Download Islamic Culture

Rise of Islam
The Middle East
Themes in Islamic History
• Islam as Religion
• Islam as State &
Empire
• Islam as Civilization
Arabia
Arabia in 600 AD
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Populated by various Arabic-speaking people
– Bedouin - pastoral nomads organized in
tribes
– Agriculturalists, living either in oases in the
north, or in the more fertile and thickly
settled areas to the south
– Intense tribal loyalties & warfare
• Arab culture revered oral story telling
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Majority of Arabs followed polytheistic religions &
worshipped idols
– Few tribes followed Judaism, Christianity or
Zoroastrianism
City of Mecca was a religious & trade center
– Rich mixtures of culture
– Ka'aba - small temple reportedly founded by
Abraham
– Pilgrimage to site
– Much social injustice & economic disparity
Muhammad (570 – 632)
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Born at Mecca into the powerful Quraysh tribe
Orphaned at an early age & raised by uncle
Illiterate but very articulate & well liked
Became a successful merchant – traveled north
Married older wealthy widow at 25 - Khadijah
Saw a crisis in Arab society
610 AD….the divine call
– Visited while meditating in cave by the Archangel
Gabriel who commanded him to recite verses sent
by God
– Revelations continued for the next 22 years
– Revelations collected in the Quran
– Revelations directly related to the needs of the
Arab people
– First memorized the verses & passed them to his
wife & close relatives
– Small band of followers would memorize the
recitations
First converts – wife, cousin Ali, kinsman Abu Bakr
Starts preaching in 612
New recruits mainly from slaves and lower classes
Nocturnal journey to Jerusalem
Muhammad
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612-622 AD - in Mecca preaching and gaining followers
– Seen as a trouble maker for attacking the established
religion of Arabia
– Attempts to assasinate him
AD 622… the Hegira to city of Medina
– Request to resolve dispute between rival tribes
– With followers fled to neighboring city of Medina
– Year 622 as the start of the Muslim calendar
622-630 AD---in Medina
– Becomes leader of city
– Islam becomes state religion
– Develops concept of Umma - community
– Mecca and Medina went to war
– Unites the surrounding tribes behind him through
conquest and conversion
– Conflicts & suppression of Jews in Medina
630 – Mecca captured without fight
– Cleansed the Kaaba of idols
632 – first Hajj or pilgrimage
By his death in 632, Muhammad had managed to unite the
entire Arabian peninsula
Legacy of Muhammad
• Believed Arabs should have a scripture like the
Jews & Christians – “People of the Book”
– Developed all incompensing religion
• Developed concept of Ummah – Community of
Allah
– First attempt to create a social organization out of faith
instead of tribal relationships
• Vision of social justice for the Arabs
– Weak & vulnerable should be protected & treated with
respect
• Performed the functions of prophet, lawgiver,
religious leader, chief judge, commander of the
army and civil head of state
• Inspiration as role model for living divinely inspired
life
– By imitating details of his external life Muslims hoped to
acquire his interior attitude of perfect surrender to God
– Reproduce how he ate, washed, loved, prayed, spoke, etc.
