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What war defeat rival prophets and restore untiy in Islam?
ridda
What is a good piece of music to choreograph to?
It really doesn't matter. Just choose your favorite music! (Unless its classical. That sucks.)it depends on what dance you're doing, if you're doing street or hip-hop you need something upbeat; I would advise looking at the Step Up 3 soundtrack; it has loads of great street dance songs and, if you watch the film, you can see the dance that goes with it. Here are some to get you started:jessie mcartney- upflo ridda- club can't handle meLaza morgan- this girl
What cities in Arabia became part of the Islamic empire during the time of Muhammad?
By the time Muhammad died, ALL of Arabia was either directly controlled by the Islamic Empire or was in vassalage to the Islamic Empire. It was only when Caliph Abu Bakr succeeded Muhammad that some of the Sheikhs questioned whether they were part of the Islamic Empire in perpetuity. The Ridda Wars, where Abu Bakr forcibly reunited Arabia under the Green Flag, ended that question affirmatively for the Muslims.
How did the Umayyads unite the many lands and peoples of the Islamic Empire?
Answer 1After the death of Mohammed in 632 AD, the leadership of the new religion, and of the newly united Arab tribes, was taken over by Mohammed's upper-class father-in-law (through his second wife) Abu Bakr. Mohammed left no sons, and in any case there was no tradition of sons taking over in the Arab world. Abu Bakr only lived for two years after becoming Caliph, but he managed to unite the whole Arabian Peninsula under Islam.There was a rebellion of the Arab tribes after Mohammed's death, which is called the Ridda. With their leader gone, they wanted to go back to being independent. Abu Bakr took an army and succeeded in destroying the Ridda and bringing those Arab tribes back under Islamic control.This leads me to believe that the feat was accomplished by military means.This and much more information is available at:http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/islam/history/umayyads.htmAnswer 2forming a bureaucracy, common Arabic language, and common coinageAnswer 3by fighting Imam Ali a.s. (war of Muaviyeh by Imam Ali a.s.) and Killing Imam Hussain a.s. at Karbala.The Umayyads united the Muslim Empire through imperial expansion.
Who is khalid bin walid?
he was one of the commander of the early rashidun chaliphate during the early Islamic conquests and one of the most successful general in history.he first defeated the rebels of Arabia in the ridda wars,then invaded the sassanid Persian empire and after winning a series of battles was transfered to the syrian front to fight the byzantine(roman) empire whom he fought and defeated.in his life time he conquered modern day Iraq,Kuwait,palestine,israel,Jordan,Lebanon,syria and parts of south eastern turkey.he was never defeated in battle.
Where were early Islamics located?
Islam arose in the area that is now Saudi Arabia in the early 600's. By the time their prophet Mohammad died, the Muslims had united almost the entire Arabian peninsula. Mohammad was originally from the city of Mecca, which is considered the holiest place in Islam; the nearby city of Medina is also very important. After Mohammad's death, there was controversy over who should be the new leader (called the "caliph", from the Arabic word for "successor"), followed by a short civil war called the Ridda Wars where some people claimed to be new prophets and attempted to take control. Once these people were defeated and the civil war wrapped up, the reunified Muslims began a series of rapid invasions and conquest. Within 80 years Muslim armies had conquered everything from Spain, across North Africa and the Middle East to Pakistan, and had even invaded southern France and northern India. This conquest did not continue long though. The invasions of France and India were defeated, and internal divisions caused the new empire to stop growing and begin splitting up. Subsequent invasions by Turks, Crusaders and Mongols further caused the empire to split.
How was the conquest of territory by Muslims different from the spread of Islam?
Answer 1Conquest of territory by Muslims was not for personal glory or for conquering the will of people or for exploiting the country resources. Conquest territory by Muslims was to free the will of people and to end their oppression. Enforcement of people to convert to Islam was never adopted by Muslims because it is against Islam teaching where said in Quran "No compulsion in religion". This was not the case, for example, when Christians got control of Spain back from the hands of Muslims and was not the case when Rome ruler Constantine converted to Christianity and accordingly all his people followed him and converted too.Spread of Islam was by free will of people irrelevant to conquest of territory by Muslims or not.Refer to related question below for more information.Answer 2This is a very one-sided Muslim view. The conquests were a means of providing income for the large numbers of mainly Bedouin Arabs who had been forcible kept within Islam during the wars of the ridda immediately after Muhammad's death. He had already established a pattern of conquest and control, declaring that pagans could be offered Islam or death (plenty of compulsion). Early Islamic law (mainly dictated by Muhammad) decreed the levels of booty for the Arab armies and the poll tax imposed on Jews and Christians in return for their lives and property. Soon, the Arabs began to settle in the conquered territories and to develop as merchants, agriculturalists, administrators, and so on. Talking about 'freeing the will of people' (whatever that means) just confuses a simple historical narrative. There is no evidence that the Muslim armies were driven by altruistic motivesat all.
How did Islam spread in the Arabian Peninsula?
A:At first the most powerful men in Mecca ignored the Muslims, but by 616 they had become angry with Muhammad who, they said, reviled the faith of their fathers, was obviously a charlatan and only pretended to be a prophet. They were incensed at the Quran's description of the Last Judgement and feared that Muhammad was plotting to take over the leadership of Mecca. A boycott was imposed on Muhammad's clan, forbidding the Quraysh to marry or trade with the Muslims. The ban lasted for two years and meant that no one could sell them any food. Muhammad's position in Mecca was becoming untenable, and he fled under cover of darkness to Yathrib, now known as Medina. The three main Jewish tribes in Median had formed a powerful bloc before the arrival of Muhammad and began to resent his ascendancy. They now felt demoted and were determined to get rid of him. However, some of the Jews in the smaller clans were friendly and enhanced Muhammad's knowledge of Jewish scripture. One of Muhammad's greatest disappointments was that the Jews of Medina refused to accept him as a prophet. He was also shocked to learn that Jews and Christians, whom he assumed to belong to a single faith, had serious theological differences.The immigrants from Mecca were merchants, not farmers, and in any case there was not enough farming land for them. In order to support themselves, they began to conduct ghazu against the rich Meccan caravans. Since they were attacking their own tribe, this was a serious breach of precedent.In March 624, Muhammad led a large band to the coast to intercept the largest Meccan caravan of the year. The Quraysh sent an army to defend the caravan, but the Muslims inflicted a stunning defeat at the well of Badr. This impressed the Bedouin tribes, some of whom enjoyed seeing the mighty Quraysh brought low.In 625, Mecca inflicted a severe defeat at the Battle of Uhud, but 2 years later the Muslims defeated the Meccans at the Battle of the Trench, so called because Muhammad had dug a defensive ditch around Medina. In the Battle of the Trench, there had been ten thousand Meccans against three thousand Muslims. This was a turning point and many of the nomadic tribes came over to Muhammad's side. Even some of the Meccans began to defect and made the hijrah to Medina.In March 628, Muhammad announced that he was going to make the hajj to Mecca and asked for volunteers to accompany him. About one thousand Muslims set out for Mecca in the traditional white robes of the hajji. If the Quraysh forbade them to approach the Kabah or attacked bona fide pilgrims, they would betray their sacred duty as the guardians of the shrine. Eventually the Quraysh were pressured by this peaceful demonstration to sign a peace treaty, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. This was a turning point that impressed still more of the Bedouin and conversions to Islam escalated.In 630, when the Quraysh violated the treaty by attacking one of the Prophet's tribal allies, Muhammad marched on Mecca with ten thousand men. Muhammad destroyed the idols around the Kabah and rededicated it to Allah. He gave the old pagan rites an Islamic significance by linking them to the story of Abraham.When Muhammad died in 632, almost all the tribes of Arabia had joined the ummah, either as Confederates or as converted Muslims.___________________________________________________________The steps are such that:Quran started being revealed by God to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through the angel Gabriel (or Jibril) in year 610 ADwhen the followers of Islam started being increased, the polytheists (or pagans) persuaded the prophet to crown him on Arabs and to marry him with the woman that he selects. The prophet said his famous words "I swear if they cam put the sun on my right and the moon on my left to abandon the call to Islam, I will not accept"Then they moved to threatening those who convert to Islam and then started sanctions against MuslimsProphet Muhammad was supported by some of Yathrib (that called later as Medina or AlMadinah) and they invited him to immigrate to their cityThe polytheist tribe leaders in Mecca (or Makkah) decided to assassinate the prophet and selected an armed one of each tribe and they surrounded the prophet home such that when he comes out to be killed at once by all of them. So, his tribe can't take revenge.Upon God command, the prophet led his cousin lay down in his bed and he went out and threw some dust on the faces of the polytheists surrounding hid home. so, they lost temporarily their ability to see.The prophet passed by his companion Abou Bakr and left together Makkah (or Mecca) to Yathrib (or Medina) as commanded by God.The prophet and his companion were welcomed in Medina. Other Muslims joined the prophet later. They were deprived from all their properties (homes, lands, money, ...) upon immigration.The prophet; upon his arrival; first located the location of the first mosque. Then he brought together the long conflicting Medina parties (the Aws and the Khazraj). Then he issued the Medina decree that considers all Medina citizens (Muslims, Christians, Jews, polytheists, ...) equal in rights and obligations. This was the first decree in the world that allows equal rights among all citizens irrelevant to their faith, color, or nationality.The prophet started building the city structures and systems and laws. This was the first start of Islam spread.Most of Muslims at that time were traders and merchants. Their good morals and conduct in foreign lands helped in Islam spread in addition to the defeat of polytheist armies upon attacking Muslims.Refer to questions below for more information.
What evidence is there that Muhammad was experiencing difficulty converting Jewish Christianity and pagan Arabs?
