The Muslim WorldThe Rise of Islam

Introduction• ‘’The cultures of the Arabian Peninsula

were in constant contact with one another for centuries. Southwest Asia (aka: The Middle East) was a bridge between Africa, Asia, and Europe, where goods were traded and new ideas were shared. One set of ideas would become a powerful force for change in the world…the religion of Islam’’. • – World History, Patterns of Interaction, Chapter

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Deserts, Towns, and Trade Routes

• Three continents cross at the Arabian Peninsula-Africa, Europe, and Asia.

• The geography of the peninsula is • 1, 200 miles from North to South and• 1, 300 miles from East to West.• Only a small area of land is actually fertile and suitable for

agriculture. That land is located in south Arabia and Oman. • The remaining land is desert, which was once inhabited by

nomadic Arabs herders.

The Bedouins

• Arab nomads, called Bedouins, were organized into clans. These clans were made up of different groups and tribes.• The clans provided security and support for a

difficult life in the desert. It were the ideals valued most by the Bedouins during this time-courage, loyalty to family, and warrior skills-which would later become a part of the Islamic way of life.

Photo from an old postcard entitled, ‘’Bedouins in the Desert’’.

Crossroads of Trade and Ideas• By the early 600s, many Arabs chose to settle in an oasis or

a market town. Larger towns near the western coast of Arabia became market towns for local, regional, and long-distance trade goods.

• It was also at this time that trade routes were connecting Arabia to existing ocean and trade routes. These routes ran through Arabia from the extreme south of the peninsula to the Byzantine and Sassanid (Persian) empires to the north.

• Merchants moved along these routes in caravans, trading for goods from the Silk Roads of the east.

• Example of trade goods: Spices and incense were transported from Yemen.

Mecca• During holy months, caravans stopped in Mecca, a city in

western Arabia. They brought religion pilgrims who came to worship at an ancient shrine called the Ka’aba. Arabs also associated this house with Abraham, a Hebrew prophet who believed in one God.• It was this idea of a belief in one God, who was called

Allah in Arabic, that was known in the Arabian Peninsula. Many Christians and Jews already lived in the area and practiced monotheism. It was in this mixed environment of religions that in 570 A.D., Muhammed was born.

Map of the Arabian Peninsula

The Prophet Muhammed• Muhammed was born into the clan of a powerful

Meccan family.• He was orphaned at the age of 6 and raised by his

grandfather and uncle. He received little schooling and began working in the caravan trade as a very young man. By the age of 25, Muhammed was a trader and business manager for a wealthy businesswoman named Khadijah, you was 15 years his senior.• They later married, and had both a good marriage

as well as a good business partnership.

Khadijah

RevelationsAlthough Muhammed was a great businessman, he also took an equal interest in religion and often spent much time alone in prayer and meditation. When he was 40, his life was changed when he was meditating in a cave in Mecca. A voice called out to him, and, according to Muslim belief, it was the voice of the angel Gabriel. He told Muhammed that he was a messenger of Allah. Muhammed came to believe that it was the Lord who was speaking to him through Gabriel and was convinced that he was the last prophet.

Islam is born• Muhammed began to teach to teach that Allah was the

one and only God and that all other Gods must be abandoned. People who agreed to this principle became known as Muslims. • In Arabic, Islam means,‘’submission to the will of

Allah’’.• Muslim means, ‘’one who has submitted’’.

• The first followers of Muhammed were his close friends, family, and wife, Khadijah.

The Hiraj• Muhammed decided to relocate 200 miles

north to Yathrib (later remaned Medina) after some of his followers were attacked in

Mecca in 622. • This migration became known as the Hiraj. This Hiraj was

a turning point for Muhammed, as he went on to attract many devout followers.

• In Medina, Muhammed impressed followers with his leadership abilities. This is illustrated by an agreement he made in which his own people, Arabs, and Jews of Medina could be joined as a single community. These groups accepted him as a political leader. He also became a more influential religious leader, as more and more converts found his message appealing. Lastly, he became a military leader in the growing hostilities between Medina and Mecca.