Religion of Muhammad
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Islam is the religion of submission or surrender to
Allah
– Simple and uncompromising faith in oneness of God
Muhammad did not believe he was preaching a new
religion
– Did not wholly reject Judaism and Christianity
– Sent by God in order to complete and perfect those
teachings
– Accepted Abraham, Moses and Jesus as prophets
– Muhammad is the messenger of God
– Last in a long line of prophets
Chosen by God to preach repentance and submission to
God
Judgment Day – Allah rewards the faithful with a
paradise filled with eternal pleasure
– Warns of the inevitable apocalypse & end of the
world
– Humanity will be forced to atone for sins
– Images of heaven (oasis) & hell (desert)
Belief in Predestination
– Whatever happens, good and evil, proceeds from
divine will
Quran - Koran
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Means “Recitation”
– Recitation – Communicating directly with God
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Provides a guide for living as a Muslim
Textbook from which practically every Muslim
learns to read Arabic
Revelations from God delivered through the
angel Gabriel to Mohammed over 22 years
Revelations came from a heavenly book
containing God’s wisdom
– Mother of the Book
Final uncorrupted revelation of God
Many parallels between Koran & Old
Testament
Contains 114 suras – verses
– Arranged by the length of sura
Contents: Theological dogma, ceremonial
regulations, laws related to social, civil and
criminal behavior
Themes – Oneness of Allah, his attributes,
the ethical duties of man, and coming
retribution
Quran must remain in Arabic
– Translations not authentic
Writing of the Quran
None of Quran was written during Muhammad’s life
– Still an oral scripture
• Words of the Prophet at first memorized & written on
parchment or clay by followers
Zayd ibn Thabit – one of Muhammed’s secretaries
• Began gathering the verses of the Quran soon after
his death
• Interviewed closest associates
• Sorted into a type of order
Uthman (644-656) Third Caliph – created an official and
final version
• Committee charged with compiling Quran in 651
• Wanted to avoid controversy
• Collect and authenticate verses
Strict criteria for authenticity
• 2 eyewitnesses had to testify that each verses had
been recorded in the presence of Muhammad
• Then verified with companions of Muhammad
• Approved verses amassed into single text
• Uthman then ordered all other texts destroyed
• Quran not altered since
Religion of Islam
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Islam is open to all who accept its tenets
Prohibition against idolatry or graven images
Islam has no organized hierarchy
– No religious authority, clerical elite or priesthood to act as intermediary
– Mullahs (teachers) occupy positions of authority because of their
knowledge of the Quran
Sunna or Hadith - written collection of Arab oral traditions concerning life of
Muhammad
– Address issues not specifically covered in the Quran
Sharia – Islamic Law
– Three sources – Quran, Sunna and Ijtihad – analytic reasoning to cover
locally raised issues
Quran prohibits alcohol and gambling
Jihad – Call for Holy War against infidels
– Goal to assume political power in order to implement Islamic principles
– Purpose not territorial expansion or forced conversion
– Allah called for holy war to defend the faith
– To die in a jihad brought salvation and entry into paradise
Quran insists that there be no coercion in matters of faith
The Five Pillars of Faith
1. Profession of Faith - Shahadah
“There is no God but Allah (God), and
Muhammad is His Prophet.”
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First and last words heard
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Most repeated words by Muslims
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Person a Muslim once profession is
repeated
2. Prayer – Salat
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13 essentials must be observed
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Direction toward Mecca
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5 times a day – Call of Muezzin
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Dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset
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nightfall
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Create sense of solidarity and social
equality
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Body posture essential
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Must use Arabic
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Friday noon prayer is only mandatory public
prayer for all adult males
3. Charity – Zakat – purification
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Evolved out of compassion for the poor
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2.5 % of wealth expected
The Five Pillars of Faith
4. Fasting - Sawm
• Ramadan – based on lunar
calendar – different each year
• Daylight hours during month of
Ramadan
• Abstain from sexual intercourse
5. Pilgrimage to Kaaba in Mecca
– Hajj
• All those who can afford and
physically fit
• Ideal of equality & unity among
believers
• Unites cultures and ideas
Women in Islam
• Under Arabian pre-Islamic law of status,
women had virtually no rights
– No limitations were set on men's rights to
marry or to obtain a divorce.
