The Civilization of Islam, Arts and Buildings

Buildings

The central structure of Islamic architecture is the mosque. The larger mosques usually have one or more domes, arches and tall slender minarets. Although often quite plain on the outside, inside they are generally full of light and colour. Unlike the holy buildings of most other religions (such as Christian churches), mosques contain no statues or pictures of God or the prophets because these are forbidden by Islam. Instead there are often brightly coloured geometric patterns of flowers, plants, abstract designs and above all, quotations from the Quran written in the Arabic script in many different styles. The floor is covered with rugs, and the walls pierced with patterned or stained glass windows in a variety of designs. This blaze of color many have begun in the earliest religious buildings in Arabia, thereby providing a pleasant change from an otherwise drab wold of dry dust, sand bare rock and heat.

Gardens

For the same reason gardens, plants and water have always been important in Islamic art, both in real life and in paintings. Richer people had enclosed gardens with fruit trees, shrubs and flower beds arranged in geometric shapes, and there were always fountains or streams of running water.

Even the homes of poorer people had, whenever possible, a few plants, shrubs or vines, often in posts arranged round a small pool. Many Muslim emperors relaxed not only by resting in gardens, but also by designing and cultivating them.

Textiles

Fabrics were an important part of Muslim art. As wooden furniture was not part of Islamic culture, people sat, ate and slept on cushions or rugs on the floor. There were woven hangings on the walls, too, and all of these were covered with the rich designs and colours that decorated the mosques. Textiles were also a very unlike ceramics, fragile jewellery or decorative articles, they were unbreakable, light  and easily carried. Today, carpets from Islamic countries are still the most highly=-prized in the world.

Painting

Early Muslim art was limited by the ban on the painting of people and animals. In strict theory, this ban still exists, especially in the illustration of sacred works. But gradually animals and human beings began to creep in to paintings particularly after the 12th century AD. These paintings were not hugs like the ones in Europe but were generally small or appeared as illustrations in books. These were usually found in the homes of wealthier people. The paintings of Persia and of Mughal India glow like jewels and are among the most beautiful ever created.

Literature

Poetry seems to be the natural language of the Arab peoples, and we saw (p. 20) how the tribesmen held poetry competitions at Makkah before the time of the Prophet (PBUH). This tradition has been kept alive to this day.

In the early days of Islam there were some prose works, but these dealt largely with religion and were often commentaries on the Quran. From the 8th Century AD, animal stories appeared but were used for teaching rather than for entertainment. Slowly people began writing books for pure enjoyment. These were often a mixture of poetry and prose. Many were love stories or 'novels' as we know them today.

Music

Although music has nothing to do with Muslim religious ritual prayers, it has been present in Muslim societies, and the Sufis also adopted different forms of it. All kinds of instruments harps, lutes, guitars, trumpets, flutes, tambourines, drums and castanets were used from early times as entertainment and for warlike purpose. Musical notes were not written down as they were in the west. The tunes were played from memory.

The beginnings of Islam

Islam began in the 6th century AD in what is now Saudi Arabia. This country was and still is for the most part of harsh land of scorching sun, baking deserts and bare mountains interspersed with a few oases. As there was a little fertile and near the coast which lay on the trading routes between eastern Asia and he west, a few small towns developed there.

The Early Makkah

The people were mainly nomadic Arabs who wandered with their camels and goats searching for water and food and raided other tribes and the rare fertile areas. The Arabs of the time had a highly exchange of goods. The city of Makkah was at one of the trading crossroads of the world. There could be no united country under one ruler as the people were always moving from place to place, but they did share of language and had common interests in literature 
and poetry.

These people worshiped many different gods, usually connected with water, crops and nature, but over all of these was a single chief god called Allah. The most sacred shrine for all the tribes of Arabia was a windowless room built by Hazrat Ibrahim (S) which contained in one corner of black stone given to Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) by the angel Hazrat Jibrail (AS). In the holy month all the tribes migrated to Makkah to worship their different gods at the Kaabah and to hold competitions in reciting poetry.

