How much do you know about Muhammad?
How much do you know about The Qur’an?
How much do you know about the Islamic faith?
If you say you know nothing, it’s not important, Islam doesn’t impact your life, I hope you will reconsider those thoughts.
Islam is one of the largest growing faiths. It’s spreading around the world in massive numbers and we see some of the results of it’s newest growth via Islamic extremists and jihadists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and even countries like The U.S., The U.K., Spain and France, among many others. Michigan also calls itself home to one of the largest Arabic and Islamic populations outside of the Middle East.
Look next week for a review on a book called, The Truth About Muhammad, by Robert Spencer for a comprehensive over-view on the man, his words, his life and the religion known to the world as Islam. For those who have previous knowledge in these areas, add it to your collection. To those with little or no background, this book will be a good starting point.
To get you going, I’ve put together a little question and answer period. See how well you do on the questions below. Unlike the good old days we all experienced in high school and college, don’t worry about if you pass or not. The goal is simply to expand your knowledge. Consider this similar to taking a class 'just for credit'.
Answers will be at the end of this posting (no cheating please!).
QUESTION PERIOD:
Which book was the first full length biography of the Prophet of Islam – Muhammad:
1.) The Qur’an
2.) The Sira
3.) Hanging with Big Mo
4.) The Night Journey – The Miraj
5.) The Hijra
6.) A Thousand and One Jizya’s
7.) The Dueling Muhammads
Which three books make up the Sunnah – the most important books which deal with the history of Muhammad, Islamic culture and the Muslim faith:
1.) A Thousand & One Jizya’s, The Qur’an & the Miraj
2.) The Hirja, The Sira & The Qur’an
3.) The Qur’an, The Hijra & The Miraj
4.) The Qur’an, The Hadith & The Sira
5.) None of the above
True of false: Muhammad left behind no clear successors to his religious legacy, no surviving sons, only daughters.
Around which age did Muhammad begin spreading the word of Allah for Islam:
1.) 6
2.) 23
3.) 40
4.) 55
5.) 63
Which angel(s) or demon(s) visited Muhammad during his prophetic lifetime:
1.) Satan
2.) Seraphel
3.) Gabriel
4.) Casper (The Friendly Ghost)
5.) Only 1 & 2
6.) Only 2 & 3
7.) Only 1, 2 & 3
True or false: Muhammad was born in Medina, rose to Paradise one night in Jerusalem and traveled to Mecca to preach and eventually died there.
Allah gave Muhammad approval to implement the following laws & traditions in place by faithful Muslims even today:
1.) Cutting off the hands of male & female thieves – penalty of amputation
2.) The veiling of women due to the sinfulness of exposed flesh & body parts
3.) The taking of up to 4 wives by each man – approval of polygamy
4.) It takes 4 witnesses to support an act of rape against a women – less than 4, the crime is denied
5.) Saying, “I divorce you”, “I divorce you”, “I divorce you” three times and a man can be divorced from his wife – the wife cannot do this
6.) The stoning to death of a woman found guilty of adultery – or more frequently, being lashed for the crime and kept in seclusion for the rest of a woman’s life as punishment for adultery
7.) Going to war during holy periods and befriending an enemy short term are all acceptable practices as long it is for the good of promoting Islam
8.) Only 1, 3, 5, 7
9.) Only 2, 4, 6
10.)All the Above
By most historians and experts, how man wives did Muhammad take during his lifetime:
1.) 2-3
2.) 4-5
3.) 6-7
4.) 8-9
5.) 11-13
True or false: Muhammad was commanded by Allah to marry one of his daughter-in-laws?
How old was Aisha, Muhammad’s favorite wife, when he eventually married her and consummated the marriage vows?
1.) 9-Nine years old
2.) 13-Thirteen years old
3.) 20-Twenty years old
4.) 30-Thirty years old
5.) 40-Forty years old
Allah commanded Muhammad after battle he could keep which of the following:
1.) Nothing – He had to give everything away as sharing is a cardinal rule of Islam
2.) He got to keep it all to himself - All loot & booty was for Muhammad (he could share if he wished, but it was his first and foremost)
True or false: Muhammad died of poisoning by a rival tribe in the Arabian Peninsula at age 63?
What was the major source of income to Muhammad & the faithful:
1.) Wine making
2.) Selling of slaves
3.) Drilling for oil and selling off reserves
4.) The collecting of taxes on non-Muslims
5.) Breeding camels for transportation
6.) Water collection and distribution
Who is known by Islamic scholars and the faithful as the first Muslim?
1.) Muhammad
2.) Aisha
3.) Khadija
4.) Gabriel
5.) Allah or God
True or False: Muhammad appeared to borrow Jewish, Christian and other sources for his preaching and written references. 
ANSWER PERIOD:
Here are the final answers to the above questions:
#2 - The Sira by Ibn Ishaq – 150 years after Muhammad’s death
#4 - The Qur’an, The Hadith, The Sira
True – He had one son by a concubine, but the boy died at birth. He had no other sons with his wives or concubines and left only daughters behind.
#3 - He was about forty years old when he began doing active preaching of Islam. Many scholars feel they can date it to the year 610 when Allah commanded Muhammad to tell people to turn away from polytheism. He formally began preaching in Mecca around 613.
#7 – Only Satan, Seraphal and Gabriel are deemed to have visited with Muhammad
False-He was born in Mecca and died in Medina – I reversed the cities on you
#10- All the above
#5 – 11 to 13 wives (most well known are Khadija – 1st wife, Aisha – favorite wife,
daughter-in-law wife Zaynab)
True-he married his adopted son’s wife – the lovely Zaynab bint Jahsh
#1 - Nine (9) years old. He got engaged to her at age (6) and held off on marriage and
consummation for three years. Not pleasant by modern standards, but not really uncommon for their time and culture.
#2 - Muhammad got to keep it all – his to keep and to share – if he chose
False – He died at age 63 in Medina, but it was not by poisoning. Natural causes was reason given. He had an attempted poisoning once, but it failed. This was much earlier in his life.
#4 - Taxing of non-Muslims was the chief income for Muhammad and his followers. This tax was known as a poll tax or the jizya.
#3 -The first known Muslim was Khadija – his first wife. She converted to the faith of Islam based upon Muhammad’s revelations and visions and they believed he was the Prophet sent by Allah.
And the final answer….
True – Most scholars agree there are too many similarities between Jewish, Christian and other sources which came before Islam. Thus, many of Muhammad’s stories, revelations, commands, thoughts and ideas are thought to be less than “pure”.
That's the quiz!!!
If you got ALL the answers right, consider yourself well versed in the basics of Islam and the history of Muhammad.
If you got any of them wrong or knew none of the answers, that’s ok too.
On the other hand, if any of your answers included Hanging with Big Mo' or Casper (The Friendly Ghost) in it, we implore you to seek assistance :-)
Hopefully, this little Q & A made you interested in learning about a practice that is changing the world we all live in. Whether we practice this religion ourselves, approve of this lifestyle or do something altogether different, in the end, it impacts us all. How? By the current War on Terror (Should be re-titled The War Against Islamic Extremism) in Afghanistan, Iraq & worldwide, Sharia Law possibly coming to a country near you, women’s rights (or lack thereof) and rejection of human rights & dignity as recognized and practiced by The West.
The Prophet is On His Way….Be on the look out!
Submitted By:
Bridget Dupont-Tingley
Editor
Local Area Watch
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