Answer 1Asalam o Alaikum.Firstly when referring to Muhammad (pbuh), you should always add 'pbuh (peace be upon him) or 's.a.w (sallallahu alihi wa alai wasalam' as signs of respects.:)Now answering your question, he (s.a.w) did face a lot of opposition during his lifetime. The major evidence of this is when he (s.a.w) went to Taif to preach the locals Islam, they pelted him with stones to the point that he (s.a.w) bled to his feet. They chased him out of the town, mocking and ridiculing him. But to his (s.a.w)'s greatness, he (s.a.w) forgave them all and prayed for them that Allah (s.w.t) guides them to the straight path.His (s.a.w)'s prayer was fulfilled when after ten years, the whole of Taif had embraced Islam.And secondly, the local Jewish Makkans wrote ridiculous poems about Muhammad (s.a.w) insulting him, his family and his religion. They also plotted to kill him but Muhammad (s.a.w) was told about this by Allah before they came searching for him and he (s.a.w) fled to Medina with his followers to seek shelter.While he was living in Mecca, the locals banished his tribe and the followers of islam to the valley of Banu-Hashim. Where they stayed for 3 years eating leaves and grass.So basically Muhammad (s.a.w) was tormented both physically and mentally by the locals, but after he had conquered Makkah (23 years after the first revelation) he (s.a.w) stood at the Ka-aba and forgave his bitterest enemies in public.Answer 2The only evidence proferred in Answer 1 is: (1) stone-pelting in Taif by non-believers, (2) Jewish Meccans who wrote unflattering poetry, and (3) the Hijra from Mecca to Medina.There are much better indicators of Mohammed's difficulty of converting Jews, Christians, and Henotheist and Pagan Arabs, such as the following.1) Meccan Ministry: During all fourteen years of his Meccan ministry, when Mohammed had no political power and could only sway people by argument, he had only 150 followers. Mecca was an incredibly diverse city with innumerable religious groups as well as unassociated monotheists called Hanifs. This should have been low-hanging fruit, but Mohammed only garnered resentment and stone-pelting.2) Relations with Jews: Another indicator would be how nearly every Jewish tribe Mohammed tried to convince laughed in his face and asked him serious questions about his claims. The Islamic tales only retell the occasional story of the Jew who converts, but not of the several Jewish tribes that remained largely intact until Mohammed saw fit to slaughter or exile them from his territory. He was clearly unable to convince the majority of them.3) Relations with the Christians of Najran: In 631 C.E. Mohammed held negotiations with the Christian community of Najran. He did not seem to convince any of them to become Muslims. In fact, Najran would not see its Christian community diminish in any way until Caliph Omar forcibly evicted them.4) Ridda Wars: When Mohammed conquered Mecca in 630 C.E., many Arab tribes converted to Islam. However, when Mohammed died in 633 C.E., a number of these tribes "unconverted". In their view, their acceptance of Islam was a confederal pact, not an acceptance of a religion. Now that Mohammed was dead, the pact was over, since he did not leave proper successors. If Mohammed had actually convinced the tribes that his religion was proper, they never would have left. Caliph Abu Bakr was later "forced" to reconquer the "unconverted" tribes and make them realign towards Islam.
What is an important date in Islamic history?
570 CE Birth of Muhammad. c. 610 CE Muhammad receives first vision in a cave near Mecca. c. 610-22 CE Muhammad preaches in Mecca. 622 CE Hijira - Muhammad and followers flee to Medina.Islamic calendar (AH, Anno Hegirae) begins. 624 CE Muslims successfully attack Meccan caravans at Badr. 625 Muslims are defeated by Meccans at Uhud. 630 Muslims capture Mecca. Ka'ba is cleansed, pilgrimage rites are Islamicized, tribes of Arabia vowallegiance to Muhammad 632 Death of Muhammad. Abu Bakr chosen as caliph. 632-33 Wars of ridda (apostasy) restore allegiance to Islam 633 Muslim conquests (Futuhat) begin. 633-42 Muslim armies take the Fertile Crescent (Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia), North African coast, parts of Persian and Byzantine Empires c. 650 Caliph Uthman has the Qur'an written down. 656 Uthman is murdered; Ali becomes fourth caliph. 657 Battle of Siffin. Mu'awiya, governor of Syria, claims the caliphate. 659 Arbitration at Adruh is opposed by Ali's supporters. 661 Ali is murdered; Mu'awiya becomes caliph. Beginning of Umayyad Caliphate (661-750). 680 Death of Husayn marks beginning of the Shi'at Ali ("party of Ali") or Shi'a sect. 685-705 Reign of Abd al-Malik. Centralization of administration - Arabic becomes official written language (instead of Greek and Persian) and Arab coinage is established. late 600s Ruling classes in East and West Africa convert to Islam. 700-800s Groups of ascetics and mystics begin to form 710 Arab armies enter Spain from North Africa. 732 Muslim empire reaches its furthes extent. Battle of Tours prevents further advance northwards. 747 Revolt defeats the Umayyads. 750 Abu l'Abbas becomes caliph in Iraq 754 Baghdad (Madinat al-Salam, "city of peace") becomes the new capital of the Abbasid empire. 755 Abd ar-Rahman founds an Umayyad Dynasty in Cordoba, Spain. 765 Division within Shi'ites - majority are the modern Imamiyya (Twelvers) who co-exist with Abbasid caliphs; minority are more extreme Isma'iliyaa (Seveners). 786-809 Reign of Harun ar-Rashid, best known through the stories of The Thousand and One Nights. 800s Written collections of Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) are compiled. Sicily comes under Muslim rule. 813-33 Reign of Ma'mun. Theological controversy over whether the Qur'an is created or uncreated and eternal. Center for translation of texts from Greek to Arabic founded in Baghdad. 869-883 Uprisings of black slaves (Zanj) are eventually defeated. 908 First Fatimid caliph in Tunisia. 928 Umayyad Abd ar-Rahman III declares himself caliph in Cordoba. 940 Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth imam, disappears. Twelvers still await the future return of the "Hidden Imam." 945 The Buyids (Persian) invade Baghdad and take power from caliph. 969 Fatimids gain power in Egypt and attack Palestine, Syria, and Arabia. Cairo (Al-Qahira, "the victorious city") is founded. 980-1037 Life of Avicenna, Iranian physician and Aristotelian philosopher. 996-1021 Reign of Fatimid al-Hakim. Hamza ibn Ali forms basis of esoteric Druze religion. late 900s West Africa begins to convert to Islam 1030 Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba defeated by the Christian Reconquista. 1055 Seljuk Turks take Baghdad; Abbasids now only nominal rulers. 1000s Reconquista takes more of Spain, Sicily falls to the Normans, Crusader kingdoms are briefly established in Palestine and Syria. 1071 Seljuk Turks defeat Byzantines at Battle of Manzikert. 1090 Hasan-i Sabbah takes Alamut in the Persian mountains, the Assassin sect forms around him. 1099 Christian Crusaders take Jerusalem. 1100-1200s Sufi orders (turuq) are founded. 1126-98 Life of Averroës, Muslim philosopher from Cordoba who sought to integrate Islam with Greek thought. 1171 Fatimid power ends in Egypt with the conquests of Saladin. 1174 Saladin declares himself sultan of Egypt and Syria. 1193 Death of Saladin; most of Crusader states have returned to Islam. 1200s Assassins wipes out by the Mongols. Indian rulers in Delhi take title of Sultan. Spanish mystic Muhyi al-Din ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240) flourishes. 1221 Genghis Khan and the Mongols enter Persia. 1241 Mongols take the Punjab. 1258 Mongols capture Baghdad; city is sacked and caliph is killed. End of Abbasid caliphate. 1281-1324 Reign of Uthman (Osman), who founds the Ottoman Empire. Muslim merchants and missionary Sufis settle in SE Asia. mid-1300s Ottomans capture Bursa and Iznik and move into Europe. 1366 Capital of Ottoman Empire moved from Bursa to Adrianople. late 1300s Ottomans take control of the Balkans. 1400s Islam reaches the Philippines. 1453 Mehmet Fatih (rules 1451-81) conquers Constantinople. The two halves of the Ottoman Empire are united and the sultan becomes Byzantine emperor. 1492 Castile and Aragon capture Granada. All Muslims (and Jews) expelled from Spain. 1501 Isma'il (1487-1524) claims to be the Hidden Imam and is proclaimed Shah (king) of Persia. Twelver Shi'ism becomes official religion of Persia. 1516 Ottomans conquer Syria and Egypt. 1517 Ottomans control Mecca and Medina. 1520-66 Reign of Suleyman the Magnificent; Ottoman Empire reaches its zenith. Hungary and coastlands of Algeria and Tunisia come under Ottoman rule. 1526 Babur (Mongolian) seizes the Delhi sultanate and takes control of northern India. 1556 Akbar founds the Mughal dynasty in northern India. 1600-1700s Venetians, Habsburgs, and Russians divide European Ottoman lands between them. 1625 Java comes under rule of Muslim kingdom of Mataram. 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz confirms first substantial losses of Ottoman Empire in Europe. 1700s Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab rejects Sufism and all innovation (bid'a). Founds what becomes the Saudi Arabian kingdom. Hindus regain power from Mughals in northern India. 1738 Mughal empire invaded by the Afghans. 1779 Afghans ousted by Qajar dynasty, which rules Persia until 1925. 1798 Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. 1805 Muhammad Ali becomes governor of Egypt, which becomes independent of the Ottomans, gains control of western Arabia and extends into the Sudan. 1807-76 Tanzimat period. Ottoman Empire undergoes extensive program of modernization ingovernment, law, and medicine. 1830 Greece regains independence from Ottomans. 1850s Non-Muslim Ottoman citizens granted equality with Muslims. 1858 Last Mughal in India is deposed and India comes under British rule. 1876-1908 Reign of Abd al-Hamid II; autocratic and religiously conservative period in Ottoman rule. 1878 Congress of Berlin recognizes independence of Balkan states previously under Muslim rule. 1882-1952 Egypt occupied by the British. 1908-18 Last decade of Ottoman rule. Rise of nationalistic "Young Turks." More liberal policies develop. 1912 Founding of Islamic Union (Sareket Islam), a modernizing movement in SE Asia. 1918 Fall of Ottoman Empire. League of Nations grants Britain mandatory status over Palestine and Iraq, and France over Lebanon and Syria. 1923 Republic of Turkey established. Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) is first president. 1927 Tablighi Jamaat reform movement founded in India. 1928 Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brothers) founded in Egypt. 1941 Jamaat-i Islami reform movement founded in Lahore, India. 1945 Indonesia becomes independent republic. 1945-60s Islam spreads to the West with mass migrations from Asia, Africa, and India. 1947 Pakistan founded as an Islamic nation. Islam becomes a minority religion in India. 1957 Independent Malayan state established with Islam as the official religion but guaranteed tolerance. 1960s Familes from SE Asia and North Africa emigrate to Europe and the Americas.
Who is Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn hanbal abu abd Allah al-dhuhli al-shaybani al-marwazi al-baghdadi explain in brief?
