Prophet:

- The Arabian Peninsula was occupied for Millennia by nomadic peoples known as the Bedouin
who kept herds of sheep goats and camels migrating to the deserts to find grass and Waters for
their animals. The Bedouin organized himself and family and Clan groups and individuals and
their immediate families depended heavily on their larger kinship networks for support in times
of need.
- The prophet Muhammad came into this world of nomadic bedouin herders and Merchants.
Muhammad ibn Abdullah was born in about 570 AD into a reputable family of merchants in
Mecca. Through his marriage to a wealthy widow, he gained a position of some prominence in
meccan society. By age 30 Muhammad had become a merchant. In about 610 AD as he
approached age 40 Muhammad underwent a profound spiritual experience that transformed his
life. His experience left him with the convictions that in all the world there was only one true
deity Allah that ruled the universe through adultery and the recognition of the other gods
amounted to wickedness. This message was delivered by the Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad did
not intend to found a new religion but in accordance with his instructions he began to expand his
faith to his family and close friends. Gradually others became interested in his message and by
about 620 AD many Meccans had joined Muhammad’s Circle.
- Originally, Muhammad’s teachings were transmitted orally, but as the Islamic community grew,
his followers prepared written versions of his teachings. During the early 650s, these texts were
compiled into one holy book of Islam, called the Quran meaning recitation. It serves as the
definitive authority for Islamic religious doctrine and social organization.
- The growing popularity of Muhammad’s preachings brought conflict among him and the ruling
elites at Mecca. The conflict centered around religious issues. Arabs recognized deities and spirits
thought to wield influence over human affairs. The tensions were also personal because the
ruling elites were also the city’s wealthiest merchants. THey took it as a threat to their position.
- The pressure became so great that some of Muhammad’s followers fled to Abyssinia.
Muhammad himself remained in Mecca until 622 AD, when he fled to join the group in Medina,
meaning the city of the prophet. This is known as the Hijira.
- Muhammad organized his followers into a cohesive community called the umma, meaning the
community of the faithful, and provided it with a comprehensive legal and social code.
- Muhammad’s understanding of his religious mission expanded during his years ar medina. He
began to refer to himself as a prophet, and as the “seal of the prophets”, the final prophet through
whom Allah would reveal his message to humankind. Muhammad accepted the authority of
earlier Jewish and Christian prophets. He thought that the message he delivered was a more
complete revelation of allah.
- In 629 AD, they arranged with the authorities to participate in the annual pilgrimage to Ka’ba,
but they were not satisfied with a short visit. In 630, they attacked ecca and conquered the city.
They forced the elites to adopt Muhammads faith and they imposed a government dedicated to
Allah. They also destroyed the pagan shrines and replaced them with mosques. Only the faithful
were allowed to approach the Ka’ba.
- The prophet died in 632.
The five pillars of islam are:

