SS2 - History of Islam

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Lecture for SS2 Asian Studies, prepared by Martin Benedict Perez, PSHS Main Campus


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I. Setting the Stage

II. The Prophet

III. The Rise of IslamA. The Question of Succession

B. The Golden Age of Islam

C. Fragmentation and Consolidation


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Before the Prophet


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Islam was born in a desert

town, but its story stretched

far beyond the borders of the

Arabian peninsula.

Understanding its history will

require a comprehension ofthe size and scale of the Asian

continent.

The following section is an overview of the history of SouthwestAsia up until the major empires that surrounded Arabia at the

dawn of Islam.


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Trade in aromatics (such as frankincense and myrrh) and spices

connected ancient Arabia, Egypt, India, and Africa.

Mecca was one of the key cities

along this route.


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The Incense Road connects with the Silk Road.


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TRIVIA: Who were the Three Wise Men?

From the Gospel of Matthew: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the timeof King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has

been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him...

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down

and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of

gold and of incense and of myrrh.

A Magi was an astronomer and a

follower of Zoroaster.

To the east of Judea is Persia.

Gold, frankincense and myrrh

were all goods traded along the

Incense Road.


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The Birth of Islam


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By 600CE, at the dawn of Islams birth,

The Christian Byzantine Empire in Europe and the Zoroastrian

Sasanid Empire were exhausting each other through a rivalry that

would end by 627.

In the Arabian peninsula, the caravan town of Mecca was quickly

becoming a prosperous trading center, ushering in urban and

commercial changes that put pressure on traditional institutions.

Throughout Arabia were the Bedouin tribes who lived on herdingand sporadic raids (ghazu) on settlements and caravans.


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Tribes were bound together by the muruwah spirit which

emphasized courage in battle, patience in suffering, and vengeanceto protect the tribe.

Most of the tribes were polytheistic, and Mecca served not only as a

trading center but a place for the different tribes to house their idols

in the Kabah.

Tribes living closer to the Byzantine and Persian empires were

exposed to Judaism and Christianity, thus the concept of a

monotheistic faith is not alien to the Arabs.

The Bedouin were gifted poets; oral recitation was a sacred ritual.


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Just three things:

1. What was Arabia like before the coming of Islam?

2. What was Muhammad like as a person?

3. How was monotheism a radical idea at that time?


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Muhammad (570 to 632) was raised an orphan in a

less well-to-do tribe called the Quraysh.

He married Khadija and exposed himself to the

commercial lifestyle in Mecca.

However, he grew increasingly troubled by the idolatry,

worldliness, and lack of social conscience around him.

This opened him up to a profound religious experience

that would change his life when he was 40 years old.


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At first, Muhammad wasnt well

received in his home town of Mecca.

His preaching against their traditional gods

and goddesses threatened both (a) their

ancestral ways and (b) the Meccanpilgrimage shrine and the lucrative trade it

attracted.

He fled Mecca in 622 for the town of

Yathrib (later Medina) who requested his

wisdom in helping them resolve a conflict.


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The migration to Medina in 622 is called

the hijrah. It is the start of the Muslimcalendar and the beginning of the first

ummah.

Allegiance to the ummahHonesty in public and personal affairs

Modesty in personal habits

Abstention from alcohol and pork

Fair division of inheritancesImproved treatment of women

Careful regulation of marriage and

divorce


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Muslim faith is concretized in the Five Pillars of Islam

which had an underlying social justice message.

I. Shahadah (profession of faith)

II. Zakat (charity)III. Sawm (fasting)

IV. Salat (ritual prayer)

V. Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)

Muhammad made faith and harmony among people

accessible so long as they submit to Allah.


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In addition, Muhammad did not see himself as the

initiator of a new tradition, but the restorer of theoriginal message of God.

I. The unity of God

II. AngelsIII. Scriptures (the Quran)

IV. Prophet-messengers

V. The Last Day

They regarded Jews and Christians as The People of the

Book who were spiritually superior over the polytheists.


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In 630, Muhammad

triumphantly returns toMecca.

He casts out idols from the

Kabah, declaring thesupremacy of the one true

God.

A tribal confederation isbound by personal allegiance

to Muhammad and

submission to God.


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An Empire of Faith


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After Muhammad died in 632, the question

immediately turns to who will succeed him.

Abu Bakr, his most gifted student, assumed command of

the ummah. He is called the caliph.

O Men, if you have been worshipping Muhammad,

then know that Muhammad is dead. But if you have

been worshipping Allah, then know that Allah is living

and never dies.

With this, the ummah transcends loyalty to a particular

person, but to God himself.


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However, some contested that the successor should be

a relative of the prophet.

His closest relative, his cousin Ali, became the caliph in

656 but was largely contested by rival parties.

He was murdered in 661 and his bloodline was eradicated

when his son, Husayn, was murdered at Karbala, in Iraq,

at the year 680.

Loyalists (partisans, Shia) of Ali claim he is the true imam.

Other claimants to the title imam soon followed.


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1. The Byzantine and Persian empires were weak and vulnerable.

2. Islam bound the once separated tribes together. Coupled with

their experience in warfare, this contributed to incredibly high

asabiya.

3. Other people were ready to accept Islam, especially with itsemphasis on having no clergy and focus on social justice.

4. Muslims were tolerant and protected their subjects. They did

not force conversion and allowed others to continue with theirown faith and laws provided they pay a tax (jizyah).

5. Muslims adopted existing systems of government and trade.


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The Golden Age of Islam


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The Umayyad and Abbasid periods are considered The HighCaliphatewhere a politically strong, culturally vibrant, and

economically wealthy system led to a Golden Age for Islam.


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During the Abbasid dynasty, the following emerged:

1. Ulama(persons of right knowledge) argued that Muslim law must bederived from the practices (sunnah) and sayings (hadith) of the Prophet

Muhammad, the Perfect Man.

2. Shariahlaw became the Muslims definitive guide for legal, social,

commercial, political, ritual and moral concerns.

3. Sunni Islamwas concretized, following three prinicples1. The umma is a theocracy, ruled by shariah law

2. The caliph is charged with administering the ummah and protecting

the Dar al-Islam.3. A person who professes the shahadah is a Muslim, and those who

commit a mortal sin is excluded from the ummah.


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In the final years of the Abbasid, the caliphate weakened as

power devolved to local leaders such as the amirand religiousauthorities such as the ulama.

One can argue that Islam has a historical tendency to be

fragmented (as opposed to China which had a tendency towardsunification).

1. Islam is egalitarian; the Quran never really talks about

centralized authority.

2. Muslims were an inherently mercantile people. Trade and

commerce would flourish with or without the state.


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The Muslim world was embroiled in a

conflict with Christianity. From 1095

to 1291, the Holy Roman Empire

fought to seize control of Jerusalem.

In 1216, Genghis Khan led the

Mongols into Persia and

Mesopotamia. By 1258, Baghdad is

burned and looted.


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Between 1450 and 1650, Islamic culture and statecraftblossomed. Instead of one universal empire however,

there emerged three, distinctively Islamic states.

Ottoman Empire in the Middle East Safavid Empire in Iran

Mughal Empire in India

By 1700, Islamic civilization was as strong and vital asEurope, Ming China, and Tokugawa Japan.


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Martin Benedict Perez 2011

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SS2 - History of Islam