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The First Islamic State under Muhammad (622-632)
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The First Islamic State under Muhammad (622-632)
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The First Islamic State under Muhammad (622-632)
An Islamic state refers to a type of government primarily governed by Islamic religious law. Islamic religious law typically refers to the Sharia law that deals with diverse aspects of societal issues. The First Islamic State under Muhammad (622-632) was based on Sharia law.
Topics addressed under Sharia law under secular governance include politics, crime, and economics. The law also addresses issues of personal nature, such as diet, hygiene, sex, prayer, moral behaviors, as well as fasting. Different cultures, though, interpret the law differently, but are all governed by it as the supreme law. To many Muslims, the law appears to be the strictest and was believed to have originated from God and to be observed by all. Several governments, from early days, have been established and based on Islamic religious laws, thereby becoming officially Islamic states, starting with Caliphate. A caliphate is an Arabic term that means succession. It refers to an Islamic state governed or led by a supreme religious leader referred to as a caliph. A caliph can also be a supreme political leader. According to Islam, a caliph refers to Muhammad’s successor and other Islamic prophets. Historically, Muslim empires, that underwent succession following Islamic laws and practices, are usually known as caliphates. A caliphate thus represents a theocratic sovereign state ruled by a single Muhammad successor-caliph- and governed by the Islamic law as the supreme law of the land. Successors of Muhammad, who mostly included immediate disciples as well as their family members, led the caliphates to continue with the religious systems he had introduced. The caliphate was thus the first government system established by Muhammad in 622, governed by the constitution of Medina.
Most of Muhammad’s teachings and messages initially gained popularity and mostly received by slaves and poor populations, while many other people opposed his doctrines, in Mecca. Muhammad thus continued with his teachings in a bid to gain more devotees to follow his doctrines as the fundamental concepts of Islam. This made many people to dislike him and some even plotted to kill him. Consequently, Muhammad fled Mecca to Medina fearing for his dear life, establishing his capital there and become the commander of his believers. This epic journey is from Mecca to Medina is referred to as Hegira which is ‘flight’ in Arabic, which also serves as the beginning of the Muslim calendar. At Medina, Muhammad received a warm reception and had many followers. It is at this place that he built his first mosque, also known as an Islamic temple, and began his work of separating Christianity and Judaism from Islam Muhammad also changed the direction, which he had directed his followers to pray while facing. Initially, his followers had prayed while facing Jerusalem. After moving to Medina, he asked his followers to pray while facing Mecca.
While at Medina, Muhammad continued to give his followers revelations believed to be from Allah. The revelations that he continued to give to his followers, formed the ideas that consequently formed the fundamentals of a poetic text that later became the Koran. The Koran contains all the fundamental Islamic ideas and doctrines. As the supreme ruler of Medina, Muhammad modeled the Constitution of Medina, which formed the basis of all Islamic governance. The Constitution represented the Islamic political unity of Umma (Muslim nation). The constitution did though not represent some religious Muslim communities, such as Shia and Kharijites. The constitution subsequently became the governing law adhered to by Muhammad’s successors and his followers.
The Constitution of Medina
Towards the end Muhammad’s life, he was invited by a delegation from Medina that consisted of representatives of the twelve most important Median clans to act as the chief neutral arbitrator. Previously, nearly one hundred years before 622, there had been fighting in Medina that mainly involved its Jewish and pagan inhabitants. The many battles and wars between the differing communities led to major bloodsheds and disagreements which neither group wanted to take responsibility. Therefore, it reached a time when the communities decided that the ‘eye for an eye’ doctrine was only breeding more harm than good. To bring this enmity and fighting to an end, they believed that only an outsider with no tribal affiliations or conceptions would act as a neutral arbitrator to restore peace and sanity to them. Additionally, this arbitrator was to be a man with authority and one who could act as a neutral judge for dispute resolutions. Therefore, they settled for Muhammad who possessed all the qualities of the man they needed. After his institution as the chief arbitrator, Muhammad began work drafting the constitution of Medina, establishing it as a kind of federation, or alliance, among all the Medina communities as well as Muslim emigrants from Mecca. The Constitution f medina encompassed and defined the duties and rights of all its citizens. It also encompassed a detailed description regarding the relationship issues of the different tribes, inclusive of all emigrant Muslims and other existent communities in Medina, such as the Jews. The constitution therefore, constituted a formal agreement between Muhammad and all the major communities of Medina, Jews, Muslims, Christians, and pagans. Consequently, this constitution formed the fundamental basis of the first Islamic state (Must cite). Doctrines of this constitution helped to bring peace and an end to bitter tribal rivalry between the previously fighting communities of Medina, creating a one united Islam community- Umma.
