history of Islam

The early history of Islam after the death of Muhammad is one of glorious wars and victories on the one hand, and hatred, dissension, jealousy, intrigue and deceit on the other.

It begins with the so-called 'Ridda' of a number of Arab tribes after the death of Muhammad. Several 'prophets' contested the leadership of Muhammad and his subsequent successor Abu Bakr, who was chosen after his death to lead the Muslim believers.
The first Khalif Abu Bakr 10-12 AH 632-634 AD died after only two years of reign, and was followed by Khalif Umar 12-22 AH 634-644 AD Umar was, like Abu Bakr, a father-in-law of Muhammad. He was assassinated by an Iraqian slave while at prayer in the mosque. Under him - probably the most gifted and respected of the Khalifs, the Arab Empire grew vastly. He was succeeded by the third Khalif Uthman 22-34 AH 644-656 AD By trying to unify the Empire,

largely comprising independence-loving Arabs, he fell into disfavour, particularly for his revision of the Qur'an (see this chapter). He was assassinated in a gruesome way and was not allowed to be buried in the Muslim cemetery. His wife, with some of his friends, buried him by night without the ritual washings, listening to the curses of the Arabs, who also pelted stones at them. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery. Khalif Ali was the last of the 'four rightly guided' Khalifs.
Two well exposed leaders, Talha and al-Zubair, with the support of Aysha, rebelled against Ali. The resulting Battle of the Camel saw 10 000 Muslims slaughtered. Ali and his troops won, but soon faced another contender, Mu'awiya, the Governor of Syria, who accused him as did Aysha, of complicity in the assassination of Uthman. Another battle resulted with tremendous loss of life but without a decisive victory. Mu'awiya and Ali agreed to appoint arbiters and to abide by their solution. This strongly undermined the authority of Ali, who eventually was assassinated by one of his disillusioned followers.
The heir and expected successor of Ali, al-Hassan, renounced his khalifship in favour of Mu'awiya, who from then on ruled not only Syria and Egypt, but the whole Islamic empire.
Al-Hussein, Ali's other son, together with most of his family, was slain under the reign of Mu'awayia's son, the Khalifah Yazid I. at the battle of Kerbela, which actually was rather an assassination than a battle.
This triggered off a split in Islam. Those who sided with Ali and his sons, whom they declared the only true Khalifs, because they were relatives of Muhammad, are now known as the Shiáh followers Muslims. The much bigger part  today about 80% are known as Sunni one of the path Muslims.

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Muthana ibn Haritha

Muthana ibn Haritha, a new convert to Islam after the Prophet(s)'s death, from the north eastern Arab tribe called Bakr was sent on a campaign in Iraq with Khalid ibn al-Walid and later took over the command. After the victory in the so called Battle of the River of Blood at Ullais near modern Samawah in Iraq the two Muslim generals gave the enemy no respite and Hira was captured in May with only a small and in part  locally recruited force. Hira was a Persian outpost but largely inhabited by Arabsand an important city in Iraq. It was also the first acquisition of the Muslims outside the Arabian Peninsula. Hira was spared military occupation and its Arab inhabitants were allowed to remain Nestorian Christains this sect was bitterly hostile to the Monophysite form of Christainity prevailing among the Egyptians Syrians, and Abyssinians on the payment of a large sum of . Next year Khalid was suddenly ordered to go and take over the command of the Muslim armies in Syria who needed help and Muthana was left behind in charge of the campaign on the Persian front.
While the campaign in Iraq against the Sasnids was going on, at home major apostasy was stamped out by the revolting tribes being brought under control. Abu Bakr now turned his attention to the conquest of Syrian and Palestine on the Byzantine frontier which he regarded as more important. Through their commercial activities, the Arabs were more familiar with, and interested in, this region than Persia, which was largely unknown to them. E

ven the Prophet(s) in his lifetime showed interest in it and sent an expedition under his adopted son Zayd ibn Haritha, to the Syrian broder in 629. But the vastly superior Byzantine army had no difficulty in crushing the raw soldiers of early Islam. Zayd died fighting, and the expedition ended in diaster.
In 633 Abu Bakr organized three armies of 3.000 soldiers eachg and put them under the command of Yezid ibn Abi Sufyan his father, Abu Sufyan, the Makkan leader in battles against the Muslims, was then governor of Najran and Hijaz Shurahbil ibn Hasana and Amr ibn al As who was later to become famous for his conquest of Egypt in 640.2 and three times its governor The first two columns entered Jordan while Amr led his troops to south-eastern Palestine, and near Gaza he annihilated in February a small army under

