History of Islam

The History of Islam began in Makkah when Muhammad was given the revelation of the Quran by the angel Jibril in the 7th century. Muslim history and the historical development of Islam has affected political, economic, and military trends both inside and outside the Muslim world.

Early Muslim history

After Muhammad died, Muslim leadership was assumed by Abu Bakr. He was followed by Umar, and Uthman. Under Umar, more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire was conquered by the Arab Muslims. Umar also started the Muslim calendar.

Islamic civil wars

The First Fitna

The first civil war in Islam, also known as the First Fitna, broke out when the third caliph, Uthman, had been murdered by rebels. After Ali took over as the fourth caliph, a group led by Muhammad's wife Aisha, Talha and Zubayr refused to recognize Ali's caliphate. They instead raised an army which met Ali's army at Basra in Iraq. This led to the Battle of the Camel in which Ali's party emerged victorious.

Ali was soon challenged by Mu'awiya, the Umayyad governor of Syria. He refused to acknowledge Ali as caliph. Mu'awiya was a kinsman of Uthman and he pledged to bring the murderers and those who sheltered them to justice. Accordingly, the two groups met and fought a battle, called the Battle of Siffin. The battle ended in a draw and arbitration which also did not lead to any concrete decision. Another group of Muslims, the Kharijites who had previously been with Ali, rejected him because they felt that he was not following true Islam.

In the following years, Ali's governors could not prevent losing provinces to Mu'awiya, who increased his strength. Ali was killed by a Kharijite assassin in Kufa in 661. Mu'awiya I then established the Umayyad Caliphate. The Arab Islamic empire reached its largest geographical extent under the Umayyads.

References

  1. ↑ Nardo, Don (12 September 2011). The Islamic Empire. Greenhaven Publishing LLC. ISBN 9781420508024.

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