The Teachings of Islam

The teaching of Islam are based on the Quran, the last of the great religious books following the Torah (Tourat) of Hazrat Musa (AS), the Psalms (Zuboor) of Hazrat Daud (AS) and the Testament (Injeel) of Hazrat Isa (AS). It conains God's commands and supersedes all the earlier books. Islam is based on five 'pillars' which uphold the faith:

(a) Testimony (shahadah). Every one must belive that there is only one God, Allah, who is all-powerful and knows everything. He created everything that exist, and Muhammad (PBUH) is His prophit.

(b) Pray (Salat). Muslims must pray formally five times each day. When they pray they must be clean in both and mind and must face the Kaaba.

(c) Pilgrimage (hajj). Every Muslim has to make a pilgrimage to Makkah at last once in a lifetime, providing that they have the health and financial resources. They should also make sacrifice. Those who cannot make the journey themselves owing to ill health or other valid reasons may have someone else do it for them.

(d) Fasting (sawm). In the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims must not eat
or drink anything between just before dawn and sunset.

(e) Giving alms (zakat). Every eligible Muslims must give a certain proportion of income to the community as an act of charity.

The Spread of Islam

Meanwhile Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) started to preach in Makkah and began to win, first his family, and then other people to Islam.

Because the leaders of Makkah felt that Islam threatened their power and their heathen religion, they began to persecute those who believed in Islam. Some of the believers even fled as far as Ethiopia to escape the dangers. Finally in AD 622 the situation  became so bad that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) sent the families who believed in Islam, one at a time, to the town of Yathrib some 450 kilometres north of Makkah. However, he himself waited for the command of Allah to leave Makkah. Interestingly, the people of Yathrib had already invited theProphet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) to settle some disputes that had arisen there and promised to protect his followers. Meanwhile the people of Makkah noticed that the Muslims were leaving so they planned to assassinate the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). He then received a command from Allah to leave Makkah. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) migrated to Madinah. This event marks the turning point in the Muslim religion, and it was decided to reckon this, the Hijrah (migration), as year 1 in the Islamic Calendar.

The Spread of Islam

The first wave

Islam spread in two main waves. Within two years of the death of the Prophet (PBUH) the whole of Arabia had embraced Islam. Less than forty years later, Muslim armies had conquered Persia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Libya and much of the north African coast. There was then a pause in the conquests because a conflict arose between Mo'awiya and his supporters and the followers of Hazrat Ali (RA). The Umayyad leader Mo'awaiya emerged victorious and moved the capital of the Muslim world to damascus in Syria. He attacked the Byzantine empire in Asia Minor but was driven back. Soon afer, the second wave of Expansion began.

The second wave

The Muslim arimies rushed along the northern coast of Africa, crossed into Europe and occupied most of Spain. In the east 
they conqured large areas of cntral Asia and moved into India as far as the Indus. At the battle of Talas (AD 751), not far from the Russia-China border, the Chinese army was defeated and parts of western China became (and still are) Muslim. However, the scorching deserts and the distance from the home base put a limit on further expansion eastwards.

The advance in the west had halted a little earlier. Leaders all over the Islamic empire were struggling for power and independence. Abdulrrahaman, the Muslim commander in Spain, invaded France in AD 732 and advanced almost 500 kilometres northwards. He was approching the Frankish holy city of Tours when he was faced by an army of Frankish knights under their king, Charles Martel. The Muslim army was weary from the long journey and many of theri soldiers were sick, but after a week of skirmishing the two met in a savage, inconclusive battle that lasted all day. Following this inconclusive battle Abdurrahman retreated first to Spain, and then to north Africa where the Berber tribes were in rebellion. Eventually the ARab Ummayad dynasy was overthrown by the Abbasids, who moved the capital to Baghdad in AD 762. For the

The Mosque

The centre of Islamic worship is the mosque. Outside there is normally a courtyard where people often meet and discuss matters. There is a fountain or pool or a washing area where people perform wudu before they pray as a symbol of their spiritual cleanliness.

