IRKH 5130 Islamic Civilization - WordPress.com · 2011-05-07 · Distinctive Features of Sirah • 2. The various phases of M‘s life have been meticulously documented not only from

Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him Issue 1

IRKH 5130 Islamic Civilization

The Sirah/Biography of Muhammad s.a.w.

Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him

Contents

• What is civilization?

• What is Sirah?

• Why study it? Distinctive features

• Great man in history: Hart‘s Ranking

• Arabian Milieu: The Jahiliyyah period

• Physical background

• Socio-Moral

• Economic-Political

• Major Powers in the Region

• Muhammad‘s family background

2


What is Civilization?

Western definition of civilization overemphasizes material culture at the expense of non-material culture

Islamic civilization was primarily a value-based civilization

There were not much of material cultural traces during the time of the prophet

3


Examples; mosques were simple in structure as opposed to the Mesopotamian Ziggurat or Egyptian pyramid, no Islamic coin yet.

From western view-point, Islamic civilization in terms of the development of material culture started from the time of Abd Malikibn Marwan (construction of the dome of Aqsa, Islamic coin, Arabization of administration)

reached its peak during the Abbasid time

4


From Muslim view-point, despite the general absence of material culture during the

time of prophet, it is regarded as the most pivotal

period-normative period, foundation stage of Islamic

civilization

5


6


The Major Rules

Major Muslim Rules

Prophet‘s Islamic State

(622-632)

Rashidun(632-661)

Umayyad (661-750)

Abbasid (750-1258)

7


Sirah al-Rasul s.a.w.

• from the Arabic word ‗sara‘ ‗yasiru‘ sirah means journey or

travelling.

• Therefore ‗sirah‘ discusses the journey of a person‘s life,

Prophet‘s way of life.

• Sirah is the study the life/biography of Prophet Muhammad

• The Sirah is a collection of narrations about the people and

events surrounding the Prophet (SAW) arranged in a

chronological order.

• Some of the famous ones, Sirah Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham

8


Why Study Sirah?

• M‘s sirah is the story of an ordinary person (even

underprivileged one-orphan) bestowed with prophethood and

miracles yet he was human. Never given the divine

character. The fact that M is not divine makes him as

uswatun hasanah (role model) for Muslims

• واليوم الآخر وذكر الله لقد كان لكم في رسول الله أسوة حسىة لمه كان يرجو الله

كثيرا

• You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful

pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and

the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah.

9


Qur’an & Hadith

• وإوك لعلى خلق عظيم

• "And beyond doubt, you are of an exalted character' (Al-

Qalam /68: 4).

• Anas reported: The Messenger of God was the best of all the

people in conduct. [Sahih]

• Abdullah bin 'Amr ibnal 'Aas reported: the Messenger of God

did not use indecent speech nor did he listen to it. He used to

say, "The best of you is the best among you in manners.'' [Sahih].


Ghandi’s Words on Muhammad

• … the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of

the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his

intense devotion to his friends and followers, his

intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in

God and in his own mission. These and not the

sword carried everything before them and

surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd

volume [of his biography], I was sorry there was not

more for me to read of that great life.


The Character of the Prophet Through the

Eyes of Non-Muslims

• It is impossible for anyone who studies the life

and character of the great Prophet of Arabia,

who knows how he taught and how he lived, to

feel anything but reverence for that mighty

Prophet, one of the great messengers of the

Supreme.

– Annie Besant, The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, 1932, p. 4


Distinctive Features of Sirah

• 2. The various phases of M‘s life have been meticulously

documented not only from his birth to his demise but also

predating his birth (marriage between Aminah and Abdullah

etc).

• detailed account about M his birth, childhood, youth, life

before prophethood, careers in trade, reception of the

message/prophethood, Makkah phase, Medina are

documented in chronological order.

• Unrivalled by other figures of revealed religions

13


• Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is a perfect model of human

being in all areas of life, as a father, grandfather husband,

cousin, brother, political leader, military leader, imam, and

friend.

• Sirah An-Nabawiyyah helps us in having a better understanding

of Quran and Islam. The Holy Quran was revealed in stages

and it took almost 23 years for it's revelation to be completed.

Many events that happened during the life of Muhammad

(pbuh) and his companions are mentioned in the Holy Quran.

This Divine book taught the Prophet and his companions how to

deal with different events through their lives.

14


The Theory of Great Men

• a theory held by some that aims to explain history by the impact of "Great men", or heroes:

• highly influential individuals, either from personal charisma, genius intellects, or great political impact.

• is often linked to 19th century philosopher and historian Thomas Carlyle, who commented that "The history of the world is but the biography of great men."

