The Rise of Islam

Deserts, Towns, and Trade Routes The Arabian Peninsula is a crossroads of three continents—Africa, Europe, and Asia. At its longest and widest points, the peninsula is about 1,200 miles from north to south and 1,300 miles from east to west. Only a tiny strip of fertile land in south Arabia and Oman and a few oases can support agriculture. The remainder of the land is desert, which in the past was inhabited by nomadic Arab herders. Desert and Town Life On this desert, the Arab nomads, called Bedouins (BEHD•oo•ihnz), were organized into tribes and groups called clans. These clans provided security and support for a life made difficult by the extreme conditions of the desert. The Bedouin ideals of courage and loyalty to family, along with their warrior skills, would become part of the Islamic way of life. The areas with more fertile soil and the larger oases had enough water to support farming communities. By the early 600s, many Arabs had chosen to settle in an oasis or in a market town. Larger towns near the western coast of Arabia became market towns for local, regional, and long-distance trade goods. Crossroads of Trade and Ideas By the early 600s, trade routes connected Arabia to the major ocean and land trade routes, as you can see on the map on the next page. Trade routes through Arabia ran from the extreme south of the peninsula to the Byzantine and Sassanid (Persian) empires to the north. Merchants from these two empires moved along the caravan routes, trading for goods from the Silk Roads of the east. They transported spices and incense from Yemen and other products to the west. They also carried information and ideas from the world outside Arabia. Mecca During certain holy months, caravans stopped in Mecca, a city in western Arabia. They brought religious pilgrims who came to worship at an ancient shrine in the city called the Ka’aba (KAH•buh). Over the years, the Arabs had • mosque • hajj • Qur’an • Sunna • shari’a

Desert and Town Life On this desert, the Arab nomads, called Bedouins (BEHD•oo•ihnz), were organized into tribes and groups called clans. These clans provided security and support for a life made difficult by the extreme conditions of the desert. The Bedouin ideals of courage and loyalty to family, along with their warrior skills, would become part of the Islamic way of life.
The areas with more fertile soil and the larger oases had enough water to support farming communities. By the early 600s, many Arabs had chosen to settle in an oasis or in a market town. Larger towns near the western coast of Arabia became market towns for local, regional, and long-distance trade goods.
Crossroads of Trade and Ideas By the early 600s, trade routes connected Arabia to the major ocean and land trade routes, as you can see on the map on the next page. Trade routes through Arabia ran from the extreme south of the peninsula to the Byzantine and Sassanid (Persian) empires to the north. Merchants from these two empires moved along the caravan routes, trading for goods from the Silk Roads of the east. They transported spices and incense from Yemen and other products to the west. They also carried information and ideas from the world outside Arabia.
Mecca During certain holy months, caravans stopped in Mecca, a city in western Arabia. They brought religious pilgrims who came to worship at an ancient shrine in the city called the Ka'aba (KAH•buh). Over the years, the Arabs had introduced the worship of many gods and spirits to this place. The Ka'aba contained over 360 idols brought by many tribes. The Qur'an associated this house of worship with Abraham, a believer in one God and considered a prophet.
The concept of belief in one God, called Allah (AL•uh) in Arabic, was known on the Arabian Peninsula. Many Christians and Jews lived there and practiced monotheism. Into this mixed religious environment of Mecca, around A.D. 570, Muham mad was born.

