The
Foundations of
Islam
Muhammad
• Born 570CE – hard
early life
• By 30 he was
prosperous merchant
• Was familiar with many
religions in Arab
society
• Had basic
understanding of
Christianity and
Judaism
The Visions
• 610CE – visions that made him believe there
was one true God – Allah
• Delivered by Gabriel
• Muhammad must explain the message to others
• Started with family and friends and expanded
Medina – one of Islam’s holy cities
His Mission
• Followers wrote down his teachings – called the
Quran (Koran)
• Communicates his understanding of Allah and his
relation to the world
• the authority for Islamic doctrine & social organization
• There is also the hadith – sayings attributed to
Muhammad and stories of his deeds.
The Hijra
• His beliefs brought him
into conflict with the elite
• He attacked greed,
idolatry, polytheism
• He and followers were
persecuted
• He fled to Medina in
622Ce
• This journey is known as
the hijra
• Start of the Islamic
calendar
In Medina
• He became head of society - needed his guidance
• Organized them into a umma (community of the
faithful)
• Gave them legal and social code
• Raided caravans
• Gave alms to widows, orphan, poor
• Began to refer to himself as the “seal of the
prophets” – the final prophet
• Allah would reveal his message through him
• He believed in Abraham, Moses, and Jesus
• Held Hebrew scriptures and New Testament in
high esteem
• Believed God, Yahweh and Allah were the same
Return to Mecca
• 630 – returned, attacked, conquered city
• Forced elites to Islam – built mosques
• Ka’ba – preserved the black rock shrine as
symbol of greatness
• 632 – led first pilgrimage there
• Died 632 with most of Arabia under control
Five Pillars of Islam
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Allah is only god – Muhammad as his prophet
pray daily facing Mecca
observe fast during Ramadan
alms to weak and poor
make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca
The Sharia
• Islamic holy law
• Guidance on proper
behavior
• Inspired by the Quran &
early accounts of
Muhammad’s life
• Guidance on marriage,
family, slavery, business,
politics, crime, etc
• Islam is more than
religious doctrine
• It is a complete way of life
with social & ethical
values
Brunei
Mali
Caliphs
• Means “deputy” – would be leader of Islam
• First was Abu Bakr
• Hard to choose caliphs b/c of ambitions,
personal differences, clan loyalties
• All this led to rise of factions and parties
• Traditional Muslims called Sunnis
• New sect was Shia
• Called Shiites
• They originated b/c they wanted
Ali’s descendants as caliph
• Wanted him as first – became
fourth (until assassinated)
• Shia were the minority
• Differences: observed holy days
in honor of leaders and martyrs
• Taught Ali’s descendants were
infallible, sinless and divinely
apptd to rule
Shia
Taking Over
• In next 150 yrs. Islamic armies took:
• Syria, Palestine, most of Mesopotamia, Egypt,
most of N. Africa, Sasanid & Persia, Hindu
kingdom of Sind, most of west N. Africa and
most of Iberia
• Threatened Gaul
Umayyad Dynasty
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661-750CE
Prominent merchant clans
Reputation and alliances brought stability
Est. capital at Damascus
Highly centralized rule
Played favorites
Ruled as conquerors
• Other religious groups allowed to practice
– But had to pay jizya – head tax
• Could not rise to positions of authority
• Caliphs began to live luxuriously
• Were lax about doctrine and morality
• Faced a lot of resistance
Abbasid Dynasty
• 750-1258
• Abu al-Abbas led rebellion in Persia
• Rejected Umayyad authority – defeated them in
battle
• Founded the dynasty which would last until
Mongol invasion
• Allowed other ethnicities in gov’t
• Defeated Chinese army at
Talas River
– Important b/c it ended Tang
Dynasty expansion into central
Asia
– Also opened door to Islam
among Turkish people
• Empire expanded due to
autonomous forces in empire
taking over other
• New capital at Baghdad
• Had a gov’r to represent the
caliph and implement his
policies
• Ulama “people with
religious knowledge”
and qadis “judges”
set moral standards
and resolved disputes
– Very influential &
spread values
• Est. bureaucracy for
taxes, finance,
coinage and postal
system
• Lots of wealth in
taxes
• High pt. under Harun-al-Rashid 786-809
– Baghdad – center of banking, business,
industry
– He supported writers, artists
– Tossed money into the streets
– Sent elephant and presents to Charlemagne
– Empire declines slightly after he died
– Civil war b/w his sons
• Disputes over succession
became common
• Gov’rs took advantage –
acted on their own
• Took taxes and created
bases of power
• Popular uprising and
peasant rebellions
• Saljuq Turks gradually
moved in and took over
• Caliphs just figureheads
before Mongols took over