islam notes

2 types of Bedouin

1. Those who settled near an oasis.

2. nomads

Badawah

Nomadic life in Arabic

Glazus

 A raid to acquire resources. Accepted as a way of life in times of scarcity, essential to the Badawah economy.  Always avoid killing!

Muruwah

• Code of the Arabs.

• To preserve honor each tribe member must be willing to leap to kinsmen’s defense and obey the chief without question.

• The most respected values were courage, patience, endurance, avenging wrong doings, protecting the weak.

• Above all must be generous with food and livestock.

• Noble Bedouins gave lavish parties to show they valued their kinsmen more than their possessions.

Karim

• one who is a generous hero. 

Hasah

• ancestral honor.

• Each tribe had a special bond of muruwah, passed down from generation to generation

• The tribe had supreme value, and everyone subordinated themselves for the good of the group

Sheikh

Leader of the Tribe

Arabia at the time of Muhammad

• Important towns are Medina and Mecca

Muhammad

• Muhammad was part of the ruling family of Mecca, although his branch of the family was not in power.

• Muhammad has visions of visits from the archangel Gabriel revealing religious truths different from other contemporary teachings.

• Muhammad shares his visions with his family – he soon has a group of converts following him.

• The authorities in Mecca grow fearful of Muhammad’s growing influence, and Muhammad is forced to flee to Medina. 

Two controversial things that Muhammad taught

1. That Allah is the only God (disrupted the economics that Mecca had)

2. Told people that their relatives are in hell, even if the living relatives convert to Christianity (Arabs practiced ancestor worship)

Hijira

• Muhammad’s escape from Mecca to Medina.

• Muhammad arrives in Medina amidst unrest, with disputing parties looking for someone to arbitrate disputes.

• He fills this role and gains a reputation for wisdom, ultimately becoming the ruler of the city. 

• After banishing the Jewish inhabitants of Medina, Muhammad confiscates their wealth and distributes it among his followers.

• Muhammad then begins extending his power to neighboring communities and cities that fall under his control, including Mecca. 

Usury

Arab word meaning to collect interest on loans

Islam

submission to God’s will as explained by Muhammad

Muslim

one who has submitted to Allah’s will/one who practices Islam

Ka’bah

• Religious site in Islam

• By sanctifying the rock inside the Ka’bah, Muhammad is replacing the pagan center of Arab belief with a monotheistic Islamic belief. 

Quran

• The teachings of Muhammad are recorded in the holy book, the Qu’ran, written after his death by several of his followers.

• Some of the writings in the Qu’ran revisit or revise aspects of the Old Testament and New Testament.

• The Qu’ran accepts Jesus as a messiah, but not as the son of God (Allah). 

Allah

• God in Arabic

• Is the same god worshiped in Judaism and Christianity

Five pillars of Islam

• In Islam, there are five duties that must be performed by every Muslim.

• These five duties, the shehada, daily prayer (salat), fasting (sawm), almsgiving (zakat), and Hajj, are collectively known as the Five Pillars of Islam.

• It is important to note that these duties are pillars of Islam and not the building itself.

• Though they are essential to being a good Muslim, these pillars are not the only things that make up Islam.

Shehada

• the declaration of faith that every Muslim must pronounce and believe in.

• It states that there is no God but Allah, and that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was his messenger.

• Stating and believing in the shehada is the only requirement for becoming a Muslim. 

Prayer (Salat)

• performed the most of any one of the Five Pillars.

• The purpose of prayer is to renew our commitment of following the path of God at all times, to ask forgiveness for our sins, and to thank God for all that he does for us.

• The idea is that if God helps us throughout the whole day, we should be able to remember him for a few minutes at least several times a day.

• There are five obligatory prayers: Fajr (prayed prior to dawn), Duhr (prayed at noon), Asr (prayed in the afternoon), Maghrib (prayed prior to sunset), and Isha (prayed at night).

• Travelers are allowed to skip prayers on the condition that they make them up afterwards.

Fajr

• One of the five major prayers (salat) of Islam

• Prayed prior to dawm

Duhr

• One of the five major prayers (salat) of Islam

• Prayed at noon

Asr

• One of the five major prayers (Salat) of Islam

Maghrib

• One of the five major prayers (Salat) of Islam

• Prayed prior to sunset

Isha

• One of the five major prayers (Salat) of Islam

• Prayed at night

Fasting (sawm)

• required only during the month of Ramadan, although it may be done on any other days, with a few exceptions.

• When fasting, a Muslim abstains from all eating, drinking, smoking, and other worldly pleasures from dawn to dusk. The person also tries to curb bad habits such as using abusive language.

• Fasting is for the betterment of society, and it also teaches the individual self-control and helps him to empathize with those who are not fortunate enough to have as much food as they need every day.

