Origins By 600, Byzantium and the Sasanids had been fighting for four centuries Their power broken...

OriginsBy 600, Byzantium and the Sasanids had been fighting for four centuries

Their power broken by Arabs in the seventh century

ArabiaNomadic Bedouin populationSmall kingdoms – some client to ByzantinesSome pagan, Christian, Jewish

Mecca – center of caravan tradePilgrimage site because of Ka’ba (Kaaba)

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Origins (cont.)Arabic language defined and linked Arabs

Semitic tongue of Afro-Asiatic family

Arabs divided by religion, blood feudsShared a highly developed poetic idiom

Islam not a religion of the desertOrigins were in a commercial centerFirst converts were Meccan town townsfolk and Yathrib (Medina) date farmers

Most Arabs were pagans before conversionCaravans – connection to diverse cultures


IntroductionIslamic civilization

Last great world civilization to appear

Creation of distinctive Islamic religious, social, and political institutions

Within an Arab-dominated empire

The story of evolution of these institutions into a cosmopolitan array of cultureDerived from single prophetic event

Muhammad’s proclamation of the Qur’anGave Arabs a new unity


Muhammad the Qur’an

Muhammad – 570-632Orphan from Meccan Quraysh tribe

Khadija

Troubled by idolatry, worldlinessFelt called to warn Arabs

• About their disregard for morality• About the worship due God

Called by Gabriel to be prophet of GodQur’an – “reciting” of God’s Word


Message of the Qur’anThe Prophet is to warn people

Against worship of false godsAgainst immorality

• Especially injustice to poor, orphans, widows, and women in general

Judgment DayEternal punishment or eternal joy

Recognition of God’s transcendenceIslam – “submission” to God’s willMuslim – “submissive” or “surrendering”


Ethical MonotheismEthical monotheism of Judaic and Christian tradition reached logical conclusion

Strongly theocentric visionAbsolute obedience to one god

ProphetsNoah, Abraham, Moses, JesusSalih – nonbiblical Arabian figureMuhammad as final prophet

Jews and Christians summoned to respond to moral imperatives of Qur’an


Early Career of Muhammad

Largely ignored at firstOthers viewed him as a threat

Hegira – “emigration”In 622 Muhammad called to Yathrib (Medina)

• Settle dispute – five warring tribes

Starting point of Islamic calendar

Creation of a distinctive Islamic community (Umma)

Arab Jews of Medina rejected his messageMoving Muhammad to turn against them


FoundationsAllegiance to the UmmaHonesty in public and person affairsModesty in personal habitsImproved treatment of womenRitual ablution before prayerDaily prayer – 3 then later 5 times dailyTithe to support less fortunate MuslimsDaytime fasting during RamadanHajj – pilgrimage to Mecca


Roots of TolerationAcceptance of Islamic political authority brought tolerance

“Peoples of the Scripture”Jews and Christians who accepted Islamic rule

Many alliances sealed with marriagesTiny band of Muslims bound together by

Personal allegiance to MuhammadSubmission (Islam) to GodMembership in the Umma of “submitters”


Women in Early Islamic Society

Qur’an improved status of women Prohibits female infanticide

Outlines rights to inherit, own, and manage property

Negotiate own marriage

Negative AspectsNo full equality – legitimizes patriarchal society

Polygamy

Seclusion


Birth of Caliphate

Death of Muhammad in 632No son or designated successor

Challenge to the Umma

Abu Bakr – r. 632-634Caliph – (khalifa) successor

Reestablished Medinan hegemony

Umma was a new kind of supratribal community that demanded more than allegiance to a particular leader


Early ExpansionUmar – r. 634-644 and Uthman – r. 644-656

Iran, Egypt, Fertile CrescentLast Sasanid ruler defeated in 651

Ali – r. 656-661 – Civil warMu’awiya – r. 661-680

Islamic fleet – Cyprus, Sicily, RhodesConstantinople besieged

Raids into Spain in 711Defeated at Poitiers by Charles Martel, 732Arabic armies in Indus region in 710


Factors of Success

Weakened state of Byzantines and SasanidsNew sense of unityReligious zeal

Desire to extend Dar al-IslamToo much can be made of jihadToleration – Jizya

Temptation of greater prosperity elsewhereAstute policies of early leaders


New Islamic Order

Expansion demanded new political, social, cultural reality

CaliphateAt first, succession similar to choosing shaykhs

Change with Islamic influence• Caliph – khalifa “successor”• Imam – “leader”• Emir – “commander”

