In the Hebrew Bible, the Jordan is referred to as the source of fertility to a large plain ("Kikkar ha-Yarden"), called "the garden of God" (Genesis 13:10). There is no regular description of the Jordan in the Bible.
The New Testament states that John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan (Matt. 3:13).
The Jordan is a frequent symbol in folk, gospel, and spiritual music, or in poetic or literary works.
Because the Israelites made a difficult journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in "The Promised Land", the Jordan can be a symbol of freedom. The actual crossing is the final step of the journey, which is then complete. Also, the Jordan can mean death itself, with the crossing from life into Paradise or Heaven.
Jordan River (disambiguation)
Jordan River could mean:
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History of Islam
Muslim history began in Arabia when Muhammad recited the Quran in the 7th century. The historical development of Islam has affected political, economic, and military trends both inside and outside the Islamic world.
As with Christianity, the concept of an "Islamic world" is useful when one looks at different periods of human history.
After Muhammad died, the Muslim leadership was assumed by Abu Bakr. He was followed by Umar, Uthman ibn Affan and then Ali. These four are called the "Rashidun caliphs" which means The Righteous Caliphs. The word caliph means religious and spiritual leader. Under these caliphs Islam became one of the most important religions of the middle East. Administrative offices of the Muslim nation were established. Under Umar more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire was conquered by the Muslims. Umar also started the Muslim calendar.
The first civil war in Islam, also known as the "First Fitna" broke out in Islam during the rule of the fourth caliph Ali and lasted throughout his caliphate. The third caliph Uthman ibn Affan had been murdered by rebel Muslim groups who had political motives. After Ali took over, the most important problem he faced was that of punishing those responsible for murder. However many people felt that before accepting the position of the caliph, Ali should have focused his attention on finding and punishing the murderers. A group of people led by Muhammad's wife Aisha, her brothers in law Talhah and Zubair ibn al-Awam refused to recognize Ali's caliphate. They instead raised an army which met Ali's army at Basra in Iraq, originally for the purposes of negotiations. In the night, some fighting broke out, probably out of confusion or due to rebel groups who were involved in the infamous murder. This led to the "Battle of Bassorah" (also known as "Battle of the Camel") in which Ali's party emerged victorious. Aisha was escorted back to Medina honorably after the battle by Ali.
This battle however did not entirely finish the tension in the Muslim empire. Ali was soon challenged by Muawiyah, the governor of the Muslim provinces of Syria. He too raised the issue of punishing Uthman's murderers and refused to acknowledge Ali as caliph until the issue had been solved. Muawiyah was a kinsman of Uthman and his army pledged to bring to justice the murderers and those who sheltered them. This reference to people who are sheltering the murderers was towards Ali and his followers. Accordingly, the two groups met and fought a battle, called the "Battle of Siffin". This battle ended in a draw and so both groups decided on arbitration which also did not lead to any concrete decision. Another group of Muslims, "The Kharijites" who had previously been with Ali, meanwhile rejected him because they felt that he was not following true Islam and conducting business over the caliphate as if it were his own property.
In the following years Ali's governors could not prevent his losing provinces to Muawiyah who increased his strength by further expanding his army. Ali had shifted the capital of the caliphate from Medina to Kufa in 656. He was killed by a Kharijite assassin in Kufa in 661.
History of Christianity
'YB Better" The history of the Christian religion and the Christian church began with Jesus and his apostles. Christianity is the religion that is based on the birth, life, death, resurrection and teaching of Jesus Christ.
Christianity began in the 1st century AD after Jesus died and was claimed to be resurrected, as a small group of Jewish people in Judea, but quickly spread throughout the Roman empire. Despite early persecution of Christians, it later became the state religion. In the Middle Ages it spread into Northern Europe and Russia. During the Age of Exploration, Christianity expanded throughout the world; it is currently the largest religion of the world.
The religion had schisms and theological disputes that had as result four main branches: the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, Oriental Orthodoxy and Protestant churches.
Most of the first Christians were ethnically Jewish or Jewish proselytes. An early difficulty came from non-Jewish converts. There was the question if they had to "become Jewish" before becoming Christian. The decision of St. Peter, was that they did not, and the matter was further addressed with the Council of Jerusalem.
The doctrines of the apostles brought the Early Church into conflict with some Jewish religious authorities, and this eventually led to the martyrdom of SS. Stephen and James the Great and expulsion from the synagogues. Thus, Christianity got an identity distinct from Judaism. The name "Christian" (Greek ) was first used for the disciples in Antioch, as recorded in (Acts 11:26).
Sources for the beliefs of the apostolic community include the Gospels and New Testament Epistles. The very earliest reports are in these texts: early Christian creeds and hymns and reports about the Passion, the empty tomb, and appearances of Jesus after his Resurrection. There are reasons to suppose that they were written within a few years of the crucifixion of Jesus and came from the Jerusalem Church.
Christianity kept many practices from Jewish tradition. Christianity thought the Jewish scriptures to be sacred and used mostly the Septuagint translation of the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), the Hebrew Prophets and Writings (the rest of the Old Testament books), and added other texts as the New Testament. Christians professed Jesus to be the God of Israel, having taken human form, and considered Jesus to be the Messiah (Christ) who had been prophesied about in the Old Testament and so was expected by the people of Israel.
Christianity continued many Judaic practices: liturgical worship, including the use of incense, an altar, a set of scriptural readings adapted from synagogue practice, use of sacred music in hymns and prayer, and a religious calendar, as well as other typical features: an exclusively male priesthood, and ascetic practices (fasting etc.).
The time when most of the apostles had died and their jobs as leaders of the Christian communities in the cities had been taken over by bishops, is called post-apostolic period. It includes the time of persecutions until Christian worship was legalized under Constantine the Great. The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity" (Greek ) is from this period. The term was used by Ignatius of Antioch "c." 107.
Early Christians were subject to various persecutions. This meant even death. Early martyrs included Stephen () and James, son of Zebedee (). Persecutions in larger scale by the authorities of the Roman Empire began with the year 64, when the Emperor Nero blamed them for the great Fire of Rome as the Roman historian Tacitus reported.