The Birth of Islam Before Mohammed

To have a real understanding of Islam’s origin, one needs to know the environment of pre-Islamic Arabia, mohammed the man and Islam’s early history. Archaeology, the Koran (sometimes spelled – Qur’an) and the Hadiths have much to say, of which many people might be unaware. Ever wonder what mecca was like before mohammed was born?  It must have been a fascinating place, for it was a trading center, a melting pot of different cultures.  Traders were there of many different religions. The Quraysh tribe there worshipped the idols Hubal, Al-ilah and Al’ilah’s three daughters.  A black rock from heaven was held in high esteem and placed in the corner of the Ka’bah.  The Ka’bah was the center of worship of 360 idols according to the Bukhari 3:658 and 5:583 p.406. The Encyclopedia of Islam (ed. Eliade) p.303ff says the people, prior to Islam, would pray five times toward mecca and fast for part of a day for an entire month.  The Quraysh fasted on the 10th of myharram/ muharram.  mohammed ordered this too, but later it was optional.

Pre-Islamic Arabs made pilgrimages (‘umrah) to mecca. fiqh us-sunnah v.5 p.122, and Bukhari 2:635 say they thought not performing ‘umrah was one of the major sins on earth.  At mecca, they covered the Ka’bah with cloth Fiqh vol.5 p.131, and they had a sacred month of no war, Bukhari 2:482.

The Origin of the word “Allah”

Generically, the word “Allah” likely was a contraction of the Arabic Al-ilah, which means “the god.”  Both Arab Christians and pagans used the word “Ilah” for Arabian deities.

What about Islam?

1. “Islam” means “peaceful,” or “peaceful path.”

2. The Koran gives instruction on how to kill unbelievers. The forcible conversion of the world is one of the tenants of the Koran.

3. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the  world with over one billion adherents worldwide.

4. Islam is distinctly a “works” religion. Salvation is rewarded for service to Allah.

5. Allah is not God.  Allah is just one god of many

Some strange things are as follows: • Because of the Koran’s attitude toward unbelievers, rape of unbelieving women has long been a standard act for conquering Islamic armies. • Mohammad got several revelations from Allah to kill dogs, lots of them, especially black ones.

Reasons for the Rise of Islam

1. The decline of the true church.

2. Lack of soul-winning zeal in the Arab peninsula.

3. The outlawing of the Paulicians by the Catholic church. If the Paulicians would have  been allowed to flourish, perhaps their zeal for the Bible and for souls would have had a greater impact on the Arabs.

Even Arabic and Indonesian Bibles today use the word “Allah” for god.  In past times, the similar mideastern word “el”, meant “god” either true or false, in ugaritic, Canaanite and Hebrew.  Prior to mohammed, the Ka’bah, which housed 360 idols, was called Beit-Allah, or “House of Allah.” specifically, among the idols worshipped at mecca, one was just called “Allah.”  This particular idol was the tribal god of the Quraysh, and he had three specific daughters.  Compared to four of the five pillars of Islam, the meccans before mohammed fasted on the same day, gave alms to their own, prayed toward mecca and made pilgrimages (‘Umrah) to mecca.  There were many differences too, but some marvel in the continuity of these unchanged practices in common with the pagan Quraysh worship. As the following section will show, just as the specific greek idol Zeus likely came from the generic word for god (theos), a similar thing happened with pre-Islamic Arabs. Worshippers of Allah many primitive people worshipped a sun god and a moon goddess.  Western Arabs were unusual in worshipping a moon god and his wife, the sun goddess.  There are pre-Islamic statues of his symbol: the crescent moon.  It looks just like the crescent moon of shi’ite muslims, except the shi’ites added a small star.  The Yemenites had a moon god, and according to the Encyclopedia of Islam, P.303, the sabaeans worshipped a moon god named Allah, and the Quraysh may have gotten this idol from them. Allah had three daughters named Lat, uzza and manat.  At one time the “prophet of Allah” compromised and said in the Koran (Qur’an) (sura 53:19) that “their intercession was to be hoped for.” In other words, he said we should hope for the help of these three idols. mohammed’s followers must have been amazed that he said this.  Later, mohammed changed his mind and said satan deceived him.  since a mistake was made, these verses were “abrogated” or taken out.  These are often called “the Satanic verses.”  It is interesting to read how Allah could have what are called “abrogated verses” in suras 13:39; 16:101; 2:106.
The Allah-idol of the Quraysh was already prominent in the family of “the prophet.”  His father was named Abd-Allah, meaning slave of Allah.  This was not a name given later, as AbdAllah died before mohammed was born.  sura 41:37 mentions with disapproval sun and moon worshippers. When Abd-Allah was named, nobody ever said “which Allah,” so the Quraysh and sabaeans might think it was the Allah they already knew.  Mohammed never told them to “change Allahs.” Likewise the Qur’an never introduces or explains Allah, as it assumes the Arabs already knew. In summary, mecca in mohammed’s time was a very cosmopolitan town.  sabaeans and mohammed’s tribe, the Quraysh, worshipped an idol named Al-ilah or Allah and his three daughters.  The Qur’an says not to worship idols, yet muslim scholars admit mohammed originally put in verses saying the intercession of the Allah’s daughters was to be hoped for. Who Was Mohammed? The degraded, idolatrous, distorted Christianity of the Catholic church repulsed many people of the world, including mohammed, who was born in mecca, saudi Arabia, about A.D. 570.  His parents both died before he reached the age of seven.  At age 25, mohammed married a wealthy widow whose fortunes allowed him time and money to travel.  During his travels, he observed pagan religions and Catholicism and concluded that they were all idolatrous.  His contact with the Catholic church gave him a distorted impression of Christianity.  His main quarrel with the New Testament, however, concerned Jesus Christ: he could not see how god could degrade Himself by taking on the earthly form of god the son.  He did not believe that Jesus is the son of god. At 40 years of age, mohammed declared himself a prophet and began to propagate by the sword his teaching that “there is one god, Allah, and mohammed is his prophet.”