The Constitution of Medina established religious freedoms, role of Medina as a sacred place (haram), security concerns (including women insecurity issues), and a tax remittance system for supporting communities during conflicts. It also enshrined the requirements for creating political alliances, individual protection mechanisms, and a judicial system for conflicts resolution. Additionally, the constitution described stipulations for paying blood money- a remittance between families or communities because of killing an individual.
From Medina Back to Mecca and the New Faith
After establishing a stable constitution and a string of followers, Muhammad plotted the journey back to Mecca, to reclaim his rightful place as the chosen messenger of Allah. Muhammad fought several battles against Mecca communities from his capital in Medina. Literature indicates that by 629, he had returned to Mecca with an army of nearly one thousand five hundred Islam converts. Muhammad entered the city of Mecca, his birth city, without any bloodshed and was unopposed in his entourage, making him the supreme Islam leader of the city. While in Mecca, he influenced the teaching of Muslim doctrines according to the revelations of Allah. During his expeditions and teaching tours, Muhammad forcefully converted many Arabs from the Peninsula to his Islamic faith and taught them his doctrines, the fundamentals of Islam religion. Additionally, he built a small empire at the Arabian Peninsula to act as his coordinating base. This allowed him to engage in Islam conversion activities of many devotees thereby enlarging the spread of his new religion to other Arab lands.
At one time, while meditating alone at Mount Hira, near Mecca, Muhammad received a revelation that he believed came from God. He therefore believed that God called him to be the teacher and prophet of the new faith, which means submission. Muhammad’s new faith encompassed aspects of Christianity and Judaism. His new religion also respected their holy books, religious leaders, and prophets (such as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus). Muhammad even referred to Abraham as Khalil, meaning God’s friend and identified him as an ancient Islam patriarch. Islam’s heritage is traced through Ishmael, Abraham’s son. Islam has grown to become one of the world’s most recognized and practiced religions, spreading across many regions of North Africa, the Near East, Spain, and the Middle East. Most of these regions have also embraced the Sharia Islamic law as the governing law of the land, following in the steps of the early Islam states.
Unfortunately, Muhammad did not leave behind a successor when he died. Consequently, this led to a leadership struggle after his death. The struggle played a major role in the division of Muhammad’s new Islam faith that has continued to the present day. The major division resulted in the creation of the Sunnis and Shites, although the Islam faith remains an important world religion with many followers.
References
Jonathan, Berkey, , P. The formation of Islam: religion and society in the Near East, 600-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Hisham, Ramadhan. Understanding the Islamic Law: From Classical to Contemporary. Lanham, Maryland, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006.
Michael, Lecker. The Constitution of Medina: Muhammad’s First Legal Document. Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, 2004.
Nazih, Ayubi N., Nader Hashemi and Emran Qureshi. Islamic State. In The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford Islamic Studies Online, http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0394 (accessed 01-Apr-2014).
Problem from Hell
Problem from Hell Assignment
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Problem from Hell
According to Samantha Power’s main points, she observes that American policymakers have been continuously hesitant to condemn mass killings as genocide or to take accountability for leading a worldwide military intervention. Samantha alleges that devoid of meaningful pressure from the American citizens, policymakers have evaded the name “genocide” completely, which came into more extensive use after World War II and Holocaust (Samantha, 2020). As an alternative, the policymakers petition to the primacy of national welfares or dispute that a United States reaction might be ineffective and speed up violence as an excuse for inaction. Samantha Power thinks that such explanations usually are ill-founded. I fully agree with her main points. She argues that worse than the United States toleration of terrible killings was that on the occurrence, the U.S. directly or indirectly assisted those carrying out genocide. Examples include the government providing manufacturing and agricultural credits to Iraq while Saddam Hussein was trying to wipe out its Kurds. On the other hand, it also orchestrated the United Nations Credentials Committee’s vote to favor the Khmer Rouge (Samantha, 2020). It pressured the United Nations Security Council to remove Rwanda’s peacekeepers upheld an arms restriction against the Bosnian Muslims, stopping them from protecting themselves.
I agree since there has been America’s disgracefully ineffective reaction to genocide in the twentieth century. There is a need for the military, financial, and diplomatic arsenal of America to go after meaningful interventions. I think that America’s inaction on the issue of genocide encourages mass murderers and genocidal tyrants. The American leaders did not act because they did not want to.
