Islamic Civilazation

Islamic civilization (Midterm) Before 610 (AD or CE): pre Islamic Period Landscape Desert: Arid landscape What made life possible: Camels (endurance and several images in the Qur’an), horses Nomadic way of life: from the highland and to lowland (movement): looking for water and pastures the camel made life in the arabian peninsula possible: he made the mvt & trade possible Transhumance: mvt from high to lowl depending on the season fetching for water & grazing. this mvt was made possible thanks to humans & animals pockets of sedentary life in 2 main cities:
YATHRIB: Oasis: water makes life possible: many palm trees MECCA: it is where the Ka’ba is located (hajj) + trade because when people come to worship their gods, they bring goods to exchange… (religion + trade) Customary laws: “3orf” transmitted orally from generation to generation: each tribe respect each tribe’s land Social organization Smallest unit in Arab society: Nuclear family (parents + children + concubines) lives in BAYT Polygamy is lawful from a religious point of view (4 wives) Before 610, women had so status & were considered as property that you own.
Female infanticide (bury the female babies because the families want male heirs) Patriarchy: male dominate the state (society) Extended family: several tents close to each other: “Dar” Several extended families: Clan (Hashim: clan of the prophet) Several Clans: tribe (Quraysh: tribe of the prophet) Several tribes: confederacies: union (Qahtan & Adnan) “Asabiyya”: group solidarity: defend the members of your group against violence or aggression. Retaliation: “eye for an eye” the system of justice that was based on the concept of ‘asabiyya. Belief system – Monotheists: Jews, Christianity and Islam Polytheism: believe in many gods – Paganism: believe in animate (cow) and inanimate (rock) – Atheism: believe in any God – Idolatry: Form of polytheism: believe in idols (statues) Life in Makkah – HUB: meeting place – KA’BA: market place and shrine (360 idols) – Habitants: oral society – Mu’allaqat: put famous poems on the KA’BA (platform for poets to come & talk about their tribes: self-promotion) – Bibliography of the prophet: “Sira”. He was orphan: impact on his life in Sira -Life of the prophet – 570: the year of the elephant and birth of the prophet in the tribe of Quraysh.

During that year, Abraha, the king of Yemen marched on Mecca with his large army and elephants in order to destroy the Ka’ba but his elephant(s) stopped at the boundary of Mecca and refused to enter. – His parents: Amina and Abdullah: his father died before he was born and his mother when he was 6 -Orphan: starting at disadvantage, he was from the Quraysh tribe raised by his grand parents (Abd al Mutalib and Fatima) – He was sent to the desert: healthy physical and psychological conditions to raise children – Hamza: his uncle played a mentor role He was being prepared for something big, kind of divine protection even before receiving the message – He was know for his honesty, generosity and anti-corruption – Nickname: Al Amine, the trustworthy in Mecca – His inheritance: a slave “Baraka”, who was a little older than him – His spent most of his time in the cave of Hira thinking and wondering about the meaning of life – He was against polytheism – He is the seal of the prophets (last one) – 2 major stories: The night journey (621): Muhammad’s travel: The Isra and Mi’raj: Muhammad travels on the steed Buraq to “the farthest mosque” where he leads other prophets in prayer.
He then ascends to heaven where he speaks to God, who gives Muhammad instructions to take back to the faithful regarding the details of prayer. The story of the black stone: before Islam, the Ka’ba was restored many times and Muhammad had the honor to put the stone inside the Ka’ba. all clans wanted to have the honor to put the stone in the Ka’ba and they were ready to fight for the privilege but then, Muhammad advised them to put the stone in a cloth and have a member of each clan pick up a corner of the cloth and take it to its place when Muhammad took it and placed it. He married Khadija in 595, first wife and only wife until her death. She was successful and from the clan Assad. She was a business woman and impressed by his integrity – He spent most of his life as a shepherd – He lost his wife and uncle: 3am al Houzn or the year of grief – House of the prophet: wife + 4 daughters (Fatima, Zaynab, Ruqaya, Umkaltoum) + cousin (Ali) / he also had 2 sons who died in infancy – Abu Talib (uncle): never converted to Islam but still protected his nephew (the prophet) General dates 10 – 632: Revelation of the Quran. Muhammad receives call to prophethood through first revelation of the Qur’an, continues to receive prophecies for 22 years. Khadija is the first to believe in Muhammad’s prophethood, becoming first convert to Islam. 611 – 613: the message was kept secret 614: First Hijra of 83 families (early muslim community) to Aksum (Abyssinia) because the king Negus Armah was tolerant and just. He welcomed the muslims and protected them (the prophet wasn’t part of the journey).