1. Muslims must acknowledge Allah as the only god and Muhammed is his prophet
2. Muslims must pray to Allah daily while facing Mecca
3. They must observe a fast during daylight hours of the month of Ramadan
4. They must contribute alms for the relief of the weak and poor
5. Those who are physically and financially able most undertake the hajj and make at least one
pilgrimage to Mecca.
 - Islamic holy law, known as the Sharia, emerged during the centuries after Muhammad. It offered
detailed guidance on proper behavior in almost every aspect of life. Elaborated by jurists and
legal scholars, the sharia drew its inspiration especially from the Quran and the historical
accounts of Muhammad’s life and teaching.
The expansion of Islam:
- Muhammad had no provision for a successor, and there was serious division within the umma
considering the selection of the new leader. Many of the towns and Bedouin clans that had
recently accepted Islam, took the opportunity of Muhammad;s death to renounce their faith and
reassert independence.
- Since Muhammad was the “seal of the prophets” it was inconceivable that another prophet
should succeed him. Therefore, after the prophet's death, his advisors selected Abu Bakr, one of
the prophet’s closest friends and most devoted disciples to serve as a caliph. Under the new
caliphs
- Disagreements over succession led to the emergence of the Shia sect. The Shia sect originated as
a party supporting the appointment of Ali and his descendants as caliphs because he was the
cousin and son in law of Muhammad. Ali served briefly as the fourth caliph, but his enemies
assassinated him, killed many of his relatives and imposed their own candidate as caliph.
- After the assassination of Ali, the establishment of the Umayyad dynasty (661-750 AD) solved
the problem of succession at least temporarily. The Mayans ranked among the most prominent
of the Meccan merchant clans and their reputation and network of alliances helped them bring
stability to the Islamic community. They established their Capital at Damascus, a thriving
community commercial City in Syria, whose central location enabled them to maintain better
communication with the vast and still expanding Islamic empire. they favored the privileged
class.
- The policies put in place by the Umayyads contributed to high morale among Arab conquerors,
but it caused severe discontent among ethnic and religious groups in the Umayyad Empire. The
Islamic empire included Christians, Jews, Zaroastrians, and buddhists. Many Indians, Persians,
Mesopotamians, Greek, Egyptians and nomadic Berbers lived within the Islamic Empire. They
had a special head tax called the jizya for those who did not convert to Islam, and even those
who converted did not enjoy access to wealth and positions of authority. These policies caused
deep resentment among the conquered people under the Umayyad rule. Their rule was
oppressive for anyone who wasn’t Arab or muslim.
- By the beginning of the eight century the Umayyad caliphs became alienated from everyone in
the empire, including other Arabs. They devoted themselves to a life of luxury rather than
connecting with the umma. They scandalized devout muslims by their casual attitudes towards
Islamic doctrine and morality. By the 850s the Shia sect as well as the conquered people started
to resist the Umayyad dynasty. A rebellion, led by Abu al-Abbas, a descendent of Muhammad, in
Persia, put their rule to an end. After the annihilation of the clan, Abu al-Abbas founded Abbasid
dynasty.
- The Abbasid state was far more cosmopolitan than its predecessor. Since their Empire included
many different linguistic, ethnic, and cultural groups, they had to make a fitting government that
did not favor a group over another. Abbasid rulers did not show special favor to the Arab military
aristocracy. Others also rose to positions of wealth and power. Despite their empire growing in
size during their rule, the caliphs had little to do with the expansion, Autonomous Islamic forces
from distant Tunisia mounted naval expeditions throughout the Mediterranean. The Abbasids
focused on creating a better empire, with better quality of life for the many different peoples, by
focusing on what they had, rather than what they did not have.
- The Abbasids occupied themselves with administering the empire. Central authority was in
Baghdad. Learned officials and judges set moral standards in local communities and resolved
 disputes. The Elma and quads became extremely influential officials who helped to ensure
widespread observance of Islamic values. With the help of respected officials, the Abbasids were
able to keep better control over their people, to create a strong political system. They also
established bureaucratic ministries in charge of taxation, finance and coinage to regulate the
economic system. Baghdad became a center of banking, commerce, crafts, and industrial
production. Due to the centralization of the government, all the main activities that make an
empire flourish happened in the already successful city of Baghdad.
- The high point of the Abbasid dynasty came during the reign of Harn Al-Rashid, 786-809. By the
late eighth century, Abbasid authority had lost some of its force in provinces distant from
Baghdad but it remained strong enough to bring reliable tax revenues from most parts of the
empire. Harun al-Rashid provided liberal support for artists and writers.
- A civil war seriously damaged Abbasid authority and disputes over succession rights became a
recurring problem for the dynasty”. Provincial governors took advantage of the internal conflict,
and acted independently of the caliphs. Taxes stopped being sent to Baghdad and rebellions
started taking place. Disagreement among the people caused the end of the Abbasids dynasty.
They became mere figureheads before the Mongols extinguished the dynasty in 1258.

Economy and Society of the Early Islamic World:

Peasants tilled the land as their ancestors had done for centuries before them while manufacturers and
merchants supported a thriving urban economy. As in other lands, the creation of large Empires had
dramatic economic implications. The Umayyad and Basset Empires created a zone of trade, exchange,
and communication stretching from India to Iberia period Commerce throughout the Zone served as a
vigorous economic stimulus for both the countryside and the cities of the early Islamic world.

- Islamic leaders traveled throughout their land, they encountered plants, animals, and agricultural
techniques peculiar to the Empire's various regions. They often introduced particularly useful
crops to new regions. The introduction of these new crops into the Western regions of the Islamic
world had wide ranging effects. new food crops led to a richer and more varied diet. They also
increased quantities of food available because they enabled cultivators to extend the growing
season. In much of the Islamic world, summers are so hot and dry that cultivating traditionally
left their fields to follow during the season.
- Increased agricultural production contributed to the rapid growth of cities in all parts of the
Islamic World from India to spain. One new industry appeared in the Islamic cities during the
Basset empire, paper manufacturing. Chinese craftsmen had made paper since the very first
century but their technology did not spread far beyond China until Arab forces defeated a
Chinese Army at the Battle of Palace River in 71 and took prisoners skilled in paper production.
paper was cheaper and easier to use than writing materials such as Vellum sheets made from
animal skin. it soon became popular throughout the Islamic world. The paper facilitated the
keeping of administrative and Commercial records and it made possible the dissemination of
books and treaties in larger quantities than ever before.

