Download Islam

Bellwork
• Read Islamic Civilization: The Five Pillars,
and answer the following question: what are
the five pillars of Islam?
World History
Section 4, Unit 1
Islam
Objectives
• Identify important characteristics of Muslim society
including: religious ideas, scientific contributions, and
the spread of Islam
• Examine the geography of where the Islamic peoples
come from
• Evaluate the culture of Islamic peoples
• Identify important religious figures or areas including
Muhammad and Mecca
• Identify the influence on three continents by the spread
of Islam
• Discuss how Muhammad’s successors spread Islam
• Examine internal conflicts and how they create a schism
in Islam
Where are we in history?
• Because were are now is Section 4, we are officially
entered an new era of human history
• In this era, we are going to be discussing the
following subject areas:
– The Muslim World
– African Kingdoms
– The Mongol Empire
– Japan
– Byzantium
– The Middle Ages
The Arabian Peninsula
• The Arabian Peninsula is a
crossroads of three
continents– Europe, Asia,
and Africa.
• At it’s longest point, the
Peninsula is only about
1,200 miles from north to
south and 1,300 miles east
to west.
• Only a tiny strip of fertile
land in south Arabia and
Oman and a few oases can
support agriculture.
– The remainder of the land–
all desert– was inhabited by
nomadic Arab herders.
Desert Life
• The tribesmen and
nomads took great pride
in their ability to adapt to
the desert conditions and
their ability to defend
against other clans who
tried to steal their water,
grazing territory,
livestock, or food supplies.
• The Bedouin’s ideals of
courage and loyalty to
family would become a
huge part of the Islamic
way of life.
Communities
• The areas with more
fertile soil and larger
oases became farming
communities and
towns.
• By the 600s, many
Arabs began to settle
in the oases rather
than continue being
nomads.
• These places would
become hotspots for
local, regional, and
foreign trade goods.
Petra, in Jordan, was an early Arab
trading city.
Spread of Ideas
• As trade increased,
information and ideas
from the world outside
spread.
• By the early 600s, trade
routes connected Arabia
to the major ocean and
land trade routes.
• Merchants moved along
the caravan routes,
trading for goods from
the Silk Roads of the
east.
Trade routes brought ideas that would not
only revolutionize the Arabian Peninsula,
but also make it a holy center.
Mecca
• Located in the western
half of the Peninsula,
Mecca became an
important stop along
trade routes.
• During certain holy
periods, religious
pilgrims would stop in
Mecca to worship at a
simple house of worship
called the Ka’aba.
Ka’aba
• To the Arabic peoples,
they associated the
Ka’aba with Abraham,
who they believed built
the Ka’aba.
• Over the years, they had
introduced the place of
worship to many gods
and spirits to the place.
• Many people traveled to
the Ka’aba as a site of
pilgrimage.
Allah
• The concept of a single
God– Allah in Arabic–
was not unusual in the
Arabian peninsula.
• As well, many Christians
and Jews lived in the
Arab lands and
practiced monotheism.
In this mixed religious
environment of Mecca,
around 570 A.D.,
Muhammad was born.
Muhammad
• Muhammad was born to a
powerful Meccan family.
• He received little
schooling and began
working in the caravan
trade at a young age.
Muhammad became a
trader and business
manager of Khadijah, a
wealthy businesswoman.
• When Muhammad was 25,
he married Khadijah and
they used their marriage
to form a stronger
business partnership.
Muhammad’s Revelations
• Muhammad took great
interest in religion and
often spent time alone in
prayer and meditation.
• At the about the age of 40,
Muhammad purportedly
heard a voice call to him
while he meditated in a
cave outside Mecca.
• According to Muslim
belief, the voice was that
of the angel Gabriel, who
told Muhammad that he
was a messenger of God.
Muhammad’s name in calligraphy
Islam
• Muhammad came to believe that the lord
who spoke to him was Allah. Muhammad
was convinced he was the last of the
prophets.
• He taught that Allah was the one and only
god and that all other gods must be
abandoned.
Islam
• People who agreed
with this basic
principle of Islam were
called Muslims.
• “Islam” means
“submission to the will
of Allah” in Arabic and
“Muslim” means “one
who has submitted”.
Islam
• Muhammad’s family
became his first
followers.
• Afterwards, in 613,
Muhammad had begun
to preach publicly in
Mecca, but had little
success.
• He and his followers
faced threats.
