The conception of the Islamic civilization drew much attention in Arabia. In 600 C.E., the rise of this new empire helped its people improve in all studies of sciences and culture. The ability to spread teachings and customs throughout an entire area could not be easily obtained, therefore they used extended force and violence to take control of lands. In 610 C.E, when Muhammed was met by the angel Gabriel and accustomed his beliefs to those of God, the devotion of Muhammed's followers increased at a rapid rate. Following the death of Muhammed in 632 C.E., the civilization expanded very rapidly through momentous success both by converting nonbelievers to Islam and military conquests of opponents. It is noted that during the expansion of the …show more content…
Islamic empire, the Byzantine empire in Europe and the Tang Dynasty in China were both powerful empires that were spreading as well. This intrinsic belief of God and the Prophet Muhammed played a large role of the expansion of the Islamic empire. From 600-700 C.E. in Arabia, the Islamic civilization spread immensely due to its allegiance to the Prophet Muhammed, its extensive use of trade, and by successful military conquests. The Islamic community's fidelity towards Muhammed remained persistent while trying to spread the religion to other communities.
As they obliged to extend their faith to nonbelievers, they would threaten tribal leaders and their families in order to establish power. In Document #1, Muhammed is defacing a Christian-Arab tribal leader and states that he should "Believe or pay tribute... obey the Lord and His Apostle, and he will defend you... But if you displease them... I will fight against you and take captive of your little ones and slay the elder...". The awareness of intimidation in this statement that Muhammed made to the leader indicated that he condemned allegiance to other religions. By forcing leaders with sabotage and murder, the Islamic empire won over many tribes and areas of land that otherwise could not have been won. Indicated in Document #2, the Quran, the sacred text of Islam, is even shared into the violence by stating information such as "Ye shall do battle with them, or they shall profess Islam... whosoever shall obey God and His Apostle, He shall bring him into the gardens of [Paradise]; but whosoever shall turn back, He will punish him...". These directions either force upon a religion to an unwilling man, or force upon him battle and violence. The Islamic civilization goes through impeccable lengths in order to idolize Muhammed and God. In the Document titled "Pre-Islamic Arabia", it is stated that even before 600 C.E, many civilizations were active …show more content…
believers in faiths such as Ancient Arab Christianity, forms of Judaism, and many forms of Polytheism. The ability of the Pre-Islamic civilization to alter their faiths when listening to Muhammed gives an almost hypocritical view of them. The Islamic civilization strived for their religion to be spread across countries and brought violence on those who disagreed. Their following of the Prophet Muhammed allowed them to travel throughout areas and spread their culture. Trade has played a role in the spread of Islam since the beginning of the religion. By being geographically placed in the center of the biggest trade routes, Arabia and the Islamic civilization had trade advantages. Document #7 Part 1 shows that by 750 C.E., the Islamic civilization had encompassed land that stretched from Spain to Persia. The ability for an empire to spread rapidly in a span of about a hundred years surely supplied another aspect. Trade was the surest way to spread Islam's beliefs and religion to multiple areas. Document #7 Part 2 shows that the most important cities in Arabia, Mecca and Medina, had trade routes that reached central areas of Africa, Southern Europe, India and Afghanistan. The teachings of the Prophet Muhammed were able to be distributed throughout many countries through the use of trade routes. In the Document "Pre-Islamic Arabia", it is stated that some tribes traded with towns in order to obtain certain foods and goods. The extent to which the civilization reached to in terms of trade increased dramatically after the founding of Islam. Merchants would now travel to distant areas such as parts of Northern Africa in order to trade spices and preach the words of Islam to the communities. Since these preaches were more favorable than conquests, more people would convert voluntarily. Without trade, Islam would not have been able to spread as greatly as it did, and Islam would have remained contained in the Middle East. Early military conquests were an important factor in the initial spread of Islamic culture.
After the death of Muhammed in 632 C.E., the strain of the Muslim community resulted in multiple caliphates, a state under the leadership of an Islamic steward, that began to expand Muhammed's teaching to the east and west of Arabia. Muslim conquests were brutal, and many opposing tribes feared the battle that they would have to face with the Islamic empire. In Document #4, a description of the Battle of Tours in 732 provides details on the Muslim's fighting style by stating that they "Struck their enemies and laid waste to the country and took without number." The perspective even goes as far as to compare the Muslims as "raging tigers". The Islamic empire used whatever force necessary to conquer land. Since the successor of Muhammed, Abu Bakr, would not allow tribes to break away from their conversions, he decided to proclaim a jihad against these tribes. This constant effort to gain control over the inhabitants of various tribes began a new and violent system for the Muslims. Inhabitants were offered three choices: convert to Islam, become second-class citizens, or fight to the death. In Document #6, it is explained that a movement once devised to earn money turned into bloody battles for territory. It states "The objective in most cases being [riches] and not the gaining of a permanent foothold... The movement acquired momentum as the warriors passed from victory to victory..."
