THE ELEMENTS OF ISLAM
(Excerpts Only)

By: Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

Chapter 5
The History of The Muslims

In this chapter I have tried to condense as briefly as possible the history of the Muslim peoples in order to allow the meaning behind the facts and events to emerge. This is in the hope that such information will provide a basis for the reader to gain knowledge and transformation.

There are two major points to consider when looking at the history of the Muslims. The first is addressed in what the great Maghribi historian, Ibn Khaldun, identified as natural historical cycles. He describes very aptly how dynasties rise and then fall victim to their own weaknesses. He explains that the first stage in establishing a dynasty is achieved when a ruler obtains power with the support of his own people. They help to establish his rule and fight to protect his dynasty. He in turn appoints them as viziers and tax collectors, thus giving them a share of his power in important affairs.

In the second stage the ruler acts more independently from his people and claims power and glory for himself, which ferments resentment among and enmity from his people. In order to maintain his power amidst growing unrest the ruler then seeks other supporters and friends (mercenaries), not of his own kind, whom he can use against his own people if necessary.

In the third stage he falls under the power of his 'imported' supporters who, in reality, control and rule his realm. When the veil masking true control wears thin, the dynasty comes to an end and is replaced by another.

A second major point to bear in mind is the extent to which people adhere to and apply the Din. The development of how the life-transaction of Islam is lived parallels the natural historical evolution of rulership. Starting with fearlessness and zeal, people then settle into a domestic, inward-looking phase that then becomes diluted, dissolute and, eventually, thoroughly corrupted. At the very nadir the Din becomes a set of watered-down ritualistic values, far removed from the original basis of transformation.

Throughout the history of Muslims these two patterns have been recurring. Numerous cycles of rulers and the ruled, waves of growth and decline, both morally and materially, have run their course. One factor has remained fairly constant, however, which is that throughout the history of the Muslims there have always been people who have not only intellectually understood, accepted and received the message of the Qur`an and the prophetic teaching, but have also been transformed by such knowledge. Their lives have constituted living evidence of original Islam. It is this living Islam that has always been the main source and reason for lslam's spread. These transformed and enlightened men and women of knowledge – saints, Sufi masters, scholars, traders, artisans and even ordinary folk – were instrumental in the spread and rooting of Islam, for it was naturally transmitted as it was being lived.

Islam gave the early Arab Muslims a clear path to conquer the inner world of the self and save themselves from the domination of its lower tendencies. However, the conquest of the outer world and the love of and attachment to its glitter and power became so dominant that the Qur`an and the way of Muhammad were not applied sufficiently as an antidote to worldly temptation.

From the early days, Muslims became colored and influenced by the remnants of the Byzantine and Sassanian empires, which they had taken over within a few decades after the Prophet's death. This blending enabled the Arab conquerors and their dynasties to institutionalize religion and license themselves to rule over the growing mass of Muslims. Using old tribal loyalties, genealogy and the Arab language, it was easy to justify a certain measure of exclusivity and prestige on the part of the Sultans and Caliphs, whose personal moral qualities did not always reflect the prophetic model of conduct.

The outer strength of the Muslims, grafted as it were on to the inherited administrative machinery and style of rule of the Byzantines and Sassanians, reached its zenith during the Abbasid Empire. It was during this time that there was a great flowering of culture and civilization contained within the broadest parameters of Islam.

By the tenth and eleventh centuries CE the process of internationalizing Islam had begun, most crucially by the Turkish and Persian-speaking peoples. After Pahlavi Persian, the lingua franca of the far-reaching Sassanian Empire, had been modified in script from Indo-Iranian to Arabic, the monopolistic Arab neo-tribalism that had so far maintained exclusive control on the reins of power was broken. Ironically, although it was the Arabs who had brought in the Turks and Persians to serve them, these non-Arabs ended up being the new rulers, at first exercising influence from behind the throne and later ruling from it directly.

