Nishi Mandapati

12/6/18
Chapter 14: The Expansive Realm of Islam

I. Introduction
 632 CE prophet Muhammad visited home city of Mecca bc he was exiled from Medina
 Haji: holy pilgrimage to Mecca  becomes special occasion
 Islam: means submission- obedience to rule & will of Allah- only deity recognized in
strictly monotheistic Islamic religion
 Muslim: one who has submitted
 Attracted many followers & had poli/social significance
 Islamic society orig reflected nomadic/mercantile Arabian society but over time Muslim
conquerors adopted Persian techniques of gov /finance to administer their lands
 Muslims didn’t invent new Islamic society, but blended Arab, Persian, Greek & India
 Many lands became part of dar al-Islam house of Islam (lands under Islamic rule)
II. A Prophet and His World
 Islam started in Arabian peninsula & it reflected social/cultural conditions of society
 Nomads like Bedouin migrated thru deserts & org themselves into clan groups
 Cooperation w/ kin = survival in harsh enviro, so they dev strong sense of loyalty to their
clans= common interests
 Arabia = lots of trade = lots of cultural transfusion
A. Muhammad and His Message
 Born to family of merchants in Mecca; Muhammad ibn Abdullah lost both parents at 6
 Worked for/married rich Khadija (widow)  helped him gain prominence- NOT ELITE
 He was a merchant & met ppl w/ diff religions/cultures
 Most Arabs rec many gods, goddesses, demons & nature spirits
 By Muhammad’s time, many Arabs converted to Christianity
 Muhammad understood Judaism & Christianity
 610 CE- Muhammad has spiritual experience that tells him there’s only 1 true deity-
Allah “God”  ruled universe, idolatry of other gods = wickedness & Allah would soon
bring judgement to world- rewarding righteousness & punishing wickedness
o His visions were delivered by Gabriel (also recog by Jews/Christians as God’s
messenger) who told him to spread faith
 Shared views of Judaism, Christianity & Zoroastrianism but he didn’t intend to blend
them together to create a new religion
 Originally spread his visions orally, but as Islamic community grew, followers wrote
texts of his teachings to form Quran (“recitation”)
o Quran communicates Muhammad’s understanding of Allah & his relation to world &
serves as definitive authority for Islamic religious doctrine & social org
 hadith: includes sayings/doings of Muhammad; less authoritative than Quran
 hadith was about Muhammad but Quran is about God
B. Muhammad’s Migration to Medina
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 Popularity of Muhammad’s preaching = religious conflicts w/ ruling elites at Mecca
 Monotheistic Islam offended polytheistic Arabs bc it disparaged long-recog deities
 Mecca’s ruling elites (wealthiest merchants) felt their position threatened bc Muhammad
denounced greed as moral wickedness that Allah would punish
 Muhammad’s attack on idolatry = econ threat to ppl who owned from deities’ shrines that
attracted merchants & pilgrims to Mecca
o Ka’ba was a big black cube rock that = $$
 These factors led to Mecca’s ruling elites persecuting Muhammad & his followers
 They fled to Abyssinia but Muhammad stayed in Mecca until 622 CE when he fled to
Yathrib; Muslims called Medina “the city”/ “the city of the prophet”
 Hijra: Muhammad’s move to Medina is starting point of official Islamic calendar
 Muhammad org his followers into cohesive commun called umma “community of
faithful” & have it a legal/social code
 He fought enemies w/ his ppl, provided relief for less fortunate & grew econ
 Accepted authority of earlier Jewish/Christian prophets (Abraham, Moses & Jesus) but
felt that he was the last prophet & carried the most complete message of God
o Held Hebrew scriptures & Christian New Testament in high esteem
o Accepted predecessors monotheism: Allah was same omnipotent, omniscient,
omnipresent & exclusive deity
C. The Establishment of Islam in Arabia
 Muhammad & his followers felt Mecca was home & in 630 they conquered Mecca &
forced elites to adopt faith; imposed gov dedicated to Allah
o Destroyed pagan shrines except Ka’ba & replaced them w/ mosques (buildings sought
to instill sense of sacredness & community where Muslims gathered for prayers)
o Denied that Ka’ba was for a deity & instead kept it as symbol of Mecca’s greatness
 Muhammad launched campaigns against other towns & Bedouin clans  by
