Chapter 14
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 (Khadija), 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--instructs Muhammad to
explain faith to others
Monotheism---Allah
Attracts followers in Mecca
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The Quran “recitation”
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Record of revelations received during visions
From the oral tradition
Committed to writing c. 650 CE (Muhammad dies
632)
Tradition of Muhammad’s life: hadith
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Social & legal customs
Commentaries on the Quran
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Conflict at Mecca
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Muhammad’s monotheistic teachings offensive to
polytheistic pagans
Economic threat
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Muhammad attacks idolatry--people who profit from
these shrines are angered (Ka’ba)
Denunciation of greed affront to local aristocracy
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The Hijra--- migration
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Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 CE
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Year 0 in Muslim calendar
Organizes followers into faithful 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 is the final prophet through whom
Allah would reveal his message
Islam as culmination and correction of Judaism,
Christianity
Inheritor of both Jewish and Christian texts
Muhammad’s is a more complete revelation of
Allah
One of the three Abrahamic Traditions
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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 5 times a day
Fasting during Ramadan
Charity
Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
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Muslims at Prayer
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Jihad---Additional Obligation of Faith
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“struggle”
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Combat vice & evil
Struggle against ignorance and unbelief by
spreading word of Islam
Physical struggle “holy war”
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Islamic Law: The Sharia
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Codification of Islamic law
Based on Quran, hadith
Offers precise guidance on family life, slavery,
business, politics, etc.
Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of human
activity
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The Caliph--Deputy
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No clear to successor to Muhammad identified
Abu Bakr (close friend of Muhammad) chosen to
lead as Caliph
Abu Bakr becomes the head of Islamic
community---not a prophet
Led war against villagers who abandoned Islam
after death of Muhammad
Attempt to spread faith
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The Expansion of Islam
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Highly successful attacks on Byzantine, Sassanid
territories
Rapid expansion
Difficulties governing rapidly expanding territory
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The expansion of Islam, 632-733 C.E.
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The Shia
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Disagreements over selection of caliphs
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Tribal loyalties & political ambitions complicate matters
Ali (cousin & son-in-law of Muhammad) passed over for
Abu Bakr for Caliph
Served briefly as 4th caliph 656-661 CE, then
assassinated along with most of his followers
Remaining followers organize separate party called
“Shia”---descendents of Ali are divinely appointed to rule
the Islamic community
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Traditionalists: Sunni---accept legitimacy of early caliphs
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Shi’ite Pilgrims at Karbala
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The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE)
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After the death of Ali, the Umayyad Dynasty
briefly solves the problem of succession
Formed from Meccan merchant class
Capital: Damascus, Syria
Favored Arab military aristocracy
Ruled dar al-Islam as conquerors
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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
Allowed conquered peoples to observe their own
faiths
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Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims
Umayyad luxurious living causes further decline
in moral authority---revolts are widespread
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Specifically in Persia
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The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE)
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Abu al-Abbas (descendent of Muhammad’s
uncle) Sunni Arab, allied with Shia, non-Arab
Muslims
Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia
Defeats Umayyad army in 750
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Invited Umayyads to banquet, then massacred them
Principle authority in dar al-Islam until toppled by
Mongols
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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
Battle of the Talas River--ended expansion of
Tang China
Dar al-Islam continues to grow
Islam grows through military activity of
autonomous Islamic forces (Tunisia)
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Abbasid Administration
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Concerned with administering empire, not
conquering
Persian influence
Court at Baghdad
Influence of Islamic scholars
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Ulama-- “people with religious knowledge”
Qadis-- “judges”
Scholars who emphasized the study of the Quran &
sharia and observance of these values
Influence local culture
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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 over
succession
Provincial governors assert regional independence
Dissenting sects, peasant rebellions
Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian nobility
Later, Saljuq Turk Sultans rule the former Abbasid
empire.
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Economy of the Early Islamic World
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Spread of food and industrial crops (Cotton, indigo,
henna)
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Increased food supply
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 as a result of increased agricultural
production
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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 weekly from Syria to Egypt in summer,
10th century
Camel caravans---Camel saddle
Maritime trade
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Use Chinese compass
Lateen sail from India & SE Asia
Astrolabe--Hellenistic Mediterranean
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Banking and Trade
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Scale of trade causes banks to develop
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Sakk (“check”)---Credit
Uniformity of Islamic law throughout dar alIslam promotes trade
Joint ventures were 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 with Umayyads, but 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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Arab women could inherit property, divorce husbands,
and engage in business
Quran improves status of women
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Outlawed female infanticide
Brides, not husbands, claim dowries
Women are equal to men in the eyes of Allah
Yet male dominance preserved in Quran & Sharia
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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 comprehension of
Allah, devotion, mystical ecstasy instead
Sufi Missionaries
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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----Arabic numerals
Greece
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Philosophy, esp. Aristotle
Ibn Rushd/Averroes (1126-1198)---Spain
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