PROPHET MOHAMMED The Story of Mohammad Mohamened, sometimes called Muhammad Abdullah. was the founder of the religion of islam, and is considered ‘by Muslims to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muslims believe he was the last of the Islamic prophets, which inchuded Nosh, ‘Abcaham, Moses and Jesus. Born in 570 in the Arabian city of Mecoa, he was orphaned at an early age and brought up by his uncle, Abu Talib, He later worked mostly as a merchant, 3s well as a shepherd, and was married by age 25. He also worked to help the people in his community was @ public speaker and military leader. He was not happy with his Me in Mecca, but Could not understand wry. "My business is going wel. My farrily are fine. People like me. So why am! so sad? Muhammad thought again about Mecca, the city where he lived. It 95 a very busy city ful of people who were greedy and dishonest. No one cared about the poor and the needy. People believed in evil ‘spits and magic and worshipped many diferent gods. Muhammad wondered if there was anything that would show these people how to live better ves and to give up their bad ways. He decided to leave Mecca and spend time in a cave outside the city thinking about these ‘things. R was 3 quiet, cool place where he could think and pray ail by himself. According to Islamic beliefs M was here, at ge 40, n the ‘month of Ramadan, that he received his frst message from God. One day, Muhammad had a strange feeling that he was no longer alone “Do not be afraid” said a voice. Muhammad rubbed his eyes and stared it was an angel It was the Angel Gabriel. Gabriel showed \Muhamenad some words. Read’ the angel commanded. But Muhammad had never gone to schook He had never learned 10 read oF wee The ange! repeated his command, before squeezing Muhammad so hard that he thought that he would faint. The angel released ‘Muhammad and began to read out the beautiful words. Muhammad immediately knew that these words came from God He listened ‘carefully and was able to remember everythang the ange! said. Muhammad knew that the people needed to hear thes message, 50 he ‘started preaching what God had told him, that Allah is the one true God. and giving yourself to him is the only way to worship him. He said ‘that he himself was only a prophet and messenger of God. Mishammad did not win many followers to begin with, and some tribes around ‘Mecea did not tke his message, $0 he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape from this danger, Muhammad and his followers in ‘Mecca went to Medina in the year 622. This event the Hija, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. in Medina, Muhseimad urited the {ocal tres who had been fighting each other, and after eight years of fighting withthe tribes from the area around Mecca, his followers, ‘eho by then had grown to 10,000, conquered Mecca He did not punish the people who had derven him out of the city Instead, he made new ‘ules and laws which meant that poor people and children were looked after property. in 632, Muhammad fel iE and died. By the time of his ‘death. he had united the tibes of Arabia into a single group who all followed the religion of tslam, and most people who lived on the Arabian Peninsula were Muslims. Mohammad continued 10 receive messages from God for the rest of his fle, and these messages ‘became the Quran, which is the Holy Bock of tstam. To Muslims, Muhammad and the other prophets are so holy. that the phrase ‘Peace Be ‘Upon Hirt is always said when thei names are mentioned. (o;| DU RESOURCES + Primary Sources — Qur'an (Holy Book) - Sunnah & Hadith (The tradition) ~ Ijma (Consensus of opinions) — Qiyas (analogical deduction) * Secondary Sources - Customs — Juristic Preference - Legislations — Equity, Justice and Good Conscience — Precedent Lo, DW lALEFirst and most important source Direct word of God to Prophet Mohammed Through angel Gabriel This was written and preserved during the life of Mohammed and compiled soon after his death In Mecca and Medina Base for Society - As specified by the scripture - Moral / Philosophical / Social / Political / and Economic The verses revealed in Mecca deal with Philosophical and Theological issues The verses revealed in Madina deal with Socio-Economic laws The verses are categorized mainly into 3 categories: - Science of speculative theology = Ethical principles = Rules of human conducts 114 Surahs / 540 Rukus / 604 pages (mostly) Acommon myth persists that the number of verses in the Quran is 6,666. In fact, the total number of verses in all chapters is 