21 The life of Prophet Muhammad LO Explore the historical Political economic and religious context of Muhammads life How might Social Political and Religious Backgrounds impact on Muhammads life and teachings ID: 703410
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Slide1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLdTrntOKCASlide2
2.1 The life of Prophet Muhammad
LO
Explore the historical
, Political, economic and religious context of Muhammad’s
life
How might Social, Political and Religious Backgrounds impact on Muhammad’s life and teachingsSlide3
Key terms
Key Terms
Jahiliyyah
Benighted era
Dark ages
The Age of Ignorance
Byzantine Empire Sassanian EmpirePolytheismLawless Tribes & Clans Vendetta
Zoroaster
Animistic
Judaism
Christianity
Hanifs
Monotheism Slide4
Task:
Independent work
- Divide the page into three sections
- Scan the textbook ‘
Islam V W
Watton
’ pages 73-78 - Select the key information in your notes.Social background Political background Religious background Slide5
1.Social Background Slide6
A
rabia never been a great empire
Desert with scattering of oases, only fertile part, a small strip South bordering Indian Ocean
Tribal division; council of elders, chief called Shaykh Trade through, sailing ships from India to Aden (South)……….Camel caravans brought goods from Byzantine Empire to North/Sassanian Empire to Makkah… dominated by South Arabia…… Abyssinians invaded the South Hashim
increased trade cycle yearly obtaining charters from Byz… Sass.. and Abyss… to move freely in these areasFree trade called Al’hums, tribes agreed not fight over shares or profitQuraish made vast sums of money, Banu Hashmites remained poorer… No social system of dealing with discontentVendetta and infanticide, common tradition 1.Social Background Highlight / underline which traditions would you accept / reject for todays society?Why? Slide7
PoliticalSlide8
Political Background Slide9
2. Political background
Two powers at war between 614-628 CE
No concept of law in political-juridical sense
No authority to legislate or enforce universal rules beyond kinship group
Notion of universal justice or abstract legal principles was absent
Protection under family and extended kinship relations
Muslim authors think life was backward while Western authors disagreeByzantine Empire, advanced and civilised societySassanian ruled from China to Iraq, from North India to Caspian Sea, having advanced agriculture system based on irrigationBoth empires had a long history of civilization and standard of living not reached in Western Europe till 19th century
On your whiteboard
Which one of these features Muhammad would keep / reject?
Why…….?Slide10
Religious Background Slide11
3. Religious background
Animistic
:
S
trange objects-rocks, trees, springs being inhabited by spirits,
Believed in Jinn…. Spirits could be good or evil, touching the object would rub off some holiness on them
There is no separation between the spiritual and physical (or material) world, Souls or spirits exist in some other animals, plants, rocks, mountains or rivers also The Spirits of nature, are believed to exist everywhereBedouin polytheism; Majority Nomads Slide12
Bedouin polytheism;
al’Manat
(goddess of fate),
al’Uzza
(the all-
Powerfull goddess of love) who were daughters of Allah (the Chief God).. al’Lat was his wifeKa’bah; 360 statues of godsMore advanced polytheism; gods lived in the sky,…… Allah was immaterial,….. very little mythology about gods,…… no holy literature,….. slaughtered animals before idols as a sacrifice
3. Religious background…continued…..Slide13
Hanifs
= Arabian monotheism
No religious wars were fought in north Arabia, although such wars were fought between Jews and Christians in Southern Arabia (
Dhu
Nuwas converted to Judaism)Sacred Time and Sacred Space necessary for pilgrimage, killing prohibited (
haram)3. Religious background…continued…..Slide14
Zoroastrianism
(
1500–1200 BCE)
Founded by the Persian prophet
Zoroaster,
The religion contains both monotheistic and dualistic features.
It influenced the other major Western religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Began in Ancient Persia (Iran)
Zoroaster
was inspired to teach and preach
when
his peaceful society was being torn apart by warring tribes.
He
saw this as a struggle between
good and evil
. His followers are called
Parsis
.
Arab
polytheism
, the dominant belief system, was based on the belief in deities, supernatural beings (jinn). Slide15
Judaism
Arrived in Arabia 590 BCE
Large migration of Jews in 2
nd
century CE, when Romans banned them from living in Palestine.
There were several Jewish clans in Hijaz (Arabia)
Many Arabs converted to Judaism, difficult to differentiate between Jews and ArabsMadinah had been a Jewish city, Jewish trade network existed It was difficult for them to accept non-Jews as full members of ‘the people of God’Think:What could be the impact on Muhammad’s life?Slide16
Christianity
Major Problem; hard for uneducated people to understand the doctrine of
Trinity
and differentiate from a belief in
three gods
.
The Orthodox; believed in the Trinity, Jesus being both God and Man at the same time … a dominant belief Byzantine Empire and Western Europe.The Nestorians; Jesus was only a man who became Son of God through what he did on earth… The tribes of Hira and the Sassanian EmpireThe Monophysites; believed that Jesus was simply God and he only appeared to become man, really he was God all the time. (Egypt, Syria, tribes of South & North Arabia)How it might affect Muhammad’s life?Main religion in South, North and East Arabia…. Cathedral
at Sana… Christian monks and hermits in
the desert.. Muhammad
was taken to
Waraqa
. Slide17
How it was Easy or difficult to absorb these Religious backgrounds into Muhammad’s teachings? Discuss
keep
Reject Slide18
How might these backgrounds influence Muhammad’s life and teachings? Write a structured paragraph.Slide19
Homework…..
Research
- What type of literature existed in pre-Islamic Arabia?
- Bring a print out (or
hand
written) A4 page
4. To what extent Social, Economic, Political and Religious backgrounds might have impact on Muhammad’s life and teachings? Evaluate. (20 marks AO1, AO2)(Homework essay)Slide20
Pre Islamic
Arabian
literature
What type of literature existed prior to the revelation of the Qur’anSlide21
What are your findings through homework task?Slide22
PRE-ISLAMIC literature
The
earliest known literature emerged in
Northern
Arabia around 500 AD
The most celebrated poems of the pre-Islamic period were known as the Mu’allqqat
("the suspended")……… to be hung on the walls of the ka'ba in Makkah.
Qasidah- Ode
The typical poem of this period is the
Qasidah (ode),
which normally consists of
70-80 pairs of half-lines
:
describe the
Nomadic life,
a cry for a lost love.
praises the
poet's horse or camel
and describes a journey, with the hardships it entails. Slide23
All verses are divided into types:
1
. Occasional
Poems;
consisting
2 to 20 lines whose themes are usually war and revenge and praise of one’s own tribe. 2. Various genres (types) fall to this are: • Elegies (poems)• Praising the dead; the most famous type was
Kansa. • The Odes or Qasidah • Was an elaborate ode usually of 60 to 100 lines • Themes were usually about exploits of narrator, his old passion, and descriptions of camp life in honour of his patron. The oral transmition of poems lasted for 350 yrs.Slide24
What type of literature existed in the age of
Jahiliyyah
?
How it might have influenced the language of the Qur’an?
Slide25
What do I remember?
Social
Political
Religious
Literature