Here's something you might like reading:
A Brief Lesson in Islamic History
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, not to mention the most notorious! But where did it all come from? How did this religion start? Read on to find out.
How Did It All Start?
In the year 570, when the world was filled with darkness, a man was born in the Arabian Peninsula in what is now known as Saudi Arabia. His name was Muhammad.
At that time, this part of the world was filled with total lawlessness and savageness. There was no law or government. People were divided into many warring tribes. There was no unity or brotherhood.
People fought with each other; didn’t care about others’ rights; oppressed women; tortured slaves; buried newborn girls alive; treated the weak and poor badly; etc.. Simply, there was total chaos and barbarousness!
The only praiseworthy factor was the Arab World’s linguistic excellence. The Arabs excelled in literature and poetry and were greatly proud of this.
In such circumstances, Muhammad (God’s peace and blessings be on him) was born.
As Prophet Muhammad (God’s peace and blessings be on him) grew up, he saw the evil and injustices around him and was greatly grieved by them. Therefore, he started escaping to a cave in a mountain near Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He would stay there, all alone, for many days, praying to God.
Then one day, at the age of 40, while he was all alone in the cave, miles away from habitation, an angel suddenly appeared to him.
“Read,” said the angel.
“I can not read,” was Muhammad’s reply.
The angel gave the Prophet a firm hug and said again, “Read.”
“I can not read,” replied the Prophet again.
Again the angel hugged him firmly and said, “Read.” And once more, the Prophet replied, “I can not read.”
Giving him a firm hug a third time, the angel said, “Read, in the Name of your Lord, Who created. Created man from a clot. Read, and your Lord is Most Gracious. Who taught by pen. Taught man that which he knew not.“ (Quran, 96:1-5)
Then the angel left. The Prophet (God’s peace be on him) was greatly shaken, not knowing what had just happened. Terrified, he quickly climbed out of the cave and ran back to Mecca.
He reached home shivering with fear and said to his wife, “Cover me, cover me.” Then he related what had happened, saying he was worried for his life.
His wife, Khadija (Allah be pleased with her), consoled him, saying, “No, by God. God will never humiliate you. You treat relatives kindly; you say the truth; you are careful about trusts; you support the helpless people; you help the poor; you are hospitable to guests; and you help in righteous deeds.” Then she took him to her aged cousin, a Christian convert and Biblical scribe, to inquire about this. When he heard the story he exclaimed: “This is the same angel Jibreel (Gabriel) that brought Revelation from God to former Messengers such as Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and Isa (Jesus) [God’s peace be on them all]. Would that I am alive so that I may be able to help you when the people of Mecca throw you out of the city!”
The Prophet was greatly astonished at his words, wondering, will the people throw me out when now they hold me in great esteem, calling me “The Truthful” and the “Trustworthy?” Little did he know that the same people, in a few years, would become extremely hostile to him because of the new message that he would preach, which was to worship only One God!
That was the start of the Revelations from God—Allah—to Prophet Muhammad—Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, through the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel). For three years after that, the Holy Prophet and those who converted to Islam (his honorable Companions), preached in secret, preaching only to those close to them.
After three years, the Prophet and his Companions started preaching openly. Since most of the people of Mecca and the rest of Arabia were idolaters, they showed great hostility to the Message that the Prophet taught. They didn’t want a change in their lifestyle, neither in their faith and ways of worship, nor in their dealings with other people.
The Prophet taught to worship One God and associate nothing else with Him; to do good deeds; to care for the poor and weak; to give rights to slaves; to stop burying the newborn daughter alive; to do justice; to give everyone their due rights; to believe in the Accounting, reward of Paradise, and punishment of Hell in the Life After Death; etc. All these teachings required a huge change in the lifestyle of the people and many, especially the rich, the strong and the upper class, became its greatest opponents.
The Prophet and his followers faced great hostility and persecution at the hands of the opponents. Those who didn’t want change tried various means to stop the new religion. They tried persuading and bribing the Prophet; they tortured and persecuted the weaker Muslims; they imposed social boycott on the Muslims; they tried to spread false stories about the new Message to keep others from hearing it. And they even tried to kill the Prophet—God’s peace be on him— but all to no avail. No matter what they did, they could not stop the message from spreading!
After about 13 years of preaching in Mecca, the Prophet and the believers migrated to a city called Yathrib, now known as Madina, whose inhabitants accepted Islam readily and welcomed the Prophet and the Muslim migrants. In Madina, the Prophet (SAW) established the first Islamic state and the Muslims continued preaching to all those around them. After about 10 years and many struggles and battles in self-defense, the Holy Prophet peacefully conquered the city of Mecca, pardoning all his former enemies. No battle was fought at the conquest of Mecca. "Go, you are all free," the Prophet announced to the inhabitants of Mecca.
This behavior of the Prophet - Allah's Peace and Blessings be on him - greatly impressed the people of Mecca, making them realize the truth of Islam, and so they all converted to Islam.
And that was how current day Islam—the only religion acceptable to God—started.
Although Islam had been the religion of all Prophets and all mankind since the beginning of time, mankind repeatedly changed the teachings of the Prophets. Therefore, God sent Prophets and Holy books over and over again for mankind’s guidance.
Prophet Muhammad was the final prophet and Messenger of God sent for mankind’s guidance; no other prophet will be sent after him. The Holy Quran is God’s final revelation for mankind’s guidance, revealed to Prophet Muhammad. It is a literary challenge: The Quran says in various places: produce ten chapters, 1 chapter, or at least a single verse like it. And despite Arabia’s literary excellence, that challenge was never met: no one was able to produce even a single verse like it! Furthermore, being the final Holy Book, God promised to preserve it and up to this day, after over 1,400 years since its revelation, it is still unchanged. And it will remain unchanged up to the Day of Judgment, being a source of guidance for all mankind at all times and in all places. Both those facts are proofs that the Quran is God’s Word!
For more information, read the Holy Quran. Also visit:
http://www.islam-guide.com for details about the miraculous nature of the Holy Quran .