Trading:

- from its earliest days Islamic Society Drew much of its Prosperity from commerce. Muhammad
himself was a merchant, and he held merchants in high esteem. El and joined it to a larger
hemispheric economy.
- Overland Trade travels mostly by camel caravan. Although they are unpleasant and often
uncooperative animals, camels endure the rigors of desert travel much better than horses or
donkeys. They also carry much heavier loads when fitted with a well-designed saddle.
- Meanwhile, Innovations and nautical technology contributed to a steadily increasing volume of
Maritime trade in the Red Sea Persian Gulf Arabian Sea and Indian ocean. Arab and Persian
 Mariners borrowed the compass from his Chinese inventors and used it to guide them on the
high seas. From Southeast Asian and Indian Mariners, they borrowed the 18 sail, a triangular cell
that increases a ship's maneuverability. From the Mediterranean they borrowed the Astro lab, an
instrument that enabled them to calculate latitude.
- Banking also stimulated the commercial economy of the Islamic world; they not only lent money
to entrepreneurs, but also served as Brokers for Investments and exchanged different currencies.
- The prosperity of Islamic Spain, known as al andalus, illustrates the far-reaching effects of
long-distance trade during the Abbasid era; most of the Iberian Peninsula had fallen into the
hand of the mites in the early 8th century. As allies of the umayyads, the governors of Al andalus
refused to recognize the dynasty, despite political and diplomatic tensions, al-andalus
participated actively in the commercial life of the larger Islamic world.
- A patriarchal society had emerged in Arabia long before Muhammad’s time, but Arab women
enjoyed rights that were not accorded to women in many other lands. They could legally inherit
property, divorce husbands on their own initiative, and engage in business ventures.
- THe Quran enhanced the security of women in Arabian society. It portrayed women as
honorable individuals. For the most part, the Quran and the Sharia enforced male dominance.

Cultural exchanges

- Normal educational institutions also helped promote Islamic values. Many mosques maintain
schools that provide an elementary education and religious instruction, and Wealthy Muslims
sometimes establish schools and provide endowments for the support. By the 10th Century
institutions of higher education known as madrasas had begun to appear, and by the 12th
century they had become established in the major cities of Islamic world.
- among the most effective as long missionaries will Mystics known as if he's. the times if he
probably came from attached Woolen comments headed by the mystics. so if he sometimes had
an advanced education and Islamic law and theology, but they saw an emotional mystical Union
with Allah 11 intellectual and understanding of islam. they often relied on rousing simons,
passionate singing, or spirited dancing to encourage diverse Allah.
- Most important of the early surface of the Persian halogen Al gazelle who argue that human
reason was too frail to understand the nature of Allah and hence could not explain the mysteries
of the world. see if he's especially effective as missionaries because they emphasize Devotion to
Allah of Mastery and Doctrine.
- The symbol of cultural Unity was the cover of Mecca, which from early days attracted Pilgrims
from all positive Islamic worlds. The bastard calculus especially encouraged themselves as they
saw themselves as supreme leaders of a cohesive Islamic community, and as a matter of policy
they thought to enhance convenience and travelers, police towards to ensure the safety of
pilgrims, and my lavish gifts to try and sides of pilgrimage.
- Persian Traditions quickly found a place and Islamic society. Persian influence is most noticeable
in literary works for the past and Dynasty. well Eric served as the language of religion, theology,
philosophy, Persian was the principal language of the Church of poetry history and political
reflection.
- Indian mathematics intrigued Arab and Persian Muslims who established Islamic States in
Northern india. During the Gupta dynasty Indian schools had elaborated on the sophisticated
tradition of mathematics, which Muslims found an attractive in the field of scholarship and for
the practical purposes of Reckoning and keeping counts. They readily adopted what they called
Hindi numerals, Which Europeans later called Arabic numerals. Using Hindi numerals, Muslims
develop an impressive tradition of mathematical thought, concentrating on algebra as well as
trigonometry and geometry.
- Muslims also admired philosophical, scientific, and medical writings of classical greece. They
became especially interested in Plato and Aristotle, whose work they translated and interpreted
into commentaries.