Project Report On Central Islamic Land
Project Report On Central Islamic Land
595 Muhammad marries Khadija, a wealthy Meccan trader who later supports Islam
610-12 Muhammad has first revelation; first public preaching of Islam (612)
Migration from Mecca to Medina. Arab tribes of Medina (ansar) shelter Meccan
622
migrants (muhajir)
632-61 Early caliphate; conquests of Syria, Iraq, Iran and Egypt; civil wars
Rule of Nizamul mulk, the powerful Saljuq wazir who established a string of madrasas c
1063-1092
alled Nizamiyya; killed by Hashishayn (Assassins)
INTRODUCTION
ISLAM TODAY:
Islam remains a powerful force in the world today. It’s believers encompass the most highly
educated scholars and unschooled peasants.There are over I billion Muslims living in the
world presently, who speak different language, belong to different nation
ISLAM DEFINED
Islam the religion of Muslim people means “submission to the will of God”; Muslims are
Adherents of Islam The fundamental belief of Islam is “There is only one God, and
Muhammad is His Prophet
§ In his time the rift between two groups of Muslims become more acute.
§ He established himself in Kufa and fought two wars. (Battle of the Camel-657) he
defeated an army led by Muhammad’s wife, Aisha. But he could not defeat the
army of Muawiya, a kinsman of Uthman and the governor of Syria in Iraq.
§ This war divided his followers into two groups. Those who become against him
were called as Kharjis. Finally, he was killed by a Kharjis in Kufa in 661.
§ After that his followers make his son, Hussain as Khalipha but Muawiya made
himself the next caliph in 661 and founded Umayyad dynasty.
§ It was in his time that Muslims broke in to Shias and Sunnis.
Economic factors –
a) Agriculture
The principal occupation of the settled populations in the newly
conquered territories
The lands conquered by the Arabs that remained in the hands of the
owners were subject to a tax (kharaj), which varied from half to a
fifth of the produce, according to the conditions of cultivation.
To address the shortfall in revenue, the caliphs first discouraged
conversions and later adopted a uniform policy of taxation.
Agricultural prosperity went hand in hand with political stability
Islamic law gave tax concessions to people who brought land under
cultivation.
b) Urbanisation
Islamic civilisation flourished as the number of cities grew
phenomenally.
Among this class of garrison-cities, called Misr (the Arabic name for
Egypt), were Kufa and Basra in Iraq, and Fustat and Cairo in Egypt.
Their size and population surged, supported by an expansion in the
production of foodgrains and raw materials such as cotton and
sugar for urban manufactures
A vast urban network developed, linking one town with another and
forming a circuit.
c) Commerce
Political unification and urban demand for foodstuffs and luxuries
enlarged the circuit of exchange.
Geography favoured the Muslim empire, which spread between the
trading zones of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean
For five centuries, Arab and Iranian traders monopolised the
maritime trade between China, India and Europe.
This trade passed through two major routes, namely, the Red Sea
and the Persian Gulf.
High-value goods suitable for long-distance trade, such as spices,
textile, porcelain and gunpowder, were shipped from India and China
to the Red Sea ports of Aden and Aydhab and the Gulf ports of Siraf and
Basra.
The Legend of Learning and Culture
a) Development of various literary forms, literature & litterateurs
For religious scholars (ulama), knowledge (ilm) derived from the
Quran and the model behaviour of the Prophet (sunna) was the only
way to know the will of God and provide guidance in this
world. Before it took its final form, the sharia was adjusted to take
into account the customary laws (urf) of the various regions as well
as the laws of the state on political and social order (siyasa sharia).
A group of religious-minded people in medieval Islam, known
as Sufis, sought a deeper and more personal knowledge of God
through asceticism (rahbaniya) and mysticism. The Sufis were
liberal in their thought and they dedicated their lives for the service
of humanity and propagation of Islam.
In the eighth and ninth centuries, ascetic inclinations were elevated
to the higher stage of mysticism (tasawwuf) by the ideas
of pantheism and love.
Pantheism is the idea of oneness of God and His creation which
implies that the human soul must be united with its Maker. Unity
with God can be achieved through an intense love for God (ishq),
which the woman-saint Rabia of Basra (d. 891) preached in her
poems.
ayazid Bistami (d. 874), an Iranian Sufi, was the first to teach the
importance of submerging the self (fana) in God. Sufis used musical
concerts (sama) to induce ecstasy and stimulate emotions of love
and passion.
