Islam Origins

Pre-Islam

• 12 tribes of Ishmael all spread out throughout Arabia

• In sixth century AD two powers competed for power. The Byzantine king led by Christian Rulers and Persian kingdom led by Zoroastrian kingdom.

• Arabia was seen as a land of refuge.

Pre-Islam

• Majority of Arabians were animistic• Local Gods• High God- Separate and unapproachable by humans. Also known Allah

• Allah- “the God”

• Blood Sacrifices and many spirits & angels in everything

• Mecca was a religious center• Meteoric rock was viewed as object of veneration• Also known as “Ka’ba”.

• Hajj- Once a year tribes travel to Mecca for religious reasons

Muhammad

• Part of a clan who controlled the Ka’ba

• Orphaned in an early age living under his uncle

• He was illiterate

Muhammad

• Influenced by Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians

• They all are monotheistic

• Believed in Scripture to be word of God

• Greatly impacted by Eschatology. Worried about the idolatry going on with his people• Eschatology- Study of the how the world ends and the righteous are

rewarded.

Muhammad

• One day in his meditations the archangel Gabriel appeared to him.

• Throughout time he received messages from God.

• Eventually he taught them to his friends and they wrote down the teachings which is known as the Qur’an. • “Al-Mushaf Al-Shareef.” “Glorious Quran”

• The Qur’an is the scripture of Islam still used today.

Becoming Prophet Muhammed

• He believed Allah being the one true God

• He was the last of the prophets.

• He never denied Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as prophets, but thought they all had incomplete revelations of God.

• He stated he had complete revelation of God and that Islam is the completion of Judaism and Christianity.

The Prophetic Tradition

Adam

Noah

Abraham

Moses

Jesus

Muhammad

Beginning of Islam

• His wife Khadija was the first convert. Afterwards many young and poor people converted.

• Many of the old and rich Arabs persecuted new following because they believed in idols and the pilgrimage to Mecca for idol worship brought significant income.

• In 622 A.D. He was helped by his friend Abu Bakr, Muhammad escaped Mecca to a city named Yathrib (later known as Medina or “Medinat al-Nabi: City of the Prophet)

• This pilgrimage marks beginning of the Muslim calendar and the event is celebrated as Hijira.

The Spread of Islam: Arabia

• After gaining a lot of popularity in Medina, his new found followers started conflict with Meccans in 624 AD.

• Meccans attacked Medina but failed.

• In 630 AD Muhammad marched out and captured Mecca. He rededicated the Ka’ba temple to Allah, all of Mecca converted to Islam and by the time of his death, he had conquered nearly all of Arabia in the name of Allah.

Spread of Islam: ‘Rightly Guided Caliphs’Caliph comes from word ‘Khalifa’. Khalifa is short for Khalifatu Rasulil-lah which means ‘Successor to the Messenger of God’

1. Abu Bakr (Father-in law)• First caliph through election• Caliph- “Successor”• Rebels attempted to avoid the Zakat (tithe) but he had them do so.

2. Umar ibn Khattab• Before Islam he was enraged and went out to kill Muhammed. He beat his slave girl and sister because of their conversion to

Islam. But after seeing sister’s faith he had a change of heart. He read the passages of Quran at that moment and later gave hisallegiance to Muhammed.

• Expands throughout Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, and Iran by defeating the Sassanid Empire

• Uthman Ibn Affan• Expanded Islam to Morocco and Afghanistan• Created a navy• Distributed many copies of the Quran• Rebels besieged his house and killed him

• Ali (Mohammed’son-in law) • Did not punish Uthman’s assassins and moved capital to Iraq• First Civil War occurred and was forced to allow de facto government exist in Syria led by Muawiya. • Assassinated by a poison sword.

Umayyad Dynasty (661-750)• Civil War ended with Ali’s murder

• Mu’awiya is the leader and moved capital to Damascus.

• Dynasty continued on with heredity instead of spiritual merit

• Treated conquered people unfairly. (Less pay in military and higher taxes than Muslims)

• This caused split between Sunnis and Shiites.

Formation of Shia and Sunni

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KLvjs7Yrtw

Abbasids: 750 to 1258

• 750 to 850 – Golden Age of Islam

• New Capital Baghdad – 1M by 800s

• Arab influence• Arabic language• Islamic religion

• Arab – any subject of the empire who spoke Arabic

• Vizier – chief advisor

• Trade and exchange of ideas

• Advanced Farming

• Artisans

• Banks

• Independent kingdoms

Golden Age of Muslim Spain

• Moors• Muslim Arabs

• Conquered N. Africa

• Intermarried with Berbers

• 710 – invaded Spain (defeated West Goths w/ help from Spanish Jews

• Kingdom – religious freedom

• 400 yrs – culture flourished

Spread of Islam: Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, and North Africa

• Islam held them together

• Striving for common holy goal – spread Islam

• Arab warriors believed struggling for Islam would lead them to heaven

• Arab leaders – mentally/physically tough

• Planned and carried out attacks

• Skilled with horses and camels

Arab treatment of conquered peoples

• Treatment of conquered contributed to success

• Give up without a fight – pay taxes

• In return, Arabs protection and allowed to keep their land

• Fight/defeated – pay taxes and lose land