Download Chapter 8 The Rise of Islam, 600-1200

Chapter 8
The Rise of Islam, 600-1200
I)Introduction
A. The distinction of the Sunni and Shi'ite sects of Islam.
1. Shi'ites followed Ali, Muhammad's brother-in-
law.
2. Sunni's followed the “tradition” of the
community.
II) The Origins of Islam
A.The Arabian Peninsula Before Muhammad
1. Most people in the peninsula were farmers and
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sailors.
The interior population were nomadic herders.
By 600 wheeled vehicles had almost
disappeared from the region.
Mecca, a caravan city between Yemen and
Syria, is considered one of the most religious
places in the area.
Mecca is a pilgramage site for Muslims because
of the shrine of Ka'ba. This shrine covers the
area where God asked Abraham to sacrifice his
son.
B. Muhammad in Mecca
1. Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570.
2. Muhammad is considered the last prohpet of
Islam.
3. His earliest revelations told people to beilieve
that one true god created the universe, and
that they would be judged at the end of time.
4. Submitting to God and accepting Muhammad as
his last messenger made one a Muslim.
5. God's earlier messangers included Noah, Moses,
and Jesus.
C. The Formation of the Umma
1. After persecution in Mecca, Muhammad and his
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follwers fled to Medina. This journey marks the
first hijra, and the beginning of the Muslim
calendar.
Umma—communiy defined by the acceptance
of Islam.
632—Muhammad's death.
Abu Bakr would be his Khalifa, or successor.
Five Pillars of Islam:
1. Avowal that there is only one god and
Muhammad is his messenger.
2. Prayer five times a day.
3. Fasting during the lunar month of
Ramadan
4. Paying alms
5. Making the pilgramage to Mecca at least
once during one's lifetime.
III) The Rise and Fall of the
Caliphate
A. The Islamic Conquests, 634-711
1. 2nd caliph, Umar, conquered areas outside of Arabia.
2. They conquered Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, and Sind (North India).
B. The Umayyad and Early Abbasid Caliphates, 661-850
1. Most of the army consisted of Muslim Arabs.
2. Umayyad dynasty fell in 750.
3. The Abbasid Caliphate continued until Mongol
invasion in 1258.
4. The early Abassid period was called a golden
age because of the learning and spread of
ideas.
C. Political Fragmentation, 850-1050
1. The size of the empire caused political
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fragmentation
Turkic slaves, called mamluks, were purchsed
and used in the army.
In time, these Turks took over Anatolia.
Ghana also came to power in this time.
Ulama—Muslim religious scholars. These were
the social core of Muslim societies in many
Islamic areas.
IV) Islmanic Civilization
A. Law and Dogma
1. Shari'a—law of Islam. This sets the foudnation of Islamic
societies.
2. Because the Quran left no political gudance,
Islam slowly developed laws in each area.
3. Hadith—a tradition relating the words or deeds
of the Prophet.
4. These hadith were so numerous that it began
to be difficult to tell the genuine from the
invented reports.
5. Scholars spent their lives collecting and
analyazing the hadiths.
B. Converts and Cities
1. To become a Muslim, all that was required was
the statement of “There is no God but God,
and Muhammad is the Messenger of God,” in
front of a Muslim.
2. In most outlying areas, conversion also
involved moving to a Muslim dominated area.
3. These migrations led to urbanization and the
building of trade routes and cities.
4. Duiring this time, growth of different crops
flourished, as did new medical research and
practices.
C. Islam, Women, and Slaves
1. Urban women could not leave their homes
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unveiled. This was not stated in the Quran,
instead, it was adopted from Byzantine and
Sasanid tradition.
Only slave women could perform in front of
unrelated men.
Men could have up to four wives, as long as he
treated them equally.
Based on the Quran, Islamic women had more
freedoms then Christian or Jewish women.
They could inherit property and retian it in
marriage, could remarry, and receive cash
payment on divorce. They could testify in
court, and they could go on pilgramage.
Restrictions were placed upn Muslim women
for fear of sexual infidelity and meddling in
politics.
D. The Recentering of Islam
1. Due to the rapid spread of Islam and different
interpretations of the Quran, the caliphates
lost pwer.
2. Madrasa—religious type of college run by
scholors from abroad.
3. Sufi Brotherhoods developed from converts to
Islam that had mystic background religions.
V) Conclusion
A. Summary
1. The power of the caliphates was due to the religious unity of the areas
they ruled.
2.The lack in governing guidelines left in the Quran caused the development
of madrasas and groups like the Sufi Bortherhoods.
B. KeyTerms
1. Shi'ites
2. Sunnis
3. Mecca
4. Muhammad
5. Muslim
6. Islam
7. Medina
8. Umma
9. Caliphate
10. Quran
11. Umayyad Caliphate
12. Abbasid Caliphate
13. Mumluks
14. Ghana
15. Ulama
16. Hadith