ISLAM AND THE WORLD SUMMARY
CHAPTER 3: THE ERA OF MUSLIM GLORY
Key points in this chapter:
The Muslims expanded for the sole purpose of spreading their faith and justice to every corner of the world.
Muslims ruled based on the Quran, Sunnah and Shari’ah Law and looked to improve both the spiritual and material state of those they ruled over.
Muslims also benefited those they did not rule over as neighbouring polities implemented Islamic systems
Expansion of the Islamic Caliphate – CK12 Foundation
In chapter three, the author speaks about the effect of Muslim rule on the global world. Muslim rule offered hope for all people and brought about a change in all aspects of their lives. The summary of this chapter will be split into three sections. The first will explain why the Muslims expanded, the second will highlight how the Muslims ruled, and the third will go through the effect Muslim rule had on the global world.
The author highlights how the Muslims did not just suddenly assume custodianship of a third of the world but only after two decades of character-building which made them ready. They did not do it due to a desire for power. This is evident by the fact that nearly all who assumed leadership took on its burden reluctantly. The author does not mention many examples, but it is helpful to mention some to understand this better. The succession of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is one of the greatest examples of this in which Abu Bakr (RA) did not want the burden of leadership. Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) also took the mantle of the Caliph reluctantly. Nearly eighty years later, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz also became the Caliph reluctantly. Therefore, this shows that expansion was not done to assume positions of power and authority as the Companions did not want them. They also did not expand due to a desire to spread Arab Imperialism, as they were free from the shackles of pride and racism. To illustrate this, the author uses the example of when the governor of Egypt, Amr ibn al-As’s (RA) son, slapped a commoner in Egypt. The matter was brought to Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA), who ordered the Egyptian to take his revenge. He had no regard for the high status of the offender’s father, who was not only a governor but a senior Companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Another example to illustrate this is through the writings of Ibn Khaldun who says, “It is an amazing fact of history that though their religion is of Arabian origin and the law that the Prophet ﷺ had bought had an Arab complexion, with a few exceptions, all eminent men of learning in the Muslim Millat, in the field of theological and secular sciences, are non-Arabs. Even those who are Arabs by birth are non-Arabs by education, language and scholarship.”11 If there was a sense of pride in them, they would not allow non-Arabs to rise to such positions in the state. Therefore, the author concludes that their only goal was to spread their faith and morality across the world. When the Muslims expanded, they ruled and governed based on the Quran, Sunnah and Shari’ah. It left no room for personal opinion, and they had to do whatever the Shari’ah dictated. They could not judge based on enmity, hatred or desire for revenge. Although the author does not mention this, it is worth noting that this made Muslim Expansion unique from all others.
The Muslims also put much significance on the moral development of the people they ruled over. They did not allow for material advancements to overrun spiritual advancements; the perfect equilibrium was found. The author says that if there was too much emphasis on the material, man would be no different to beast, whereas if there were too much emphasis on the spiritual, civilisation would wither away. The Muslims found the perfect equilibrium and were perfect to rule. They created the perfect citizens for the perfect state. He says, “The government was judged by the yardstick of morality, and morals were judged by their utility to lift humanity in permanent values and establish justice in human society.”12 This shows that Muslim rule was unlike any other. Unlike the Romans and Persians, they did not look to exploit those they ruled over, but as highlighted above, they looked to improve both the material and spiritual state of the people. One notable effect of this was that crime was very low, not due to a large police force but the spiritual development and material improvements in the lives of people who would otherwise resort to theft and other crimes. This was again something unseen in history. This shows that Muslim rule was perfect for all citizens and was indeed unique.
Muslim expansion also positively affected those it did not rule over. Islam is an entirely monotheistic religion. Other religions, such as Christianity which also claim to have one God, began to adopt some of the monotheistic practices of Islam. The Muslims did not allow portraits of people to be painted to prevent people from being deified and especially did not allow them in masjids. The Christians followed suit in 726 CE when Leo III issued a decree prohibiting the adoration of images. In addition, Islam had removed the idea of a middleman between man and God; a person could ask God directly for forgiveness. Consequently, movements against confessing sins to priests to attain forgiveness became popular. This shows that the rise of Islam and its era of glory had even affected the Christians they did not rule over. In India, there were more social reforms due to the influence of their new-Muslim neighbours. Ideas such as respect for women and their rights became more popular. This shows that the rise of Islam affected the religious and socio-political aspects of those they did not rule.
In conclusion, chapter three shows the global effects of the rise of Islam. The Muslims expanded to spread their faith and morality, and they did so in a manner unseen in history. They found the equilibrium between material improvements and spiritual improvements. As a result, they significantly improved the lives of the people they governed over and even those they did not govern. Therefore, it is clear that Islam had rescued the world from its terminal decline.