6,236, although this varies depending on how (or if) the Bismillah appearing at the start of each chapter is ® in @iU (3 |=2. SUNNAH & HADITH Sunnah means “the way of Prophet” The traditions and customs of Mohammed or the words, actions and silent assertions of him is called Sunnah Muslims believe Muhammad's life is a good model for them to follow in their own lives This include: - Everyday saying and utterances of Mohammed - His acts ~ His tacit consent - Acknowledgement of statements - Activities — Prayer / Slept / Conversed with people Using Sunnah as a source of law is justified in Quran it self Muslims believe that they can look at the way of life, or sunnah, of Mohammed and his companions to discover what to imitate and what to avoid °*| DU RE2. SUNNAH & HADITH The Hadith encompasses everything that was said by the prophet during his teachings during 23 years . Hadith are classified by Hadith Scholars in different categories and the degree of authentication differs, depending on the transmission chain of all Hadith has been written so far after the death of the prophet, as he prohibited the writing of Hadith at first for fear that amalgam is made between the Quran and the Hadith, for lack of means at the time. But he omitted to defend Some few companions to write it, Because He Was assured of them, he later lift the ban when companions where mature in Islam to distinguish Quran and Hadith. Hadith. Most authenticated Hadith were written by Al Boukhari (810 - 870) as an orphan, his father passed away when he was 2 Y old, before age of ten he learnt the Quran by heart. He loved science of theology from an early age. Thus,he memorized the Hadith teached by his sheikh Ibn Al- Mubarak as a child. He read books deemed as he was sixteen, as it was said that being young ,he memorized seventy thousand hadith by heart. What helped this, is that he knew the biographies of those who relate the hadith and he sought their state also, he knew. He knew the Sheikh of those from whom he takes the Hadith as well as their ‘students and different chains of transmission. imam Al-Bukhari is the author of many books, but the best known is Sahih Al-Bukhari which is a collection of hadith. His book contains 7563 Hadith with repetition and about 2,230 without repetition. 07) (BUThe ljma or consensus amongst Muslim jurists on a particular legal issue Rule of consensus as base of Mohammed's saying - My followers will never agree upon an error or what is wrong - God's hand is with the entire community Importance of ljma — Sunni Jurist - Primary Source — Shiite Jurist - Secondary Source Further Details * Hanafi - through public agreement of Islamic jurists Shafi - through agreement of the entire community and public at large Maliki - through agreement amongst the residents of Medina, the first Islamic capital Hanbali - through agreement and practice of Mohammed's companions Usuli - only the consensus of the ulama of the same period as the Prophet or Shia imams is binding J DUKThe Qiyas or analogical reason aims to draw analogies (similarities) to a previously accepted decision — Sunni - Accept — Shiites - Don't Reference for Qiyas: - Mohemmed said “Where there is no revealed injunction, | will judge amongst you according to reason” - His supporters claim that he has extended the right to reason to others. Example: - Wine is prohibited in exam because it is intoxicating ~ The Qiyas leads to the conclusion that all intoxications are forbidden — do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction - Smoking is hence prohibited among Muslim1. CUSTOMS The term Urf meaning “to know, refers to the customs and practices of a given society Customs are not a formal source of Law in Islam \jma can support a customs Customs of Prophet period is respected Later to Prophet, if anything generally accepted by majority of the people, such customs are also respected considering such good are supported by god. Anything that is Quran can't be considered though it is acustom2. JURISTIC PREFERENCE Abu Hanifa developed this source This is defined as: - Amean to seek ease and convenience — To adopt tolerance and moderation - To over-rule analogical reason, if necessary 3. LEGISLATIONS The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 - This law deals with marriage, succession, inheritance and charities among Muslims The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 deals with the circumstances in which Muslim women can obtain _ URE divorce. oe ee oo4. EQUITY, JUSTICE AND GOOD CONSCINCE 5. PRECEDENT Sharh I" Lon) DW Ale