Islam
• Muhammad and his followers left Mecca
and, resettled in the town of Yathrib (j-athreb).
• This migration became known as the Hijrah
(hih-jee-rah). In Yathrib, he attracted many
devoted followers.
• Due to Yathrib’s devotion to Muhammad,
the city was renamed Medina meaning “city
of the prophet”.
Islam
• In Medina, Muhammad
displayed impressive
leadership skills. He
formed an agreement
between the Arabs and
Jews of the city and they
accepted Muhammad as
their political leader.
– As a religious leader, he
drew many more converts
to Islam.
– As a military leader
(which he became), he
managed the hostilities
between Mecca and
Medina.
Islam
• In 630, Muhammad and 10,000 of his followers
marched into the outskirts of Mecca, which had
declined.
• Facing sure defeat, Mecca’s leaders surrendered.
• Muhammad entered the city in triumph and went to
the Ka’aba. Upon arriving, he declared:
“Truth has come and falsehood has vanished.”
• He then entered the Ka’aba and destroyed the idols
inside that represented the other Arabic gods and
had a call to prayer made from the roof of the
building.
Islam
• Most Meccan’s pledged their
loyalty to Muhammad and
many converted to Islam.
• In doing so, they joined the
ummah or Muslim religious
community.
• Muhammad would die two
years afterwards, at about
the age of 62. However, his
efforts– and later success- of
spreading Islam across the
Arabian peninsula would
unify the entire region under
Islam.
The Five Pillars of Islam
• The main teaching of Islam is that there is only
one God, Allah.
– All other teachings and practices follow from this
main point.
• Islam teaches that there is good and evil and
that each individual is responsible for their
actions.
• Muslims believe that each person will stand
before Allah on final judgment day and enter
either heaven or hell.
The Five Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam
1. Faith- a person has to testify a statement of
faith, “There is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
2. Prayer- Five times a day, Muslims face
towards Mecca to pray. They may assemble at
a mosque (an Islamic house of worship) or
they may pray wherever they find themselves.
3. Alms- Muhammad taught that all Muslims
have a duty to the less fortunate. Muslims
meet the social responsibility by giving alms
or money for the poor through a religious tax.
The Five Pillars of Islam
4. Fasting- During the Islamic holy month of
Ramadan, Muslims fast. They eat and drink
nothing between dawn and sunset. They usually
eat a simple meal at the beginning and end of the
day. This pillar is to remind them that they have
“greater needs than bread”.
5. Pilgrimage- all Muslims perform the hajj, or
pilgrimage, to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
During the pilgrimage events to Mecca, pilgrims
wear identical garments so that all stand as equals
before God.
The Five Pillars of Islam
• Muslims generally do
not separate their
personal life from their
religious life.
• The Five Pillars
ensures that Muslims
live their religion while
serving in their
community.
Religious Authority
• Unlike other religions, Islam does not
necessarily have any sort of religious authority.
Every Muslim is simply expected to pray to
God directly.
• In Islam, the original source of authority is
Allah. According to the Qur’an, Allah
expressed his wishes through Gabriel, who
revealed it to Muhammad as the Qur’an.
– The Qur’an would have been written sometime
after Muhammad’s death by his followers who
memorized his prayers and teachings.
Religious Authority
• The Qur’an is written
in Arabic and the
Muslims consider the
Arabic version the only
true word of God.
– In part due to this, the
Qur’an helped spread
Arabic through lands
controlled by Muslims.
Religious Authority
• Muslims believe that Muhammad’s mission
as a prophet was to receive the Qur’an and
to demonstrate how to apply it in their life.
• This lead to the Sunna, or Muhammad’s
example. Muslims follow the Sunna as a
model for proper living.
Sunna and Shari’a
• A body of law soon followed– the shari’awhich regulates family life, moral conduct,
business, and community life of Muslims. It
doesn’t separate religious matters from
criminal or civil matters, but brings all
aspects of life together.
– Because the shari’a applies to all who follow
Muhammad, it brings a sense of unity to all
Muslims.
Relationship to other Abrahamic
Religions
Similar
• Allah is the same God
worshipped by Christians
and Jews.
• Heaven, Hell, and Final
judgment are shared
among the three
• Monotheistic
Differences
• Jesus is a prophet, but not
the son of God.
• Qur’an is the holy book,
not the Torah or Bible
• Muhammad is the final
prophet.
• Islam is far more
integrated in the personal
lives of it’s believers.