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Global Religion

Islam is a religion for all people from whatever race or background they might be. That is why Islamic civilization is based on a unity which stands completely against any racial or ethnic discrimination. Such major racial and ethnic groups as the Arabs  Persians, Turks, Africans, Indians, Chinese and Malays in addition to numerous smaller units embraced Islam and contributed to the building of Islamic civilization. Moreover, Islam was not opposed to learning from the earlier civilizations and incorporating their science, learning, and culture into its own world view, as long as they did not oppose the principles of Islam. Each ethnic and racial group which embraced Islam made its contribution to the one Islamic civilization to which everyone belonged. The sense of brotherhood and sisterhood was so much emphasized that it overcame all local attachments to a particular tribe  race  or language--all of which became subservient to the universal brotherhood and sisterhood of Islam.The global civilization thus created by Islam permitted people of diverse ethnic backgrounds to work together in cultivating various arts and sciences. Although the civilization was profoundly Islamic, even non-Muslim "people of the book" participated in the intellectual activity whose fruits belonged to everyone. The scientific climate was reminiscent of the present situation in America where scientists and men and of learning from all over the world are active in the advancement of knowledge which belongs to everyone.The global civilization created by Islam also succeeded in activating the mind and thought of the people who entered its fold. As a result of Islam, the nomadic Arabs became torch-bearers of science and learning. The Persians who had created a great civilization before the rise of Islam nevertheless produced much more science and learning in the Islamic period than before. The same can be said of the Turks and other peoples who embraced Islam. The religion of Islam was itself responsible not only for the creation of a world civilization in which people of many different ethnic backgrounds participated, but it played a central role in developing intellectual and cultural life on a scale not seen before. For some eight hundred years Arabic remained the major intellectual and scientific language of the world. During the centuries following the rise of Islam, Muslim dynasties ruling in various parts of the Islamic world bore witness to the flowering of Islamic culture and thought. In fact this tradition of intellectual activity was eclipsed only at the beginning of modern times as a result of the weakening of faith among Muslims combined with external domination. And today this activity has begun anew in many parts of the Islamic world now that the Muslims have regained their political independence.

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The Spread of Islam

The Spread of Islam

From the oasis cities of Makkah and Madinah in the Arabian desert, the message of Islam went forth with electrifying speed. Within half a century of the Prophet's death, Islam had spread to three continents. Islam is not, as some imagine in the West, a religion of the sword nor did it spread primarily by means of war. It was only within Arabia, where a crude form of idolatry was rampant, that Islam was propagated by warring against those tribes which did not accept the message of God--whereas Christians and Jews were not forced to convert. Outside of Arabia also the vast lands conquered by the Arab armies in a short period became Muslim not by force of the sword but by the appeal of the new religion. It was faith in One God and emphasis upon His Mercy that brought vast numbers of people into the fold of Islam. The new religion did not coerce people to convert. Many continued to remain Jews and Christians and to this day important communities of the followers of these faiths are found in Muslim lands. Moreover, the spread of Islam was not limited to its miraculous early expansion outside of Arabia. During later centuries the Turks embraced Islam peacefully as did a large number of the people of the Indian subcontinent and the Malay-speaking world. In Africa also, Islam has spread during the past two centuries even under the mighty power of European colonial rulers. Today Islam continues to grow not only in Africa but also in Europe and America where Muslims now comprise a notable minority.

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India Old City

Dwarka, India - 12,000 Year Old City

Dwarka Dvarka, Dwaraka, or Dvaraka, is a city in Gujarat state in India). Dwarka also known as Dwarawati in Sanskrit literature is rated as one of the seven most ancient cities in the country. The legendary city of Dvaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is believed that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvaraka has submerged six times and modern day Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area. According to Hindu legend the god Krishna built a city which was ultimately destroyed by rising sea levels. Now archaeologists and Indian Navy divers are investigating underwater ruins at Dwarka on India's western coast, said to be Krishna's city. The new efforts, it is hoped, will settle the debate currently raging over the age and authenticity of the site near the Samudranaraya temple. Divers have collected blocks and samples which will now be dated. Traditional Hindu scholars referencing ancient Hindu scriptures believe the location to be very ancient, originally built many thousands of years ago. Such notions are, of course, vehemently rejected by establishment scientists though they are willing to concede that there is evidence indicating an age of as much as 3500 years.

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