NATIIslam-Pat

 ** Islam **

 Muhammad  was the founder of the islamic religion. He founded it in the late 400's while he was meditating in a cave and an angel Gabriel appeared and ordered him to read some writing. It is said that he heard the voice of the angel, telling him to preach about God. Muhammad's mother died when he was just six years old. He was very successful in the caravan business, but was troubled by the drinking and gambling problems in Makkah . While he spent much time on his own, thinking and fasting in a cave, he decided that the people of Makkah had been led into evil by their belief in false gods. That is when he concluded that there is only one god, Allah. As Muhammad preached to the people of Makkah about Allah, the rich leaders laughed at him, but then as he continued to preach they felt threatened. Their fears were that people would stop coming into Makkah and buying merchandise off of them, and that they would no longer be rich. Because of this fear they started persecuting Muhammad and his followers. After building up a muslim community in Madina, Muhammad returned to Makkah and forgave those who persecuted him. He died in 632. The religious leaders of this religion are people that called Iman's and they give sermons every friday. They worship in a building called a mosque , in this building people must wash before service, cannot wear shoes, and men and women must worship seperately from their children. This religion was started in Makkah, and practiced in Muslim states.Makkah was the largest and richest town in the Hejaz  and was widely supported by trade and religion. Arab pilgrims, or traveler's to a religious shrine went there to worship. The ka'bah , which was a low , cube-shaped building surrounded by 360 idols. The main beliefs of this religion is that there is only one god, Allah, they also believe in angels, scriptures, prophets, resurrection, Divine Creed, and the Five Pillars of Faith . These pillars include reciting the creed to Muhammad, praying five times a day, to give away alms and help the needy, the duty to keep the Fast of Ramadan, and the duty to make the pilgrimage to Makkah at least once in a lifetime. The sacred writings of this religion are the Quran, Hadith, Shariah, and other scriptures of the Islamic religions. The Islams celebrate the birth of a newborn baby- they also shave the baby's head and weigh it. Islam shook the foundations of Byzantium and Persia, which were the two most powerful civilizations of that time. 