Download Islam and the Spread of Allah

Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars
Origins of Islam
The revelations of The Prophet Muhammad form
the basis of the Islamic religion, a monotheistic
faith.
• WHO? The Prophet (Muhammad)
• WHERE? Mecca & Medina (early Muslim
cities) on the Arabian Peninsula
• HOW? Ideas and travel related to the
Ka’aba
Beliefs, Traditions, and Customs
• Allah – Arabic word for “God”
• Qur'an (Koran) – Arabic for “word of God” / holy
book
• Accepts Judeo-Christian prophets like Moses &
Jesus
• Five Pillars of Islam
• Islamic traditions and customs developed over
centuries and created a distinct Muslim culture.
Five Pillars of Islam
•Creed (Shahada) statement of
faith
•Prayer (Salat) 5 times/day; facing
Mecca
•Alms/charity (Zakat) giving to the
poor
•Fasting (Sawm) abstaining from
food/drink
•Hajj (Hajj) holy trip to Mecca
Islamic Creed
• There is only one Allah
• Allah rules the whole universe
• Idolatry and worshipping other deities
is wicked
• Allah will bring judgment to the world
Geographic Influences
Geographic influences on the origin
and spread of Islam
• Spread along trade routes from
Mecca and Medina (diffusion)
• Expanded despite great
distances:
– Crossed deserts and mountains
• Spread into Fertile Crescent,
Iran, and
Central Asia, facilitated by weak
Byzantine and Persian empires
Influence of geography on economic, political, and
social development
• Political unity of the first Muslim empire
was short-lived
• Arabic language spread with Islam and
facilitated trade across Islamic lands
• Arabic language also stimulated
intellectual activity
• Slavery not based on race
• Harsh Arabian conditions produced fierce
loyalty to family
Historical Turning Points
Major historical turning points marked
the spread and influence of Islamic
civilization.
1. Death of Ali: Sunni vs. Shi’a division
2. Muslim conquest of Jerusalem &
Damascus during the Crusades
3. Islamic capital moved to Baghdad
4. Muslims defeated at the Battle of
Tours (France in 732 A.D.)
5. Fall of Baghdad to the Mongols
Sects of Islam
The Sunni and Shi’a (Shiites)
Shi’a (Shiite) (followers of Ali,
Sunni
Muhammad’s son-in-law)
•Approximately 10% of Muslims
•Think Muhammad’s successor
should be his relatives
•Believed in an intermediary
called an Imam
•Those with religious authority
should rule government too
• Approximately 90% of Muslims
• Believed successors to
Muhammad should be chosen by
the community
• Do not believe in intermediary
(middle-man) between Allah and
people
Successors of Muhammad
• Abu Bakr is chosen as Caliph
– Bakr’s advisor becomes caliph later.
• To avoid civil wars of succession,
each diverted attention by invading
neighboring, non-Muslim nations.
• Weak Persian and Byzantine
empires made conquest easy.
Muhammad’s Successors
Rightly Guided Caliphs
•Abu-Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali
(caliphate)
•Used military force to reestablish
Muslim authority after Muhammad’s
death
•Other caliphs continued to conquer
lands with a highly experienced and
mobile fighting force
Reasons for Success
•Muslims drew energy from Islam and fought
hard
•Armies were well disciplined and had expert
leadership
•Weakness of the Byzantine and Persian
Empires
•Those persecuted for other religions
welcomed Muslims as liberators
•Muslims allowed for Christians and Jews to
continue their faith (people of the book)
The Umayyads 661 -750 AD/CE
•Uthman and Ali were assassinated, a power
struggle ensued
•Umayyads came to power, moved the capital to
Damascus
•Focused on wealth rather than simplicity like the
Caliphates
•Caused a split in the Muslim world (Sunni-Shi’a)
The Abbassids 750-1258 AD/CE
•Overthrew the Umayyads in 750 AD/CE
• Executed all of the Umayyads at a dinner
•Moved capital from Damascus (Syria) to
Baghdad (Iraq)
•Ruled an immense empire by establishing a
bureaucracy, trade routes, and banking systems
Relationship to Judaism and Christianity
• Allah is the same God as that of the Jews and
Christians
• Jesus is a prophet of Allah but not the Son of
God
• The Bible, Torah, and Qur’an all contain the
word of God but the Qur’an is the perfect version
• All believe in a Heaven and Hell, Judgement
Day, and they are descendants of Abraham
‫الى‬
Islamic Contributions
•Early Islamic civilization was characterized
by achievements in science and the arts that
transformed the Islamic world and contributed
to world civilization.
• Architecture: Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem)
• Mosaics
• Arabic alphabet
- Translation of ancient texts into Arabic
• Universities
Science and Math
Urban Life
o Arabic numerals
(adapted from India),
includes 0
o Algebra
o Medicine
o Geographic Maps
o Cities like Baghdad
o Home to learning
centers
o Linked to other cities
by trade
Muslim Culture
Arts and Literature
o Mosaics
o Koran
o One Thousand
and One Arabian
Nights
Society
o Tolerant of Christians
and Jews
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
•A king kills every wife the next morning
after their wedding night. Shahrazad
cleverly tells 1,001 stories every night in
order to save her life
•The ideal that Shahrazad has influenced a
man of such power in a male dominated
society, such as the Middle East, is one
even modern day women hold onto.
Islamic Contributions in Science
• Arabic numerals (adapted from India),
includes 0
• Algebra
• Medicine
• Expansion of geographic knowledge = maps
•Astrolabe – measure the angles of the sun and
stars
Contributions
• Art
– Features mostly plants and calligraphy
– Only Allah should be able to produce the
human form
• Astronomy
– Studied the starts to find the exact
location of Mecca and to figure out the
correct times to pray
– Astrolabe
Scholarship
• Muslim’s greatest contribution to
Western civilizations was preserving
and advancing knowledge
• House of Wisdom in Baghdad
contained books from all over the
world
• Jewish and Muslim scholars worked
together to translate many subjects
Dome of the Rock
Kaaba in Mecca
Mosaic
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Arabic numerals
Medicine
Universities
Arabian desert
Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars