Dar-al-Islam

Dar-al-Islam (The Muslim World)

  • Muhammad's Life:
    • Born 570 into Bedouin society.
    • 610: Revelations by Angel Gabriel (Qur’an).
    • 622: Hegira to Medina.
    • 630: Returns to Mecca; enforces new government.
    • 632: Death; unifies Arabia.
  • Essential Beliefs:
    • Qur’an: Holiest text.
    • Hadith: Sayings of the Prophet.
    • Shari’a Law: Religious and civil law.
    • Muhammad: Last prophet.
    • People of Book: Jews and Christians with privilege.
    • Five Pillars of Islam.
  • Five Pillars of Islam:
    • Declaration of faith
    • Obligatory prayer
    • Compulsory giving
    • Fasting in Ramadan
    • Pilgrimage to Mecca

Sunni/Shi’a Split

  • 632: Death of Muhammad.
  • Succession dispute: Abu Bakr vs. Ali.
    • SUNNI: Rightly Guided Caliphs.
    • SHI’A.
    • SUFI: Mystical school.
  • UMAYYAD DYNASTY

Dar al Islam: Umayyads (661-750)

  • Sunni Muslims.
  • Hereditary caliphate from Damascus.
  • Rapid expansion due to religious unity.
  • Jizya tax on non-converts.
  • Decline: Decadence, corruption, Shi’a resistance.

Dar al Islam: The Abbasids (750-1258)

  • Sunni; ruled from Baghdad.
  • Battle of the Talas River (751): Stopped Tang Chinese expansion.
  • Persian influence: Veiling of women, vizier, emirs, harem.

Golden Age (750-900) under Harun al-Rashid

  • Built House of Wisdom.
  • Arabic as unifying force.
  • Madrasas (universities).
  • Algebra and Arabic numerals.

Muslim Agricultural Revolution

  • Spread of crops from India, South/Southeast Asia, and China.
  • Examples: eggplant, safflower, mung bean, cotton, lemon/lime, sugarcane, bananas, taro, orange, rice.

Decline of Abbasids

  • Internal: Overextension, courtly excesses, political divisions, civil war.
  • External: Seljuk Turks, Mongols.
  • Unity maintained through language and trade despite fragmentation.

Political Fragmentation: Al-Andalus

  • Umayyads fled to Spain.
  • Settled by Berbers.
  • Defeated at Battle of Tours in 732.
  • Center of culture until Reconquista in 1492.
  • Cultural blending led to math/science achievements in Europe.

Political Fragmentation: Mamluks

  • Slave soldiers serving Abbasids; established sultanate in Egypt/Syria.

Political Fragmentation: Seljuks

  • Weakened Abbasids; controlled Baghdad in 1055.
  • Caliphs as figureheads.
  • Defeated Byzantine Empire.

Delhi Sultanate (Islam to India)

  • 1206-1526.
  • Turkic people converted.
  • Sultanate: Ruler claims territory, not Islamic faith.
  • Sharia law, jizya.
  • Architecture, knowledge promoted.

Islam and India

  • Islamic/Hindu cultures thrived.
  • Low-caste Buddhists converted to Islam.
  • Conquered by Tamerlane; destruction of learning centers.

Dar al-Islam

  • New Islamic entities emerged, dominated by Turkic people.
  • Expansion via military, merchants, missionaries, Sufis.

Africa - Interior

  • Southern Africa: Non-centralized states (Great Zimbabwe).
  • Great Zimbabwe: Controlled gold trade, declined due to environment.

Africa - Ethiopia

  • Christian kingdom surrounded by Muslims.
  • Rulers traced ancestry to Jesus; attempted