Mohammed’s cousin and adopted son

Born in about AD 600 – died January AD 661
Ali was the cousin, adopted son and son-in-law of Mohammed. He married Mohammed’s daughter Fatimah in AD 624. His name means “exalted, noble.” He reigned over the Muslim empire as Caliph from AD 656 to 661. Shi’a (Shiite) Muslims regard Ali as the first true infallible Imam and consider he and his descendants (Hassan and Hussein) as the rightful successors to Mohammed. Disagreement over succession eventually split Islam into the Sunni and Shi’a branches. Ali encountered opposition and civil war during his reign. At about age 60 Ali suffered an assassination attempt while praying in the mosque of Kufa in Iraq – he died soon afterwards. The main mosque of Najaf, Iraq is supposedly his final burial place and has become a major Shi’a shrine dedicated to his memory.

Hassan

Born in March AD 625 died March AD 670
Hassan (Hasan) was the grandson of Mohammed and the son of Ali and Mohammed’s daughter Fatima. His name means “handsome one.” Hassan’s succession to the Caliphate was contested and eventually he conceded in order to avoid bloodshed. He retired to a quiet life in Medina till he died, poisoned by his wife, many years later. He is regarded by all Muslims as a martyr.

Hussein

Born January AD 626 at Medina in Saudi Arabia, died October AD 680 at Karbala in Iraq
Hussein was the second grandson of Mohammed through Fatima. His name means little Hassan, “the little handsome one.” Hussein, son of Ali, is revered as a martyr, having died in a struggle for the Caliphate. The anniversary of his martyrdom is called “Ashura,” which is a day of mourning and religious observance especially for Shi’a Muslims. Hussein’s death was significant because it launched the Shi’a movement which is so prominent today in Iraq and Iran; they believe that Hussein should have been Caliph.

The Shrine of Hussein at Karbala, Iraq

Prayer Requests:

• There are literally millions of Muslim men around the world who are named Ali, Hassan and Hussein. Pray for them to encounter the living Messiah (Acts 7:56 and 9:1-5).
• Millions of Iranians and Iraqis commemorate the memory of Hussein’s death each year. Sometimes as many as 7-8 million pilgrims visit Karbala during that time. Many Shi’a men will cut and flail themselves, shedding blood in the memory of Hussein. A popular Shi’a saying tells us, “a single tear shed for Hussein washes away a hundred sins.” Pray that Shi’as of Iraq and Iran could see the value of the blood of Jesus (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Definition: The Caliph is the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, the worldwide Islamic community or nation which should ideally be ruled by the religious law, the Shari’ah. The word is derived from the Arabic word which means “successor” or “representative.” The early Caliphs in particular were seen as Mohammed’s successors.

Born in Mecca in AD 605, died in Medina in AD 632.

Fatimah (Fatima) was the name of the favourite daughter of Mohammed. Her name means “she who weans.” She was considered one of four perfect women by Mohammed. The others were Mohammed’s own first wife, Khadijah, the mother of Fatimah; Mary, the mother of Jesus; and Asiya the wife of an ancient Pharaoh.

Fatimah is known as a loving and devoted daughter, mother and wife, as well as a sincere Muslim. At the age of 19 Fatimah married Ali. Their life together was simple, frugal, and not without hardship and deprivation. Because of his piety, apparently Ali was not greatly interested in material wealth. Fatimah’s acts of kindness toward the poor and destitute earned her praise from many. She gave birth to two sons and two daughters. In AD 632 after the death of her father she also passed away, either by an accident or by natural causes.

Hand of Fatima

Fatimah was apparently a good influence, but her name is also associated with an occult object that has fairly negative influence in the Muslim world. This so-called “Hand of Fatimah” is used by Muslims in amulets, charms and jewelry to ward off evil spiritual influences.

Prayer Starters:

• Pray according to Acts 19:18-20 concerning occult influences.
• Pray for the millions of Muslim women named Fatimah to find new life in Jesus.