In the year 610 he claimed to have his first revelation from the angel Gabriel, which began his transmission of the Koran, the muslim holy book.  To gain followers for his new religion, Islam, mohammed used the sword in jihad, or holy war. mohammed soon commanded a vast following.  The muslims, as mohammed’s followers were called, captured and killed thousands of Catholics, spreading their Islamic empire across northern Africa and the Bible lands, from Spain in the west to Constantinople in the east.  The idolatrous Catholic church paid a heavy price for its corrupt worship and practices. The Catholic church later inspired the political rulers of Europe to lead the Crusades (10951291) to retake the Holy Land from the control of the mohammedans, but the crusades were not successful. Christians agree with muslims in rejecting polytheism and idolatry, and in recognizing that there is only one god.  But Christians cannot agree that the one true god is he whom mohammed called Allah.  most importantly, mohammed rejected Christianity’s essential tenet: Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  Mohammed claimed that Christ was just a prophet, like he himself.  Although he never claimed to be a god or demanded worship, mohammed elevated himself to the status of the “last prophet.”  He taught that men could achieve salvation by what they did and not by Jesus Christ’s finished work on Calvary. In the next 12 years, under the next two caliph’s, the religion captured Jerusalem, syria, Egypt, Persia and mesopotamia, all by warfare.  The next two caliph’s continued as their predecessors.  They took the areas of North Africa, parts of India and Spain.  The caliph’s line continued, and wars continued unabated.  France, Germany and the rest of Europe would have surely fallen, if it had not been for Charles Martel’s victory in 732 at the Battle of Poitiers.  There was 110 years of Islam and 110 years of Islamic warfare against the rest of the world.  Their plan of action has not changed.  All the lands from Turkey to India, from North Africa to Spain, are in the hands of Islam, including the Arabian Peninsula, mid-east and Persia.
Mohammed the Husband

Sura 4:3 says men may have at most four wives, except that in sura 4:57 mohammed had an exclusion for himself.

Mohammed’s wives and concubines according to the muslim scholar Ali Dashti:
1. Khadija (died first)

2. Sawda/sauda

3. Aisha/Aesha (8-9 yrs old)

4. Omm/umm salama

5. Hafsa – slaves or concubines

6. Zaynab/Zainab of Jahsh

7. Jowayriya

8. Omm Habiba – uncertain relationship

9. safiya/saffiya bint Huyai

10. maymuna of Hareth

11. fatima/fatema

12. Hend/Hind

13. Asma of saba

14. Zaynab of Khozayma

15. Habla

16. Asma of Noman

17. Mary the Christian

18. rayhana

19. Omm sharik

20. maimuna

21. Zaynab/Zainab 3rd

22. Khawla

Mohammed married safiya after slaughtering her husband and the men at Khaibar, according to Bukhari 2:68 and 4:143, 280. The London Economist reported that muslims in the sudan are enslaving and selling women and children of the Dinka tribe.  The may 4, 1992 special edition of Newsweek on slavery also reported that muslims are still enslaving blacks as did the Austin American Statesman on February 2, 1996.  Reader’s Digest March, 1996, P.77-81 states, “Slavery’s Shameful Return to Africa” is a heart-wrenching account of oppression today.

More Information about Islam

Islam is a religion that claims to be the culmination of Judaism and Christianity that began with the patriarch Abraham through his son Ishmael.  It claims to have been completed by the prophet muhammad in the early 7th century as was revealed to him by the angel Gabriel and recorded in the Koran (Quran).  Islam claims 1/5 of the world’s population or approximately 1 billion followers worldwide.  There are 5 million in America alone.

