Spread of Islam_ABlinn

Arabia Before Muhammad

Period: 1 CE to 570

-Mecca held the important trade stop and religious center of Arabia.
-People settled and lived in Mecca for the fresh water well.
-Mecca also was the location of the Kabaa a shrine that held 300 religious idols.
-Mecca was very diverse in religion and culture.

Arabia Before Muhammad

Period: 1 CE to 570

The Quraysh...
-local powerful tribe of the Arabs.
-encouraged tribes tp deposit idols in the Kaaba and protected them for a fee.

Arabia Before Muhammad

Period: 1 CE to 570

Early Arabs
-Majority of Arabia's first inhabitants were Bedouins (nomadic Arabs)
-The Biblical tradition, the Arabs Semites were the descendants of Noah's son.
-The Qur'asnic tradition, the Arabs are the descendants of Abraham's son Ishmael
These people valued camels and swords above all else. They had no strong central government, but they did practice animistic polytheism, also know as them worshipping many gods.

Muhammad's Call to Prophet-hood.

570

Muhammad's early life
-Muhammad was born into the Hashim family of the Quraysh tribe sometime in the years between 570 and 580 CE.
-Angels came to his mother, Amina, and told her to name her child Muhammad, translated into highly praised.
-Muhammad had a reputation as a seeker of solitude.

Muhammad's Call to Prophet-hood.

570

Family
-Before Muhammad's birth, Muhammad's father dies; Amina, his mother, died when he was six.

-When Muhammad was young he worked for a wealthy widow, Khadija, who he later married and had 7 children. Out of the 7 children, they had only one daughter survived. Fatima.

Life of Muhammad

595

His marriage-
When Muhammad was 25 he started working for a wealthy widow, Khadijah bint al-Khuwaylid, as a guide of the caravan goods to Syria. Later the two got married and had children. Muhammad and his wife Khadijah had a happy marriage that lasted.

Life of Muhammad

610

Suspecting Something is Wrong-
Muhammad was living a good life with a family and a good marriage. But however, at the age of 40 is when he started to suspect that something was wrong with the way of life in Mecca. There were wars between the different tribes and the wealthy, including his own family, would not share their wealth with the poor.

Life of Muhammad

610

Disturbed by what he saw Muhammad retreated to the mountains where he prayed and fasted until one day he had a vision. In that vision, the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad and revealed to him the sacred word of Allah. From there Gabriel told Muhammad to recite the word and teach it to his people. Coming from a Christian family his cousin told him that he saw the vision as part of a long tradition of biblical prophecy. Still, Muhammad had kept the sacred message to himself for two years.

Life of Muhammad

612

After repeatedly returning to the cave where Gabriel told him the teachings of Allah, in 612 Muhammad finally decided to share his vision. Muhammad began to gain followers and after a while they started to see him as a messenger or prophet of God. Muhammad told his people that Allah was the only God all people should worship but he never forced Christians or Jews to convert.The new prophet told the people with wealth that it was their duty to share with the poor and to take care of them.

Life of Muhammad

617

Muhammad's teachings did not please everyone, including the Quraysh who wanted to worship all their pagan gods. And merchants. During the time of his teaching merchants boycotted his followers leading them to a time of starvation. The boycott had lasted two years and during this time Muhammad's wife had died. Muhammad then had a powerful vision where in a dream he flew to Jerusalem, where he then preached his teachings. But when he woke he and his followers were still facing discrimination.

Life of Muhammad

621

In 621 when Muhammad and his followers were still being discriminated against a group of tribes from Yathrib came to Mecca to talk to Muhammad. They were fighting amongst themselves and sought for his wisdom and guidance. After hearing his message they converted to Islam and vowed to protect each other. This was the start of the first Islamic community.

