1. 570 AD: Birth of Muhammad in the town of Mecca. Abd Allah the father of
Muhammad died before Muhammad born.
575 AD: When Muhammad was five or six years old his mother took him to Yathrib, an
Oasis town a few hundred miles north of Mecca, to stay with relatives and visit his
father's grave there.
576 AD: On the return journey, Amina took ill and died. She was buried in the village
of Abwa on the Mecca-Medina Road. Halima, his nurse, returned to Mecca with the
orphaned boy and placed him in the protection of his paternal grandfather, Abdul Al-
Muttalib. In this man's care, Muhammad learned the rudiments of statecraft. Mecca
was Arabia's most important pilgrimage center and Abdul Al-Muttalib its most
respected leader. He controlled important pilgrimage concessions and frequently
presided over Mecca's Council of Elders.
578 AD: Upon his grandfather's death, Muhammad, aged about eight, passed into the
care of a paternal uncle, Abu Talib. Muhammad grew up in the older man's home and
remained under Abu Talib's protection for many years.

2. 580-594 AD: When young boy, Muhammad worked as a shepherd to help pay
his keep (his uncle was of modest means). In his teens he sometimes traveled
with Abu Talib, who was a merchant, accompanying caravans to trade centers.
On at least one occasion, he is said to have traveled as far north as Syria.
Older merchants recognized his character and nicknamed him El–Amin, the
one you can trust.
594 AD: In his early twenties, Muhammad entered the service of a wealthy
Meccan merchant, a widow named Khadijah Bint Khawalayd. The two were
distant cousins. Muhammad carried her goods to the north and returned with
a profit.
595-609 AD: Impressed by Muhammad's honesty character, Khadijah
eventually proposed a marriage. They were wed in about 595 AD. He was
twenty-five. She was nearly forty.
Muhammad continued to manage Khadijah's business affairs, and
their next years were pleasant and prosperous. Six children were born to
them, two sons who both died in infancy, and four daughters.

3. 610 AD: He began making long retreats to a mountain cave outside town. There, he
fasted and meditated. On one occasion, after a number of indistinct visionary
experiences, Muhammad was visited by an overpowering presence and instructed to
recite words of such beauty and force that he and others gradually attributed them to
God. This experience shook Muhammad to the core. It was several years before he
dared to talk about it outside his family.
613 AD: After several similar experiences, Muhammad finally began to reveal the
messages he was receiving to his tribe. These were gathered verse by verse and later
would become the Qur'an, Islam's sacred scripture. In the next decade, Muhammad
and his followers were first belittled and ridiculed, then persecuted and physically
attacked for departing from traditional Mecca's tribal ways. Muhammad's message
was resolutely monotheistic. For several years, the Quraysh, Mecca's dominant tribe,
levied a ban on trade with Muhammad's people, subjecting them to near famine
conditions. Toward the end of the decade, Muhammad's wife and uncle both died.
Finally, the leaders of Mecca attempted to assassinate Muhammad.
618 AD: Khadijah and Abu Talib die. Muhammad and Muslims threatened by Mecca.
620 AD: Muhammad meets Arab tribes from Medina at the Hajj who request his help
(Aws and Khazrai)

4. 622 AD: Muhammad and his few hundred followers left Mecca and traveled to
Yathrib, the Oasis town where his father was buried. The leaders there were suffering
through a vicious civil war, and they had invited this man well known for his wisdom
to act as their mediator. Yathrib soon became known as Medina, the City of the
Prophet. Muhammad remained here for the next six years, building the first Muslim
community and gradually gathering more and more people to his side.
623 AD: Muhammad begins raiding caravans headed toward Mecca.
March 624 AD: Battle of Badr, 1000 Meccans are defeated by 300 Muslims in a
pitched battle. Jewish tribe Banu Qaynaqa expelled from Medina.
March 625 AD: lost the second battle, The Battle of Uhud.
Meccan raise larger Army and defeat Muslims at Mt.Uhud. Meccans fail to
follow up on attack. 2nd Jewish Tribe, Banu I-Nadir are expelled from Medina.
April 627 AD: outlasted the third battle, The Battle of the Trench and the Siege of
Medina.
Meccans attack Medina after one month they fail to take the city and
withdraw. 3rd Jewish Tribe Banu Qurayza was accused of supporting Mecca. Men are
killed, women and children enslaved. Arab cities surrounding Medina and Mecca
begin to submit to MHD.

