Warm Up:
How were Arab Muslims able to
conquer and rule such a large empire
with a relatively small population?
III. Islamic Civilization
A. Law and Dogma
1. Shari’a
• The law of Islam provides the foundation for
Islamic Civilization
Based on:
• The sunna, or tradition of the Prophet
• Based on the hadith, the words and deeds of
Muhammad
III. Islamic Civilization
B. Converts and Cities
1. Conversion
• To convert to Islam, a person must state, in
the presence of a Muslim:
• “there is not God but God, and Muhammad
is the Messenger of God”
• Many converts initially could not speak
Arabic, read the Quran
III. Islamic Civilization
2. Urbanization
• Converts often faced discrimination in their
home communities
• Migrated to Arab governing centers
• Capital cities and military settlements
• Muslim cities grew rapidly
• Non-Muslim cities stagnated or shrank
III. Islamic Civilization
3. Islamic Architecture
• It is in Architecture that the greatest cultural
blending can be seen
• Already existing buildings were modified by Islamic
Ideals
• Islamic Features:
– Multi-lobed interwoven arches
– Domes
– Minarets
– Large courtyards
Multi-lobed interwoven arches
Domes
Dome of the Rock
• Located in Jerusalem
• Rock in the center is believed to be the spot
from where Muhammad ascended (rose)
up to Heaven
Minarets
• Towers built from
where Muslims
are called to
prayer 5 times a
day
Large Courtyards
III. Islamic Civilization
4. Mosaics
• Artwork created
using tiny pieces of
colored glass tiles
• Muslims use
mosaics to create
geometric
decorations on
Mosques
III. Islamic Civilization
5. Arabic Alphabet
• Arabic was first used
to translate the
context of the Quran
(The Holy Book of
Islam)
• Written from Right
to Left
• Made up of 28
letters
III. Islamic Civilization
6. Calligraphy
• Art of beautiful
handwriting
• In Islam, showing
living things in art
was not allowed
• So artists turned to
calligraphy to
express themselves.
Islamic Art Project
Warm Up:
What was the purpose of mosaics
and calligraphy in Islamic art and
architecture?
III. Islamic Civilization
7. Universities
• Muhammad strongly believed in the power
of learning
–This led to support of places of learning
by Muslim Leaders
• Qualified physicians = treat the sick
• Mathematicians and Astronomers =
Calculated times for prayer
III. Islamic Civilization
8. Science and Technology
• Muslim science exceeded that of European
counterparts
• Built on Hellenistic traditions and observations
III. Islamic Civilization
9. Medical
• The Comprehensive
Book –
• An encyclopedia of
medicine
• using knowledge from
Greek, Syrian, Arabic
and Indian sources of
knowledge
III. Islamic Civilization
10. Math
• Arabic Numbers were
adapted from India
– Included the
number ZERO
• Led to study of optics
• which helped develop
lenses for telescopes
and microscopes
III. Islamic Civilization
11. Astronomy
• Determined the Milky Way lies far beyond
earth’s atmosphere
• Explained why the sun and moon appear
larger on horizon than overhead
III. Islamic Civilization
C.Islam, Women, and Slaves
1. Women
• Muslim women were veiled and secluded
• as they had been previously in the Byzantine
and the Sasanid Empires.
• Women could be influential in the family,
• but only slave women could have a public
role or appear in public before men.
III. Islamic Civilization
2. Women and Law
• Muslim women did have rights under Islamic
law.
• These rights included the right to own property
and to retain it in marriage,
• the right to divorce,
• to remarry,
• to testify in court,
• and to go on pilgrimage.
III. Islamic Civilization
4. Slavery
• Muslims were not permitted to enslave their
fellow Muslims, Jews, Christians, or
Zoroastrians
- except when taken as prisoners of war.
• Muslims could and did hold non-Muslim
slaves, but the status of slave was not
hereditary.
III. Islamic Civilization
D.The Recentering of Islam
1. Effects of Fragmentation
• The decline of the caliphate and factionalism
within the ulama deprived Islam of a religious
center.
• During the 12th & 13th centuries two new
sources of religious authority developed:
• the madrasas (religious colleges) and the Sufi
brotherhoods.
III. Islamic Civilization
2. Sufi Brotherhoods
• Mystic fraternities whose members sought union with
God through rituals and training.
• The early Sufis were mystics who went into ecstasies
and expressed their ideas in poetry;
• the Sufi brotherhoods developed into organizations of
Muslim men.
• Sufi brotherhoods provided their members with
spiritual guidance and rules for everyday life.
• The brotherhoods originated in the urban areas and
then spread to the countryside.