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The Expansion of Islam-Notes

The document summarizes the expansion of Islam from the 7th century through the 15th century. It discusses how Arab armies conquered vast lands, the reasons for conversion to Islam, the five pillars of Islam, the rule of the first four caliphs, the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, Islamic culture and achievements in fields like medicine, architecture that was borrowed and developed, and the Islamic Golden Age. It provides context on important events, people, and developments during the early history of Islam.

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NAZREEN SHANIYAS
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100 views

The Expansion of Islam-Notes

The document summarizes the expansion of Islam from the 7th century through the 15th century. It discusses how Arab armies conquered vast lands, the reasons for conversion to Islam, the five pillars of Islam, the rule of the first four caliphs, the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, Islamic culture and achievements in fields like medicine, architecture that was borrowed and developed, and the Islamic Golden Age. It provides context on important events, people, and developments during the early history of Islam.

Uploaded by

NAZREEN SHANIYAS
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THE

EXPANSION OF ISLAM

1. Raiders from the desert.


Over a period of about 30 years, Arab warriors, riding fast horses and camels,
conquered the entire Persian empire and much of the Byzantine. The conquered lands
included Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and much of Afghanistan and Baluchistan.

2. Why did people conquered by the Arabs convert to Islam?


Forced conversion was fairly uncommon, and religious change was driven far more
by factors such as intermarriage, economic self-interest, and political allegiance.
It was also during Abbasid rule that many people converted to Islam, for a multitude
of reasons including sincere belief and avoiding paying taxes levied on non-Muslims.
As a result, Islamic culture spread over the Abbasids' vast territory.

3. What do you think was the most important reason for the success of the Arab armies?

Arabs defeated the Roman (Byzantine) armies quickly and efficiently because: They
had better commanders and more organised and disciplined troops who were highly
motivated by religious zeal. The Roman empires were already severely weakened by
decades of warfare.
4. The five pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam:

a. Profession of Faith (shahada). The belief that "There is no god but God, and
Muhammad is the Messenger of God" is central to Islam
b. Prayer (salat). Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-
afternoon, sunset, and after dark. Prayer includes a recitation of the opening chapter
(sura) of the Qur'an, and is sometimes performed on a small rug or mat used
expressly for this purpose.
c. Alms (zakat). In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of
their income to community members in need.
d. Fasting (sawm). During the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of the
Islamic calendar, all healthy adult Muslims are required to abstain from food and
drink.
e. Pilgrimage (hajj). Every Muslim whose health and finances permit it must make at
least one visit to the holy city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia.
5. Draw a timeline to show the years AD 632-61. Mark on it the rule of each of the
first four caliphs.
The first four caliphs of the Islamic community, known in Muslim history as the
orthodox or patriarchal caliphs:
Abū Bakr (reigned 632–634), ʿ
Umar (reigned 634–644),
ʿUthmān (reigned 644–656), and ʿ
Alī (reigned 656–661).
5. On the evidence of this unit, how much have the following things stayed the same
since the death of Muhammad?
a. The Koran:
Muslims take great pride in the words of Koran because they believe them to be
the exact words of god.

b. The Five pillars ; The five pillars of Islam are still in practice today, they are faith
in god, the prayer five times a day , the service to needy, fasting and hajj.
c. The Muslim burial customs:

Muslims are always buried, never cremated. It is a religious requirement that the body be
ritually washed and draped before burial, which should be as soon as possible after death.

The grave should be perpendicular to Mecca, with the deceased's body positioned so their
right side faces the Islamic holy city. As the body is lowered into the grave, the
congregation say a prayer. Wood or stones are laid down to prevent the body touching the
dirt.

