HISTORY OF ISLAM

Prophet Mohammad was born at Mecca in A.D. 570. The Prophet was a posthumous child. His father Abdullah, while returning from Syria, where he had gone for some business, died at Medina. The prophet was brought up by his mother. On his mother's death, while yet a child, the Prophet passed into the card of his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. Two years later the grandfather also died and the boy was then brought up by his uncle Abu Talib, after the age of twenty-five years he spent much of his time in solitude making a lonely cave his abode, where he is said to have been occupied in prayer and meditation. He became a Prophet at the fortieth year of his age, when he received his first-wahi or message from God. From that time he devoted himself in replanting the only true and ancient religion, professed by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the Prophets of the past. In his endeavors to this end, he met with the most abused, spat upon, covered with dust and dragged from the temple of Mecca by the hair of his head; but still he assiduously preserved in his undertaking and ultimately succeeded in spreading his religion over a great portion of the Roman Empire, in converting the people of Persia, in advancing his dominion to the banks of Indus and the Oxus and in founding a sect of people that afterwards became the conquerors of India and are at the present time one of the most numerous, if not the most powerful races of men on the earth.

As a result of the Prophet's condemnation of the paganism, then prevalent in Arabia, he was compelled to leave Mecca and took refuge among his followers at Medina. The flight of Prophet known as "hijrat" marks the beginning of Muslim era. The years of humiliation, of persecution of failures came to an end and the years of success, the fullest that has ever crowned one man's endeavour had begun. The Hijrat makes a clear division in the story of Prophet's Mission which is evident in the Kuran ( Holly Book of Muslims). Till then he had been a preacher only. Henceforth he was the ruler of a state- first a verysmall one, but which grew in ten years to be the empire of Arabia. This absolute supremacy continued till his death in 632 A.D.

In the religious sense Islam means submission to the will of God and in secular sense Islam means the ' establishment of peace'. The Prophet said " Purity of speech and hospitality". And what is faith? He said, patience and beneficence ( Abu Umarah-sayings 217). A man said," O Prophet of God, what is ( the mark of ) faith? The Prophet said, " when the good work gives thee pleasure and the evil work grieves thee, thou art a man of faith. The man said, " What is sin ? The Prophet said, when anything smirtes the withing thyself forsake it".

In  Narautakath v. Parakhal, [( 1992) 45 Mad 986] the point to be decided by their Lordships was"whether conversation to Ahmedian was faith apostasy". It was held that the essential doctrine of Islam is the (i) there is but one God and (ii) Mohammad is the Prophet of God.  Any belief in excess of this, at least for Law courts is a redundancy.  In jivan Khan v Habib accepting monotheism and mission of Mohammad as Prophet as the fundamental dogmas of Islam the shiites were held to be Mohammedans even though they used abusive language against e first three Caliphs. On the basis of the law declared by various authors and also case law a mere statement by a person that he is a Muslim is not sufficient. The question that has to be considered is whether he/she believed in one God and recognized Mohammed as the Prophet of God. According to the Court, an affidavit does not substantiate the said case.