The Arabian Peninsula was a changing land in the early seventh century. With the foundation of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632 CE) began to consolidate his rule in the Hijaz region around his center of power in Madinah. With the young Islamic rule gaining momentum, it seemed as if there would be no stopping it from gaining more power and spreading, that is until Muhammad's death in 632 CE. With his passing, we see the tribes once ruled by Muhammad and the Banu Quraysh try to break off and return to their own rule now that there was no leader for the community of believers (umma). Despite some initial scramble, it was Abu Bakr (r. 632-34 CE) who was named the first Caliph, or Deputy of God, and began to lead the Islamic community. Though …show more content…
Muhammad made it clear in his final sermon that no prophet would come after him, nor any new faith after Islam.5 If there was to be no prophet after Muhammad then where would religious leadership come from? Would someone stepping into power be seen as blasphemy against God's word through Muhammad? The community quickly began to crack, and new challenges faced Islam including leadership and other political entities. Muhammad never made clear who would be his successor, though many argue he named his cousin and adopted son Ali ibn Abi Talib (D. 661 CE).6 While this would become a topic of religious division in the Islamic community years later, it did not play as large a role initially. There are many other traditions that try and point to who Muhammad selected to succeed him, all of which are inconsistent from one another.7 These examples show that perhaps Muhammad did not have a real plan for succession before his death in 662, and the community had to think on its …show more content…
There was first the Muhajirun, who were the Quraysh who fled Mecca with Muhammad on the hijrah. There were also those in Madinah who assisted them known as the Ansar.8 It was believed that the Ansar were close to picking their own chief to rule them, and to have the Quraysh do the same.9 While the Ansar were discussing this, Abu Bakr was at Muhammad's home helping prepare the Prophet for burial. When Abu Bakr was sent for and arrived at this meeting, he rose to speak on behalf of the Quraysh asking the Ansar to choose between Umar ibn al-Khattab and Abu Ubayda. However before this could be done they both chose to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr saying, “we shall not accept this authority above you, for you are the worthiest of the Emigrants and the second of the two who were in the cave and the deputy [khalifa] of the Prophet of God in prayer, and prayer is the noblest part of the religion of the Muslims.”10 This selection set in motion a system of selecting the caliph from the Banu Quraysh based on merit as a “good Muslim,” a trend that would carry on for many
The Muslim Empire began to expand vastly under the Umayyads, with the empire becoming so large many people were converting to Islam religion. The Umayyads were the second of the four major caliphates after the death of Muhammad. The Empire used many different ways to spread the Islamic civilization consisting of war, classes, and appeal. The Islamic civilization spread so strongly because of the way it allured the common man.
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
There were two men that wanted to be the first caliph (successor) of Muhammad. The first man, named Abu Bakr, many people believed he was a good candidate because he was an old friend and was one of the first ones to convert to Islam. Yet others believed that Ali Talib was the best choice because he was a cousin and a son in law to the prophet. The disputes between the two groups of people would lead to a split; the followers of Abu Bark became the Sunnis and the followers of Ali became the Shia. At the end, the majority of people decided to choose Abu Bark and he became Islam’s first caliph. Abu Bark was Muhammad’s caliph for only two years until he died; even though it was a short period of time, he accomplished big things. For example, the spread of Islam to Byzantines and the Persians. The other caliphs (Umar, Uthman and Ali) expanded the Islamic empire rapidly and grew faster than any other religion. The Muslims conquered a massive amount of land from Indus River, across North Africa and into Spain. There were many factors that help Islam succeed; for example, people would rather fight for God and their salvation instead of fighting for a king, the use of military force by the Muslims and how easy it was to convert to
The Muslim empire expanded vastly from 622 CE to 750 CE. This empire could be compared to the Holy Roman Empire, one of the greatest in the world. There are three main reasons to explain how the Muslim empire reached its height; battling for land, signing peace treaties, and granting stipends. Every Muslim who were in the military fought against other civilizations for land. After that, they made an agreement, or a peace treaty, to the people of the land they conquered. The Muslims would also give gifts called stipends to conquered people who helped the Islam’s. The next paragraph will be explaining how Muslims fought for land and how that was important.
Three Muslim empires rose during the spread of Islam. These empires are different, yet also similar. They are the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. They united other Muslims but also conquered other territories to form their own empires.
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
This war tore the Caliphate into factions and cost a great deal to the treasuries of both sides. As with most other occasions in which a man usurps a throne there a long term repercussions and conflicts. Al-Mamun was plagued for a great part of his reign by rebellions. He struggled for five years against an Alid rebellion which tried to install ‘Al-Rida’, or t...
Furthermore, this background gave Marwan a front-row seat as he watched the quasi-religious office of caliph evolve. Contemporary Umayyad caliphs were inaugurated with special oaths that carried religious as well as politico-legal considerations: caliphs were bound to uphold not only "the sunna of God and his Prophet, but also of his predecessors as caliph" (Blankenship 1994, pp. 76-78). In any event, after ascending to the role of caliph himself, Marwan proved to be an imposing military commander and adept political leader, and he oversaw significant consolidation of the authority of the Umayyads as he ruled from the multi-ethnic and multi-religious
...ts and knowledge from other nations and made sometime improved it or added to it and passed it on to other nations, which strengthened the belief of Islam even more to people. All in all, the rise and spread of Islam was very significant during the Postclassical Era.
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
...s I believe that without his role as a statesman, a religious leader, a Warner and a warrior He would not have been recognised as the man or the prophet that He was. “He was a prodigy of extraordinary merits, a paragon of virtue and goodness, a symbol of truth” who shon in all areas of his life and duties. I conclude that Muhammad had many roles in his life and that his role of a Prophet which is what many believe He was sent from God to be was possibly his most influential role as the changes He has made have affected individuals and groups world wide. But we have to remember that God is all knowing and therefore knew that Muhammad would also be a “shrewd military strategist” etc proving that God chose him for more reasons than to merely be a Prophet. In conclusion I believe that Muhammad was more that just a Prophet, He was “an ideal religopolitical leader”.
The Fatimid’s had been rumored to be tolerant, compassionate and focused on unifying Islam; however, it has been proved that this was not always the case. Orientalists have acknowledged their contribution towards the advancement of Islam and claim that the Christian and Jewish communities excelled during this time; but it did not come without its deceptions and deviations from Islamic norms and rules. This historiography will explore whether the Fatimids were actually the tolerant Muslims whose actions, belief systems and practices evidenced the growth of Islam and tolerance of other religions, or if they were merely politi...
Bouhdiba, Abdelwahab. "The Message of Islam." Diogenes (International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies). Humanities Full Text. 2005. Web.
In this book , Esposito provides a succinct, up-to-date survey of the Islamic experience, an introduction to the faith, belief, and practice of Islam from its origins to its contemporary resurgence. He traces the emergence and development of this dynamic faith and its impact on world history and politics. He discusses the formation of Islamic belief and practice (law, theology, philosophy, and mysticism), chronicling the struggle of Muslims to define and adhere to their Islamic way of life. Equally important is the essential information Esposito provides on the contemporary world of Islam, from Muslim responses to the challenges of colonialism and modernization to the reassertion of Islam in politics and society.
Hazrat Abu Bakr occupies a unique and significant role in the history of Islam. He was the first adult male to accept Islam, and when he first accepted the new faith, he accepted it right away. The Prophet (S) said, “Whenever I offered Islam to any person, he showed some hesitation when embracing it. But Abu Bakr is an exception. He was the prophet’s closest companion. It was Abu Bakr, who traveled with the Prophet (S) to Madinah for the Hijra.