It seems to me that Islam and Christianity and Judaism all have the same god, and he's telling them all different things.
Billy Connolly
(Actor, Comedian)
Muhammad was born into a family belonging to the Quraish tribe in the city of Mecca. The Quraish tribe administered the running of the Kaaba, a holy site containing around 360 idols associated with the many communities in and around Mecca. Also worshipped in the Kaaba was a black stone considered to be sacred and to have descended from heaven. Annually, after the fasting month, pilgrims from all the various tribes gathered at this holy site to worship their respective deities, each respecting the others' choice of worship. This pilgrimage brought great prosperity to the city.
Muhammad grew up worshipping the idols of the Kaaba but later in life was influenced by the monotheistic ideologies of Judaism and Christianity. From his travels working with trade caravans, Muhammad acquired a sound understanding of monotheism which was later reinforced by his first wife’s cousin - a Christian convert from Judaism.
Muhammad's father's name was Abdullah, an Arabic name meaning 'slave of Allah'. This clearly shows that the word Allah was previously the Pagan word for God. The three daughters of Allah were Al-Lat, Al Uzza and Manat who are mentioned in the Qur'an. The chief God of the Kaaba however was Hubal - the Moon God. The Quraish reverently worshipped Hubal whose symbol was the crescent moon and offered to it both animal and human sacrifices. The crescent moon still remains the main symbol of Islam, most likely maintained by Muhammad as a form of continuity and appeasement to wean the Pagan tribes from their main God. Its origin undoubtedly stems from pagan Arabs' worship of Hubal, though denied by Muslim apologists.
Muhammad's grandfather Abd al-Muttalib almost slaughtered Muhammad's father, Abdullah, at the Kaaba, to satisfy their God, Hubal. From Ibn Hisham: An arrow showed that it was 'Abdullah to be sacrificed. 'Abdul-Muttalib then took the boy to Al-Ka'bah with a razor to slaughter the boy. Quraish, his uncles from Makhzum tribe and his brother Abu Talib, however, tried to dissuade him. They suggested that he summon a she-diviner. She ordered that the divination arrows should be drawn with respect to 'Abdullah as well as ten camels. … the number of the camels (finally) amounted to one hundred. … They were all slaughtered to the satisfaction of Hubal. Ibn Hisham 1:151-155
Muhammad utilised the Pagan generic name for God, Allah, and sought to denounce all the idols of the Kaaba. Upon his invasion of Mecca in 630CE, Muhammad destroyed all the idols housed in the Kaaba but retained the black stone which he claimed was originally white when falling to the earth but transformed to black after absorbing the sins of the people of the earth.
SB 3:43:658 The Prophet entered Mecca and (at that time) there were three hundred-and-sixty idols around the Kaaba. He started stabbing the idols with a stick he had in his hand and reciting: "Truth (Islam) has come and Falsehood (disbelief) has vanished."
The worship of stones was commonplace in seventh century Arabia. If a particular stone looked sufficiently appealing it would replace the previously worshipped stone. From Sahih Bukhari we have an account from Abu Raja Al-Utaridi who described the process circumambulating (tawaf) around stones that were worshipped.
SB 59:661 "We used to worship stones, and when we found a better stone than the first one, we would throw the first one and take the latter, but if we could not get a stone then we would collect some earth and then bring a sheep and milk that sheep over it, and perform the Tawaf around it...".
The black stone currently in the Kaaba would have been the last stone worshipped there by the Arab pagans at the time of conquest by Muhammad, and continues to this day to be circumabulated seven times during pilgrimage by Muslims as was performed by the pagans. It is also bowed down to five times daily by believers across the world.
Initially Muhammad commanded that prayers be offered in the direction of Jerusalem. He was vociferous against the pagan beliefs and hoped for his following to come from the monotheistic Jews and Christians. However after many years of rejection from those communities he reverted back to appeasing the pagan Arabs, the source of most of his followers, and altered the direction to prayers to the Kaaba. If this structure truly was a house of God, then why first instruct that prayer be performed facing elsewhere?
The Kaaba was the heart of religiosity in Arabia. Controlling the site meant dominion of your brand of religion. Hence the Kaaba was retained for Islam justifying it with the mythical claim that Abraham and Ishmael originally constructed it. This claim though is not supported by any historical or archaeological evidence. Nor is there any indication that such a structure even existed a few hundred years before Muhammad's lifetime. Muhammad himself provides contradicting information.
