Islam addresses major worldview questions through its core beliefs. It teaches that Allah is the one supreme God who created the universe. Humans were given free will but must obey Islamic law and submit to Allah's will. The Quran is Allah's revelation, and Muhammad was his final prophet. Muslims strive to live righteously according to sharia law to earn paradise in the afterlife and avoid eternal punishment in hell. History is unfolding as Allah decrees to give people chances to submit to him.

1. Islam
The Universe Next Door
Chapter 10
“A View from the Middle East”

3. “There is no God but God and Muhammad is
the prophet of God”

4. Basic Vocabulary
• Islam- means submission or surrender -
obedience (peace)
• Allah - Arabic for God – the one true and
ultimate supreme being
• Abraham- patriarch of Islam (monotheism)
• Hagar - handmaid of Abraham’s wife, Sara
(mother of Ishmael)
• Ishmael- first born son of Abraham and
Hagar - associated with the Arabs
- Ishmael means God hears

5. • Muhammad - prophet of Islam- Arabian
merchant
• Mecca –birthplace of Muhammad
(Saudi Arabia)
– Site of the kaaba and the hajj
• Medina - burial place of Muhammad
• Jerusalem - site of the Dome of the
Rock (mosque built on the Jewish
temple mount)

6. • Hajj- annual pilgrimage to Mecca
• It is one of the five pillars of Islam
• Kaaba- holiest site in Islam
– located in Mecca
– associated with Abraham -
establishment of monotheism in
the region of Arabia

9. Pilgrims on hajj

18. • Shi’a- (Shiites) smaller more radical group -
- associated with Iran
• Sunni- largest group within Islam -
– @80 %of Muslims are Sunni
– More moderate in their beliefs and practices
• Sufi- mystical branch of Islam
• Jihad-”holy war” - literally means struggle -
– can refer to one’s personal struggle with
God
– Or the struggle for the spread of Islam

19. • Qur’an- it is believed to be the
revelation of God to the prophet
(angelic visit by Gabriel)
- must be in Arabic to be fully
authoritative
- Qur’an means recitation

23. • Mullah (Imam) - Islamic leader and
or teacher
• Mosque - Islamic place of worship
• Minaret - prayer tower
• Mahdi- associated with the “second
coming and final judgment of God
– Some Muslims believe that Jesus may be
the Mahdi who will return to establish
peace and justice before God’s final
judgment

24. The great mosque and kaaba in Mecca

25. Saudi Arabia – royal family

26. The kaaba

33. The Five Pillars of Islam
• There is no God but God and
Muhammad is the prophet of God
• Pray 5 times a day facing Mecca
– (the kaaba)
• Hajj- make the annual pilgrimage to
Mecca at least once in one’s lifetime-
– the hajj- weeklong event
• Give to poor – 2.5% of one’s wealth
• Fast from dawn to dusk during the
holy month of Ramadan

34. Some Facts About Islam
• Indonesia has the largest Muslim
population in world (120 million)
• Approximately 25% of the world’s
population is Muslim
• @11 million Muslims live in the United
States

35. • Islam is the fastest growing religion in
the world today
• The state of Israel is the major “flash
point” between the Muslim world and
the West
• @80 % of Muslims are NOT Arabic
– (do not speak Arabic- different culture)
– Arab regions and countries –
• Middle East, North Africa, Iraq
– Non-Arab regions –
• Parts of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central
Asia, Indonesia, etc.

37. Hajj
pilgrimage – spiritual journey
• Hajj takes place in and around Mecca
– population of 1 million
• Kaaba means “house of God”
– Believed to be the original site of worship to the
one true God established by Abraham and
reestablished by Muhammad
• Hajj seeks to retrace the pilgrimage (journey)
of Abraham - the worship of the one true God

38. • Ihram – state of ritual purification
during hajj
– Pure state of mind – peace, patience,
brotherhood
• 2 million pilgrims come to Mecca for
hajj each year
• Only Muslims may participate in hajj
• Muslim women must be accompanied
by a male family member or be given
written permission from a male family
member to attend

39. Stages of hajj
• Worship at the kaaba- circle the kaaba 7 times
(prayer)
– - ihram- ritual state of purification
• The Striving- reenactment of Hagar’s
desperate search for water for her son Ismael
– God provides a spring
• Walk to the Valley of Mina (Plain of Arafat)
– Day of reckoning before God - seek God’s grace
and forgiveness

