Rise of Islam

1
Rise of Islam
2
The Middle East
3
Themes in Islamic History

• Islam as Religion
• Islam as State Empire
• Islam as Civilization

4
Arabia
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Arabia in 600 AD

• 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
• 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

6
Muhammad (570 632)

• 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

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Muhammad

• 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

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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.

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Religion of Muhammad

• 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

10
Quran - Koran

• Means Recitation
• Recitation Communicating directly with God
• 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
  Gods 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

11
Writing of the Quran

• None of Quran was written during Muhammads life
• Still an oral scripture
• Words of the Prophet at first memorized written
  on parchment or clay by followers
• Zayd ibn Thabit one of Muhammeds 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

12
Religion of Islam

• 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

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The Five Pillars of Faith

• 1. Profession of Faith - Shahadah
• There is no God but Allah (God), and
• Muhammad is His Prophet.
• First and last words heard
• Most repeated words by Muslims
• Person a Muslim once profession is repeated
• 2. Prayer Salat
• 13 essentials must be observed
• Direction toward Mecca
• 5 times a day Call of Muezzin
• Dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset
  nightfall
• Create sense of solidarity and social equality
• Body posture essential
• Must use Arabic
• Friday noon prayer is only mandatory public
  prayer for all adult males
• 3. Charity Zakat purification
• Evolved out of compassion for the poor
• 2.5 of wealth expected

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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

15
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

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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

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Struggle for Succession

• Number of conflicting parties sought to succeed
  Muhammad
• Companions belonged to Muhammads tribe or had
  accepted mission early
• Legitimists heir must belong to family of
  Muhammad
• Ali paternal cousin, husband of daughter Fatima
  one of first believers
• Aristocracy of Quraysh Umayyads
• 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

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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

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The Spread of Islam
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Medieval Baghdad
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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

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Medieval Baghdad

• Bayt al-Hikmah (the House of Wisdom)
• 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Rich Cultural Achievements

• 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

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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

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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

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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

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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-Rashids 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

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Architecture