The Islamic Civilization

Reported by:Ms. Rodmie Colene M. Tamang

BSED-SS II-1

The Coming of Islam

Arabia• The birthplace of Islam.• The largest peninsula in the world.• It is a hilly, arid land dotted with occasional oasis or fertile

areas with enough water to support trees and plants.

Oasis Arabia

The Founding of Islam• Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570 C.E.• He married Khadija at the age of 25.

Mecca Yathrib

Hegira

622 C.E.

Mecca Yathrib630 C.E.

Muhammad returned to Mecca and captured the city. He went directly to Kaaba

There is but one God, and Allah is

his name

Muhammad died in 632 C.E.. After, his death, his followers carried the message of Islam in many directions.

Teaching of Islam• The word Islam means “submission.”• Islam prays slow or assembles at a mosque, the Muslim temple.• An Imam leads the worshippers in prayer.• Muslims rely on the Koran, their holy book, for guidance in all

matters. It is written in Arabic.

Five Pillars of IslamShahada

Salat

Zakat

Sawm

Hajj

Belief in one God

Praying 5 times a day

Giving alms

Fasting during Ramadan

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Between 622 and 732 C. E. Islam spread with amazing speed. Arabs carried their religion to the people of Palestine and Syria and across North Africa into Spain.

By 732 C.E. Muslim forces had crossed the Pyrenes Mountains and advanced into France, until they were stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours.

Islamic EmpireWhen Muhammad died, he left no heir to lead Islam. Abu Bakr, a friend of Muhammad was elected caliph. A caliph means successor to the prophet

The Umayyad Dynasty• In 661 C.E. a leading family of Mecca established the Umayyad

Dynasty.• The Umayyad made Damascus in Syria the capital of the Islamic

Empire.• Mecca remained as the spiritual center of Islam.

Problems appeared within the Islamic Empire. Some of the people who have been absorbed into the empire began to assert their independence. And at the same time, two competing branches developed within Islam.

The two branches differed over who was the rightful successor to Muhammad.

The Sunnites supported the Umayyads.

The Shiites were loyal to the religious leader who traced his family back to Ali- Muhammad’s soon in law.

In 750 C.E. violence erupted. A new dynasty overthrew the Umayyads.

The Abbasids DynastyThe early Abbasid rulers were strong leaders. They build a splendid new capital in Baghdad.

Around the year 700 under Harun Al-Rashid, the Islamic Empire enjoyed the Golden Age. Later, Abbasid rulers left the rule of the government to corrupt officials; and after 100 C.E., the empire weakened.

The Seljuk Turks invaded the Islamic Empire. Although they were converted to Islam, their traditions differed from those of the Arabs.

In 1258, the Mongols destroy Baghdad and ended the Abbasid’s rule.

Eventually, the Ottoman Turks reunited Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Arabia into an Islamic State that lasted until 1918.

The Contribution

of Islam

Medicine

The Muslim set up a system of medical training which included qualifying exams for Doctors and Pharmacists. Arab Doctors informed

the world about their scientific discoveries by publishing their findings.

Literature

Poets held an honored place in the world. Romantic themes often inspired poetry.

Science

Muslim used the magnetic needle, which was invented by the Chinese, to produced their own version of the Mariner’s Compass.

Economy

Cities and commerce prospered the Islamic world at a time when people in Western Europe lived on small isolated manors. The Islamic empire, from its center in the Middle East, headed the trade routes of

the world.

Logic

Islam brought new life to many fields of learning. Muhammad taught that the “ink of the scholar is holier that the blood of the martyr.”

Encouraged by his idea, scholars flocked to the center of learning that grew up in the cities of the Islamic Empire.

Arts

Muslims designed their temple.

Architecture

Outside the Mosque, architects designed slender towers called Minarets, from which the people were called to pray.

Mathematics

Muslim mathematicians studied the works of ancient scholars such as Euclid. They also adopted the decimal system and system of numerals

from India. In fact the word Algebra is based on Arabic term.

The END