StudyGrowKnow

Islam’s Birth, Roots and Teachings, Pt2

March 31, 2026 at 2:16 PM Leave a comment

Let’s talk briefly about Islam’s founder, Muhammad. He’s an interesting character and a lightning rod for Muslims the world over. I’ll highlight a few facts about him with links to more information for those who want to research it. One of the best sites I’ve discovered is Sam Shamoun’s site called, Answering Islam.[1] His website is filled with thorough information about Islam and Christians would do well to check it out, invest time in reading to get to know the ins and outs of Islam. We become better equipped to discuss/debate Islam with Muslims, most of whom believe non-Muslims are clueless about Islam.

Muhammad was orphaned when he was six years-old. He was parented by his grandfather at that point, who died only a few years later. His uncle then took charge of Muhammad, who tended his cattle until he was hired later in life by a woman (Khadijah). She eventually asked Muhammad to marry her and apparently, they remained together for 20 years until she passed away.

As Muhammad grew up (he dwelt in what today is Saudi Arabia), there were numerous religions that impacted him:

• Christianity
• Judaism
• Paganism
• Zoroastrianism- a monotheistic religion that began in the 6th century
• Gnosticism- A cult branched from Christianity that believed humans contain a piece of God within them, and matter is evil
• Arabian tribal religions – some worshiped the moon and the stars, others worshiped statues made of wood

Apparently, Muhammad liked to be by himself so he would spend time going into caves to be away from others and to think. Around 610AD while in a cave, a spirit came to him to tell him to “Read.” It is generally accepted by Muslims that this spirit was the angel Gabriel. It is interesting though that this same spirit attempted to strangle Muhammad and releasing him. It is believed that the spirit told Muhammad to “Read in the name of your Lord, the Creator, Who created man of a clot of blood. Read! Your Lord is most gracious. It is He who taught man by the pen that which he does not know” (Sura 96:1-5). [2] The “Sura” is a reference to a section of the Qur’an.

Interestingly enough, when he went home he told his wife he had been possessed by Satan. She was apparently excited about this and hoped he would become the prophet to save the nation. She affirmed that Allah would not let him down. At this time, Muhammad lived in Mecca and he saw himself as a prophet, though the people around him did not accept him as such.

It is also interesting that Muhammad believed Allah was telling him to be peaceful toward Jews and Christians around him; to forgive those who might wrong him, to be at peace. However, he also wanted Jews and Christians to accept him as a true prophet so he often prayed in the direction of Jerusalem and pled his case before Jews. This was during what was called the Meccan Period (610-622 AD).

The Jewish people rejected Muhammad and refused to let him visit Jerusalem, so Muhammad began to pray towards Mecca, the idolatrous city in which he was living. This is the same city all Muslims face when they pray to this day. [3]

During the Medina Period (622-632 AD), Muhammad began to experience persecution, so he fled to Medina and began to pray toward Mecca, which is the direction Muslims today pray in. It was during this time Muhammad believed Allah was telling him to fight against and kill anyone who refused to become Islamic. However, Christians and Jews could live freely under Islam without becoming Muslim if they paid a tax (jizyah) of up to 90% of their annual income. If they failed to pay the tax, Muhammad would lead his followers against them, kill them and take their lands.

During the remaining ten years of his life, Muhammad led 30 or so campaigns against non-Muslims.

In AD 629, Muhammad attacked a large and wealthy Jewish tribe and won. He killed all the men and took the women and children into slavery. [4]

Today’s Muslims will tell you that Muhammad was simply enjoining in “self-defense,” though the facts of the matter appear to be otherwise. During the time Muhammad lived, warmongering among differing people’s was common. It literally was a game of thrones then with one empire or group seeking dominance over another. In some form, it still exists today especially in the more third world countries in modern times.

Muhammad died by poisoning. He had made a treaty with a Jewish tribe and while having dinner, one of the women had poisoned his food. Just before dying, Muhammad killed the woman who had poisoned him because he had eaten one bite and saw one of his own men die. Since he had eaten the poison as well, he died shortly after killing the woman.

During his life, Muhammad had a total of 17 wives and many concubines. Aisha was only six years-old when he took her as his wife. Muhammad “thighed” the little girl [5] until she turned 9 years-old at which time he married her. This is often why Muslim men will take child brides of their own, as they seek to emulate Muhammad.

Islam portrays Muhammad as a sinless man and one who is greater than Jesus. Muslims worship Muhammad as well as Allah, as they believe Muhammad was Allah’s representative on earth. Everything about Muhammad served his own purposes, including his alleged visions and statements received from Allah.

It is also interesting that Muslims will tell you that they trace their roots to Abraham, though from Abraham came the Jewish nation. This is why Islam is considered an “Abrahamic” religion. Muslims believe there is only one god and that is Allah. As seen in the above image, archeologists unearthed a statue of what appears to be Allah that matches what the Qur’an and Hadith say about Allah. Note the “horns” on the top of the head and the fact that both arms are on the right side of Allah’s body (or both hands are right-handed).

Even though Muslims believe certain books outside of the Qur’an are inspired – Pentateuch, Psalms of David, the Gospel of Jesus – Muslims believe the Qur’an has authority over them all. They also believe the Bible itself is not wholly inspired and has errors in it. To Muslims, the Qur’an is literally the “perfect revelation” from Allah.

