Portal: Origins of Islam: Difference between revisions

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Islam arose in 7th century Arabia, and as such its appearance bears the markings of its ancient Arab and Near East milieu.  
Islam arose in 7th century Arabia, and as such its appearance bears the markings of its ancient Arab and Near East milieu.  


==Arab Paganism==
==Pre-Islamic Arab Religion==
Islam casts itself as being in the prophetic tradition of Abraham, Moses, Eijah, Isaiah, and Jesus and his disciples. Yet many aspects of the religion either show the influence of or are plainly holdouts from the ancient pagan religion of the Arabs in antiquity.
Islam casts itself as being in the prophetic tradition of Abraham, Moses, Eijah, Isaiah, and Jesus and his disciples (indeed, besides Biblical stories the Quran has many [[Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]]). Yet many aspects of the religion either show the influence of or are plainly holdouts from the ancient religion of the Arabs in antiquity.


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{{PortalArticle|image=|title=Pagan Origins of Islam|summary= Many of the features and rituals of contemporary Islam find their precedent not in the Judeao-Christian tradition but rather in pre-Islamic Arabian religion.|description=}} {{PortalArticle|image=|title=Black Stone|summary= The Black Stone is a fixture of Islam's pilgrimage ritual, but already according to the Islamic tradition itself it was a center of ancient pagan religion in Arabia.|description=}}
{{PortalArticle|image=Pre-Islamic Basmala in South Arabian Script (close-up).png|title=Pre-Islamic Arabic Religion in Islam|summary= Many of the features and rituals of contemporary Islam find their precedent not in the Judeao-Christian tradition but rather in pre-Islamic Arabian religion.|description=}} {{PortalArticle|image=Black Stone Mecca.jpg|title=Black Stone|summary= The Black Stone is a fixture of Islam's pilgrimage ritual, but already according to the Islamic tradition itself it was a center of ancient pagan religion in Arabia.|description=}}
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{{PortalArticle|image=|title=Zamzam Well|summary= The discovery of the magic well of Zamzam is attributed to the prophet Ibrahim in the Islamic tradition, yet in fact the well was a focal point of cultic activity in ancient Arabian pagan religion.|description=}}
{{PortalArticle|image=Zamzam Modern.jpg|title=Zamzam Well|summary= The discovery of the magic well of Zamzam is attributed to the prophet Ibrahim in the Islamic tradition, yet in fact the well was a focal point of cultic activity in ancient Arabian pagan religion.|description=}}
{{PortalArticle|image=|title=Jinn|summary= The Jinn, mystical beings which are neither demons nor angels, make an appearance in the Islamic tradition but have no antecedent in the Judeao-Christian tradition, but rather find their origin in pre-Islamic pagan Arabian religion.|description=}}
{{PortalArticle|image=Medeival Jinn.jpg|title=Jinn|summary= The Jinn, mystical beings which are neither demons nor angels, make an appearance in the Islamic tradition but have no antecedent in the Judeao-Christian tradition, but rather find their origin in pre-Islamic pagan Arabian religion.|description=}}


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*[[Allah (God)]]
*[[Allah (God)]]
*[[Hubal]]
*[[Hubal]]
*[[Treaty of Hudaybiyyah]]
*[[Mecca]]
*[[Mecca]]
*[[The Meaning of Consummate]]
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*[[Hajj]]
*[[Hajj]]
*[[Crescent Moon]]
*[[Ka'bah]]
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==The Early Caliphates==
==The Formation of the Qur'an and Classical Arabic==
 
The Qur'an, and with it the classical Arabic language took place during this period. Before the rise of Islam, Arabic did not have one standardized script or grammar, and various dialects were written in various scripts such as Nabatean Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, and many others. The writing of the Qur'an coincided with the crystallization of the modern Arabic script, and the history of the Arabic and its script are deeply interwoven with the history of the Qur'an.


Although not technically part of the "holy history" of Islam which ends with the death of the prophet and the sealing of the holy prophetic example, the years of the [[Rashidun Caliphs]], the Umayyads and the Abassids were absolutely instrumental in the formation of Islam as we now know it. It was during this time that the Uthmanic rescencion of the Qur'an was canonized and all other versions were annihilated; it was in the early years of the Rashidun caliphs that the word "Muslim" came to define the movement as opposseed to the earlier "believer", and it was under the Umayyads and Abassids that the doctrine of the prophetic example was formulated, the Sunnah was assembled and the place of the caliph in the [[ummah]] was finally fixed.
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{{PortalArticle|image=|title=Dihya the Berber Queen (Al-Kaahina)|summary=Dihya was a Berber queen who fiercely resisted the expanding caliphate to her death. |description=}}
{{PortalArticle|image=Ancient Mushaf.jpg|title=Textual History of the Qur'an|summary=The Qur'an was never put down to writing as a single book during the prophet's lifetime. According to the Islamic sources the impetus to put the Qur'an to writing came from the death of many of the Muslims who had memorized it.|description=}}
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{{PortalArticle|image=|title=Khilafah (Caliphate)|summary= The caliphate, or success state to the prophet, in orthodox Sunni Islam is seen as the continuation of the rule of the prophet of Allah by his viceroy on earth, and is a divinely ordained institution.|description=}}
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{{PortalArticle|image=Huruf Muqta'a.jpg|title=Huruf Muqatta'at (Disjointed Letters in the Qur'an)|summary=Many of the chapters of the Qur'an begin with mysterious combinations of letters whose function remains unclear to this day.|description=}}
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===Other articles in this section===
===Other articles in this section===
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*[[Early Conversions to Islam]]
*[[Arabic]]
*[[Rashidun Caliphs]]
*[[Arabic letters and diacritics]]
*[[Ka'bah]]
*[[Diacritical Marks of the Qur'an]]
*[[Khilafah (Caliphate)]]
*[[Spelling Inconsistencies in the Quran]]
*[[Abu Bakr Abdullah ibn Uthman]]
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*[[Ali ibn Abi Talib]]
*[[Uthman ibn Affan]]
*[[Arab Transmission of the Classics]]
*[[Umar ibn al-Khattab]]
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==The Formation of the Qur'an and Classical Arabic==
==Ancient Arabian Culture==
 