• Because it is based on the lunar calendar, fasting is fair for people all over the world.

• Every year, Ramadan starts about ten days earlier than the previous year, cycling it throughout the solar-based year. 

• Certain groups of people are excluded from fasting, such as the elderly, the sick, pregnant and nursing women, and travelers. However, these people are required to make up any days that they missed as soon as possible.

• For those people who are terminally ill or for some reason cannot make up their fasts, they are required to feed a poor person every day that they do not fast.

Almsgiving (zakat)

• must be paid by every Muslim who is capable of doing so.

• It is basically money given to those in need; the amount is 2.5% of the individual's salary.

• The recipients of this money do not have to be Muslim.

• The idea behind it is that everything one has is a gift from God, and therefore it should be shared with those who do not have. 

Hajj

• is required of every person who is able to afford it financially and is physically capable.

• It is a 5 day pilgrimage to Mecca, and can be broken down into nine necessary steps.

Caliph

• meaning “God’s deputy,” a political leader or spiritual leader of the Muslim community, the secular head of a religiously defined community.

• Caliphate is the government under a caliph. 

Abu-Bakr

• Muhammad’s father-in-law, the first of Muhammad’s successors as caliph.

• While only caliph for 2 years, he was successful at keeping the various tribes in Arabia under Muslim control and won a civil war that arose from infighting amongst different Muslim clans. 

Umar

• Also a father-in-law of Muhammad, he replaces Abu Bakr as the second caliph.

• He spreads Islam through what is today the Middle East.

• He conquers the Fertile Crescent, along with Sassanid and Byzantine areas. 

Uthman

• The 3rd caliph.

• Most notable achievement is that he commissions the writing of the Qu’ran, the Islamic holy book that chronicles Muhammad’s revelations.

• Uthman appoints deputies based on their family relationship to him (nepotism); rivals that fear such appointments will lead to a caliphate dynasty assassinating him.

Ali

• was a son-in-law and an important deputy to Muhammad, but passed over in the first three caliph elections on the belief he was too young to lead.

• When Ali fails to go after the murderers of Uthman, a civil war within Islam occurs.

• The Umayyads, the family to which Uthman belonged, rebel against Ali.

Mu’awiya

• The Umayyads under Mu’awiya win the war, resulting in a dynasty of Umayyad caliphs and creating a dividing line between two sects of Muslims, the Shia and the Sunni.

• Mu’awiya was the Umayyad governor of Damascus who leads the civil war against Ali and replaced Ali as caliph. 

Muslim split

• A split occurs between Sunni and Shia Muslims over the selection of caliph.

• Supporters of Ali (Shia) believe that the caliph should be a descendent of Muhammad’s bloodline.

• Followers of Mu’awiya (Sunni) believe the caliph should be selected via merit or through evidence of ability as a faithful and practicing Muslim.

• Today, roughly 80% of Muslims are Sunni. 

More Expansion

• In 634, six years after the Byzantines and Persians stop fighting each other, both armies were exhausted.

• Neither the Byzantines nor Persian Empires are able to stop Muslim invasions of parts of their territories under Umar, the 2nd Caliph.

• The Islamic army is led by Khalid ibn Walid, who was given the nickname ” The Sword of Allah” . 

Battle of Chains against the Persians

• Called the Battle of Chains because Persian slaves were chained together to prevent them from running away.

• Muslims win despite being vastly outnumbered.

Battle of Qadisaya

Muslims defeat the Persians despite once again being outnumbered.

Battle of Yarmuk

Khalid defeats the Byzantines despite being outnumbered. 

Invasions by Umar

• The invasions by Umar are also successful because the Muslim invaders are tolerant of other monotheistic religions.

• The Muslims did not rape or pillage, therefore there was no reason not to cooperate with them.

• Followers of other religions were taxed, but not persecuted.

• Muslims were not required to pay tax, but were required by their faith to provide alms (donations to the poor/those in need).

Dhimmis

• Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians tolerated by the Muslim political authority in exchange for tax payments (jizya and kharaj). 

• The religious leaders of the Dhimmis were expected to maintain civil obedience from their communities.

• The taxes paid by Dhimmis were generally lower than paid previously to the Roman or Persian governments. 

• The spread of Muslim influence begins on the Arabian Peninsula, but soon expands to North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

• Mecca remains the religious center of Islam, but the governmental center moves from Medina to Damascus to Baghdad. 

Jizya

 wealth tax on non-Muslims in Muslim controlled territories. 

Kharaj

land tax on non-Muslims in Muslim controlled territories. 

Umayyad Calphiate

• Comes into power after Ali’s death.

• The move of the political capital to Damascus exposes the caliphate to Greco-Roman influence.

