Emergence Of Islam

The Emergence of the Caliphate Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. Muhd. Is considered to be the last in the series of prophets that included Harem, Noah, Jesus and others. The word Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of oneself to God or Allah and an adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim- "one who submits (to God)".Finally there came to exist the Umma or the community of those who have surrendered to God. The best way of understanding Allah is to try and find within him the traits of creator, sustainer, destroyer and restorer all together. The will of Allah is revealed through sacred scriptures, known as Quran which emphasises on uncompromising and undiluted monotheism and strict adherence to a few religious practices like Namaz. Islam has the second-largest following in the world, after Christianity. Africa, Europe, Indian subcontinent, Malay peninsula and China saw the spread of Islam. In course of time it saw several sectarian movements but the common theme- faith and a sense of belonging to the community remained. THE BIRTH AND RISE OF ISLAM

Geographical Context

The birth of Islam must be understood in a proper geographical context of the movement. Arabia, or the place of origin, is a peninsula surrounded by the Red Sea in the west, the Arabian sea in the south and the Persian Gulf in the east. Very little rainfall takes place in this area and there are no permanent rivers. At the heart of the peninsula lies a vast and unbroken zone called Najd. The central part of West Asia is called Hijaz or a barrier. Mecca and Madina lie in Hijaz. The southernmost part of Arabia is very fertile, what is now known as Yemen. The extreme end of this is Oman which kisses the persian gulf beyond which lay the Persian Empire.

Native Population and their Lifestyle For centuries the inhabitants of central, northern & western Arabia had led a nomadic existence. The camel pastoralists, known as Beduin, were constantly on the move. Their social organization was based on the independent tribeqabila- further divided in to quams and headed by a sheikh. Conflicts between various tribes and raids known as Ghazwas were common. A form of tribute, called the khuwwa, was takes by the beduin from the few agriculturalists, in return for protection. On the other hand, there were some communities which subsisted on cultivation of dates, fruit and grain. The Beduin tribes and the people of the peninsula, generally referred to themselves as arab, and the language spoken by them

was a variation of Aramaic. A distinct linguistic identity had been formed by end of 5 century, which was manifested in the flourishing tradition of oral poetry, known as rajaz. Imrul Qays, the foremost pre-Islamic poet of Arabia is well known for his odes called muallaqat. th

By the beginning of the 5 century, a few urban centres had come up in Yemen. This area was inhabited by people who practiced Judaism, and whose language was distinct from Arabic. th

Power Politics in the Middle-East 3 C AD is the dividing line in the history of Pre Islamic Arabia. It was a period of greatness of nomadic settlements when trade links were beginning to be established with the mediterranean routes,the most talked about of which was PALMYRA which traded with Turkey. rd

In the 3 C AD, the entire history of Arabia changed because of the emergence of 3 great foreign powers: Byzantine Empire (Successor to the Roman empire in the east): Syria, Egypt and Palestine were all under it in the North West Persian/ Sassanid Empire: Iraq and Iran among other parts in the East. Himyar Empire : Primarily Yemen. rd

In the latter half of the of the 6 century, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires were engaged in a bitter conflict for the control of Syria & Palestine. One Beduin clan, Banu Lakhm, had established the Lakhmid state on the borders of the Sassanid Empire, with whom it was allied. On the other hand, an arab tribe-Ghassanids- had created a state on the outskirts of Syria, which owed it’s allegiance to the Byzantine empire. The Sassanids and the Byzantines used the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids, respectively, as a buffer against Beduin incursions and for recruiting Arab troops. Moving towards Africa, the Ethiopian kings had converted to Coptic Christianity. When a Jewish leader, Dhu Nuwas,(c. 510 A.D.) came to power in south Arabia and began persecuting the Christians, the Ethiopians used this as a pretext to invade Yemen; the Jewish supporters in turn sought the support of the Persians, but were eventually defeated. Subsequently, the arabs became inextricably embroiled in the power politics of the region. th

Role of Mecca in the Rise of Islam During the 6 century, a gradual socio-economic change was taking place within Arabia. Some of the tribes, especially in Hijaz, gave up nomadic pastoralism and took to mercantile activity and trade. The impetus to Arabian trade was the dislocation of the international trade route passing through the Persian Gulf and Iraq, caused by the Sassanid-Byzantine conflict, thus some of the trade was now went overland from Yemen to Syria. th

