Chapter 1

Early Islamic History

 Introductions

• Civilization in the Middle East

– Origins in Mesopotamia and the Nile River
valley in Egypt around 3500 BCE
• Sassanian Empire
– Greek and Hellenistic culture
• Byzantine Empire
– Orthodox Christianity

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 Mesopotamia is a name for the
area of the Tigris–Euphrates river
system (which includes Iraq and
parts of Turkey, Syria, Iran, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan), roughly
corresponding to modern-day Iraq,
Syria and Kuwait, including regions
along the Turkish-Syrian and Iran–
Iraq borders.

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The Nile is a major north-flowing river in
northeastern Africa, generally regarded as the
longest river in the world. It is 6,853 km (4,258
miles) long. The Nile is an "international" river as
its water resources are shared by eleven
countries, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda,
Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Kenya, Ethiopia,
Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. In River Nile in Aswan
particular, the Nile is the primary water source of
Egypt and Sudan. The Nile has been the lifeline
of civilization in Egypt since the Stone Age, with
most of the population and all of the cities of
Egypt resting along those parts of the Nile valley
lying north of Aswan.

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 • The Sasanian Empire also known as Neo-Persian Empire) was
the last Iranian empire before the rise of Islam, ruled by and
named after the Sasanian dynasty from 224 to 651.The
Sasanian Empire, which succeeded the Parthian Empire, was
recognized as one of the leading world powers alongside its
neighboring arch rival the Roman-Byzantine Empire, for a period
of more than 400 years.
• The Sasanian Empire encompassed all of today's Iran, Iraq,
Eastern Arabia (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatif, Qatar, UAE), the
Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan), the Caucasus (Armenia,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Dagestan, South Ossetia, Abkhazia),
Egypt, large parts of Turkey, much of Central Asia (Afghanistan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan), Yemen and Pakistan.

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 Hellenization, or Hellenism, refers to the spread
of Greek culture that had begun after the conquest
of Alexander the Great in the fourth century,
B.C.E. After Alexander the Great had invaded
Egypt in 330 BC, the Hellenistic era began, mixing
between the Egyptian and the Greek civilizations.
Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in Egypt
throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods until
the Muslim conquest.

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 The Byzantine Empire, sometimes referred to
as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the
continuation of the Roman Empire in the East
during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when
its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day
Istanbul, originally founded as Byzantium). It
survived the fragmentation and fall of the
Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD
and continued to exist for an additional thousand
years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

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 The Orthodox Church is the one Church founded
by Jesus Christ and his apostles, begun at the day
of Pentecost with the descent of the Holy Spirit in
the year 33 A.D. It is also known (especially in the
contemporary West) as the Eastern Orthodox
Church or the Greek Orthodox Church.
Pentecost is the Greek name for Shavuot the
(Feast of Weeks), a prominent feast in the calendar
of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law to
Moses at Mount Sinai. In Christianity, Pentecost is
celebrated fifty days after Easter Sunday,
inclusively (i.e., 49 days with the first day counted,
seven weeks).
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 Muhammad

• His Arabian Context

– The Kaaba and Hubal
• Muhammad’s Life
– Banu Hashim; Fatima
• Revelation
– Recognized as a prophet

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 Muhammad (570 CE – 8 June 632 CE). Born
approximately in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca , is the
central figure of Islam and widely regarded as its founder. He
is known to Muslims as the "Holy Prophet", almost all of
whom consider him to be the last prophet sent by God to
mankind to restore Islam, which they believe to be the
unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham,
Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He united Arabia into a
single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings,
practices, and the Quran, which Muslims believe was
revealed to him by God, formed the basis of Islamic religious
belief.

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 Hubal was a god worshipped in pre-Islamic
Arabia, notably at the Kaaba in Mecca (His
idol was a human figure)

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 Pre-Islamic Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula was largely arid and volcanic,
making agriculture difficult except near oases or springs.
The landscape was dotted with towns and cities; two of the
most prominent being Mecca and Medina. Medina was a
large flourishing agricultural settlement, while Mecca was
an important financial center for many surrounding tribes.
Communal life was essential for survival in the desert
conditions, supporting indigenous tribes against the harsh
environment and lifestyle. Tribal grouping was encouraged
with unity being based on blood relations.

