Western forms have been adapted as much as they have been adopted, and healthy hybrid forms and concepts abound. By introducing modern Western ideas these fostered the growth of Arab nationalism, contributed to the revival of Arabic literature, and provided a powerful impulse toward modernization. The division between the Sunnis and the Shi'is continued to develop in 680 when Ali's son Husayn along with his followers was brutally killed at Karbala in Iraq by the forces of the Umayyad ruler Yazid. The path of those whom Thou hast favored; not the path of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray. In the same period, the Arab countries themselves, voluntarily and pragmatically, continued to adopt Western techniques, forms, and to some extent concepts. Photo: Dressed in their simple ihram garments, all pilgrims are equal in the eyes of God. The Holy Quran is the most sacred book of Allah revealed on Prophet Muhammad (SAW), for the upliftment guidance and enriched messages to the humanity. Photo: The Hijaz Railway, completed by the Turks in 1908, linked Damascus with Medina, eight hundred miles to the south. These struggles were later romanticized and distorted in a wave of books and films on, for example, Gordon of Khartoum and the French Foreign Legion. The Islamic empire began to expand beyond the Arabian Peninsula after the death of the prophet and founder of Islam, Mohammed, in 632 CE. Muslim traders, consequently, established trading posts as far away as India, the Philippines, Malaya, the East Indies, and China. Western penetration also drew the Middle East into the First World War, when the Ottoman Empire sided with (Germany, and Great Britain, in response, encouraged and supported the Arab Revolt against the Turks. The Western world had for centuries been gradually penetrating most of the areas that had once been part of the Muslim empire, and in the latter part of the nineteenth century, in the vacuum left by the long decay and decline of the Ottoman Empire, European powers came to dominate the Middle East. In short, he demonstrated the viability of the Muslim state. Keep it up. Now he was being treated by his former enemies as a leader in his own right. Although the Muslims used force when they met resistance they did not compel their enemies to accept Islam. These territorial acquisitions brought the Arabs into contact with previously unknown ethnic groups who embraced Islam and would later influence the course of Islamic history. It is the final revelation, as Muhammad is regarded as the final prophet - 'the Seal of the Prophets.". The surahs themselves are of varying length, ranging from the longest, Surah 2, with 282 verses, to the shortest, Surahs 103, 108, and 110, each of which has only three. According to one tradition it was in this area that Satan urged Abraham to disobey God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael. It was not until the Umayyad Dynasty from 661 to 750that Islamic and Arabic culture began to truly spread. Islam numbers many millions of adherents outside the Middle Eastern countries: Photo: Sunset silhouettes a minaret in Sarajevo, a city of some eighty mosques that bear witness to the long Islamic heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo: The Mamluks, originally a class of soldier slaves, seized power in Egypt in the thirteenth century and stood fast against the Mongols. This tolerance was typical of Islam. Later, during the time of 'Uthman, the third caliph, a final, authorized text was prepared and completed in 651, and this has remained the text in use ever since. It impeded private capital . It is largely owing to the existence of these traditional methods of recitation that the text of the Quran was preserved without error. In the meantime, the Mongols, like so many of the peoples who had come into contact with Islam, had begun to embrace it. Even more astonishingly, the Muslim state administered the conquered territories with a tolerance almost unheard of in that age. 2 The camera obscura. The Reason Why Some Persons and the Common People Leave a Physician Even If He Is Clever, and A Clever Physician Does Not Have the Power to Heal All Diseases, for That is Not within the Realm of Possibility. 