Islamic CivilizationThe Rise of Islam

Daily Life in Early Arabia

• The deserts, coastline, and oases of Arabia helped shape the Arab way of life*

• Water can only be found at oases, which are green areas fed by underground water.**

• Survival was extremely difficult, and early Arabs organized into tribes, who were very loyal to one another.

• Sheikh – head of an Arabian tribe.

Daily Life in Early ArabiaWho are the early Bedouins?

• Bedouins are desert herders who traveled from oasis to oasis to water and grave their camels, goats, and sheep.

• They rarely ate meat because their herds were too valuable

• They ate dried fruit and nuts and drank the animal’s milk

Daily Life in Early Arabia Trade and Towns

• Most Arabs lived in villages located near oases or in the mountain valley*

• To fend off attacks by Bedouins, they traveled in caravans, which are groups of traveling merchants and animals.

Daily Life in Early ArabiaTrade and Towns

• By about AD 500, Arabian merchants handled most of the trade between India and the Mediterranean Sea.**

• Makkah***became the largest and richest of them all. It was a crossroads for merchants, and it was also an important religious site. This is the holiest place in Arabia, and still plays a vital role in the Islamic****

Muhammad: Islam’s ProphetMuhammad’s message

• Muhammad was born in Mecca in AD 570*• In about AD 610, he said he was visited by an

angel and told to preach Islam. Islam means “surrendering to the will of Allah.”

• Allah is the Arabic word for God. • He told people to destroy statues of false gods

and worship only Allah, the one true God.• Muhammad preached that all men were equal

and that the rich should share their goods.**

Muhammad: Islam’s ProphetOpposition to Islam

• Initially, people were not attracted to Islam and only Muhammad’s family became Muslims, or followers of Islam.

• Wealthy merchants and religious leaders did not like Muhammad’s message because they thought he was trying to take away their power.*

• Muhammad and his followers left Makkah in AD 622.

• They moved north to the town of Yathrib

• This journey became known as Hijrah, which is Arabic for “breaking off relationships”.

• Muslims made AD 622 the first year of the Muslim calendar

• Yathrib welcomed Muhammad’s followers and was renamed Madinah, which means city of the prophet.

Muhammad: Islam’s ProphetMuhammad’s Government

• The people of Madinah accepted Muhammad as God’s prophet and their ruler.*

• Muhammad used laws to settle disputes among the people. He created an Islamic state – a government that uses its political power to uphold Islam.

Muhammad: Islam’s ProphetMuhammad’s Government

• Muhammad built an army and they conquered Makkah in AD 630.

• Muhammad made Makkah the holy city of Islam.

• Although he died two years later, Islam was spreading to all of Arabia.

Muhammad: Islam’s ProphetIslam’s Teachings

• Islam, Judaism, and Christianity have some beliefs in common.

• Belief in one God*

• Belief that God speaks to people through prophets.*

-Early Muslim prophets were Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and finally Muhammad.*

Muhammad: Islam’s ProphetWhat is the Quran?

• *These writings became the Quran, or holy book of Islam*

• The Quran instructs Muslims about how they should live. Many are similar to those in the Bible.***

• Muslims should not eat pork, drink liquor, or gamble.

• The Quran also has rules about marriage, divorce, family life, property rights, and business practices. ****

The Five Pillars of Islam• Belief – Muslims must

declare that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his prophet

• Prayer – Muslims must pray five times per day facing toward Makkah

• Charity – Muslims must give to the poor

• Fasting – Muslims must not eat from dawn to dusk during the sacred holiday of Ramadan

• Pilgrimage – Muslims must visit Makkah once in their life