• Islamic law provided women with new legal
rights
– Reforms affected marriage, divorce, and
inheritance
• Islamic law restricted the polygamy
– Maximum of four wives
– Women could obtain a divorce
– Women could inherit and keep their own
property
• Marriage was no longer viewed as a "status"
but rather as a "contract"
• Women are separated from the company of
men
• Law doesn't require women to wear veils
Islam After Muhammad
• At death Muhammad in 632 he left no
son to succeed him
• Daughter Fatima
• Split between Shiites and Sunnis
– Great arqument over succession
• Shiites – Only descendants of Fatima
or her husband Ali should succeed
Mohammed
– Death of Husain (son of Ali) most
celebrated event in Shiite calendar
• Sunnis – any follower of Islam should
be eligible to lead
– Division political & religious
– Never settled to this day
• Series of Caliphs governed the
Islamic State
Struggle for Succession
Number of conflicting parties sought to succeed Muhammad
• Companions – belonged to Muhammad’s tribe or had
accepted mission early
• Legitimists – heir must belong to family of Muhammad
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Aristocracy of Quraysh – Umayyads
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Ali paternal cousin, husband of daughter Fatima & one of first
believers
Held reigns of power & wealth in pre-Islamic days
Companions triumphed with selection of abu-Bakr
Rashidun - Four “righteous” caliphs (632-661 AD)
– All were close associates and relatives of Muhammad
• Abu Bakr (632-634) Father-in-law of Muhammad and one of
first believers
• Umar (634-644) main military genius who carried Islam forward
from the Arabian peninsula
• Uthman (644-656) - empire fell into a civil war called the Fitna
– In 656 Uthman is assassinated by followers of Ali
• Ali (656-661) Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin
– Many refused to accept Ali as a leader
– Killed by assassin
Umayyad dynasty claims the caliphate – Damascus capital
Abbasid dynasty – 754 – seizes caliphate
– al Mansur (754-775) builds new capital at Baghdad
Conquest & Expansion
Expansion of Islamic empire against Byzantine &
Sassanid (Persian) empires
Abu-Bakr –Orders jihad (holy struggle) against the "infidel"
Christian or Byzantine Empire north of Arabia
• Damascus becomes capital
Umar
• 637 – Defeated great Persian Sassanid army
• 639 – Conquers Alexandria – base of Byzantine navy
• 643 – Arabs to border of India
Tariq ibn Zaid crossed from North Africa (Morocco) into
Spain in 711
Expansion stopped in France in 732 – Charles Martel
Military victories
• Booty not fanaticism
• No longer making war with other Arabs
• Use of cavalry and camels
• Remarkable mobility
• High morale from religious enthusiasm
Conquered peoples more open to Islam
• Heavy burden of taxation
• Persecution of faiths
• Alien cultures
The Spread of Islam
Medieval Baghdad
Medieval Baghdad
762 - Abbasid dynasty moved the capital of Islamic
empire to the newly-founded city of Baghdad
• Caliph Al-Mansur founded
• Banks of the Tigris River
• Known as the “Round City”
• Foreign influences – Persian, Syrian & Hellenistic
Baghdad capital of "Golden Age" of Islamic
civilization
• Magnificent architectural achievement
• Muslim scholars - important contributions in the
sciences, humanities, medicine, mathematics,
astronomy, chemistry, and literature
• Became city of museums, hospitals, libraries
• World's richest & most intellectual city of the time
• Believed to be largest city in the world from 775 to
935 - possibly over 1,000,000
Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongols in 1258
• Ended era of the Abbasids
Medieval Baghdad
Bayt al-Hikmah (the House of Wisdom)
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World famous center of learning
Attracted scholars from all over the world
Library, academy and translation bureau
Translate Greek works of Aristotle, Plato,
Galen, Hippocrates, Euclid, and Pythagoras
• Translate Persian, Sanskrit, Syriac into Arabic
• Al-Khawarizmi, the "father" of algebra
Merchants played a major role in the city
• From Persia, China, India, Africa & Europe
• Sinbad the Sailor recounts actual voyages
made by Muslim merchants
Caliphal palace known as the Golden Gate or
the Green Dome