Muslim Empire
• After Muhammad’s death, the Muslim
empire would continue to grow rapidly.
• However, issues would rise as to who should
continue his legacy and even schisms within
the religion would cause conflict.
Mid-Lesson Review
1. What was life like in the Arabian peninsula
prior to Islam (consider the geography, the
amount of trade, and religiosity of the
people)?
2. Who is the prophet of Islam?
3. What was the Ka’aba? Why is it deemed
important?
4. In what ways did Muhammad and Islam unite
the Arabian peninsula? Explain your answer.
5. What are the Five Pillars of Islam?
6. How is Islam more integrated in the personal
lives Muslims than the belief systems of
Christianity or Judaism?
Break
• Take two minutes to breathe.
Muslim Empire
Muhammad
Abu-Bakr
• Muhammad had not
named a successor or
instructed his followers
how to choose one when
he died.
• Relying on an ancient
tribal custom, the
Muslim community
elected Abu-Bakr, a
friend of Muhammad
and a man respected for
his devotion to Islam.
• In 632 AD, Abu-Bakr
became the first caliph–
“successor” or “deputy”.
Muslim Empire
• Abu-Bakr and the next three elected
caliphs– Umar, Uthman, and Ali–used the
Qur’an and Muhammad’s actions as guides
of leadership. For this, they are known as
the “rightly guided” caliphs.
– Their rule is referred to as the caliphate.
Muslim Empire
• After Muhammad’s death, some Arabian tribes
abandoned Islam. Others refused to pay taxes
and a few individuals declared themselves
prophets.
• For two years, Abu-Bakr used military force to
reassert authority of Muhammad’s successors
in the Muslim community.
• At that time, his troops gained experience and
organized themselves into an effective mobile
army.
Muslim Empire
• By the time Abu-Bakr died in 634, the
Muslim state controlled all of Arabia.
• The Empire stretched 6,000 miles– from
the Atlantic Ocean to the Indus Riveralmost twice the size of the United States.
Muslim Empire
Anything in black is water.
Muslim Empire
• The four “rightly
guided” caliphs made
great progress in their
spread of Islam.
• Muslims of the day saw
the victories as Allah’s
support of Islam and
Muslims drew on this
energy and inspiration
to struggle and defend
Islam.
Muslim Empire
• Historians have identified several reasons why the
Muslims were so successful in such a short period of
time:
1.
Muslim militaries were well disciplined– they had
unusual tactics that made opposing forces unable to
stop them.
2. Byzantine and Persia were too weak at the time to
prevent the spread
3. The people of the conquered areas welcomed the
Muslims because the Byzantine and Persian empires
persecuted anyone who did not believe in the official
state religions– Christianity and Zoroastrianism,
respectively.
Muslim Empire
• Many conquered peoples accepted Islam.
They were attracted by the appeal of Islam
as well as the benefit of Muslims not having
to pay a personal tax.
– Those who did not choose to follow Islam did,
however, have to pay a tax– called the Jizya– as a
fee in exchange for being allowed to practice
one’s own faith.
Muslim Empire
• The Qur’an forbade forced conversion.
Muslims therefore allowed conquered
peoples to retain their own religion.
• As well, Christians and Jews received special
attention due to the closeness of their
beliefs to Islam and only had to pay a
personal tax for exception from military
duty had were subject to various restrictions
on their lives.
Muslims are allowed to invite people into
the religion, but they cannot force them.
Internal Conflicts
• Despite the gains on
the battlefield, the
Muslim community
did have difficulty
maintaining a unified
rule.
• In 656, Uthman– the
third caliph- was
murdered, causing a
civil war.
Internal Conflicts
• Ali, who was
Muhammad’s cousin
and son-in-law,
became successor to
Uthman.
• In 661, Ali was
assassinated– and with
him went the elective
system of choosing a
caliph.
Internal Conflicts
• A family known as the Umayyads (oo-maiyadz) came to power.
• The Umayyads also moved the Muslim capital
to Damascus, a distant city in the conquered
province of Syria, where the family was
centered.
• This location was far away from Mecca and,
while it did make controlling the territories
easier, it made Arab Muslims feel that it was
too far away from their lands.
Schism
• The Umayyads abandoned the simple life of
previous caliphs and surrounded
themselves with wealth and ceremony
similar to that of non-Muslim rulers.
Such wealth, exuberance, and leadership issues gave rise to a
fundamental division within the Muslim community.
