Chapter 9 - I found it interesting to read that...

"Muslims, Jews, and Christians"

I found it interesting to read about "the close relationship of three Middle Eastern monotheistic traditions in this fifteenth-century Persian painting, which portrays Muhammad leading Moses, Abraham, and Jesus in prayer. The fire surrounding the Prophet's head represents his religious fervor. The painting reflects the Islamic belief that the revelations granted to Muhammad built on and completed those given earlier to Jews and Christians.”

I learned that the Islamic belief revelations had been built on and completed the revelations given to Jewish and Christian Prophets. Therefore, the Islam sacred text, the Qur’an, contains Prophet Muhammad’s revelations in addition to Jewish and Christian prophets revelations.   

The Qur'an contains 114 Surahs (chapters), each divided into Ayahs (verses). It is arranged from the longest to the shortest Surahs; Earlier Surahs are also called Meccan Surahs because it reflects the earlier period of Muhammad’s career as a Prophet when he was in Mecca; later Surahs are called Medinan Surahs because it reflects the later years when Muhammad relocated to the city of Medina. The major themes of the Holy Qur’an are God, prophets, man, divine scriptures, and sin. The main message in the Qur’an is God and as the speaker he explains who he is, what our duties are towards him, how he communicates with us and what his expectations are towards us, human beings. Differently from the Bible that preaches about God being the Trinity comprised of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Qur’an primary message is Tawhid which translates to the idea that God is not many but one.

Here are some interesting details about the Islam Religion:

It started in the Pre-Islamic Near East which refers to Saudi Arabian society who lived prior to when Islam religion started in the 7th century C.E.. At that time, communities were organized in pastoral nomadic tribes and lived a unique lifestyle including polytheism, as they believed in many gods and goddesses and venerated stones, wells, trees and sacred precincts connected with the tribe’s origin. Hejaz, the often called the “cradle of Islam,” is the region in the western sector of Arabia where the Arabs lived the al-Jāhilīya, a term meaning “the ignorance,” but also including their barbarian lifestyle. Their economy included raising camels and sheep, hunting, occasionally serving as bodyguards or escorts to caravans or being hired out as mercenaries. Mecca was the center of trade and a sacred town, where diverse people, from Jewish and Christian faiths, gathered to pray for their god or goddess. When outside of Mecca, tribes lived in constant chaos because of their different beliefs, societies and social customs. 

Works cited:

Frederick, D. (2016). An Introduction to Islam. Routledge.

Miradj, by Mir Haydar. Fifteenth-century Persian painting. Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Royal workshop of the Timurid Dynasty in Herat, Afghanistan, 1436. BnF, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY 

Strayer, R. (2016). Ways of the World: A Brief Global History. Bedford/St. Martin's