The Basic Muslim Beliefs The 5 Pillars “are the framework of the muslim life: faith, prayer, concern for the needy, self-purification and the pilgrimage to mecca for those who are able.”

1. Faith: This declaration of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula which all the faithful pronounce.       ”There is no god, but Allah and muhammad is his messenger.”

2. Prayer: salat is the name for the obligatory prayers which are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and god. These five prayers contain verses from the Quran, and are said in Arabic, the language of the revelation, but personal supplication can be offered in one’s own language. Prayers are said at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall, and thus determine the rhythm of the entire day.

3. Alms Giving: The word zakat means both “purification” and “growth.”  Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.  Each muslim calculates his or her own zakat individually.  for most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of one’s capital.

4. The Fast is regarded principally as a method of self purification.  By cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry as well as growth in one’s spiritual life.

5. Pilgrimage: The annual pilgrimage to mecca (the Hajj) is an obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to perform it.  Nevertheless, about two million people go to mecca each year. The annual Hajj begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year (which is lunar, not solar), so that Hajj and Ramadan fall sometimes in summer, sometimes in winter.  Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments which strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before god.  The rites of the Hajj, which are of Abrahamic origin, include circling the Ka’ba (believed to have been built by Adam, rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael) seven times, and going seven times between the mountains of safa and marwa as did Hagar during her search for water.  Then the pilgrims stand together on the wide plain of Arafa and join in prayers for Allah’s forgiveness, in what is often thought of as a preview of the Last.

What’s So Wrong With Islam? Galatians 1:8-9,  “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

1. Islam follows the WRONG Gospel!  mohammed claims to follow the teaching of Abraham through Ishmael when the Bible said that God would bless all nations through Isaac’s seed not Ishmael and that seed would be in CHRIST!

Genesis 17:21,  “But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.”

Galations 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

2. Islam says:  • Jesus is not the son of god. • Jesus did not die for our sins. • Jesus was not crucified. • Jesus was not divine as well as human. • Jesus is not the Saviour. • These are issues of the Quran out-and-out contradicting the Bible.  (see suras 4:157; 5:19, 75; 9:30.)

3. Mohammed was a sinner!  Many muslims believe that he was sinless; however, mohammed replied,  “O Allah, set me apart from my sins…”  (Hadith vol. 1, no. 711.)  In sura 18:10, Allah tells mohammad: “say, I am but a man like yourselves.”

4.  Mohammed was not sure if he was going to Heaven himself: The Prophet said, “By Allah, though I am the Apostle of Allah, yet I do not know what Allah will do to me,”  Hadith vol. 5, no. 266.

5. The Quran gives four conflicting accounts of how Mohammed was called to be a prophet. • In suras 53:2-18 and 81:19-24, Allah personally appeared. • In suras 16:102 and 26:192-194, he was called by “the Holy spirit.” • In suras 15:8 the angels announced his prophetic ministry. •  The angel Gabriel told him of his ministry and hands him the Quran. Who were mohammed’s  first supposed converts? Genies! Yes, mohammed supposedly preached to and converted genies in suras 46:29-35; 72:128. How convenient that there was no one around to confirm his prophethood.

6. Islam uses Jihad (holy war) to force religion.  The Hadith (another “holy” book of Islam) says  that Jihad, or holy war, is the second best thing to believing in Allah and his apostle (mohammed). Allah’s apostle was asked, “What is the best deed?” He replied, “To believe in Allah and his Apostle.”   The questioner then asked, “What is the next?” He replied, “To participate in Jihad in Allah’s cause.”  Hadith vol. 1, no. 25. The Quran requires violence.  suras 9:5 says, “fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every strategem of war.” suras 5:33 records what is done to infidels who resist Islam: “Their punishment is…execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from the opposite sides, or exile from the land.” Mohammed also burned out eyes with hot irons (Hadith vol. 1, no. 234) and deprived people of water until they died (Hadith vol. 8, no. 796). 7.   Women are treated bad in Islam. Let’s look at the Quran, suras 4:34: “men are the managers of the  affairs of women…Those you fear may be rebellious–admonish; banish them to their couches and beat them.”

ISLAMIC FAMILY VALUES  In Pakistan and other predominantly muslim countries, the phrase “family values” has a somewhat different meaning than it does in civilized countries. In the united states and Canada, for instance, when we refer to family values we are speaking of protecting the family and its members. To muslims, an important part of family values involves murdering female members of the family. It is called “honor” killing.  In Pakistan, muslim men killed 461 women in “honor murders” in 2003.  Other muslim nations have similar horrifying statistics to share. These men are murdering their own mothers, wives and sisters in the name of Allah. Their excuse? They are defending the “honor” of their families. What are the crimes these women have committed that are so terrible that their religion says they must die? Here is a list provided by Islamic scholars.

SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE – While any sex outside of a marriage covenant is sinful, there is a basic lack of fairness here. many muslim men indulge their desires for women, but no one is killing them.  Why is that true? Because this benighted religion considers women property, not people. men rule, women die. Women have no value other than serving men.

DATING – muslim women adopt Western customs at their peril.  While dating is one of the least beneficial of our exported customs.  Dating is not a capital offense.  The muslim religion dictates that the fathers will choose their daughters’ husbands.  The fact that they traditionally get paid for her by the groom’s family has nothing to do with their reluctance to give up this power.  But murdering your own daughter because she dated someone is sick.

TALKING TO MEN – This is an offense that is certainly not worthy of murder.  In Islamic countries, women are so subjugated that they have lower status than slaves.  They are not allowed to go outside unless accompanied by a male family member.  Think about this?  A ten-year-old boy could decide whether his mother is allowed to go to the store if he is the only male around.  Then if a woman should ask a man for directions, she gets a death sentence.  Her family’s “honor” has been tarnished by this terrible act.

BEING RAPED – The most terrible violation any woman of any religion could endure is being raped. Christians embrace women who have experienced this horror and help them heal. They love them, counsel them, encourage them, and pray for them.  Muslims kill them.  This is truly a barbaric religion.  What other word can be used of a religion that orders the murder of a woman because she talked to a man, or because she was a rape victim?

This is not exaggerating the seriousness of Islamic brutality.  Consider the case of Arina Lawal, a thirty-one-year-old new mother in Nigeria.  Her baby was born out of wedlock.  It is unknown whether she was raped or whether she was a willing participant.  The latter is unlikely, because, as a muslim, she would know the consequences of sex outside of marriage.  In any case, an Islamic religious court has sentenced her to be stoned to death as soon as her newborn child is weaned. Islam doesn’t take well to criticism.  Author salman rushdie wrote a book (The satanic verses) that Islamic religious leaders didn’t like.  They put out a death warrant for him.  Here is a copy of the actual fatwah muslim clerics issued against rushdie: “The author of The satanic verses, a text written, edited and published against Islam, against the Prophet of Islam and against the Koran, along with all the editors and publishers aware of its contents, are condemned to capital punishment. We call on all valiant muslims wherever they may be in the world to execute this sentence without delay, so that no one henceforth will dare insult the sacred beliefs of the muslims.”  A journalist in Nigeria made the mistake of suggesting that if the “prophet” mohammed were around today, he might want to marry one of the women competing in the miss World contest.  Muslims rioted in the streets, killing over 200 people over that innocent remark.  It is a serious mistake to imagine that Islam is a religion resembling anything in our frame of reference. Most Americans and Canadians have had experience with Protestants and Jews.  There are obvious differences between these faiths, but there are also many similarities. Chief among the similarities are the ideals of love, kindness and tolerance. We assume that because Islam is a “religion” it will have similar ideals. This is not true. Islam is a vengeful religion. Instead of listening to what people tell you about Islam, read the Koran yourself.  As you study more you will be horrified; you will start to be afraid and with good reason. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world.  Islam is also the fastest growing religion in the united states. Muslims have already gained considerable political clout. They have hired public relations people who know how to manipulate our system to convince us that theirs is a “peaceful” religion. They have started buying politicians.  Their efforts are paying off. They have used the backlash against them brought about by the Islamic attacks against America to their advantage.  since 9/11 it has become politically incorrect to say anything even mildly negative about Muslims or Islam, however true.  schools that will not allow a Bible Club to meet in empty classrooms before school but are allowing their gyms to be used during classes (and allowing muslim students to skip class) for prayer to Allah.  Federal agents who know of mosques that are sheltering terrorists or hiding explosives and chemical weapons are not allowed to search them.  As a nation, we have allowed Islam to control us. We see mosques being used as terrorist training and organizational centers in other countries, and we watch videos of muslim clerics using loudspeakers attached to mosques to whip their people into violent riots.  And we say, “That won’t happen here. American muslims aren’t like that.”  It may be true that many muslims in this country would not engage in violence against America as they know they have it much better here than in the backward nations that are predominantly Islamic. Muslims here are also much better educated than muslims in other parts of the world.  Most of them are illiterate and easily led by their hate-filled clerics.

It is important to remember that most muslims in this country are muslims first, Americans second.  Their religion demands this.  When their religious leaders tell them to engage in Jihad, as thousands of muslim clerics are doing everyday worldwide, many of them will obey.  Where do you think the members of the terrorist cells recently captured in the U.S. came from?  These weren’t muslims smuggled into this country from saudi Arabia or Afghanistan. They were American citizens – homegrown terrorists.

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