The History of Islam

1. NATASHA GHICA
ERIC CHENG
MICHAEL GELLERSTEDT
LONDON BYRD
The History of Islam

2. Early History
Islam begins with the prophet Muhammad
Islam started in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in the 7
th
century
When Muhammad was 40 years old in AD 160, he
claimed to be receiving messages from God that were
later recorded into the Islamic Holy book-The
Qur’an

3. The Prophets
There are 25 prophets of Islam that Allah(the God)
sent.
The most important being Noah, Abraham, Moses,
Jesus and Muhammad.
The prophets were sent to offer guidance and spread
Islam and its concepts through the world
Muhammad is the last prophet
Muhammad is called the “Seal of the Prophets”

4. How it started
Muhammad would share his visions and revelations with
other people and try to teach them about Allah and the
belief in one God
It introduced the five pillars which every Muslim must
follow:
1. confession of faith in God and in Muhammad as God's
messenger
2. daily prayer at the five appointed times
3. fasting during the month of Ramadan
4. paying an alms-tax and giving charity to the poor and
5. pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca and its sacred
shrine the Kaaba

5. The Golden Age
Islam flourished as a religion during The Golden Age
The Golden Age took place during 750-1258 AD
It has now become the second largest religion in the
world, after Christianity
Many people turned to Islam due to its solid belief
system
Islam spread wide and fast across the world and
soon became a major religion

6. Denominations: Sunni
Islam has many denominations but the largest and
most well known are the Sunni and Shia
Sunni is the largest sect of Islam.
Sunni is about 80% of all Muslims).
Sunni is the traditional path of the religion
Sunnis believe that the first four caliphs were the
right successors to Muhammad and that a caliph
should be chosen by all the community

7. Shia
Shia is about 10-20% of Islam
It is the second largest branch of the religion
They believe in the political and religious leadership
of Imam
They believe that a caliph is appointed by divine will
There are also many branches that pertain to Shia
Islam
The most famous is the Twelvers who follow a
tradition called Ja'farijurisprudence.

8. Short Timeline of Islam
c. 570 CE Birth of Muhammad.
c. 610 CE Muhammad receives first vision in a cave near Mecca.
c. 610-22 CE Muhammad preaches in Mecca.
622 CE Hijira-Muhammad and followers flee to Medina.
624 CE Muslims successfully attack Meccancaravans at Badr.
625 Muslims are defeated by Meccansat Uhud.
630 Muslims capture Mecca. Ka'bais cleansed, pilgrimage rites are
Islamicized, tribes of Arabia vow allegiance to Muhammad
632 Death of Muhammad. Abu Bakrchosen as caliph.
680 Death of Husaynmarks beginning of the Shi'atAli ("party of Ali") or
Shi'asect.