Chapter Eight:
The World of Islam
630--1517
The Ka'aba,
in the holy city,
We have labeled The Qur'aan as “The Third Covenant” with God. Essentially, Islam is belief in the one God (Allah, the God of Abraham) with a focus on the first commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” or in The Qur'aan 17:22: “Do not associate another deity with God.”
To a Muslim, it is wrong to think of Moses, Jesus, or any of the Biblical prophets as anything but normal human beings. Muhammad is the last of such prophets. These men may have been blessed by God, but they all had human failings and weaknesses
The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender of ones will to the only true God worthy of worship, Allah. The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of God regardless of ethnic background, nationality, or race. Being Muslim is living according to His message, willful submission, and active obedience to God. Islam is not limited to Arabs. In fact, 80% of Muslims around the world are not Semitic.
Many of the slaves taken from
Orphaned at 6, later married to his
widowed employer, Muhammad (570-632) went to the hills to meditate where he
felt that he was being spoken to by the angel Gabriel. He started to preach
that message. After much persecution,
Muhammad left
Muhammad is said to have been taken
to Heaven at the site of The Dome of the Rock, built in 684, the earliest
Muslim monument still standing.
The rock in the center of the dome
is believed to be the spot from which Muhammad was brought by night and from
which he ascended through the heavens to God, where he consulted with Moses and
was given the obligatory Islamic prayers before returning to earth. The Jews
believe this place to be the location where Abraham almost sacrificed his son
Isaac at the command of God, where Jacob saw the ladder to heaven, and within
the boundaries of the innermost chamber of the Jewish Temple.
Essentially unchanged for more than
thirteen centuries, the Dome of the Rock remains one of the world's
most beautiful and enduring architectural treasures. The gold covered dome
stretches 20 metres across the Noble Rock, rising to an apex more than 35 metres
above it. The Qur'aanic verse 'Ya Sin' is inscribed across the top in the
dazzling tile work commissioned in the 16th century by Suleiman the
Magnificent. The sura al-Ikhlas (Purity), which denounces what Muslims regard
as the principal Christian errors, is also inscribed there.
The sura al-Ikhlas is the chapter
(sura) of the Qur’aan which says: “He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the
Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor was He begotten; And
there is none comparable unto Him.
The Arab World was united under the
beliefs of Islam.
God's final revelation to mankind
(the Qur'aan) was revealed to the prophet Muhammad over a period of 23
years. It was written during the life of Muhammad, and numerous companions of
the prophet memorized the entire Qur'aan word-for-word as it was revealed.
The message that it bestows is that all are to "submit to the Almighty God
and worship him alone." God's revelation focuses on teaching human beings
the sole importance of believing in the unity of God. The Qur'aan also contains
the stories of previous prophets such as Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Jesus Christ.
The people of Islam follow an
ethical code called the "Five Pillars of Islam. If the five pillars are
followed a person is guaranteed paradise after death.
1. Declaration of
Faith: declare that there is no God other than Allah, and Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah.
2. Prayers:
Prayer five times a day, and public prayer on Friday at midday to worship Allah
facing the Ka'aba at
3. Observance of
the holy month: Ramadan, and abstain from food, drink, sex, smoke
and blood shed during the daylight hours.
4. Zakat: the
word means purity, and involves giving of alms to the poor and unfortunate.
This is approximately 2.5% of ones earnings each year.
5. Hajj: this
is the pilgrimage that Muslims must make once in their lifetime. This journey
is long and difficult. The pilgrimage represents that religion is a journey and
unites people as a result of their suffering together.
Islam does not promote war, but like
many other religions, Islam permits fighting in self-defense. The Qur'aan
lays down strict rules of combat that include prohibiting any harm to
civilians, destroying crops, trees, and livestock. Islam does not support
extreme terrorist acts; therefore war is a last resort and is subject to
conditions that are laid out by sacred law.