Muhammad’s death in 632, brought most of Arabia under their control
 Muhammad’s faith/leadership shaped values & dev of Islamic community
 Five Pillars of Islam:
o Muslims must acknowledge Allah as only god & Muhammad as his prophet
o They must prey to Allah daily while facing Mecca
o They must observe a fast during daylight hours of month of Ramadan
o They must contribute alms for relief of weak & poor
o In honor of Muhammad’s visits to Mecca (629/632), those who are physically &
financially able must undertake the hajj & make at least 1 pilgrimage to Mecca
 Islam has gen many schools/sects, each w/ it’s own legal, social & doctrinal features
 5 Pillars of Islam is powerful framework that bound umma into cohesive commun of faith
 Some Muslims have taken jihad (struggle) as obligation for faithful
o One def: jihad imposes spiritual/moral obligations on Muslims to struggle against
ignorance & unbelief by spreading Islam & seeking converts
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o 2nd def: involves physical struggle obliging Muslims to wage war against unbelievers
who threaten Islam (MANY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS)
 Sharia: Islamic holy law emerged AFTER Muhammad & offered guidance on proper
behavior in almost every aspect of life (marriage, fam life, inheritance, slavery, business,
poli authority in dar al-Islam, crime & commercial relationships)
 Drew it’s inspirations from Quran & early accounts of Muhammad’s life/teachings
 Sharia made Islam more than religious doctrine  dev new way of life w/ social/ethical
values derived from Islamic religious principles
III. The Expansion of Islam
 Muhammad made no provision for successor after his death
 Serious division within umma concerning choosing new leader
 Many towns & Bedouin clans that recently converted used Muhammad’s death to renounce
Islam, reassert their ind & break free from Mecca’s control
 Islamic commun expanded military that had poli/cultural influence beyond Arabia these
conquests laid foundation for rapid growth of Islamic society
A. The Early Caliphs and the Umayyad Dynasty
 Muhammad was “seal of prophets” so no one could succeed him
 After his death, his advisors elected Abu Bakr (nice man who was close friend &
devoted disciple) to serve as caliph- deputy
 Abu & later caliphs led umma as lieutenants/subs for Muhammad
 Abu was head of state for Islamic comm, chief judge, religious leader & mili commander
 Umma was aggressive against towns & Bedouin clans that renounced Islam & within
year compelled them to recognize Islam/rule of caliph
 Mili less powerful than Byzantine/Sasanids but attacked at weak time (internal issues)
 Muslims seized Byzantine Syria, Palestine & most of Meso from Sasanids (633-637CE)
 640s- Byzantine Egpy & north Africa; 711- Hindu kingdom of Sind in nw India; 711-
717- nw Africa & crossed Strait of Gibraltar, most of Iberian peninsula & threatened
Frankish Gaul; mid 8th century- LARGE Islamic empire
 Expansion= problems w/ choosing caliphs
o After Muhammad’s death, powerful Arab clan leaders chose among themselves to
appoint 1st 4 caliphs
o Poli ambitions, personal diff & clan loyalties complicated things & disputes led to
factions/parties withing Islamic comm
o Shia Sect: largest & most important alts to majority faith (Sunni Islam)
o Originated as part supporting Ali & his descendants but he was assassinated
o Shias were persecuted but survived by adopting diff doctrines/rituals
o Sunnis (“traditionalists”) who accepted legitimacy of prior caliphs
o Shias observed holy days to honor martyrs & leaders to their cause, taught that
descendants of Ali were infallible, sinless & divinely appt to rule
o Advanced interpretations of Quran; had support from ppl who opposed Sunni policies
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 After Ali’s death, Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 CE) temp solved succession issue
 Umayyads were most prom of Meccan merchant clans & rep/network of alliances helped
them bring stability to Islamic comm
 Est capital at Damascus- thriving commercial center in Syria- location = better
communication w/ vast & expanding empire
 Umayyads favored Arabs bc they ruled as dar-al-Islam conquerors & their policies
reflected Arab mili aristocracy
 Appt elite Arabs as govs & admin of conquered lands & distrib $$ among this priv class