Testimony of a women in a difficult situation

Malika’s husband who was involved in criminal activites was killed. Malika remained alone with her four children for some time. Then she met several believers and came to Christ herself. Since her entire family were Muslims, Malika and her children were forced out of their home when her family learned about her choice for Jesus. She lost everything she had. She no longer had a place to live nor a means to earn money. Two of her children were sick, one who was 12 even needed regular heart medicine. Malika kept her faith and her new family helped her work things out.

20th and 21st Century Islam :: “Since 1945 the number of mosques in England grew from 1 to well over 1000. Over 300 of these mosques are in former churches.”

The Oil Boom

The second half of the twentieth century brought a new identity and strength to the Islamic world. Oil became the engine of the economic growth of many of these newly independent Islamic states. The oil embargo of 1973 caused tremendous concern in the West; it brought the realization of the great strength and political power of the Islamic states.

In the last several years and today, Islam has reached new heights in its ideology and its global expansion. Millions of Muslims have emigrated to the West. Mosques are being built as rapidly as possible in Europe, formerly a place Islam had very little success. Some fifty million people annually are being drawn to Islam and in fact, after Christianity, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world.

The Resurgence of Conservative Islamic Values

The majority of these states were supported by Western governments. Oil was traded for military equipment and Western technology. The Western influence upon these secular, pro-Western governments paved the ways for the resurgence of conservative Islamic values. To the conservatives, the Western lifestyle was a threat to the Islamic community and its law.

The Revival of Islam

In many of these states, increasing inflation, unemployment, governmental corruption, and the lack of political freedom and human rights set the stage for the revival of Islam. The radical and militant Islamic movement was being revived also. Contributing factors to its rise included the Islamic revolution of 1979 in Iran led by Khomeini, the Palestinian situation; the occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union and the rise of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Twenty-First-Century Explosion

In the last several years, Islam has reached new heights in its ideology and its global expansion. Millions of Muslims have emigrated to the West. Mosques are being built as rapidly as possible in Europe, formerly a place Islam had very little success. Some fifty million people annually are being drawn to Islam and in fact, after Christianity, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world.

Sources and Thanks

This Short History of Islam was compiled from the following sources: Matthew S. Gordon, “Islam” (New York: Facts on Files, 1991); Malise Ruthven, “Islam in the World” (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984); JM Roberts, “History of the World” (Helicon Publishing Ltd, 1993) and Reza Safa, “Inside Islam” (Charisma House, 1996). Many thanks to all.

The word ‘Islam’ simply means submission to god, and a Muslim is one who follows the laws of Islam. The revelation of Islam was given to Muhammad, who is revered by Muslims as the greatest prophet. ‘Muhammad’ is not just a name but a title which means ‘The Praised One’.

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad

Muhammad (Mohammed or Mahomet) was born around AD570 in Mecca, a city of Arabia. Mecca was already a shrine city where the Ka’aba (Cube) was located known as the “house of Allah”. (Allah is the Arabic word for god.) Ka’aba was full of the images of other gods and goddesses which Muhammad later banned.

Muhammad’s father died before he was born and he was a member of the Hashim clan of the powerful Quraysh tribe. Muhammad’s mother, Amina, died when he was only 6. Muhammad went to live with his grandfather, who was the guardian of the Ka’aba. Sadly, 2 years later his grandfather also died and from the age of 8, Muhammad was brought up by his uncle, Abu Talib, who was a merchant along the great camel trade routes.

Prophet Muhammad in his Teenage Years

As a youth, Muhammad grew up during a time of economic unrest and discontent concerning the vast difference between the very rich and the very poor. Pagan worship abounded in Arabia, as there were an estimated 360 gods and goddesses to appease, with over 124,000 prophets known at the time. Muslim historians record that even as a boy Muhammad detested idol worship and lived a morally pure life.

Muhammad’s Adult Life

Muhammad was employed by Khadija, a wealthy widow, to manage her caravan trade. He became known as ‘Al-Amin’, the trustworthy one, and was a prominent member of the trade guild of Mecca.

