Hispano-Muslim Art: Origins and Religious Principles
Hispano-Muslim Art: An Introduction to Islamic Art
Origins
- Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 AD.
- In his youth, he devoted himself to grazing and accompanying convoys.
- At 20 years old, he started working at the home of a wealthy widow whom he would marry five years later.
- Muhammad often retired to Mount Hira for prayer and meditation.
- At 40 years old, he believed he encountered the archangel Gabriel, who revealed the Word of God (Allah) to him.
- Muhammad informed his friends, who became his followers.
- The number of faithful extended.
- The government of Mecca (Arabian Peninsula) was reticent about the new religion because their beliefs were threatened.
- They believed that Muhammad wanted to seize power in Mecca.
- They implemented systems to ensure that Muhammad did not gain power:
- Prohibiting the Quraysh (the tribe to which Muhammad belonged) from mixing with Muhammad’s clan.
- Prohibiting marriage with members of Muhammad’s clan.
- Prohibiting trade with the Quraysh clan.
- In the year 622 AD, they left Mecca and went to Medina. This year marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar (1 AH).
- Upon arrival, he met a number of tribes and converted them to Islam.
- He became a political and religious leader, in charge of protecting the converted.
- The AH is equal to one year of the Islamic era, so we must add 622 years to give the year of the Christian era.
- Muslims settled in Medina, from where they began to plunder the caravans on their way to Mecca.
- They fought against Mecca and opponents of Islam, leading to an era of confrontation.
- In 628 AD, a covenant was established between Mecca and Medina, allowing Muslims to return to Mecca for the pilgrimage to the shrine of the Kaaba, the black stone.
- 10,000 Muslims entered Mecca and occupied the sanctuary, cleaning it of pagan idols and transforming it into a Muslim shrine. Muhammad linked himself to the story, becoming an Islamic prophet.
- 628 AD marked a time of expansion or growth of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula.
- Muhammad died in 632 AD and was buried at his home in Medina, which influenced the origins of the Mosque and became a place of pilgrimage.
Religious Principles
Islam is based on three principles or doctrinal points:
- Existence and Uniqueness of Allah: Allah is perfect, divine, unique, and eternal.
- Statement of creation itself: Allah is the creator of the whole universe.
- Destiny of Man: The story ends on a day of reckoning, for which every Muslim must be prepared throughout his life.
There are similarities with Judaism and Christianity.
There are five ritual precepts that became the Five Pillars of Islam:
- Profession of faith (Shahada): Declaring or witnessing that Allah is the only God and Muhammad is his prophet.
- Canonical Prayer (Salat): Praising Allah five times a day with a prayer ritual oriented toward Mecca, and communal prayer on Fridays, which stipulates that one should go at a specific time to the khutba or sermon by the Imam.
- Alms (Zakat): Given when one goes to Mecca, used for charities, and constituting 2.5% of a Muslim’s annual earnings.
- Fasting during the month of Ramadan (Sawm): The ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar (since its days are moved by the moon, it does not always fall on the same month). It is a time of revelations and fasting: one cannot eat, drink, or have sexual relations from dawn to dusk.