 Angers other ethnic/religious groups in empire; Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Buddhists
& Indians, Persians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, Egyptians & nomadic Berbers in n. Africa
 Arabs mostly allowed ppl to observe diff religions but had special head tax jizya on
nonconverts; converts didn’t get any privileges
 Policies caused deep resentment & led to restiveness against Umayyad rule
 8th cent- caliphs alienate from Arabs; have lux lifestyle instead of caring about umma
o Scandalized devout Muslims by casual attitudes toward Islam; Shia resisted caliphs
B. The Abbasid Dynasty
 Rebellion in Persia ended Umayyad dynasty
 Abu al-Abbas: rebellion leader; descendant of Muhammad’s uncle
o Sunni Arab but allied w/ Shias & non-Arab Muslims (converts sw Asia)
o Prom supporters were Persian converts who resented Umayyad’s preferences to Arabs
 740s- Abbas’ party rejected Umayyad auth & controlled Persia/Meso
 750- Abbas’ army defeated Umayyads in massive battle; then invited remaining
Umayyads to banquet to reconcile their diffs
o His troops arrested Umayyads & killed them; annihilating clan
 Abbas founded Abbasid dynasty- main auth in dar al-Islam until Mongols in 1258 CE
 DIFFERENCES B/W ABBASID & UMAYYAD
 Abbasid state more cosmo & rulers didn’t favor Arab mili aristo; Arabs continued to play
large role in gov but Persians, Egyptians, Mesopotamians etc also had power & $$
 NOT conquerors
o Sparred w/ Byzantine empire, freq w/ CA nomads & 751- defeated Chinese army at
Talas River imp bc ended expansion of China’s Tang dynasty into CA & allowed
spread of Islam among Turkish ppl
 Dar al-Islam as whole grew during Abbasid era but caliphs didn’t rlly contribute
o 9/10th cent- autonomous Islamic forces from Tunisia had naval expeditions thru Medi,
conquered Crete, Sicily & Balearic Islands; territories in Cyprus, Rhodes, Sardinia,
Corsica, s Italy & s France
 Abbasids happy w/ admin empire they inherited
 Had gov that could admin diverse realm & relied heavily on Persian techniques
 Central auth came from Baghdad court that Abbasids built
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o Baghdad was round city protected by 3 walls & at heart was caliph’s green-domed
palace, which gave out instructions for rest of realm
o In provinces, govs rep caliphs & implemented his poli/$$ policies
 Ulama- learned officials “ppl w/ religious knowledge” & quadis “judges” set moral
standards in local comms & resolved disputes
o Weren’t priests- Islam doesn’t recog priests as distinct class of religious specialists
o Had formal edu; studied Quran & sharia
 Ulama- pious scholars who sought to dev pub policy w/ Quran/sharia
 Quadis- heard cases at law & made decisions based on Quran/sharia
 Became v influential to ensure widespread observance of Islamic values
 Caliphs kept standing armies & est bur ministries for taxation, coinage & postal services
 High point of Abbasids was during reign of Harun al-Rashid (786-809)
 Abbasids lost some distant provinces but were still strong enough to have reliable tax
revenues from most parts of empire
 $$$= Baghdad center of banking, commerce, crafts & indust prod, metro w/ large pop
 Harun liberally sup artists/writers & gave lux gifts to them
o Disturb $$ to poor/common classe by tossing coins on Baghdad streets; sent elephant
to Charlemagne (Carolingian empire of w EU)
 After Harun’s reign, empire declined
 The civil war between Haren Sons damage the Abbasids & succession disputes follow
 Provincial Govs took adv of disorder in rolling house & acted ind of caliphs
o Built up local basis of power or seceded from Abbasid instead of implem imperial pol
 Uprisings & peasant rebellions sup by dissenting sects & heretical mmts weekend empire
 Result- caliphs became useless before Mongols ended Dynasty in 1258
 945- members of Persian noble fam controlled Baghdad & est their clan as power
 Later, Saljuq Turks- CA nomads controlled Baghdad (also attacked Byzantines)
 Response to rebellions by peasants & provincial gov- Baghdad autho allied w/ Turks who
entered realm & converted to Islam
 Mid 11th cent- Turks controlled empire; 1050s- took control of Baghdad; extended
control of Syria, Palestine & Anatolia
 Retained Abbasid caliphs as nominal sovereigns until arrival of the Mongols
o Saljuq sultan “ruler” was true source of power in empire
IV. Economy and Society of the Early Islamic World
