Happy St. Patrick's Day...and only 3 more shopping days until Mohammed's (Peace Be Upon Him) birthday.
Today I said we would start discussing the 5 pillars of Islam and I've actually done some research on Mohammed (PBUH). Review:
The first pillar of Islam is profession of faith in Allah with Mohammed (PBUH*) as his messenger. (From now on I'm going to call him "the prophet" so I don't have to keep typing PBUH. )
First some prophet basics
1. He was born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) in 570 AD. This is why the Muslims face Mecca when they pray.
2. He was illiterate ...most people were back then
3. He was a descendant of Abraham through his son Ishmael
1. He was born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) in 570 AD. This is why the Muslims face Mecca when they pray.
2. He was illiterate ...most people were back then
3. He was a descendant of Abraham through his son Ishmael
4. At 40 he received his first revelation from the Archangel Gabriel (same one that is in the Bible)
5. After his encounter with Gabriel, he ran home to his wife (he only had one at the time) and asked her to hide him. When he told her what happened, she became the first convert to Islam.
6. Now 1 in 5 people of the world believe the same
Although there is no command in the Koran, pictorial depictions of Mohammed are frowned upon. It is believed that any image could lead to idolatry where the person becomes more important than the message. So many of the sites that I googled, (in my extensive and exhaustive research), were blocked by the government censors. The picture above is from an old illustrated manuscript and depicts the prophet with a blank face and quite a fiery halo I might add. He is praying at the Kaabah (means cube) and there will be more on that topic when we discuss the pilgrimage of the Haj.
Although there is no command in the Koran, pictorial depictions of Mohammed are frowned upon. It is believed that any image could lead to idolatry where the person becomes more important than the message. So many of the sites that I googled, (in my extensive and exhaustive research), were blocked by the government censors. The picture above is from an old illustrated manuscript and depicts the prophet with a blank face and quite a fiery halo I might add. He is praying at the Kaabah (means cube) and there will be more on that topic when we discuss the pilgrimage of the Haj.
We attended an Islamic art exhibit where many of these illustrated manuscripts were displayed. The most interesting one was from a book of ancient bedtime stories. It showed the prophet in battle with a giant named Og and in the background is Mary and the baby Jesus. It looks like a mix of the Bible, the Koran and Lord of the Rings. Next we will discuss the prophet's love life. With all those wives, you know there will be trouble down at the oasis.
1 comment:
I'm going to start calling my cube "Kabaah"... makes me sound a little more important.
Hahah... good blog
love
christie
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