NCERT Class 11th Chapter 4 History The Central Islamic Lands notes by Vibha Mam CBSE | English

Faith, Community and Politics

Mohammad was an Arab and by profession, he was a merchant. Around 612 Mohammad declared himself as the “Messenger of God (Rasul)”. Mohammed was to found a community of believers (umma) bound by a common set of religious beliefs. He preached the worship of a single god Allah. Those who accepted the doctrine were called Muslim. Umma was a single community of believers of Islam. 

• Arab culture was largely confined to the Arabian Peninsula and southern Syria and Mesopotamia by the 6th century.
• The Arabs were divided into tribes (Kabila) and each tribe led by a chief of his family.
• The Arab tribes were made up of clans and worshiped an idol (Sanam) in a shrine.
• Many Arab tribes were nomadic( Bedouins). Some were settled in cities and practiced trade and agriculture.

Mohammed belonged to the Quraysh tribe and lived in Mecca and controlled the main shrine kaba (a cube like structure).

• The Kaba was considered a holy pilgrimage where idols of different tribes were placed. It was located on the trade route between Yemen and Syria.
•  Arab tribes were making annual pilgrimages(Hajj) to the shrine. Around 612 Mohammed declared himself as the messenger of God. He commanded to preach that Allah is supreme God. Allah alone should be worshiped.
• Affluent Meccans took offense at the rejection of the deities and saw the new religion a threat to the status and prosperity of Mecca.
• In 622 Mohammed was forced to migrate with his followers to Madina. This journey of Mohammad from Mecca to Madina called Hijra and marking the beginning of the Muslim (Islamic) calendar Hijri.

The survival of Islamic Religion

     The survival of Islamic Religion consolidation, protection and political institutions are required to survive a community of believers. 

• In madina, Mohammad created a political order for the protection of his followers.
• The Umma was converted into a wider community to include polythesis and the jews of Madina.
• The community survived on agriculture, trade and alms tax( zakat).
• Mohammed added some rituals like fasting and ethical principles to consolidate the faith for his followers .
• The Muslims organised expeditionary raids on Meccan caravans. These raids caused a series of battles between Meccan and Madina’s Jews.
• At last Mecca was captured by Muhammad. After that, his reputation spread far and wide as a religious preacher and political leader.
• After Mohammed’s achievements many tribes (mostly Bedouins) were impressed and joined the community by converting to Islam.
• Mohammad’s alliances began to spread until they embraced the whole Arabia. Madina became the administrative capital of the Islamic state and Mecca as the religious centre.

The Caliphate

Expansion ,civil wars and sect formation

After Mohammed’s death in 632, political authority was transferred to the umma. This created the caliphate, in which the leader of the community (Amir-al-mu’minin) became the deputy (Khalifa) of the Prophet. The first four caliphs (632-61) justified the powers.

The two objective of Caliphate:

•  to retain control over the tribes
•  to raise resources of the state.

After the death of Muhammad, many tribes broke away from the Islamic States.

• The first caliph- Abu Bakr– suppressed the revolts by a series of campaigns.
• The second caliph- Umar, shaped the Umma’s policy of expansion of power. They conquered the Byzantine Empire (Christianity) in the west and the Sasanians Empire (Zoroastrianism, religion of Iran) in the east, through wars and treaties. in three successful campaigns (637-642) the Arabs brought Syria, Iraq, Iran and Egypt under the control of Medina.
• The third caliph- Uthman (Quraysh) -launched the further campaigns to extend the control to Central Asia. the Arab Islamic state control the vast territory between Nile and oxus, within a decade of the death of Muhammad.