Gods+Effect+on+Muhammad's+Life


 * Research QUESTION: How does God influence Muhammad’s life? How does his role in Muhammad's life effect the major Islam beliefs today?**



Background
•Muhammad was born during the year of 570 AD, into a land defined by hunger, tribal warfare and violence, also known as the "A Brutal World". However he was blessed and born into a powerful tribe that was able, for the most part, to keep him away from that harsh reality. His parents died, and he became an orphan who was raised by his uncle. He lived a very poor childhood, however he survived, and grew up to become a prosperous young man that made his wealth in the blossoming merchant market in Mecca. •At the age of 25 he started working with a wealthy widow that would soon change his life by becoming his bride. Her name was Khadija, and she would prove a big help to Muhammad in the future. Muhammad began to fell troubled and he began to go sort out his thoughts in the mountains just outside of mecca. At the age of 40, he was spending time alone in the caves on Mt. Hira, fasting and praying outside of the city.

=Gods Influence=


 * The Revelation**

• Everyday at the same time Muhammad retired to a cave in Mt. Hira outside of Mecca to pray, fast, give alms to the poor and contemplate his thoughts on the Arab society • God sent the Angel Gabriel down to Muhammad's cave and appear before him • Gabriel squeezed him and told him to "Recite in the name of your lord, the creator, Who Created man from the clots of blood. Recite! Your Lord is the most bountiful One. Who by the pen had taught mankind things they did not know", Muhammad was very reluctant to do so at first, but Gabriel kept squeezing him harder and harder until Muhammad was close to death and he had no choice but to agree • Similarity with Moses and how both men were reluctant to accept the task that God assigned to them • After Gabriel "squeezed the words out of him", Muhammad rushed home and told only his wife and closest friends • More on Muhammad's Revelation- this site shows more detail on the revelation as well as Muhammad's reaction • Revelation comparison with Jesus- Both were of middle age when they first realized they had a message to preach, and both men endured pain before they began to preach their messages, however unlike Muhammad, Jesus did not speak with God, he spoke with the devil.

• Over the Next few years God continued to communicate with Muhammad by giving him revelations that Muhammad described as "I never once experienced a Revelation where I didn't feel like my life was out of my hands." • An important second revelation on Muhammad's life where god told him "to rise and warn" • He did so, and after that second revelation he began to preach, and Muhammad's family became the first Muslims • However, his message was rejected by the wealthy merchants and leaders of Mecca because they made their money on the belief in many gods, and Muhammad was preaching belief in just the one • See Opposition To Islam for more on this conflict • Comparison to Jesus- both Jesus and Muhammad were rejected when they first started preaching • See how Moses's Teachings were received
 * The Next Few Years**

Overall Influence
• God preached to Muhammad that there is only one God and we must stay faithful to him. Since Muhammad followed and preached God's word to the people, this belief is the most important belief in the fastest growing religion in the world, Islam, and because of God, Muhammad founded that religion which changed his life forever •Since God revealed the Koran to the World through Muhammad, Muhammad preached the basic building block of all Muslim life today, and because of God Muhammad was successful in doing so • Since God told him how to live his everyday life, and because of it the practices and examples of how he lived his life are a primary source of Islam teachings to this day • Because of God's word, Muhammad was rejected by the Meccan society and was forced to move to Medina, which is now the holiest city in Islam • He was able to return to Mecca because his followers believed he talked to God • Because of what God preached to him, Muhammad became the most beloved prophet and set up the building block of all Islam life, which is now the second most popular religion

Comparison To Abraham, God's Overall Influence on Both Men

 * Bibliography**

Armstrong, Karen. Islam. Copyright 2000 By Karen Armstrong. 217 pages. Random House Publishing.

Farah, Mounir A. Karls, Andrea. __World History. The Human Experience__. Copyright 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies. 1088 pages.

Gordon, Mathew. Islam. World Religions. Copyright 1991 by Mathew S. Gordon. 128 pages.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/muhammad_1.shtml

-Click on Pictures to view site-