According to me, we should condemn the government’s inaction on the issue of genocide since genocide has dire consequences to the innocent citizens of America. The government’s unwillingness or inability to act on genocide and acknowledged problems usually generates sufferings and increases the extent of harm done by the damages. The government should develop interventions to deal with the issue of genocide and speak out about this concern.
Economics, politics, and culture intersect to impact public health. The political system is the means by which public health officials can attain lasting and population-wide system change. From the political outlook, the economic and vitality feasibility of any community is hugely reliant on the people’s wellbeing and the efficiency of its health establishments. Greater poverty and lower-income are more strongly connected to greater mortality rates than is the joblessness rate. There is also still a considerable organization of research that, in the short run, economic growth can be disadvantageous to wellbeing. Economics is connected with learning and impacting the economy. On the other side, politics is the practice and model of impacting individuals through power. In theory, economics could be non-political. The influence of culture on health is massive. It affects insights on public health, approaches to health promotion, illness, and death, where patients seek help, beliefs about causes of disease, how disease and pain are experienced, the types of treatment patients prefer, and their perceptions of health.
I think that genocide belongs in a dialogue of public health concerns. Lately, the range of public health has grown to take in matters of the humanitarian crisis, war, and violence. Genocide hence belongs to the issue of public health. It the period to openly identify genocide as an additional concern within the purview of public health (Willis & Levy, 2000). Whereas such an acknowledgment might appear needless, it is necessary so that suitable public wellbeing interventions and policies to avert massacre or lessen its public health consequences can be established and employed.Reference
Samantha. Power. (2020). A problem from hell: America and the age of genocide. Harper Perennial.
Willis, B. M., & Levy, B. S. (2000). Recognizing the public health impact of genocide. Jama, 284(5), 612-614.
https://doi:10.1001/jama.284.5.612
The first is the prologue. The prologue was used to introduce Omar to the reader
PROLOGUE
Omar Kahyyam was primarily a mathematician and an astronomer. He was an extremely intelligent individual who wrote many theories in physics and metaphysics. He is also attributed with the reformation of the Persian calender with seven other great intellects to create a calender more accurate than the Gregorian calender. Ironically he is known to the world today for his translated collection of lyrical quatrains called the Rubaiyat. His life and works are somewhat of a mystery because he was rather unpopular until after his death. Yet the work he is most known and beloved for is considered to have been a gross mistranslation of both character and content.
This paper will be divided into six sections. The first is the prologue. The prologue was used to introduce Omar to the reader. Next there will be a brief biography of his life and major influences of his work. Following this will be a section on his magnum opus and only work, The Rubaiyat. This will include literary criticism of his famous work. After this there will be a brief conclusion to sum up the overall paper followed by an epilogue with my opinion on Khayyam. Finally in my bibliography the reader will see my sources for research and my opinion on those books.
I. OMAR KHAYYAM, THE ENIGMA
In the history of world literature Omar Khayyam is an enigma. No poet of any time period has received greater recognition and fame through such a enormous misreading of his work. Known today world wide, Khayyam’s works would undoubtable be unheard of in modern day literature in they were not translated by English writer Edward FitzGerald. The paradox is that FitzGerald misinterpreted both Khayyam and his works in his translation to start an unending conflict1.
FitzGerald added to his editions of the Rubaiyat a biographical sketch entitled “Omar Khayyam: The Astronomer Poet of Persia.” In this he wrote his opinion that Khayyam was an anti-religious materialist who believed life’s only meaning was to be found in wine, song, and worldly pleasures:
Having failed (however mistakenly) of finding any Providence but Destiny, and any world but this, he set about making the most of it; preferring rather to soothe the soul through the senses into acquiescence with things as he saw them, than to perplex it with vain disquietude after what they might be…. He takes a humorous or perverse pleasure in exalting the gratification of sense above that of intellect, in which he must have taken great delight, although it failed to answer the questions in which he, in common with all men, was most vitally interested2….
This was how Fitzgerald interpreted the minimal facts of Khayyam’s life. Many later studies of Khayyam reveal a more accurate description of his life and his writings.
Omar’s full name was Ghiyath ud Din Abu’l Fatah Omar bin Ibrahim al Khayyam. From his name and the customs of the time it can be interpreted that his father was a tent maker, which is the meaning of Khayyam. It can also be seen that his father was named Ibrahim. Omar used the name Khayyam as his pen name. He was born at Naishapur in the province of Khorastan (located in the northeastern part of present day Iran) on May 18, 10483.