40. • Ritual stoning of Satan to defy
temptation (3 stone pillars)
– “Abraham threw stones at Satan”
when he tempted him to not sacrifice
his son Ishmael
• Animal sacrifice made for each pilgrim
• Return to the kaaba – circle and prayer

64. How does Islam address the
major worldview questions?
The Universe Next Door
Chapter 10
Basic Islamic Theism

65. Prime Reality
• God (Allah) is the one and only supreme
being
– The ultimate reality
• Allahu akbar-”God is greater than all others”
– Infinite
– Transcendent
– Personal
– Omniscient
– Immanent
– Sovereign
– Good

66. • Allah reveals himself through human
history
• Reveals himself through the Qur’an
• The Qur’an is believed to be God’s
word given directly to the prophet
Muhammad
• The Qur’an can be likened to the
Christian teaching of the “Word”
becoming a human being
• However, Muslims reject the teachings
that Jesus was the “Son of God” - God
as a human being

67. External Reality- Physical Reality
• Allah created the physical world- universe
– ex nihilo- from nothing
• The physical world is a
– cause and effect system- ordered and controlled
by God
– The system is CLOSED- it is a determined
system
• Nothing happens outside of Allah’s “divine decree” or
will- he controls all aspects of his creation
– Allah not only knows everything that happens,
he also controls everything
– “God’s will sets the boundary for what any
creature can do as a causal agent.” (257)

68. Human beings
• Humans are God’s highest creation –
possess special abilities and responsibilities
• Humans are both physical and spiritual
beings
• Adam and Eve were the first humans
• Humans are God’s representatives on earth
• Humans are born “pure” and uncorrupted
– This differs with the Christian view of
the sin nature- or the idea of “original
sin”
• The goal of Muslims is to live out that purity
in the world

69. Satan
• Iblis
– Iblis was an angelic being who refused to
bow down to Adam (God’s highest
creation)
– “Bow down to Adam;” and they bowed
down: Not so Iblis: he refused and was
haughty: He was of those who reject
Faith.” (Qur’an 3:34)
– Iblis’ rebellion - refused to acknowledge
the superiority of human beings

70. Death
• A period of “transition” between this physical life
and the eternal state of being
• Heaven - “paradise”
• Hell - place of punishment and eternal torment
where God punishes those who have refused to
follow and obey him
• All human beings will stand before God’s
judgment
– Deeds will be judged
– A Muslim has no definite assurance of salvation
• Exceptions- martyrs, young children, people
who are mentally impaired
– Allah alone determines a person’s ultimate
eternal destiny

71. Heaven (Paradise)
• “gardens of perpetual bliss”
– An oasis, rivers, lush gardens, etc.
• People will enjoy the pleasures of this
world without the any of the negative
aspects
– Eating and drinking
– Sex - Allah will provide virgins for those
who are in paradise
– Women will presumably receive whatever
men are given

72. Knowing- Knowledge
• Allah has given human beings the ability to
think and reason
• God revealed himself through the prophet
Muhammad (Qur’an)
– God’s other prophets (messengers)
• Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus
• “God’s sovereign decree limits human
knowledge” (263)

73. God’s revelation
• God alone is sovereign in determining who
will be open to his revelation
• “Those who God willeth to guide- he opens
their breast to Islam; those whom he willeth
to leave straying,- He maketh their breast
closed and constricted…… thus does God
(heap) the penalty on those who refuse to
believe.” (6:125)

74. Right and Wrong
Morality is based on the teachings of the
Qur’an
• Islamic law- the shari’a
• Muslim life is strictly regulated by law
– A person must live his or her life in strict
accordance to Islamic law
• Islam focuses more on how one lives than on
God’s grace
• Obedience to the law
– devotion to God
– avoid punishment

75. Human History
• History is a reflection of God’s absolute
sovereignty
• Human history provides people with the
opportunity to “demonstrate their
submission” to Allah (269)
• Goal: bring the entire world under the
Islamic community - creation of a unified
Islamic state
• Muslims believe in a “second coming” when
the Mahdi comes to establish peace and
justice before God’s final judgment
– Some Muslims believe that Jesus Christ is the
Mahdi