• The Great Man approach to history was most popular with professional historians in the 19th century

• lengthy and detailed biographies about the great men of history, but very few general or social histories


Name any one ‘great-man’ in history….

• Great man may not necessarily be great in a positive sense.

• He/she may also be terrible & brutal, but his decisions and

actions are significant in shaping the development in the

world.

• Name one great person in history, and reason/s for choosing

him/her.


• It contains biographies of all

the influential people,

ranked in order from most

influential to less influential,

along with the author's

reasons for the ranking.(In

the Conclusion)

• 1.Muhammad

• 2. Isaac Newton

• 3. Jesus Christ

17

http://www.muhammad.net/

http://www.muhammad.net/

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Newton.html

http://mind.net/rvuuf/pages/quests.htm


Selection from M. Hart’s

• My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most

influential persons may surprise some readers and may be

questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who

was supremely successful on both the religious and secular

levels.

• Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated

one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely

effective political leader.

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• Today, his influence is still powerful and pervasive.

• The majority of the persons in this book had the advantage

of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly

cultured or politically pivotal nations.

• Muhammad, however, was born in the year 570, in the city of

Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time a backward area of

the world, far from the centers of trade, art, and learning.

• Orphaned at age six, he was reared in modest surroundings.

19


• Since there are roughly twice as many Christians as

Moslems in the world, it may initially seem strange that

Muhammad has been ranked higher than Jesus. There are

two principal reasons for that decision.

• First, Muhammad played a far more important role in the

development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of

Christianity.

20


• Although Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and

moral precepts of Christianity (insofar as these differed from

Judaism), St. Paul was the main developer of Christian

theology, its principal proselytizer, and the author of a large

portion of the New Testament.

• Muhammad, however, was responsible for both the theology

of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles.

• In addition, he played the key role in proselytizing the new

faith, and in establishing the religious practices of Islam.

21


• Moreover, he is the author of the Moslem holy scriptures, the Koran, ?a collection of certain of Muhammad's insights that he believed had been directly revealed to him by Allah.

• Most of these utterances were copied more or less faithfully during Muhammad's lifetime and were collected together in authoritative form not long after his death.

• The Koran therefore, closely represents Muhammad's ideas and teachings and to a considerable extent his exact words. No such detailed compilation of the teachings of Christ has survived.

22


• It is probable that the relative influence of

Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the

combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on

Christianity.

• Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a

secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the

driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may

well rank as the most influential political leader of all

time.

23


• Of many important historical events, one might say that they

were inevitable and would have occurred even without the

particular political leader who guided them.

• For example, the South American colonies would probably

have won their independence from Spain even if Simon

Bolivar had never lived.

• But this cannot be said of the Arab conquests. Nothing

similar had occurred before Muhammad, and there is no

reason to believe that the conquests would have been

achieved without him.

24


Talking Points?

• Did Makkah meet classical Criteria for emergence of

civilizations? Then, why the Prophet was chosen among the

people of the area (Arabs)

• What differentiate the Prophet s.a.w. from other great

leaders?

25


The Middle Eastern Politics on the

Eve of Islam

two powers dominating & vying for control of the region-The Romans and the Persians

The Roman/Byzantine & Persian Empires

Origins: f. ca.650 BC started as a city state

Practiced pagan religion until the conversion of Constantine(r. 313-337), the Roman Empire became Christian too

26


The Persian State: Sasanids (224-

636 CE)

The Persians were the bitter enemies of the Roman Empire

They established an extensive empire controlled much of Central Asia

They established Zoroastrianism as the state religion and introduced a strong and centralized administration

27


Basic teachings:

i) our life is basically a continuous struggle between good and evil, darkness and light.

ii) Good is represented by Ahura Mazda (WISE LORD)

iii) bad by Ahriman (DESTRUCTIVE SPIRIT)

28


Also placed premium importance on the culture of learning- sending out scholars to other countries collecting and translating good books into Persian.

Zoroastrianism was founded by Zoroaster lived ca. 1500 to 1000 BC

29


Each empire had a client Arab tribe (ally) in return for military services protecting the border, etc. Ghassanid pro-Roman; pro-Sassanids Lakhmids

The advent of Islam in the 7th century posed a threat to both superpowers in the region, but the fates of both powers would be different.

30


Map

31

http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/imageislam/preislam.gif


Pre-Islamic Arabia

The 7th cent. Arabia located on the southern peripheries of both superpowers.

In addition two other substantial regional powers on both sides of the Red Sea.

Ethiopia/Abyssinia an ancient kingdom where Coptic Christianity was the state religion.