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, Abu `Abd Allah al-Dhuhli al-Shaybani al-Marwazi al-BaghdadiAhmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, Abu `Abd Allah al-Dhuhli al-Shaybani al-Marwazi al-Baghdadi (d. 241). Al-Dhahabi says of him: "The true Shaykh of Islam and leader of the Muslims in his time, the hadith master and proof of the Religion. He took hadith from Hushaym, Ibrahim ibn Sa`d, Sufyan ibn `Uyayna, `Abbad ibn `Abbad, Yahya ibn Abi Za'Ida, and their layer. From him narrated al-Bukhari [two hadiths in the Sahih], Muslim [22], Abu Dawud [254], Abu Zur`a, Mutayyan, `Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, and a huge array of scholars. His father was a soldier û one of those who called to Islam û and he died young." Al-Dhahabi continues:`Abd Allah ibn Ahmad said: "I heard Abu Zur`a [al-Razi] say: 'Your father had memorized a million hadiths, which I rehearsed with him according to topic.'"Hanbal said: "I heard Abu `Abd Allah say: 'I memorized everything which I heard from Hushaym when he was alive.'"Ibrahim al-Harbi said: "I held Ahmad as one for whom Allah had gathered up the combined knowledge of the first and the last."Harmala said: "I heard al-Shafi`i say: 'I left Baghdad and did not leave behind me anyone more virtuous (afdal), more learned (a`lam), more knowledgeable (afqah) than Ahmad ibn Hanbal.'"`Ali ibn al-Madini said: "Truly, Allah reinforced this Religion with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq the day of the Great Apostasy (al-Ridda), and He reinforced it with Ahmad ibn Hanbal the day of the Inquisition (al-Mihna)."Abu `Ubayd said: "The Science at its peak is in the custody of four men, of whom Ahmad ibn Hanbal is the most knowledgeable."Ibn Ma`in said, as related by `Abbas [al-Duri]: "They meant for me to be like Ahmad, but û by Allah! û I shall never in my life compare to him."Muhammad ibn Hammad al-Taharani said: "I heard Abu Thawr say: 'Ahmad is more learned û or knowledgeable û than al-Thawri.'"Al-Dhahabi concludes: "Al-Bayhaqi wrote Abu `Abd Allah's biography (sîra) in one volume, so did Ibn al-Jawzi, and also Shaykh al-Islam [`Abd Allah al-Harawi] al-Ansari in a brief volume. He passed on to Allah's good pleasure on the day of Jum`a, the twelfth of Rabi` al-Awwal in the year 241, at the age of seventy-seven. I have two of his short-chained narrations (`awâlîh), and a licence (ijâza) for the entire Musnad." Al-Dhahabi's chapter on Imam Ahmad in Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' counts no less than 113 pages.One of the misunderstandings prevalent among the "Salafis" who misrepresent Imam Ahmad's school today is his position regarding kalâm or dialectic theology. It is known that he was uncompromisingly opposed to kalâm as a method, even if used as a means to defend the truth, preferring to stick to the plain narration of textual proofs and abandoning all recourse to dialectical or rational ones. Ibn al-Jawzi relates his saying: "Do not sit with the people of kalâm, even if they defend the Sunna." This attitude is at the root of his disavowal of al-Muhasibi. It also explains the disaffection of later Hanbalis towards Imam al-Ash`ari and his school, despite his subsequent standing as the Imam of Sunni Muslims par excellence. The reasons for this rift are now obsolete although the rift has amplified beyond all recognizable shape, as it is evident, in retrospect, that opposition to Ash`aris, for various reasons, came out of a major misunderstanding of their actual contributions within the Community, whether as individuals or as a whole.There are several general reasons why the Hanbali-mutakallim rift should be considered artificial and obsolete. First, kalâm in its original form was an innovation in Islam (bid`a) against which there was unanimous opposition among Ahl al-Sunna. The first to use kalâm were true innovators opposed to the Sunna, and in the language of the early scholars kalâm was synonymous with the doctrines of the Qadariyya, Murji'a, Jahmiyya, Jabriyya, Rawâfid, and Mu`tazila and their multifarious sub-sects. This is shown by the examples Ibn Qutayba gives of kalâm and mutakallimûn in his book Mukhtalif al-Hadith, none of which belongs to Ahl al-Sunna. Similarly the adherents of kalâm brought up in the speech of al-Hasan al-Basri, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ibn Rahuyah, Imam al-Shafi`i and the rest of the pre-Hanbali scholars of hadith are the innovators of the above-mentioned sects, not those who later opposed them using the same methods of reasoning. The latter cannot be put in the same category. Therefore the early blames of kalâm cannot be applied to them in the same breath with the innovators.Second, there is difference of opinion among the Salaf on the possible use of kalâm to defend the Sunna, notwithstanding Imam Ahmad's position quoted above. One reason why they disallowed it is wara`: because of extreme scrupulousness against learning and practicing a discipline initiated by the enemies of the Sunna. Thus they considered kalâm reprehensible but not forbidden, as is clear from their statements. For example, Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that al-Shafi`i said: "If I wanted to publish books refuting every single opponent [of the Sunna] I could easily do so, but kalâm is not for me, and I dislike that anything of it be attributed to me." This shows that al-Shafi`i left the door open for others to enter a field which he abstained from entering out of strict Godwariness.Third, kalâm is a difficult, delicate science which demands a mind above the norm. The imams forbade it as a sadd al-dharî`a or pre-empting measure. They rightly foresaw that unless one possessed an adequate capacity to practice it, one was courting disaster. This was the case with Ahmad's student Abu Talib, and other early Hanbalis who misinterpreted Ahmad's doctrinal positions as Bukhari himself stated. Bukhari, Ahmad, and others of the Salaf thus experienced first hand that one who played with kalâm could easily lapse into heresy, innovation, or disbelief. This was made abundantly clear in Imam Malik's answer to the man who asked how Allah established Himself over the Throne: "The establishment is known, the 'how' is inconceivable, and to ask about it is an innovation!" Malik's answer is the essence of kalâm at the same time as it warns against the misuse of kalâm, as observed by the late Dr. Abu al-Wafa' al-Taftazani. Malik's reasoning is echoed by al-Shafi`i's advice to his student al-Muzani: "Take proofs from creation in order to know about the Creator, and do not burden yourself with the knowledge of what your mind did not reach." Similarly, Ibn Khuzayma and Ibn Abi Hatim admitted their technical ignorance of the science of kalâm, at the same time acknowledging its possible good use by qualified experts. As for Ibn Qutayba, he regretted his kalâm days and preferred to steer completely clear of it.In conclusion, any careful reader of Islamic intellectual history can see that if the Ash`ari scholars of kalâm had not engaged and defeated the various theological and philosophical sects on their own terrain, the silence of Ahl al-Sunnamight well have sealed their defeat at the hands of their opponents. This was indicated by Taj al-Din al-Subki who spoke of the obligatoriness of kalâm in certain specific circumstances, as opposed to its superfluousness in other times. "The use of kalâm in case of necessity is a legal obligation (wajib), and to keep silence about kalâm in case other than necessity is a sunna."The biographical notice on Imam Ahmad in the Reliance of the Traveller reads: "Out of piety, Imam Ahmad never gave a formal legal opinion (fatwa) while Shafi`i was in Iraq, and when he later formulated his school of jurisprudence, he mainly drew on explicit texts from the [Qur'an], hadith, and scholarly consensus, with relatively little expansion from analogical reasoning (qiyâs). He was probably the most learned in the sciences of hadith of the four great Imams of Sacred Law, and his students included many of the foremost scholars of hadith. Abu Dawud said of him: 'Ahmad's gatherings were gatherings of the afterlife: nothing of this world was mentioned. Never once did I hear him mention this-worldly things.' ... He never once missed praying in the night, and used to recite the entire [Qur'an] daily. He said, 'I saw the Lord of Power in my sleep, and said, "O Lord, what is the best act through which those near to You draw nearer?" and He answered, "Through [reciting] (sic) My word, O Ahmad." I asked, "With understanding, or without?" and He answered, "With understanding and without."'. . . Ahmad was imprisoned and tortured for twenty-eight months under the Abbasid caliph al-Mu`tasim in an effort to force him to publicly espouse the [Mu`tazila] position that the Holy [Qur'an] was created, but the Imam bore up unflinchingly under the persecution and refused to renounce the belief of Ahl al-Sunna that the [Qur'an] is the uncreated word of Allah, after which Allah delivered and vindicated him. When Ahmad died in 241/855, he was accompanied to his resting place by a funeral procession of eight hundred thousand men and sixty thousand women, marking the departure of the last of the four great mujtahid Imams of Islam."Ibn al-Jawzi narrates from Bilal al-Khawass that the latter met al-Khidr and asked him: "What do you say of al-Shafi`i?" He said: "One of the Pillar-Saints (Awtâd)." "Ahmad ibn Hanbal?" "He is a Siddîq."Main sources: al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala'9:434-547 #1876 and Tadhkira al-Huffaz 2:431 #438.Select BibliographyAbu Nu`aym al-Asfahani. Hilya al-Awliya' WA Tabaqat al-Asfiya'. 12 vols. Ed. Mustafa `Abd al-Qadir `Ata. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1997.Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Al-Musnad. 20 vols. Ed. Ahmad Shakir and Hamza Ahmad al-Zayn. Cairo: Dar al-Hadith, 1995.Al-Bayhaqi, Abu Bakr. Al-Asma' WA al-Sifat. Ed. Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari. Beirut: Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-`Arabi, n.d. Reprint of 1358H. Cairo edition.-------. Al-Asma' WA al-Sifat. 2 vols. Ed. `Abd Allah al-Hashidi. Riyad: Maktaba al-Sawadi, 1993.Al-Dhahabi, Muhammad Shams al-Din. Tadhkira al-Huffaz. Edition including a last volume entitled Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz which comprises al-Husayni's Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz, Muhammad ibn Fahd al-Makki's Lahz al-Alhaz bi Dhayl Tadhkira al-Huffaz, and al-Suyuti's Dhayl Tabaqat al-Huffaz.-------. Siyar A`lam al-Nubala'. 19 vols. Ed. Muhibb al-Din al-`Amrawi. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1996.Al-Ghumari, `Abd Allah. Irgham al-Mubtadi` al-Ghabi bi Jawaz al-Tawassul bi al-Nabi. Ed. Hasan `Ali al-Saqqaf. 2nd ed. Amman: Dar al-Imam al-Nawawi, 1992.Ibn Abi `Asim. Al-Sunna. Ed. M. Nasir al-Din al-Albani. Beirut and Damascus: Al-Maktab al-Islami, 1993.Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani. Al-Jami` fi al-Sunan WA al-Adab WA al-Maghazi WA al-Tarikh. Ed. M. Abu al-Ajfan and `Uthman Battikh. Beirut: Mu'assasa al-Risala; Tunis: al-Maktaba al-`Atiqa, 1982.Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani. Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari. 14 vols. Notes by `Abd al-`Aziz ibn Baz. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1989.-------. Ibidem. Cairo: al-Matba`a al-Bahiyya, 1348 H.-------. Al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba. 8 vols. Calcutta, 1853.-------. Tahdhib al-Tahdhib. 10 vols. 1st ed. Hyderabad: Da'IRA al-Ma`arif al-Nizamiyya, 1327H.-------. Taqrib al-Tahdhib. Ed. Muhammad `Awwama. Aleppo: Dar al-Rashid, 1997.-------. Tawali al-Ta'sis li Ma`ali Muhammad ibn Idris. Ed. `Abd Allah al-Qadi. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1986.Ibn Hibban. Sahih Ibn Hibban bi Tartib Ibn Balban. 18 vols. Ed. Shu`ayb al-Arna'ut. Beirut: Mu'assasa al-Risala, 1993.Ibn al-Jawzi. Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad. 2nd ed. Ed. Muhammad Amin al-Khanji al-Kutbi. Beirut: Khanji WA Hamdan, 1349H.-------. Sifa al-Safwa. 2 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1989.Ibn Kathir. Al-Bidaya WA al-Nihaya. 15 vols. Ed. Editing Board of al-Turath. Beirut: Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-`Arabi, 1993.Ibn Qudama. Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin li Ibn al-Jawzi. Ed. M. Ahmad Hamdan and `Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut. 2nd. ed. Damascus: Maktab al-Shabab al-Muslim WA al-Maktab al-Islami, 1961.Ibn Taymiya. Dar' Ta`arud al-`Aql WA al-Naql. Ed. Muhammad al-Sayyid Julaynid. Cairo: Mu'assasa al-Ahram, 1988.-------. Majmu` Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya. 36 vols. Cairo, 1404H.Al-Kawthari, Muhammad Zahid. Maqalat. Riyadh and Beirut: Dar al-Ahnaf, 1993.Keller, Noah Ha Mim, ed. and trans. The Reliance of the Traveller. Dubai: Modern Printing Press, 1991. Translation of Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri's `Umda al-Salik.Al-Khalili. Al-Irshad fi Ma`rifa `Ulama' al-Hadith. Ed. Muhammad Sa`id ibn Umar Idris. 3 vols. Riyad : Maktaba al-Rushd, 1989.Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi. Tarikh Baghdad. vols. Madina: al-Maktaba al-Salafiyya, n.d.Al-Mubarakfuri. Tuhfa al-Ahwadhi bi Sharh Jami` al-Tirmidhi. 10 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1990.Al-Nawawi. Sharh Sahih Muslim. 18 vols. Ed. Khalil al-Mays. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, n.d.-------. Tahdhib al-Asma' WA al-Lughat. Cairo: Idara al-Tiba`a al-Muniriyya, [1927?].-------. Al-Taqrib WA al-Taysir li Ma`rifa Sunan al-Bashir al-Nadhir. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1987.Al-Sakhawi, Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rahman. Al-Jawahir WA al-Durar fi Manaqib Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar. Cairo: Lajna Ihya' al-Turath al-Islami, 1986.Al-Subki, Taj al-Din. Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya al-Kubra. 10 vols. Ed. Mahmud M. al-Tannahi and `Abd al-Fattah M. al-Hilw. 2nd. ed. Jiza: Dar Hijr, 1992.Al-Suyuti, Jalal al-Din. Tarikh al-Khulafa'. Ed. Rahab Khidr `Akkawi. Beirut: Mu'assasa `Izz al-Din, 1992.