The Koran lists 28 prophets, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah and Jesus. Muhammad is the last and greatest prophet.[6]

In essence, for the Muslim, Muhammad has the final word. The mentality of today’s Muslim is anchored in the timeline of Muhammad’s life. This is why Muslims continue to believe that jihad should be used in multiple forms to overcome the nations and the world. Essentially, Muslims today are once again attempting to build their final caliphate. They believe once they accomplish this, their final Mahdi will rise to rule the world. This is similar to the Christian belief that once the world becomes one in its final form, the Antichrist of Revelation will rise to rule the world and will do so, according to Scripture for 3 1/2 years to the point where Jesus will return to end the Tribulation and set up His Kingdom, which will exist for 1,000 years.

There are what are known as Five Pillars of the Faith for Muslims.

1. The Creed (Shahada) – “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet.” This must be stated publicly to become a Muslim. The creed is repeated regularly by worshipers
2. Prayer (Salat) – “The practice of prayer (salat) is five times a day (upon rising, at noon, in midafternoon, after sunset, and before retiring). The worshiper must recite the prescribed prayers (the first surah and other selections from the Koran) in Arabic while facing the Ka’aba in Mecca.,,The call to prayer is sounded by the muezzin (a Muslim crier) from a tower called a minaret which is part of the mosque (the place of public worship)”
3. Almsgiving (Zakat) – Muslims are required to give one-fortieth of their income to help the poor
4. Fasting (Ramadan) – Faithful Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset everyday during this holy month
5. The Pilgrimage (Hajj) – The Pilgrimage to Mecca is expected of every Muslim at least once in their lifetime, unless prevented by war or other conditions beyond the worshipper’s control.

Beyond these five pillars, there is another responsibility of all Muslims and that is to embrace what is know as the Holy War (or jihad). Some so-called moderate Muslims will tell you that this jihad is the “internal struggle,” not an outward physical struggle to the death against non-Muslims. However, those regarded as extremist Muslims disagree and are just as likely to kill moderate Muslims as they would Christians and Jews. There are approximately 109 verses in the Qur’an that teach jihad is real and physical. They command Muslims to physically fight against non-Muslims. Here are several examples.

They will question thee concerning the holy month, and fighting in it. Say: ‘Fighting in it is a heinous thing, but to bar from God’s way, and disbelief in Him, and the Holy Mosque, and to expel its people from it–that is more heinous in God’s sight; and persecution is more heinous than slaying. They will not cease to fight with you…” (Sura 2:212)

So let them fight in the way of God who sell the the present life for the world to come; and whosoever fight in the way of God is slain, or conquers, We shall bring him a mighty wage. How is it with you, that you do not fight in the way of God, and for the men, women, and children who, being abased, say, ‘Our Lord, bring us forth from this city whose people are evildoers, and appoint to us a protector from Thee, and appoint to us from Thee a helper’? The believers fight in the way of God, and the unbelievers fight in the idols’ way. Fight you therefore against the friends of Satan; surely the guile of Satan is ever feeble” (Sura 4:77)

The stated goal of Islam is to subdue all opposition – groups, empires and nations – so that Islam becomes the supreme law of all the land. We are hearing more and more Muslims (including Imams), state this very thing. They are not hiding their intentions and it is clearly a mistake to think that they will not follow through on their threats of overcoming. We see what has been happening in the UK, Germany and other parts of Europe as well as Canada. We can also easily see what is occurring in parts of the United States where Democrat leaders are essentially siding with Islamists. More and more areas of the world are succumbing to Islamic soft takeovers. In the UK, they are now pushing a propaganda campaign where people are considered too friendly with dogs. Why? Because within Islam, dogs are haram, which in short means sinful or forbidden. The same applies to bacon. Muslims do not want dogs or pork available to anyone because these things offend them. I can find nothing in the Qur’an that says a Muslims cannot see or smell bacon. They are simply not allowed to eat it, but they want everyone including non-Muslims to not have any either. I don’t know any other religion or ideology that forces people who are not part of it to go along with their own specific requirements, do you?

Recently, during Ramadan, Muslims made videos of themselves asking people in public to stop eating food because they must fast themselves during that time. This is ridiculous, yet people will comply so as not to “offend.” The problem of course is that as more people cater to Islam, this “soft” takeover segues to a militaristic hard takeover. Muslims are concentrating on the soft takeover now by being elected to public office and changing things from the inside.

It is interesting to note that in Muhammad’s early career as a “prophet,” he stated he was only sent to preach. His job was to attempt to convince people through preaching that he had the truth. Later in life, he became a warmonger, attempting to turn people to Islam via force. If they refused, they would be killed.

In our next article, we will compare some of Christianity’s beliefs against Islam’s main tenets about God and the Bible as well as dig into Islam’s view of women and their role in society.

[1] https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/messiah_dilemma.htm

[2] https://www.calloflove.org/post/who-was-muhammad-everything-christians-need-to-know-about-the-founder-of-islam

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Thighing

[6] https://www.dwellcc.org/essays/background-islam

Entry filed under: christianity, Demonic, Islam, Radical Islam, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation. Tags: haram, islam's five pillars, muslims.