Overview of early Islam

1. Islam
The Rise, Spread and Impact of
Islam

2. Islam Map Label
Cities
•Mecca
•Medina
•Damascus
•Baghdad – p.27
•Cordoba
•Delhi – p.29
•Arabian Peninsula
•Red Sea
•Mediterranean Sea
•Black Sea
•Spain
•Africa
•Europe
•Asia
Make Key from p.26-27, 25
Muslim lands – 900 (p.26-27)
Muslim lands – 1400 (p.25)
Battle of Tours – 732
p. 30

3. Critical Intro:
Describe the relationship between Islam
and the other monotheistic faiths of
Judaism and Christianity

4. Critical Intro:
What was the most significant reason for
the early and rapid spread of Islam?

5. Critical Intro:
On which landmass and in which broader
region did Islam emerge?

6. I. Origins of Islam
A. Arabia before Muhammad
1. Arabian Peninsula was dominated by nomadic Bedouin tribes
2. Small communities developed around oases
3. City of Mecca was marketplace and pilgrimage site.
4. Mecca shrine (Kaaba) held hundreds of tribal idols.
B. Founder of Islam
1. Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570 A.D.
2. Around age 40, Muhammad claimed to have heard voice of the
angel Gabriel.
3. Gabriel was delivering the word of god through Muhammad.
4. Muhammad began sharing these new beliefs = Monotheism
C. The Hijrah
1. Leaders of Mecca feared Muhammad's growing power
2. Muhammad & followers escaped to town of Medina
3. This journey is the Hijrah – marks the beginning of Islam

7. II. Spread of Islam
A. Muhammad raised an army of followers and returned to
capture Mecca.
1. Tribal idols were destroyed; Kaaba rededicated to Allah.
2. Mecca was center of 1st
Muslim empire
B. Islam eventually spreads through conquest to southwest
Asia, North Africa and southern Spain.
1. Expansion made possible by weakened Byzantine and Persian
Empires.

8. Spread and Geographic Influence of Islam
Spread of Islam
-Across Asia & Africa and into Spain
-Primarily by military conquests
-First Muslim empire = Indus Valley
to Spain
Geographic Influence on the Origin and
spread of Islam
-Islam spread along trade routes from
Mecca & Medina
-Expansion despite great distances, deserts,
& mountains
-Spread into Fertile Crescent, Iran, & Central
Asia because of weak Byzantine & Persian
Empires
Geographic Influence on the Economic, Social &
Political Development
-Political unity of 1st
Muslim empire short-lived –
regional fragmentation
-Arabic language spread with Islam and facilitated
trade across Islamic lands.
-Slavery within Islamic lands = not race-based
What stopped expansion into W. Europe?
How did the Arabic language unite the empire & “facilitate
trade”?
Similarity to spread of Christianity?

10. Arabian Peninsula

12. The Kaaba

13. The Kaaba

15. Basic Beliefs
of Islam
Islam =
Muhammad’s
teachings
Muslims =
Followers of
Islam
Allah = one
supreme god
Quran =
Muslim holy
book – word
of God
Mosque =
Islamic place
of worship
Islam accepts
earlier prophets
(Abraham,
Moses, Jesus)
But…
Muhammad
is final
prophet Arabic = lang.
& writing of
Islam
Sharia =
Islamic law
Hadiths=
stories/teachings of
Muhammad
Dar al-Islam=
All areas of
Muslim control