Returning to Mecca• It was in 630 that the Prophet Muhammed and 10, 000 of his

followers marched to the outskirts of Mecca.

• The Prophet entered the city triumphantly, as Mecca’s leaders were outnumbered and faced certain defeat.

• He destroyed the idols in the Ka’aba and had the call to prayer from the roof.

• Most Meccans converted to Islam and swore allegiance to Muhammed. By doing so, they joined the umma, or Muslim religious community.

• Although he died two years later at the age of 62, Muhammed was able to unite the Arabian Peninsula under Islam.

Beliefs and Practices of Islam•The Five Pillars of Islam•To be a Muslim, all believes must carry out five duties, which are known as the Five Pillars of Islam.

Faith• To become a Muslim, a person must testify

to the following statement of faith: • ‘’There is no God but Allah, and

Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah’’.• This simple statement is heard again and again in Islamic rituals and in Muslim daily life.

Prayer• Muslims must pray 5 times a day and face toward Mecca

when doing so. They assemble at a mosque, an Islamic house of worship.

Alms

• Muhammed taught that all Muslims have a responsibility to support the less fortunate. Muslims meet that social responsibility by giving alms, or money to the poor, through a religious tax.

Fasting• During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Muslims fast

between dawn and sunset. A simple meal is eaten at the end of the day. Fasting serves to remind Muslims that their spiritual needs are greater than their physical needs.

Pilgrimage

• All Muslims who are physically and financially able to perform the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, should do so at least once in their lifetime. Pilgrims wear identical garments so they all stand as equals before Allah.

Sources of Authority• The original source of authority for Muslims is Allah.• According to Islamic belief, Allah expressed his will through the

angel, Gabriel, who revealed it to Muhammed.• After the Prophet’s death, the revelations he received were

collected into a book called the Qur’an-the holy book of the Muslims. It is written in Arabic. Only the Arabic version can be used in worship.

• Wherever Muslims carried the Qur’an, Arabic became the language of worshippers and scholars. The Arabic language helped to unite conquered peoples as Muslim control expanded.

Links to Judaism and Christianity

• To Muslims, Allah is the same God that is worshiped in Christianity and Judaism.

• Jesus, however, is seen as a prophet, not as the Son of God.

• Muslims regard the Qur’an as the word of Allah as revealed to Muhammed, in the same way Jews and Christians believe the Torah and the Gospels were revealed to Moses and New Testament writers.

• All three religions believe in heaven and hell and a day of judgement.

• All three religions trace their ancestry to Abraham.

‘’People of the Book’’

• Muslims refer to Jews and Christians as the ‘’People of

the Book’’ because each religion has a holy book with

teachings similar to the Qur’an.

Sunna and Shari’a

• Sunna is Muhammed’s example, and is the best model for proper living.

• An example of this, in addition to following the Five Pillars, is to omit pork and intoxicating beverages (alcohol) from the diet.

• Shari’a refers to a body of law which is assembled from the guidance of the Qur’an and Sunna.

• This system of law regulates the family life, moral conduct, and business and community life of Muslims.

Islam Expands

•When Muhammed died in 632, the community faced a crisis. Muslims believed they had a duty to carry Allah’s message to the world. However, they lacked a clear way to choose a new leader. The issue of leadership would eventually divide the Muslim world.

‘’Highly Guided’’ Caliphs

• Muhammed did not name a successor, nor did he instruct his followers on how to choose one…

• The first caliph-a successor or deputy-was elected from an ancient tribal custom by the Muslim community in 632.

• His name was Abu-Bakr. He and the next 3 elected caliphs-Umar, Uthman, and Ali-had all known Muhammed. They used the Qur’an and Muhammed’s actions as guides to leadership. It is for these reasons that they are known as the ‘’highly guided caliphs’’.

