ISLAM

I. Arab Nomads

a. Bedouins

b. Kinship and Clans

c. Trade in the Arabian Peninsula

d. Polytheism and Allah

II. Muhammad and His Message

a. Muhammad ibn Abdullah (570 – 632 AD)

i. Pagan Mecca and the Ka’ba

ii. Illiterate

b. Muhammad in the Cave – Visions of Allah (610 AD)

i. Archangel Gabriel

ii. Divine Revelations – Quran (“recitation”)

iii. Birth of Islam – “Submission” (to God’s will)

c. Allah and Islam

i. Judaic and Christian Origins

ii. The “Seal of the Prophets”

d. Migration to Medina (622 AD)

i. Meccan Pagan Elite

ii. Founding of the “City of the Prophet”

iii. The Umma – “Community of the Faithful”

III. Expansion of Islam

a. Establishment of Islam in Arabia

i. Return to Mecca (630 AD)

ii. Ka’ba

iii. The Five Pillars of Islam

b. Vaccum of Power and the Expansion of Islam

c. Death of Muhammad (632 AD) and rise of the ‘Caliph’

d. Standardization of the Quran (644-656 AD)

IV. Economy and Society of the Early Islamic World

a. New Crops and Agricultural Experimentation

b. Textiles, Paper, and Banks

c. Changing Status of Women