Omar’s great influence and teacher was Imam Mowaffak whom he and many others studied under. It was through Imam that Omar met two other of his pupils and befriended them. One was Nizam ul Mulk, and the other was Ben Sabbah. These three studied under Imam for about four years, in these four years they became great friends and influences on each other. Towards the end of their studies with Imam they made a pact. Based on the superior education all three of them had obtained the judged that at least one of them would become rich and important. They made a pact that when one of them did become of some importance they would split their fortunes three ways.
After years of traveling Nizam became a chief advisor to the Sultan. The first to come claim his share was Ben Sabbah. He demanded a place in government and was given a position of high regard. He soon made a fool of himself and was removed from his position because of all his greed.
Omar also came to claim his share; but not to ask for a title or a position. All Khayyam wanted to do was live in one corner of the shadow of his greatness, when Nizam realized the Omar was being truthful he granted him a pension from the gold treasury of Naishapur4.
Not much is Known of his life as a child, but that at the age of seventeen he was already adept in the academic subjects of his day. In response of the early death of his father Omar began to look for means to support himself. He therefore embarked on an illustrious public career at the age of eighteen.
A tract he wrote on Algebra won him the patronage of a rich and influential Doctor in Samarkand. Later he obtained a position in the court of Sultan Malik Shah, which included being the Sultan’s personal physicist. By his mid twenties Khayyam became head of a astronomical observatory and authored many works on mathematics and physics. He also played a leading role in the reformation of the Persian calender5.
After the death of Sultan Malik Shah in 1092 , Omar lost his place at court and one of his great influences. Subsequently he made a pilgrimage to Mecca. When he returned he is said to alienate himself from the general population. Not much is known about this time period in his life except that this is when he is thought to of written the Rubaiyat .
The story of Omar’s death is said to be that Omar was studying a work on metaphysics when he marked his page with a gold toothpick and prayed his last prayer and then died. His tomb is still standing in Naishapur6.
THE RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM, OR EDWARD FITZGERALD?
Omar Khayyam’s most famous work, and only work in poetry is the Rubaiyat. Yet it only became famous because of the translation made by Edward FitzGerald in 1864. This translation however lead to a major controversy over how accurately FitzGerald actually represented the great author and his work7.
The Rubaiyat, according to Edward FitzGerald’s translation is a series of lyrical poems that can be read separately or all read as a whole work. These small poems that stand on their own are called Quatrains. FitzGeralds translation of the Rubaiyat contains one hundred and one of these small poems. They all seem to have the constant themes of hedonism, alcohol, women and spiritual fulfillment. In the Rubaiyat Khayyam uses many different literary devises. Some of the most popularly used are symbolism and metaphor.
Very little is known of the reception of Khayyam’s poetry before the nineteenth century when FitzGerald introduced it to Europe. The themes in this novel at the time of the release of FitzGerald’s translation were thought to be Escapist and fatalistic. This is why many feel it was so popular in Europe. It seems the works of Khayyam seem to show that he found the world and all of its’ glory for just what it was, shallow and depressing with only simple pleasures. FitzGerald’s book appealed and related to the people of Europe’s despair. In fact the book became so popular that there were Omar Khayyam clubs formed by great minds in England and other European countries8.
All the real issue behind this work is weather or not Edward FitzGerald properly translated Khayyam’s work, or if he properly judged his character. After Fitzgerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat there were many other translations done because his was thought to be inaccurate. This is one of the reasons the Rubaiyat is so popular now. In fact, almost immediately after FitzGerald’s copy was published there was controversy over the accuracy of the translation from scholars. For the common people however it was a beautiful book full of meaning that could be related to. Most didn’t care if it wasn’t in its original form because it was magnificent the way it was.
Most literary criticism found today on the Rubaiyat will be more about the controversy than the actual writings. It has been proven that FitzGerald completely gave Khayyam the wrong reputation in his forward entitled “Omar Khayyam; The Astronomer Poet of Persia”. FitzGerald conveyed the message that Khayyam was an Atheist whose only goal was to pursue worldly pleasures. This is what he leaned his translation of the Rubaiyat towards when he changed its format and sometimes meaning. He didn’t do this intentionally, his true goal was to truly capture the spirit of Khayyam. Unfortunately he completely misinterpreted Khayyam and the Meanings of his Poetry9.