Conquests undoubtedly allowed the Islamic civilization to spread outside of Arabia, and were considered to be the Muslim's most violent aspect during their expansion. Although many sources have discussed the savage nature of Muslims when entering foreign territory, one writer takes a different perspective on Muslims and their strategies to expand their civilization. In Document #8, an excerpt from The Spirit of Islam states "The Moslems, on the other hand, required from others a simple guarantee of peace, tribute in return for protection, of perfect equality." Syed Ameer Ali, a Muslim writer, explains how the Islamic civilization was devoted to peace and equanimity when dealing with nonbelievers and their territories. This perspective on Muslims contradicts the many documents that describe Muslims as short-tempered, violent, and savage believers. Documents 1, 2, 4 and 6 all contribute to the consensus that the Islamic civilization used ultimate power and force to drive out opposing tribes which subsequently led to their successful expansion of their empire. The influence of religion on any civilization can result in the need to assert dominance onto other cultures. The Islamic civilization successfully spread its culture and beliefs throughout various countries by their strong allegiance to the Prophet Muhammed. Without religion, the Islamic civilization would have remained as the Pre-Islamic civilization that it once was and would not have affected multiple countries as it has done. Their use of trade in order to pass along their teachings to different areas allowed for their religion to diffuse amongst many tribes and summon new followers. If tribes wished not to converge, the Islamic civilization did not hesitate to proclaim battle on them. The power of the Islamic tribe allowed for a vast expansion of their empire and the distribution of their religion and culture to nonbelievers either voluntarily or forced. During the 600-700's in Arabia, the Islamic civilization used their allegiance to the Prophet Muhammed, their extensive use of trade, and their successful military conquests in order to become an effectively extensive empire.
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.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, no one imagined that the next great world power would emerge from Saudi Arabia. Especially, because ancient empires thought that the land was worthless but they didn’t know that it had great trade routes. Trade brought them in connection with other civilizations and that’s how the city of Mecca, located in Saudi Arabia became known. The city of Mecca was a mix of religious beliefs, they used to worship many gods and had their own rituals. The world of Islam took place in Mecca where Muhammad was born in 570 CE. He became known as “the Prophet,” he was meant to be God’s final prophet. The main two groups of Islam are the Shia and Sunni; which they were created after Muhammad’s death. The Islam religion as
“On the other hand, Islam was dangerous: it undermined the power of kings, according sovereignty to one supreme god who was completely alien to the Bambara universe” (41).
... and Jihad According to Islam." HWeb. HWeb, 13 June 2006. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. .
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.
Through the years the idea that Islam is an aggressive religion has been developed. This is mainly due to the fact that the word "jihad" -- a very important concept in Islamic faith -- is often misunderstood or its initial meaning is intentionally misrepresented. From the very beginning of Islamic invasion in Europe a sense of devotion to the religion was instilled in the Muslim soldiers and believers. Religion was a really important part of their lives. The soldiers were taught to die for Allah in their holy war against unbelievers -- this was the so-called jihad. However, if one examines thoroughly the Quran, the saint book for Muslims, he/she will find that jihad carries a completely different meaning -- this is an internal struggle with oneself for achievements in a certain filed or, simply, for self-improvement. Even though most Islamic believers know what jihad really is, there are zealots that still look for excuse for their appalling and inhumane deeds in the abovementioned word. Nowadays, this is still a major problem, especially concerning the...
500-1000 CE was a very interesting and eventful period in our history. People refer to this period as the Middle Ages or Dark Ages, and usually say that it was a time of turmoil for a large portion of the world. Although, the terms Middle Ages and Dark ages only apply to Europe. Many other countries and civilizations went through a period called the Golden Age, which is when the greatest of achievements are accomplished. An example of a civilization that went through the Golden Age is the Islamic Civilization. The Islamic Civilization is considered to have had a Golden Age at that time because of the rise of two powerful caliphates, cultural diffusion, and a scholastic increase.