Critics of Islam have said that
Muhammad waged war through most of his life and the current struggle in
The pillage of
“Now that our men had possession of the walls and towers, wonderful sights were
to be seen. Some of our men cut off the heads of their enemies; others shot
them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers; others tortured them
longer by casting them into the flames. Piles of heads, hands and feet were to
be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one's way over the
bodies of men and horses. . . But these were small matters compared with what
happened in the
From Raymond d'Aguilers, Historia francorum qui ceprint Jerusalem
Muslims have also been criticized
about their treatment of women. The
Muslim Women’s League (MWL) points out that gender inequality is not universal
and, in fact, against the rules of the Qur'aan:
"I shall not
lose sight of the labor of any of you who labors in My
way, be it man or woman; each of you is equal to the other (3:195)"
Some may say the extreme dress of
the Burka is only required by religious extremists: But look at some of the women of
I guess the point I’m trying to make
is this: there are evil people in every culture, and the name of God is often
used by evil people to support evil ends; but in every culture, good people
outnumber the bad, so every intelligent person should respect the values of
other cultures, no matter how they may differ from ones own.
As you know, the period from 476 to
about 1000 in
Christian aristocrats who wanted
their children to be educated turned to the great scholars of Islam, whose
mosques were great places of learning, rather than just religious centers. The greatest of these was in
Cordova was an ancient city taken
over by the Muslims in 711. "Cordova is the jewel of the world," says
a medieval German manuscript, describing this city of 500,000 inhabitants and
100,000 buildings with hundreds of mosques and 70 major libraries—including one
collection of 400,000 volumes gathered by the Caliph Al Hakam II.
Cordova was, by many accounts, the
equal of the greatest eastern city in Islam,
They are thought to have invented
the system of intersecting arches designed to withstand the stresses and
strains of a lofty roof supporting a massive cupola (a centerpiece on the top
of a dome) hewn from marble. This architectural principle was copied and widely
used in the building of
Many arts thrived in Cordova, not
the least of which is supple leatherwork which bears its name today.
While Crusaders waged holy war
against the infidel, every cathedral in Christendom boasted Cordova covered
gospels and altar fronts.
Frankish knights rode in Cordova
saddles, and took away their loot in Cordova leather trunks and nail-studded
chests.
While schools and libraries in
Cordova were open to all cultures and races, it was necessary for students to
learn to speak Arabic. Therefore, Arabic
was the major intellectual and scientific language of the world for 800 years.
For one thing, this meant modern
mathematics, although derived from Greek and Indian sources, was developed by
Islamic scholars:
780-850 The
mathematician Muhammad ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi writes 'ilm aljebr wa'Imuqabalah' ('the
science of reunion and equation') From 'al-Khwarizmi'
algorithm is derived; from 'al jeb'r algebra;
from 'jayb' sine.
The Hindu 'sunya'
('empty') becomes the Arabic 'sifr' which in turn
becomes the European zero in the 15th century, vital to the further advancement
of mathematics. 'Sifr' is also the source of the word
cipher.
In the 9th century Thabit bin Qurrah applies algebra
to the solution of geometrical problems.
c 900 Arabs
introduce decimal (base 10) numbers into
1010-1075 Arab
Ahmad al-Nasawi ('al- Muqni'fi
al Hisab al-Hindi') writes about Hindu calculation
of fractions, square and cubic roots.
Early 15th century Al-Kashi writes Key to Arithmetic.
All of these mathematical ideas were
later “introduced” to Christian Europe by translators, who took credit for most
of the work themselves.
The same can be said for astronomy
and many kinds of art.
With such a strong background in
math, it is natural to see much Islamic art utilizing geometric patterns in its
search to express beauty:
The Ardabil carpet
Wool and silk
The beauty of geometric patterns was
not limited to textiles. Cordovan craftsmen worked with baked tiles turning out
glazed cups, dishes and jars, all intricately decorated and brought to a
glittering sheen that rivaled Chinese porcelain. Known to collectors as
"Mudejar," the pottery of medieval Cordovan kilns still ranks among
the most valuable on the market.
Ornament from a Janissary’s Cap
Silver, gilt, decorated with flattened wire and granulation
Bowl
Earthenware, over glaze polychrome luster painted
Bowl
Earthenware tin-glazed and stain painted
Another great Islamic art form was
calligraphy, the Qur'aan, being a prime example, honored for the beauty
of its appearance as well as its words.
