The Expansive Realm of Islam and the Dar al-Islam

By: Vianny Saito

What is the Dar al-Islam?

• Dar al-Islam means “house of Islam”

• Refers to lands under Islamic rule

Islamic Beliefs

Muhammad and His Message

• Born into family of nomadic bedouin herders/merchants

• Becomes merchant• Around 610 C.E. he undergoes

spiritual transformtion. He is convinced that Allah is the only true deity

• Claims to have visions from Allah that are delivered through the archangel Gabriel.

• Belief/worship of other gods=wickedness and results in punishment

• Muhammad was familiar with Christianity and Judaism

The Quran• Muhammad starts off orally reciting his revelations • Eventually followers began to write down his teachings• These writings were compiled and became the Quran,

the holy book of Islam• Serves as definitive authority for Islamic religious

doctrine and social organization.

Muhammad’s Migration to Medina

• As Muhammad became more popular and started preaching the beliefs of Islam, which is monotheistic, he came into conflict with the leaders of Mecca who wanted to keep the polytheistic shrines which attracted pilgrimages, wealth.

• Muhammad was threatened so accompanied by his followers he fled to Medina.

• His journey later became known as the hijira.

Muhammad’s Migration to Medina continued…

• While in Medina Muhammad gained even more followers

• In 630 he was able to return to Mecca and destroy all pagan shrines except for the Ka’aba which is one of the key parts of the Muslim pilgrimage

The 5 Pillars of Islam• Muslims believe salvation is

accomplished through submitting to the will of God through the 5 Pillars of Islam which are:

-confession of faith-prayer 5 times a day-giving charity to the

needy-fasting during

Ramadan, which lasts for 1 month

-making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime

Other Elements of Islam

• Jihad, “to struggle”, is a guiding concept of Islam. Followers of Islam struggle to become better Muslims and struggle against non-believers

• Islam has similarities with Christianity and Judaism:

-all 3 religions recognize Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as prophets, and agree that Muhammad was the last great prophet

-Muslims and Christians believe that all people are equal under God and that all should be converted to Islam/Christianity

Post-Muhammad

Change and Conflict

Leaders After Muhammad

• After Muhammad’s death Abu Bakr becomes caliph

• As time went on the caliphs became like hereditary rulers, no clear line of succession

• Umayyad Dynasty is created after Hasan is pressured into giving up title as caliph

The Umayyad Dynasty

• Greatly expands Islamic Empire-Northern Africa and Spain

• Charles Martel stops the dynasty from expanding into Europe, beyond the Iberian peninsula

• Controversies over succession began to emerge

Shi’ite (Shia)

• Believe that Ali, Muhammad’s son in law was the rightful heir to the empire based on the comments Muhammad made to him

Sunni

• Don’t believe that Muhammad and his ancestors should be the automatic rulers.

• Believe that anyone with the ability should have the right to become leader

Umayyad Decline

• Conflict between Shi’ites and Sunnis led to the decline

• Abu al-Abbas, descendent of Muhammad, fought for control and defeated the Umayyad empire

• Abbasid Dynasty created about 750

Abbasid Empire

• Reigned 750-1258 C.E. until the Mongols took over• Capital at Baghdad• Built around trade-introduced idea of credit• Steel produced-used for swords• Mohammad al-Rhazi-publishes medical encyclopedia• Noteworthy contributions in math-algebra

Abbasid Empire continued…

• Battle of the Talus River 751 C.E.-Muslims defeated T’ang Chinese and gained control of Silk Road trade posts

• Learned how to make paper money from Chinese POW’s

• Built libraries and universities• Monopolized trade routes• Kept western traditions alive-ex. they translated

the works of Plato and Aristotle into Arabic

Conversion

• Muslims tried to convert people to Islam but they were tolerant of other religions

• Sufis stressed personal relationships with Allah rather than rituals

• Muslims were successful in converting people by allowing them to adapt Allah to their own beliefs and telling them to get to Allah in their own way

The Role of Women

• Viewed as property

• A man could divorce his wife and keep her dowry

• Female infanticide

Changes Brought by the Quran

• Quran gave women some rights and said them to be equal in the eyes of Allah

• Infanticide forbidden

• Women gained influence within, and sometimes outside, the home

• However Islamic society still patriarchal-women can only have one husband, men can have up to four wives

Decline of Islamic Caliphates

• Caused by international problems/civil wars between Sunnis and Shi’ites

• Rebellions-mamluks establish capital at Smarra• Mongols defeat Islamic empire during crusades• Destruction of Baghdad=end of Abbasid Dynasty• Re-unification later comes in the form of the

Ottoman Turks

Tying it all Together

• Despite all of the Islamic Empire’s international/foreign conflicts, the Dar al-Islam stood as a unifying factor

• Dar al-Islam is continuity between all Islamic nations-ulama, qadis, and other missionaries worked to spread/promote the values of Islam, nations within it all experienced the impact of new crops, agricultural experimentation, and urban growth

• Cultural traditions, worship of Muhammad, following of the Quran, and language are also similarities between the areas within the Dar al-Islam