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 Cont..
Indigenous Arabs were either nomadic or sedentary, the former
constantly travelling from one place to another seeking water
and pasture for their flocks, while the latter settled and focused
on trade and agriculture. Nomadic survival also depended on
raiding caravans or oases; nomads did not view this as a crime.
Byzantine and Sassanian empires dominated the pre-Islamic
Middle East region. The Roman-Persian Wars between the two
had devastated the region, making the empires unpopular
amongst local tribes. Politically Arabia at the time was divided
between two tribal confederations, the Banu Qais, loosely allied
with Byzantium and who were originally powerful in Northern and
Western Arabia, and the Banu Kalb, who had originally come
from Yemen, and were loosely allied with Sassanid Persia.

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 Cont..
In pre-Islamic Arabia, gods or goddesses were viewed as
protectors of individual tribes, their spirits being associated with
sacred trees, stones, springs and wells. As well as being the
site of an annual pilgrimage, the Kaaba shrine in Mecca housed
360 idols of tribal patron deities. Three goddesses were
associated with Allah as his daughters: Allāt, Manāt and
al-‘Uzzá. Monotheistic communities existed in Arabia, including
Christians and Jews. Hanifs – native pre-Islamic Arabs who
"professed a rigid monotheism" – are also sometimes listed
alongside Jews and Christians in pre-Islamic Arabia, although
their historicity is disputed among scholars. According to Muslim
tradition, Muhammad himself was a Hanif and one of the
descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham.

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 Important dates and locations in the life
of Muhammad
• c. 569 Death of his father, Abdullah
• c. 570 Possible date of birth: 12 (or 17) Rabi al Awal: in Mecca Arabia
• c. 576 Death of his mother, Amina
• c. 583 his grand father transfers him to Syria
• c. 595 Meets and marries Khadijah
• 597 Birth of Zainab, his first daughter, followed by: Ruqayyah, Umm
Khultoom, and Fatima Zahra
• 610 Qur'anic revelation begins in the Cave of Hira on the Jabaal an Nur
the " Mountain of Light" near Mecca
• 610 Prophethood begins at 40 years old: Angel Jebreel (Gabriel) said
to appear to him on the mountain and call him: The Prophet of Allah
• 610 Begins in secret to gather followers in Mecca

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 Cont..
• c. 613 Begins spreading message of Islam publicly to all Meccans
• c. 614 Heavy persecution of Muslims begins
• c. 615 Emigration of a group of Muslims to Ethiopia
• 616 Banu Hashim clan boycott begins
• 619 The year of sorrows: Khadija (his wife) and Abu Talib (his uncle) die
• 619 Banu Hashim clan boycott ends
• c. 620 Isra and Mi'raj (reported ascension to heaven to meet God)
• 622 Hijra, emigration to Medina (called Yathrib)
• 624 Battle of Badr
• 625 Battle of Uhud
• 627 Battle of the Trench (also known as the siege of Medina)
• 628 The Meccan tribe of Quraysh and the Muslim community in Medina signed a 10-
year truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
• 629 Conquest of Mecca
• 632 Farewell pilgrimage and death, in what is now Saudi Arabia

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 Banu Hashim - Before the Birth of
Islam
The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Banu Hashim clan of
the Quraysh.
The Banu Hashim were destined to be the bulwark of Islam. God
Himself chose them for this glorious destiny. Ibn Khaldun, the famous
historian and sociologist, writes in his Muqaddimah (Prolegomena) that
all true prophets must enjoy the support of some powerful group. This
support, he says, is necessary, because it serves as a buffer that
protects them against their antagonists and gives them a measure of
security without which they cannot carry out their Divine mission.

In the case of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, the Banu Hashim

constituted the “powerful group” that protected him from the
malevolence of the Banu Umayya, provided him security and enabled
him to carry out his Divine mission.

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 • Fāṭimah bint Muḥammad is the youngest
daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and
Khadijah, wife of Ali and mother of Hasan and
Hussein, and one of the members of Ahl al-Bayt.

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 The revelation of the Qur'an
The revelation of the Qur'an
began in the laila al-qadr of
Ramadan (one of the odd
nights after the 21st till end
Ramadan) after the Prophet
Muhammad had passed the
fortieth year of his life (that is
around the year 610), during his
seclusion in the cave of Hira' on
a mountain near Makka.