The Qur'an, and with it the classical Arabic language took place during this period. Before the rise of Islam, Arabic did not have one standardized script or grammar, and various dialects were written in various scripts such as Nabatean Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, and many others. The writing of the Qur'an coincided with the crystallization of the modern Arabic script, and the history of the Arabic and its script are deeply interwoven with the history of the Qur'an.


Early Arab tribal politics and culture had a huge impact on the development of Islam.
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{{PortalArticle|image=|title=Textual History of the Qur'an|summary=The Qur'an was never put down to writing during the prophet's lifetime, according to the Islamic sources the impetus to put the Qur'an to writing came from the death of many of the Muslims who had memorized it.|description=}}
{{PortalArticle|image=Quran And Universe.jpg|title=Cosmology of the Quran|summary=The cosmology of ancient Mesopotamia was carried on in the Qur'an, though with some innovations. |description=}}
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{{PortalArticle|image=Hijri Calendar.png|title=Hijri Calendar|summary= The months of the Hijri calendar find their origins in the pagan calendar of the pre-Islamic Arabs.|description=}}
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{{PortalArticle|image=|title=Huruf Muqatta'at (Disjointed Letters in the Qur'an)|summary=Many of the chapters of the Qur'an begin with mysterious combinations of letters whose function remains unclear to this day.|description=}}
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===Other articles in this section===
===Other articles in this section===
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*[[Arabic]]
*[[Hijab]]
*[[Arabic letters and diacritics]]
*[[Quraysh]]
*[[Diacritical Marks of the Qur'an]]
*[[Medina]]
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[[Category:Portals]]

Revision as of 00:28, 8 February 2023


Islam arose in 7th century Arabia, and as such its appearance bears the markings of its ancient Arab and Near East milieu.

Pre-Islamic Arab Religion

Islam casts itself as being in the prophetic tradition of Abraham, Moses, Eijah, Isaiah, and Jesus and his disciples (indeed, besides Biblical stories the Quran has many Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature). Yet many aspects of the religion either show the influence of or are plainly holdouts from the ancient religion of the Arabs in antiquity.

Pre-Islamic Basmala in South Arabian Script (close-up).png

Many of the features and rituals of contemporary Islam find their precedent not in the Judeao-Christian tradition but rather in pre-Islamic Arabian religion.

Black Stone Mecca.jpg

The Black Stone is a fixture of Islam's pilgrimage ritual, but already according to the Islamic tradition itself it was a center of ancient pagan religion in Arabia.

Zamzam Modern.jpg

The discovery of the magic well of Zamzam is attributed to the prophet Ibrahim in the Islamic tradition, yet in fact the well was a focal point of cultic activity in ancient Arabian pagan religion.

Medeival Jinn.jpg

The Jinn, mystical beings which are neither demons nor angels, make an appearance in the Islamic tradition but have no antecedent in the Judeao-Christian tradition, but rather find their origin in pre-Islamic pagan Arabian religion.


Other articles in this section

The Formation of the Qur'an and Classical Arabic

The Qur'an, and with it the classical Arabic language took place during this period. Before the rise of Islam, Arabic did not have one standardized script or grammar, and various dialects were written in various scripts such as Nabatean Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, and many others. The writing of the Qur'an coincided with the crystallization of the modern Arabic script, and the history of the Arabic and its script are deeply interwoven with the history of the Qur'an.

Ancient Mushaf.jpg

The Qur'an was never put down to writing as a single book during the prophet's lifetime. According to the Islamic sources the impetus to put the Qur'an to writing came from the death of many of the Muslims who had memorized it.

Huruf Muqta'a.jpg

Many of the chapters of the Qur'an begin with mysterious combinations of letters whose function remains unclear to this day.


Other articles in this section

Ancient Arabian Culture

Early Arab tribal politics and culture had a huge impact on the development of Islam.

Quran And Universe.jpg

The cosmology of ancient Mesopotamia was carried on in the Qur'an, though with some innovations.

Hijri Calendar.png

The months of the Hijri calendar find their origins in the pagan calendar of the pre-Islamic Arabs.

Other articles in this section