Two leaves from a manuscript of
the Qur’aan
Abbasid caliphate, ninth to tenth century
Ink and gold on parchment
Nushirvan
Receives an Embassy from the Khaqan
Page from a manuscript of the Shahnama (Book
of kings)
Iran, Tabriz, c. 1530–35
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Another theme in Islamic art is the
beauty of nature, often geometrically displayed.
Tile
Fritware, underglaze painted
Tile panel for a spandrel
Fritware, cuerda seca technique
Man with pitchfork
Inscribed: Riza-yi cAbbasi
Ink with color washes on paper
Cordova produced a great number of
artists and scholars. Among them, was Ibn
Quzman, a
popular minstrel, who wrote more than 300 poems, of which about half survive.
Ibn Zaydun, a troubadour, developed
highly-technical verse forms and saluted his native city with his poem
"Cordova."
If there was a movie about Ibn
Zaydun, I’d include it here, but as there is none, let’s just go over his
story:
In
She also was very outspoken and free
in her sexual behavior, a symbol of liberation for the women of her time. She
resisted tradition and chose her lovers without advice.
Once, when the supreme judge of the
city accused her of being a harlot, she had one of her own poems embroidered on
her gown and wore it in the street, for everyone to read. It said:
For the sake of Allah! I deserve
nothing less than glory I hold my head high and go my way I will give my cheek
to my lover and my kisses to anyone I choose.
Ibn Zaydun was well known in
Every guy in town was jealous of Ibn , especially Ibn Abdus, the Caliph's Vizir. He tried to
break them up, finally catching Ibn Zaydun making love to Wallada's favorite
slave. The Princess was so hurt that she wrote him a poem of rebuke:
If you had been truly sincere in
the love which joined us you would not have preferred, to me, one of my own
slaves. In so doing, you scorned the bough, which blossoms with beauty and
chose a branch which bears only hard and bitter fruit. You know that I am the
clear, shining moon of the heavens but, to my sorrow, you chose, instead, a
dark and shadowy planet.
Ibn Abdus then let it be known that
Wallada had taken him as her lover, and often walked beside her in the streets
of
You were for me nothing but a
sweetmeat that I took a bite of and then tossed away the crust, leaving it to
be gnawed on by a rat.
Later, Wallada discovered him with a
man. (Homosexuality is forbidden in the Qur’aan, but was widely
practiced by the Moors of the time nevertheless.)
She sent him an even more hurtful
poem than the one he had addressed to her:
The nickname they give you is Number
Six and it will stick to you until you die because you are a pansy, a bugger a
fornicator a cuckold, a swine and a thief. If a phallus could become a palm
tree, you would turn into a woodpecker.
The Caliph exiled Ibn Zaydun to
Fortunately for him, the Caliph died
soon afterwards and Ibn Zaydun was able to return. The lovers forgave one
another and for a while their affair continued, just as passionate and stormy
as before. But Wallada now lived in the home of powerful Vizir, who gave her
protection, and Ibn Zaydun, disenchanted, eventually decided to return to
The composer Ziryab (789 – 857)
perfected the lute and sang his thousand songs at the palace.
Originally the Arabic al 'ud (or oud), the lute
came to Europe during the Middle Ages, probably via
“Recercata 4” by Francesco da
Milano, as played by Frank Wallace on his Centaur album Music of 16th Century
Spain
The popularity of the Lute led to
the wide acceptance of the Guitar, which comes from the Arabic word “'qitar
“
The philologist (lover of learning)
Al Qali produced one of the first studies of the
grammar of the Arabic language.
The historian Ibn Hasan wrote his chronicle of Islamic Spain at the request
of Abd Al Rahman III.
Cordova was also regarded as a
center of philosophical thought with Islamic scholars such as Ibn Rushd
(1128-1198)studying and developing the ideas of the
Greeks.
Ibn Rushd made remarkable
contributions in philosophy, logic, medicine, music and jurisprudence. In
medicine his well known book Kitab al-Kulyat fi
al-Tibb was written before 1162 A.D Its Latin
translation was known as 'Colliget'. In it, Ibn Rushd
has thrown light on various aspects of medicine, including the diagnoses, cure
and prevention of diseases.
