Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Key Figures in Muhammad’s Life
By Susan L. Douglass and Aiyub Palmer
Overview:
This lesson introduces students to key figures in the life of Muhammad and describes their contributions to the formation of the early Muslim community. This activity and the informational handouts fill the gap left by nearly all traditional textbook materials and most introductions to Islam, which focus exclusively on Muhammad as an explanation for the rise of Islam. To the contrary, Muslim society developed in response to the problems, needs, strengths and weaknesses of the people living in the society of his day. Muhammad lived with these people, responded to their questions and shaped their collective actions, setting a model of consultation. Reading the short biographical sketches helps to fill in the picture of a multi-dimensional society. In addition, Muslims today refer to these “founding fathers and mothers” of Islam as role models and people who set important precedents.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
- explain the relationship between key historical figures and Muhammad, and describe the social dimension of the Muslim community development.
- describe the personalities of those followers who carried Islam forward after Muhammad’s death.
- analyze the significance of each historical figure for the development of the early Muslim community.
Procedure
- In groups, have students read the biographical sketches of key historical figures in Muhammad’s life contained in Student Handout 1: Key Figures in Muhammad Life.
- Each group will develop a cluster diagram similar to Student Handout 2: Muhammad's Family, Companions, and Opponents. The teacher can photocopy the diagram, blocking out the names, which students can supply from the reading. Identify which historical figures are early companions, later companions, close family, or key opponents, and show the later connections and roles of these persons, such as marriage, leadership of the Muslim state, etc.
- Each group will analyze the significance of at least one historical figure by answering the following questions:
- How was the historical figure important to the events in the narrative of Muhammad’s life?
- How did he or she contribute to or oppose the early Muslim community during Muhammad’s life?
- After having read all of the biographical sketches, select one figure and describe one unique characteristic of that person.
- What role did the person play after the death of Muhammad, and how did their experience prepare them for their later contributions and actions?
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