'Umar adopted this attitude in administrative matters as well. The use of Arabic script has therefore tended to develop in the direction of calligraphy and the development of artistically pleasing forms of hand lettering, while in the West the trend has been toward printing and the development of ornamental and sometimes elaborate type faces. The surahs revealed at Mecca - at the beginning of Muhammad's mission - tend to be short and to stress, in highly moving language, the eternal themes of the unity of God, the necessity of faith, the punishment of those who stray from the right path, and the Last Judgment, when all man's actions and beliefs will be judged. He is the Most High, the All-Glorious. Advertisement. Of the three great civilizations of western Eurasia and North Africa, that of Christian Europe began as the least developed in virtually all aspects of material and intellectual culture, well behind the Islamic states and Byzantium. Mathematics during the Golden Age of Islam, especially during the 9th and 10th centuries, was built on Greek mathematics (Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius) and Indian mathematics (Aryabhata, Brahmagupta).Important progress was made, such as full development of the decimal place-value system to include decimal fractions, the first systematised study of algebra, and advances in geometry and . For the West, however, the Crusaders' greatest achievement was the opening of the eastern Mediterranean to European shipping. Western culture spread with Western economic and political control. Photo: A colonnade of lofty arches surrounds the courtyard at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, after Mecca the second holiest city of Islam. As Jewish forces were victorious - and as stories spread that some 250 Arab civilians had been massacred in a village called Deir Yassin - thousands of Palestinians fled, among the first of today's 3.4 million refugees and exiles. As was customary, Muhammad as a child was sent to live for a year or two with a Bedouin family. Photo: Cursive script on Quran stand of wood, dated 1360, a fine example of Mongol art from western Turkestan. Islamic medicine built upon the legacies of Greek and Roman physicians . It was a necessary step, but its outcome was dominance of the caliphate by its own praetorian guard. After donning the ihram dress, the pilgrims may enter the haram, the sacred precinct surrounding Mecca, and then Mecca itself, where they perform the tawaf - the circling of the Ka'bah - and the sa'y - the running between two hills at al-Mas'a in Mecca. Photo: The mosque of Bibi Khanum named for Tamerlane's favorite wife, was once the most imposing building of Samarkand. Shortly afterwards the Muslim army attacked the Sassanid Empire in Iraq, gaining a massive victory in 637 at the Battle of Qadasiya, and gradually conquering more and more of Iraq over the next dozen years. Every action of the pious Muslim, therefore, is determined by the Quran, by precedents set by the Prophet, and by the practice of the early community of Islam as enshrined in the shari'ah. We prepared this quick tour to help you get familiar with the new design so you find your way around the new site much quicker. As British efforts to control it generated widespread disapproval in the West and stimulated underground warfare by militant Zionist units against British forces, Britain eventually placed the problem in the hands of the United Nations, which in 1947 voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab States. The third day of the pilgrimage, back at Mina, they enact a repudiation of evil by throwing the pebbles at a pillar held by many to represent Satan. Then, in 1482, in a trivial quarrel, the Muslim kingdom split into two hostile factions and, simultaneously, two strong Christian sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, married and merged their kingdoms. Islam, in Arabic, means "submission" - submission to the will of God. The Reach of Islam in East Africa. Whether or not Islam provided the motivation for early Muslim imperialism, it could be used to provide justification for it - in the same way that it had previously been used to support Muhammad's own actions against his opponents. Politically and economically, the Mongol invasions were disastrous. The standing is not the end of the hajj, but is the culmination of a Muslim's devotional life. After extending Islam throughout the Middle East, the Arabs began to assimilate the cultures of the peoples they had subdued. 'Uthman's relatives - in particular Mu'awiyah, the powerful governor of Syria, where 'Ali's election had not been recognized - believed 'Ali's caliphate was invalid because his election had been supported by those responsible for 'Uthman's unavenged death. The 'Abbasids also imported iron from Europe, tin from the British Isles and Malaya, and silver from northern Iran, Afghanistan, and the Caucuses. The Fatimids won their first success in North Africa, where they established a rival caliphate at Raqqadah near Kairouan and, in 952, embarked on a period of expansion that within a few years took them to Egypt. Dutch, French, English, and Portuguese merchants first arrived in the late fifteenth century, attracted by the wealth that could be acquired in exporting luxury items to the European market, and encouraged by the Mughal and Safavid governments, which desired trade partners to stimulate the . Photo: Symbol of the oneness and centrality of God, the Ka'bah stands in the courtyard of Mecca's Sacred Mosque where at the season of the hajj