Jihad=‘’Striving’’• Shortly after the Prophet’s death, many tribes on the

Arabian Peninsula abandoned Islam, while other’s refused to pay taxes. Some even declared themselves to be prophets!• For the sake of Islam, Abu-Bakr invoked a jihad-meaning

‘’striving’’ or ‘’inner struggle against evil’’. However, the word is also used in the Qu’ran to mean an armed struggle against non-believers.• For the next 2 years, Abu-Bakr applied this meaning of jihad

to encourage and justify the expansion of Islam.

Reasons for Success• The 4 ‘’rightly guided’’ caliphs made great

progress in their quest to spread Islam. Before he died, Muhammed expressed a desire to spread the faith to people in the north. Muslims of the day saw their victories as sign of Allah’s support and drew energy and inspiration from their faith. They fought to defend Islam and were willing to struggle to extend its word.• While the Muslim armies were well-disciplined

and commanded, their success was also due in part to the weaknesses of the 2 empires north of Arabia-the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid. Both of them had been in conflict for a long time and were militarily exhausted.

Treatment of Conquered Peoples

• The Qur’an forbade forced conversion, so Muslims allowed conquered people to practice their own religion.

• Christians and Jews-the ‘’people of the book’’-received special consideration. They paid a poll tax yearly in exchange for military exemption.

• They did, however, have various restrictions on their daily lives, such as not being allowed to spread their own religions.

• They could be officials, scholars, and bureaucrats.

The Umayyads• A family known as the Umayyads came to power after a series of elected

caliphs were assassinated. One these was a Ali, Muhammed’s cousin and son-in-law, who was a naturual; choice to succeed Uthman.

• They (the Umayyads) moved the Muslim capital away from Mecca and to Damascus, which made controlling conquered territories easier.

• The Arab Muslims felt it was too far away from their lands. In addition, the Umayyads abandoned the simple life of previous caliphs and instead adopted a more luxurious lifestyle, similar to that of non-Muslim rulers.

• These actions, along with the leadership issue, gave rise to a division in the Muslim community.

Basic Differences Between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims

Sunni• Believe that the first 4 caliphs

were ‘’rightly guided’’• Believe that Muslim rulers

should follow the Sunna, or Muhammed’s example

• Claim that the Shi’a have distorted the meaning of various passages in the Qur’an

Shi’a• Believe that Ali, the Prophet’s son-

in-law, should have succeeded Muhammed

• Believe that all Muslim rulers should be descended from Muhammed; do not recognize the authority of the Sunna

• Claim that the Sunni have distorted the meaning of various passages of the Qur’an

Ibn Sina-aka: Avicenna

Avicenna was born in 980, near Bukhara, Iran (now in Uzbekistan) and died 1037 in Hamadan, Iran. He was a Muslim physician, the most famous and influential of the philosopher-scientists of the medieval Islamic world. He was particularly noted for his contributions in the fields of Aristotelian philosophy and medicine. He composed the Book of the Cure, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and The Canon of Medicine, which is among the most famous books in the history of medicine.

The Greatest Traveler who ever lived?** Ibn Battuta **

• Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 in Morocco. ‘’He set out to complete Islam's traditional pilgrimage to Mecca, and ultimately spent the better part of his life wandering. In nearly 30 years on the road, Ibn Battuta traversed North Africa, Egypt, and the Swahili coast; reached Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula, passing through Palestine and Greater Syria en route; swung through Anatolia and Persia to Afghanistan; crossed the Himalayas to India, then Sri Lanka and the Maldives; and reached the eastern coast of China before turning around and zigzagging all the way back to Morocco. Then he figured, why not add on a few more years criss-crossing the Sahara?’

Even before the term existed, Ibn Battuta lived as a true "Renaissance man." A trained qadi, or judge, Ibn Battuta was also proficient in geography, botany, and Islamic theology, and possessed a social scientist's shrewd capacities of observation. But the primary reason Ibn Battuta lives on today is his writing’’. -www.ibnibnbattuta.com