what does harmony ential in Islamic( if appliable) how can people achieve harmony?
wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh" (أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمداً رسول الله), or, "I testify that there is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God." This testament is a foundation for all other beliefs and practices in Islam. Muslims must repeat the shahadah in prayer, and non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the creed. The five daily ritual prayers are called ṣalāh or ṣalāt (Arabic: صلاة). Salat is intended to focus the mind on God, and is seen as a personal communication with him that expresses gratitude and worship. Performing prayers five times a day is compulsory but flexibility in the timing specifics is allowed depending on circumstances. The prayers are recited in the Arabic language, and consist of verses from the Quran. The prayers are done in direction of the Ka'bah. The act of supplicating is referred to as dua. A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name masjid. A large mosque for gathering for Friday prayers or Eid prayers are called masjid jāmi (مَسْجِد جَامِع, 'congregational mosque'). Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place of prayer, it is also important to the Muslim community as a place to meet and study. The Masjid an-Nabawi ('Prophetic Mosque') in Medina, Saudi Arabia, was also a place of refuge for the poor. Modern mosques have evolved greatly from the early designs of the 7th century, and contain a variety of architectural elements such as minarets. The means used to signal the prayer time is a vocal call called the adhan. Zakāt (Arabic: زكاة, zakāh, 'alms') is a means of welfare in a Muslim society, characterized by the giving of a fixed portion (2.5% annually) of accumulated wealth by those who can afford it in order to help the poor or needy, such as for freeing captives, those in debt, or for (stranded) travellers, and for those employed to collect zakat. It is considered a religious obligation (as opposed to supererogatory charity, known as Sadaqah) that the well-off owe to the needy because their wealth is seen as a "trust from God's bounty." Conservative estimates of annual zakat is estimated to be 15 times global humanitarian aid contributions. The first Caliph, Abu Bakr, distributed zakat as one of the first examples of a guaranteed minimum income, with each man, woman and child getting 10 to 20 dirhams annually.Sadaqah means optional charity which is practiced as religious duty and out of generosity. Both the Quran and the hadith have put much emphasis on spending money for the welfare of needy people, and have urged the Muslims to give more as an act of optional charity. The Quran says: Those who spend their wealth in charity day and night, secretly and openly—their reward is with their Lord. One of the early teachings of Muhammad was that God expects men to be generous with their wealth and not to be miserly. Accumulating wealth without spending it to address the needs of the poor is generally prohibited and admonished. Another kind of charity in Islam is waqf, meaning perpetual religious endowment. Fasting (Arabic: صوم, ṣawm) from food and drink, among other things, must be performed from dawn to after sunset during the month of Ramadan. The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to God, and during it Muslims should express their gratitude for and dependence on him, atone for their past sins, develop self-control and restraint and think of the needy. Sawm is not obligatory for several groups for whom it would constitute an undue burden. For others, flexibility is allowed depending on circumstances, but missed fasts must be compensated for later. The obligatory Islamic pilgrimage, called the ḥajj (Arabic: حج), has to be performed during the first weeks of the twelfth Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it must make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his or her lifetime. Rituals of the Hajj include: spending a day and a night in the tents in the desert plain of Mina, then a day in the desert plain of Arafat praying and worshiping God, following the footsteps of Abraham; then spending a night out in the open, sleeping on the desert sand in the desert plain of Muzdalifah; then moving to Jamarat, symbolically stoning the Devil recounting Abraham's actions; then going to Mecca and walking seven times around the Kaaba which Muslims believe was built as a place of worship by Abraham; then walking seven times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah recounting the steps of Abraham's wife, Hagar, while she was looking for water for her son Ishmael in the desert before Mecca developed into a settlement. Another form of pilgrimage, umrah, is supererogatory and can be undertaken at any time of the year. The Quran refers to Islamic Pilgrimage in various places often describing the rites and special rulings which apply when undertaking Hajj. Muslims recite and memorize the whole or part of the Quran as acts of virtue. Reciting the Quran with elocution (tajweed) has been described as an excellent act of worship. Pious Muslims recite the whole Quran at the month of Ramadan. In Muslim societies, any social program generally begins with the recitation of the Quran. One who has memorized the whole Quran is called a hafiz ('memorizer') who, it is said, will be able to intercede for ten people on the Last Judgment Day. Apart from this, almost every Muslim memorizes some portion of the Quran because they need to recite it during their prayers. Sharia is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its scholarly interpretations. The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim traditionalists and reformists.Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence recognizes four sources of sharia: the Quran, sunnah (Hadith and Sira), qiyas (analogical reasoning), and ijma (juridical consensus). Different legal schools developed methodologies for deriving sharia rulings from scriptural sources using a process known as ijtihad. Traditional jurisprudence distinguishes two principal branches of law,ʿibādāt (rituals) and muʿāmalāt (social relations), which together comprise a wide range of topics. Its rulings assign actions to one of five categories: mandatory (Fard), recommended (mustahabb), permitted (Mubah), abhorred (Makruh), and prohibited (haram). Thus, some areas of sharia overlap with the Western notion of law while others correspond more broadly to living life in accordance with God's will.Historically, sharia was interpreted by independent jurists (muftis). Their legal opinions (fatwas) were taken into account by ruler-appointed judges who presided over qāḍī's courts, and by maẓālim courts, which were controlled by the ruler's council and administered criminal law. In the modern era, sharia-based criminal laws were widely replaced by statutes inspired by European models. The Ottoman Empire's 19th-century Tanzimat reforms lead to the Mecelle civil code and represented the first attempt to codify Sharia. While the constitutions of most Muslim-majority states contain references to sharia, its classical rules were largely retained only in personal status (family) laws. Legislative bodies which codified these laws sought to modernize them without abandoning their foundations in traditional jurisprudence. The Islamic revival of the late 20th century brought along calls by Islamist movements for complete implementation of sharia. The role of sharia has become a contested topic around the world. There are ongoing debates as to whether sharia is compatible with secular forms of government, human rights, freedom of thought, and women's rights. Islam, like Judaism, has no clergy in the sacredotal sense, such as priests who mediate between God and people. However, there are many terms in Islam to refer to religiously sanctioned positions of Islam. In the broadest sense, the term ulema (Arabic: علماء) is used to describe the body of Muslim scholars who have completed several years of training and study of Islamic sciences. A jurist who interprets Islamic law is called a mufti (مفتي) and often issues legal opinions, called fatwas. A scholar of jurisprudence is called a faqih (فقيه). Someone who studies the science of hadith is called a muhaddith. A qadi is a judge in an Islamic court. Honorific titles given to scholars include sheikh, mullah, and mawlawi. Imam (إمام) is a leadership position, often used in the context of conducting Islamic worship services. A school of jurisprudence is referred to as a madhhab (Arabic: مذهب). The four major Sunni schools are the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali madhahs while the three major Shia schools are the Ja'fari, Zaidi and Isma'ili madhahib. Each differ in their methodology, called Usul al-fiqh ('principles of jurisprudence'). The following of decisions by a religious expert without necessarily examining the decision's reasoning is called taqlid. The term ghair muqallid literally refers to those who do not use taqlid and by extension do not have a madhhab. The practice of an individual interpreting law with independent reasoning is called ijtihad. To reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, Islamic economic jurisprudence encourages trade, discourages the hoarding of wealth and outlaws interest-bearing loans (i.e. usury; Arabic: riba). Therefore, wealth is taxed through Zakat, but trade is not taxed. Usury, which allows the rich to get richer without sharing in the risk, is forbidden in Islam. Profit sharing and venture capital where the lender is also exposed to risk is acceptable. Hoarding of food for speculation is also discouraged.The taking of land belonging to others is also prohibited. The prohibition of usury and the revival of interest-based economies has resulted in the development of Islamic banking. During the time of Muhammad, any money that went to the state, was immediately used to help the poor. Then, in AD 634, Umar formally established the welfare state Bayt al-Mal ("House of Wealth"), which was for the Muslim and Non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. The Bayt al-Maal ran for hundreds of years under the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century, continuing through the Umayyad period, and well into the Abbasid era. Umar also introduced child support and pensions. Jihad means 'to strive or struggle [in the way of God]'. In its broadest sense, it is "exerting one's utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapprobation." Depending on the object being a visible enemy, the Devil, and aspects of one's own self (such as sinful desires), different categories of jihad are defined. Jihad also refers to one's striving to attain religious and moral perfection. When used without any qualifier, jihad is understood in its military form. Some Muslim authorities, especially among the Shi'a and Sufis, distinguish between the "greater jihad," which pertains to spiritual self-perfection, and the "lesser jihad", defined as warfare.Within Islamic jurisprudence, jihad is usually taken to mean military exertion against non-Muslim combatants. Jihad is the only form of warfare permissible in Islamic law and may be declared against illegal works, terrorists, criminal groups, rebels, apostates, and leaders or states who oppress Muslims. Most Muslims today interpret Jihad as only a defensive form of warfare. Jihad only becomes an individual duty for those vested with authority. For the rest of the populace, this happens only in the case of a general mobilization. For most Twelver Shias, offensive jihad can only be declared by a divinely appointed leader of the Muslim community, and as such, is suspended since Muhammad al-Mahdi's occultation in 868 AD. Sufism (Arabic: تصوف, tasawwuf), is a mystical-ascetic approach to Islam that seeks to find a direct personal experience of God. It is not a sect of Islam and its adherents belong to the various Muslim denominations. Classical Sufi scholars defined Tasawwuf as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God", through "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use. Sufis themselves claim that Tasawwuf is an aspect of Islam similar to sharia, inseparable from Islam and an integral part of Islamic belief and practice.Religiosity of early Sufi ascetics, such as Hasan al-Basri, emphasized fear to fail God's expectations of obedience, in contrast to later and more prominent Sufis, such as Mansur Al-Hallaj and Jalaluddin Rumi, whose religiosity is based on love towards God. For that reason, some academic scholars refuse to refer to the former as Sufis. Nevertheless, Hasan al-Basri is often portrayed as one of the earliest Sufis in Sufi traditions and his ideas were later developed by the influential theologian Al-Ghazali. Traditional Sufis, such as Bayazid Bastami, Jalaluddin Rumi, Haji Bektash Veli, Junaid Baghdadi, and