Islam

The Historical Context
1. Genesis 17:20- Many consider modern day Arabs the descendants of Ishmael
2. Genesis 25:13-16a- Provides a list of Ishmael’s 12 sons
3. Smith’s Bible Dictionary- “"The sons of Ishmael peopled the north and west of the Arabian peninsula. and eventually formed the chief element of the Arab nation.”
4. Kenneth Cragg- “The existence and Lordship of Allah were known and recognized in pre-Islamic Arabia…the Prophet’s contemporaries knew of a Supreme Being, but He did not dominate their minds.”
5. Thus, the Arab culture in Muhammad’s day was more inclined to monotheism than some of their neighbors. But since they were mostly non-religious, they were ready for a new religion.

Muhammad the Man
1. Born around A.D. 570 in Mecca
2. Had good reputation, respected in community
3. Married a wealthy widow at age 25
4. Discontent with paganism/idolatry…influenced by Judeo-Christian teaching
5. Received ‘prophetic call’ A.D. 610

Muhammad the Prophet
6. Began preaching ‘simple’ message: the Unity of God
7. Message rejected by Meccans
8. An ‘invite’ from Medina
9. Became leader of Medina in 622 (spiritual, political, military)
10. Defeated Mecca in 630, died 632

THE QUR’AN EXPLAINED
1. Revelations from Allah…delivered to Muhammad throughout his ministry
2. Made up of 114 ‘suras’ (chapters)
3. Arranged by length…longest to shortest, not chronological
4. Viewed as eternall…Our ‘Word became flesh,’ there’s became a book
5. ‘Hadiths’ also important…stories about Muhammads life, some legendary

THE QUR’AN DEFENDED- arguments Muslims use to prove divine authorship
1. Divine Literary Style…Muslims believe it is the greatest literary masterpiece
2. Muhammad was Illiterate
3. Perfect Preservation
4. Predictive Prophecy
5. Mathematical Structure- built around the number 19

Some Statistics
1. Number of Muslims 1-1.8 Billion
2. Countries of 99% Muslim population 14
3. American state with highest Muslim % New York

BRANCHES OF ISLAM
1. Sunni (close to 1,000,000,000)
2. Shi’ite (120,000,000)- Iran, parts of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan
3. Ahmadiyya (10,000,000)- From teachings of Mirza Ahmad (d. 1908). He said he was the image of Muhammad and that Jesus had only fainted on the cross and later died in India. This group produces most anti-Christian literature and does the most proselytizing on American campuses.

ISLAM 101: MONOTHEISM
“There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle”
“He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, Nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him” (Sura 112)
1. For Muslims it is impossible to truly know who God is, we can merely see what He does
2. For Muslims God alone acts. It is an incredibly pre-determined worldview

ISLAM 101: CREATION
1. Heaven and Earth- Mostly a traditional 6 day creation as described in Bible
2. Angels- very important in Muslim life…Gabriel is almost like our Holy Spirit
3. Jinn- Somewhere b/w men and angels. Have free will. Satan may be a Jinn
4. Satan- Rebelled when Allah commanded him to bow before mankind
5. Mankind- A special creation of Allah

ISLAM 101: PROPHETS
1. Noah
2. Abraham
3. Moses
4. Jesus
5. Muhammad- The final prophet, the prophet for all people
a. “Perfect in intellect, absolutely graceful, completely generous, perfect in bravery, excessively humble, perfect in piety, the most perfect of mankind.” (Muslim scholar)

Problems with Muhammad’s Character
1. He was a polygamist. Though the Qur’an allows up to 4 wives, Muhammad had more and a later revelation gave him an allowance to be the exception to the rule
2. His view of woman. Sura 4:24 allows beating of women.
3. Asked forgiveness on many occasions (thus wasn’t perfect)
4. Idea of Jihad is quite immoral (Sura 9:5)
5. Assasinated poets who were making satirical comments about him

ISLAM 101: SALVATION
1. Life after Death- Good deeds weighed against your bad deeds
2. No Depravity- we’re not rebellious…we’re just weak and forgetful
3. Belief + Works =Saved (Sura 5:10)
4. No Assurance- This is a motivation to continued obedience
5. The Unpardonable Sin- Rejection of Allah’s oneness

ISLAM 101: FAITH
1. Recite the Shahadah (confession of Allah’s oneness and Muhammad)
2. Pray 5 Times a Day
3. Fast the Month of Ramadan
4. Give Alms (one-fortieth)
5. Take Pilgrimage to Mecca

Witnessing to Muslims: Keep the Focus on…
1. The nature of God
2. The identity of Jesus
3. Salvation by grace alone