What Ibn Khaldun observed on a micro socio-historical level seems to be reflected in macro-cycles. On a macro-historical level we can see that the history of the Muslims to date falls into three phases. The extent of the true application of the Din also parallels the rise and fall of Muslim civilizations on a micro and macro scale. The first phase then starts from the Prophet and ends with the rise of the Abbasids. The second phase of international Islam begins from the end of Abbasid rule and lasts until the fourteenth century. The third phase is from then until the present day.

The first phase of empire developed almost by accident. The strong Arab tribal flavor that distinguishes this phase reflects the fact that the Arabs were sucked into the various social, political and spiritual vacuums that existed then. Almost at the end of this phase there came a crucial turning point that relaxed the Arab monopoly of Islam: the adoption of the Arabic script by a Persia which had embraced Islam. Eastern civilization (including sub-continental Asia) was at the time very much founded on the advanced Persian culture, which placed a high value on knowledge. With Islam the Persian élite had naturally learnt Arabic. By discarding the old Pahlavi script in favor of the Arabic, Islam became all the more accessible to those who lived within its ambit.

Until the end of the Abbasid Empire the spread of Islam had been an Arab phenomenon. In the second phase this was no longer the case. Exposure of Islam to the most refined and evolved culture of the time enabled the Din to be conveyed without being 'Arab'.

Medina Caliphate After Muhammad (632-661)

...

Abu Bakr's caliphate marks the beginning of the spread of Islam beyond Arabia, and the establishment of central leadership in Medina. He and the following three Caliphs were called the Rashidun, or rightly guided, by the early Muslims and subsequent historians. Many of the later Caliphs and rulers acted unjustly, nor were they rightly guided, but the majority of Muslims developed the attitude of accepting their fate, as long as the ruler did not publicly go against the basic commandments of God and disrupt peace and unity among them.

'Umar's caliphate (634-644) oversees the expansion and conquest of the Fertile Crescent, northern Egypt and much of Sassanian Persia. During the time of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab the Islamic system of government and finance, as well as the military and the judiciary, began to take shape. The Muslim Arab invasion and occupation of the Syrian and Egyptian provinces of the Byzantine Empire, and the major portion of the Sassanian, within this period of time was a major event. This could only have happened with a rulership that exercised exclusive authority and the existence of a very dynamic spirit of cooperation amongst its followers, bound as they were by a strong sense of common destiny and a unifying religion.

...

It was during 'Umar's time that the year of migration (Hijrah) was adopted as the starting point of the Muslim calendar. 'Umar was fifty-two years old when he was assassinated by a Persian craftsman who had been brought to Medina to embellish the formerly humble mud dwellings of the inhabitants. 'Umar's assassination left a group of Medina elders to choose his successor. They chose the weakest among them, a pious early convert and son-in-law of the Prophet, 'Uthman ibn `Affan.

...

Under 'Uthman, the Qur`an was written according to the original Qurayshi dialect (it had originally been revealed in seven ahruf or local dialects) and distributed to the provinces to arrest any future differences and misunderstandings. On the administrative side 'Uthman allowed the rulers of the provinces to exercise considerable power at their own discretion.

...

'Uthman's death marks the first period of civil war and bloodshed in the Muslim community, resulting in the popular election of 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib as the fourth Caliph. 'Ali soon abandoned the city of Medina, which had become turbulent since 'Uthman's murder, and established himself in Kufah. 'Uthman's kin used `Ali's failure to seek out and punish those responsible for 'Uthman's murder to oppose the new Caliph. There were also other power groups whose interest ran against the election of such an ascetic, courageous and uncompromising leader.

...

The Damascus Caliphate: Ummayyad Clan Rule – the Mu`awiyah Clan (661-692) and the Marwani Clan (692-750)

The early battles and wars fought during the first few decades after the Hijrah – such as Badr, Uhud and many others – were clearly battles by Islam against kufr. Very few battles were corrective, that is, fought within the Muslim communities, such as those undertaken by Abu Bakr and `Ali. The battles of Qadisiyyah, Yarmuk and those in North Africa and Andalus were all fought in the way of Islamic expansion. However, with the establishment of dynastic rule in Damascus, internal power struggles within the ruling élite were to be a continuous cause of instability and strife.