Life of Muhammad

622

The set up:
After leaving Mecca, Muhammad created a city called Medina. Medina was set up with Muhammad's house being the first Mosque built there. The building was spacious but the purpose was to nurture the community. This is how every mosque was built after.
Islam's evolution:
Muhammad allowed his followers of all faiths to worship freely. But Muhammad had also had another vision. In this vision, he was told to change the direction of their prayers from Jerusalem to Mecca.

Life of Muhammad

622

After having his life and the lives of his followers Muhammad led his followers out of Mecca and to Yathrib, leaving the Quraysh furious and vowing for revenge. This was the start of the Muslim era. Never before had a tribe split and became an independent trib. It was all based on kins and family. But this new tribe was based off of the people's religious beliefs. Muhammad, as the leader of this new tribe, gathered all the other religious groups in Yathrib vowing to protect one another.

Life of Muhammad

632

In 632 Muhammad passed away and by this time he had united most of the region under his leadership and the faith of Islam. After his death the Islam community spread around the world. Today there are more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. These people are all followers of a man who had visions of God that inspired him to a new religion and a way of life that has spread to every place on the globe. And that man's name was Muhammad. The prophet of the god Allah.
Muhammad: 570-632

Arabia after Muhammad's death

632

By Muhammad's death in 632 Islam had spread and his power had grown. But since Muhammad had died there was confusion as to who would lead the Muslim faith. Muhammad had gathered 100,000 now Muslim Arabs underneath him. Some of those 100,000 after Muhammad's death stopped following rituals and others sought a new prophet.

Caliph Abu Bakr

633

Caliph Abu Bakr was one of Muhammad's close friends and advisors. After Muhammad's death in 632 Bakr became the new leader of the Muslim community.

Riddah Wars: The Riddah wars referred to the years after Muhammad's death when the Caliph, Abu Bakr took rule and commanded infighting and mini-wars between Arabs and Muslims.

Caliph Umar

634

Caliph Umar was also one of Muhammad's advisors during the days that he lived. Caliph Umar became the leader of Islam after the current Caliph, Caliph Abu Bakr. Caliph Umar, being an experienced military leader, had led his armies to the expansion of Arab, taking over Mesopotamia and Syria. Including the start of their move into Iran and Egypt. Along with the expansion of the Arab kingdom, Caliph Umar also established policies and institutions that kept Islam together for centuries

Caliph Uthman

Period: 644 to 656

Caliph Uthman was born into a noble family and married two of Muhammad's daughters. Caliph Uthman continued after Caliph Umar to conquer Iran, North Africa, and the Caucuses. Caliph Uthman also standardized the Qur'an and placed his family members in well-paid positions of authority throughout the empire. Caliph Uthman was then assassinated after his followers did not believe in his decisions which later led to a civil war when his killers were not captured.

Caliph Ali

656

First Fitnah:
The First Fitnah was the first major internal conflict with Muslims. This event occurred the 656 to 661. this led to major conflict and civil war. The major reason for this split was the disagreement on who should be the new Caliph. One group believed that Ali, Muhammad's descendent should become the new Caliph but then another group believed that any good Muslim could become leaders not just the desendents of Muhammad.

Umayyad Dynasty

Period: 661 to 750

The Umayyad dynasty was the first great Islamic dynasty, ruling from 661 to 750. Under the Umayyad's rule, the Islamic kingdom added Spain, North Africa, and parts of Central Asia. Finally, in 750 the Umayyad dynasty fell under rebel fighters and were replaced by the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled until 1258.

Abbasid dynasty

Period: 750 to 1258

After throwing out the Umayyad dynasty in 750 the Abbasid dynasty decided to look east and established their capital in the city of Baghdad. The Abbasid fell due to the Mongols taking over the capital.

The Crusades

Period: 1095 to 1291

The Crusades are the violent series of campaigns by Christian armies against the Muslim world. The majority of the fighting focused on the holy city of Jerusalem, but also centered in the regions of Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and Anatolia. The outcomes of the Crusades contributed to the cultural landscapes and also had a role in the diverse populations under Muslim rule.