3. 1) Arabia before Islam. (How was Arabia and its people
before Islam?). (Economy, politics and religion)
Arabs lived in the Arabian Peninsula.
They were nomads and sedentaries and their economic activities
were trade, livestock farming and agriculture.
Although they shared a common language and culture they were
divided in tribes. (There was no political union).
In the religious aspect before Muhammad they were polytheists
(they believed in many gods).
They worshipped the Kaaba that was a religious sanctuary in
Mecca where many idols and the Black Stone were located.
Extra activity: Venn Diagram (Before and After Islam)
4.
5. 2) Who was Muhammad and what did he do?
• Muhammad lived at the beginning of the 7th century. He was
orphaned at the age of 6. He worked as a merchant.
• When he was 25 he married a rich widow called Khadija.
• He was a person with religious worries. In 610 he received
the visit of the archangel Gabriel who gave him the
teachings of Allah. From now on Muhammad will preach a new
religion called Islam.
6. Cave of Hira
Here Muhammad used to go for
praying.
It is said that here he received the
teachings of Allah.
7.
8. 3) What are the five religious precepts of Islam?
The five religious precepts were:
1) Testament of faith: “There is no God but Allah and
Muhammad is his prophet”.
2) Pray five times per day facing Mecca.
3) Alms for the needed.
4) Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
5) Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime.
9. 4) Tell me at least 3 rules on behaviour of Islam.
• Polygamy was permitted.
• It was forbidden to drink alcohol, to gamble, to eat pork.
10. 5) Explain the beginning of Islam. (Explain the Hegira, what it
is, when it happened and why).
The Hegira “Héjira ” started in 622 when
Muhammad escaped from Mecca to Medina in
order to save his life. This year marks the
beginning of the Muslim calendar.
Muslim calendar:
https://www.wikidates.org/islam/islamic-
calendar.html
11. 6) Do a timeline with the four periods of Islam.
(Mention dates, dynasty that was ruling and capital
cities…)
Muhammad Orthodox
Caliphate
(or Rashidun C.)
Umayyad Caliphate Abbasid Caliphate
622* 632* 661* 750* 1258*
(Medina) (Medina) (Damascus) (Baghdad)
Extra information:
*Beginning
of the Hegira
*Death of
Muhammad
*Battle of Siffin
(Ali confronted Muawiyya)
*750: Abbasid Revolution
*1258: Al-Mutasim (last Abbasid caliph) was
assassinated by the Mongols
First four caliphs:
Abu Bakr, Umar,
Uthman and Ali
(The Abbasid Caliphate will continue in Cairo
till 1517 when it was conquered by the Turks)
14. Extra information: Battle of Siffin
In this battle the last orthodox caliph Ali confronted Muawiyya
(governor of Syria).
The previous caliph Uthman was assassinated and Muawiyya
accused Ali of not persecuting the murderers.
This conflict is also known as the First Fitna or civil war.
After this conflict the Islamic religion will be divided in three
branches Shiites, Sunnites and Kharijites.
15. Extra information: Battle of Siffin
• Shiites (chiítas) means the supporters of Ali.
They considered that the next caliph should be a relative of
Muhammad.
20% of Muslim population (Iran and part of Iraq)
• Sunnites (sunitas) means the followers of the Sunna (writings and
facts of Muhammad).
They considered that the next caliph should be a member of the
tribe of the Quraish.
80% of Muslim population.
• Kharijites (jariyíes) believed that the next caliph must be chosen
by the community, who should choose the best candidate and the
most virtuous.
16.
17. A new dynasty: The Abbasids
(Extra information)
• They are descendants of Abbás ibn Abd al-Muttálib, one of the
youngest uncles of the prophet.
• They took advantage of the discontent of many Muslims with the
rule of the Umayyads and they started a revolution.
• The Umayyads were convinced of the superiority of the Arabs over
all Muslims, while the Abbasids promoted the equality of all the
Muslims (Persians, Berbers, Turks, and other converts…)
• In 750 Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah defeated the Umayyads and was
proclaimed caliph.
18. A new dynasty: The Abbasids (part 2)
(Extra information)
• When the new Abbasid caliph, Al-Saffah, became the ruler he
invited all the Umayyads to a dinner with the intention of making
peace.