5. 628 AD: MHD. Sets out from Medina with warriors to perform pilgrimage at Mecca.
Meccans refuse to allow MHD and Muslims entry. Truce of (10-year treaty) of al-
Hudaybiya gave Muslims the right to make pilgrimage to Mecca. City would be
evacuated for 3 days as Muslim perform pilgrimage. Muslims capture Khaybar to the
north a mostlly Jewish city, residents are expelled. Arab tribes send delegations to
MHD and convert to Islam.
629 AD: MHD claims Mecca broke the truce, sends 10,000 warriors against Mecca.
630 AD: By now, the balance of power had shifted radically away from once-powerful
Mecca, toward Muhammad and the Muslims.
January 630 AD: They marched on Mecca and were joined by tribe after tribe along
the way. They entered Mecca without bloodshed and the Meccans, seeing the tide
had turned, joined them.
March 632 AD: Muhammad returned to Mecca one last time to perform a
pilgrimage, and tens of thousands of Muslims joined him.
June 8, 632 AD: Muhammad died there, after a brief illness. He is buried in the
mosque in Medina. Within a hundred years Muhammad's teaching and way of life had
spread from the remote corners of Arabia as far east as Indo-China and as far west as
Morocco, France and Spain.

6. The Koran or Qur’an is a record of the exact words
revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to
Muhammad. Muhammad memorized the words and then
taught his Companions. Then scribes, who checked with
Muhammad during his lifetime, wrote down the words. Not one
word of its 114 chapters has been changed over the centuries.
The Koran or Qu’ran is the primary source of every Muslim's
faith and practice. It deals with all the subjects that concern all
human beings: wisdom, beliefs, worship, and law. However, it
focuses on the relationship between God and His creatures. It
also provides guidelines for a just society, proper human
relationships and equal divisions of power.

8. 1. Shahadah (Testify): is the Muslim profession of faith,
expressing the two simple, fundamental beliefs that make one
a Muslim:
La ilaha illa Allah wa-Muhammad rasul Allah.
There is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God.
Sincere recitation of this confession of faith before of two
Muslims is the sole requirement for those who wish to join the
Muslim community. It represents acceptance not only of Allah
and his prophet, but of the entirety of Islam. As one of the Pillars,
the shahadah must be recited correctly aloud with full
understanding and internal assent at least once in every Muslim's
lifetime.

9. The Seven Conditions:
1. Knowledge
2. Certainty
3. Acceptance
4. Submission
5. Truthfulness
6. Sincerity
7. Love

10. 2. Salah (Prayer): is the obligatory Muslim prayers, performed
five times each day by Muslims.
God ordered Muslims to pray at five set times of day:
1. Salah al-fajr: dawn, before sunrise
2. Salah al-zuhr: midday, after the sun passes its highest
3. Salah al-'asr: the late part of the afternoon
4. Salah al-maghrib: just after sunset
5. Salah al-'isha: between sunset and midnight
Children should start praying 5 times daily at the age of 10 or 12

11. 3. Zakat (Charity): means Purification
: is the compulsory giving of a set proportion of
one's wealth
to charity. It is regarded as a type of worship and of self-purification.
: does not refer to charitable gifts given out of
kindness or generosity, but to the systematic giving of 2.5% of one's wealth
each year to benefit the poor.
The 2.5% rate only applies to cash, gold and silver, and commercial items.
There are other rates for farm and mining produce, and for animals.

12. 4. Sawn (Fasting): which refers to self-purification through fasting.
Muslims are required to fast during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic
calendar.
During the 29/30 days of Ramadan all adult Muslims must give up the following
things during the hours of daylight:
1. Food or drink of any sort
2. Smoking, including passive smoking
3. Sexual activity
Muslims who are physically or mentally unwell may be excused some of these, as may
those who are under twelve years old, the very old, those who are pregnant, breast-
feeding, menstruating, or travelling.
If an adult does not fast for the reasons above they should try to make up the fast at a
later date, or make a donation to the poor instead.
Muslims do not only abstain from physical things during Ramadan. They are also
expected to do their best to avoid evil thoughts and deeds as well.