Purpose: survival of islam. Reaction of Meccan society to call to prophethood: the polytheists were very resistant because islam means no more poly + all idols have to be destroyed = people would stop coming to Mecca = no trade Abolishm’t of usury (RIBA: loan by excessive interest) while they are benefiting from it Some Meccan clans didn’t want the Hashim clan to gain power and rise Islam was revolutionary for another category of people since the religion promotes equality: : poor, women, slaves, orphans… 19: deaths of Muhammad’s wife (Khadija) and uncle (Abu Talib), leaving Muhammad without a protector; he tries to leave Mecca 622: Second Hijra of early muslims to Medina. The city welcomed him because of his good reputation: trustworthy arbitrator, wise, charismatic… (between 614 & 622, the msg was growing & the power of the prophet as well. The other clans of mecca decided to boycott the Hashim clan: no trade, marriages…); 1st year of islamic calendar. 632: Death of the prophet The clans of medina: Aws + Khazraj = the helpers/Ansar ; the migrants ; jewish clans
Prophet at war A chapter came in the Qur’an giving permission to Muslims to fight back because they were oppressed only because they believed in Allah. Jihad: “strive, effort, struggle” to follow Islam; can include defense of the faith, armed struggle, holy war. °The lesser Jihad: outer: defend yourself against aggression °The greater Jihad: inner: the one all muslims are required to perform on a daily basis (how to become a better muslim and person) AND°Jihad as ind duty: prayer °Collective duty: prayer for the dead 624: Badr
Attack on Meccan people (caravans). muslims were outnumbered but victorious 625: Uhud It was almost a defeat. Muhammad was almost killed. In fact, the Meccans decided to withdraw believing that he was dead. Death of Hamza (prophet’s uncle) 2 Jewish clans of Medina have been expelled because they were communicating secretly with the Meccans 627: Ditch = Khandaq Muslims victorious over meccans and bedouin mercenaries; Muhammed consolidates leadership in medina; Aisha accused of adultery in “Affair of Necklace”, but exonerated by Qur’anic revelation 28: Truce of faith Hudaybiyya Treaty of Hudaybiyya: Muslims are allowed to come to Mecca to perform pilgrimage (Hajj). The war stopped for 10 years 630: Opening of Mecca – Opening of Makkah. Became Muslim city: all this idols were destroyed. It was opened because someone broke the truce and attacked a muslim. They didn’t kill the enemies & didn’t burn the city. The 5 pillars of Islam: 1. Profession of faith 2. Prayer 5 times a day 3. Zakat (2. 5% of your assets) 4. Fasting during Ramadan 5. Hajj Rightly guided Caliphates Abu Bakr: 632 – 634 32: death of the prophet who didn’t explicitly name his successor. He gave signals: Abu Bakr he used to lead the prayer when the prophet was sick + was the head of the delegation of the Hajj: when the prophet had health issues + another problem was that the revelation stopped so from that point on, there was human elaboration of shari’a During his period: wars of Apostasy = “Ridda “ Many people (Bedouins) stopped paying “Zakat” when the prophet died. He became firm toward these people because he was worried the situation would end up becoming mass defection.
The whole establishment of Islam could collapse. One of the figures of the Wars of Apostasy was “Musaylima”. He was killed during the battle of “Al-Yamama”: which put an end to the Wars of Apostasy” (633) Proselytizing: illegal for a non-Muslim to influence people to convert to another religion “Sabiqqa”: He was one of the first men to convert to Islam Known for his piety and generosity Father in law of the prophet He chose the name “Khalifa” when he became caliph He nominated Umar as the following Caliph on his death bed
Umar: 634 – 644 – Commander of the Faithful: “Amir Al Mu’minin” – Charismatic and known for being impulsive + always available & approachable – Military guide, actively involved in Futuh (openings) – Cities conquered by Islam during the caliphate period of Umar: Damascus (636) and Jerusalem (638) – Dhimma: non-muslims have the right to live in Dar Al Islam in return they need to pay Jizya & they are exempted from Jihad (freedom of worship, freedom of movement, freedom of ownership) In 644, Umar was faithly injured so he appointed the comity to elect the next caliph: ‘Uthman Accomplishment of Umar Muslim troops: Egypt / Iran Initiation of a taxation system and establishment of treasury Creation of a welfare system (assistance social) The recording of the beneficiaries Institution of the judicial system: appointed the 1st judge Adopted the Muslim calendar (622 = First year) Uthman: 644 – 656 He got the idea of gathering the Qur’an Wealthy Meccan person He is from the Umayya clan Know for his piety but lack of charisma.
