Rise of Islam

• Origins of Islam in 7th

century Saudi Arabia

- Bedouins (nomads who herded sheep, camels, and goats) were prevalent there

- Polytheism, animism in area; worship of idols

- caravan trade led to contact with Judaism and Christianity in the Fertile Crescent

Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam- born in Makkah (Mecca)

ca 570 CE- orphaned at an early age,

he was raised by an uncle- during his teens, he worked

first as a camel driver, then as a caravan leader on a trade route

- married his employer, awealthy widow namedKhadija, when he was 25

- relief from financial worries gave himtime to reflect upon life’s meaning

- he often went outside town and into the desert, to pray and meditate

- in 610 CE, Muhammad experienced a revelation, or vision (he said the angelGabriel (Jobril) appeared to him)

• Muhammad preached in Makkah and gained followers; however, he also antagonized some rich merchants and religious leaders, and was forced to flee to Madinah (aka Medina or Yathrib) in 622 CE

• This Hijrah (aka hegira), or emigration, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar

• Muhammad and his followers returned in triumph to Makkah in 630 CE

• Muhammad died in 632 C.E. and was succeeded by Abu Bakr as leader (or caliph)

• Islam spreads to entire Arabian peninsula by 634 CE

MAIN BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF ISLAMThe Quran (aka Koran) – Muslim holy book (comprises revelations made to Muhammad over a 22-year period)

The 5 Pillars of Islam

1. The Confession of Faith

2. Prayer five times a day

3. Alms to the poor

4. Fasting during Ramadan

5. Hajj (or pilgrimage to Makkah)

Other important beliefs and practices:

No eating pork;

no drinking alcohol;

no gambling;

prohibition against dishonest behavior;

polygamy allowed in some cases (a man may marry up to four wives)

Role of Shari’a – law code formulated by Muslim scholars

The Ka’aba (in Makkah) The Ka’aba in Makkah – a shrine roughly in the shape of a cube (or ka’aba) housing a large black meteorite; the most sacred site in Islam, it is located in the Grand Mosque; according to the Quran (2: 27), Abraham and his son Ishmael were the first to build a house here

A black silk cloth covers the outside of this building

During Hajj, Muslims walk around this shrine counterclockwise 7 times to honor Allah

Old City of Jerusalem – a general view

Muhammad’s Night Flight to Jerusalem

The Dome of the Rock is built on top of the Temple Mount (where Herod’s Temple was before the Romans destroyed it in 70 CE)

Interior of the Dome of the Rock

Division in Islam in the 8th century after Muhammad’s death between Sunni and Shi’ites (Ali’s followers) Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law (he was married to Fatima, Muhammad’s daughter), claimed that he was the rightful successor to Muhammad; this claim led a civil war ; eventually Ali lost and was killed in 661; the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, purportedly marks the spot where he died

Differences between Sunni and Shi’ites

1) Dispute over succession (Shiites believe that only descendants of Ali are legitimate; Sunni believe that any upright Muslim can be the leader (caliph))

2) role of hadith (accepted by Sunni, rejected by Shiites)

3) For Shiites, clergy (or imams) are more important intermediaries between man and Allah than for Sunni

Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties

I. Ummayad Dynasty (661-750 C.E.)

A. Muawiyah (661-680) -

Founder

B. Key event: Umayyad army defeated

Husayn ibn Ali’s forces at Karbala in 680

C. Dynasty is based in Damascus

D. Dominated by Arabs

II. Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 C.E.)

A. Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah (+754) - Founder

B. Abbasids take power by defeating the

Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab in 750

C. From 762 C.E. their capital is Baghdad

D. Dominated by Persians and others

E. Golden Age: Harun al-Rashid (r.786-809)

E. Key event: Mongols sack Baghdad in

1258

III. Caliphate of Cordoba (756-1031 C.E.)

IV. Mamluk Dynasty in Egypt (1261-1519 C.E.)

Important philosophers, jurists and physicians

• Avicenna (980-1037)

1. Lived mostly in

Uzbekistan &Persia

2. Wrote the Canon of Medicine

• Averroes (1126-1198)

1. Lived mostly in Spain &

Morocco

2. Wrote on law, philosophy,

and astronomy

• Maimonides (1135-1204)

1. Lived mostly in Spain , Morocco,

and Egypt

2. Rabbi, physician and philosopher

Important poets and writers

-Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) –

Persian poet and physician; lived in

both Uzbekistan and Persia; wrote

the Rubaiyat

-Saadi (1184-1291) – Persian poet;

traveled extensively, from India to

Persia to Syria to Palestine to Egypt;

wrote The Orchard and The Rose

Garden

-Rumi (1207-1273) – Persian poet,

jurist, and Sufi mystic; lived most of

his life in Turkey; wrote Spiritual

Couplets