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 Cont..
• Reasons why the Qur'an was sent down in Stages

• The Qur'an was revealed in stages over a period of 23 years, and

not as a complete book in one single act of revelation. There are a
number of reasons for this; most important are the following:

• To strengthen the heart of the Prophet (saws) by addressing him

continuously and whenever the need for guidance arose.
• Out of consideration for the Prophet since revelation was a very
difficult experience for him.
• To gradually implement the laws of God.
• To make understanding, application and memorisation of the
revelation easier for the believers.

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 Early Muslim Community

• Muslims under Pressure

• Hijra (Hegira) "migration"
– Muhammad and the muhajirun emigrants fled
from Mecca
• Meccans against Muslims
– The Truce of Hudaybiya
• Muhammad’s Last Years

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 After the holy Qur'an, the sayings of the
Prophet (hadith) and descriptions of his way
of life (sunna) are the most important Muslim
texts.

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 The following timeline can serve as a rough visual guide to the most important polities in
the Islamic world prior to the First World War. It covers major historical centers of power
and culture

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 Hejira

• Hejira, is the migration or journey of the Islamic

prophet Muhammad and his followers from
Mecca to Yathrib, later renamed by him to
Medina, in the year 622 CE.[1] In June 622 CE,
after being warned of a plot to assassinate him,
Muhammad secretly left his home in Mecca to
emigrate to Yathrib, 320 km (200 mi) north of
Mecca, along with his companion Abu Bakr.

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 The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was an important
event that took place during the formation of Islam.
It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad,
representing the state of Medina, and the Quraish
tribe of Mecca in March 628 (corresponding to Dhu
al-Qi'dah, 6 AH). It helped to decrease tension
between the two cities, affirmed a 10-year peace,
and authorized Muhammad's followers to return
the following year in a peaceful pilgrimage, The
First Pilgrimage.

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 Early Islamic Expansion

• Building a Muslim Domain

– Abu Bakr; Umar; Uthman; Ali; Hasan;
Muawiya
• Muslims and Those They Conquered
– Those who believed in one God were known
as “People of the Book”
• Given dhimmi (protected) status under Islamic law

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 The Era of The Four Caliphs

The era that followed the death of Allah’s apostle

Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is
called the era of the Four Caliphs. During this period, Islam
flourished and spread far beyond the limits of the Arabian
Peninsula. These were the times when Muslims witnessed
victories and lived in ease.

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 The Period of Abu Bakr (632-634)
Abu Bakr (ra) was a friend of Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him). He was one of the first
people to receive the message and to become a Muslim.
He accepted Islam at a time before it was openly
proclaimed. Abu Bakr is the one of the prophet’s closest
friends. He is the fine representative of Islamic morality.
•After the prophet’s death, Abu Bakr was elected as caliph
on the recommendation of Umar.
•In spite that his reign period was short as it lasted only two
years, Abu Bakr was an ideal leader.

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 Cont..
• He called Muslims for unity and worked intensely to collect and
preserve the texts of the holy Qur’an. He spread Islam from the
borders of the Arabian Peninsula into Syria, Palestine and Iraq
and faced false prophets and ensured the sameness of Islamic
religion and the moral teachings of the holy Qur’an compared to
the prophet’s time.

• He was merciful, humble and respectful. He gained people’s

love and adoration at that time. He helped the poor and the
needy and freed many Muslim slaves by paying their owners
significant sums of money. Abu Bakr was a wealthy merchant
and he spent all his wealth spreading the moral teachings of
Islam.

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 The Period of Umar (634-644)
One of the renowned members of the Qureysh tribe was Umar . He was
impressed by Muslim’s strength and devotion to their religion in spite of all the
hardships they went through.

After his conversion, he took his place in the company of our Prophet (Peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) and became a well-known leader of
Islamic morality. He spent his wealth to spread Islam. Following Abu Bakr’s
death, Umar was elected as caliph.

He was known for his efforts to establish justice and his complete devotion to
the moral teachings of the holy Qur’an. In brief, during his reign justice operated
everywhere and he proved to be a model of the administration of justice for
those who followed him.
His devotion to the moral values of the holy Qur’an offered him the opportunity
to administer in a way that he could win the hearts of Muslims.

