Islam Part 3,..(Muhammed)

For this third instalment of my blog series on Islam, I thought it best to offer a primer upon Muhammed, what we as westeners would consider the founder of Islam. That being said, this post will probably not be as long as others but will offer people an understanding of who Muhammed was and what context, culturally or politically he lived in.

Muhammed was born around the year 570AD in Mecca. As a child, he found himself orphaned at an early age and subsuquently was raised by his uncle. According to history, Muhammed was what we would know as an epileptic who would often find himself retreating in solitude to either decompress, or just meditate upon life in general. He would find himself working as both a shepherd and a merchant often travelling the Arabian peninsula as a trader. By the time he was 40 years old,..he had begun to receive his 'revelations.'

'Recite!' Was the command given to him by whom he claimed was the angel Gabriel. From this instant, Muhammed started preaching the idea that God is one God. He claimed to be the 'seal' of all the prophets, beginning with Adam, continuing to Moses, Jesus and finally to himself, all bringing about the same message that God is one, and He alone must be worshipped. From a scholarly perspective, it can be argued that Abu Bakr would be the one to copy down his 'revelations' as it was known that Muhammed could neither read nor write. Muhammed died around 632AD and almost immediately a schism occurred between his brother in law Ali and Abu Bakr. (Shia and Sunni.)

The next post will deal with Muhammed alleged revelations and its impact upon Christianity, as well as what can be problematic within the context of the post modern world. Till next time!

Our Lady of Fatima,...pray for us!