THE TRUE RUBAIYAT
In 1867 J.B. Nicolasintroduced a French translation of the Rubaiyat which differs greatly from FitzGerald’s in two respects. Nicolas suggested that Khayyam’s Writings are very deeply rooted in religion, this is a large contrast to FitzGerald’s interpretation of Khayyam. Also his book cannot be read as one flowing poem as FitzGerald made his into. This is an oriental way of poetry and not that of Khayyam. Khayyam’s true poems could all stand on their own as completely independent and meaningful thoughts. Justin H. McCarthy, another notable translator, completed his translation of the Rubaiyat in 1896 from the oldest existing manuscripts of Khayyam’s Rubaiyat that still exist. These two translations have been called the two most accurate translated versions of the Rubaiyat that exist10.
The true Rubaiyat is said to be just about opposite of FitzGerald’s interpretation. The poems show the limits of science and the importance of god. They speak of wisdom and heavenly pleasures, not earthly. Even though this has been proven Fitzgerald’s version is still the most popular Rubaiyat11.
CONCLUSION
POPULAR OPINION IS GREATER THAN THE TRUTH.
Edward FitzGerald’s version of the Rubaiyat is a beautiful flowing poem that is very symbolic and meaningful. His version is also loved by many people and shared throughout the world. To call it a translation however seems somewhat unfair to the original author. The translation was admittedly change on purpose to make it more appealing to people in Europe, however the character and meaning of Khayyam were accidentally misunderstood.
The true Rubaiyat is a non flowing collection of poems called quatrains. These poems speak of the beauty of nature, a nature given to s by god. They also speak of the limitations of science where faith is needed. They are inspiring and well written by the most popular Persian poet ever to Quill a poem.
EPILOGUE
OMAR KHAYYAM, THE ENIGMA NO LONGER.
As stated in my report above the most popular translation of the Rubaiyat is Edward FitzGerald’s. I read his translation because it is the only one written in English. I felt it was a very flowing and lyrical poem that stood better as a complete work than separate poems. Yet every little quatrain had more than one meaning depending on the reader. To express my opinion on Omar Khayyam I feel I will also express my opinion on Edward Fitzgerald. I feel FitzGerald just read the Rubaiyat and decided to publish what it meant to him. The only problem with this is that he published it as a translation and not an interpretation.
The main problem with what he did is that he thought he was interpreting it as Khayyam thought it to be interpreted. What he really did was completely miss the content of Khayyam’s great work, and therefore this led to FitzGerald’s misinterpretation of Khayyam’s character.
As for Omar Khayyam himself, based on my research, he was a very interesting and respectable person. He was obviously intellectually superior to most people of his time. His work and his life truly reflect all that FitzGerald claimed in his very brief biography to be false. The true Omar Khayyam was devoutly religious and even though he was a scientist and a rational thinker he had no problem writing about the limits of science and the importance of religious faith.
I found Omar Khayyam to be the most interesting author I have ever researched because it almost seemed like doing detective work. When I located the Rubaiyat by FitzGerald I felt as though I found an excellent biographical source. That is until I looked further into it and slowly unwrapped the mystery around this great world intellect.
FOOTNOTES
1”Khayyam, Omar”. Grolier Multi-Media Encyclopedia (Grolier Incorporated, 1995)
2Paramahansa Yogananda, Wine of the Mystic(Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship,1994)xiii.
3Literature World Masterpieces(New York:Prentice Hall, 1991)98.
4Edward FitzGerald, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam(New York:Illustrated Editions Company)forward.
5Yogananda xiv.
6FitzGerald forward.
7Yogananda xviii.
8Poetry Criticism: Khayyam(London: Cassell and Company)142-145.
9Yogananda xxi-xxiii.
10Poetry Criticism 147-152
11Yogananda xvii-xxi.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
FitzGerald, Edward. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam(NewYork:Illustrated Editions Company)forward.
This book consisted of a brief biographical sketch of Khayyam that proved to be very useful. It also contained FitzGerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat.
Grolier Multi-Media Encyclopedia ”Khayyam, Omar”. (Grolier Incorporated, 1995)
This very brief encyclopedia article gave me some specific dates I needed and informed me of the controversy over translations.
Literature World Masterpieces(New York:Prentice Hall, 1991)98.
This is our literature book in school. It helped me about as much as the encyclopedia article.
Poetry Criticism: Khayyam(London: Cassell and Company)142-145.
This is where I obtained my literary criticisms and discovered of the other translations of the Rubaiyat.
Yogananda Paramahansa. Wine of the Mystic(Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship,1994)xiii.
The book sited above is a interpretation of the Rubaiyat by the author. It helped me to more easily understand the greater meaning of Khayyam. This book also contained a long biography. This was easily the most helpful book I was able to locate.