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 The Period of Uthman (644-656)
Uthman was the first one to accept Islam and one of the prophet’s closest
companions. He had had an efficient way of speaking. He learned the
holy Qur’an by heart.

After Umar’s death, he was elected to be caliph. Nobody objected his

election as he had all the Muslims support. During his reign, he made
various copies of the Holy Qur’an and sent it to different Islamic Centers.

In the course of his reign, he ensured that suitable candidates were selected
for various positions and appointments. He was determined to augment
the prosperous level of the Islamic community, and he did his best to
develop gardens and vineyards. During his reign so many e unbelievers
were converted to Islam.

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 The Period of Ali (656-661)

Ali is the son of Abu Talib, the Prophet’s Muhammad (peace

and blessings of Allah be upon him) uncle.He was
courageous, eloquent and wise. There was no doubt on
agreeing that Ali was one of the greatest Muslim scholars.
Since his childhood, Ali had been in Muhammad’s (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) side; he learned the holy
Qur’an from him and served him. For this reason, Ali (ra) came
to know a great deal about religious matters and as a result,
was called to be among the advisors to Abu Bakr , Umar and
Uthman .He built schools to educate Muslims. His martyrdom
is considered as the ending point of the Four Caliph’s period.

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 The Umayyad Caliphate

• Arab Exclusivity
– The Umayyads promoted Arabic as the official
language of the Muslim empire
• Defining the Umma
– Muawiya’s reign was marked by internal
consolidation and external expansion

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 Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the
four major Islamic caliphates established after the
death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centered
on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca.
Capitals: Damascus, Harran
Government: Monarchy
Official language: Arabic

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 Early Abbasid Caliphate

• The Abbasid Revolution

– Abu al-Abbas Abdullah al-Saffah
• Establishing Abbasid Authority
• Abbasids as Conservatives
– Islamic viziers; Harun al-Rashid’s caliphate
• Early Challenges to Abbasid Rule
– Importing Turks from Central Asia as soldiers

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 The Abbasid Revolution

The Abbasid Revolution refers to the

overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–
750 CE), the second of the four major
Caliphates in early Islamic history, by the
third, the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 CE).

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 Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic
caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The
Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammad's youngest
uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, from whom the dynasty
takes its name.
Capitals: Damascus, Abbasid Samarra, Baghdad, Kufa,
Cairo, Samarra
Currency: Dinar
Date dissolved: 1258

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 Later Abbasid Caliphate

• Rise of the Buyids (Shia Muslim dynasty)

• Political Fragmentation and Economic
Prosperity
• Abbasids after the Buyids
• Rise of the Seljuks
– The Seljuk “Great Sultanate”

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 The Seljuk

The Seljuk “Great Sultanate” that endured from the

late eleventh through the twelfth centuries. The
Seljuq dynasty was a Turkic Sunni Muslim dynasty
that gradually adopted Persian culture and
contributed to the Turko-Persian tradition in the
medieval West and Central Asia. The Seljuqs
established both the Seljuq Empire and Sultanate
of Rum, which at their total height stretched from
Anatolia through Persia, and were targets of the
First Crusade.

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 Revival and the Mongol Invasion;
Abbasid “Shadow” Caliphs
• The Ayyubids were battling European
Crusader forces in Egypt and Syria
• The Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258
and the end of the Abbasid caliphate
• The Mamluk Sultan Baybars
• al-Mutawakkil III agreed to give the title of
caliph to Ottoman Sultan Selim I

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 Cont..

The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish

origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The
dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and
13th centuries CE.
Baybars was the fourth Sultan of Egypt from the Mamluk
Bahri dynasty. He was one of the commanders of the
Egyptian forces that inflicted a defeat on the Seventh
Crusade of King Louis IX of France.
Al-Mutawakkil III was caliph from 1508 to 1516, and again
in 1517. He was the last caliph of the later, Egyptian-based
period of the Abbasid dynasty.

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 Cont..

The Ottoman Empire, also known as the

Turkish Empire, Ottoman Turkey or Turkey,
was an empire founded in 1299 by Oghuz
Turks under Osman I in northwestern
Anatolia.

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