Download RENAISSANCE

ISLAMIC CIVILISATIONS
EARLY DEVELOPMENTS
 less 200 years
from not existing
to being the
religious and
political principal
of one of the
largest empires in
the world
EARLY SITUATION
 tribal
 Quraysh living in
Mecca
 Arabian peninsula
=> polytheisme
 kept cult statutes
of gods in the
Kaaba
KAABA
 It has been
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reconstructed several
times
It used to be open to
everyone
Used to get flooded
There are two kaabas!
The Black Stone is
broken
It's not supposed to be a
cube shape
EARLY SITUATION
 monotheisms like Christianity, Judaism and
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Zoroastrianism
northern part of Arabia: sandwiched between
Byzantine Empire and Persian Sassanian Empire
Islam = radical reforming religion
Muhammad = final prophet to bring people back to
the one true religion
worship of, and submission to, a single and allpowerful God
Quran
 acknowledges Abraham and Moses and Jesus as
prophets
 much less narrative
• the written record of
the revelations
Muhammad received
• the actual word of God
• major themes:
monotheism & taking
care of those who are
less fortunate than you
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
1
SHAHADAH or the profession of the faith:
There is no god but god and Muhammad is God’s
prophet
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
 2:
SALAT, or
ritual prayer
five times a
day
dawn
noon
afternoon
sunset
late
evening
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
3
SAWM
month-long fast
during the month
of Ramadan
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
4
ZAKAT
non-poor Muslims are required to give a percentage of
their income to the poor
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
 HAJJ
pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims must try to fulfill at
least once in their lives, provided they are healthy and
have enough money
SUPPLEMENTARY SACRED TEXTS
 Judaism + Talmud
 Christianity + lives of
saints
 Islam + HADITH = a
collection of sayings
and stories about the
Prophet
SHARIA
 a body of law
 numerous interpretations
UMMAH
 community of
believers
 trumped all
other ties,
including
tribal ties
QURAYSH
 controlled pilgrimage
trade in Mecca =>
monotheism =>
economical disaster
 622 force Muhammad
and followers out of
Mecca => to Yithrab =
Medina
 Hijra => marks year 0
in the Islamic calendar
BEGINNING OF AN EMPIRE
 Muhammad severed the religion’s ties to Judaism,
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turning the focus of prayer to Mecca
Islamic community => empire or church?
Muhammad: important prophet and a good general
630 Islamic community took back Mecca
destroyed idols in kabaa
Islam was available to everyone from the moment of
its founding
=> Islam: powerful political and religious force
AFTER MUMAMMAD
 632 Muhammad dies
 Muhammad = final prophet, the revelation of the
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Quran would continue to guide the ummah
caliph = political leader
1st caliph Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law
4th caliph Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law
divide between the two of the major sects of Islam:
Suuni and Shi’a
SUNNI vs SHIA (some differences...)
Sunni
Shia
Sunnis
Shiites, Shi'i
meaning of name
"well-trodden path" or "tradition"
"party" or "partisans" of Ali
current adherents
940 million
120 million
90%
10%
most Muslim countries
Iran, Iraq, Yemen
no
yes
true successor of the Prophet
Abu Bakr, father of the Prophet's favoured wife, 'A'ishah
(elected by people of Medina)
'Ali ibn Abi Talib, husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatimah
(designated by the Prophet)
qualifications for ruler of Islam
tribe of the Prophet (Quraysh); later, any qualified ruler
family of the Prophet
imams
mujtahids
human leaders
infallible manifestations of God and perfect interpreters of the
Qur'an
followers
percentage of total Muslims
primary locations
did Muhammad designate a
successor?
current leaders
identity of imams
Abu Bakr & Ali ibn Abi Talib
 Abu stabilized the community after
Muhammad’s death
 recording the Quran in writing
 started military campaigns against the
Byzantine (plague) and Sassanian Empires
(weak)
 finally Ali becomes leader
 leads to a civil war
 Uthman’s tribe becomes the ruling dynasty
 followed by the Abbasids
IN SHORT
 a small group of people
 an area of the world with few natural resources => created
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one of the great empires of the world and also one of its
great religions
Muslims were great conquerors
started an explosion of trade and learning
saved many of the classical texts that form the basis of the
“Western Canon”
paved the way for the Renaissance
much of the world between Spain and the Indus River
wasn’t Arabized, most of it was Islamized
5 times a day millions of people turn toward Mecca