16. The Kaaba

17. Arabian Peninsula

19. I. Origins of Islam
A. Arabia before Muhammad
1. Arabian Peninsula was dominated by nomadic Bedouin
tribes
2. Small communities developed around oases
3. City of Mecca was marketplace and pilgrimage site.
4. Mecca shrine (Kaaba) held hundreds of tribal idols.
B. Founder of Islam
1. Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570 A.D.
2. Around age 40, Muhammad claimed to have heard voice of
the angel Gabriel.
3. Gabriel was delivering the word of god through
Muhammad.
4. Muhammad began sharing these new belief based on
monotheism. There is only one God.
C. The Hijrah
1. Leaders of Mecca feared Muhammad's growing power &
message.
2. Muhammad & followers escaped to town of Medina
3. This journey is the Hijrah – marks the beginning of Islam
II. Spread of Islam
A. Muhammad raised an army of followers and returned to
capture Mecca.
1. Tribal idols were destroyed; Kaaba rededicated to Allah.
2. Mecca was center of 1st
Muslim empire
B. Islam eventually spreads through conquest to southwest
Asia, North Africa and southern Spain.
1. Expansion made possible by weakened Byzantine and
Persian Empires.
Interpretation Questions
Why do you think Arabian society + governance was not centralized?
How do you think the merchants of Mecca benefitted before Islam?
How was Muhammad similar to Abraham and Moses?
Similar to Jesus and Siddhartha Gautama?
Why do you think the leaders feared Muhammad’s power/influence?
Why do you think the Hijrah marks the beginning of Islam?
Why were idols destroyed?
Why was the Kaaba saved and rededicated to Allah?
What motivations do you think fueled this rapid expansion?

20. III. Beliefs, Customs and Traditions of Islam
A. Basic beliefs
1. Muhammad’s teachings/ beliefs = Islam
2. Followers of Islam = Muslims “those who have submitted”
3. Only one god = Allah (Arabic word for God)
4. Quran = Muslim holy book “the word of God”
5. Mosque = Islamic place of worship
B. Islam accepts Judeo-Christian prophets
1. Islam accepts teachings of Abraham, Moses & Jesus BUT
2. Muslims view Muhammad as final prophet.
C. The Five Pillars of Islam – guide for Muslims
1. Faith – daily declaration of faith to Allah
2. Prayer – Pray 5 times daily facing Mecca
3. Alms – charity to less fortunate
4. Fasting – no food/drink during daylight for the holy month of
Ramadan
5. Pilgrimage – perform the hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.
http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/hajj/hajj.html

21. Five Pillars of Islam
Islam
F
a
i
t
h
P
r
a
y
e
r
A
l
m
s
F
a
s
t
i
n
g
H
a
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j
Only one
God +
Muhammad
is his prophet
5 times/Day
Facing
Mecca
Giving to
poor, charity
Sunrise-
sunset for
holy month
Ramadan
Pilgrimage to
Mecca once
in life

22. Warm Up Islam Review
1. On which land mass and continent did the religion of Islam develop?
2. In addition to being a market place, why was Mecca an important city prior to Islam?
3. Who was the founder of Islam?_________________________________________________
4. What was the significance of the Hijrah?_________________________________________
5. Islam eventually spread to parts of which 3 continents?______________________________
6. Which two empires did Islamic expansion conflict with?_____________________________
7. In Islam, what is the view of Muhammad, compared to Judeo-Christian prophets such as
Abraham, Moses and Jesus?
Matching
1. ____ Religion based on Muhammad’s teachings/prophecies A. Mosque
2. ____ Follower of Muhammad’s teachings; “one who has submitted” B. Allah
3. ____ The one supreme god of this faith C. Muslim
4. ____ the holy book “Word of God” for this faith D. Islam
5. ____ Islamic house of worship E. Quran

23. 5 Turning Points Impacting the Islamic World
A. The Sunni – Shi’a Split divides Muslims
1. Following the assassination of the fourth
Caliph – Ali
a. Umayyads rise to power
b. Many did not recognize Umayyad rule
c. Many claimed successor to Ali should
be related to Muhammad
d. This group was called Shi’a – “party of
Ali”
e. Others argued caliphs only need to
follow example of Muhammad.
f. This group was called Sunni -
“followers of Muhammad’s example”

25. Religious Division between Sunni & Shi’a

26. Sunni
Shi’a

27. B. Muslim conquests of Jerusalem and Damascus
1. Shifted political center of caliphate to Middle
East
2. Initiated conflict/tension between Muslims,
Christians and Jews
3. Built Dome of the Rock = Islamic Shrine
4. Increased conflict with Byzantine Empire

28. Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem

29. Dome of the Rock
Islamic Shrine in Jerusalem
Site of Muhammad’s ascension
to heaven and return (according to Islamic teaching)

32. Interactive map of Jerusalem

33. C. The Battle of Tours Halts Muslim Expansion in Europe
1. Muslim Berbers from North Africa invade Spain
a. Berber armies move north to within 100 miles
of Paris
b. 732 - Muslim Berbers were defeated at the
Battle of Tours by the Franks led by “Charles the
Hammer”.
2. Significance of the battle
a. Muslims forced back to southern Spain
b. No further Muslim expansion in western
Europe.

34. Turning Points in Islam
Battle of Tours

35. D. Islamic Capital Moves to Baghdad
1. Baghdad, modern Iraq, becomes capital of Abbasid
Dynasty
a. Central location in Mesopotamia
b. Baghdad becomes center of Islamic Golden
Age
c. Islamic scholars build on Greco-Roman &
eastern knowledge.
2. Fall of Baghdad = End of Arab Caliphate
a. Mongols conquer Baghdad
b. Ends Islamic Golden Age of Baghdad
c. Opens region to Turkish control

36. Abbasids move capital to Baghdad

38. Mongol Conquest of Baghdad: End of Abbasid Dynasty

39. E. The Delhi Sultanate
1. Muslim Turks establish kingdom/control in India
a. Marks arrival of Muslims as controlling power
in India.
b. Beginning of religious tensions between
Hindus and Muslims

40. Expansion of Islamic Empire
Battle of Tours

42. Muslim Society
Literature and the artsPhilosophy and History
Medicine, Math, and science
Four social classes:
•Birth Muslims
•Converts
•Those of other religions
“protected people”
•Slaves
•Muslim women had more
freedoms than European women
•Reliance on scientific
observation & experimentation.
•Wrote important medical
reference books
•Developed algebra; al-jabr
•Advance in astronomy: charted
stars, comets, planets.
•Arabic numerals including zero
Muslim Achievements
•Muslim scholars translated
Greek/Roman works into Arabic.
•Arabic = language and writing of
Islamic Empire.
•Many universities emerged
throughout the Islamic world
Quran is considered greatest work
of Islamic literature.
Calligraphy = art of beautiful
handwriting used in Islam.
Architecture = Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock = Islamic
shrine in Jerusalem
Jerusalem = important city in
Judaism, Christianity, & Islam

43. Muslim Society
Literature and the artsPhilosophy and History
Medicine, Math, and science
Four social classes:
•Birth Muslims
•
•Those of other religions
“protected people”
•
•Muslim women had more
freedoms than European women
•Reliance on scientific
observation & experimentation.
•Wrote important medical
reference books
•Developed ___________; al-jabr
•Advance in _______________:
charted stars, comets, planets.
•Arabic numerals including zero
Muslim Achievements
•Muslim scholars translated
Greek/Roman works into Arabic.
•___________________=
language and writing of Islamic
Empire.
•Many _______________ emerged
throughout the Islamic world
Quran is considered greatest work
of Islamic literature.
_______________= art of beautiful
handwriting used in Islam.
Architecture = Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock = ___________
____________________________
_______________= important city
in Judaism, Christianity, & Islam

44. The Astrolabe: Islamic invention that revolutionized sea travel
The astrolabe allowed sailors to travel/plot courses across open
water, rather than relying on landmarks or other less reliable
sources.

45. The Quran

46. Islamic
Geometric
Patterns

47. Islamic Geometric Patterns in Architecture

48. Islamic
Calligraphy
Calligraphy =
art of beautiful
handwriting
used in Islam.

49. The first pillar of Islam, the Shahadah, written in Arabic script in
the shape of a man praying.
{” I bear witness
that there is no God
except Allah, and I
bear witness that
Mohammad is
Allah’s
Messenger.”}
Prayer ritual
http://muslim-canada.org/salaat.html