the faithful gather for rituals that precede and end their pilgrimage. Systematized in the second and third centuries of the Muslim era (the eighth and ninth centuries A.D.), the shari'ah later developed into four major schools of jurisprudence: the Hanafi School, founded by Abu Hanifah; the Maliki School, founded by Malik ibn Anas; the Shafi'i School, founded by Muhammad al-Shafi'i; and the Hanbali School founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal. To keep the Arab Muslims from quarreling, the next caliph, Omar, launched the Muslim conquests: Syria was conquered around 636, Egypt 641, Mesopotamia and the Persian Empire, 650. The inimitability of the Quran has crystallized in the Muslim view of i'jaz or "impossibility," which holds that the style of the Quran, being divine, cannot be imitated: any attempt to do so is doomed to failure. It makes us a community. In Europe, meanwhile, the Arabs had passed into Spain, defeated the Visigoths, and by 713 had reached Narbonne in France. When they saw that the web was unbroken, the Meccans passed by and Muhammad and Abu Bakr went on to Medina, where they were joyously welcomed by a throng of Medinans as well as the Meccans who had gone ahead to prepare the way. In addition to enduring the hardships of desert life, he acquired a taste for the rich language so loved by the Arabs, whose speech was their proudest art, and learned the patience and forbearance of the herdsmen, whose life of solitude he first shared and then came to understand and appreciate. He was noted for his justice, social ideals, administration, and statesmanship. Although the religious authority of the 'Abbasid caliphate remained unchallenged, the next four centuries saw political power dispersed among a large number of independent states: Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids, Buwayhids, Ziyarids, and Ghaznavids in the east; Hamdanids in Syria and northern Mesopotamia; and Tulunids, Ikhshidids, and Fatimids in Egypt. The Mongol invasions, in fact, were a major cause of the subsequent decline that set in throughout the heartland of the Arab East. From the eighth to the eleventh centuries this trade was largely concerned with finding and importing basic necessities- grain, metals, and wood. Yet it is, in the deeply personal terms of a Muslim, something more as well. The cloth trade produced a number of auxiliary exports: gold and silver thread for embroidery, gum from the Sudan for glazing, and needles, looms, and dyestuffs. Section 107, and such (and all) material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. In . Much of the emigration, however, came later. Islam had a great impact on the culture of North Africa. Muslim Heritage - Al-Qayrawan, seat of Arab governors founded in 670, Muslim Heritage - Umayyad Coins (661-750CE). And even if there be one hair binding me to my fellowmen, I do not let it break: when they pull I loosen, and if they loosen I pull. Even 'Uthman, whose policies had such a divisive effect, was essentially dedicated more to the concerns of the next world than of this. In fact, it seems quite possible that the Arab scholars used their own numerals but manipulated them in the Indian way. For all that, the Umayyads, during the ninety years of their leadership, rarely shook off their empire's reputation as a mulk - that is, a worldly kingdom - and in the last years of the dynasty their opponents formed a secret organization devoted to pressing the claims to the caliphate put forward by a descendant of al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of the Prophet. Actually the Sunnis and the Shi'is are agreed upon almost all the essentials of Islam. At the beginning of this period, the European presence in the Islamic world was largely based on trade. As an important trading post with vibrant economic activity, the city of Mecca, in the Arabian Peninsula, was a valuable setting for Islam, providing important context for Islam's relationship to trade. Ironically, they also put an end to the centuries-old rivalry between the Arabs and Byzantines. The military conquest was inspired by religion, but it was also motivated by greed and politics. Photo: The sun rises over Jabal al-Rahmah, the Mount of Mercy, where Muhammad in his farewell sermon told the assembled Muslims, "I have delivered God's message to you and left you with a clear command: the Book of God and the practice of His Prophet. How did your family react when you left Islam? Led by Genghis Khan, a confederation of nomadic tribes which had already conquered China now attacked the Muslims. The Mansuri Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, was an important teaching hospital in medieval times. Finally, Muhammad recited the words of what are now the first five verses of the 96th surah or chapter of the Quran - words which proclaim God the Creator of man and the Source of all knowledge. The Europeans mounted a series of further crusading expeditions against the Muslims over the next hundred years or so, but the Crusaders never again recovered the initiative. Even where Arabic did not become the national language, it became the language of religion wherever Islam became established, since the Quran is written in Arabic, the Profession of Faith is to be spoken in Arabic, and five times daily the practicing Muslim must say his prayers in Arabic. Umar found himself the ruler of a large unified state, with an organised army, and he used this as a tool to spread Islam further in the Middle East. Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep; Muslims believe that theirs is the only true faith. Fortunately the community immediately chose the Prophet's close companion and father-in-Law Abu Bakr, as his successor. Although there are imams, who lead prayers and deliver sermons, there are no priests or ministers. Islam in Middle Eastern Societies The Muslim populations of the Middle East make up only 44% of the total world Muslim population of the world (see "Muslim-Majority Countries of the Middle East" chart).. A basis for understanding the role of Islam in Middle Eastern societies, is the distinction between its doctrine and the cultural practices which are done in the name of Islam or which . Muslim Heritage - were Muslim rulers to blame for the decline? As a result the city was dominated by powerful merchant families among whom the men of Quraysh were preeminent. Another was the development of the Umayyad postal system into an efficient intelligence service; postmasters in outlying provinces were the eyes and ears of the government and regular reports were filed with the central government on everything from the state of the harvest to the doings of dissident sects. But then, in 1380, a new Turko-Mongol confederation was hammered together by another world conqueror: Tamerlane, who claimed descent from Genghis Khan. Following the decisive Battle of Yarmouk in 636, the former Byzantine states of Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon were conquered by the Muslim armies. Ibn Ishaq, one of the earliest biographers of the Prophet, says it was at about this time that Muhammad sent letters to the rulers of the earth - the King of Persia, the Emperor of Byzantium, the Negus of Abyssinia, and the Governor of Egypt among others - inviting them to submit to Islam. The early advance of Islam went hand in hand with military expansion - whether it was the motivation for it is difficult to tell, although one recent book suggests that Islam certainly facilitated the growth of Muslim power. Islam spread so quickly because of the message the message it was so strong to spread so quickly ( Document B). Resistance to European penetration took several forms. Neither power had played a major role in the early phases of penetration, but this changed as they developed conflicting interests with regard to the Arab-Israeli dispute, the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt, the rise of a number of radical governments in the area, and the emergence of the Arab world as a pivotal supplier of oil to the world. After its development in Turkey, it spread to the Arab countries and is in use today for formal documents and also as architectural decoration. Another was the development of Arabic, by the ninth century, into the language of international scholarship as well as the language of the Divine Truth. The mandates, however, were granted, thus extending Western control of the Middle East and also setting the stage for one of the most tragic and intractable conflicts of modern times: the conflict over Palestine which has, since 1948, ignited four wars, sent masses of Palestinian Arabs into exile, contributed to the energy crisis of 1973, and, from 1975 on, fueled the civil war in Lebanon. It made it possible to put books within the reach of everyone. The introduction of numerous varieties of fruits and vegetables and other plants to the West via the Islamic empire was, however, largely the result of the vast expansion of trade during the Golden Age. In the wake of the Ridda wars, and of the Arabs' sudden conquest of most of the Near East, the new religion became identified more sharply as a monotheism for the Arab people. In 1184 (580 H) a traveller described it as being like an enormous palace in size. So renowned were Ottoman calligraphers, in fact, that a popular saying was that "The Quran was revealed in Mecca, recited in Egypt, and written in Istanbul." Another factor was that the Janissaries became too strong for the sultans to control The sultans were further weakened when it became customary to bring them up and educate them in isolation and without the skills necessary to rule effectively. In sum, modernization has not been entirely synonymous with Westernization.
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