Exploring Concepts

A.

622: Hijrah, migration to Medina

630: Muhammad arrives in Mecca

632: Muhammad dies

633: Abu Bakr is caliph

661: Muwiya becomes caliph; Muslim Empire in North Africa and Persia

B.

1. People were first attracted to Mecca, and still are, because. Mecca is a

nice city in a valley next to two major trade routes. Muslims believe that

the founding and settling of Mecca is related to a story in their religion.

2. Quraysh helped Mecca because they allowed safe pilgrimage and travel.

3. Nomads made the things to go in the market for the townspeople to buy,

such as food and crafts.

4. One important religious belief that the Muslims had in common with Jews

and Christians was the belief of a creator.

5. The Shiites believed that only members of Muhammad’s family could be his

successors, while those who claim to follow the Sunna are known as Sunni

Muslims and accept the election of the first four caliphs.

6. Seaports linked Arabia with Africa and Asia, so Arabia became a trade

center and through the market, city-dwellers were able to see the way other

cultures lived.

7. The Quraysh were able to provide safe pilgrimage because of their role as

keepers of the Ka’bah. This role helped their reputation as peacemakers and

allowed them to make treaties with neighboring tribes.

8. With the quickly growing Muslim population in Arabia, the Arabs were able

to conquer parts of Asia and Africa, bringing Islam to those continents.

9. Muhammad thought he was a messenger of God because he received unusual

messages. The first messages he received came to him while he was meditating

for a month in a cave on Mt. Hira, when verses from the Qur’an were revealed

to him.

Using Critical Thinking

1. The Arabs’ way of life shows intelligence. Or maybe it’s just common

sense. Either way, it worked. For instance, in their culture their were

nomadic herders, farmers, and city-living merchants or artisans. The nomadic

herders worked to make the population larger, to herd more people to Arabia.

The farmers worked the land into a rich agriculture area. Their crops could

be sold in the market along with the products of merchants or artisans who

worked there. In a way, our culture today is still like that- the basic

cycle. It is just a much more developed form, but with all the new

technology in the world, it has merely been adjusted to suit our needs.

2. I think that the Muslims of A.D. 630-660 would have responded to Anwar

wl-Sadat’s comment with gratitude. The Muslims seemed to believe very much

that they were united by their religion, that in a way it made them one big

family. I think they would have appreciated the comment, even if it has not

turned out to be true.

3. Ali had the right idea. Countries like Canada, for instance, who never

fight and are always peaceful, never seem to be getting themselves into

trouble. However, countries like the United States are constantly picking

fights with other countries, then trying to make up for it by making

treaties with the ones like Canada who we never have trouble with anyway.

4. If I were a nomad with a family, I would continue wandering. This way, my

children would be able to see the world and explore it. They would know what

was out there, as opposed to staying at an oasis where we might have to pay

for access to it. Traveling the roads could be dangerous, and there would be

a lot of risks being a trader but I would be willing to take them.