Download the rise of islam

THE RISE OF ISLAM
The Arabian People
• Arabs are a nomadic people who live in the Arabian Peninsula
– The Arabian Peninsula is a harsh land with a vast desert interior
– Must move constantly to find water
• In the desert, small bands of bedouins moved their herds between scattered oases
– Bedouin = nomadic Arab people
• Organized into loosely connected, independent tribes
– Led by a sheik, chosen from a leading family by a council of elders
• Farming was limited, but participated heavily in trade
– Trade routes converged at the Arabian Peninsula
– Domesticated camels to expand the caravan trade
• One of the most important trade towns was called Mecca
– Mecca contained a structure called the Kaaba, an ancient building that was considered
sacred
Muhammad
• Muhammad was born in Mecca and had a successful career as a merchant
– He married and had six children, however only one daughter lived to become an adult
• While traveling on business, Muhammad met followers of Judaism and Christianity
– These faiths influenced his thinking
• Muhammad was a religious man who often left his home to live in a cave for extended periods
– One of the times at the cave, Muhammad awoke to find himself in the presence of an
angel, who commanded him to speak messages from Allah
– Decides God has chosen him to be a prophet to spread messages
• Allah was the one and only true God
• Instructions on how to live to please Allah and live in paradise after death
– Begins to preach in public and gains a number of followers
• Some Meccans, however, did not accept his teachings
• Muhammad moves from Mecca to Yathrib, which came to be called Medina, “the Prophet’s
city”
– This journey came to be known as the hegira, or hijra
– The year the hegira took place became year one on the Islamic calendar (622)
• This new faith was called Islam, meaning “achieving peace through submission to God”
– Followers were called Muslims and claim ancestry to Abraham and his son
• Eventually Muhammad defeats the people of Mecca and his influence becomes great
Basic Religious Teachings
• Monotheistic, the Qur’an is the sacred text of Islam
– Written down by the followers of Muhammad
– Muslims believe that only in its original Arabic language can one know the full meaning
of the Qur’an
– The Qur’an also lays out five basic acts that are central to Islam
• The Five Pillars of Islam
– Belief – profession of faith
• “There is no god but God (Allah) and Muhammad is the messenger of God”
• Also makes clear that Muhammad is a prophet, not a deity
– Prayer – perform five daily prayers, always facing Mecca
– Giving of alms or charity
• Muslims are supposed to give a certain percentage of their income to the poor and
needy
– Fasting = going without food or drink
•
Do this from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan, the month when
Muhammad began to report the messages
• Muslims believe that fasting is a way to show that God is more important than
one’s own body
– Pilgrimage, called the hajj, to Mecca
• Pilgrims gather by the thousands to pray in the city’s large mosque
• Mosque = building in which Muslims worship
– Obeying Allah’s will means following the Five Pillars
• Guidelines for good behavior outlined in the Qur’an
– Muslims are forbidden to drink alcohol or eat pork
– Must wash themselves before praying and prohibits lying, stealing, and murder
– Jihad = “struggle for the faith”
• Struggle to defend Muslim communities or to convert people to Islam
– Islam is a peaceful religion
• The Qur’an teaches that Allah is the same God that the Jews and Christians worship
– Muhammad considered Abraham, Moses, and Jesus to be messengers of God, but saw
himself as the last prophet
– Both the Jewish and Christian bibles came from God, but the Qur’an was the final
message from God to humanity
– Muslims are to respect Jews and Christians as “people of the book”
Spread of Islam
• When Muhammad died, he had not named a successor
– Abu Bakr was chosen – one of Muhammad’s closest companions and one of the first
converts, he gained the title caliph = successor to Muhammad
• Creation of an Arab Empire
– Warred against neighboring people and expanded
– Conquered most of the Middle East and part of North Africa and even Spain
– The expansion into Europe was stopped at the Battle of Tours in 732 by Charles Martel
– Attacked Constantinople, but was defeated
• The attack on Constantinople led to the Crusades
– Crusades = a holy war to regain the holy land
– Many Crusades will be fought against Muslim power
– The Crusades will have little impact on Southwest Asia except to breed centuries of
mistrust between Christians and Muslims
• Split in Islam
– After the death of Abu Bakr, the title of caliph passed to the Umayyad dynasty, who
made the office of caliph hereditary
– Some Muslims, however, favored Ali, who was Muhammad’s son-in-law
– A civil war broke out and Ali was killed
– Leads to a split in Islam into two groups:
• Sunni – “way of the prophet”, say that the Umayyads are the true caliphs – most
Muslims are this
• Shiite – “party of Ali”, say that the descendants of Ali are the true caliphs –
mostly found in Iran and a part of Iraq
Muslim Society
• Family
– Men were the head of the family and could have several wives
– Had to protect the rights of women and children
• Women
– According to the Qur’an, women are equal to men before Allah
•
•
– Women had more rights in the early days of Islam, but that came to an end with a later
Muslim dynasty, the Abbasid
– Women had to have a male guardian and were expected to stay at home and out of sight
– Kept from social contact with men outside their families, had to be covered at all times
Slavery
– Slavery was common throughout Muslim lands
– The Qur’an required slaves to be treated fairly
– Slaves were given some legal rights, which included the right to buy their freedom
– Setting slaves free was praised as a religious act
The Arab Empire was prosperous due to extensive trade
– The bazaar = a covered market – was a vital part of every Muslim city