• Under Abd-al-Malik (685-705), Muslims replaced the dhimmi as the political leaders of newly conquered areas and the religion grew (noticeable in things like the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem).

• The Umayyad Caliphate attacked Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire, twice during this period.

• The Romans held back the invasions using “Greek Fire,” an incendiary device that was not extinguishable by water.

• The Umayyad Caliphate changes the landscape of some cities, building sacred Islamic sites on top of the sacred sites of other religions.

• This shows a changing nature in the relations between Muslim rulers and their non- Muslim subjects. 

Abbasids

• Islam gains additional converts in new territories they conquer.

• As a result, a hierarchy within the religion develops based on when one’s family converted.

• Descendants of those who followed Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina and descendants of conquerors receive privileges (like pensions) denied to recent converts.

• This produces opposition to the Umayyad Caliphate, and a rebellion ensues.

• The Umayyads were toppled by the Abbasids under Al Mansur (754-775).

• Al Mansur’s Baghdad = The Abbasids moved the capital to Baghdad and created the round city.

• Baghdad and other Muslim cities become cultural centers, producing advancements in various sciences such as astronomy.

Vizier

a bureaucratic official who administers for the caliph.

Imam

 title given to one with religious authority. 

Ulama

religious scholars who decide interpretations of Shari’a law (the law based on Islamic principles and the Qur’an)

Mamluks

• slaves who convert to Islam and train as professional soldiers who would serve as part of a private army for caliphs.

• They ultimately gain enough power that Abbasid caliphs must grant their wishes, or the caliph would lose his own power (or life). 

Harun al Rashid

A skilled diplomat and general, this vizier was known to dress up as commoner and walk about the city to observe his subjects. Responsible for creating the House of Wisdom in Baghdad

The House of Wisdom

was in fame, status, scope, size, resources, patronage, etc. similar to that of the present day British Library in London or the Nationale Bibliotheque in Paris, in addition to being an Academy for the Arts and the Sciences where scholars came together for dialogue, discussions and discourses.

Al Ma’mun

• Son of Harun al-Rashid, he tries to give the office of caliph religious power.

• He declares himself an imam and orders an inquisition forcing others to admit to his religious primacy.

• This results in the ‛ulama asserting their right to interpret the Qur’an and to define the religious law, Shari‛a.

• The idea of a caliph as religious leader does not last long.

• The Abbasid capital temporarily moved from Baghdad to Samarra.

• This isolated the caliph from his bureaucracy, leaving him at the mercy of the mamluks. 

More Caliphates (Pt. 2)

• Multiple caliphates emerged after the death of al Ma’mun in 833 AD. 

• While the Abbassids will technically rule until 1258, the caliphates will become fragmented, connected but ruled independently of each other.

• In many areas, the caliphs are under the control of the military with no religious interest. Islam ceases to operate under a single government or polity.

Umayyad Spain

• An example of the multiple caliphs that emerged after the death of al Ma’mun,

• Cordoba (in present day Spain) is ruled by a surviving branch of the Umayyads.

• The Umayyad prince Abd ar-Rahman had survived and escaped to Spain.

• Cordoba will become the greatest intellectual city in Europe, containing over 70 libraries with over 500,000 manuscripts!

• It will also be the first European city to have streetlights and paved streets.  

Fatimids

• The Fatimids in North Africa claimed descent from Ali and his wife Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad.

• By the end of the 960s they seized Egypt, built Cairo as their new capital (it is still the capital of Egypt today), and pressed on to Palestine, Syria, and parts of Arabia.

• Cairo will become a center of intellectual growth and commercial trade. This is a period of triumph for the Shi’ites. 

Ghaznawids

• The Turks also set up new caliphates arising from mamluks who rose through the military ranks.

• One example is the Ghaznawids (Ghaz-NAH-weeds) who ruled part of present-day Afghanistan and Iran.

• The Ghaznawids retain some elements of Persian culture.

• They are also responsible for the spread of Islam into India, which does not go well initially.

• The Caliph Mahmoud led an army into India to Somnath, the Hindu holy temple.

• Hindu is an effront to Muslims because of its idolatry.

• 50,000 Hindus die defending the temple, touching off 1,000 years of hatred between the Hindu’s and the Muslims

Saljuquids (Pt. 1)

• The Saljuqids converted to Islam in Central Asia and invaded the Iranian plateau in the 1030s.

• They defeated the Ghaznawids and other local powers and in the 1050s became the new protectors of the Abbasid caliph.

• The caliph rewarded their chief leader, Tughrul, with the new title of sultan: derived from the Arabic word for “power,” the title was deemed superior to malik (“king”) or amir (“prince”).

• Saljuqid Turks were traditionally nomads, thus even if Saljuqid leaders were willing to settle down and adapt to the lifestyle of traditional sedentary Muslim rulers, their nomadic tribal supporters did not always want to give up their own traditions.

