Were Moses and Abraham really prophets? I don't remember any prophecies from them in the Bible, and I don't think the Koran (or any interpretation of it) shows that these men told prophecies. Am I wrong?

Moses and Abraham, in the context of Islam, are prophets. Not in that they told the future (which is a small part of what prophets, "do"), but in that they spoke for Allah.

Did Muhammed always conquer empires in the most peaceful way possible?

Yes, when the various tribes and kingdoms were conquered, fighting and war would be the last resort.

Describe Mecca around the time of Muhammad's birth. Use the following terms in your description: desert, prosperous, trading city, merchants, religious center.

Around the time of Muhammad's birth, Mecca was a prosperous trading city in the desert, which basically means that it had lots of merchants. Mecca was a sort of religious center at the time of Muhammad's birth, as there was an annual pilgrimage to it by Arabs for religious reasons. Once Muhammad was born, he and his followers were persecuted by the pagan rulers of Mecca, and then were forced to leave to another holy city for Islam, Medina. Eventually, the Muslims entered a treaty with the ruling group that allowed them to make the pilgrimage. However, the ruling group violated the treaty by attacking the muslims. The muslims then reorganized and forced the ruling group to surrender Mecca.

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World history

Course: World history > Unit 3

Lesson 3: Origins of Islam

Context of pre-Islamic Arabia

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Muhammad spreads revelations rejecting the idol worship of Mecca and urged his followers to submit to God, forming a religious community that became the Islamic faith.

Let's read two historical excerpts and think about how they provide global and religious context for the development of Islam.

The global context in the early 7th century

First, let's look at what the world looked like before the emergence of Islam.

H.G. Wells is a well known science fiction author from the early 20th century, but he also wrote a two-volume, non-fiction history of the world. Below is the beginning of his chapter on Islam. As you read this, think about why he felt it important to start with a global perspective.

From A Short History of the World, H.G. Wells, Chapter 43: "Mohammed and Islam"

A PROPHETIC amateur of history surveying the world in the opening of the seventh century might have concluded very reasonably that it was only a question of a few centuries before the whole of Europe and Asia fell under Mongolian domination. There were no signs of order or union in Western Europe, and the Byzantine and Persian Empires were manifestly bent upon a mutual destruction. India also was divided and wasted. On the other hand China was a steadily expanding empire which probably at that time exceeded all Europe in population, and the Turkish people who were growing to power in Central Asia were disposed to work in accord with China. And such a prophecy would not have been an altogether vain one. A time was to come in the thirteenth century when a Mongolian overlord would rule from the Danube to the Pacific, and Turkish dynasties were destined to reign over the entire Byzantine and Persian Empires, over Egypt and most of India.

Where our prophet would have been most likely to have erred would have been in under-estimating the recuperative power of the Latin end of Europe and in ignoring the latent forces of the Arabian desert. Arabia would have seemed what it had been for times immemorial, the refuge of small and bickering nomadic tribes. No Semitic people had founded an empire now for more than a thousand years.

Wells, H. G., A Short History of the World. New York: The Macmillan company, 1922; Bartleby.com, 2000.

What do you think was H.G. Wells' intent in these opening two paragraphs in the chapter on Islam?

(Choice A)
To imply that the Byzantine and Persian Empires were so strong at the time that it was unlikely for them to be conquered, especially by the Arabs
(Choice B)
To imply that, in hindsight, it was clear that the Arabs were likely to unify into a strong empire
(Choice C)
To imply that the world was ripe for conquest, but that someone making predictions at the time would not have expected Arabia to be the source of that conquest

How might the author's mention that "the Byzantine and Persian Empires were manifestly bent upon mutual destruction" be directly relevant to the eventual rapid spread of Islam in the 7th century?

(Choice A)
Either empire would be eager to adopt Islam as its state religion in order to get the help of the Arabs in this ongoing struggle
(Choice B)
Muhammad would be able to pit one against the other because of their mutual distrust
(Choice C)
By exhausting each other, they both became vulnerable to attack by the Islamic Empire emerging out of Arabia in the mid-7th century

Religious context of the Middle East and Arabia during the life of Muhammad

In the passage above, H.G. Wells paints a picture of the global context. In the following passage, Reuven Firestone gives the religious context of the pre-Islamic Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula.