The Qur'an states that it was built by Abraham:
Q2:125 Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; and We covenanted with Abraham and Isma'il....
However in Sahih Bukhari Muhammed is recorded as saying the Kaaba was built 40 years prior to the Temple at Jerusalem:
SB 4:55:636 Narrated Abu Dhaar: I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Which mosque was built first?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Haram." {Kaaba} I asked, "Which was built next?" He replied, "Al-Masjid-ul-Aqs-a {Temple at Jerusalem}." I asked, "What was the period in between them?" He replied, "Forty years."
Solomon is recorded to have built the Temple of Jerusalem around 955BCE. However Abraham according to biblical study lived approximately 2000BCE. Hence if Muhammad is correct that the Kaaba was built forty years prior to the temple of Jerusalem, Abraham could not have built it.
Fasting was commonplace among the pagan tribes of Arabia. The fasting periods were sacred and fighting during these days was shunned by all tribes. When Muhammad's companions raided a caravan heading for Mecca during the fasting month, he was denounced for such an infringement of societal norms. However Muhammad justified his attack in Qur'an 2:217. Muhammad preserved for Muslims the pagan practice of fasting as narrated by Aisha in Sahih Bukhari 5:58:172 - Ashura was a day on which the tribe of Quraish used to fast in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance. The Prophet also used to fast on this day. So when he migrated to Medina, he fasted on it and ordered (the Muslims) to fast on it. When the fasting of Ramadan was enjoined, it became optional for the people to fast or not to fast on the day of Ashura.
The fasting for Ashura originated from a Quraish pagan practice. Initially Muslims did not fast for Ramadan as is apparent from Aisha’s statement. This was introduced later which rendered the Ashura fast optional. The Ramadan fast as will be seen later was adopted from a Sabean tradition.
Safa and Marwa are two hills in Mecca. The pagans of pre-Islamic times performed a ritual called Tawaf which involved walking very quickly back and forth between the two mounts. To this day, when Muslims perform pilgrimage to Mecca, this ritual is still observed, running back and forth seven times. Muhammad allowed this practice to continue justifying it in Qur'an 2:158. Surely the Safa and the Marwa are among the signs appointed by Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or pays a visit (to it), there is no blame on him if he goes round them both.
Sahih Bukhari provides evidence that this practice was performed by the pagans and adopted by Muhammad. SB 2:26:710 Narrated 'Asim: I asked Anas bin Malik: "Did you use to dislike to perform Tawaf between Safa and Marwa?" He said, "Yes, as it was of the ceremonies of the days of the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, till Allah revealed: 'Verily! As-Safa and Al-Marwa are among the symbols of Allah. It is therefore no sin for him who performs the pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, or performs 'Umra, to perform Tawaf between them.' "
Muslims justify this ritual by claiming Hagar, a wife of Abraham, ran between these two hills in search of water and was fortunate to find the Zam Zam well and for that reason Muslims need to perform the ritual during Haj. This myth however was more likely concocted to further justify a ritual which brought significance to a well owned by the Quraish thereby perpetuating its commercial value.
Muhammad had close contacts with Jews and Christians for many years. In an effort to attract the Jews and Christians to his religion, he devised revelations to portray himself as the final and most complete prophet in line from Abraham.
He included all the major prophets descending from Abraham and narrated their stories in the Qur'an, though many times deviating from the tales found in the source scriptures, portraying them in a less fallible light. By elevating the previous prophets, Muhammad indirectly elevated himself, whom Allah describes as the best and final seal of them all. The Adam and Eve story of creation in six days, the virgin birth of Jesus but with no resurrection or divinity, the global flood, Mosaic laws regarding circumcision, images and pork, and the concept of heaven and hell were all adapted from Abrahamic traditions. Even the Jewish method of animal slaughter required to make the animal kosher was used by Muhammad to ensure a Muslim’s meat was halal.
Korban or religious animal sacrifice is recommended for Jews in the Torah for the atonement of sins; the Pagan Arabs also scrificed animals to their respective deities. The ceremony of Eid ul-Adha which is the most important festival in Islam, focuses on Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son on God's command, as a test of his faith. On Eid ul-Adha, Muslims sacrifice an animal - sheep, goat, camel - as a symbol of Abraham's sacrifice.