Schism
• In the interest of peace, the majority of
Muslims accepted the Umayyad’s rule.
• A minority continue to resist, however and
around some of these groups, an alternate
view of the office of the caliph developed.
Schism
• The Shi’a believed the
caliph- the person who
is most responsible for
spreading
Muhammad’s
message- should be
related to
Muhammad.
• Their name meant the
“party” of Ali.
Schism
• Those who did not
outwardly resist the
Umayyads became
known as the Sunni.
• The Sunni believe the
first caliph was Abu
Bakr.
• Sunni means
“followers of
Muhammad’s
example”.
Schism
• Another group, the Sufi, reacted to the
luxurious life of the Umayyads by pursuing a
life of poverty and devotion to a spiritual path.
• They tried to achieve direct personal contact
with Allah through mystical means, such as
meditation.
• The Sufis played an important role in keeping
Muslim’s focused on the Qur’an and tradition.
Question
• What is the main difference between the
Shi’a and the Sunni?
The argument as to whether or not Ali was the first
caliph– because he was the relative of Muhammad–
or if Abu Bakr is the first caliph- because he was
chosen by Muhammad.
This schism in Islam continues to today with continued conflicts
between the Sunni’s (who make up the majority of Muslims) and the
Shi’a (who are the minority).
Abbasids
• Vigorous religious and political opposition
to the Umayyad caliphate led to it’s
downfall in 750 (although they continued to
have power in Spain).
• In it’s place, the Abbasids took control of
the empire.
• The Abbasids strength lay in the former
Persian lands, including present day Iraq,
Iran, and central Asia.
Abbasids
• To solidify power they
moved the capital of the
empire to the newly
formed city, Baghdad, in
southern Iraq, which
was along trading
routes.
• The Abbasid empire
lasted from 750-1258.
During that time, the
Abbasids increased their
authority by consulting
religious leaders.
Abbasids
• The Abbasids developed a
strong bureaucracy to
conduct the huge empire’s
affairs.
– A treasure kept track of the
money flow. A chancery
prepared letters and
documents. A special
department managed the
business of the army.
Diplomats from the empire
visited many other empires
in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
– To support the bureaucracy,
the Abbasids taxed land,
imports, exports, and nonMuslim’s wealth.
Ancient Baghdad
Abbasids
Abbasids
• However, they failed to
keep complete control
over the immense territory
and, therefore,
independent Muslim
states sprang up and local
leaders came to dominate
these smaller regions.
• Although politically
divided, the Abbasid
Empire and the smaller
powers remained unified
in other ways, such as by
religion, language, trade,
and their tied economies.
Trade
• The two major sea-trading zones–
Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean–
linked the Muslim Empire into a world of trade
by sea.
• The land network created by the Silk Roads
connected them with China, India, Europe,
and Africa.
• Muslim merchants needed only one language,
Arabic, and a single currency, the dinar, to
travel across the lands.
Trading Networks
Flow of Trade
• To encourage trade, Muslim money
changers set up banks in cities throughout
the empire, called sakks to merchants.
• A merchant with a sakk from a bank in
Baghdad could exchange it for cash at a
bank in any other major city in the empire.
– In Europe, the word “sakk” was pronounced
“check”– the practice of using checks dates back
to the Muslim Empire.
Muslim Achievement
• In part due to (1) the population of the
empire and (2) the mix of Christians, Jews,
and Muslims, the Muslim empire would
create a cosmopolitan atmosphere that
would attract the highly educated, much
like Alexandria before it.
Muslim Achievement
• Centers of Muslim learning, such as
Cordoba in Spain, boasted libraries,
mosques, and free schools.
• Thanks to the blending of cultures in the
Muslim Empire, the people of the empire
would fuel a period of immense
achievement in the arts and sciences that
would continue to effect the world for
thousands of years.
Review Objectives
• Identify important characteristics of Muslim society
including: religious ideas, scientific contributions, and
the spread of Islam
• Examine the geography of where the Islamic peoples
come from
• Evaluate the culture of Islamic peoples
• Identify important religious figures or areas including
Muhammad and Mecca
• Identify the influence on three continents by the spread
of Islam
• Discuss how Muhammad’s successors spread Islam
• Examine internal conflicts and how they create a schism
in Islam
Questions
• If you have any questions, please ask now.
Next lesson
• In the next lesson, we are going to discuss
Muslim lifestyle and achievements.
Review
Please read the handout “The Spread of
Islam” and answer the questions at the end.