Throughout his life, the Prophet Muhammad proved to be exceptionally adept at uniting diverse groups, negotiating a series of alliances and loyalty arrangements that spanned religious, tribal, ethnic, and familial lines (Berggren 2009). Among other things, this ability enabled Muhammad to forge a shared identity and found a nascent Islamic state from a diverse and even heterogeneous community (Rahman 1982; Ernst 2003, pp. 87-93). This diversity proved to be both a source of strength and conflict for Islam, and following the death of Muhammad early Islamic communities engaged in extensive debates not only about the nature of his teachings or how to carry his legacy forward, but also about the terms that should be used to define his authority. Although this debate produced a colorful array of movements within the tapestry of early Islamic civilization, this essay offers a critical examination of two particularly distinct perspectives on the nature of prophetic authority: namely, those articulated
Through day-to-day knowledge of what is happening in the world there is observable evidence that Islamic followers have employed different techniques to proclaim ‘power’. The techniques being employed are basically inflicting pain in the opponent by methods of kidnapping, hijackings, and recruiting members (such as Al-Qaeda in the Middle East) in order to make them a more powerful and a more appealing group in their societies. According to Mandaville, Islam is directly linked to politics (they cannot be separated); Muslims wanted to challenge new technological innovations as well as new institutions without forgetting about their religious values. Mandaville proclaims an important aspect of the Islamic religion. During the Ottoman Empire many Muslims gained important power and began to interact with Europeans in order to move into a more modern system; but times have changed.
Base off the documents given, there are many standard social and moral behaviors in the Islamic world before 1250. Some of the behaviors include washing before prayer. Books were seen as important texts and works of knowledge. In addition, teachers were important figures and had complete rule over the students. Parts of the human bodies were used to set the ethical norms for all genders. For the tongue, it was used to preach the word of God at all times. The eyes and ears were used to not see impure actions and listen to slander towards God. It was important one would dedicate much of one’s time and money for charity. Taking care of family was important; however, one must dedicate time in prayer and charity. It was also important to note
After ‘The Year of Sorrow’ in which both Muhammad’s uncle- Abu Talib and wife- Kadijah died Muhammad is warned by the angel Gabriel that the situation is getting too dangerous for him in Mecca. “Muhammad knew the faith must find expression in a community which would insure its external force and the opportunity to prevail against opposition” (Cragg). It is at this point that Muhammad is invited to become a leader in Medina (622ce).
Islamic Empire Timeline Information Page Caliphate Empire: 570 AD – Birth of Muhammad 632 AD – Muhammad Died, the first caliph was succeeded by Abu Bakr, he is also the first Muslim ruler. Considered first caliphate by Sunni’s, Abu Bakr was chosen. 633 AD – Wars of Ridda, suppressed and against the tribes in Arabia, who did not owe loyalty to Abu Bakr. Futuhat begin, Muslim expand and conquest to southern Mesopotamia. 634 AD – Abu Bakr died, he passes the caliphate to Umar, and the Caliphate Empire kept expanding the lands after that.
Introduction The Islamic Golden Age refers to the period in Islam's history during the Middle Ages when much of the historically Arabic speaking world was ruled by various caliphates, experiencing a scientific, economic, and cultural flourishing. With time, many of the inventors and scientists started to appear in this time, and here we will talk about 5 of the most famous inventors. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi Also known by his Latin name Albucasis was an Arab Muslim physician and surgeon. He is said to be the father of surgery and is known to be the greatest medieval surgeon to have appeared from the Islamic word. His biggest influence on our history is writing Kitab al-Tasrif, a thirty-volume collection of medical practice,and much of these books were translated into other languages so they can help and teach many different countries about the great things he discovered.
On the board on Monday morning, there were numbers one through five and they each had a religion written next to them. 1 was Hinduism, 2 was Christianity, 3 was Judaism, 4 was Buddhism, and I was lucky enough to get 5: Islam. Oh, I know so much about Islam culture and their religion, are you kidding? I don’t even know where Islam is. I’m just kidding, it’s not a country. There are many differences between Islam and the United states like our religion, clothes, and food, and becoming a Christian or a Muslim, but Islam is the second largest religion in the world, so it’s important to a lot of people. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Becoming a Muslim is not an easy process. You must do a long list of tasks. After you become a Muslim you must do everything in your power to try to have a good Muslim lifestyle.
During Muhammad’s time, he united many areas in Arabia and was able to establish a religious communi...