Al-Ghazali, argued for Sufism as being based upon the tenets of Islam and the teachings of the prophet. Sufis played an important role in the formation of Muslim societies through their missionary and educational activities.Popular devotional practices such as veneration of Sufi saints have faced stiff opposition from followers of Wahhabism, who have sometimes physically attacked Sufis leading to deterioration in Sufi–Salafi relations. Sufism enjoyed a strong revival in Central Asia and South Asia; the Barelvi movement is Sufi influenced Sunni Islam with over 200 million followers, largely in South Asia. Sufism is also prominent is Central Asia, where different orders are the main religious sources, as well as in African countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Chad and Niger.Mystical interpretations of Islam have also been developed by Ismaili Shias, as well as by the Illuminationist and Isfahan schools of Islamic philosophy. In a Muslim family, the birth of a child is attended with some religious ceremonies. Immediately after the birth, the words of Adhan is pronounced in the right ear of the child. In the seventh day, the aqiqah ceremony is performed, in which an animal is sacrificed and its meat is distributed among the poor. The head of the child is also shaved, and an amount of money equaling the weight of the child's hair is donated to the poor. Apart from fulfilling the basic needs of food, shelter, and education, the parents or the elderly members of family also undertake the task of teaching moral qualities, religious knowledge, and religious practices to the children. Marriage, which serves as the foundation of a Muslim family, is a civil contract which consists of an offer and acceptance between two qualified parties in the presence of two witnesses. The groom is required to pay a bridal gift (mahr) to the bride, as stipulated in the contract. Most families in the Islamic world are monogamous. Polyandry, a practice wherein a woman takes on two or more husbands is prohibited in Islam. However, Muslim men are allowed to practice polygyny, that is, they can have more than one wife at the same time, up to a total of four, per Surah 4 Verse 3. A man does not need approval of his first wife for a second marriage as there is no evidence in the Qur'an or hadith to suggest this. With Muslims coming from diverse backgrounds including 49 Muslim-majority countries, plus a strong presence as large minorities throughout the world there are many variations on Muslim weddings. Generally in a Muslim family, a woman's sphere of operation is the home and a man's corresponding sphere is the outside world. However, in practice, this separation is not as rigid as it appears. With regard to inheritance, a son's share is double that of a daughter's.Certain religious rites are performed during and after the death of a Muslim. Those near a dying man encourage him to pronounce the Shahada as Muslims want their last word to be their profession of faith. After the death, the body is appropriately bathed by the members of the same gender and then enshrouded in a threefold white garment called kafan. Placing the body on a bier, it is first taken to a mosque where funeral prayer is offered for the dead person, and then to the graveyard for burial. Many practices fall in the category of adab, or Islamic etiquette. This includes greeting others with "as-salamu 'alaykum" ('peace be unto you'), saying bismillah ('in the name of God') before meals, and using only the right hand for eating and drinking. Islamic hygienic practices mainly fall into the category of personal cleanliness and health. Circumcision of male offspring is also practiced in Islam. Islamic burial rituals include saying the Salat al-Janazah ("funeral prayer") over the bathed and enshrouded dead body, and burying it in a grave. Muslims are restricted in their diet. Prohibited foods include pork products, blood, carrion, and alcohol. All meat must come from a herbivorous animal slaughtered in the name of God by a Muslim, Jew, or Christian, with the exception of game that one has hunted or fished for oneself. Food permissible for Muslims is known as halal food. In a Muslim society, various social service activities are performed by the members of the community. As these activities are instructed by Islamic canonical texts, a Muslim's religious life is seen incomplete if not attended by service to humanity. In fact, In Islamic tradition, the idea of social welfare has been presented as one of its principal values. Quran 2:177 is often cited to encapsulate the Islamic idea of social welfare.Similarly, duties to parents, neighbors, relatives, sick people, the old, and minorities have been defined in Islam. Respecting and obeying one's parents, and taking care of them especially in their old age have been made a religious obligation. A two-fold approach is generally prescribed with regard to duty to relatives: keeping good relations with them, and offering them financial help if necessary. Severing ties with them has been admonished. Regardless of a neighbor's religious identity, Islam teaches Muslims to treat neighboring people in the best possible manner and not to cause them any difficulty. Concerning orphaned children, the Quran forbids harsh and oppressive treatment to them while urging kindness and justice towards them. It also rebukes those who do not honor and feed orphaned children. The Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, and religious life. Proper moral conduct, good deeds, righteousness, and good character come within the sphere of the moral guidelines. In Islam, the observance of moral virtues is always associated with religious significance because it elevates the religious status of a believer and is often seen as a supererogatory act of worshipping. One typical Islamic teaching on morality is that imposing a penalty on an offender in proportion to their offense is permissible and just; but forgiving the offender is better. To go one step further by offering a favor to the offender is regarded the highest excellence. The Quran says: "Good and evil cannot be equal. Respond ˹to evil˺ with what is best, then the one you are in enmity with will be like a close friend." Thus, a Muslim is expected to act only in good manners as bad manners and deeds earn vices. The fundamental moral qualities in Islam are justice, forgiveness, righteousness, kindness, honesty, and piety. Other mostly insisted moral virtues include but not limited to charitable activities, fulfillment of promise, modesty (haya) and humility, decency in speech, tolerance, trustworthiness, patience, truthfulness, anger management, and sincerity of intention. As a religion, Islam emphasizes the idea of having a good character as Muhammad said: "The best among you are those who have the best manners and character." In Islam, justice is not only a moral virtue but also an obligation to be fulfilled under all circumstances. The Quran and the hadith describe God as being kind and merciful to His creatures, and tell people to be kind likewise. As a virtue, forgiveness is much celebrated in Islam, and is regarded as an important Muslim practice. About modesty, Muhammad is reported as saying: "Every religion has its characteristic, and the characteristic of Islam is modesty." Mainstream Islamic law does not distinguish between "matters of church" and "matters of state"; the scholars function as both jurists and theologians. Currently no government conforms to Islamic economic jurisprudence, but steps have been taken to implement some of its tenets. Sunni and Shia sectarian divide also effects intergovernmental Muslim relations such as between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Islamic tradition views Muhammad (c. 570 – June 8, 632) as the seal of the prophets, sent by God to the rest of mankind. During the last 22 years of his life, beginning at age 40 in 610 CE, according to the earliest surviving biographies, Muhammad reported receiving revelations that he believed to be from God, conveyed to him through the archangel Gabriel while he was meditating in a cave. Muhammad's companions memorized and recorded the content of these revelations, known as the Quran.During this time, Muhammad, while in Mecca, preached to the people, imploring them to abandon polytheism and to worship one God. Although some converted to Islam, the leading Meccan authorities persecuted Muhammad and his followers. This resulted in the Migration to Abyssinia of some Muslims (to the Aksumite Empire). Many early converts to Islam were the poor, foreigners and former slaves like Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi who was black. The Meccan élite felt that Muhammad was destabilising their social order by preaching about one God and about racial equality, and that in the process he gave ideas to the poor and to their slaves.After 12 years of the persecution of Muslims by the Meccans and the Meccan boycott of the Hashemites, Muhammad's relatives, Muhammad and the Muslims performed the Hijra ('emigration') in AD 622 to the city of Yathrib (current-day Medina). There, with the Medinan converts (the Ansar) and the Meccan migrants (the Muhajirun), Muhammad in Medina established his political and religious authority. The Constitution of Medina was formulated, instituting a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish, Christian and pagan communities of Medina, bringing them within the fold of one community—the Ummah.The Constitution established: the security of the community religious freedoms the role of Medina as a sacred place (barring all violence and weapons) the security of women stable tribal relations within Medina a tax system for supporting the community in time of conflict parameters for exogenous political alliances a system for granting protection of individuals a judicial system for resolving disputes where non-Muslims could also use their own laws and have their own judges.All the tribes signed the agreement to defend Medina from all external threats and to live in harmony amongst themselves. Within a few years, two battles took place against the Meccan forces: first, the Battle of Badr in 624—a Muslim victory, and then a year later, when the Meccans returned to Medina, the Battle of Uhud, which ended inconclusively. The Arab tribes in the rest of Arabia then formed a confederation and during the Battle of the Trench (March–April 627) besieged Medina, intent on finishing off Islam. In 628, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was signed between Mecca and the Muslims and was broken by Mecca two years later. After the signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah many more people converted to Islam. At the same time, Meccan trade routes were cut off as Muhammad brought surrounding desert tribes under his control. By 629 Muhammad was victorious in the nearly bloodless conquest of Mecca, and by the time of his death in 632 (at the age of 62) he had united the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity.The earliest three generations of Muslims are known as the Salaf, with the companions of Muhammad being known as the Sahaba. Many of them, such as the largest narrator of hadith Abu Hureyrah, recorded and compiled what would constitute the sunnah. With Muhammad's death in 632, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community. Abu Bakr, a companion and close friend of Muhammad, was made the first caliph. Under Abu Bakr, Muslims put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode known as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy". The Quran was compiled into a single volume at this time. Abu Bakr's death in 634 about two years after he was elected which resulted in the succession of Umar ibn al-Khattab as the caliph, followed by Uthman ibn al-Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Hasan ibn Ali. The first four caliphs are known in Sunni Islam as al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn ("Rightly Guided Caliphs"). Under the caliphs, the territory under Muslim rule expanded deeply into parts of the Persian and Byzantine territories.When Umar was assassinated by Persians in 644, the election of Uthman as successor was met with increasing opposition. The standard copies of the Quran were also distributed throughout the Islamic State. In 656, Uthman was also killed, and Ali assumed the position of caliph. This led to the first civil war (the "First Fitna") over who should be caliph. Ali was assassinated by Kharijites in 661. To avoid further fighting, the new caliph Hasan ibn Ali signed a peace treaty, abdicating to Mu'awiyah, beginning the Umayyad dynasty, in return that he not name his own successor. These disputes over religious and political leadership would give rise to schism in the Muslim community. The majority accepted the legitimacy of the first four leaders and became known as Sunnis. A minority disagreed, and believed that only Ali and some of his descendants should rule; they became known as the Shia. Mu'awiyah appointed his son, Yazid I, as successor and after Mu'awiyah's death in 680, the "Second Fitna" broke out, where Husayn ibn Ali was killed at the Battle of Karbala, a significant event in Shia Islam. Sunni Islam and Shia Islam thus differ in some respects.The Umayyad dynasty conquered the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Narbonnese Gaul and Sindh. Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, persecuted as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests.The generation after the death of Muhammad but contemporaries of his companions are known as the Tabi'un, followed by the Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in. The Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz set up the influential committee, "The Seven Fuqaha of Medina", headed by Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Malik ibn Anas wrote one of the earliest books on Islamic jurisprudence, the Muwatta, as a consensus of the opinion of those jurists.The descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib rallied discontented non-Arab converts (mawali), poor Arabs, and some Shi'a against the Umayyads and overthrew them, inaugurating the Abbasid dynasty in 750.The first Muslim states independent of a unified Islamic state emerged from the Berber Revolt (739/740-743). Al-Shafi'i codified a method to determine the reliability of hadith. During the early Abbasid era, the major Sunni hadith collections were compiled by scholars such as Bukhari and Muslim while major Shia hadith collections by scholars such as Al-Kulayni and Ibn Babawayh were also compiled. The four Sunni Madh'habs, the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi'i, were established around the teachings of Abū Ḥanīfa, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Malik ibn Anas and al-Shafi'i, while the Ja'fari jurisprudence was formed from the teachings of Ja'far al-Sadiq respectively. In the 9th century, al-Shafi'i provided a theoretical basis for Islamic law and introduced its first methods by a synthesis between proto-rationalism of Iraqi jurisprudence and the pragmatic approach of the Hejaz traditions, in his book ar-Risālah. He also codified a method to determine the reliability of hadith. However, Islamic law would not be codified until 1869. In the 9th century Al-Tabari completed the first commentary of the Quran, that became one of the most cited commentaries in Sunni Islam, the Tafsir al-Tabari. During its expansion through the Samanid Empire, Islam was shaped by the ethno-cultural and religious pluralism by the Sogdians, paving the way for a Persianized rather than Arabized understanding of Islam.Some Muslims began to question the piety of indulgence in a worldly life and emphasised poverty, humility and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Ascetics such as Hasan al-Basri would inspire a movement that would evolve into Tasawwuf or Sufism.By the end of the 9th century, Ismaili Shias spread in Iran, whereupon the city of Multan became a target of activistic Sunni politics. In 930, the Ismaili group known as the Qarmatians unsuccessfully rebelled against the Abbassids, sacked Mecca and stole the Black Stone, which was eventually retrieved.Abbasid Caliphs such as Mamun al Rashid and Al-Mu'tasim made the mutazilite philosophy an official creed and imposed it upon Muslims to follow. Mu'tazila was a Greek influenced school of Sunni scholastic theology called kalam, which refers to dialectic. Many orthodox Muslims rejected mutazilite doctrines and condemned their idea of the creation of the Quran. In inquisitions, ibn Hanbal refused to conform and was tortured and sent to an unlit Baghdad prison cell for nearly thirty months. Other branches of kalam were the Ash'ari school founded by Al-Ash'ari and Maturidi founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. With the expansion of the Abbasid Caliphate into the Sasanian Empire, Islam adapted many Hellenistic and Persian concepts, imported by thinkers of Iranian or Turkic origin. Philosophers such as Al-Farabi and Avicenna sought to incorporate Greek principles into Islamic theology, while others like Al-Ghazali argued against such syncretism and ultimately prevailed. Avicenna pioneered the science of experimental medicine, and was the first physician to conduct clinical trials. His two most notable works, The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine, were used as standard medicinal texts in the Islamic world and later in Europe. Amongst his contributions are the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases, and the introduction of clinical pharmacology. In mathematics, the mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to the concept of the algorithm, while the term algebra is derived from al-jabr. The Persian poet Ferdowsi wrote his epic poem Shahnameh. Rumi wrote some of the finest Persian poetry and is still one of the best selling poets in America. Legal institutions introduced include the trust and charitable trust (Waqf).This era is sometimes called the "Islamic Golden Age". Public hospitals established during this time (called Bimaristan hospitals), are considered "the first hospitals" in the modern sense of the word, and issued the first medical diplomas to license doctors. The Guinness World Records recognizes the University of Al Karaouine, founded in 859, as the world's oldest degree-granting university. The doctorate is argued to date back to the licenses to teach in Islamic law schools. Standards of experimental and quantification techniques, as well as the tradition of citation, were introduced. An important pioneer in this, Ibn al-Haytham is regarded as the father of the modern scientific method and often referred to as the "world's first true scientist". The government paid scientists the equivalent salary of professional athletes today. It is argued that the data used by Copernicus for his heliocentric conclusions was gathered and that Al-Jahiz proposed a theory of natural selection.While the Abbasid Caliphate suffered a decline since the reign of Al-Wathiq (842–847) and Al-Mu'tadid (892–902), the Mongol Empire put an end to the Abbassid dynasty in 1258. During its decline, the Abbasid Caliphate disintegrated into minor states and dynasties, such as the Tulunid and the Ghaznavid dynasty. The Ghaznavid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty established by Turkic slave-soldiers from another Islamic empire, the Samanid Empire.Two Turkish tribes, the Karahanids and the Seljuks, converted to Islam during the 10th century. They were later subdued by the Ottomans, who share the same origin and language. The Seljuks played an important role for the revival of Sunnism, after which Shia increased its influences. The Seljuk military leader Alp Arslan financially supported sciences and literature and established the Nezamiyeh university in Baghdad.During this time, the Delhi Sultanate took over northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. Religious missions converted Volga Bulgaria to Islam. Many Muslims also went to China to trade, virtually dominating the import and export industry of the Song dynasty. After Mongol conquests and the final decline of the Abbasid Caliphate, the Mongol Empire enabled cross cultural exchanges through Asia allowing to practise any religion as long as they do not interfere with the interests of the ruling Khan. The new social and political tolerance brought by the Ilkhanate, which converted to Sunni Islam and ruled by the grandson of Genghis Khan, allowing science and arts to flourish even in aspects priorly forbidden and extending Middle Eastern influence up to China. In scholasticism, Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328) did not accepted the Mongol's conversion to Sunnism, worried about the integrity of Islam and tried to establish a theological doctrine to purify Islam from its alleged alterings. Unlike his contemporary scholarship, who relied on traditions and historical narratives from early Islam, Ibn Taymiyya's methodology was a mixture of selective use of hadith and a literal understanding of the Quran. He rejected most philosophical approaches of Islam and proposed a clear, simple and dogmatic theology instead. Another major characteristic of his theological approach emphazises the significance of a Theocratic state: While the prevailing opinion held that religious wisdom was necessary for a state, Ibn Taymiyya regarded political power as necessary for religious excellence. He further rejected many hadiths circulating among Muslims during his time and relied only on Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim repeatedly to foil Asharite doctrine. Feeling threatened by the Crusaders as well as by the Mongols, Ibn Taymiyya stated it would be obligatory for Muslims to join a physical jihad against non-Muslims. This not only including the invaders, but also the heretics among the Muslims, including Shias, Asharites and "philosophers", who were blamed by Ibn Taymiyya for the deterioration of Islam. The Battle of Marj al-Saffar (1303) served as a significant turning point. Nevertheless, his writings only played a marginal role during his lifetime. He was repeatedly accused of blasphemy by anthropomorphizing God and his disciple Ibn Kathir distanced himself from his mentor and negated the anthropomorphizations, but simultaneously adhered to the same anti-rationalistic and hadith oriented methodology. This probably influenced his exegesis on his Tafsir, which discounted much of the exegetical tradition since then. However, the writings of Ibn Taymiyya became important sources for Wahhabism and 21st century Salafi theology, just as Tafsir Ibn Kathir also became highly rewarded in modern Salafism.The Timurid Renaissance was observed in the Timurid Empire based in Central Asia ruled by the Timurid dynasty, a phenomenal growth in the fields of arts and sciences, covering both eastern and western world. Outstanding throughout the stages of the Renaissance were the inventions of numerous devices and the constructions of Islamic learning centre, mosques, necropolis and observatories. Herat city for example matched with Florence, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, as the focal point of a cultural rebirth. Such aspects were seen to be strongly influenced across Islamic Gunpowder empires, mainly in Mughal India.Islam spread with Muslim trade networks, Sufi orders activity and conquests of the Gunpowder Empires that extended into Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Malay archipelago. Conversion to Islam, however, was not a sudden abandonment of old religious practices; rather, it was typically a matter of "assimilating Islamic rituals, cosmologies, and literatures into... local religious systems." Throughout this expanse, Islam blended with local cultures everywhere, as illustrated when the prophet Muhammad appeared in Hindu epics and folklore. The Muslims in China who were descended from earlier immigration began to assimilate by adopting Chinese names and culture while Nanjing became an important center of Islamic study. The Turkish Muslims incorporated elements of Turkish Shamanism, which to this date differs Turkish synthesis of Islam from other Muslim societies, and became a part of a new Islamic interpretation, although Shamanistic influences already occurred during the Battle of Talas (752). Strikingly, Shamans were never mentioned by Muslim Heresiographers. One major change was the status of women. Unlike Arabic traditions, the Turkic traditions hold women in higher regard in society. The Turks must have also found striking similarities between Sufi rituals and Shaman practises. Shamanism also influenced orthodox Muslims who subscribed in Anatolia, Central-Asia and Balkans, producing Alevism. As a result, many Shaman traditions were perceived as Islamic, with beliefs such as sacred nature, trees, animals and foreign nature spirits remaining today.The Ottoman Caliphate, under the Ottoman dynasty of the Ottoman Empire, was the last caliphate of the late medieval and the early modern era. It is important to note, that the following Islamic reign by the Ottomans was strongly influenced by a symbiosis between Ottoman rulers and Sufism since the beginning. According to Ottoman historiography, the legitimation of a ruler is attributed to Sheikh Edebali who, accordingly, interpreted a dream of Osman Gazi as God's legitimation of his reign. Since Murad I's conquest of Edirne in 1362, the caliphate was claimed by the Turkish sultans of the empire. During the period of Ottoman growth, claims on caliphal authority were recognized in 1517 as Selim I, who through conquering and unification of Muslim lands, became the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina, and strengthening their claim to caliphate in the Muslim world. The