He was old when he became caliph Easily manipulated by the leading members of the clan of Umayya He appointed members of his clan in key positions, which made the Meccan population very angry especially the early converted. It was a turning point: a group of rebels from Egypt came to his house and killed him in 656. Beginning of FITNA = Civil War Official copy of the Qur’an: All Qurans available in the world today are exactly identical to the Uthmani version Ali: 656 – 661 Cousin and son in law of the prophet. His sons: Hassan and Husayn Sabiqa: 1st teenager to convert to Islam
He faced 2 opponents 1: There was animosity and bitterness between Aisha and Ali. Aisha went to Basra in Irak and tried to steer the population against Ali. But she failed and her movement was crashed during the battle of the camel. 2: Umayyad movement under the leadership of Mu’awiyya. He was a key figure in Umayya clan. He made Uthman appoint him as the governor of Sirya Mu’awiyya: he wanted to become a caliph. According to him, Ali didn’t deserve to become caliph because he failed to arrest and prosecute the killers of Uthman. Mu’awiyya had people joining his cause & supporting him.
The 2 armies (Ali and Mu’awiyya) met in Siffin (name of the battle and the place). Both parties decided to ceasefire and tried to negotiate but the problem was that 12000 members of Ali’s army defected and attacked him because they didn’t agree with his decision. They were called the Kharijites (seceders) Arbitration: Tahkim 657-661: false peace between both armies. The battle of Nahrawan: opposed Ali with his men and the Kharijites. They wanted to kill Ali and Mu’awiyya but Mu’awiyya was always protected and Ali didn’t take the appropriate measures and was killed in 661.
Muawiya declared himself Caliph and instituted the dynastic caliphate. The death of Ali marked the end of the rightly guided caliphate PERIOD Ali had two sons: Hassan (who renounced everything in exchange of a secured retirement) and Husayn (when Al Yazid took over, he fought him with a small army but was killed in 680 during the Battle of Karbala) Caliphate: Khilafa Mutawakil: Al Mou3tazila: doctrine that he applied in the whole empire – Medina, Kufa and Damascus – Medina: under the rightly guided Caliphate (the 1st 3 and the prophet) – Kufa: Ali Damascus: When Mu’awiyya declared himself caliph Islam is against any sort of division. Ideally, the muslim community should remain as one block. Muslims: ?Sunni (majority of Muslims: 93%) ?Shi’ite (7%) ?Kharijites (less than 1%) The institutions of the Caliphates I – Rightly guided Caliphates 632 – 661 II – Umayyads 661 – 750 III – Abbasids 750 – 1258 I: The powers of Caliphs: 2 main powers: – expansion of Islam (fighting apostasy / Jihad (Futuh) – Implementation of Shari’a (Islamic law) II & III – Growth of the empire and creation of the organization (6 powers)
To guard religion against innovation (Bid’a) in religious matters To participate in formulation of doctrine but not in the formulation of law (judges are in charge of that) To lead the Friday prayer in the greatest mosque of the city (but with growth of empire, beginning of delegation) To lead military campaigns (Futuh) to defend the empire (also delegation to high officers, military leaders…) To ensure the normal functioning of the Judiciary system with the nomination of judges To ensure the well-being of the state through tax collection and expenditure of this tax on garden, monuments, helping the poor, etc… Qur’an – Actual word of God – Revelation: Wahy – from 610 to 632: This word of God is revealed to the prophet. – The revelation was depending on circumstances & it was not chronological – God does not speak directly to mortals. There is always some sort of intermediary. – Prophet had scribes (secretaries) and was involved in the classification and the arrangement of the Qur’an – Abrogation: Naskh – word translated and sometimes changed. E. g. the term “Khamr” is sometimes