13. 5. Hajj (Pilgrimage): Once a year, Muslims of every ethnic group, colour, social status,
and culture gather together in Mecca and stand before the Kaaba praising Allah
together.
It is a ritual that is designed to promote the bonds of Islamic brotherhood and
sisterhood by showing that everyone is equal in the eyes of Allah.
The Hajj makes Muslims feel real importance of life here on earth, and the afterlife, by
stripping away all markers of social status, wealth, and pride. In the Hajj all are truly
equal.
The Hajj is or pilgrims wear simple white clothes called Ihram. During the Hajj the
Pilgrims perform acts of worship and they renew their sense of purpose in the world.
Mecca is a place that is holy to all Muslims. It is so holy that no non-Muslim is allowed
to enter.

15. 1. Belief in God (Allah): There is only one true God and his name is Allah. Allah is all
knowing, all-powerful and sovereign judge. Yet Allah is not a personal God, for he
is so far above man in every way that he is not personally knowable. The emphasis
of the God of Islam is on judgment and power, not grace and mercy. To the Muslim
mind, calling God connotes sexual relationship.
2. Belief in Mala-eka (Angels):Angels in Islam serve Allah’s will such as Gabriel
delivering the Koran to Muhammad. Angels do not perform any bodily functions
(sexual, eating, etc.) as they are created of light. Angels serve different purposes;
each person has two recording angels who record his/her good or bad deeds.
 Jinn: Are spiritual beings created out of fire, who are ranked between angels
and men and can be either good or bad. Satan was a Jinn and not a fallen angel
according to Islam.
 Satan: A Jinn who refused to fall prostrate before Adam after he was created. He
is the leader of evil ones in the world.

16. 3. Belief in the Books of Allah: Muslims believe that Allah from time to time revealed
books to mankind through his Prophets. These books originated from the same divine
source; they are all divine revelations. Muslims believe in the original text of these
books when they were revealed.
The five prominent divine books are:
1. Abraham's Scrolls
2. Zabur (Psalms) revealed to Prophet David
3. Tawrah (Torah) revealed to Prophet Moses
4. Injil (Gospel) revealed to Prophet Jesus
5. Quran revealed to Prophet Muhammad.
4. Belief in the Prophets of Allah: Muslims believe that Allah sent Prophets to all
mankind as messengers for their guidance. Muslims believe in their existence, their
names, and their messages, as Allah and His Prophet informed about them. Prophets
are void of divinity because divinity is exclusive only to Allah (God) the Almighty. They
are all righteous, truthful, and pious men chosen by Allah to be models to all mankind,
both their words and deeds being in accordance with the divine commandments.

17. 5. Belief in Yawm al-Qiyama (Day of Judgement or Last Day): Muslims believe
that the life of this world and all that is in it will come to an end on one appointed
day, when everything will be annihilated. This day will resurrect all the dead;
Allah will judge with perfect justice each person individually according to his good
or bad actions that he did during his life, and every victim will have his/ her
rights. Allah will reward those who lead a righteous life and did good deeds by
sending them to Paradise (Jannah). Allah forgives whom He pleases of those who
disobeyed His Command, or punish them in the Hellfire (Jahannam).
 Resurrection: Everybody will be resurrected to stand before Allah to be
judged in the last day.
 Hell: is place of Allah judgement where Muslims will pend sometime
before entering paradise, unbelievers will have no escape .

18. 6. Qada wal-Qada (Destiny, Divine Decree): Muslims believe that since the
whole universe is entirely under the direction and control of Allah, then
everything that is or that happens in this universe, from the smallest to the
greatest event is governed by Allah. Muslims put their trust in Allah only they
are required, however, to make a sincere effort to strive and do their
best, and not simply sit back and let things take their course in blind
resignation. Such belief gives a person a tremendous degree of inner
certainty, confidence and peace of heart, especially in the face of afflictions.
Moreover, he lives with the assurance that whatever is to come to any
individual, including death, cannot fail to come at its appointed time.

20. Wudhu: is performed before praying to spiritual clean and purify the soul.
: is the ritual washing performed by Muslims before prayer.
Muslims must be clean and wear good clothes before they present themselves
before God.
Hands: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said
'cleanliness is half of faith’.
Mouth: is then cleaned three times.
Nose: Water is breathed in gently through the nose
three times.

21. Face: The face includes everything from the top of
the forehead to the chin, and up to both ears. The
face is one of the essentials in wudhu, and must be
washed at least once, or the wudhu is incomplete.
However, it is usually washed three times.
Right arm: The arms up to the elbow, and including the hands,
are one of the four essential areas that need to be washed.
The right arm is washed three times first.
Left arm: Then the left three times.
There is a certain ritual order in which Wudhu is
normally performed, but as long as Muslims wash the
four essentials at least once, by taking a shower for
example, it counts.

