The document summarizes the emergence and spread of Islam. It describes Muhammad receiving visions in Mecca and spreading the religion's core beliefs. Facing rejection, he fled to Medina where he gained followers and united Arab tribes. After his death, the Islamic empire expanded rapidly under caliphs and the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. The religion promoted social justice, equality, and literacy while establishing the Quran as its central authority and sharia law. Divisions later emerged between the Sunni and Shiite sects regarding leadership succession.

1. Chapter 6 – Emergence of
the Islamic World

2. • Beduins – nomadic herders who used
camels to cross the desert in search of
seasonal pasturelands and oasis towns
– Mecca – market town at crossroads of two
main caravan routes
• Pilgrimage center – Arabs prayed to the Kaaba,
the ancient shrine Muslims believe Abraham built,
Kaaba also housed statues of local gods and
goddesses

3. Muhammad
• Born in Mecca ~570
• Shepherd for the Bedouins
• Caravanned across the desert, successful merchant
• Married Khadija around 25
• Visions at 40
– “Recite in the name of your God, the Creator, who created man
from clots of blood”
• Khadija encourages him, converts to Islam (which is
Arabic for “submission”)
• Muhammad devotes life to spreading Islam
– Give up false gods and submit to Allah (Arabic word for God)

4. • People rejected Muhammad’s ideas
– People worried about their business and
the pilgrim trade
• Afraid of being murdered, he left Mecca
and traveled to Yathrib in 622
– Yathrib became Medina, meaning “city
of the prophet”
– 622 = turning point for Islam – becomes
the first year on the Muslim calendar

5. • Medina welcomed him and many converted
– Muhammad seen as a ruler and lawgiver
– Thousands of Arabs convert and adopt Islam
– Medina Muslims attack Meccan caravans and
defeat them
– Muhammad returned in triumph to Mecca in
630 and destroyed all the idols in the Kaaba
– Works to unite the Arabs under Islam for next
2 years
– Dies at 632

6. The Qur’an
• Qur’an or Koran – sacred word of God as revealed to
Muhammad
– Final authority on all matters
– Teaches about God
– Provides guide to life
– Emphasize honesty, generosity, and social justice
– Harsh penalties for crimes like stealing and murder
– Converts to Islam learn Arabic because they believe
its original form is the direct unchangeable word of
God
– **shared language unites and binds Muslims

7. • Islam had no religious hierarchy or class
of priests
• Emphasize equality of all believers,
regardless of race, sex, class, or wealth
• So who is this going to appeal to?

8. Views of Others
• Islam is God’s final and complete
revelation
• Jews and Christians are people of the
book – spiritually superior to polytheistic
idol worshipers
• People of the Book enjoyed religious
freedom in early Muslim societies

9. Five Pillars of Faith
• 1. Declaration of Faith “There is no God but
Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of God”
• 2. Pray 5 times a day, facing in the direction of
Mecca
• 3. Giving alms to the poor (charity)
• 4. Fasting from sunrise to sunset during the
holy month of Ramadan
• 5. Taking a hajj to Mecca at least once during
your lifetime

10. Islam Spreads
• Caliph - Muslim ruler – directed religious and
political affairs simultaneously
• When Muhammad dies, a meeting is called to
determine Muhammad’s successor
– Ali – main candidate, cousin and son-in-law of
Muhammad
• Passed over because he’s too young to assume such
responsibility and power
– Abu Bakr – caliph 632-634
• One of Muhammad’s earliest followers and closest friends
• Well versed in genealogy of bedouin tribes

11. Sharia
• Immense body of law interpreting the Quran and
applying its teachings to daily life
• Islamic system of law designed to regulate moral
conduct, family life, business practices,
government, and other aspects of a Muslim
community
• Does not separate religious matters from
criminal or civil law, but applies the Quran to all
legal situations
• Sharia also helped unite those who converted to
Islam

12. Caliph -- Theocracy
• Muslim ruler – directed religious and political
affairs simultaneously
• When Muhammad dies, a meeting is called to
determine Muhammad’s successor
– Ali – main candidate, cousin and son-in-law of
Muhammad
• Passed over because he’s too young to assume such
responsibility and power
– Abu Bakr – caliph 632-634
• One of Muhammad’s earliest followers and closest friends
• Well versed in genealogy of bedouin tribes

13. Abu Bakr
• Didn’t receive any financial backing from
Muslim community
• Worked part time as a merchant while
fulfilling his duties

14. Forces to be Reckoned With
• Bedouin camel and horse cavalry band together
and mount aggressive mobile offensives that
overwhelm more traditional armies
• Islam created common ground and unified many
of the tribes into a unified state
• Belief in Islam gave soldiers a feeling of
certainty that they would reach paradise if they
fell in a battle that carried the Arabs to victory

15. • Attacked Syria and Palestine, including
Damascus and Jerusalem
• Rapidly demolished Persian Empire
– Many people in Mesopotamia welcomed
reprieve from the Persian empire
– Zoroastrians allowed to practice their
faith but asked to pay a non-Muslim tax
(same went to Christians and Jews)

16. •Swept across North Africa
-Headed on up across Gibralter into Spain and ran for
France
-Battle of Tours – 732 -- Charles Martel gathers Germanic
tribes and defeats the Muslim charge
-Halts Muslims advance into Western Europe

17. The Split
• Divisions arise concerning rules of succession
for the caliph
• Sunni – caliph should be chosen by leaders of
the Muslim community
– Should be a pious Muslim
– Caliph should be a leader, not a religious authority
– Inspiration came from Muhammad’s example
• Shiite – only true successors to the Prophet
were descendants of Muhammad
– Descendants of prophet were divinely inspired
– Turn to Muhammad’s daughter and son-in-law Fatima
and Ali

18. • Today
– 90% of world is Sunni
– Shiites are mainly in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen
• Shiite branch has split into several factions

19. Sufi
• Muslim mystics – seek communion with
Allah through meditation, fasting, and
other rituals
• Piety and miraculous powers
• Spread Islam through missionary work

20. • Ali is appointed caliph but is assassinated in 661, his son is killed soon
therafter
• Sunnis and Shiites battle for who will lead
• Umayyad family sets up a dynasty that rules the Islamic world until 750
– Damascus = capital
– Atlantic to the Indus Valley
• Abbassids – take over after inviting Umayyad family to a banquet and killing
all of them
– Dominate until 1258
– End Arab dominance
• Mawali (non-Arab Muslims) become more equal
– Help make Islam a more universal religion
– Move capital to Baghdad
– Great urban expansion
– Revival of Afro-Eurasian trading network
• Trade with Tang and Song in China
• Dhows – sailing vessels with lateen sails

21. Islam
• Plays a HUGE role in creating new, more intense
international contacts
• Trade of luxury products intensifies
– Silk, spices, porcelain, etc
• China, India, the Middle East, and the Byzantine
Emperor, Europe and Africa
• Examples of how trade influenced everyone
– Arabs adopted the Indian numbering system
• Europeans copied it from the Arabs (so the concept of 0 and 1-10
gets out)
– Compass travels from China to the Middle East
• Europe gets it from the Middle East
• Same with China’s invention of paper