• The real intention was in fact to get rid of any opponent and before
the first course was finished all the guests were murdered.
• Only one guest survived and managed to escape, his name was Abd
al-Rahman and he was the main character of an epic story.
(Abd al-Rahman was accompanied by his brother, his son and a
freeman called Badr).
19. Baghdad was the most populated
city of the world in Middle Ages.
(More than 1 million inhabitants)
20. 7) Do a list with the different conquests of the 4
different phases of Islam
Muhammad: he conquered most of the Arabian peninsula.
Orthodox caliphate: They conquered Near East (Syria, Palestine),
Middle East (Iraq and Iran) and Eastern Part of North Africa.
(Extra Inf.: they confronted the Byzantine Empire and the Persian Empire)
Umayyad caliphate: they conquered Turkestan, Indus valley
,Western Part of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.
Abbasid caliphate: they conquered Crete and Sicily.
21.
22. 8) What was a caliph?
A caliph was the ruler of the Islamic
empire, he controlled all the powers
that are political, religious and
military.
23. 9) Explain the following terms: vizier and emir.
Vizier: he was like a prime
minister who helped the caliph to
govern.
Emir: he was the governor of the
provinces of the empire. These
provinces were called emirates.
24. Economy
Extra information: Economy was very prosperous in the
Islamic empire in agriculture, industry and trade.
10) Agriculture
In agriculture they introduced new crops and new farming
techniques.
• The new crops were citrus fruits (bitter orange, lemon, lime…), rice,
cotton, sugarcane, saffron, mulberry, spinach, aubergines,
artichokes…
• The new farming techniques were the use of waterwheels, and
canals or ditches.
29. 11) Industry (or crafts)
In industry they produced a great variety of crafts.
Some examples of crafts were
• Different types of fabrics or textiles (cotton, linen and silk)
• Carpets, tapestries,
• Leather goods (repujado del cuero o cordobán)
• Ceramics,
• Weapons of metal,
• Perfumes, soaps,
• Paper,
• Lamps,
• Jewellery (filigrees, damascene…)
34. 12) Trade
Trade lived a golden era thanks to the great extension of
the empire, the use of the Arab as the main language and
the use of the same coins in all the Empire (dinars and
dirhams).
Extra Information:
They also developed new methods of payment such as bill of
exchange (hawala, aval) and cheques.
They were great merchants and traded with all the possible
regions of the world, such as China, India, north Africa,
Mediterranean sea, Europe, Vikings and Byzantine empire.
38. Society
13) What different social groups composed the Muslim
society?
Aristocracy (Arabs)
The rest of Muslim conquerors (Berbers, Bedouins) …
Mawali (people that converted to Islam).
Religious minorities (People of the Book: Christians or
Jews and also Zoroastrians)
Freemen (slaves that had been freed), (libertos).
Slaves (People that were not free).
39.
40. Art & Science
14) What disciplines were promoted in the Islamic empire?
The disciplines that were promoted were Literature,
Philosophy, Mathematics (algebra, trigonometry),
Astronomy, Medicine, Chemistry (alquimia), History,
Optics, Music, etc.
Extra inf: 25 subjects of Science and Culture of al-Andalus. Link
15) What was forbidden in Muslim art due to religious
matters?
Due to religious reasons (because it is forbidden in the
Koran) human and animal figures cannot be represented.
41. House of wisdom
(extra information)
It was founded in the 9th century in
Baghdad.
As its name says it was an institution created
to preserve and promote science and culture.
It was the centre of Knowledge in Medieval
Islam.
They translated texts from Persia, India,
China and Ancient Greece.
42. Muslim decoration
16) What three types of decoration can we find in Muslim art
and what were their characteristics?
The three types of decoration that they used were:
Arabesque: decoration made with stylised plants.
Latticework: decoration made with geometrical
figures.
Calligraphy: decoration made with written texts.
43. 17) Draw the floor plan of a mosque with its main
parts and the characteristics of each part.
Prayer’s hall: is the area for praying
Qibla: is the wall that is facing to Mecca
Mihrab: is a niche in the centre of the qibla
Minbar: is a pulpit from where the imam delivers the
sermon
Minaret: is the tower for the call of the prayer
Patio or courtyard: place for the meeting of the followers.
Ablution fountain: is a fountain where the believers
perform a washing ceremony