Scholars with a theological bent of mind, such as the group known
as Mutazila, used Greek logic and methods of reasoning (kalam) to
defend Islamic beliefs. Philosophers (falasifa) posed wider questions
and provided fresh answers. Ibn Sina (980-1037), a doctor by
profession and a philosopher, did not believe in the resurrection of
the body on the Day of Judgment.
Adab (a term which implied literary and cultural refinement) forms
of expressions included poetry (nazm or orderly arrangement) and
prose (nathr or scattered words) which were meant to be
memorised and used when the occasion arose. Geography and
travel (rihla) constituted a special branch of adab.
The Samanid court poet Rudaki (d. 940) was considered the father
of New Persian poetry, which included new forms such as the short
lyrical poem (ghazal) and the quatrain (rubai, plural rubaiyyat).
The rubai is a four-line stanza in which the first two lines set the
stage, the third is finely poised, and the fourth delivers the
point. The rubai reached its zenith in the hands of Umar
Khayyam (1048-1131), also an astronomer and mathematician,
who lived at various times in Bukhara, Samarqand and Isfahan.
Mahmud of Ghazni gathered around him a group of poets who
composed anthologies (diwans) and epic poetry (mathnavi). The
most outstanding was Firdausi (d. 1020), who took 30 years to
complete the Shahnama (Book of Kings), an epic of 50,000
couplets which has become a masterpiece of Islamic literature. The
Shahnama is a collection of traditions and legends (the most
popular being that of Rustam).
b) Books of moral lessons and amusement
A collection of animal fables called Kalila wa Dimna - the Arabic
translation of a Pahlavi version of the Panchtantra.
The stories of hero-adventurers such as Alexander (al-Iskandar)
and Sindbad, or those of unhappy lovers such as Qays (known as
Majnun or the Madman).
In his Kitab al-Bukhala (Book of Misers), Jahiz of Basra (d. 868)
collected amusing anecdotes about misers
The scope of adab was expanded to include biographies, manuals
of ethics (akhlaq), Mirrors for Princes (books on statecraft) and,
above all, history (tarikh) and geography.
c) Developments by 10th Century
By the tenth century, an Islamic world had emerged which was
easily recognisable by travellers.
Religious buildings were the greatest external symbols of this world.
Mosques, shrines and tombs from Spain to Central Asia showed the
same basic design – arches, domes, minarets and open courtyards –
and expressed the spiritual and practical needs of Muslims.
In the first Islamic century, the mosque acquired a distinct
architectural form (roof supported by pillars) which transcended
regional variations.
d) Desert – Palaces developed
The Umayyads built ‘desert palaces’ in oases, such as Khirbat al-
Mafjar in Palestine and Qusayr Amra in Jordan, which served as
luxurious residences and retreats for hunting and pleasure.
The palaces, modelled on Roman and Sasanian architecture, were
lavishly decorated with sculptures, mosaics and paintings of people.
c) Art Forms
promoted two art forms: calligraphy (khattati or the art of beautiful
writing) and arabesque (geometric and vegetal designs).
9. Development of Three aspects of human civilisation
The history of the central Islamic lands brings together three
important aspects of human civilisation: religion, community and
politics.
Conclusion:
In this chapter, we have examined the origins and meteoric development of
Islam - both the religion and the community. The great power of Muhammad's
teachings enabled the creative but fragmented Arab tribes to unify and expand
across three continents in an astoundingly brief period.
During the reigns of the first four caliphs and the century of the
Umayyad Dynasty (661-750), great strides were made in annexing new territories
and peoples. But the Umayyad Dynasty was based on a ruling hierarchy of Arabs,
and the resentment that set the Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258) on a new throne in
Baghdad.
During the early Abbasid period Islam reached the high point of its
geographical expansion and cultural achievements, extending from Spain across
three continents to east Asia. Unparalleled prosperity evolved from a
combination of successful trade, industry, and agriculture. But the Muslims
were not able to maintain an integrated empire; despite a religious unity -
which still exists - politically the empire broke up into smaller Muslim
states.
Ironically, while the arts and learning were beginning to thrive in the
West, Islamic civilization itself declined. Various reasons have been advanced
for this phenomenon, including the influx of semibarbarous peoples into
Islamic lands, intellectual inflexibility resulting from rigid adherence to
the Koran's sacred law, and the despotic and eventually corrupt rule of such
Muslim dynasties as the Ottomans in Turkey, who destroyed most progressive
political and economic movements.
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