Islam in the Formation of a Civilization
Islam began in the early seventh century in the Arabian city of Mecca as a small,persecuted group of believers fiercely following the message proclaimed by their leader
Muhammad of a single god. Out of this belief came personal devotion to him and a new social
order. By the eighth century it had grown out of Arabia and stretched from Spain to India. Today
it is one of the world's largest religions. How did this small movement so quickly and
overwhelmingly expand into what it is today? The message given by Muhammad, the social
framework established in the Qur'an and its behavior towards the people around it, gave the new
religion the legs on which it could stand and eventually burst forth onto the stage of world
history.
At the heart is the Qur'an. The revelations given to Muhammad. Its content ranged from
the Oneness of god and his power to how Muslims should operate in their daily existence. Those
that followed the message were not following a mild new faith. It required them to turn away
from the other gods around them and live in accordance with the message. The Muslim's
rejection of what was then the heart of Mecca, the worship of the gods there and the revenue that
was gathered from others making pilgrimages to those shrines, did not endear them to the leaders
of the community. Fazur Rahman (1966) in his introduction to the history of Islam points out
that the oligarchy of Mecca feared and persecuted Muhammad for his direct attack on the
traditions of the city and their commercial interests. His follower's fared no better. However, the
persecutions did not keep new people from joining the Muslim community. To be a part of the
community required more than a nominal observance. Roy Mottahedeh (1984) observes that,
“Islam left little room for compartmentalization or separation of life into sacred or secular spheres...” (pp. 55). Islam took precedence of all things and influenced every aspect of a
person's life; all was to be placed in submission to god. Once established, that level of centrality
is not easily replaced. The pillars of Islam: the declaration of faith; daily prayers; annual fasting;
the pilgrimage to Mecca (for those who able to); and the giving of an offering from one's wealth
for the poor for the betterment of the community all combine for a powerful experience. They
created a shared experience that tied the community together and gave the individual believer the
chance to practice his or her faith in a way that solidified their resolve.
In the Qur'an, Muhammad spoke not only of personal and communal devotion to god but
also to society as a whole. When Muhammad began his mission, Mecca was the seat of a highly
profitable trade route between the kingdom of Yemen and the empires of Byzantium and Persia.
It was rich and stratified, with the poor being mistreated and overlooked. Rahman (1984)
describes Mecca at the time of the first revelations as a place of great wealth differences,
dishonest trade practices and a wealthy class that cared not for the poor, orphans or the
oppressed. From the very beginning, Muhammad spoke out against these practices. So it was
among the ones that the Meccan society at large ignored that the Prophet found the people who
were to make up the majority of the early Muslims. It was not the wealthy or those with great
status that heard the call of Muhammad. Rather, it was people who were not viable members of
the economic and social life of Mecca. In his account of the life of Muhammad, Hazrat Mirza
Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad (n.d.) puts it this way about the early converts, “In his Message
and in his teaching there was hope for the degraded, the depressed and the young....Young men
thought the avenues of progress were going to be thrown open to them.” (11). Here was a
message that they could spring for; it was not a message only for the rich but also for the
marginalized. As time progressed the message for all, even the low, was not lost: fair treatment of the poor remained a frequent command and the giving of alms became one of the five pillars
of the faith.
Women in Arabia at that time had a low status. Though the standards that the Qur'an set
forth might not impress a current Westerner, it set to improve the lot of women. William
Cleveland and Martin Bunton (2009) illustrate that under Islam women saw polygamy curtailed,
divorce regulations put in place and were given legal status as capable of inheriting from the
estate of a family member. Though not the most drastic measures taken it was a great
improvement. Though women were not placed as equals in the Qur'an they gained by following
this new faith.
As well as dealing with social issues, it cannot be overlooked that Muhammad was
simultaneously building the foundations of a state. In moving to Medina from Mecca,
Muhammad was placing himself not only as the leader of the religious life of the Muslims but
was also taking the role of civic leader. The Qur'an speaks of Judgment Day but is not silent
about the way Muslim society is to function. Cleveland and Bunton(2009) say that, “[The]
Quranic revelations were intended to direct all the affairs of the ummah [Muslim community],
including relations among other human beings.” (pp. 26) and that, in legal and state matters, the
action being performed was not a secular but religious action for the Muslim.(12) The latter
section of the Qur'an, written while in Medina, contains a greater emphasis on these aspects. And
though it was not comprehensive in the creation of a complete civic code, between it and the
examples of Muhammad that were written down (called the hadith) there was a sufficient
framework for the sophistication of Islamic law in the following years.