In philosophy, his most important
work Tuhafut al-Tuhafut
had a profound influence on European thought. His views on fate were that man
is neither in full control of his destiny nor is it fully predetermined for
him. He wrote three commentaries on the works of Aristotle, as these were known
then through Arabic translations.. The longest
commentary was largely based on his analysis including interpretation of Qu'raanic concepts.
In the field of music, Ibn Rushd
wrote a commentary on Aristotle's book De Anima. This book was
translated into Latin by Mitchell the Scott.
In astronomy he wrote a treatise on
the motion of the sphere, Kitab fi-Harakat al-Falak. He also summarised Almagest
and divided it into two parts: description of the spheres, and movement of the
spheres. This summary of the Almagest was translated from Arabic into
Hebrew by Jacob Anatoli in 1231.
Regarding jurisprudence, his book Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa-Nihayat- al-Muqtasid has
been held by Ibn Jafar Thahabi
as possibly the best book on the Maliki School of Fiqh. Ibn Rushd's writings were
translated into various languages, including Latin, English, German and Hebrew.
Ibn Rushd has been held as one of the greatest thinkers and scientists of the
12th century. According to Philip Hitti, Ibn Rushd
influenced Western thought from the 12th to the 16th centuries. His books were
included in the syllabi of
One of the world’s greatest works of
fiction comes from the Muslim world. It
is called Alf Laylah Wa Laylah (The Arabian
Nights’ Entertainments) or 1001 Arabian Nights.
It tells the story of Sultan Schahriar, who was betrayed by the wife he
loved and turned into the worst misogynist who ever lived. Every day he took a new wife. Every morning he had her strangled. Until he met the beautiful Scheherazade,
a smart, beautiful woman, who outsmarted him.
Each evening, Scheherazade
entertained the sultan by telling him a story.
Then, at bedtime, she got tired in the middle of the story and went to
sleep. The sultan, eager to hear the end
of the tale, gave her another day to live.
At the end of 1001 nights, the sultan realized he had fallen in love
with Scheherazade and everyone lived happily ever after.
These were some of the stories she
told:
The Many voyages of Sinbad, the
Sailor
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
Translated into English by Sir
Richard Burton in 1850, 1001 Arabian Nights is full of great mythical
tales of the east, of genies and wishes and magic carpets.
One of the world’s great poets and
thinkers was غياث
الدين ابو
الفتح عمر بن
ابراهيم خيام
نيشابوري (Ghiyath
al-Din Abu'l-Fath Umar
ibn Ibrahim Al-Nisaburi Khayyami ) (1048–1123)
Famous in his lifetime, Omar Khayyám
was an astronomer who corrected the Persian calendar and accurately computed
(within six decimal places) that there are 365.24219858156 days in the year.
In the field of mathematics, He is
also well known for inventing the method of solving cubic equations by intersecting a parabola with a circle.
He is believed to have written about
a thousand four-line verses. In the English-speaking world, he is best known
for The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám in the English translations by Edward
Fitzgerald (1809-1883). The poet was
also a great lover.
Famous lines from The Rubáiyát of
Omar Khayyám :
VII
Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring
Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time bas but a little way
To flutter--and the Bird is on the Wing.
XII
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness--
Oh, Wilderness were
XVI
The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon
Turns Ashes--or it prospers; and anon,
Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face,
Lighting a little hour or two--is gone.
XXXV
Then to the lip of this poor earthen Urn
I lean'd, the Secret of my Life to learn:
And Lip to Lip it murmur'd--"While you live
Drink!--for, once dead, you never shall return."
LXIII
Oh, threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise!
One thing at least is certain--This Life flies;
One thing is certain and the rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.
LXXI
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
Perhaps we should consider the
crusader, a common, uneducated man discovering the wonders of Islam for the
first time. What wondrous, exotic
stories would he bring back to
Egyptian 'baladi'
(aka 'belly dance') was performed mostly at
festivals, weddings and in coffee houses to the beat of drums, tambourines
(from the Arabic 'tanbur'), wind and stringed
instruments.
A few words should be said of
Terrorism. One of the earliest sects of
Terrorists gave us the English word, “assassin.”
The problems with
Arabs and Jews in