It was during this period that Mecca, a settlement of traders in Hijaz, gained prominence. In religious terms too, Mecca was very strategically located. The center of Judaism, located at Yathrib was located near Mecca and Najran, the center of Christianity was in close proximity as well. Mecca was also the center for paganistic religion. The religious significance of Mecca was a feature which the trading community might have tried to promote.The main shrine at Mecca was a rectangular structure called kaba (cube) and it was located at an oasis which had a well, zamzam, the water of which came to be regarded as holy by the Muslims. The 3 natural deities were already in worship in Mecca al Uzzal al – lat manat These 3 were regarded as the daughters of al-lah. So trade and religion operated together as the people visited the sanctuary at Mecca. Every year there was a sacred period, in the form of a fair, during which no violence was permitted and hostilities among conflicting tribes were suspended. Most importantly, business transactions could take place peacefully at this time. The strategic importance of Mecca as a trade route, and thus the role it played in the rise of Islam, has recently come into debate. The classical thesis the materialistic explanation for rise of Islam has been put forward by W.M. Watt. He sees the rise of this new faith as response to the transition from a nomadic to a settled mercantile economy. For him the Central location of Mecca and the growing trade in luxury goods, incence and silver goods from China etc were important factors. He argues that the expansion of Meccan commerce eroded traditional ties, created new ideas of individualism, thus introducing social differentiation. The poor, who had been protected by virtue of strong clan bondage, now began to suffer. The profits from trade and earnings from pilgrimage did not benefit everyone uniformly, creating dissention and conflict. The relatively simple tribal organization of Quraysh did not have any mechanism to cope with the new situation. The Alternate View This ‘Meccan trade hypothesis’ has been regarded as unsatisfactory by Patricia Crone, who puts forward an alternate view in her ‘Meccan Trade & the Rise of Islam’. She argues that Meccan trade was not on a scale large enough to undermine traditional society, which was still intact. Mecca had a disadvantageous strategic position and a small harbor that was rarely used for trade, which itself was essentially in commodities of small value (animals, cheap clothing, food items) with the only luxury

good being incense, and was incapable of generating much wealth. The new faith appealed to the people as it helped to ‘legitimize conquest’. She characterizes early Islam as a ‘nativist movement’, i.e. a movement borne out of a deep attachment to the Arabian way of life, in opposition to the penetration of foreign influences associated with the Sassanid and Byzantine empires. Nevertheless, Crone does agree with Watt’s view that sedentism necessitated the growth of state structures at the expense of tribal ties.

Rise of Islam and the Axial Age Faiths

Karen Armstrong argues that social justice was a crucial virtue of Islam, and was far more important than any doctrinal teaching on God. Muslims commanded as their first duty, to build a community or Ummah, characterized by practical compassion and a fair distribution of wealth. Due to the gradual inequity created by the growing mercantile economy, the old paganism was no longer adequate and the Arabs now drifted towards, what historians have called an Axial Age Faith. The arabs were confronted with spiritual malaise, chronic warfare and an injustice that had violated the best arab tradition and tribal codes. The way forward lay in a Monotheism and a unified Ummah governed by justice and equity. It was in this context that Muhammad’s message of unity became a solution to the prevailing social ferment, and Islam provided the tribes with a scheme of state formation.

Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632 A.D.)

570 A.D. is the generally agreed date for the birth of Muhammad. He belonged to the Hashim clan of the quraysh tribe. Muhd’s father, Abdullah was a person of ltd. means.He was brought up under the care of his paternal uncle, Abu Talib who was a fairly well to do merchant. When he grew up he found employment with a rich widow Khadija whom he later married. In 610 : Muhd. had an intense spiritual experience which is supposed to mark the beginning of his prophet. A series of revelations, believed to be divinely inspired, were made to him. He said that he was the messenger, or prophet, of the supreme being- Allah. These revelations form the Quran, the religious books of the Muslims. Within a few years, he had a small group of Meccan followers who came to be known as Muslim i.e. those who submitted to Allah. The overriding principle was uncompromising monotheism; it sought to replace the diverse religious practices of Arab tribes by a single belief based on unity & equality. Like any new belief system that challenges the ways of the old, Islam too met with stiff opposition.While he got protection from his influential uncle Abu Talib, he was able to preach his ideas but his death led to the deterioration of Muhds position. 622 : He eventually migrated to Medina along with his followers and this emigration is known as hijrat. Subsequently, the beginning of Islamic era was

reckoned from this year Medina was a cluster of small villages inhabited by small tribes. Unlike mecca, where quraysh was the dominant tribe, various tribes were contending for power, including jewish tribes. Muhd. Soon acquired some authority over Medina when he emerged as an arbitrator in tribal disputes. He now had a number of Medinese followerswho were known as muhajirun (‘emigrants’), while the medinese supporters were called ansars (‘helpers’). Apart from being a religious leader, he soon became the head of a nascent state centered on Madina, with 1/5 of the booty going directly to him. He was now looked upon as the law giver and he began to lay down the rules for governance. Several tribes began embracing the new religion, thereby become a part of the Muslim religious community (umma) as well as Muhds unified polity. Once the framework of an administrative system and an army had been created, and ties had been forged with the beduin tribes, Muhd was in a position to carry out an armed struggle against the Quraysh of Mecca. th

