The Bamberg Introduction to the History of Islam (BIHI) 01

1. Fundamentals, Arabia on the Eve of Islam

The first session covers preliminary topics, introduces the lecture's concept, and examines the religious, social, and political landscape of late antique Arabia and its influence on Islam. Special emphasis is placed on the tensions between the various religious cultures that set the stage for the emergence of Ḥanīfism, and subsequently, Islam.

1.1. Preliminaries

1.1.1. Notes on Arabic

1.1.1.1. The Transcription System Used

For enhanced readability, this Introduction primarily uses Wikipedia Strict Transliteration for Arabic names and terms.

The following table provides information on the correlation between Arabic and Latin letters:

Arabic Letter	ا	ب	ت	ث	ج	ح	خ	د	ذ	ر	ز	س	ش	ص	ض	ط	ظ	ع	غ	ف	ق	ك	ل	م	ن	ه	و	ي	يِّ	ء	ة
Name	Alif	Bāʼ	Tāʼ	Thāʼ	Jīm	Ḥāʼ	Khāʼ	Dāl	Dhāl	Rāʼ	Zāy	Sīn	Shīn	Ṣād	Ḍād	Ṭāʼ	Ẓāʾ	‘Ayn	Ghayn	Fā’	Qāf	Kāf	Lām	Mīm	Nūn	Hā’	Wāw	Ya’	Yā’	Hamza	Tā’ marbūṭa
Wikipedia-Strict-Transliteration	a, i, u, ā	b	t	th	j	ḥ	kh	d	dh	r	z	s	sh	ṣ	ḍ	ṭ	ẓ	‘ or ʿ	gh	f	q	k	l	m	n	h	ū, w, u	y	ī, īy, iyy	’ or ʾ	a, ah, at

Information on the pronunciation of individual Arabic letters and corresponding transliteration marks can be found on the relevant linked pages. Vowels with a macron ā/ī/ū are in principle pronounced as long vowels.

1.1.1.2. The Arabic Article

Throughout this lecture, the reader will frequently encounter the Arabic gender-neutral article al-, as in al-bayt (“the house”). Before the so-called sun letters t, th, d, dh, r, z, s, sh, ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, ẓ, l, and n, the “l” of the article is assimilated to the following sound, as in ash-Shams (“the sun”). After a vowel, the a of the article is dropped.

1.1.1.3. The Morphology of Arabic Words

The root of almost all Arabic words consists of three consonants, known as radicals. These radicals are combined with various vowels, prefixes, infixes, and suffixes to form words. Terms sharing the same root consonants are typically semantically related. For example, the root consonants of the Arabic word jihād are j-h-d. One who practices jihād is a mujāhid. This word also derives from the root j-h-d, but has the prefix mu-. The root j-h-d denotes “to strive, to make an effort.” The word jihād also means effort but has acquired the specific meaning of “fight against the unbelievers.” Another word derived from the root j-h-d that includes an infix is Ijtihād, which means “independent reasoning.” Understanding these connections helps in recognizing related words.

1.1.2. The Qur'an as a Resource

2) I removed the photo of Friedrich Rückert, as it is specific to the German context 3) I took out the German translation suggestions. I will work on sending you a list of English translation suggestions--> In this Introduction, the abbreviation "Q" denotes quotations from the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. The Qur'an is written in Arabic and organized into Surahs, which are further subdivided into verses. When referencing the Qur'an, "Q" is followed by the specific Surah and verse numbers. For instance, Q 2:42 indicates a quote from Surah 2, verse 42. Qur'anic quotations in this Introduction are typically linked to the digital edition of the Qur'an by Corpus Coranicum, which provides both a transcription and a translation of the quoted verse. By following these links, you can read the relevant passages directly and understand them within their context.

1.2. The Concept of the Introduction

1.2.1. The Underlying Concept of Islam

Overview Map of the Muslim World Population

The 10 Countries with the Largest Muslim Populations in 2010
	Country	Estimated Population	% Percentage of World Muslim Population
1	Indonesia	209.120.000	13,1
2	India	176.200.000	11,0
3	Pakistan	167.410.000	10,5
4	Bangladesh	134.430.000	8,4
5	Nigeria	77.300.000	4,8
6	Egypt	76.990.000	4,8
7	Iran	73.570.000	4,6
8	Türkiye	71.330.000	4,5
9	Algeria	34.730.000	2,2
10	Morocco	31.930.000	2,0
	Total	1.053.010.000	65,8

The subject of this lecture is Islam, a religion with approximately 1.6 billion followers. It is crucial to highlight an important point right at the beginning: only a minority of Muslims, about 20 percent, currently live in the so-called MENA region (Western Asia and North Africa). In contrast, more than half of the world's Muslims live in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The remaining Muslims are spread across Sub-Saharan Africa (15 percent), Central Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The demographic distribution of Muslims worldwide is also reflected in the design of this lecture: it does not focus solely on the MENA region but also gives extensive attention to other regions of the Islamic world.

The term “Islam” is derived from the Arabic verb aslama, meaning “to surrender, to submit, to devote.” This verb appears in various passages of the Qur'an. For instance, in (Q 2:112): “whosoever surrendereth [aslama] his purpose to Allah while doing good, his reward is with his Lord” and in (Q 22:34): “your god is One God, therefor surrender unto Him.” Islām is the verbal noun form (or nominalized form) of aslama: the act of submission or devotion. The Qur'an itself uses this term to denote a religion (dīn): “religion with Allah (is) the Surrender [Islam].” (Q 3:19) and “I have chosen for you as religion al-Islam.” (Q 5:3). One who submits or surrenders, meaning practices Islam, is a Muslim. Grammatically speaking, muslim is the present participle of the verb aslama.

