A bit of early genealogy.
- Muhammed (his early life is quite obscure)
- born in Mecca, western Arabia, ~ 570 AD
- tribe of Quraysh, but not to the powerful part of that tribe
- Quraysh tribe: traders: Mecca, southwest Arabia, and Syria
- sanctuary of the town: Ka ayn ba, where images of local gods kept
- marries Khadija, a widow engaged in trade; looked after her business
- becomes a solitary wanderer
- age 40: supernatural experience
- Allah: his name for God; was already the name of one of the local gods (it is now also used by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians as the name of God)
- as Muhammad's support grew, the powerful members of his tribe moved away from him
- his uncle: Abu Talib
- his uncle Abu Talib and his wife die the same year; things become very, very bad for Muhammed
- he attacked the idols and ceremonies
- placed himself more explicitly in the line of prophets of hte Jewish and Christian tradition
- 622: untenable position in Mecca
- departs for an oasis 200 miles to the north, Yathrib, known in the future as Madina (sic)
- the move was expedited by two "warring" trading tribes in Yathrib; they needed an arbiter; found it in Muhammed
- the concept of haram solved the problem: each group in a region was independent; keep their own laws and customs, but the entire region was to be one of peace; the alliance would keep the peace
- Madina: becomes Muhammed's center of gravity
- fighting with Quraysh becomes worse
- about this time, the Quran is developed
- Quran may have evolved along with changes in his relations with the Jews in Madina
- the relationship between the Jews and Muhammed became worse; probably due to trading conflicts
- tipping point: the direction in which the community faced when praying
- changed from Jerusalem to Mecca (qibla)
- new emphasis on Muhammed's descent from Abraham
- Abraham seen as neither Jew nor Christian, but common ancestor of both, as well as the Muslims
- a reconciliation of sorts with Quraysh began about the same time
- since the haram at Meccas was thought to have been founded by Abraham, it could be accepted as a place to which pilgrimage was allowed, although with a changed meaning
- 629: first pilgrimage to Mecca by Quraysh tribe with their leaders' support
- Madina: still the capital
- 632: Muhammed's last visit to Mecca; the "we have a dream" speech; dies that year
- After his death, elders meet to determine Muhammed's successor (khalifa) or caliph
- Abu Bakr selected; his daughter 'A'isha was wife to the prophet; 'A'isha was one of Muhammed's wives
- 'A'isha seems to have taken a place like Mary has taken among the Catholics
- 'A'isha, unlike Mary, was a writer
- so, Muhammed's father-in-law (one of them) becomes the first caliph
- Abu Bakr solved his problems, his challenges with his army
- by the end of the second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab (634-644), the whole of Arabis, part of the Sasanian Empire,and the Syrian and Egyptian provinces of the Byzantine Empire had been conquered; the rest of the Sasanian lands were occupied soon afterwards
- the Muslims had invaded and conquered two empires, "overnight"
- Umar ibn al-Khattab assassinated for private vengeance
- his assassination opened the door to the first period of civil war in the community
- the claimant to be the third caliph:
- Ali ibn Abi Talib (656 - 661)
- Quraysh; an early convert
- a cousin of Muhammed; married to Muhammed's daughter Fatima
- Ali had two adversaries
- the struggle for Madina occurred in camp-cities
- Ali established himself as caliphin Kufa (100 miles south of Baghdad; Najaf, today)
- the dissidents established themselves in Basfa
- a third group in Syria; supported ibn Uthman
- that third group and Ali meet head-to-head
- Ali, the last caliph so weakened, his end was foreshadowed
- Ali assassinated in his own city of Kufa
- the Syrian leader Mu ibn awiya ibn Abi Sufyan takes control (661 - 680)
- So, Ali ibn Abi Talib is the fourth of the four caliphs:
- Abu Baker, 623 - 624
- 'Umar ibn al-Khattah, 634 - 644
- 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, 644 - 656
- Ali ibn Abi talib, 656 - 661
- Then with the Syrians in control, the Umayyads
- about fourteen leaders, 661 - 750
- beginning with Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan
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