6. How did the lives of women change in early Islam?


Women were allowed to pray with men, take part in commercial interactions, and
played a role in education. One of Muhammad's wives, Aisha, played a significant
role in medicine, history and rhetoric. Women, however, did not hold religious titles,
but some held political power with their husbands or on their own.
7. Describe the events of the mayyad year under these headings:
a. Military
b. Administration
c. Building
d. Art.
a.Military :
Umayyads had a strong military and captured Spain in the west and expanded as
far as china in the east and India in the south. They built up navy and controlled
several rebellions.
Administration:
They were good administrators . Arabic replaced Greek and Persian as the
language of the captured lands. They started first Arab coinage, the gold dinar and
the silver Dirham. They had international postal system using riders on horseback.
They kept control of their empire and pay for their military campaigns and
buildings .
Building:
The Umayyads built large mosques .
Caliph Abdal-Malik built the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques in
Jerusalem and the Great Mosque of Damascus .
Walid-I built hospitals for lepers, the lame and blind.
The caliphs also built palaces for themselves on the edge of the deserts.
8. The people who opposed the Umayyads did so for different reasons. Explain their
different attitudes.
It was the opposition of several groups against the rule of the Umayyads, the
opposition movement based on a coalition of Shi'ites, Mawali, Sunnis, and Abbasids.
The Umayyad displayed tolerance towards the religions of peoples of the book,
however, they were forced to pay a tax to continue to worship freely.
9. Islamic spain:

In 711 an army of Arabs and Berbers from North Africa, united by their faith in Islam,
crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and arrived on the Iberian Peninsula. In less than a
decade the Muslims brought most of the peninsula under their domination; they called
the Iberian lands they controlled al-Andalus.
10. Battle of Poitiers:

. The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19 September 1356 between a French army
commanded by King John II and an Anglo-Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince,
during the Hundred Years' War.

11. The Abbasids in Baghdad.


Under the Abbasid caliphate (750–1258), which succeeded the Umayyads (661–750)
in 750, the focal point of Islamic political and cultural life shifted eastward from Syria
to Iraq, where, in 762, Baghdad, the circular City of Peace (madinat al-salam), was
founded as the new capital.
12. Abu Bakr:
Abū Bakr, (born 573—died August 23, 634), Muhammad's closest companion and
adviser, who succeeded to the Prophet's political and administrative functions, thereby
initiating the office of the caliph.
13. Uthman: Uthman ibn Affan ibn Abi al-As was the third caliph of the Rashidun
Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin,
son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, played a
major role in early Islamic history.

14. Why Abbasids rule crumbled.

After around two hundred years, the caliphate fragmented into independent kingdoms. The
main event that led to the downfall of the Abbasid caliphate was the conquering of Baghdad
by the Persians in 1055 C.E. Eventually, the empire was completely destroyed by Hulagu
Khan in 1258.

15. The Islamic Renaissance:

It was a rebirth of interest in knowledge; Scientists advanced the fields of algebra,


calculus, geometry, chemistry, biology, medicine, and astronomy. Many forms of art
flourished during the Islamic Golden Age, including ceramics, metalwork, textiles,
illuminated manuscripts, woodwork, and calligraphy.
16. Islamic Medicine : Medicine was one of the first areas of knowledge to interest the
Muslims. At this time , many Arabs believed that illness was caused by the gods.
They used common sense to solve some problems, like stopping bleeding and for
most things they turned to magic or prayers to heal the sick. Muslim scholars built on
the ideas of Greek medicines. Hippocrates had stressed the need to observe the patient
very carefully when studying patient .
Rhazes , studied patients with fevers and learned to tell difference between measles
and smallpox.
17. a.What aspects of architecture and the art did the Arabs borrow?
b.What aspects did they develop themselves .
The Arabs took Domes and pillars from the Greek and Roman styles of the Byzantine
empire. They took pointed arch from Persians .
They also developed their own style of tile work, pottery , glassware , metalware and
paintings. Muslim cultures took to making their art abstract; decorating buildings,
books, and more with patterns of geometric forms and foliate and vegetal designs
which resemble leaves and plants.

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