do
with the extremely grave events which have come to
be associated with their faith.
The History of Islam:
Pre-Islamic
The Arabian Peninsula the birthplace of Islam is one
of the hottest and driest regions in the world,
consisting mainly of deserts. Since ancient times
tribes of the nomadic race had populated the region.
Considered the descendents of Noah?s third son Shem
they are called Semites. Over the centuries theses
Semitic people have migrated into the Fertile
Crescent and were assimilated to into existing
civilizations.
In the sixth century AD, north of the Arabian
Peninsula two great powers were locked in a seesaw
power struggle. The Christian Byzantine kingdom,
successors of the Roman Empire was to the Northwest
and controlled the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa
and the lands of Palestine. In the northeast lay the
Zoroastrian Persian kingdom. Both the Byzantine and
Persian kingdoms had client Arab tribes allied to
their cause of trade and conquest.
The Arabian Peninsula became a land of refuge for
those seeking escape from both of these empires.
Heretic Christian sects like the Nestorians, and
Jewish tribes escaping the oppressive Byzantines
found refuge in the protective deserts and cities of
the Peninsula.
Arabia was divided into tribes and cities. Each city
had gods and goddess. Once a year the tribes and
cities of Arabia would meet in the city of Mecca
during an event known as the Hajj. In Mecca, the
Kaba (Cube), a large cube shaped building housed 360
idols from all the tribes of Arabia. The Kaba was
the center of Arabian religious life. Here all the
warring tribes would put aside their differences as
they circled the Kaba. From the Kaba they would
proceed to the other shrines outside of Mecca during
this five day religious event. The Hajj was a
tradition that Arabs of the peninsula remembered
going back hundreds of years. |