At the age of 25 he married Khadija and their marriage produced 6 children, although all of them died, except for the youngest daughter – Fatima. Muhammad and Khadija were married for 25 years. Later, after Khadija died, Muhammad endorsed polygamy and married several wives.

At the age of 40, he became very concerned about the state of his fellow countrymen and spent much of his time in meditation on religious matters. During his life, Muhammad had met many Christians priests and Jews. He often sought counsel from a particular ‘Jacobite’ monk who taught Muhammad many aspects of Jewish religious customs.

Ramadan

During the Arabic month of Ramadan, Muhammad often retreated to a cave on the slopes of Mount Hira, 5 kilometers or 3 miles from Mecca. It was during one of these times that Muhammad began to receive revelation and instruction that he believed were from the archangel Gabriel. These revelations form the basis of the Qur’an (Koran). In addition to the Qur’an is the book of ‘Hadiths’. The Hadith is the teaching of Muhammad and is an important part of the life of a Muslim.

The Qur’an (Koran)

Muhammad proclaimed that the (soon to be) Qur’an was the final and superior revelation from the One Supreme God. He banned the worship of idols, and taught that a Muslim’s life must be wholly committed to Allah with ritual washing before the 5 daily times of prayer facing Mecca. Friday became the appointed day for corporate worship at the mosque.

Muhammad’s Death

Muhammad died in AD632 in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Q: WHEN DID IT ALL START?

A: With the Hijra or Hegire – the migration of the Prophet Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in 622.

This date marks the beginning of Islam and the Muslim era.

Medina – “city of the Prophet”

After Muhammad’s revelations he began to preach with great zeal. This was still in the area of his home town, Mecca. Some 100 or so followers joined Muhammad, however, there was also great opposition to him. Unable to make any progress in Mecca, Muhammad decided to move to Yathrib, a city some 450 kilometers or 280 miles north of Mecca. The city was later named Medina meaning, “city of the Prophet”.

September 24, 622

This migration, called Hijra in Arabic, started on September 24, 622. This marks the beginning of Islam, and the Muslim calendar starts with this date.

Battles and Victories

During the second year in Medina, life became financially difficult. Muhammad started to raid caravans and divide the spoils among his men. He became very powerful and with just 350 armed men, Muhammad attached a caravan at Badr, defeating an army of one thousand men who had come from Mecca to protect the caravan. The victory at Badr had great importance for Muhammad as it assured him that Allah was with him.

The Importance of Mecca

Muhammad continued to grow in power and in the sixth year of Hijra, 628, a peace treaty was made between the Quraish in Mecca and Muhammad and his followers. Two years later Muhammad broke the treaty by attacking Mecca with an army of ten thousand men. He took control of the city and became the undisputed political and religious leader of Arabia. Mecca became the center of Islam.

Shiites and Sunnites

In the tenth year of Hijra, 632, Muhammad died. After his death a power struggle broke out among his followers. There was division and warfare and several different sects branched out within Islam. The Shia (or Shiites) and the Sunnites became the two major groups within Islam.

History of Islam section

AFTER MUHAMMAD :: The era of the four Medina-based Caliphs or "Rightly Guided Caliphs". Three of the four were assassinated.

The first Caliph, Abu Bakr

By the time of Muhammad’s death in 632, Islam had become a dominant power in the Arabian peninsula. Muhammad’s successors (the four caliphs) were appointed by the Muslim community to carry out the leadership and rule of Islam throughout the Arabian peninsula and other parts of the world.

The four caliphs were more political figures than spiritual leaders. By military force the first caliph, Abu Bakr, brought all the tribes in the Arabian peninsula under the rule of Islam. These tribes had been divided after Muhammad’s death.

The second Caliph Omar

Under the second caliph Omar or Hadrat Umar Farooq (634 – 644) a phenomenal expansion began, which continued for about a hundred years. The Muslim armies defeated the armies of the Sassanian (Persian) and Byzantine empires. The Muslims then swept through the area that is present-day Iraq and Iran to Central Asia (Bukhara and Samarkand) and the Punjab. They conquered all the Asiatic territories of the Roman Empire except Anatolia (modern Turkey). Northward they occupied Syria, and Damascus was the capital of the Umayyad Dynasty (661 – 750). They conquered Egypt and moved across North Africa and into Europe, ruling most of Spain. Their move into the West was stopped in 732 by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in France.

