Introduction
The analysis of the three textbooks has been taken up on three fronts. On one side, the history and the birth of Islam as a religion and how the three books present it is looked at; on the second side, the implication of Islam to the rest of the world, whether it is in line with the thinking of the other religions or to what extent is it dramatically varying. This has been checked out in all three books. Finally, the social and cultural ethos that isolates religious beliefs have been studied to see and notice the extent it differs from the Western understanding and belief system, according to the three textbooks is also analyzed and presented. Most of the points are taken from these three books. Though the citations are not given throughout the essay, the major contributors to the work are the three textbooks.
History and Birth of Islam
All three books talk of Mohammed as the final Messenger of God. They also lay down that the Quran was given to Mohammed by God, directly with no intermediaries. No one, not even the Prophet has been the interpreter. While other Messengers of God are sent for their tribes alone, Mohammed was sent for the entire mankind. After Mohammed, the growth of Islam has largely followed the growth of the Muslim rule in the world. It expanded with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The Caliphs have nominated heads of the state as well as the head of religion. This brought together the religion and the state making it a deadly combination that could force many converts on one side and give morality for wars. Ottomans literally ruled the then known world of Central Asia, Asia Minor, up to India in the East and up to Spain in the West. This ushered in the large-scale growth of Islam in all these countries. All three textbooks concur with this version of the birth and growth of Islam. However, they differ in some of the finer points of history.
Whereas, the Introduction to Islam looks at the history from a neutral perspective and is not trying to convince any one of the validity of its arguments or trying to disprove the negative or positive aspects of Islam. In the case of Following Mohammed, Carl Earnest tries to identify the reasons from the history to why Islam has become a hated religion in the West and why the West looks at the happenings in the Middle East as the ones of the devils. The arguments presented by Earnest put forward the historic growth of animosity between the Islamic and Western cultures. He also by looking closely at the social structures tries to identify the reasons behind the differences which was not existing according to him, during Mohammedan times.
The Two Treatises that have been said by al-Hadad and translated by al-Badawi is not exactly a chronicle of history nor does it list the historical happenings in the Arab nation during the days of Mohammed and later. But it does speak of manners and behavioral discipline. As it explains these, the historical events are also traced by the author. This is more in line with the history as depicted by David Wines. However, history is intercepted by the words that are uttered by the Prophet and others close to him. This has been an explanatory note on various facets of life.
Islam and the Rest of the World
This topic is more in focus in the book by Carl Earnest. The impact of Islam and the interaction between the West is the core of the book. Islam has influenced the history of the world for over six centuries. This was forced by the large-scale subjugation that the Islamic rulers resorted to by conquering the countries and bringing them under their rule. But when the systems turned around and the West started dominating the happenings in the world and the world politics, the religion that they followed became the rule. The preaching of Christianity and the culture that came with it was against the Muslim influence that was already present in many of the countries colonized by the West. This reasoning has been amply brought out by Earnest and the reasons that led to the increase in hostilities between the two from the beginning of history. As a matter of fact, Earnest observes, that the West was anti to most of the other religions. A few turned to the positive side of the West over a period of time. This includes Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions of the East. In the case of Judaism too, the West made a volte-face after the Holocaust and anti-Semitism became a bad word after that, according to Carl Earnest.
David Wines insists on the Eastern and the Western culture both being influenced by Islamic principles. The influence of Islam is seen in the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Great Wall of China in the East. It has made an impact on every aspect of life in these places. In some locations, the influence was too high. It even resulted in large-scale conversions of the people from their native religion to Islam. In others, there was the influence of art and culture that Islam ushered in. The thoughts of Islam amalgamated with the Persian and Byzantine thoughts, according to Wines, to create variations in them. This gave rise to Sufism as a modified form and also saw the birth of a number of other religions like Sikhism, Din-e-lahi, etc., In the same way, the influence of Islam on Christian thought and action is seen in the Iberian Peninsula with the influence in art and architecture ruling more than on philosophical thought process. However, the scientific thoughts of Arab nations did percolate into Europe through the Iberian and the north African connection. Al Haddad on the other hand does not set out to see the influence of Islam on other religions or other cultures. But looks at more on the way Islam is adopted and followed by everyone who became a Muslim. Every Mohammedan had to adapt to these treatises before he could formally claim himself to be a Mohammedan.
Social and Cultural Impact of Islam
Islamic law is controlled by Shariat that is derived exclusively from the Quran. In order to ensure that there are no issues in giving decisions on cases that come up for hearing in the court, the Shariat rules are explained for interpretation in Hadiths. The strict rules of Shariat and treating the people who are not in concurrence with the Islamic law harshly is clearly said by Wines. The culture, according to Earnest, was influenced by the happenings in the rest of the world. This also evolved with the difference in opinion on who is the rightful inheritor of the prophet. All this brought about major changes in who would decide on cases that come up for hearing at the court. This gave rise to the Sunni and the Shia acceptance of laws. There were subtle differences between the two; though the deciding document in both cases was the Quran with no difference in the document per se.
The treatises by al-Haddad are a comprehensive work on cultural and social life. It describes the ways in which life has to be lead by Muslims. ‘Live as long as you wish, you shall die! Love whatever you wish. You will be separated from it! Do whatever you wish, you shall be rewarded for it!’ Prophet said the way life has to be looked at. He also mentioned the practices that have to be adopted in order to lead a complete life. It is important that the words of the prophet are fully understood and laid out for other people to understand and appreciate. It is also important that the rewards that one receives at the end of the Judgment day are not based on the position that he holds in the current life but based on the deeds and actions one does during its tenure. God would only weigh the acts done by the individual, even if he has been a lowly person on the earth, he will be rewarded if his actions are good.
Al Haddad also brings to focus the futility of having long hopes and high passions. According to him, the Prophet said that high passions and following passions would take the person away from the truth. In the same way, long hopes would tend to make one forget the Hereafter and make them greedy. Al-Haddad also lists all those actions that may be done and should not be. The treatise on Good Manners specifically mentions the tendency to repent whenever sin is committed. It is human to make a mistake or a sin, but the Prophet insists that there should be repentance. God is very kind and would forgive the sin if only, the committer would repent for it and submit himself to the will of God.
Conclusion
On analysis of the three texts on Islam, it is found that the happenings in the history of Islam have been recorded in the Introduction to Islam more elaborately compared to the points raised in the other texts. While at the same time, the comparison between the East and the West and the happenings in the history, its impact on the two, the views of both Islam and Christianity, and how they differ are all brought out more elaborately in the Following Mohammed by Carl Earnest. The Two Treatises are translations specifically on the way life has to be lead by a Muslim. The importance attached to the practices. It also talks about what is Good Manners and what is not. They also talk about the way God has to be looked at; with fear and awe first, then with obedience and worship, and finally, to free oneself from sins and make themselves purer or Taqwa. The practices need to be adopted by oneself and practiced as cited in the Two Treatises.