The Badshahi Mosque

The prayer hall is bare of furniture but if often carpeted because Muslims kneel on the floor to pray. The generally decorated oening (mihrab) shows the direction of
the Kaaba, towards which they must face as they pray. Near this is a raised stand (mibar) from which anyone (but usually a religious teacher) may address the woshippers, or make announcements.

Outside the mosque is one, or more, slender towers (minarets) from which a religious leader calls the people prayer at the five times laid down. The mosque also offers space for a variety of religious and social duties. Teaching and prayer can all take place there.

The Law

According to strictest Muslims theory, the only law is the law of God, interpreted by the great religious thinkers. It deals not only with religious matters, but also with criminal and constitutional laws as well as family relationship, inheritance and all human activities, Religion and the State are one.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in Madinah

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in Madinah quickly became powerful in Madinah, not only as a religious leader, but also as a political and military leader. Other tribes flocked to join Islam, and by AD 630 (AH 8) the Muslims were in a strong enough position to conquer Makkah. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) destroyed all of the idols in the Kaabah and restored it to its former glory. More and more of the Arab tribes joined Islam and responses to the letters of The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) by other communities outside Arabia showed sign that others would soon join Islam. By the time he died in AD 632, Islam had spread throughout Arabia.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)

In the holy city of Makkah the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was born to a poor but noble family in about AD 570. His father, Hazrat Abdullah, died a little before the birth of the Prophet and he was brought up by his mother, Bibi Amina, and wet mother Dai Haleema. His mother died when he was six years old and then he was in the care of his grandfather, Hazrat Abdul Muttalib. After the death of his grandfather two years later, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was put in the care of his uncle, Hazrat Abu Talib.

Roza-e-Mubarik of  Muhammad

At the age of about 25, he joined a camel caravan owned by a wealthy widow named Khadijah whom he later married. Although Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) continued to work as a merchant for several years, he began to spend more and more time meditating alone in the cave Ghar-e-Hira, thinking about God. When he was about 40, God called him to be a prophet, just as Hazrat Musa (AS), Hazrat Ibrahim (AS), Hazrat Daud (AS) and
Hazrat Isa (AS) had been. Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was the last of the prophets.

For the next twenty-three years, more and more commands and messages came from God. These verses were later compiled  in one volume, the Quran.

Hazrat Umar (Razi-Allah-o-Ta'ala Anho)

Hazrat Umar (Razi-Allah-o-Ta'ala Anho) was the second caliph ofIslam. He was born at Makkah in the noble family of quraish. He received the title of Faruq after he embraced Islam. He was one of the very few persons inMakkah who could read and write.

He was a tall, strong and a brave man. He was also a very good wrestler, horse-rider and a swordsman. He was a very daring man. Business was hisoccupation. In the beginning, he was an enemy of Islam, but an incident changed his life completely. One day he heard his sister reciting verses from theHoly Quran. He listened to it with interest and when she had finished reciting, he lowered his head. Filled with the new spiritual thought, he
ran to the Holy Prophet (Sall-Allah -o-Alaihi-Wasallam) and embracedIslam. His conversion to Islam was of great value to the Holy Prophet (Sall-Allah -o-Alaihi-Wasallam) in his mission of Islam. Afterwards, he remained very close to the Holy Prophet (Sall-Allah -o-Alaihi-Wasallam).

              Hazrat Umar (Rz) participated in the holy wars and proved to be a great strength for Islam. He remained caliph for 10 years 6 months. He conquered a vast empire during his Khilafat. He introduced a great system ofadministration, which served as a model during the whole of Islamic history.He introduced a large number of reforms. He organized the army. He was a great man who shaped the destiny of the nation.

              He gave much importance to justice and the well-being of the people. He led a very simple life. He loved to meet people and inquire about the problems. He followed the saying of the Holy Prophet  (Sall-Allah -o-Alaihi-Wasallam :

"Treat your servants as you would treat yourself.

