Lecture notes on Islam

1. The Rise of Islam
600-1200 C.E.

2. Part One:
Origins of Islam

3. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Map of Arabia

4. Islam – Bellwork #1 5 Pillars of Islam
1) How would the following requirements help unite a group of people?
2) How would the Pillars dictate how one lived their life?
1) FAITH - There is no god worthy of worship except
God and Muhammad is His messenger.
2) PRAYER - Salat is the name for the obligatory
prayers which are performed five times a day, and
are a direct link between the worshipper and God.
3) THE 'ZAKAT„ - One of the most important principles
of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that
wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust.
4) THE FAST - Every year in the month of Ramadan, all
Muslims fast from first light until sundown,
abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations.
5) PILGRIMAGE (HAJJ) - The annual pilgrimage to
Makkah - the Hajj - is an obligation only for those
who are physically and financially able to perform it.

5. Part 1: Origins of Islam
A. Arabian Peninsula Before Muhammad
 Most Arabs were settled people.
 Nomads a minority, but important in
caravan trade that linked Yemen to
Mesopotamia and Mediterranean.
 Caravan trade gave rise to and
supported merchants of caravan cities
such as Petra and Palmyra.
 Brought Arabs into contact with the
Byzantine and Sasanid civilizations.

6. Part 1: Origins of Islam
B. Nomads and Caravan Cities
 Nomads were polytheists who
worshipped natural forces and
celestial bodies, but they were also
familiar with other religions including
Christianity.
 Mecca was a caravan city between
Yemen and Syria.
 Mecca was also a cult center that
attracted nomads to worship the idols
enshrined in a small cubical shrine
called the Ka‟ba.

7. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Ka’ba in Mecca

8. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Map of Arabia

9. Muhammad’s Life
570 A.D. – Muhammed was born in Mecca
620 A.D. – He received visions & began to teach
622 A.D. – He and his followers moved to Medina
630 A.D. – Muslims defeated Mecca and returned
632 A.D. – Muhammed died

10. Muhammad’s Life
Father died before he was born
Mother died when he was 6 years old
Muhammad’s 1st wife was 40 yrs old, he was 25
One wife, Aisha, was 6 yrs old when they married
Married between 11 & 13 wives
Had 6 children: 4 daughters & 2 sons
His sons did not survive past infancy

11. Part 1: Origins of Islam
C. Muhammad in Mecca
 Muhammad:
 Born in Mecca
 Grew up as an orphan
 Got involved in the caravan trade
 In 610 C.E. he began receiving
revelations that he concluded were
the words of his god, Allah.
 Others in his community thought he
was possessed by a spirit.

12. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Muhammad

13. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Muhammad
 Message of Muhammad‟s revelations
was that there is one god, Allah and
that all people ought to submit to
him.
 At the final judgment, those who had
submitted to Allah would go to
paradise; those who did not, to hell.

14. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Muhammad - Revelations
 Muhammad‟s
revelations were
considered to be the
final revelations,
following and
superseding the
earlier revelations
of God to Noah,
Moses, and Jesus
(The Bible).

15. Quiz – Part 1
Muslims
1. The followers of Islam are called _____________________.
Qur'an
2. The most sacred book of Islam is _____________________.
Muhammad
3. The man who founded Islam was named _______________.
4. The pilgrimage to Mecca which all followers of Islam should
Hajj
make is called ____________________ .
5. Mecca, the holiest city of Islam, is located in what country?
Saudi Arabia
___________________.

16. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Origins of Islam Video

17. Quiz – Part 2
Multiple Choice: Choose the correct answer:
1. The Arabic word Islam means:
a. Win at all costs
b. Surrender
c. Freedom
2. Approximately how many Muslims are there in the
world today?
a. One million
b. More than one billion
c. One hundred million
3. Muslims believe they should pray:
a. Whenever it is convenient
b. Only on Saturday
c. Five times each day

18. Quiz – Part 2
4. Muslims believe they should:
a. Keep all the wealth God gives them
b. Give a portion of what they have to the poor
c. Give alms only when they have more than
they need
5. Mohammed, the founder of Islam was:
a. Born a prince in India
b. Found by a Pharaoh's daughter
c. Orphaned at a young age

19. Quiz – Part 2
True or False: Write TRUE or FALSE after each
statement.
1. Mohamed is believed by Muslims to be directly
FALSE
descended from the Angel Gabriel. _____
2. Muslims believe they should live their lives in a way
TRUE
that will please their creator. _____
TRUE
3. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. _____
4. Mosques are visually richly furnished as a sign of
FALSE
respect to God. _____
5. Perhaps the strongest form of Islamic artistic
TRUE
expression is its architecture. _____

20. Part 1: Origins of Islam
D. The Formation of the Umma
 Muhammad and his followers fled
from Mecca to Medina in 622.
 In Medina, Muhammad‟s Meccan
followers and converts from Medina
formed a single community of
believers, the umma.

21. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Umma in Medina
 The umma in Medina developed into
the core of the Islamic state that
would later expand to include all of
Arabia and lands beyond in Africa,
Europe, the Middle East, and Central
Asia.

22. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Spread of Islam

23. Part 1: Origins of Islam
E. Caliphates
 Muhammad‟s father-in-law Abu Bakr
took over leadership of the umma as
the successor or caliph of Muhammad.
 Faced two tasks:
 Standardization of Islamic religion
 Consolidation of Islamic state
 Successfully reestablished Muslim
authority over the Arabs and oversaw
the compilation and organization of
the Quran.

24. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Caliphates
 Disagreements over the question of
succession to the caliphate emerged
following the assassination of the third
caliph, Uthman.
 Civil war was fought between those who
supported keeping the caliphate in Uthman‟s
clan (the Ummaya) and those who
supported the claim of Muhammad‟s first
cousin and son-in-law Ali.
 Ummaya forces won and established the
Umayyad Caliphate in 661.

25. Part 1: Origins of Islam
Caliphates
 Led to development of two rival sects in the
Muslim community.
 Shi‟ites supported Ali‟s claim to the
caliphate and believed the position of caliph
belonged to descendents of Ali. (minority)
 Sunnis believed the first three caliphs had
been correctly chosen and supported the
Umayyan Caliphate. (majority)

26. Part II
632-1258 C.E.
Rise and Fall of the
Caliphate

27. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
A. Islamic Conquests
634-711 C.E.

28. Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock
The first important Islamic shrine to be built was the celebrated Dome of
the Rock, begun in 691 in Jerusalem by the caliph Abd al-Malik on the spot
where faithful Muslims believe that Muhammad began his Night-Journey as
he ascended to heaven. Both the octagonal shape of the centralized plan
and the lavishly ornamented interior demonstrate the influence of
Byzantine architecture. The shrine is capped by a gilded dome. (Sonia
Halliday Photographs)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

29. Great Mosque at Cordoba, 786
Great Mosque at Cordoba, 786 C.E.
When the Abbasids attempted to massacre 800 family members of the Umayyad
dynasty at a dinner of peace, a few of them escaped, fled to Spain, and established
Cordoba as their capital. The Great Mosque of Cordoba, begun in 786, contains all of
the usual features of a mosque, but it is best known for its interior double set of
horseshoe-shaped arches, one above the other, which are mounted on the capitals of
granite and marble columns. (Christopher Rennie/Robert Harding Picture Library)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

30. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
A. 1. Conquests
 Conquests of areas outside Arabia
began in the seventh century.
 First wave of conquest:
 Arabs took Syria, Egypt, and Sasanid
Empire.
 Late seventh and early eighth
centuries:
 Islamic forces took Tunisia, Spain,
Algeria, Morocco, and Sind.

31. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
A.2. The Advance of Muslims
 Reason for advancing rapidly:
 Lust for booty
 Religious conversion
 Weakness of enemies
 Most convincing explanation finds the
causes of Muslim expansion in the talent of
the Muslim leaders and societal structure.

32. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
A.3. Arab Forces
 During expansion Arab forces were
organized into regular, paid armies
 Kept military camps and garrison
towns so that they did not overrun
the countryside.
 Arab Muslims became minority rulers,
thinly spread over non-Muslim
societies they dominated and taxed.
 Did not try to convert conquered
peoples.

33. B. UMAYYAD AND EARLY
ABBASID CALIPHATES
661-850 C.E.

34. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
B.1. Umayyads
 Ruled an Arab empire, not a Muslim
empire.
 Administered territory through
established Sasanid and Byzantine
apparatus, gradually bringing in
Muslim bureaucrats and Arabic
language.
 Rebellions overthrew the Umayyads in
750
 one branch of the family retained power in
Spain

35. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
B.2. The Fall of Umayyads
 The family of Abbas, an uncle of
Muhammad, took over and
established the Abbasid Caliphate.
 Provided renewed religious
leadership combined with style of
ruling and royal ceremony derived
from the Sasanids.
 Held caliphate until 1258.

36. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
Literature and Learning
 Thrived under the Abbasids.
 Translated Greek texts and secular
Arab poetry.
 Baghdad was center of Abbasid
culture
 Other areas shared this culture to varying
extents
 Acceleration of the rate of conversion
of non-Muslim subjects to Islam at
this time.

37. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
C. Political
Fragmentation
850-1050 C.E.

38. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
C.1. Decline of Abbasid Power
 Second half of ninth century as the caliphs
found it impossible to maintain control
over their vast territory.
 Factors in decline:
 Difficulty of transportation and
communications
 Dissatisfaction of non-Muslim provincial
populations with a political and economic
system that was centered on Baghdad.

39. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
C.2. Result of Decline
 Ninth century local revolts carved the
Abbasid realm into smaller Muslim states
that did not pay taxes or homage to the
caliphs in Baghdad.

40. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
Baghdad
 Caliphs in Baghdad relied on Turkish
slave troops called Mamluks.
 Late ninth century – Mamulks not
paid properly
 They then took control of the caliphate
 Chose the caliph
 Dominated the government

41. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
The Fall of Abbasid Caliphate
 945 – caliphate under control of
Iranian Shi‟ite Buyids
 Abbasid Caliphate declined
 Various provincial regimes rose to
power
 Samanids in Bukhara
 Fatimids in Egypt

42. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
C.3. Umayyads in Spain
 Islamic, Roman, German, and Jewish
cultures combined to form a unique
Iberian variant of Islamic civilization.
 Muslim Spain:
 Substantial urbanization
 Introduction of citrus crops
 Diverse irrigated agricultural sector
 Florescence of Muslim and Jewish
intellectual activity

43. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
Political Diversity
 Underlying the political diversity of the
fragmented Muslim world was a strong
sense of religious identity preserved by the
religious scholars: the ULAMA.

44. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
Assault from Within and Without
 In Central Asia and Middle East a
nomad group called the Seljuk Turks
took advantage of the decline of the
Abbasids to establish the Suljik
Sultanate.
 Ruled a territory stretching from
Afghanistan to Baghdad and took
Anatolia from the Byzantines in 1071.

45. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
C.4. Collapse of Baghdad
 Caused by:
 Turkish depredations
 Deterioration of the Tigris-Euphrates
irrigation system
 Insufficient revenue
 Insufficient food resources

46. Part 2: Rise & Fall of the Caliphate
Crusades
 Put some pressure on the Islamic
lands
 Muslims able to unite under Saladin
and his descendants to drive the
Christians out.
 Saladin‟s descendants were not able
to restore unity and order to the
Islamic world
 Further invasions by:
 Turkish in 1250
 Mongols in 13th century

47. Part Three:
Islamic Civilization

48. Part 3: Islamic Civilization
A. Law and Dogma
 Islamic Law – Shari‟a – evolved over
time in response to the Muslim
community‟s need for a legal system.
 Shari‟a developed over a period of
centuries.
 Held that all Muslims are brothers and
sisters and shared the same moral
values.

49. Part 3: Islamic Civilization
A. 1. Hadith
 Most important source of law was the
traditions of the Prophet (sunna) as
revealed in the reports (hadith) about
his words and deeds.
 Specialists on Islamic law collected
and edited tens of thousands of
hadith
 Discarded those that seemed to be
dubious
 Published those that were “good”

50. Part 3: Islamic Civilization
Converts and Cities
 Conversion and urbanization were
related.
 During early expansion, converts to
Islam needed to learn about their
new religion.
 Found that best way to do so was to move
to wealthy, expanding areas where
Muslim populations were concentrated.
 Discrimination in native rural non-
Muslim villages also spurred new
converts to move to cities.

51. Part 3: Islamic Civilization
Urban Life
 Urban social life and the practice of
Islam itself were varied because the
Muslims had no central authority to
prescribe religious dogma.
 Growing cities provided an expanding
market for agricultural and
manufactured products and
contributed to an increase in trade.

52. Part 3: Islamic Civilization
A.2. Academic Advances
 Significant advances in medicine and
astronomy.
 Muslim scholars built on and
surpassed the work of the Greek and
Hellenistic civilizations.
 Developed skills and theories far
more sophisticated than those of
Christian Europe.

53. Part 3: Islamic Civilization
B. Islam and Women
 Muslim women were veiled and
secluded as they had previously been
in the Byzantine and Sasanid Empires.
 Women could be influential in the
family, but only slave women could
have a public role or appear in public
before men.
 Muslim men feared women
committing sexual infidelity or
meddling in politics.

54. Part 3: Islamic Civilization
B.1. Rights of Muslim Women
 Included:
 Right to own property
 Retain property in marriage
 Right to divorce and remarry
 Right to testify in court
 Right to go on pilgramage

55. Part 3: Islamic Civilization
Islam and Slaves
 Muslims were not permitted to
enslave their fellow Muslims, Jews,
Christians, or Zoroastrians
 Exception: when taken as prisoners of
war.
 Muslims could and did hold non-
Muslim slaves, but the status of
slaves was not hereditary.

56. Recentering of Islam
 Decline of caliphate and factionalism
with the ulama deprived Islam of a
religious center.
 During the 12th and 13th centuries two
sources of religious authority
developed:
 Madrasas (religious colleges)
 Sufi brotherhoods

57. Sufi Brotherhoods
 Mystic fraternities whose members sought
union with God through rituals and training.
 Early Sufis were mystics who went into
ecstasies and expressed ideas in poetry.
 Later developed into more prosaic
organizations of Muslim men.
 Sufi brotherhoods provided their members
with spiritual guidance and rules for
everyday life.
 Brotherhoods originated in the urban areas
and then spread to the countryside.