The Quran itself makes an interesting distinction between the acceptance of Islam (islām) and the acceptance of faith (ʾīmān). For instance, in Q 49:14, the desert Arabs are instructed not to say, “We believe” (We have accepted faith), but rather “We submit” (We have accepted Islam) because “faith ha[s] not yet entered into [their] hearts". Such statements give rise to the notion that someone who has accepted Islam, i.e., a Muslim, does not necessarily have to be a "believer," i.e., a Mu'min. The definition of Islam is thus less narrow than that of faith. The original meaning of Islām, if it does not refer to faith, has not been clearly established. Meïr Bravmann, who examined the use of the word in pre-Islamic literature, argues that in the early Islamic community, which was strongly oriented toward jihād, it denoted a willingness for self-sacrifice in battle.

The fact that Islam rests on “five pillars” is usually the first thing children learn about Islam in school today.

Since the end of the 7th century (see 5.3.5. below), the concept that Islam rests on five pillars has been documented: 1. belief in God and His Messenger; 2. the five daily prayers; 3. fasting during Ramaḍān; 4. paying Zakāt; and 5. the Ḥajj pilgrimage. These aspects will be further discussed throughout the lecture. The concept of the five pillars of Islam was later attributed to the Prophet in the form of the so-called Hadith of Gabriel. It has been incorporated into the most significant collections of Islamic traditions.

From the outset, Islam also had a political dimension, as Muhammad, the founder of this religion, established his own state in Medina. Muhammad's political role and his military success set him apart from most other founders of religions. After Muhammad's death, the state he established was continued by the so-called caliphs. In Islamic international law theory, it is referred to as Dār al-Islām (“House/Abode of Islam”) (see 6.4.1.3. below). The political dimension of Islam was only questioned and attenuated in the course of the 19th century, as reform-minded Muslims encountered the Western legal and value system. In the course of the re-Islamization process of the late 20th century, however, many Muslims returned to the view that Islam should also be embodied as a distinct state. Several contemporary Islamic states see themselves to varying degrees as successors to the state of Medina. The political ideology that strives for the reestablishment of an Islamic state, in continuation of classical teachings, is generally referred to as “Islamism” or “political Islam”. However, on the international level, a single Islamic state has now been replaced by a family of states, namely the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), based in Jeddah.

From the 19th century onwards, European languages used the term “Islam” with a very broad meaning, encompassing not only the religion but also the entire spectrum of Muslim peoples, countries, and states, along with their distinct cultures. As a result, the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the foremost reference work in Islamic studies, covers not only the Islamic religion but also the entire civilization of Muslim-majority countries, with a particular emphasis on the Middle East. Similarly, many Islamists also adopt a broad definition of Islam. For instance, in 1939, Hasan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared that Islam is “creed and worship, homeland and nationality, religion (dīn) and state (dawla), spirituality and work, Qur'an and sword” (see 12.1.2. below).

The question of what Islam is and what it encompasses is therefore at times interpreted quite differently. In this Introduction, a definition of Islam is adopted that is narrower than that of a civilization, yet not confined solely to the realm of religion. Relevant to our lecture are all currents, movements, organizations and institutions that describe themselves as “Islamic”, as well as ideas and concepts that have been declared as “Islamic” (explicit Islamicity) by Muslims. Additionally, matters with a recognizable direct or indirect reference to the Qur’an, Muhammad or Mecca are addressed (implicit Islamicity). This is justified by the fact that the Qur'an is the central holy text, Muhammad the key holy figure, and Mecca the principal holy site of Islam. Finally, events, developments, groups and individuals of paramount importance to the history of Islam's expansion are also taken into account.

1.2.2 The Historical Approach

In principle, there are two different approaches to depicting a religion. The systematic approach examines the various subfields and dimensions of a particular religion sequentially, such as conceptions of God, mythology, sacred texts, concepts of creation, rituals, ethics, legal and social aspects, political ideas, and so forth. This method has the advantage of allowing related phenomena to be viewed in context, which can sometimes provide greater clarity. However, a risk with this approach is that it can quickly lead to an essentialist view of the particular religion in the minds of listeners and readers, as it may be perceived as unchanging and static. An alternative is the historical approach, which takes the historical context into account when describing individual phenomena, thereby counteracting anachronistic ideas. This approach, for example, can demonstrate that phenomena which today appear inseparable from the particular religion only emerged at a certain point in time within particular political and cultural contexts. The same holds true for the various Islamic movements, whose doctrines often become comprehensible only when considered within the context of their historical background. The historical approach generally encourages critical thinking by allowing the understanding of ideas and norms within their historical development, thereby enabling a critical examination of their universal validity. It also highlights how strongly discourses are shaped by the prevailing power structures. For these reasons, I have opted for the historical approach in this Introduction to Islam.

When discussing the developments, events, personalities and movements of earlier epochs, it may seem that they have no relevance to the present. However, this impression is misleading. On the one hand, the memory of religious-political events from the Islamic past plays an enormously important role in the collective memory of contemporary Muslims. On the other hand, all religiously tinged discussions among Muslims today about society and politics also reference these past events. Therefore, engaging with past developments is essential for understanding current Islamic discourses. The rituals that shape the religious daily life of Muslims today, such as ritual prayer, the Friday prayer, Ramaḍān fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca, were also introduced at specific times and have evolved over time. This lecture aims to explore the historical contexts in which these rituals were established and transformed, fostering an understanding of their social and political significance as it concretizes in specific historical situations.