Yemen in the southwestern Arabi- a fertile land also a transit point for long distance trade.

32


The Period M was born is known has the

Jahiliyyah?

• What is Jahiliyyah period? Literally the Age of Ignorance (of

divine guidance)

• The term coined by scholars during Islamic period describing

the period about 2 centuries before the advent of Islam in

Arabia (ca.,450-570 CE)

• The Pre-Islamic Arabia –Jahiliyyah- the life & times of the

Arabs in Hijaz & surrounding areas during the centuries

before Islam.

33


Pre-Islamic Arabia

• What do we mean by Pre-Islamic Arabia? Period? Way of Life or both?

• No outside power had ever succeeded in subduing the region. WHY?

• Remote

• Tough terrain

• Extreme fierceness of the Arabs

34


Physical

• Arabia-a vast peninsula.

• One of the hottest and

driest lands

• An arid land-1/3rd is stony

desert- the biggest is

Rub‘al Khali (Empty

Quarter-devoid of all

living things)

35


MAP

• Map


• Arabia is the world‘s driest and most rainless country

• The only big country with has no river

• Very little rainfall except in the coastal regions esp.ly yemen

and Uman- very little vegitation

• People: dwellers of the desert (Badawi/Bedouins) and the

dwellers of the town (hadhari e.g. Makkah)

• A great majority (80%) were Bedouins

• They were divided into tribes—comprised of clans (banu)

each clan of several families, related together by acommon

ancestor

37


• They were nomadic (always on the move seeking for greener

pasture, literally!)

• Economy: self-sufficiency/survival- rearing animal, raiders

etc.

• Once a tribe become too big, it will be subdivided e.g. Banu

Hashim and Banu Abd Sham were originally one tribe but

over time become tribes on their own and rivals too.

• Town-Arabs- they too were divided into tribes-but did not

lead a pastoral and nomadic life

38


39



• Permanent settlement in a town/oasis

• Economic activity: trade and agriculture

• Conditions during the Jahilliyyah

• Domestication of the camel along with cultivation of the date

palm provided the transportation and nourishment for travel

41


• The dominant pattern of life was nomadic, in

organized , regulated way.

• People traced their lineage & identity by

genealogy(tribe) not location (tribal society) live and

die for it.

• social system –they were organized into clans and

tribes.

• A number of tents joined together formed a hay-

clan (qaum)

• Several related clans formed a tribe (qabilah)42


• Each tribe governed by a council who represented the

various clans/smaller family groupings.

• The council elected a shaykh

• Tribal council highest legislative/executive deciding when to

launch war/raid etc.

43


Muruwwa

• their constant movement no chance to develop architecture, painting, sculpture. But possessed a marvelous form of artistic expression- poetry.

• muruwwa- the code of honor-the well-established Arab Bedouin code of virtue

• e.g. bravery in battle, persistence in revenge protection of weak, hospitality to visitors, patience in misfortune, loyalty to the tribe, fidelity in keeping promises.

• The moral principles that people needed to survive in the desert, and the verses of the odes/poems helped to fix the muruwwa in their minds.

44


MURUWWA OR MURU’A

• Harsh conditions and few resources in desert engendered survival traits known as the Code of Honor:

• HOSPITALITY and GENEROSITY, STRENGTH and BRAVERY, GOOD JUDGMENT, and an intense LOYALTY to one‘s kin and clan part of Muruwwa

• `IRD = Honor of warriorship


TRIBAL SOLIDARITY AND ORGANIZATION

• No concept of law in political-juridical sense

• No authority to legislate or enforce universal rules beyond kinship group

• Notion of universal justice or abstract legal principles was absent

• Protection under family and extended kinship relations


INDIVIDUAL WITH KINSHIP

• Primary loyalty to closest relations

• Feeling of Tribalism = to be aware of one‘s close relationship to the ―other‖

• Solidarity = protect one‘s tribal members from constant threat of predatory raids from outsiders.


RAIDING (al-ghazw)

• Raiding practiced against outsiders as an important means

of gaining or redistributing resources

• Raiding practiced during certain periods of the year, ―rules of

engagement‖ honored

• The Shaykh (tribal leader) received one-fifth of any spoils


REVENGE (qisas)

• retaliation or retribution when blood was spilled

• The system of mutual revenge (tha`r), as a preventive to

reckless killing

• The system of diya (paying a blood money) evolved as a less

honorable substitution

• ―Fighting‖ a natural part of Bedouin life


Politics

• A mixture of positives and negatives e.g. muruwwah

honoring guests and going to war for the sake of honor

• Arabia was never politically united. Centralization is the

opposite of tribal identity (each tribe as an independent

political unit)

• South- Kingdom of Saba and San‘a only at regional level

• Tribal spirit of unity- assabiyyah

• wars were frequent

• Tribal pride and greed made disputes frequent

50


• Lack of centralized authority to manage the tribes made it

even more difficult.