Mevlevi Order and Bektashi Order had close relation to the sultans, as Sufi-mystical as well as heterodox and syncretic approaches to Islam flourished. Under the Ottoman Empire, Islam spread to Southeast Europe. The Reconquista, launched against Muslim principalities in Iberia succeeded in 1492. In Ottoman understanding, the state's primary responsibility was to defend and extend the land of the Muslims, and to ensure security and harmony within its borders in the overarching context of orthodox Islamic practice and dynastic sovereignty.The Shia Safavid dynasty rose to power in 1501 and later conquered all of Iran. The majority and oldest group among Shia at that time, the Zaydis, named after the great grandson of Ali, the scholar Zayd ibn Ali, used the Hanafi jurisprudence, as did most Sunnis. The ensuing mandatory conversion of Iran to Twelver Shia Islam for the largely Sunni population also ensured the final dominance of the Twelver sect within Shiism over the Zaidi and Ismaili sects. Nader Shah, who overthrew the Safavids, attempted to improve relations with Sunnis by propagating the integration of Shiism by calling it the Jaafari Madh'hab.In the Indian Subcontinent, during the rule of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji in Bengal, the Indian Islamic missionaries achieved their greatest success in terms of dawah and number of converts to Islam. The Delhi Sultanate, founded by Qutb-ud-din Aybak, emerged as India's first Islamic power, well noted for being one of the few states to repel an attack by the Mongols and enthroning one of the few female rulers in Islamic history, Razia Sultana. The wealthy Islamic Bengal Sultanate was subsequently founded, a major global trading nation in the world, described by the Europeans to be the "richest country to trade with". The Mughal Empire was founded by Babur, a direct descendant of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan. The empire was briefly interrupted by the Suri Empire founded by Sher Shah Suri, who re-initiated the rupee currency system. The Mughals gained power during the reign of Akbar the Great and Jahangir. The reign of Shah Jahan observed the height of Indo-Islamic architecture, with notable monuments such as Taj Mahal and Jama Masjid, Delhi, while the reign of his son Aurangzeb saw the compilation of the Fatwa Alamgiri (most well organised fiqh manuscript) and witnessed the peak of the Islamic rule in India. Mughal India surpassed Qing China to become the world's largest economy, worth 25% of world GDP, the Bengal Subah signalling the proto-industrialization and showing signs of the Industrial revolution. After Mughal India's collapse, Tipu Sultan's Kingdom of Mysore based in South India, which witnessed partial establishment of sharia based economic and military policies i.e. Fathul Mujahidin, replaced Bengal ruled by the Nawabs of Bengal as South Asia's foremost economic territory. After Indian independence, the Nizams of Hyderabad remained as the major Muslim princely state until the Annexation of Hyderabad by the modern Republic of India. The Muslim world was generally in political decline starting the 1800s, especially relative to the non-Muslim European powers. This decline was evident culturally; while Taqi al-Din founded an observatory in Istanbul and the Jai Singh Observatory was built in the 18th century, there was not a single Muslim-majority country with a major observatory by the twentieth century. By the 19th century the East India Company had formally annexed the Mughal dynasty in India. In the 19th century, the Deobandi and Barelwi movements were initiated. During the 18th century Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab founded a military movement opposing the Ottoman Sultanate as an illegitimate rule, advising his fellows to return to the principles of Islam based on the theology of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He was deeply influenced by the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim and condemned many traditional Islamic practices, such as visiting the grave of Muhammad or Saints, as sin. During this period he formed an alliance with the Saud family, who founded the Wahhabi sect. This revival movement allegedly seeks to uphold monotheism and purify Islam of what they see as later innovations. Their ideology led to the desecration of shrines around the world, including that of Muhammad and his companions in Mecca and Medina. Many Arab nationalists, such as Rashid Rida, regarded the Caliphate as an Arab right taken away by the Turks. Therefore, they rebelled against the Ottoman Sultanate, until the Ottoman Empire disintegrated after World War I and the Caliphate was abolished in 1924. Concurrently Ibn Saud conquered Mecca, the "heartland of Islam", to impose Wahhabism as part of Islamic culture.At the end of the 19th century, Muslim luminaries such as Muhammad Abduh, Rashid Rida and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani sought to reconcile Islam with social and intellectual ideas of the Age of Enlightenment by purging Islam from alleged alterations and adhering to the basic tenets held during the Rashidun era. Due to their adherence to the Salafs they called themselves Salafiyya. However, they differ from the Salafi movement flourishing in the second half of the 20th century, which is rooted in the Wahhabi movement. Instead, they are also often called Islamic modernists. They rejected the Sunni schools of law and allowed Ijtihad.The Barelwi movement, founded in India, emphasises the primacy of Islamic law over adherence to Sufi practices and personal devotion to the prophet Muhammad. It grew from the writings of Ahmed Raza Khan, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, Shah Ahmad Noorani and Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi in the backdrop of an intellectual and moral decline of Muslims in British India. The movement was a mass movement, defending popular Sufism and reforming its practices, grew in response to the Deobandi movement. The movement is famous for the celebration of Mawlid and today, is spread across the globe with followers also in Pakistan, South Africa, United States, and United Kingdom among other countries.On 3 March 1924, the first President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as part of his secular reforms, constitutionally abolished the institution of the caliphate. Ottoman Caliphate, the world's last widely recognized caliphate was no more and its powers within Turkey were transferred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the parliament of the newly formed Turkish Republic and the Directorate of Religious Affairs. Contact with industrialized nations brought Muslim populations to new areas through economic migration. Many Muslims migrated as indentured servants, from mostly India and Indonesia, to the Caribbean, forming the largest Muslim populations by percentage in the Americas. The resulting urbanization and increase in trade in sub-Saharan Africa brought Muslims to settle in new areas and spread their faith, likely doubling its Muslim population between 1869 and 1914. Muslim immigrants began arriving, many as guest workers and largely from former colonies, in several Western European nations since the 1960s. There are more and more new Muslim intellectuals who increasingly separate perennial Islamic beliefs from archaic cultural traditions. Liberal Islam is a movement that attempts to reconcile religious tradition with modern norms of secular governance and human rights. Its supporters say that there are multiple ways to read Islam's sacred texts, and they stress the need to leave room for "independent thought on religious matters". Women's issues receive significant weight in the modern discourse on Islam.Secular powers such as the Chinese Red Guards closed many mosques and destroyed Qurans, and Communist Albania became the first country to ban the practice of every religion. About half a million Muslims were killed in Cambodia by communists who, it is argued, viewed them as their primary enemy and wished to exterminate them since they stood out and worshipped their own god. In Turkey, the military carried out coups to oust Islamist governments, and headscarves were banned in official buildings, as also happened in Tunisia.Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani, along with his acolyte Muhammad Abduh, have been credited as forerunners of the Islamic revival. Abul A'la Maududi helped influence modern political Islam. Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood advocate Islam as a comprehensive political solution, often in spite of being banned. In Iran, revolution replaced a secular regime with an Islamic state. In Turkey, the Islamist AK Party has democratically been in power for about a decade, while Islamist parties did well in elections following the Arab Spring. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of Muslim-majority countries, was established in 1969 after the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.Religiosity appears to be deepening worldwide. In many places, the prevalence of the hijab is growing increasingly common and the percentage of Muslims favoring Sharia has increased. With religious guidance increasingly available electronically, Muslims are able to access views that are strict enough for them rather than rely on state clerics who are often seen as stooges.It is estimated that, by 2050, the number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world, "due to the young age and high fertility-rate of Muslims relative to other religious group." While the religious conversion has no net impact on the Muslim population growth as "the number of people who become Muslims through conversion seems to be roughly equal to the number of Muslims who leave the faith". Perhaps as a sign of these changes, most experts agree that Islam is growing faster than any other faith in East and West Africa. There is no verse in Quran or any authentic Hadith that corroborate denominations of Islam. However, all have been created by the adherents after the decease of the prophet. The largest denomination in Islam is Sunni Islam, which makes up 85–90% of all Muslims, and is arguably the world's largest religious denomination. Sunni Muslims also go by the name Ahl as-Sunnah which means "people of the tradition [of Muhammad]".Sunnis believe that the first four caliphs were the rightful successors to Muhammad; since God did not specify any particular leaders to succeed him and those leaders were elected. Further authorities regarding Sunnis believe that anyone who is righteous and just could be a caliph as long they Arabic (اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ, al-ʿarabiyyah, [al ʕaraˈbijːa] (listen) or عَرَبِيّ, ʿarabīy, [ˈʕarabiː] (listen) or [ʕaraˈbij]) is a Semitic language that first emerged in the 1st to 4th centuries CE. It is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living in the area bounded by Mesopotamia in the east and the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the west, in Northwestern Arabia and in the Sinai Peninsula. The ISO assigns language codes to thirty varieties of Arabic, including its standard form, Modern Standard Arabic, also referred to as Literary Arabic, which is modernized Classical Arabic. This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as al-ʿarabiyyatu l-fuṣḥā (اَلعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ, "the purest Arabic") or simply al-fuṣḥā (اَلْفُصْحَىٰ). Modern Standard Arabic is an official language of 26 states and 1 disputed territory, the third most after English and FrenchArabic is widely taught in schools and universities and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government and the media. Arabic, in its standard form, is the official language of 26 states, as well as the liturgical language of the religion of Islam, since the Quran and Hadith were written in Arabic. During the Middle Ages, Arabic was a major vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy. As a result, many European languages have also borrowed many words from it. Arabic influence, mainly in vocabulary, is seen in European languages—mainly Spanish and to a lesser extent Portuguese and Catalan—owing to both the proximity of Christian European and Muslim Arab civilizations and the long-lasting Arabic culture and language presence mainly in Southern Iberia during the Al-Andalus era. Sicilian has about 500 Arabic words, many of which relate to agriculture and related activities, as a legacy of the Emirate of Sicily from the early-9th to late-11th centuries, while Maltese language is a Semitic language developed from a dialect of Arabic and written in the Latin alphabet. The Balkan languages, including Greek and Bulgarian, have also acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has influenced many other languages around the globe throughout its history. Some of the most