625 : The muslims suffered a severe defeat as the hands of the Meccan army in the battle of Uhud but in 627 the muslims inflicted a more profound defeat on the meccan army at the battle of trench. This was followed by a mass execution of the jewish tribe which supported the Meccan army. 628 : The successful raids agaisnt the Quraysh caravans eventually disrupted Mccan trade. The Quraysh has to sue for peace and a teraty of Muhd is signed between Mecca and Medina. 630 : The meccans violated the treaty Muhd marched onto Mecca with a huge army of muslims and their tribal allies. Mecca accepted defeat and opened the gates to Muhd who didn’t allow bloodshed and didn’t force Islam. The meccans accepted Islam en masse. 632 : Muhd passed away in creating a political vacuum amongst his followers.. He managed to replace tribal organization with a state which encompassed a large number of Arab tribes. Medina, and to a lesser extent Mecca, were the focal points of the government. 2100

Rashidun- Pious Caliphs Marshall Hodgson labels this period from 632-684 as the Primitive Caliphate.

Abu bakr, father-in-law as well as close aid of the prophet, succeeded as the first Caliph (632-634). The tribal alliances were still quite tenuous, giving an opportunity to the tribal leaders to assert their independence. Abu Bakr waged ‘wars of riddah’(defection from one’s religious allegiance) with these tribes. He was succeeded by Umar(634-644), a muhajirun, who was the real builder of the empire; he undertook large- scale unification if Arabia and conquered Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. The fierce combat between the Byzantine & the Sassanid empires had exhausted both militarily, thus they were not able to put up much resistance when attached by the arabs. Umar had appointed a board of 6 selectors to nominate a successor after him. Usman, a muhajirun of the Umayyad clan, succeeded Umar. He further conquered areas of northern Africa, Iran, Afghanistan and Sindh. The assassination of Usman in 656 marks the end of one phase of the formation of the Arab empire. The first fitnah or virtual civil war broke out over the question of succession after Usman. Some of the differences that arose in that period have persisted down to the present day in the shape of numerous religious sects within Islam. At Madina, the supporters of Ali joined hands with the rebels from Egypt and proclaimed Ali as the Caliph. This was not acceptable to the other groups; the biggest challenge came from Muawiya, governor of Syria, who was a descendent of Umayya. An armed encounter took place between the armies of Ali and of Muawiya at Siffin, which proved to be inconclusive. Ali was murdered by a khariji assassin in 661. His son Hassan was acclaimed as the new caliph, but after entering into an agreement with Muawiya, he retired to Medina. Sectarian divisions in Islam Hargibb says that the fitnah was the result of the conflict between old ideas of tribal democracy and the emerging centralized state. The events leading to Ali’s withdrawal from Siffin provoked the first major sectarian division in Islam.

Shiahs (‘party’ of Ali) held that Ali was divinely endowed wit special qualities of leadership by virtue of his relation to the Prophet’s family. They fully endorsed his actions at Siffin. Kharijis or secessionists were a breakaway groups which was opposed to the arbitration between Muawiya and Ali, as this amounted to a compromise in their eyes. Arab history in the post Siffin period was marked by an unequal contest between the Shiites, Kharijis and Umayyads for the seat of the Caliphate. Polity & Society Till the time of Abu Bakr, the Islamic state had been confined to Arabia. But when Umar and Usman began to build a vast empire extending from the Nile to the margins of central Asia, the need to evolve a suitable infrastructure for such a large political entity arose. Umar took on the title of amir al muminin (commander of the faithful). This reinforced the military, political and religious power that was combined in 1 person- the caliph. According to the principles laid down by the prophet, one-fifth of the booty of military conquest went to the state and the rest was distributed amongst the Ummah. The amount that a person received was determined by nature of his service and stage at which his family had accepted Islam. Thus, the muhajirun and their descendants would be ranked first, and so on. Due the vast military conquests, for the first time the arabs gained access to an enormous agrarian surplus derived from land. Due to unequal distribution, deiparities were reinforced and a privileged Muslim elite emerged. To counter this, umar and usman put severe restrictions on private purchase of land in southern iraq by wealthy Meccans. Umar was responsible for systemization of Islamic ritual. The mosque became a holy place of worship where the muslims prayed collectively. He initisted the writing down of the entire quranic text, along with instituting a new Islamic era starting from the year of the hijrat (622).

