Scribd
Upload
56 views4 pages

Rise and Spread of Islam Notes

Uploaded by

Anay Bhandari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
56 views4 pages

Rise and Spread of Islam Notes

Uploaded by

Anay Bhandari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

CA II – Notes

The Rise and Spread of Islam

Regions Influencing Medieval India:


 The medieval period in India stretches roughly from the 8th to mid-18th centuries CE.
 For a comprehensive understanding of Medieval Indian history, it is necessary to
know about the countries that influenced it.
 The major regions influencing Indian history are:
1. West Asia
2. Central Asia
3. Europe

The Advent of Islam:


 In 570 CE the birth of Prophet Muhammad radically altered the course of world
history, took place in Mecca, a small town in Arabia.
 He was the founder of ISLAM.
 He was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle.
 He helped his uncle in his trading business and travelled far and wide with the
caravans.
 During his travels he came in contact with Christians and Jews and was impressed
with their practices and beliefs.
 The Arabs at that time were divided into numerous tribes and were constantly at war.
 Their lives were hard as they were very poor.
 They were also very superstitious and believed in a number of gods whose images
they worshiped.
 As he grew older he spent a lot of time in prayers and meditations in a cave in the
mountains.
 Around 610 CE he had a vision of Angel Jibreel who revealed god’s divine message
to him.
 Muhammad, the Prophet carried the word of Allah to the people of Mecca.
 Hence, a new religion called Islam was born
 ‘Islam’ means submission.
 The followers of Islam, Muslims are those who submit to the will of Allah.
 The teachings of Muhammad are recorded in Koran, the holy book of Muslims.
 The main principles of ISLAM were:
1. There is only one god, and Muhammad is his prophet.
2. Muslims must pray 5 times a day.
3. They must fast from dawn to dusk during Ramzan.
4. They must help the poor and needy and give away a part of their wealth to charity.
5. They must make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime.
6. They must be good and kind to others.

 Muhammad forbade idol worship and stressed on the importance of being good and
kind behavior.
 His teachings angered the rich Arabs, and Muhammad and his small band of followers
were forced to go from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE.
 Muhammad’s move from Mecca to Medina is known as HIJRAT
 The Muslim calendar Hijri begins from that year.
 The people of Medina welcomed Muhammad
 Within 10 years Muhammad had won considerable support.
 His supporters included a small army which was ready to lay down its life for the sake
of Islam.
 In 630 CE Muhammad returned to Mecca victorious and forgave all his enemies.
 The people of Mecca eventually accepted the Islamic Faith.
 This is how Mecca and Medina became the 2 holy Islamic Places
 In 632 CE Muhammad died, by then the entirety of Arabia had converted to Islam.
 After his death his faithful friend and follower, Abu Bakr was selected as his
successor.
 He took the title of Caliph. ‘Caliph’ was the title given to the head of the Muslim
community.
 He became the religious and political head of the people.

Spread of Islam:
 Abu Bakr mobilized and transformed the Arabs into an excellent fighting force.
 He and his successors inspired the Arab armies to sweep across countries and
continents and carry the word of Allah throughout the world.
 Inspired by missionary zeal, these invincible and Extraordinary Arab armies
conquered vast territories.
 Their empire stretched over Iran, Syria, Central Asia, North Africa and Spain.
 Having conquered such expansive territories, these tough and hardened warriors
settled down and adpted a new way of life.
 They built fine cities such as Damascus and Baghdad and Cairo, encouraged
agriculture, industry and trade, and above all they created a magnificent and vibrant
civilization.

The Abbasid and Umayyad Caliphates:


 The greatest intellectual and cultural excellence was seen during the reign of the
Abbasid Caliphs.
 The Umayyad Caliphs who preceded the Abbasids had established their capital as
Damascus.
 The Abbasids shifted the Caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad (present–day capital
of Iraq).
 For the next 150 years, the Arab empire under the Abbasids emerged as one of the
most, powerful, prosperous and enlightened regions in the world.
 The Arabs absorbed and assimilated the best of what other cultures and civilizations
had to offer in terms of ideas, skills, and scientific knowledge.
 Muhammad had advised the Arabs to pursue learning.
 One of the Abbasid Caliphs established a HOUSE OF WISDOM at Baghdad to
translate into Arabic the collective wisdom of various ancient civilization such as the
Greek, Byzantine, Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, and Persian civilization.
 Baghdad became the repository and preserve of the rich cultural heritage of the
ancient world.

Knowledge absorbed and assimilated by Arab scholars from different civilizations.

 Art of Making paper


Chinese  Technique of making glass
 Use of Mariner’s compass

Greeks  Geometry

Persians  Astronomy

 Mathematical Theories
Chinese  Medicine
 Astronomy
 Philosophy
India and the Arab world:  Administration

 The Arabs established several trade settlements on the west coast of India
 Many of them intermarried and made India their home.
 Indian traders used Arab merchant ships to transport their goods to the Western world.
 In exchange for Indian muslin pepper, indigo etc. Arabs brought luxury items and fine
Arabian horses to India.
 Islam spread to south-east Asia through Arab traders.
 The old Hindu kingdoms of Malaysia and Indonesia declined and were eventually
replaced by Muslim dynasties
 India’s influence and contacts in these regions gradually waned.
 In 712 CE, an Arab expedition under Muhammad bin Qasim defeated the ruler of
Sind and occupied the entire province.
 The occupation of Sind ended with the death of Qasim.
 The Arabs could not spread their influence to the other parts of India as the Rajput’s
were too strong for them.
 According to some historians the spirit of exclusiveness amongst the Indians made
them reject foreign cultural influence.
 According to Muslim scholar Al Beruni, the Indians believed no other country on
Earth had any knowledge of Science.
 Hence, they were generally not receptive to the rich treasures of Arabic learning and
civilization.
 The Arabs on the other hand learnt a great deal from the ancient Indian civilization.
 Knowledge of mathematics, medicine, astronomy, philosophy and the art of
administration were assimilated by the Arabs leading to further enrichment of Arab
culture and civilization.

India and the Arab world:


The Turks:
 By the 9th century CE, the power of the Caliphs declined and the Arab empire split
into numerous independent kingdoms.
 2 independent states established by the Turks in central assai were Ghazni and Ghori.
 The Turks were originally nomadic tribes who adopted Islam as their religion.
 It was they who eventually established a Muslim empire in India.

India and the Arab world:

You might also like