As you read this, remember that Muslims consider Muhammad to be the last in a line of prophets which include Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Also, much of the Qu'ran relates to the narrative in the Hebrew Bible and Gospels.

Think about how these connections might have influenced the adoption of Islam.

From An Introduction to Islam for Jews, by Reuven Firestone

By the generation of Muhammad's birth in about 570 CE, most of the Middle East had abandoned its local polytheistic religious systems and had taken on Judaism, Christianity, or Zoroastrianism, the state religion of the Persian Empire. Despite the penetration of these religions into Arabia, the peninsula was never controlled by the foreign power. Arabia lay in a strategic location between Mesopotamia and Egypt, and between India and Africa. It produced valuable incense and was known for its gold; yet the harsh climate, the lack of a significant water supply, and the fierce independence of its inhabitants made it impossible to conquer...

In addition to indigenous Arabian polytheism and some forms of Judaism and Christianity practiced in the [Arabian] peninsula, there is evidence that other forms of monotheism were practiced there. These seem to have been expressions of indigenous Arabian monotheism, no doubt influenced by the success of Judaism and Christianity in the Middle East in general. The Qur'an refers to a believer who is neither polytheist, Jew, nor Christian as hanif.

Firestone, Reuven, An Introduction to Islam for Jews. The Jewish Publication Society; First American Edition edition (May 19, 2008)

Why would the author consider it important to mention the influence of Christianity, Judaism, and Zorastrianism (and monotheism in general) in pre-Islamic Arabia?

(Choice A)
Because Jews were waiting for the Messiah and Muhammad's claim to the be the long-awaited Messiah helped him convert the Jewish tribes.
(Choice B)
Because only Jews and Christians would have been in a position to understand Muhammad's revelations.
(Choice C)
To show that Muhammad's revelations about strict monotheism and his place in the prophetic line of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus would not have been completely foreign to the tribes of Arabia.

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George Estep
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to George Estep's post “Were Moses and Abraham re...”
Were Moses and Abraham really prophets? I don't remember any prophecies from them in the Bible, and I don't think the Koran (or any interpretation of it) shows that these men told prophecies. Am I wrong?
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- David Alexander
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Moses and Abraham, in the...”
  Moses and Abraham, in the context of Islam, are prophets. Not in that they told the future (which is a small part of what prophets, "do"), but in that they spoke for Allah.
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Did Muhammed always conquer empires in the most peaceful way possible?
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- Talha Ahmed
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  Yes, when the various tribes and kingdoms were conquered, fighting and war would be the last resort.
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Saravalenciatorres
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Before the founding of Islam, most Arabs followed?
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How would it have been to convert from Christianity to becoming part of the Muslim community?
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- Talha Ahmed
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  The religions weren't very different at the time, it would've just been like converting to stricter Christianity with more clear cut beliefs.
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tuaakin.2421752
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is there really a order or union in western europe?
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Saravalenciatorres
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Describe Mecca around the time of Muhammad's birth. Use the following terms in your description: desert, prosperous, trading city, merchants, religious center.
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- Hecretary Bird
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Hecretary Bird's post “Around the time of Muhamm...”
  Around the time of Muhammad's birth, Mecca was a prosperous trading city in the desert, which basically means that it had lots of merchants. Mecca was a sort of religious center at the time of Muhammad's birth, as there was an annual pilgrimage to it by Arabs for religious reasons. Once Muhammad was born, he and his followers were persecuted by the pagan rulers of Mecca, and then were forced to leave to another holy city for Islam, Medina. Eventually, the Muslims entered a treaty with the ruling group that allowed them to make the pilgrimage. However, the ruling group violated the treaty by attacking the muslims. The muslims then reorganized and forced the ruling group to surrender Mecca.
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  (2 votes)