 Dar al-Islam peasants were agric & merch/ manuf sup urban econ
 Creation of large empires hard econ implications
 Umayyads & Abbasids created zone of trade, exchange & communic from India to Iberia
 Converse stimulated econ in countryside & cities
A. New Crops, Agricultural Experimentation, and Urban Growth
 As soldiers, diplos & merch traveled, encount plants, animals & agric new techniques
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o Introduced useful crops to new regions
 Most imp were staple crops like sugarcane, rice, new varieties of sorghum, wheat,
spinach, artichokes, eggplants, oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, coconuts, watermelons,
mangoes, cotton, indigo & henna
 New crops = very diet & more food bc of longer growing season
o Hot/dry summers in Islamic world but transplanted crops grew well in heat so ppl
could farm year-round
 Cotton was based for textile indust & indigo/henna = dyes for textile manuf
 Travel/commun encour experimentation w/ agric methods
 Famers focused on dirty methods, fertilization, crop rotation wrote manuals
 All of this means more prod agric soc, which leads to population growth
 Cities were imp centers of indust prod of textiles, pottery, glassware, leather, iron & steel
 New industry was paper manuf- started in China and spread it when Arab forces defeated
army at Talas River & took prisoners skilled in paper prod
 Paper = admin/commercial records & dissemination of books/treatises in ^^ quantities
B. The Formation of a Hemisphere Trading Zone
 From the early days Islamic society drew prosperity from commerce- Muhammad
 During Abbasids, elab trade networks link all of Islamic world
 Muslim conquerors brought CA trading cities into Islamic world after overrunning
Sasanid empire; made it possible for merchants to trade over Silk roads
o Merchants could take adv of roads built during classical era
 Umayyad and Abbasid roads wer routes for mili & admin officials traveling thru Islam
 Roads were also good for missionaries and pilgrims and made travel efficient/quick
o Eating chips and Muslim rulers imported ice from Syria to Cairo
 Overland trade = camel caravan; could into your harsh conditions better than horses or
donkeys; use a saddle to carry heavy loads
 As camel trans ^^, IW & CA built caravanserais- offered lodging for merchants & food,
water & care for animals
 Nautical tech innov = ^ maritime trade- Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea & Indian O
 Arab & Persian borrowed compass from Chinese; lateen sail (triangular sale that ^^
ship’s maneuverability) from Asia; borrowed astrolabe- instrument to calculate latitude
 Persian merchant- Ramisht of Siraf made lots of $$ & spent it on pious reasons
 Banking stim econ; islam make bank of the Abbasid conducted busi on larger scale &
provided more extensive range of services than before
 Lent $$ to entrepreneurs & served as brokers for investments & exch diff currencies
 Sakk: branches that honored letters of credit “check”
o Merch could draw letters of credit in 1 city & cash them in another & could settle
accounts w/ distant business partners w/o dealing cash
 Increased trade enabled entrepreneurs to refine methods of org
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 Islamic law provided security for entrep by recog certain busi org
o Abbasid entrepreneurs pooled resources in group investments; distrib their risks &
absorb losses; if several groups of investors did this, they spread their risks even more
 Org as simple investment for active roles in busi ventures
 Prosperity of Islamic Spain: al-Andalus shows effects of long distance trade during
Abbasid era
 Most of Iberian peninsula fell to Muslim Berber conq from n Africa
 Allies of Umayyad, govs of al-Andalus refused to recog Abbasid dynasty
o 8th cent: styled themselves as caliphs in their own right rather than Abbasid govs
 Despite poli/diplo tensions, al-Andalus participated actively in commercial life
 Imported crops = more food = better diet = thriving businesses
 Córdoba had free Islamic schools, library & large mosque
C. The Changing Status of Women
 Patriarchal society existed before Muhammad but air woman had more rights than
woman from other lands
o Legally inherit prop, divorce husbands on own & engage in business ventures
 Quran somewhat ^^ women’s security
o Outlawed female infanticide & provided that dowries went directly to brides not men
o Four trade woman as honorable indiv NOT property & = to men before Allah
 Muhammad’s kindness to his wives was example
 Quran & sharia still reinforced male dom; recog descent thru male line
 Taught men to treat women w/ sensitivity but could have multiple wives like
Muhammad; women could only have 1 husband
 Quran & sharia set up relig/legal foundation for patriarchal soc
 Expansion into patriarchal soc = more patriarchy
 Veiling- sign of modesty/upper-class  discourages attention from other men
 When Muslim Arabs conq Meso, Persia & eastern Medi lands, they adopted practice
 ^^ emphasis on male auth in Islamic law reflected influence of strongly hierarchical &
patriarchal socs of Meso, Persia & eastern Medi lands
V. Islamic Values and Cultural Exchanges
 Muslim missionaries spread Islam
A. The Formation of an Islamic Cultural Tradition
 Civil & criminal law in sharia gave cult unity for vastly diff lands of Islamic world
o Didn’t erase diffs but est common cult foundation that fac dealings b/w most ppl
 Popular level- ulama, quadis & missionaries help bridge diffs
o Brought values of Quran/Sharia to ppl living far from birthplace of Islam
 Formal edu instit helped promote Islam’s values; mosques maintain schools that provided
elementary edu & relig instruction
o Some wealthy Muslims est schools & provided endowments for their support
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 Madrasas: instit of higher edu
o Sup by Muslim rulers bc they wanted to recruit lit and edu ppl that understood Islamic
theology/law for admin positions
 Inexpensive paper = ^^ ability to teach students and disseminate their views
 Sufis: most effective mystic Islamic missionaries
o Didn’t deny Islamic doctrine but felt formal religious teachings weren’t meaningful
o Worked to deepen their spiritual awareness; led pious/ascetic lives
o Some devoted to helping poor; some gave up belongings to be beggars
o Many sought mystical, ecstatic union w/ Allah, relying on rousing sermons, passionate
singing, or spirited dancing to bring them to high emotional state
 Muslim theologians sometimes mistrusted them; thought they were stupid
 Sufis became more popular in Muslim socs because of piety, devotion & eagerness to
minister to needs of other ppl
 Al-Ghazali (1058-1111): most imp early Sufi who argued that human reason was too
frail to understand Allah’s nature so couldn’t explain world’s mysteries
o Needed guidance from Quran to appreciate uniqueness/power of Allah
o Philosophy & human reasoning were vain pursuits that lead to confusion
 Sufis were effective bc emphasized devotion to Allah above mastery of doctrine
sometimes encourage ppl to revere a lot in own ways even if methods weren’t in Quran
 Tol cont observance of pre-Islamic customs
 Kindness, holiness, tolerance & charismatic appeal
 Made hajj more attractive by est stops on way to Mecca to ensure safety of pilgrims
o Pilgrims helped spread Islam to all parts of Islamic world
B. Islam and the Cultural Traditions of Persia, India, and Greece
 Muslims of Arab ancestry interacted w/ ppl from other cult traditions
 During dynasties, large Numbers of ppl converted to Islam & brought their elements of
their inherited cult traditions into Islamic Society
 Persian traditions deeply influenced Islamic poli/cult leaders
 Used Persian admin techniques & ideas of Persian kinship
 Arabic served as lang of relig, theology, philosophy & law but Persian was main lang of
lit, poetry, history & poli reflection
 Indian math, science & med interested Arab/Persian Muslims- had states in n India
 Adopted Hindi numerals & EU ppl called them Arabic numerals later
 Hindi # let Muslim scholars dev adv math (alg, trig, geometry); simplified bookkeeping
for merch
 Advanced math enabled precise astronomical calculations
 Medical knowledge created treatments for specific illnesses & antidotes for poison
 Muslims did not like Indian religion
 Muslims admired Greek philosophy, science & med
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o Focused on Aristotle; Ibn Rushd (1126-1198) qadi who followed Aristotle on finding
pure understanding of world
o His work was taught in schools and universities; called Averroes
 Greek math gave solid reasoning for alg/geometry & sup astro dev
 Muslims combined all these categories to further their own understanding