Chapter 11 The Expansive Realm of Islam 1

Muhammad and His Message  Born 570 CE to merchant family in Mecca Orphaned as a child  Marries wealthy widow ca. 595 CE, works as merchant  Familiarity with paganism, Christianity, and Judaism as practiced in Arabian peninsula 2

Muhammad ’ s Spiritual Transformation  Visions ca. 610 CE  Archangel Gabriel  Monotheism  Attracts followers to Mecca 3

The Quran  Record of revelations received during visions  Committed to writing ca. 650 CE (Muhammad dies 632 CE)  Tradition of Muhammad ’ s life: hadith 4

Conflict at Mecca  Muhammad ’ s monotheistic teachings offensive to polytheistic pagans  Economic threat to existing religious industries (shrines & the Ka ’ ba)  Denunciation of greed affront to local merchants & aristocracy 5

The Hijra  Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 CE Year 0 in Muslim calendar  Organizes followers into communal society (the umma)  Legal, spiritual code  Commerce, raids on Meccan caravans for sake of umma 6

The “ Seal of the Prophets ”  ***Islam as culmination and correction of Judaism and Christianity  Inheritor of both Jewish and Christian texts 7

Muhammad ’ s Return to Mecca  Attack on Mecca, 630 CE  Forced Conversion of Mecca to Islam  Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques Ka ’ ba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca Approved as pilgrimage site 8

The Ka ’ ba 9

The Five Pillars of Islam 1. No god but Allah, and Muhammad as His prophet 2. Daily prayer facing Mecca 3. Fasting during the month of Ramada 4. Charity towards the weak and the poor 5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once 10

Muslims at Prayer 11

Jihad  “ Struggle ” Against vice and evil Against unbelief, ignorance of Islam  In some circumstances, wage war against unbelievers who threaten Islam 12

Islamic Law: The Sharia  Codification of Islamic law  Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of analysis  Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of human activity 13

The Caliph  No clear to successor to Muhammad identified  Abu Bakr chosen to lead as caliph ( “ deputy ” )  Leads war against villagers who abandoned Islam after death of Muhammad 14

The Expansion of Islam  Highly successful attacks on Byzantine, Sasanid territories  Difficulties governing rapidly expanding territory 15

The Expansion of Islam, 632–733 CE 16

The Shia sect  Disagreements over selection of caliphs  Ali passed over for Abu Bakr  Ali serves as caliph 656–661 CE, then assassinated along with most of his followers  Remaining followers organize separate party called “ Shia ” Traditionalists: “ Sunni ” sect 17

Shi ’ ite Pilgrims at Karbala 18

The Umayyad Dynasty (661–750 CE)  From Meccan merchant class  Capital: Damascus, Syria 19

Policy toward Conquered Peoples  Favoritism of Arab military rulers causes discontent  Limited social mobility for non-Arab Muslims  ***Head tax (jizya) on non-Muslims  Umayyads ’ luxurious living causes further decline in moral authority 20

The Abbasid Dynasty (750–1258 CE)  Abu al-Abbas: a descendent of Muhammand ’ s uncle.  Although he was Sunni Arab, allied with Shia and non-Arab Muslims  Seizes control of Persia and Mesopotamia  Defeats Umayyad army in 750 CE Invites Umayyads to banquet, then massacres them 21

Nature of the Abbasid Dynasty  Diverse nature of administration (i.e. not exclusively Arab)  Militarily competent, but not bent on imperial expansion  Dar al-Islam “ house of Islam ”  Growth through military activity of autonomous Islamic forces, not policies of the caliphs. 22

Abbasid Administration  Persian influence  Court at Baghdad  Influence of Islamic scholars (ulama, qadis) 23

Abbasid Decline  Civil war between sons of Harun al-Rashid  Provincial governers assert regional independence  Dissenting sects, heretical movements  Abbasid caliphs become puppets of Persian nobility 24

Economy of the Early Islamic World  Spread of food and industrial crops Trade routes from India to Spain  Western diet adapts to wide variety  New crops adapted to different growing seasons Agricultural sciences develop Cotton and paper industries develop  Major cities emerge 25

Formation of a Hemispheric Trading Zone  Historical precedent of Arabic trade  Dar al-Islam encompasses silk routes  Camel caravans  Maritime trade 26

Banking and Trade  Scale of trade causes banks to develop Sakk (check)  Joint ventures common 27

Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain)  Muslim Berber conquerors from north Africa take Spain, early 8 th century  Allied to Umayyads, refuse to recognize Abbasid dynasty Form own caliphate Tensions, but interrelationship 28

Changing Status of Women  Quran improves status of women Outlaws female infanticide Brides, not husbands, claim dowries  Yet male dominance is preserved Patrilineal descent Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice 29

Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition  Islamic values Uniformity of Islamic law in dar al-Islam Establishment of madrasas Importance of the hajj  Sufi missionaries Asceticism, mysticism Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians Wide popularity 30

Cultural Influences on Islam  Persia Administration and governance literature  India Mathematics, science, medicine  “ Hindi ” numbers  Greece Philosophy, especially Aristotle Ibn Rushd/Averroës (1126–1198) 31