Master and servant are both equal before God."

              Hazrat Umar (Rz) was kind and sympathetic to the poor. He spent many sleepless nights. He used to walk in the streets to see the condition of his people. Once night he passed by a house and heard some children crying. There was a pot of water on fire. The mother told them to go to sleep and when the food was ready, she would wake them up. But the children would not listen.Hazrat Umar (Rz) asked the woman. "What is the matter?" She told him that there was nothing to eat. There was no money and no grain in the house. Herhusband had died. The children were crying for food. He helped the widow with food, money and clothing.

              He was very strict about justice. He would not spare any one, not even his own son, when wrong was committed by him. For him high and low, rich and poor, were all equal.

              One day, while Hazrat Umar (Rz) was saying his prayers in themosque a non-Muslim named Feroze killed the caliph with a knife. Hazrat Umar (Rz) was buried near the Holy Prophet (Sall-Allah -o-Alaihi-Wasallam)and Hazrat Abu Bakar (Rz) in the Masjid-e-nabvi at Madina.

The Civilization of Islam, Arts and Buildings

Allah
Islam

Buildings

The central structure of Islamic architecture is the mosque. The larger mosques usually have one or more domes, arches and tall slender minarets. Although often quite plain on the outside, inside they are generally full of light and colour. Unlike the holy buildings of most other religions (such as Christian churches), mosques contain no statues or pictures of God or the prophets because these are forbidden by Islam. Instead there are often brightly coloured geometric patterns of flowers, plants, abstract designs and above all, quotations from the Quran written in the Arabic script in many different styles. The floor is covered with rugs, and the walls pierced with patterned or stained glass windows in a variety of designs. This blaze of color many have begun in the earliest religious buildings in Arabia, thereby providing a pleasant change from an otherwise drab wold of dry dust, sand bare rock and heat.

Gardens

For the same reason gardens, plants and water have always been important in Islamic art, both in real life and in paintings. Richer people had
enclosed gardens with fruit trees, shrubs and flower beds arranged in geometric shapes, and there were always fountains or streams of running water.

Even the homes of poorer people had, whenever possible, a few plants, shrubs or vines, often in posts arranged round a small pool. Many Muslim emperors relaxed not only by resting in gardens, but also by designing and cultivating them.


Textiles

Fabrics were an important part of Muslim art. As wooden furniture was not part of Islamic culture, people sat, ate and slept on cushions or rugs on the floor. There were woven hangings on the walls, too, and all of these were covered with the rich designs and colours that decorated the mosques. Textiles were also a very unlike ceramics, fragile jewellery or decorative articles, they were unbreakable, light  and easily carried. Today, carpets from Islamic countries are still the most highly=-prized in the world.

Painting

Early Muslim art was limited by the ban on the painting of people and animals. In strict theory, this ban still exists, especially in the illustration of sacred works. But gradually animals and human beings began to creep in to paintings particularly after the 12th century AD. These paintings were not hugs like the ones in Europe but were generally small or appeared as illustrations in books. These were usually found in the homes of wealthier people. The paintings of Persia and of Mughal India glow like jewels and are among the most beautiful ever created.

Literature

Poetry seems to be the natural language of the Arab peoples, and we saw (p. 20) how the tribesmen held poetry competitions at Makkah before the time of the Prophet (PBUH). This tradition has been kept alive to this day.
In the early days of Islam there were some prose works, but these dealt largely with religion and were often commentaries on the Quran. From the 8th Century AD, animal stories appeared but were used for teaching rather than for entertainment. Slowly people began writing books for pure enjoyment. These were often a mixture of poetry and prose. Many were love stories or 'novels' as we know them today.

Music

Although music has nothing to do with Muslim religious ritual prayers, it has been present in Muslim societies, and the Sufis also adopted different forms of it. All kinds of instruments harps, lutes, guitars, trumpets, flutes, tambourines, drums and castanets were used from early times as entertainment and for warlike purpose. Musical notes were not written down as they were in the west. The tunes were played from memory.