Understanding Islam
REL/134
June 16, 2015

Understanding Islam
About the year 570 there was a child named Muhammad. He was born into a clan of Quraish, which was the ruling tribe of Mecca. Mecca is now known as Saudi Arabia. This child would become the prophet of Islam. Muhammad’s father died before he was born and he was raised by his mother , Aminah till the age of 6 where he was sent to live with his Grandfather who was the head of the Clan Hashim. After the death of his grandfather Muhammad was then raised by his uncle his name was Abu Talib. Muhammad endured and made the best of the harsh desert life. In his twenties he fell in love with a woman named Khadijah a widow of a merchant. Muhammad worked for her business that traded caravans to the north. They got married some time later and had 2 boys that didn’t survive but they had 4 girls. Muhammad made his way to mount Hira outside of Mecca when he was in his forties. Where he began to meditate in a cave. This is believed to be the site of the first of the great events of Islam. The story reads that he was sitting in the cave and he hears a voice that was later identified to be the Angel Gabriel which ordered him to: “Recite: In the name of thy Lord who created man from a clot of blood.”(Quran 96:1-2) Muhammad pleaded on three different occasions about his inability to do it. Each time the command was repeated, finally he recited the passage. At first Muhammad kept his experience between his wife and his immediate circle. As the Revelations continued he started to proclaim his oneness of god and following grew. His following started with the slaves and the poor. Wasn’t long before his following included the most prominent men of Mecca. All of Muhammad’s revelations are included in the Quran. Not every received or accepted God’s message from Muhammad even some of his own clan members. The opposition of the