The Koran?

[bigsplit]

What part of the Islamic holy book was written from the cave where Mohammad was approached by Gabriel (?). Wasn't this the most peaceful of the text. Didn't the militant chapters come later without inspiration from the angel? Do muslims differenciate these two "bodies" of work?

I have also heard that Mohammad would not let his face appear in any Art work and his face was always covered. I heard that he did this because he did not want to be deified. Do you think modern Islam is doing him a disservice by insisting that to be of Islam one must call him the greatest of prophets? Do Muslims use Mohammad as a crutch for the personification of God? Is this a need in all monotheistic religions where there is a spiritual being removed from any concept we can accurately describe? Does Mohammad fill this need in Islam in a similar way as Christians to to Jesus, but not necessarily to declared deification.

[BlackOpal12]

What part of the Islamic holy book was written from the cave where Mohammad was approached by Gabriel (?).
None of it. Muhammad, as was the tradition of his time, learned the insights of the Qur'an as a verbal recitation, which was recorded upon his return to Medina, and further elucidated over the years.


Wasn't this the most peaceful of the text. Didn't the militant chapters come later without inspiration from the angel? Do muslims differenciate these two "bodies" of work?


Nope. Nope. And the only "two bodies" of text are the Qur'an and the Hadith, which is not considered Divine or Inspired - it is simply witness stories of the Acts of the Prophet.


I have also heard that Mohammad would not let his face appear in any Art work and his face was always covered. I heard that he did this because he did not want to be deified.

Actually, it is a long standing tradition in Islam that no image should be made of a human form, as it might be idealized and/or idolized, which would detract from the glory of Allah.


Do you think modern Islam is doing him a disservice by insisting that to be of Islam one must call him the greatest of prophets? Do Muslims use Mohammad as a crutch for the personification of God?

The most basic affirmation of faith would say "no" to both these questions. "There is one god, Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet." Muslims have been saying this since the dawn of their religion - its not a "new" or "modern" aspect of Islam, it's one of the founding precepts of the religion. In the polytheistic culture that Muhammad was enveloped in, the affirmation of Allah's unity is easily understood, and the affirmation of Muhammad as the greatest and last of the Prophets grants a final authority to his works and words.


Is this a need in all monotheistic religions where there is a spiritual being removed from any concept we can accurately describe? Does Mohammad fill this need in Islam in a similar way as Christians to to Jesus, but not necessarily to declared deification.

In classical Islam, any self-proclaimed Muslim who deigned to worship Muhummad as Allah would be immediately condemned as a heretic. Allah is no man, and no man can be Allah - Allah is one, only. This is actually the root of the schism between Islam and Christianity - Islam sees Christianity's "God" as divided into 3 different gods, and, as Allah is unified, that is heresy.

Not trying to be mean...sorry about that.
I'll be back on later, if you have more questions.

[bigsplit]

I do not think you are being mean at all, just setting someone straight who does not understand.

Why does Mohammad have to be the last prophet, does it say this in the "divine" aspects of the Koran or is this more a "traditional" outlook? Would it be misleading to assume that Islam is a version of Judaism with a more Gnostic view of Jesus, that was developed outside the authority of Jewish Rabbis and Christian Orthodoxy? Further, since most of the 12 tribes of Isreal were absorbed in some capacity into the Arab world, wouldn't it be safe to say that most Arabs could trace their lineage back to Abraham through "houses" other that Ismael?

[BlackOpal12]

I do not think you are being mean at all, just setting someone straight who does not understand.

Why does Mohammad have to be the last prophet, does it say this in the "divine" aspects of the Koran or is this more a "traditional" outlook?

Divine aspect - though, from a purely pragmatic point of view, proclaiming the "last" prophet is as wise as proclaiming the "completion" of the Canon... it prevents further recreations and redefinitions of what is orthodoxy.


Would it be misleading to assume that Islam is a version of Judaism with a more Gnostic view of Jesus, that was developed outside the authority of Jewish Rabbis and Christian Orthodoxy?

While it might seem like that at first, due to the manifold parallels between the two monotheistic religions, Muslims would not consider themselves such. However, if you define Judaism as the initial monotheistic, post-polytheistic cultural group, and Christianity as post-salvific Judaism only, then you could similarly over-simplify Islam into such. But its not completely accurate - the Qur'an and Hadith are not based on prior scripture, but on entirely independent revelation to the Prophet.


Further, since most of the 12 tribes of Isreal were absorbed in some capacity into the Arab world, wouldn't it be safe to say that most Arabs could trace their lineage back to Abraham through "houses" other that Ismael?

It is possible to consider that, however, one of the standing premises of Islam is the total unity of all believers - no matter what race, class, creed, prior religious affiliations, etc. While other generational heritages could be discussed, most Muslim will not bother to trace behind their spiritual forefather, Muhammad, who called himself a son of Ishmael. Islam being the "house of Ishmael" is simply an honorific throwback to the corporeal heritage of the greatest Prophet.