Remarkable Growth

Within a hundred years after Muhammad’s death, Islam became an empire in which Allah and the laws of Islam were established in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Only Europe would remain virtually untouched.

The third Caliph Othman and division

After the assassination of Othman or Hadrat Uthman, the third caliph, in 656, increasing tension arose within the Muslim community. This ended in a civil war and division which still exists up to this present day throughout the Muslim world.

The forth Caliph Ali and the Shiites

The Shiites, the followers of Ali, the fourth caliph and first convert to Islam, became strong opposers of the Umayyads (the tribe from which the third caliph came). The power struggle between these two Muslim groups continued after Ali’s assassination in 661 by his former followers called Kharijites.

The killing, hatred and division went on as Yazid, the son of Mu’awiyah of the Umayyad Dynasty, massacred Hussein, the son of Ali, with his family in 680. This event is celebrated every year during the Islamic month of Moharram by Shiites.

[Please refer to our Glossary of Islamic Terms for more information on the Shiites and Sunnis.]

Man in mosque

The next fourteen hundred years (see previous article) are a remarkable story of dynasties and empires struggling for power across the globe. We begin with the Umayyad Dynasty.

The Umayyad Dynasty

The Umayyad Dynasty lasted for nearly one hundred years (661 – 750). The successor dynasty, Abbasid caliphate (750 – 1258), brought the rule of Islam into a new dimension of political power and wealth. Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid caliphs, became a major center for the political and economical activity of the empire. During this period the Islamic community experienced a renaissance in art, craft, education, science, commerce and law.

By the end of the tenth century, the caliphs lost their political power, and the empire began to break up into smaller provinces led by governors and warlords. Different political and religious views caused more division within the Islamic community.

The Mongol Invasion

In 1258 Baghdad fell under the Mongol army. The Mongol invasion was devastating. However, the Muslims converted their Mongol and Tatar conquerors, and by the fifteenth century the Islamic community had recovered.

Three New Empires

From the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries Islam expanded into many new territories around the world. The political power of the Islamic community rose to new heights again with the uprising of three new empires – the Mughal in India, the Safavieh in Iran and the Ottoman in Anatolia (Turkey). These three empires had control over most of North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, India and central Asia. During the reign of these three empires, Islam spread throughout many new regions in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and many were converted to Islam.

The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was the most aggressive of them all and was the leading force against the Byzantine Empire. By the end of the thirteenth century the Ottomans had conquered several Byzantine provinces, including Greece and Bulgaria, Constantinople, long a bulwark of Christendom against the Muslim advance, fell in 1453 and became Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Ottoman Turkish Empire continued to expand, especially under Suleiman the Magnificent (1520 – 1566). Its advance to the West was stopped at the gates of Vienna in 1529, but it expanded southeastward, occupying Iraq and parts of Arabia. This was a time of bloodshed and horror for many.

The Safavieh empire fell in the eighteenth century and Mughal Empire fell in the nineteenth century. The Ottoman Empire continued but their siege of Vienna in 1683 failed as it had in 1529. By 1699 the Ottomans had suffered several defeats by the Ho0ly Alliance of Austria, Poland, Venice and the Russians. Greece became independent in 1829, and Algeria was occupied by the French in 1830. In 1922 the Ottoman Empire was abolished and was replaced by the Turkish republic.

The Twentieth Century

The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries became an era of European colonization of the Muslim states. By the beginning of 1900 there were few Islamic states left. The British and French took control of most of the Islamic world. However, after World War II most of these colonies became independent and joined the United Nations – Iraq in 1932, Syria in 1947, Indonesia in 1950, Egypt in 1952, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan in 1956, Malaysia in 1957, Nigeria in 1960 and Algeria in 1962.