ISLAMIC HISTORY

Evolution and Expansion of Islam

Evolution and Expansion of Islam

IntroductionIslam began with the preaching of Muhammad in the year 622, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Under the leadership of Muhammad and his successors, Islam spread rapidly. There is disagreement among Muslims and spread of whether religious or military imposition, or converting people to Islam. In Arabic, the word Islam means peace, submission and obedience (Izzeti, 1976). The Islamic religion is based on the teachings and the rule of God as they were revealed to Muhammad, His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). A Muslim is one who believes in God and tries to put his life in accord with divine revelation and the words of the prophet. It must also work to build the society on the same basis. The word "Allah" is the name reserved for God in Arabic. It is a single term that cannot be placed in the plural or feminine.Spread of Islam in South AsiaThere is little consensus among scholars on the dates, originating sources, and agencies of the Islamization process (Shih, 2002). Many, however, pointed to China and India, and later, southern Arabia, as the probable places where Islam in Southeast Asia first spread out. A combination of factors must have combined to explain the spread of Islam throughout the sub continent, such as via Muslim traders (Muslim merchants controlled much of the Indian Ocean trade route), Sufi missionaries, intermarriage with a royal household, the king's conversion to Islam, and the appeal and universality of the Faith. Predictably, the spread of Islam was uneven in different parts of the region (Shih, 2002). The faith was subjected to prevailing economic, cultural and political circumstances and related imperatives.

Cultural Conditions under Which Islam Arose

The arts produced in the context of the Islamic world have a certain stylistic unity due to the movement of artists, merchants, sponsors and works. The use of a common script across the Islamic civilization and the development of distinctive calligraphy reinforce this idea of unity. Other elements were highlighted as the focus on decorative and the importance of geometry and sets. For Oleg Grabar, The Art of Islam can also be defined as "a series of attitudes vis-à-vis the very process of artistic creation”. In architecture, buildings with specific functions, such as mosques and madrasas, are created in a variety of forms. However, they follow the same basic pattern.The India, conquered by the Ghaznavid and Ghurides in the ninth century, became independent only after 1206 when Muizz, or kings, slaves, came to power, marking the birth of the Delhi Sultanate (Esposito, 2002). Later other competing sultanates were born to Bengal, in Kashmir, in Gujarat, to Jawnpur, in Malwa, and in the northern Deccan (Berkey, 2003). They move away gradually through Persian traditions, giving rise to architecture and urban tinged original syncretism with Hindu art. The period of the sultanates ended with the arrival of the Mughals who seized the region with Islamic concept and life.

History of CaliphatesFollowing the death of Muhammad, four caliphs called the 'Rightly Guided' succeeded in 632 to 661 to administer the Caliphate of ...