Download The Expansive Realm of Islam Muhammad and His Message

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Arabian peninsula- desert
 Nomadic Bedouin people- clans
 Import region trade between China and India, Persia and
Byzantium
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Muhammad’s Early Life
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Born to merchant family in Mecca, 570 CE
Orphaned at age 6, cared for by grandfather and uncle
Married wealthy widow, 595 CE
Become merchant
▪ Traveled
▪ Exposed to variety of religious and cultural traditions
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Spiritual Transformation
 Age forty
 One true god, Allah, rules the universe
▪ Reward good, punish evil
 Gabriel delivers revelations
▪ Instructs Muhammad to explain views to others
▪ Small following in Mecca by 620 CE
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The Quran
 Holy book of Islam- Compilation of Muhammad’s
revelations, teachings, etc.
 Hadith- sayings and deeds of Muhammad
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Teachings offended ruling elites in Mecca
(monotheism vs. polytheism)
Attacks on greed offended wealthy
merchants
Attacks on idolatry threatened profits from
shrines
 Ka’Ba
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Persecution of Muhammad and followers
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Hijra- move of Muhammad and followers to
Medina, 622 CE
 Starting point of Islamic calendar
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Umma- community of Muslims in Medina
(“Community of the faithful”)
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Followed legal and social code
Daily prayers
Battle with enemies
Raids on caravans from Mecca
Relief for widows, orphans, poor
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Last prophet of Allah
Acknowledges Hebrew scriptures and New
Testament
 Abraham
 Moses
 Jesus
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Spread Allah’s message to the world
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Muhammad conquers Mecca, 630 CE
Establishes government dedicated to Allah
Destroyed shrines, built mosques
 Preserved Ka’ba as symbol of Mecca’s greatness
▪ Muhammad leads first pilgrimage to Ka’ba, 632 CE- Hajj as
example for devout Muslims to follow
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Campaign against towns and Bedouin clans
Brought most of Arabia under control by
Muhammad’s death in 632 CE
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Five Pillars of Islam
 Shahadah- declaring no other god but Allah, and
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Muhammad as his prophet
Salat- daily prayer five times a day while facing
Mecca
Zakat- alms giving to help the weak and poor
Sawm- fasting during the month of Ramadan
Hajj- pilgrimage to Mecca
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Jihad- “Struggle”
 Fight against vice and evil
 Struggle against ignorance and unbelief by spreading
the word
 Waging war against unbelievers who threaten Islam
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Sharia- Islamic holy law
 Proper behavior in almost every aspect of life
▪ Marriage, inheritance, slavery, business, government, etc.
 Propels Islam beyond a religion into a way of life
 Dar al-Islam- lands where Muslim government rules
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Caliphs- “deputy” or successors of
Muhammad
 Abu Bakr- head of state, chief judge, religious
leader, military commander
▪ Leads campaign against towns and Bedouin clans who
renounced Islam after Muhammad’s death
▪ Rapid expansion of Islam
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The Shia
 Disagreements over succession
 Minority sect (Sunnis majority- traditionalists)
 Support Ali (fourth Caliph)- assassinated, family
killed
▪ Replaced by Sunnis candidate
 Struggle to restore Ali’s line
 Ali as infallible
 Continuous conflict between Shia’s and Sunnis
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Solves problem of succession- brings stability to
Islamic community
Established capital city at Damascus in Syria
Rule dar al-Islam in favor of Arabian military
aristocracy
 Appoint elites to positions of power
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Levied jizya- tax on those who did not convert to
Islam
Non-Arab converts discriminated against
 Deep resentment against Umayyad rule
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Decline
 Casual towards Islamist doctrine
 Devoted themselves to luxury instead of leading
the umma
 Resistance by the Shia
 Discontent of conquered peoples
 Disillusionment of Muslim Arab military leaders
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Abu al-Abbas- descendant of Muhammad’s
uncle
 Allied with Shias and non-Arab Muslims
 Won battle against Umayyad in 750
 Did not favor Arab military elite
 Did not conquer- Islam and empire spread
through trade and interactions of affected
peoples
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Administration
 Relied on Persian techniques of centralization and
inheritance
▪ Regional governors
▪ Set policies
▪ Established capital cities
 Capital city at Baghdad
 Ulama (“People with religious knowledge”) and
quadis (judges) rule locally
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Harun al-Rashid (786-809)
 High point of Abbasid dynasty
 Wealth
 Strong
 Baghdad became center of banking, commerce,
crafts, and industry
 Booming population
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Decline
 Struggle for succession among Harun’s sons- civil
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war
Governors build own power
Uprisings and peasant rebellions
Persian nobles seize Baghdad in 945
Saljuq Turks control imperial family
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Spread of new foods and industrial crops
 Increase varieties and quantities
 Basis for textile industry (cotton)
 Travel and communication facilitate experiments
and further development
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Urban growth
 Increased agricultural production = increased
population-> rapid growth of cities
 Paper manufacturing
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Overland trade
 Revived silk roads
 Umayyad and Abbasid rulers maintained roads
 Camels and caravans
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Maritime Trade
 Arab and Persian mariners use Chinese compass,
Asian/Indian lateen sail, Hellenistic astrolab
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Banks
 Large scale and services
 Credit
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Merchants combine resources for group
investments
Trade as far as Russia, Scandinavia, and West
Africa
Al-Andalus
 Islamic Spain
 Conquered by Muslim Berbers
 Capital city of Cordoba
 Produced quality products to trade
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Male dominance
 Control of women’s social and sexual lives
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Men respect women
Men take up to four wives- women only one
husband #patriarchyagain
Adopt veiling from Mesopotamia and Persia
 Sign of modesty
 Discourage attention of men
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Quran and sharia as main sources for moral
guidelines
 Ulama, qadis, and missionaries promote Islamic
values
 Education
▪ Mosques
▪ Elementary and religious instruction
▪ Madrasas- high education institutions
▪ Islamic theology and law
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Islamic mystics
 Most effective missionaries
 Encouraged devotion to Allah through singing and
dancing
 Worked to increase spiritual awareness instead of
focusing on religious doctrine
 Al-Ghazali (1058-1111)
▪ Human reason too frail to truly understand Allah and the
nature of the world
▪ Appreciation comes from devotion and guidance of the Quran
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Persian Influences
 Literary works
 Administrative techniques (Sasanids)
 Kingship- wise, benevolent, absolute
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Indian Influences
 Hindi numerals= Arabic numerals
 Algebra and trigonometry
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Greek Influences
 Philosophy- Aristotle and Plato
 Ibn Rushd (1126-1198)- AKA Averroes
▪ Sought rational understanding of the world