Question

6. What were the effects of Islamic expansion on Christianity?

Answer 1

Arabia was the home of significant Jewish and Christian communities, particularly in the south. During the Prophet's lifetime, Christians were living in Medina, Mecca, Khyber, Yemen, and Najran, although their numbers were small in the areas in which Muhammad carried on his preaching mission. Although Muslim doctrine attests to the fact that the Prophet could not read or write, thus ensuring that he did not “copy” from the scriptures or writings of Christians and Jews, there is also a record of his interaction with Christians throughout his life. One popular tradition records a meeting in Syria between a young Muhammad and a Christian monk named Bahira. The monk recognized the seal of prophethood between the boy's shoulders as attested to by scripture. The use of Christian scripture to confirm Muhammad's prophethood was also evidenced when a Christian cousin of his first wife Khadijah, Waraqa ibn Nawfal, acknowledged Muhammad's recitation of the revelation to be identical with that sent down to Moses. During the early prophetic period in Mecca, Muhammad's small community was often persecuted by the Quaraysh tribe, which was concerned for the maintenance of its hold over the city's ancient and lucrative holy places. At one point the Prophet sent a number of his followers to Abyssinia (what is how Ethiopia) to find shelter. The Abyssinians are reported to have listened to the preaching Prophet with great respect and awe, especially the description of Mary, mother of Jesus, leading them to affirm that this indeed was God's revelation.

These and other incidents confirm for Muslims their belief that Islam is not a derivative of Christianity but a divine revelation, a fact that at least some of the Christians of Muhammad's lifetime recognized. The Quran itself identifies Jews and Christians as the recipients of earlier revealed books or scriptures, namely the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel. These scriptures are believed to have been corrupted by the communities to which they were sent and are thus abrogated and in some senses superseded by the Quran. They are nonetheless held in esteem insofar as they were originally God's revelation, and the peoples to whom they were given are thus considered in a special category, namely the People of the Book. All prophets are said to have taught the identical message that came from God to Muhammad.