First four caliphs associated with pristine purity


Umayya Caliphate 661-750

First civil war – 656-661

Mu’awiya – r. 661-680Kinsman of Uthman

Founded first dynastic caliphate

Not viewed in same light as “rightly guided” caliphs

Seen as too worldly by conservatives

Would fall to AbbasidsDissension among Arab tribal factions, non-Arab resentment of Arab preference,


UlamaReligious leadership in Umma not with caliphsWith Muslims recognized for piety and learning

Sought as authoritiesMost concerned with preserving, interpreting, and applying the Qur’anPrecedents from Meccan and Medinan practiceOral traditions

Enduring pattern of education based on study under persons highest in chain of trustworthy Muslims linking current age to earliest Umma


Ulama (cont.)Ulama – “persons of right knowledge”

Scholars who studied religious history• Personal legal decisions • Collective discussions of issues

Shari’a – divine lawCenters of Ulama – Medina, Mecca, Iraq

Ulama as guardians of Muslim conscienceCreation of a workable moral-legal system based on a scholarly elite

Ulama shared leadership with rulers


UmmaStrength of Qur’anic message was universalismNew converts still second class

“Clients”Diwan – army register

• Perpetuated Arab precedence

Dominance of Arabic languageEarly Persian-Arab tensions

Persian cultural renaissance – impact on Arabs

Different interpretations of the Umma


Kharijites

Roots in first civil war 656-661

Kharijites - “seceders” from Ali’s campMuslim policy on strict Qur’anic principles

Total equality of the faithful

Leader of the Umma should be best Muslim

Rigorist view of membershipAnyone who commits a major sin no longer a Muslim

Moral imperatives of Muslim duty


Shi’aRelates to leadership of Umma

Murder of Ali by Kharijite in 661Murder of Ali’s son Husayn at Kaarbala, 680Shi’at Ali – “partisans of Ali”

Shi’ites believed Ali to be chosen successorIdea of divinely inspired knowledgePassed from Muhammad to heirs

Leader of Islamic world should carry Muhammad’s blood and spiritual authority


Centrists

Choice between Kharijites and Shi’aMost Muslims accepted a central position

Sunnis – followers of the tradition (sunna) of the Prophet and Qur’an

Broad middle spectrum of Muslims• Put communal solidarity and maintenance of the

Islamic polity above purist tie to a particular theology

Inclusive rather than exclusive


Sunni Foundations

Basic ideas of SunnisUmma is a theocratic entity

• Qur’an

• Muhammad’s precedence

• Interpretive efforts and consensus of Muslims

Caliph absolute temporal ruler

Muslim – “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is God’s prophet.”


The High Caliphate

Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik 692Victory in second civil war

Consolidates power of caliph

Era of political strength, cultural vibrancy, wealth, and centralization

Height of caliphal power and splendor 786-833


Abbasid State

Abbasid revolution ended Arab dominanceBaghdad – capital – “city of peace”

Eastward shift in cultural and political orientation

Claimed descent from al-Abbas

Height under Harun al-Rashid – r. 786-809

Mamluks – slave soldiersCaliphs eventually dominated by mamluks

Alienation of Muslim populace


Society

Deep division between rules and populaceTypical of most Islamic societies

Central power of Abbasids wanedProvincial rulers still recognized authority

Iraq and Iran saw full Islamization of local elite before mid-twelfth century

Followed by Spain, North Africa, Syria

Full Islamization diminished need for centralized caliphal power


Decline of the Caliphate

Disputes over the succession of the ProphetDivided Muslims

Spain, North Africa, Iran & Egypt established independent states and caliphates

Rise of Shi’ite clan

Seljuk sultans

Figurehead caliphs

Mongols kill last caliph 1258


“Classical” Islamic Culture

Abbasid rich cultural legacySophisticated tastes Thirst for knowledge

Philosophy & SciencesTranslation of Greek worksProgress in astronomy, medicinePreservation of Greek works

• Europe cultural backwater


Culture (cont.)

Language and LiteratureAdab “manners” literature

Historical and biographical writings

Hadith

Art and ArchitectureAdaptation of Graeco-Roman, Byzantine, and Iranian art

Calligraphic motifs

Iconoclasm


Origins By 600, Byzantium and the Sasanids had been fighting for four centuries Their power broken...

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