Muhammad- The Founder of Islam

Muhammad- The Founder of Islam Galatians 1:6-10

Introduction • Our nation remains in a state of alert • Our ambassador to Libya was killed recently • If they are right in their beliefs, they would be martyrs

Introduction • Martyrs or murderers? • Need to become familiar with Muhammad, the man behind Islam • By some estimates, it is the fastest growing religion in the world.

Introduction • Consider these basic facts • 2nd largest religion behind Christianity • Over 65 nations in the world are Islamic • There are 165 Islamic schools, 426 Islamic association and 90 Islamic publications in the U.S.

Introduction • Basic facts (Continued) • More Muslims than Methodists in the U.S. • More Muslims in the United Kingdom than Methodists and Baptists combined. • Before 9/11/2001, very little was known about Islam

Muhammad • Personal facts • Born about 570 A.D. in the Southern Arabia town of Mecca. • His father, Abdullah, died before he was born, and his mother when he was six • He was raised by his grandfather and an uncle • In 595, he married Khadijah, a wealthy widow fifteen years older than him.

Muhammad • Personal facts (Continued) • She died in 619, and he married a woman named Sawdah, who was the first of many polygamous wives. • In April 623, he married Aisha, who may have been only nine years old. He met with opposition in 627 when he married to Zaynab, his cousin and the ex-wife of his adopted son, Zayd.

Muhammad • Personal facts (Continued) • He married eleven times, but never kept more than four official wives at a time, and fathered seven children. • After threatening to divorce them all in 630 because of their strife, he died in the arms of his favorite wife, Aisha, in Medina on June 8, 632.

Muhammad’s Claims • Claimed revelations from God beginning in 610 • These alleged revelations lasted until his death. • In 613, he began to teach his monotheistic message in and around Mecca.

Muhammad’s Claims • Continued • The basis for Salmon Rushdie’s novel, The Satanic Verses, was an alleged revelation in 613 that it was okay to worship three idols, a revelation that he later said came from Satan.

Muhammad’s Claims • Continued • In 620, he claimed that the angel Gabriel took him by night to Jerusalem where he met Moses, Abraham, and Jesus, and ascended by ladder through the seven heavens along with Gabriel.

The Movement • A movement grows • In 622, after seven years of opposition, Muhammad and his followers moved to Medina, a city 250 miles north of Mecca, and the year of the emigration (hijrah) became year one in the Islamic calendar.

The Movement • A movement grows • Muhammad made his first military raid on a Meccan caravan in March of 623, and began making military and political power a component in his quest for spiritual dominion.

The Movement • A change takes place • Early on he seemed to respect them, and commended their sacred writings, the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel). • After encountering opposition from these groups, he learned that he could not peacefully coexist

The Movement • Change (Continued) • Later on he openly showed his disdain for both Jews and “Christians.” • This may explain the contradictory passages in the Koran (Qur’an) about dealing with his enemies.

Conclusion • Our next lesson will be about the Koran • We need to know what motivates them

Muhammad- The Founder of Islam