A fantasy story, told about Muhammad's night journey, a tale of his ascent through the seven levels of heaven and meeting with Allah to reduce the number of daily prayers from fifty to five mentioned in the Qur'an and Hadiths coincidently can also be found in Zoroastrian literature. From The Book of Arda Viraf in the ancient Pahlavi script, the Zoroastrian story describes the journey of Arda Viraf who because of his piety was chosen to journey into heaven. Whilst in a trance his spirit travels to the other world under the guidance of an angel named Srosh across the Chinvat Bridge. He passes from one region (star, moon, sun, etc) to another until he meets Ahura Mazda, God of the whole universe, who shows him the souls of the blessed living a perfect life. He is then taken to Hell where he sees the suffering of the wicked. On completion of his visionary journey, Arda Viraf is told by Ahura Mazda that the Zoroastrian faith is the only suitable and true way of life and that it should be spread and preserved among the people of the earth.
This story uncannily reflects, to a tee, the story of Muhammad's journey which was recorded approximately 300 years later. Muhammad in his sleep has his heart washed, presumably to make him pure and pious. He ascends a ladder as opposed to cross a bridge, the angel Gabriel guides him as opposed to the angel Srosh. He travels through the seven levels of heaven as Arda Viraf passed through various regions. He meets Allah not Ahura Mazda and receives instructions to teach mankind to pray to Allah five times daily to obtain heavenly rewards. Muhammad is also shown Hell and the suffering of those engulfed in its fires. Details of Muhammad's journey can be found in the chapter 'Sirat Rasul Allah - Night Journey'.
Another religious group popular at that time in the Arabian Peninsula was the Sabians. Muhammad mentions the Sabians, who were essentially monotheistic, in the Qur'an, associating them with the People of the Book which included Jews and Christians. They did however meditate on angels dwelling on various stars though believed in the one God who sent prophets, emphasising importance on Noah. Allah says in the Qur'an:
Q2:62 Those who believe, and those who follow the Jewish, the Christians and the Sabians, - any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
Here Muhammad seems to approve of the Sabians, along with Jews and Christians and reveals that they will be rewarded by God in the hereafter. However the accepted meaning of this verse based on commentaries by Islamic scholars is that the verse refers to those Jews, Christians, and Sabians who faithfully followed their religion as revealed to them before it was corrupted or abrogated. Thus, included in the promise of salvation given by this verse are those Jews who followed the Torah and died prior to the coming of Jesus and those Christians who followed the Injeel or Sabians who followed the Zaboor and died prior to the coming of Prophet Muhammad.
However it is apparent that early in his preaching, Muhammad respected the Sabians and possibly even adopted some of their religious practices and symbolisms.
The Sabians pray five times a day, coincidently Muhammad initiated prays the same number of times a day for his followers. The Sabians pray towards the equator using the sun as a Qiblah (direction of prayer). Muhammad also adopted the idea of facing a particular direction for prayer - first Jerusalem and then Mecca. The Sabians meditated on angels in the stars - Muhammad gave the stars prominence using it as a symbol for Islam along with the crescent moon. The Sabians fasted thirty days during Ramadan and feasted on Eid. This is confirmed in the Qur'an which indicates that Islam adopted fasting from the peoples of pre-Islamic time.
Q2:183 O you who believe! fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard (against evil).
Finally one of the most significant phrases in Islam is ‘La ilaha ila Allah’ - 'There is no God but Allah'. Yet we discover that this very phrase was used by the Sabians to establish the importance of their God. According to the early writer ‘Abd al-Rahman ‘ibn ‘Zayd (d.798 AD), people of the time thought Muhammad was a Sabian. He wrote: "The polytheists used to say of the prophet and his companions ‘these are the Sabians’ comparing them to them, because the Sabians who live in Jaziartal-Mawsil {Iraq} would say ‘La ilaha ila Allah’."
In essence Islam evolved as a mashup of many varied cultures and religious traditions from the place and time where prophets were foretold and prophets were concocted and men were gullible. Though all of the histories and cultures for these ancient tribes have since been destroyed by their conquerors, the Islamic scriptures themselves reveal their existence and the influence they made on the making of Islam.
Muhammad's experiment to bring legitimacy to his ideology using then respected scriptures of the Jews, Sabians and Christians in addition to retaining many pagan traditions to maintain Arab identity, though ridiculed at first by adherents of the individual traditions, finally became palatable as Muhammad's military might brought the masses into submission, Islam.