The Umayyad Caliphate

Sufiyanid Umayyads The Umayyads were descended from Umayya, and were a clan separate from Muhammad's in the Quraish tribe. Caliphate of Muawiya the first comes into existence, and he founds the Umayyad Dynasty (661-750) with his capital shifted to Damascus. He begins the process of transforming the caliphate into a hereditary monarchy. The Umayyad caliphs projected themselves as religious leaders, but ultimately their power rested on brute force. Yazid becomes the next caliph(680-83) after his father’s death. The Shiites put forward the claim of Ali’s younger son husayn, who leads a small band of followers to fight the Umayyad army at Karbala. This is the Second Fitnah. Husayn is killed and his force massacred. Husayn’s martyrdom became a powerful religious symbol for the Shiites and the event is commemorated every year as a period of mourning during the Islamic month of Muharram. Yazid was succeeded by Muawiya II who dies shortly afterwards. Marwanid Umayyads Marshall Hodgson labels this period from 684-c.900 as the High Caliphate. The leadership of the Umayyads was assumed by another branch of the clan- the family of Marwan, who became the caliph in 684. He was followed by Abd al-Malik (685-705) who rebuilt the Umayyad state, strengthened the caliphate the extended the borders of the empire. Territorial expansion All of Iraq submitted to him, Mecca & Medina were occupied. He and his successor- al Walid I (705-15), embarked upon a new phase of territorial conquest. The most significant conquests took place in northern Africa and western Mediterranean. By 711, the Umayyad armies had invaded western Europe. The Visigoths were dislodged from Spain, but further arab expansion was checked by the franks.

Evolution of state apparatus He vigorously pursued a policy of arabization, replacing Greek and pahlavi with Arabic as the language of administration. A distinctive and innovative coinage was also introduced. His reign saw hectic building activity, with the construction of public buildings, palaces and mosques, the most famous of which is the al asqa mosque (Dome of Rock) in Jerusalem. Under Abd al- Malik, the caliphate became an absolute monarchy. He developed a bureaucratic apparatus, and reorganized the army into a professional standing unit. Tribal units were reconstituted into regeiments called junds, commanded by qaids, who were military commanders. This was an attempt to dissolve tribal loyalties. The systematic extraction of surplus by arab ruling class demanded collaboration of the local elites. In case of Iran and Iraq, there was a class of well entrenched landowners called diqans, who retained their position under the arabs, and over a period of time, embraced Islam. Since Muslims were identified as belonging to specific arab tribes, a way had to be found for accomodating non-arab Muslims. This was done by giving them an inferior status, and classifying the non-arab convert as a maula. Fall of the Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad state had become authoritarian, corrupt and militarily weak. Their policy of taxation was also a huge cause of resentment. Since tax was levied on only the non-muslims, the Umayyads prevented them form converting to Islam. Thus they were portrayed non Islamic. A new class of arab traders, government officials and absentee landlords had arisen within former Sassanid territories. Thus the resentment of the mawalis and the diverse opposition of the diverse Arab groups, especially the Hashimites and the Alids, led to a strong anti-establishment sentiment by the mid 8th century. In the 740s, an organized movement shrouded in secrecy and aimed at the overthrow of the Umayyads, came into

existence. Though its origins are obscure, there is no doubt that its real leaders were the Abbasids, a branch of the Hahimites related to Muhammad’s paternal uncle. Abu Muslim, an outstanding military leader, enlisted the assistance of the local mawali, and ousted the Umayyads from power. The last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, fled to Egypt and was killed there.

The Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid caliphs officially based their claim to the caliphate on their descent from one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad, by virtue of which descent they regarded themselves as the rightful heirs of Muhammad as opposed to the Umayyads. The Abbasid leader Abul Abbas ‘al-Saffah’ (the avenger) was declared the new caliph in 750. This inaugurated the 500 year long reign of the Abbasids. (750-1258) This transition is not only confined to the change in the system of government, from the Caliphate to the Sultanate, but also marks a breaking of arab hegemony over Islam. With the rise of the Abassids, centre of political power shifted from Syria to southern Iraq, and the Iranian component of the Muslim population of west asia outnumbered the Arabs. The distinction between arab and non-arab no longer held much meaning, with the mawali rising to high positions in the political sphere. The Abbasids also found themselves at odds with the Shias, many of whom had supported their war against the Umayyads, since the Abbasids claimed legitimacy by their familial connection to Muhammed. Once in power, the Abbasids embraced Sunni Islam and disavowed any support for Shi'a beliefs. That led to numerous conflicts, culminating in an uprising in Mecca in 786, followed by widespread bloodshed and the flight of many Shi'a to the Maghreb Conception of Kingship al-Saffah was succeeded by al- Mansur(754-75) The sassanid conception of kingship, combining religious and political power was adopted to uphold caliph’s supreme

authority. Whereas the power actually rested on force, they legitimized it in religious terms. An elaborate court ceremonial, splendor of the court, inapproachability of the person of the caliph and the practice of prostration were introduced to inspire fear and awe towards the caliph. al-Mansur decided to build an imposing capital for himself and in 762 founded the city of Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris. This was a symbolic act which denoted imperial power, and was a concept previously alien to Arabia. Thus kingship began to involve diverse rituals and ceremonies which were aimed to influence the psyche of the people, leading to a process of legitimization of the new dynasty. The first caliphs constantly referred back to the sunna or the sayings & habitual behaviour of the prophet. The record of his sunna was called hadis. All those who confirmed to the sunna acceptable to the majority were referred to as the Sunnis. The abassids projected themselves as the upholders of the tenets of the sunna. They were eager to demonstrate that their state was based on islamic ideals and quranic teachings. The Shiities did not accept the authority if the Abassids, they were outside the fold of the Sunnis. State & Economy The 8th and 9th centuries were a period of urban expansion. Basra became the main port for Baghdad and an important transit point in the Indian Ocean trade route. Jerusalem(Palestine), Tunisia(north africa), Cordoba (spain) became important centres of urbanism. This urban expansion was also a refection of the expanding Trade. The jews in Egypt occupied a key position in the world of Mediterranean trade. Sicily, Venice and Tunis were also part of this network. Spices, silk, cotton textiles, precious stones and other luxury goods were imported from south east Asia and India, while weapons paper, ivory, sugar, slaves, horses etc. were exported by west asia.

Land was the principal source of wealth, more so than trade. The collection of land revenue was made uniform under the Abbasids. There were 2 types of land-tax : ushr (1/10th of produce) paid bu Muslim landholders, and kharaj (1/3rd od produce) paid by non muslim counterparts. The state also dereived its income from kakat and jizya levied on muslims & non-muslims respectively. The Abbasid centralized state was managed by a huge bureaucracy, which was said to be the legacy of the Sassanids. From the time of al-Mansur, administration was placed under a powerful official who assumed the title of ‘vazir’. The Vizarat developed as one of the most characteristic institutions of the Islamic state. Separate schools of jurisprudence which interpreted Islamic laws (shariat), were coming into existence. Four schools, representing the 4 major Sunni shariat traditions developedHanafis, Malikis, Shafiis and Hanbalis. Arab expansion into the Iranian world, which included the territories of Afghanistan extending beyond the Oxus River, was a turning point in the development of Islam, producing a rich fusion of Arab & Iranian traditions. This period was known as the Islamic Golden Age The Abbassids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as "the ink of scientists is more holy then the blood of martyrs" stressing the value of knowledge.[4] During this period the Muslim world became the unrivaled intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established a "House of Wisdom" in Baghdad; where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic Decline of the Abbasid Caliphate The empire had become so large that it became difficult to directly rule over territories which were located at large distance from iraq/iran. With the establishment of the Fatimid empire in North Africa, and the Umayyads over Spain; the western Mediterranean gradually slipped out of control.In the

east, provincial governors were becoming semi-independent and setting up their own dynasties. from the middle of the10th century onwards, the Buyids (who were Shiites) became de-facto and the Abbasids were made virtual prisoners. By the 11th century, it was taken over bya nomadic people from central asia- the turks. The Abassid dynasty formally came to an end with the capture of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258. Conclusion The Islamic state is characterized by the nature of conquest. - this is seen in the cultural intermingling of Arab & Persian traditions and the political mosaic created in the evolution of the Caliphate and the Sultanate. The inextricable thread joining Islam, politics and violence is strikingly visible in the dynastic greed for legitimization of power.