Although contested by Eastern Roman Empire and Persian Empire, Arabian Peninsula was never conquered.

Muhammad 570-632

Khadijah, wife of Muhammad

first began to teach in Mecca and not welcomed

(Ka'aba, a shrine)

the flight of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina, 622 (a decisive moment in the history of Muhammad and Islam)

Three Sources

• Quran: The scriptures of Islam, a body of recitations
• Hadith: The sayings of the Prophet
• Sunna: The good practice (Sunni, the sect)

Basic Elements of Faith

-1. Make al-Islam, the "surrender" to Allah

-2. Five pillars:

• A profession of faith-"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet."
• Fasting, especially during Ramadan
• Prayer, five times daily, facing Mecca
• Alms
• Pilgrimage to Mecca

-3. A faith of "Orthopraxy" more than of "Orthodoxy" (action is more important than the elaboration and studying of the doctrine)

-4. The notion of the Umma Muslima- the community of all those who had make al-Islam

632, Abu Bakr became "Caliph," successor to the prophet.

the expansion

Jihad: Holy war

Dar al-Islam: House of Surrender

Dar al-Harb: House of war

661, Emergence of the Umayyad Caliphate

750, Palace revolution brought the Abbasid family to power. They build a new city, Baghdad.