• Tribal wars were fierce some lasted several years or even

decades- Poets called them ―Ayyamul Arab‖ ( The days of

the Arabs)

• Reasons were petty- dispute over the boundaries of pasture/

spring-water, an injury to a person/animal of a tribe by

another

• The tough conditions in Arabia made alliance a must- without

alliance, they could not survive (weak ones join stronger

ones)

51


• Politically, anarchy and disunity defined by tribal affiliation

• Romans and Persians would not dream of expanding into

this area- they were impossible to be governed.

• The task of unifying these disparate groups seemed

impossible.

• But, Muhammad a Quraisyi eventually managed to do the

impossible by repudiating tribalism and rallying around the

principle of Tawhid (Unity)

52


Women

• Women were of inferior status

• During this time women‘s status worsened –no rights.

• When a man died the son inherited the step-mother

• His brother/s inherited his widows

• Among some wealthy Quraisy- the cruel custom of

infanticide (of female infant), partly to the perverted sense of

honor!

• They lamented the birth of daughters, Umar r.a. during

Jahiliyyah killed his own daughter

53


Social Vices

• Jahiliyah produced many social vices- wine-drinking,

prostitution, gambling

• With increasing wealth in urabn areas, prostitution also

prevailed

54


Religions of Pre-Islamic Arabia

• Paganism- 360 idols around ka‘bah

• Animism-veneration of stones, etc

• Jews- primarily in Yathrib, south Arabia

• Christians-Najran, South Arabia

• Hanifiyyah- a handful of people e.g. Waraqah bin

Naufal

55


Were the Pre-Islamic Arabs

‘uncivilized’?

• Scholars of Semitic languages wondered how, in a

largely illiterate society, the Arabs managed to

develop a common poetic language, which we call

classical Arabic.

• The knowledge of poetry (qasidah) was not limited

to literary circles.

• Practically everyone engaged in it at some level.

56


Illiterate Society yet produced masterpiece

ode/poetry

• The classic qasida is an elaborately structured ode of 60 to 100 lines

• It maintais a single end rhyme that runs through the entire piece

• Popular subjects: muruwwah

• Trivia—which object is praised the most in pre-Islamic qasidah? Thing-

animal, plant/flower/human (the beauty of women)?

• There are about 1,000 words for --- in classical Arabic

• Jamal, Naqah, Ibil etc

57

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/186736/end-rhyme


58


Family background

• Muhammad was born

in 570 CE (The Year of

Elephant)

• Born into the clan of

Banu Hashim of

Quraisy (Genealogy in

next slide)

• Hashim- a man of great

importance for Quraisy

• Opening up of the Syrian-

trade route

• Feeding and watering of

pilgrims

• A wealthy and generous

man

• The other clan is Banu Abd

Shams (brother of Hashim)

59


MUHAMMADMUHAMMAD

GENEALOGY OF MUHAMMADQURAYSH

‘Abd-i-Manaf

Hashim ‘Abdu’l-sh Shams

‘Abdu’l-Muttalib Umayyah

Umayyad Caliphs

‘Abdu’llah Abu-Talib ‘Abbas

‘Ali

‘Abdu’llah Abu-Talib

QURAYSH

HASHIM

CLAN

UMAYYAD

CLAN

60


Banu Hashim of QURAYSH WERE THE

KEEPERS OF THE KAABA

61


Family Background

• Abd Shams was a poor man with a large family

• After Hashim‘s death the status of Banu Hashim had

declined—while Banu Abd Shams thrived commercially

• Abd Mutalib (Hashim‘s son) was a prominent leader-

spokesman for Makkans during Abraha‘s attack

• Responsible for the re-opening of the Zamzam well

62


Banu Hashim

• After the death of Abd Mutalib (ca. late 570s), Banu Hashim

became even more marginalized

• It joined a tribal confederation known as Hilf al-Fudul- an

association of the less successful clans to ensure fair trading

and prevent trade monopolies of Banu Abd Shams and other

dominant clans

• When prophet was born, Banu Hashim were no longer

economically and politically dominant

• It was in this family, the noble family who were the

custodians of ka‘bah and pilgrims, Muhammad was born

63

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IRKH 5130 Islamic Civilization - WordPress.com · 2011-05-07 · Distinctive Features of Sirah • 2. The various phases of M‘s life have been meticulously documented not only from