As the Muslims were unifying themselves, Arabia was not a unified whole. There were
many tribes with different religions, and social obligations that stretched only as far as the tribe.Inter-tribal conflicts were common. Medina, at the time of Muhammad was locked in civil war
between the Aus and Khazraj tribes (Rahman, 1984). Islam gave a unifying feature to the
landscape. Under the leadership of Muhammad the people were a part of the larger Muslim
community and not simply one tribe or another. Within this community all were Muslims and
subject to the commands of the Qur'an and the judgment of Muhammad. As it expanded, more
and more tribes converted to Islam, and though the unity was not perfect it was a drastic change
from the prior conditions in the region. It gave Muhammad and his successors a fairly unified
group to lead in the often militaristic expansion of Islam.
During its expansion Islam encountered other religions along its path. Polytheism was not
tolerated. Since the belief in one god is so central to Islam, polytheism was a direct enemy of the
faith. Islam was, though, fairly tolerant of the other major monotheistic religions in the area.
Christians and Jews were “People of the Book”; co-believers in the one true god, albeit their
views were seen as distorted. As Islam came to dominate the area there was no persecution from
the Muslims so long as the others lived in harmony with them. Rahman (1984) explains that
when Muhammad established himself at Medina he signed a charter with the Jews of the city.
Muhammad was placed as the overall leader of the city but the Jews were allowed to function as
a separate community who were to come to the defense of Medina should the need arise.
However, on two occasions the Jews were accused of siding with the Meccans and in a third
instance openly did so. For those breaks of faith they were treated harshly. They were not equals
in the community though. Annemarie Schimmel (1992) points out that as non-Muslims they
were, among other restrictions, required to pay a special land tax and were not allowed to build
new places of worship. However due to many Christian's differing theology from that of
Byzantium, being under the rule of Islam was sometimes more advantageous than being under the Christian Byzantine empire. They were allowed to worship as they would in relative security
but as second class citizens.
The message of Islam was one that was to be spread throughout the world. The world was
divided into the world of Islam and the world of unbelief, and it was the duty of the Muslims to
bring in a unified world of Islam. As Islam expanded it encountered non-Arabs, particularly
during the conquests following the death of Muhammad. Though some felt that Islam was to be
simply an Arabic religion, such as the leaders of the Umayyad dynasty, the message itself was a
universal one. As non-Arabs converted they were added to the community. As Muslims they
were held to the same laws and tried in the same courts. For the conquered there was inclusion
into the system of the conquerors. Giving them a chance to utilize the structures of Islam to
advance in position.
In 610 C.E. not many in Mecca would have supposed that the message brought by
Muhammad would, with such astounding speed, cover the territory that it did. But with the
message's unifying nature in the pursuit of a higher calling, structuring of daily life and the
treatment of other religions and minorities around it, Islam prevented the community from
collapsing after the death of Muhammad and gave Muslims the basis on which they could
expand out into the world.
References
Ahmad, Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud (n.d.). The life of Muhammad. Rabwah, Pakistan:
The Ahmadiyya Mulim Foreign Missions Office, Tahrid-I-jadid
Cleveland, W. L. & Bunton, M. (2009). A history of the modern Middle East (4th ed.). Boulder,
CO: Westview Press.
Mottahedeh, R. P. (1984). The Foundations of state and society. In M. Kelly (Ed.), Islam: The
religious and political life of a world community (pp. 55-72). New York, NY: Praeger.
Rahman, F. (1966). Islam New York, NY; Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
Rahman, F (1984). The message and the messenger. In M. Kelly (Ed.), Islam: The religious and
political life of a world community (pp. 29-54). New York, NY: Praeger.
Schimmel, A. (1992). Islam: An introduction. (A Schimmel Trans.) Albany, NY: State
University of New York. (Origional work published 1990.)
