History of Islam
This article is about the history of Islam as
a culture and polity. For the history of the Islamic faith, see Spread of Islam. For
Islamic civilization, seeMuslim
world. For military conquests, see Islamic conquests.
For chronology, see Timeline of Islamic history.
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The history of Islam concerns the Islamic religion and its adherents, known
as Muslims.
"Muslim" is an Arabicword meaning
"one who submits to God". Muslims
and their religion have greatly impacted the political, economic, and military history of
the Old World,
especially the Middle
East, where lie its roots. Though it is believed by non-Muslims to
have originated in Mecca and Medina, Muslims believe that the religion of
Islam has been present since the time of the prophet Adam. The Islamic world expanded
to include people of the Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living
in that civilization.
A century after the death of last Islamic prophet Muhammad, the Islamic
empire extended from Spain in the west toIndus in the east. The subsequent empires
such as those of the Abbasids, Fatimids, Almoravids, Seljukids,Ajuuraan, Adal and Warsangali in Somalia, Mughals in
India and Safavids in Persia and Ottomans were
among the influential and distinguished powers in the world. The Islamic
civilization gave rise to many centers of culture and science
and produced notable scientists, astronomers, mathematicians, doctors, nurses
and philosophersduring
the Golden
Age of Islam. Technology flourished; there was investment in
economic infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and canals; and the
importance of reading the Qur'an produced a comparatively high level of
literacy in the general populace.
In the later Middle Ages, destructive Mongol invasions from
the East, and the loss of population in the Black Death, greatly
weakened the traditional centre of the Islamic world, stretching from Persia to
Egypt, and the Ottoman
Empire was able to conquer most Arabic-speaking areas, creating
an Islamic world
power again, although one that was unable to master the
challenges of the Early
Modern period.
Later, in modern history (18th
and 19th centuries), many Islamic regions fell under the influence of
European Great
powers. After the First World War,
Ottoman territories (a Central Powers member)
were partitioned into several nations under
the terms of the Treaty
of Sèvres.
Although affected by ideologies such as socialism and secularism during
much of the 20th century, the Islamic identity and
the dominance of Islam on political issues intensified during
the early
21st century. Global interests in Islamic regions, international
conflicts and globalization changed
the type of Islamic influence on the contemporary world.[1] In
the contemporary period, a set of ideologies holding interpretations of Islamic
texts that advocate theunification
of religion and state has spread, but the ideology has been criticized.
Main article: Historiography of early Islam
The Islamic state and Muslim's
system of government evolved through various stages.[2] The
precise dates of various periods in history are more or less arbitrary.
The City-state period lasted from 620s to 630s. The Imperial
period lasted from 630s to 750s. The Universal period lasted
from 750s to around 900s. These correspond to the early period of
post-classical history. The "Decentralization" period lasted
from around 900s to the early 1500s. This correspond to the high period and late period of
post-classical history. The "Fragmentation" period lasted
from around 1500s to the late 1910s. Thecontemporary
period, referred to as the National period, lasted from
1910s into the twenty-first century.
Dates are approximate, consult particular
article for details.
Further information: Timeline of Muslim history
See also: Disputed issues in early Islamic history
Islamic origins[edit]
Main articles: Quraysh (tribe), Banu Hashim, Muhammad, and Qu'ran
In pre-Islamic
Arabia Arab people lived on the Arabian Plate. In
the south of Hedjaz (principal
religious and commercial centre of post-classical Arabia), the Arabic tribe of Quraysh (Adnani Arabs), to which Muhammad belonged,
had been in existence. Near Mecca, the tribe was increasing in power. The
Quraysh were the guardians of the Kaaba within the town of Mecca and was the dominant tribe of Mecca
upon the appearance of Islam. The Kaaba, at the time, was used as an
important pagan shrine.
It brought revenues to Mecca because of the multitude of pilgrims that it attracted.
Muhammad was born into the Banu Hashim tribe
of the Quraysh clan,[3] a
branch of the Banu
Kinanah tribe, descended from Khuzaimah and derived its inheritance
from theKhuza'imah (House
of Khuza'a).
Nakkaş Osman, Istanbul (1595)
(Ed., note artists began representing the veil-covered face of Muhammad from the 16th century onwards)
(Ed., note artists began representing the veil-covered face of Muhammad from the 16th century onwards)
According to the traditional Islamic view, the Qur'an
(Koran) began with revelations to
Muhammad (when he was 40 years old) in 610. The history of the Qur'an began when its verses were
revealed to the Sahabah during
Muhammad's life. The rise of Islam began around the time Muslims took flight in
the Hijra,
moving to Medina. With Islam, blood feudsamong the
Arabs lessened. Compensation was paid in money rather than blood and only the
culprit was executed.