22. Hair: Water from wet hands is passed from the
beginning of the hairline and over the head. This is only
done once. The wiping of the hair is the third of the four
compulsory acts.
Ears: Using damp hands, the back and inside of the ears
are wiped.
The Prophet also said "If there was a river at the door of
anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day
would you notice any dirt on him?" His companions said,
"Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added,
"That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out evil deeds."
(Bukhari)

23. Right foot: The feet represent the last of the four
compulsory areas of washing. The right foot is
washed up to the ankles three times.
Although there are only four compulsory acts of
washing, and each has to be washed only once,
Muslims follow the example of the Prophet. He usually
extended the washing ritual to ensure cleanliness
before prayer, and even used to brush his teeth before each prayer.
Left foot: Then the left foot up to the ankles three times.
Note: Wudhu does not need to be performed before every prayer, although this is
recommended. Each wudhu lasts for up to a day when not travelling, but must be
performed again after going to the toilet, passing wind, bleeding heavily, contact with
excrement, vomiting, falling asleep, and taking intoxicating substances.

24. Rakaahs : Set Movements should followed by Muslim.
Takbir: is entering into the state of prayer by
glorifying God. Muslims face towards Makkah and
make the intention to pray. To begin the act of
prayer, they say 'Allahu Akbar' meaning God is
great, raising the hands to the ears or shoulder.
Qiyaam: Muslims place their right hand over their
left on their chest or navel while in the standing
position (this may vary according to the subdivision
followed).
A short supplication glorifying God and seeking His
protection is read.

25. Ruku: means bowing. During ruku, Muslims
says 'glory be to God, the Most Great',
three times.
During prayer, it is forbidden to fidget or look
around. Muslims must pray as though they are in
the presence of God, and therefore must be in a
state of concentration.
Brief qiyaam: While moving into the upright position,
Muslims recite 'God listens to the one who praises
Him' and while in the standing position, 'To God
belongs all praise' then is recited. 'God is Great' is
recited again. Hands are loosely at the sides this time.
Each movement is always preceded by the phrase
'God is Great’.This indicates to followers of the prayer
that the leader is about to make the next movement.

26. Sujud: means to prostrate. While in the
prostration position 'Glory be to God, the Most
High' is repeated three times. Palms, knees, toes,
forehead and nose must be the only body parts
touching the ground.
Brief sitting: 'God is Great' is recited while moving to
the sitting position. Muslims pause here for a few
seconds, either staying silent, or reciting a shorter
prayer. 'God is Great' is recited once more as the
sujud position is taken again.

27. Sujud: This sujud is the same as the first one.
After reciting 'Glory be to God, the Most High’,
one 'raka'ah', or unit is complete. Each salah has its
own number of units though. The shortest prayer,
Fajr, has two.
To continue the prayer from the sujud
position, Muslims say 'God is Great' and stand up to repeat everything from Surah Al
Fatiha, until they reach this sujud again.
Tashahhud: After saying God is Great, Muslims return
to the sitting position. They recite a set number of
short prayers in Arabic, praising God, and sending
peace on the Prophet. They repeat the declaration of
faith, raising the forefinger of their right hand, in order
to act as a witness.
They then ask God to bestow blessings and peace upon Prophet Abraham and his
family, and ask for the same for Prophet Muhammad. Finally, Muslims ask for
forgiveness and mercy, and ask God to bless them and their children until the Day of
Judgement.

28. Traditions of Islam:
1. Eating in Ramadan
» During Ramadan many Muslims will try to eat a large meal called
suhur just before dawn.
» When daylight is over, most Muslims will break or open the fast with dates
or water, following the example of the Prophet Muhammad, before
having a proper meal later.
» The evening meals during Ramadan are occasions for family and
community get-togethers.
2. Eid ul-Fitr
» The month of Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid ul-Fitr. This is marked
by dressing up and visiting the mosque for prayer, and with visits to family
and friends for celebratory meals.
3. Ramadan and the Western calendar
» Because Islam uses a lunar calendar, the month of Ramadan comes
around 11 days earlier each successive year, so there is no Western season
associated with Ramadan.
4. A discussion of self-denial
» A Muslim chaplain discusses self-denial and corporal mortification with
contributors from Opus Dei and a Greek Orthodox church.