influenced languages are Persian, Turkish, Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu), Kashmiri, Kurdish, Bosnian, Kazakh, Bengali, Malay (Indonesian and Malaysian), Maldivian, Pashto, Punjabi, Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Sicilian, Spanish, Greek, Bulgarian, Tagalog, Sindhi, Odia and Hausa and some languages in parts of Africa. Conversely, Arabic has borrowed words from other languages, including Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Persian in medieval times and languages such as English and French in modern times. Arabic is the liturgical language of 1.8 billion Muslims, and Arabic is one of six official languages of the United Nations. All varieties of Arabic combined are spoken by perhaps as many as 422 million speakers (native and non-native) in the Arab world, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world. Arabic is written with the Arabic alphabet, which is an abjad script and is written from right to left, although the spoken varieties are sometimes written in ASCII Latin from left to right with no standardized orthography. Arabic is usually, but not universally, classified as a Central Semitic language. It is related to languages in other subgroups of the Semitic language group (Northwest Semitic, South Semitic, East Semitic, West Semitic), such as Aramaic, Syriac, Hebrew, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Canaanite, Amorite, Ammonite, Eblaite, epigraphic Ancient North Arabian, epigraphic Ancient South Arabian, Ethiopic, Modern South Arabian, and numerous other dead and modern languages. Linguists still differ as to the best classification of Semitic language sub-groups. The Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the emergence of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include: The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation (jalas-) into a past tense. The conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation (yajlis-) into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms (e.g., a present tense formed by doubling the middle root, a perfect formed by infixing a /t/ after the first root consonant, probably a jussive formed by a stress shift) in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms (e.g., -u for indicative, -a for subjunctive, no ending for jussive, -an or -anna for energetic). The development of an internal passive.There are several features which Classical Arabic, the modern Arabic varieties, as well as the Safaitic and Hismaic inscriptions share which are unattested in any other Central Semitic language variety, including the Dadanitic and Taymanitic languages of the northern Hejaz. These features are evidence of common descent from a hypothetical ancestor, Proto-Arabic. The following features can be reconstructed with confidence for Proto-Arabic: negative particles m * /mā/; lʾn */lā-ʾan/ to Classical Arabic lan mafʿūl G-passive participle prepositions and adverbs f, ʿn, ʿnd, ḥt, ʿkdy a subjunctive in -a t-demonstratives leveling of the -at allomorph of the feminine ending ʾn complementizer and subordinator the use of f- to introduce modal clauses independent object pronoun in (ʾ)y vestiges of nunation Arabia boasted a wide variety of Semitic languages in antiquity. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family (e.g. Southern Thamudic) were spoken. It is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages (non-Central Semitic languages) were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hejaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages. In Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested. In eastern Arabia, inscriptions in a script derived from ASA attest to a language known as Hasaitic. Finally, on the northwestern frontier of Arabia, various languages known to scholars as Thamudic B, Thamudic D, Safaitic, and Hismaic are attested. The last two share important isoglosses with later forms of Arabic, leading scholars to theorize that Safaitic and Hismaic are in fact early forms of Arabic and that they should be considered Old Arabic.Linguists generally believe that "Old Arabic" (a collection of related dialects that constitute the precursor of Arabic) first emerged around the 1st century CE. Previously, the earliest attestation of Old Arabic was thought to be a single 1st century CE inscription in Sabaic script at Qaryat Al-Faw, in southern present-day Saudi Arabia. However, this inscription does not participate in several of the key innovations of the Arabic language group, such as the conversion of Semitic mimation to nunation in the singular. It is best reassessed as a separate language on the Central Semitic dialect continuum.It was also thought that Old Arabic coexisted alongside—and then gradually displaced--epigraphic Ancient North Arabian (ANA), which was theorized to have been the regional tongue for many centuries. ANA, despite its name, was considered a very distinct language, and mutually unintelligible, from "Arabic". Scholars named its variant dialects after the towns where the inscriptions were discovered (Dadanitic, Taymanitic, Hismaic, Safaitic). However, most arguments for a single ANA language or language family were based on the shape of the definite article, a prefixed h-. It has been argued that the h- is an archaism and not a shared innovation, and thus unsuitable for language classification, rendering the hypothesis of an ANA language family untenable. Safaitic and Hismaic, previously considered ANA, should be considered Old Arabic due to the fact that they participate in the innovations common to all forms of Arabic.The earliest attestation of continuous Arabic text in an ancestor of the modern Arabic script are three lines of poetry by a man named Garm(')allāhe found in En Avdat, Israel, and dated to around 125 CE. This is followed by the epitaph of the Lakhmid king Mar 'al-Qays bar 'Amro, dating to 328 CE, found at Namaraa, Syria. From the 4th to the 6th centuries, the Nabataean script evolves into the Arabic script recognizable from the early Islamic era. There are inscriptions in an undotted, 17-letter Arabic script dating to the 6th century CE, found at four locations in Syria (Zabad, Jabal 'Usays, Harran, Umm al-Jimaal). The oldest surviving papyrus in Arabic dates to 643 CE, and it uses dots to produce the modern 28-letter Arabic alphabet. The language of that papyrus and of the Qur'an are referred to by linguists as "Quranic Arabic", as distinct from its codification soon thereafter into "Classical Arabic". In late pre-Islamic times, a transdialectal and transcommunal variety of Arabic emerged in the Hejaz which continued living its parallel life after literary Arabic had been institutionally standardized in the 2nd and 3rd century of the Hijra, most strongly in Judeo-Christian texts, keeping alive ancient features eliminated from the "learned" tradition (Classical Arabic). This variety and both its classicizing and "lay" iterations have been termed Middle Arabic in the past, but they are thought to continue an Old Higazi register. It is clear that the orthography of the Qur'an was not developed for the standardized form of Classical Arabic; rather, it shows the attempt on the part of writers to record an archaic form of Old Higazi. In the late 6th century AD, a relatively uniform intertribal "poetic koine" distinct from the spoken vernaculars developed based on the Bedouin dialects of Najd, probably in connection with the court of al-Ḥīra. During the first Islamic century, the majority of Arabic poets and Arabic-writing persons spoke Arabic as their mother tongue. Their texts, although mainly preserved in far later manuscripts, contain traces of non-standardized Classical Arabic elements in morphology and syntax. The standardization of Classical Arabic reached completion around the end of the 8th century. The first comprehensive description of the ʿarabiyya "Arabic", Sībawayhi's al-Kitāb, is based first of all upon a corpus of poetic texts, in addition to Qur'an usage and Bedouin informants whom he considered to be reliable speakers of the ʿarabiyya. By the 8th century, knowledge of Classical Arabic had become an essential prerequisite for rising into the higher classes throughout the Islamic world. Charles Ferguson's koine theory (Ferguson 1959) claims that the modern Arabic dialects collectively descend from a single military koine that sprang up during the Islamic conquests; this view has been challenged in recent times. Ahmad al-Jallad proposes that there were at least two considerably distinct types of Arabic on the eve of the conquests: Northern and Central (Al-Jallad 2009). The modern dialects emerged from a new contact situation produced following the conquests. Instead of the emergence of a single or multiple koines, the dialects contain several sedimentary layers of borrowed and areal features, which they absorbed at different points in their linguistic histories. According to Veersteegh and Bickerton, colloquial Arabic dialects arose from pidginized Arabic formed from contact between Arabs and conquered peoples. Pidginization and subsequent creolization among Arabs and arabized peoples could explain relative morphological and phonological simplicity of vernacular Arabic compared to Classical and MSA.In around the 11th and 12th centuries in al-Andalus, the zajal and muwashah poetry forms developed in the dialectical Arabic of Cordoba and the Maghreb. In the wake of the industrial revolution and European hegemony and colonialism, pioneering Arabic presses, such as the Amiri Press established by Muhammad Ali (1819), dramatically changed the diffusion and consumption of Arabic literature and publications. The Nahda cultural renaissance saw the creation of a number of Arabic academies modeled after the Académie française, starting with the Arab Academy of Damascus (1918), which aimed to develop the Arabic lexicon to suit these transformations. This gave rise to what Western scholars call Modern Standard Arabic. Arabic usually refers to Standard Arabic, which Western linguists divide into Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. It could also refer to any of a variety of regional vernacular Arabic dialects, which are not necessarily mutually intelligible. Classical Arabic is the language found in the Quran, used from the period of Pre-Islamic Arabia to that of the Abbasid Caliphate. Classical Arabic is prescriptive, according to the syntactic and grammatical norms laid down by classical grammarians (such as Sibawayh) and the vocabulary defined in classical dictionaries (such as the Lisān al-ʻArab). Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the grammatical standards of Classical Arabic and uses much of the same vocabulary. However, it has discarded some grammatical constructions and vocabulary that no longer have any counterpart in the spoken varieties and has adopted certain new constructions and vocabulary from the spoken varieties. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the industrial and post-industrial era, especially in modern times. Due to its grounding in Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic is removed over a millennium from everyday speech, which is construed as a multitude of dialects of this language. These dialects and Modern Standard Arabic are described by some scholars as not mutually comprehensible. The former are usually acquired in families, while the latter is taught in formal education settings. However, there have been studies reporting some degree of comprehension of stories told in the standard variety among preschool-aged children. The relation between Modern Standard Arabic and these dialects is sometimes compared to that of Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin vernaculars (which became Romance languages) in medieval and early modern Europe. This view though does not take into account the widespread use of Modern Standard Arabic as a medium of audiovisual communication in today's mass media—a function Latin has never performed. MSA is the variety used in most current, printed Arabic publications, spoken by some of the Arabic media across North Africa and the Middle East, and understood by most educated Arabic speakers. "Literary Arabic" and "Standard Arabic" (فُصْحَى fuṣḥá) are less strictly defined terms that may refer to Modern Standard Arabic or Classical Arabic. Some of the differences between Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are as follows: Certain grammatical constructions of CA that have no counterpart in any modern vernacular dialect (e.g., the energetic mood) are almost never used in Modern Standard Arabic. Case distinctions are very rare in Arabic vernaculars. As a result, MSA is generally composed without case distinctions in mind, and the proper cases are added after the fact, when necessary. Because most case endings are noted using final short vowels, which are normally left unwritten in the Arabic script