Muhammad, Prophet of Islam
Muhammad (mu•HAM•id) was born into the clan of a powerful Meccan family. Orphaned at the age of six, Muhammad was raised by his grandfather and his uncle. He received little schooling and began working in the caravan trade as a very young man. At the age of 25, Muhammad became a trader and business manager for Khadijah (kah•DEE•juh), a wealthy businesswoman of about 40. Later, Muhammad and Khadijah married. Theirs was both a good marriage and a good business partnership.
Revelations Muhammad took great interest in religion and often spent time alone in prayer and meditation. At about the age of 40, Muhammad's life was changed overnight when he believed a voice called to him while he meditated in a cave outside Mecca. According to Muslim belief, the voice was that of the angel Gabriel, ▼ The Abyssinian army set out to destroy the Ka'aba. Their elephants, however, refused to attack. who told Muhammad that he was a messenger of Allah. "What shall I proclaim?" asked Muhammad. The voice answered: P r i m a r y S o u r c e Proclaim! In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, who created man out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood. Proclaim! And thy Lord is most bountiful. He who taught (the use of) the pen taught man that which he knew not.
Qur'an, sura 96:1-5 After much soul-searching, Muhammad came to believe that the Lord who spoke to him through Gabriel was Allah. Muhammad became convinced that he was the last of the prophets. He began to teach that Allah was the one and only God and that all other gods must be abandoned. People who agreed to this basic principle of Islam were called Muslims. In Arabic, islam (ihs•LAHM) means "submission to the will of Allah." muslim (MUHZ•lihm) means "one who has submitted." Muhammad's wife, Khadijah, and several close friends and relatives were his first followers.
By 613, Muhammad had begun to preach publicly in Mecca, but he met with some hostility. Many Meccans believed his revolutionary ideas would lead to neglect of the traditional Arab gods. They feared that Mecca would lose its positi on as a pilgrimage center if people accepted Muhammad's monotheistic beliefs.
The Hijrah After some of his followers had been attacked, Muhammad decided to leave Mecca in 622. Following a small band of supporters he sent ahead, Muhammad moved to the town of Yathrib, over 200 miles to the north of Mecca. This migration became known as the Hijrah (HIHJ•ruh). The Hijrah to Yathrib marked a turning point for Muhammad. He attracted many devoted followers. Later, Yathrib was renamed Medina.
In Medina, Muhammad displayed impressive leadership skills. He fashioned an agreement that joined his own people with the Arabs and Jews of Medina as a single community. These groups accepted Muhammad as a political leader. As a religious leader, he drew many more converts who found his message appealing. Finally, Muhammad also became a military leader in the growing hostilities between Mecca and Medina.

The Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock, located in Jerusalem, is the ear liest surviving Islamic monument. It was com pleted in 691 and is part of a larger complex, which is the third most holy place in Islam. It is situated on Mount Moriah, the site of the Jewish Temple destroyed by the Romans in a.d. 70, Judaism's holiest place. The rock on the site (see photograph below, left) is the spot from which Muslims say Muham mad ascended to heaven to learn of Allah's will. With Allah's blessing, Muslims believe Muhammad returned to earth to bring God's message to all people.

Beliefs and Practices of Islam
The main teaching of Islam is that there is only one God, Allah. All other beliefs and practices follow from this teaching. Islam teaches that there is good and evil, and that each individual is responsible for the actions of his or her life.
The Five Pillars To be a Muslim, all believers have to carry out five duties. These duties are known as the Five Pillars of Islam.
• Faith To become a Muslim, a person has to testify to the following statement of faith: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." This simple statement is heard again and again in Islamic rituals and in Muslim daily life. • Prayer Five times a day, Muslims face toward Mecca to pray. They may assemble at a mosque (mahsk), an Islamic house of worship, or wherever they find themselves. Arabic language helped unite conquered peoples as Muslim control expanded. Muslims believe that Muhammad's mission as a prophet was to receive the Qur'an and to demonstrate how to apply it in life. To them, the Sunna (SOON•uh), or Muhammad's example, is the best model for proper living. The guidance of the Qur'an and Sunna was assembled in a body of law known as shari'a (shah•REE•ah). This system of law regulates the family life, moral conduct, and business and community life of Muslims.
Links to Judaism and Christianity To Muslims, Allah is the same God that is worshiped in Christianity and Judaism. However, Mus lims view Jesus as a prophet, not as the Son of God. They regard the Qur'an as the word of Allah as revealed to Muhammad, in a similar way to the beliefs of Jews and Christians in their holy scriptures. Mus lims believe that the Qur'an perfects the earlier revelations. To them, it is the final book, and Muham mad was the final prophet. All three religions believe in heaven and hell and a day of judgment. The Muslims trace their ancestry to Abraham, as do the Jews and Christians.
Muslims refer to Christians and Jews as "people of the book" because each religion has a holy book with teachings similar to those of the Qur'an. Shari'a law requires Muslim leaders to extend religious tolerance to Christians and Jews. A huge Muslim empire, as you will learn in Section 2, grew to include people of many different cultures and religions.

Muslim Prayer
Five times a day-dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and evening-Muslims face toward Mecca to pray. Worshipers are called to prayer by a muezzin. The call to prayer sometimes is given from a minaret and even over public address systems or the radio in large cities. Because they believe that stand ing before Allah places them on holy ground, Muslims perform a ritual cleansing before praying. They also remove their shoes.
INTERNET ACTIVITY Go online to create a chart identifying and explaining the meaning of Muslim prayer rituals.

Clarifying
What are the sources of authority for Muslims?

PREPARING AN ORAL REPORT
Today, tensions run high between Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East. Research to find out the causes of this tension. Present your findings in an oral report.

SECTION ASSESSMENT
1