• Dome of audience chamber rose to 130 feet
Harun al-Rashid
Abbasid caliph (r.786-809)
Baghdad a city of immense wealth and
international significance under al-Rashid
• Tribute paid by many rulers to the caliph
• Used on architecture, arts & luxurious life at
court
Great patron of arts & sciences
• Encouragement of learning, art, poetry, music
• A scholar and poet himself
• Invited many scholars to the kingdom
• Founded first Muslim hospital
Built Green Dome palace in Baghdad
Fabulous court inspired the book One Thousand
and One Nights
• Displays of extravagant wealth
• Entertainers flocked to his court: poets, wits,
musicians, singers, and dancers
Diplomatic relations with Charlemagne
Islamic Spain
• Influence on Medieval European
civilization
• Ummayyad Caliph
• In Spain from 711 to 1492
Cordoba
• Center of culture that rivaled
Baghdad
• Libraries, palaces, street
lights, running water
• Cultural center of Medieval
Europe
• Mosque – early vaulting like
later Gothic cathedrals
Creation of Islamic Civilization
• Islamic civilization developed slowly
– Centuries before majority of people in Syria,
Mesopotamia, and Persia accepted Islam
– People generally converted from self interest
– Escape taxes & seek identification with ruling
class
• Combination of cultural influences
• Arabs assimilated, adapted & reproduced the
intellectual & cultural heritage of those they
conquered
• Arabs adopted best art, architecture, philosophy,
medicine, science, literature, and government
mainly from Hellenized Aramaic & Persian
civilizations
• Arab contribution was mainly in language and
religion
• Final culmination of Semitic civilization which
started in the Fertile Crescent developed by
Assyro-Babylonians, Phoenicians, Aramaeans
and Hebrews
Islamic Unity
• Arabic became language of business,
government & literature
• Uniform enforcement of law contributed to growth
of united culture
• Vast trade network extended from India to the
Mediterranean
Rich Cultural Achievements
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Many Islamic centers of culture and science
– Baghdad
– Cairo
– Damascus
– Cordoba
– Alexandria
Scholarship
– Produced notable scientists, astronomers,
mathematicians, doctors and philosophers
– Importance of reading the Qur'an produced
a comparatively high level of literacy in the
general populace
Heirs to Hellenistic Learning
– Maintained Classical learning
– Translation of Greek texts - Aristotle
Medicine
Architecture
– Mosques, Palaces & Minarets
Art
– Geometric patterns, calligraphy, metal
work
Science & Medicine
Muslim scientists
• Saw no contradiction between religion and
laws governing natural world
• Scientific method born
• Utilized Classical Greek medical texts
• Alchemy – beginnings of chemistry
Muslim medicine
• Advanced techniques & ideas
• Theory that disease born through air
born organisms
• Study of anatomy
• Vascular & cancer surgery
• Study of light, lenses & physiology of
eye – led to camera
• Use of anesthetics
• Pharmacies
• Hospitals – separate disease in
different wards
Pioneers of Medicine
Razi (865 – 925) – Rhazes in the West
• Authored more than 100 books on
medicine
• First to diagnose and treat smallpox
Ibn Sina (980 – 1037) – Known as Avicenna
• Contributions in philosophy, music,
mathematics, geography & literature
• Utilized experimentation & observation
• wrote Canon of Medicine –
encyclopedia of medicine
• Study of infectious disease
• Main medical text for 6 centuries
• Printed extensively throughout the West
Mathematics
• Introduced “Arabic” numerals – originally
from India
• Replaced Roman numerals
• Included the zero – made for complex
calculations
• Perfected use of decimals and fractions
• Invented Algebra
One Thousand and One Nights
Classic of world literature
Stories were created over many centuries,
by many people and in many styles
Originally Arabian, Persian, & Indian folk
tales
• Collected during time of al-Rashid
Best known stories:
• Ali Baba, Sinbad the Sailor, and Aladdin
• al-Rashid’s court frequent setting
Frame story:
• Efforts of Scheherezade to keep her
husband, King Shahryar from killing her
by entertaining him with a tale a night for
1,001 nights
• Always a cliff hanger
British translator – Richard Burton
Architecture