Transcript 14. The Expansive Realm of Islam

Chapter 13
The Expansive Realm of Islam
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Muhammad and His Message
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Born 570 to merchant family in Mecca
Orphaned as a child
Marries wealthy widow c. 595, works as merchant
Familiarity with paganism, Christianity and
Judaism as practiced in Arabian peninsula
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Muhammad’s Spiritual Transformation
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Visions c. 610 CE
Archangel Gabriel
Monotheism – Allah
Attracts followers to Mecca
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The Quran
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Record of revelations received during visions
Committed to writing c. 650 CE (Muhammad dies
632)
Tradition of Muhammad’s life: hadith
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Conflict at Mecca
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Muhammad’s monotheistic teachings offensive to
polytheistic pagans
Economic threat to existing religious industry
Denunciation of greed affront to local aristocracy
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The Hijra
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Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 CE
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Year 0 in Muslim calendar
Organizes followers into communal society (the
umma)
Legal, spiritual code
Commerce, raids on Meccan caravans for sake of
umma
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The “Seal of the Prophets”
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Muhammad – the final prophet
Accepted the authority of Abraham, Moses, and
Jesus
Held in high esteem Hebrew scriptures and the
Christian New Testament
Muhammad had been entrusted a more complete
revelation, one that communicated Allah’s plan
for the world
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Muhammad’s Return to Mecca
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Attack on Mecca, 630
Conversion of Mecca to Islam
Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques
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Ka’aba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca
Approved as pilgrimage site
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The Ka’aba
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The Five Pillars of Islam
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No god but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet
Daily prayer
Fasting during Ramadan
Charity
Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
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Muslims at Prayer
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Jihad
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“struggle”
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Against vice
Against ignorance of Islam
“holy war”
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Against unbelievers who threaten Islam
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Islamic Law: The Sharia
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Codification of Islamic law
Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of
analysis
Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of human
activity
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The Caliph
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No clear to successor to Muhammad identified
Abu Bakr chosen to lead as Caliph
Led war against villagers who abandoned Islam
after death of Muhammad
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The Expansion of Islam
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Highly successful attacks on Byzantine, Sassanid
territories
Difficulties governing rapidly expanding territory
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The Expansion of Islam, 632 – 733 CE
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The Shia
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Disagreements over selection of caliphs
Ali passed over for Abu Bakr
Served as caliph 656-661 CE, then assassinated along
with most of his followers
Remaining followers organize separate party called
“Shia”
Traditionalists: Sunni
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Shi’ite Pilgrims at Karbala
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The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE)
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From Meccan merchant class
Brought stability to the Islamic community
Capital: Damascus, Syria
Associated with Arab military aristocracy
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Policy toward Conquered Peoples
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Favoritism of Arab military rulers causes
discontent
Limited social mobility for non-Arab Muslims
Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims
Umayyad luxurious living causes further decline
in moral authority
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The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE)
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Abu al-Abbas Sunni Arab, allied with Shia, nonArab Muslims
Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia
Defeats Umayyad army in 750
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Invited Umayyads to banquet, then massacred them
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Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty
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Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not
exclusively Arab)
Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial
expansion
Content to administer the empire inherited
Dar al-Islam
Growth through military activity of autonomous
Islamic forces
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Abbasid Administration
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Persian influence
Court at Baghdad
Influence of Islamic scholars
Ulama and qadis sought to develop policy based
on the Quran and sharia
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Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809
CE)
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High point of Abbasid dynasty
Baghdad center of commerce
Great cultural activity
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Abbasid Decline
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Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid
Provincial governors assert regional independence
Dissenting sects, heretical movements
Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian
nobility
Later, Saljuq Turks influence, Sultan real power
behind the throne
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Economy of the Early Islamic World
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Spread of food and industrial crops
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Western diet adapts to wide variety
New crops adapted to different growing seasons
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Trade routes from India to Spain
Agricultural sciences develop
Cotton, paper industries develop
Major cities emerge
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Formation of a Hemispheric Trading
Zone
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Historical precedent of Arabic trade
Dar al-Islam encompasses silk routes
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ice exported from Syria to Egypt in summer, 10th
century
Camel caravans
Maritime trade
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Banking and Trade
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Scale of trade causes banks to develop
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Sakk (“check”)
Uniformity of Islamic law throughout dar alIslam promotes trade
Joint ventures common
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Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain)
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Muslim Berber conquerors from North Africa
take Spain, early 8th c.
Allied to Umayyads, refused to recognize
Abbasid dynasty
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Formed own caliphate
Tensions, but interrelationship
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Changing Status of Women
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Quran improves status of women
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Outlawed female infanticide
Brides, not husbands, claim dowries
Yet male dominance preserved
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Patrilineal descent
Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden
Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice
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Formation of an Islamic Cultural
Tradition
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Islamic values
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Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam
Establishment of madrasas
Importance of the Hajj
Sufi missionaries
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Asceticism, mysticism
Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians
Wide popularity
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Al-Ghazali (1058-1111)
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Major Sufi thinker from Persia
Impossibility of intellectual apprehension of
Allah, devotion, mystical ecstasy instead
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Cultural influences on Islam
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Persia
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Administration and governance
literature
India
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Mathematics, science, medicine
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“Hindi” numbers
Greece
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Philosophy, esp. Aristotle
Ibn Rushd/Averroes (1126-1198)
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