• The Saljuqid Turks also constitute the first major influx of nomads into the Islamic East, causing friction with the settled populations (nomads and their herds vs. farmers and their fields).

• The nomadic tribesmen initially proved useful in expanding Islamic political control west by taking over Asia Minor after defeating the Eastern Roman Empire.

Saljuquids (Pt. 2)

• Atabegs were rulers like regents or generals who took charge of maliks or sultans and governed on their behalf. 

• Eventually make their offices hereditary and stop paying homage to the Saljuqid rulers, weakening Saljuqid power.

• Over time, the Saljuqid sultans spread across the Islamic world, decreasing loyalty to a centralized Saljuqid power.

• By the early 12th century, Saljuqid sultans lost control over junior branches of the family ensconced in other provinces.

• These local kings (maliks) ruled with great autonomy, although in many cases their authority was eclipsed by atabegs.

• Several atabegs eventually overthrow their weak masters and establish their own local dynasties. The Saljuqid Empire was falling apart. 

Effects of the Saljuquid Empire

1. Allowed for the first Crusade

2. Allowed for the Invasion of the Mongols

Hulegu Khan

• was the grandson of the great Genghis Khan.

• He was given the task of expanding the Mongol empire into southwest Asia in 1251, by his brother Mongke, who was the Great Khan at the time.

• He eliminated the radical Shi‛a sect called the Hashshashin, also known as the Assassins, in their mountain fortress of Alamut without a fight.

• He then took Baghdad in 1258. Hülegü mocked the ‛Abbasid caliph, Mustastim, for hoarding treasure rather than securing better defenses, locking the caliph in a tower with treasure but no food.

• This effectively ends the ‛Abbasid caliphate, although in fact a series of weak ‛Abbasid caliphs survive in Egypt as puppets of the local sultans until 1517.

• Hulegu established a Mongol polity in Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau, that formed the fourth component of the Mongol World Empire.

• His line of rulers are called Il-Khans

Il-Khans

• In 1295 the Il-Khan Ghazan (Ghaz-AHN) converted to Islam and offered his patronage to his Muslim subjects.

• Not only were they the vast majority, but they included the learned and talented officials who could help the Il-Khan govern more effectively.

• One of his viziers, a Persian convert to Islam from Judaism, composed a long history dedicated to Ghazan and his Mongol predecessors. Ghazan’s brother and successor O ̈ ljeytu ̈ (Ool-JAY- too) followed much the same religious policy: Islam was there to stay.

• He also built a new palace city appropriately named Sultaniyya, where several monuments including his tomb survive.

• In spite of conversion to Islam, the Il-Khans were staunch opponents of several neighboring Muslim polities, including their cousins of the “Golden Horde” in the Russian steppes and the Mamluk rulers of Egypt to the west.

• In fact, the Il-Khans, even after converting to Islam, occasionally toyed with the idea of making an alliance with European Christians against their common enemies.

• In 1308 Öljeytü dispatched a large military detachment to aid the Eastern Roman Emperor against the Ottoman Turks.

• As good Mongols and rulers of an Islamic polity, the Il-Khans tried to encourage and sponsor trade.

• However, when Ghazan decided to introduce paper money following the example of China (ruled by a cousin), he met with determined opposition from the local population which would have none of that innovation. 

Spread of the Bubonic Plague (Black Death)

• Another problem related to trade was the spread of the Black Death (the Bubonic Plague) across the trade lanes and routes of the East in the 14th century.

• It should also not be forgotten that the Mongol conquest brought into the Near East a second major wave of nomadic tribesmen of Turkic and Mongol origin, exacerbating the already existing friction between nomads and farmers just when local economies were beginning to overcome the negative effects of the previous nomadic influx under the Saljuqids.

Mamluks of Egypt

• One of the most powerful Islamic polities in the late Middle Ages was the mamluk sultanate in Egypt. T

• his was not the first Muslim polity established by mamluks (we have mentioned the Ghaznawids), but it was the first that did not establish a normal and consistent hereditary succession.

• The Mamluks defeated the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt and Syria amidst the turmoil of the Crusades in 1250. In 1260 (and in the early 1300s) the mamluks defeated the Mongols, and in 1291 they destroyed the last mainland base of the Crusaders.

• The religious fervor of the mamluks may be attributed to having been born non-Muslim (as military slaves, the mamluks still had to be “recruited” from the outside).

• Many mamluk sultans built both fortresses and mosques (usually with attached madrasas: learning centers), thereby supporting defense, religion, and learning. 

Reaons for the fall of the Mamluks

1. Didn’t use guns

2. Didn’t trade

3. had too much warfare

4. Had no clear line of sucession