Islam Bentley #1

where did islam arise

where did islam arise

in the arabian pennisula where there was very little water other than yemen and the city of Medina

who were the nomadic people in the arabian pennisula

bedouin, they lived in clans and had a strong sense of family

did arabians trade

yes they provided link in trade between China and India in the east and Persia and Byzantium in the west, they also had numerous roads and sea lanes

what was muhammad's early life

he was born into a family of merchants, and was abonded at 6 where he had a difficuly childhood until he married Khadija a wealthy woman he worked for

what was muhammad’s job

he was a merchant which allowed him to learn more about christianity and judaism by travelling places

what happened when muhammad was 40

he had a spirtual discovory where he discovered allah the one true diety, archangel Gabriel the messenger of god told muhammad he should share his visions and messages of allah

what did muhammad say Allah would do

he said that idolatry and the recognition of other gods amounted to wickedness, and that Allah would soon bring his judgment on the world, rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked

what was islam influenced by

christianity, judaism, and Zoroastrianism

what was the islam holy book called

the quran

what was the hadith

a secondary source to the quran which included sayings attributed to Muhammad and accounts of the prophet's deeds

what was the conflict at mecca

polytheistic arabs were mad that islam was growing and that they were said to be punished by allah. artists were also upset that islam did not promote idoltary

what was the Kabba

the kabba was a shrine considered to be the dwelling of a powerful deity that attracted many visitors

what happaned as people in mecca continued to pressure islam beleivers

people began to flee to ethiopia, muhammad stayed until most of his followers feld to Yathrib (north of mecca) so he followed them there and called the new city medina ("the city of the prophet")

how did muhammads move affect islam

it was known hijra (migration) and was the begining of the islam calander

what was the community muhammad and his followers lived in

the community was called umma ("community of the faithful") and had its own legal and social code, and muhammad led the communty to war, to prayer, and to economic stability by raiding mecca

what was muhammads understandings as a prophet

he knew he was the most important prophet of allah and called himself the "seal of the prophets", he also respected other religions and held the Hebrew scriptures and the Christian New Testament in high esteem still beleiving allah and islam was the best

what did muhammad do when he returned to mecca

they told authroities they would participate in the pilgrimage to the kabba but actually attacked the city. they forced officials to adapt islam as their faith and destroyed idoltary other than kabba

what did muslims beleive about the kabba

they did not beleive that it was teh home of a deity however perserved it and led islamic pilgrimages their (hajj)

what happened right before muhammad died

his followers continued attacking clans and cities and eventually brought arabia under their control

what were the 5 pillars of islam

(1) Muslims must acknowledge Allah as the only god and Muhammad as his prophet. (2) They must pray to Allah daily while facing Mecca. (3) They must observe a fast during the daylight hours of the month of Ramadan. (4) They must contribute money for the weak and poor. (5) those who are physically and financially able must undertake the hajj

what was jihad

it was the struggle some very faithful muslims did (living a poor lifestyle, fighting against non-beleivers, etc.)

what was islam holy law

it was known as the sharia, it drew from the quran and offered guidance for every aspect of life. It offered precise guidance on marriage and family life, inheritance, slavery, businesses, political authority in the dar al-Islam (arab territory), and crime

what happened after muhammads death

people fought over who should become the next succsesor, some towns thought they should use th oppurtunity to no longer worship islam but it became so powerful that they could not

who was selected to lead after muhammad

abu bakr was one of muhammads closest friends and most devoted disciples so he became a caliph (deputy)

where was islam able to expand to

they caught the byzantine and sansanid empire at weak points and were able to take syria, pakistan, mesopotamia, egypt, north africa, persia, northern india, and eventually spain

what political issues happened during expansion

everything was good during the first four caliphs but soon people wanted to administer themselves and had personal differences so parties began to arise

What was the Shia sect

this was an organization supporting ali and his descendants, ali was a canidate for the 1st caliph but was beat by abu bakr. ali breifly served as the 4th caliph but was quickly assasinated him and his family while praying. his descendants then formed the shia sect where followers observed holy days in honor of their leaders, and they taught that descendants of Ali were infallible, sinless, and divinely appointed to rule the Islamic community

what was the religous traditions against shia sect

they created a knew form of islam called sunni islam which was very popular amongst 90% of muslims

what was established after the assasination of ali?

a group of prominent meccans who formed the ummayad empire

Why were the Ummayads disliked

The Umayyads ruled the dar al-Islam as conquerors, and their policies reflected the interests of the Arab military aristocracy

what were ummayad policies

they allowed conquered people to observe their own religions but they had to pay jizya, on those who did not convert to Islam and even if they did convert they were not respected in society

how did the ummayads fall

they stopped caring about leadership and their people and instead focused on their own luxurious lifestyles. they also faced resistance of the Shia but also of conquered peoples throughout their empire

who was Abu al-Abbas

he was a leader for one of the largest revolts against the ummayads, although he was a sunni muslim he sided with many shias and conquered people. he fought and destroyed ummayad forces and invited the remaining ummayads to a banquet where he killed the rest and established the abbasid empire

How did the Abbasid dynasty differ from the Umayyad dynasty?

the government was not favored towards arabs and allowed anybody to participate, it was not as much of a counquering empire however the country continued to expand into europe becuase of independent armies conquest's

how did the abbasids administer their government

they turned to Mesopotamian and Persian techniques of administration whereby rulers devised policies, built capital cities to oversee affairs, and organized their territories through regional governors and bureaucracies

where was the capital for the abbasid empire

baghdad (modern day iraq/mesopotamia) closer to the center of their empire

who resolved disputes for the abbasid empire

ulama ("people with religious knowledge") were pious scholars who sought to develop public policy in accordance with the Quran and sharia, qadis ("judges") heard cases at law and rendered decisions based on the Quran and sharia (**they were not priests)

how else did abbasid caliphs maintain rule and stability in the empire

they kept an army, and they established bureaucratic ministries in charge of taxation, finance, coinage, and postal services. They also maintained a network of roads from the sanssanids

what was the high point of the abbasid empire

baghdad collected large amounts of wealth from taxing all parts of the empire this allowed Harun al-Rashid to create a lavish lifestyle for all people and distribute money to the poor and the common classes by tossing coins into the streets of Baghdad.

what led to abbasids decline

succesio probelms caused a civil war from harun sons, caliphs began to use taxes to build up independant bases of power, and peasents rebelled

who ruled the abbasid empire as it fell

first persians took over baghdad, then the seljuq turks with a Seljuq sultan ("chieftain" or "ruler") took over and ruled with the abbasids until they overthrew the empire and began to expand until the mongols fully defeated them and ended the empire