In 628, the Makkah tribe of Quraish and the Muslim
community in Medina signed a truce called the Treaty
of Hudaybiyyabeginning a ten-year period of peace. War returned when
the Quraish and their allies, the tribe of 'Bakr', attacked the tribe of
'Khuza'ah', who were Muslim allies. In 630, Muslims conquered Mecca. Muhammad died in June 632. The Battle of Yamama was
fought in December of the same year, between the forces of the first caliph Abu Bakr and Musailima.
See also: Early scholars of Islam
City-states and Imperial period[edit]
Main articles: Succession to Muhammad and Caliphate
After Muhammad died, a series of Caliphs governed the
Islamic State: Abu Bakr (632-634), Umar
ibn al-Khattab (Umar І, 634-644), Uthman ibn Affan,
(644-656), and Ali
ibn Abi Talib (656-661). These leaders are known as the "Rashidun" or
"rightly guided" Caliphs in Sunni Islam. They
oversaw the initial phase of the Muslim conquests,
advancing throughPersia, Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa.
Umar improved
the administration and built cities like Basra and canal and irrigation
networks. To be close to the poor,Umar lived
in a simple mud hut without doors and walked the streets every evening. After
consulting with the poor, Umarestablished
the first welfare state Bayt
al-mal.[4][5][6] The Bayt al-mal or
the welfare state was for the Muslim and non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans,
widows, and the disabled. The Bayt al-mal ran
for hundreds of years under the Rashidun
Caliphate in the 7th century and continued through the Umayyad period
and well into the Abbasid era. Umar also
introduced Child Benefit and Pensions for the children and the elderly.[7][8][9][10] The
expansion of the state, was partially terminated between 638–639 during the
years of great famine and plague in Arabia and Levantrespectively. During Umars reign, within 10 years Levant, Egypt, Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, Fezzan, Eastern Anatolia, almost the
whole of Sassanid
Persian Empire including Bactria, Persia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Caucasus and Makran were incorporated into Islamic
State. When Umar was assassinated in 644,the election of Uthman as successor was met with
increasing opposition. The Qur'an was standardized during this time.
Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians,
persecuted as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, often aided Muslims to take
over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally
speedy conquests.[11][12] As
new areas joining the Islamic State, they also benefited from free trade, while
trading with other areas in the Islamic State, so as to encourage commerce, in
Islam trade is not taxed, wealth is taxed.[13] The
Muslims paid Zakat on their
wealth to the poor. Since the Constitution of Medina, was drafted by the Islamic prophetMuhammad the
Jews and the Christians continued to use their own laws in the Islamic State
and had their own judges.[14][15][16] Therefore
they only paid for policing for the protection of their property. To assist in
the quick expansion of the state, the Byzantine and the Persian tax collection
systems were maintained and the people paid a poll tax lower than the one
imposed under the Byzantines and the Persians.
In 639, Muawiyah I was
appointed as the governor of Syria after the previous governor Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah died in a plague along
with 25,000 other people.[17][18] To
stop the Byzantine harassment from the sea during the Arab-Byzantine
Wars, in 649 Muawiyah
I set up a navy; manned by Monophysitise Christians, Copts and Jacobite Syrian Christians sailors and Muslim
troops. This resulted in the defeat of the Byzantine navy at the Battle
of the Masts in 655, opening up the Mediterranean.[19][20][21][22][23]
When Umar was assassinated in 644, Uthman Ibn Affan became
the next caliph. As it is well known that Arabic language is written without
vowels, and when Qur'an reached the non-Arabic speakers, people began having
different dielects and phonics which was changing the exact meaning of verses
in the Qur'an. This was brought to the notice of Uthman Ibn Affan.
Begun in the time of Uthman ibn Affan, the compilation of the Qur'an was finished sometime
between 650 and 656, Uthman sent copies to the different centers of the
expanding Islamic empire. From then on, thousands of Muslim scribes began
copying the Qur'an.[24]
The Qur'an and Muhammad talked
about racial equality and justice as in the The
Farewell Sermon.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Tribal
and nationalistic differences were discouraged. But after Muhammad's passing
the old tribal differences between the Arabs started to resurface. Following
the Roman–Persian
Wars and the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars deep rooted differences
between Iraq, formally under the Persian Sassanid Empire and
Syria formally under the Byzantine Empire
also existed. Each wanted the capital of the newly established Islamic State to
be in their area.[32] Previously,
the second caliphUmar was very
firm on the governors and his spies kept an eye on the governors. If he felt
that a governor or a commander was becoming attracted to wealth or did not meet
the required administrative standards, he had him removed from his position.[33]