...

One notable exception to the tribally focused Arabian style of rule was that of 'Umar Ibn `Abdul 'Aziz, generally known as 'Umar II (717-720). He succeeded Walid I mainly as a result of the feuds and infighting among the Arab solidarity. Walid had initially been succeeded by Sulayman (715-717), during whose time the warfare between the Qays and Kalb reached its zenith. It was also during his time that the conquerors of Andalus, Tariq ibn Ziyad and the Governor Musa ibn Nusayr, returned to be humiliated and to die in dejected obscurity.

'Umar's personal piety and sincere Islamic conviction and behavior became a proud example that Muslims still remember. He reconciled many of the Shi`is as well as the Kharijis, restored the dignity of the Prophet's family, and rectified much of the subversion and derailment of Islam that had already taken place. However, he was succeeded by Yazid II (720-724) who, like his brother Sulayman, was given to women and song. Both brothers were despised by pious Muslims, so notorious were they for their lives of frivolous pleasures and cruelty.

...

Abbasid Empire and High Culture (750-945)

Since the martyrdom of Imam Husayn in 680 many discontented Muslim groups had been in regular revolt against the caliphate. In Khurasan the Arab settlers had been assimilated into Iranian society and had welcomed the emissary from Kufah, Abu Muslim, who had been sent to rally them by the descendants of the Prophet's uncle, 'Abbas. Abu Muslim managed to assemble a sizeable army incorporating most of the dissident elements, Arab and otherwise, under the Prophet's black banner. It was this army that moved westward from Khurasan to defeat the Umayyads in a series of battles between the years 749 and 750.

...

Muslim Spain

The history of the Muslims in Spain represents a Special and significant period that reflects similarities as well as differences with the spread of Islam elsewhere. ...

...

Early Conquest (711-756)

The Arabs and Berbers first landed in Spain in 710, when Tariq ibn Ziyad (a Berber) invaded with an expeditionary force. Arab Muslims had by that time already established a strong presence in Tunis, having founded the garrison town of Qayrawan south of Carthage, in 667. The following year (711) Tariq crossed with a force of Berbers estimated at 9,000 and defeated Roderick at Wadi Luqa. He was soon joined by the capable and ambitious North African Governor of the Marwani rule, Musa ibn Nusayr, and the Arabs and Berbers of the first settlement were soon joined by a new wave of Arabs from Syria.

...

Growth and Decay

...

...

The Almoravids, or Al-Murabits

Around the middle of the eleventh century there was much social, religious and political activity in North Africa, culminating in the building of the city of Marrakesh in 1062. In 1075 the entire Maghreb came under the control of the al-Murabits, who ruled from 1076 to 1147. Their strength lay in the same qualities as those of their successors: a combination of instigating religious reform and revival, backed by the potent force of the Berbers.

...

The Almohads, or Al-Muwahiddun

The Almohads were also of Berber origin and ruled from 1121 to 1296. They were founded by Muhammad ibn Tumart from the region of Sus, who was much influenced by Al-Ghazali's teachings, combining orthodoxy with some Mu`tazilite elements. His successor took Marrakesh in 1130, and by 1163 the Almohads had marched into Andalus with an army estimated at 200,000 men.

...

Granada

The Nasrid dynasty (1231-1492) began in Granada with Muhammad Bin Yusuf bin Ahmed bin Nasir ibn al-Ahmar, who helped Fernando II of Castilla to capture Cordova in 1236. He ruled over Malaga, Almiria and Granada, while paying tribute to the Christians. He further assisted Fernando in seizing Seville in 1248, which discredited him in the eyes of the Muslim population. By 1264, however, he was so overpowered by the Christians that he desperately sought help from the Marinids (who eventually assisted his son) to repulse the attacking Christians.

...

[Click here to continue to the rest of Chapter 5]