The Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca

• The hajj is the world's largest public gathering
• Over the centuries, Muslims have made the hajj a significant religious event
• Thousands of Muslims traveled to Mecca each year within two or three centuries of Muhammad's death
• Early pilgrims approached Mecca by camel caravans from various cities
• As Islam spread, ships sailing through the Indian Ocean and Red Sea became common
• Steamships and railroads increased pilgrim numbers in the 19th and 20th centuries
• Jumbo jets dramatically increased pilgrim numbers, with over two million annually visiting Mecca in recent years
• Hajj rituals have remained stable since Muhammad's time
• Since 630 CE, the hajj has been open only to Muslims
• Pilgrims enter a state of consecration by wearing simple white garments
• Hajj ceremonies occur during a five-day period in the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar
• The rituals symbolize important tenets of Islam and commemorate Abraham
• Hajj concludes with a procession around the Ka'ba and visits to other sacred sites
• The Saudi Arabian government has hosted the annual pilgrimage since 1926
• Thousands of volunteers provide services for pilgrims
• Devout Muslims see the hajj as an intensification of their Islamic faith, emerging free of sin

Islamic Law: The Sharia

• Sharia is Islamic holy law providing guidance on behavior in almost every aspect of life
• It was elaborated by jurists and legal scholars
• The sharia draws inspiration from the Quran and Muhammad's life
• It offers guidance on marriage, family life, inheritance, business, political authority, and crime
• Islam became a way of life with social and ethical values derived from religious principles

The Expansion of Islam

• After Muhammad's death, the Islamic community faced potential disintegration due to lack of a designated successor
• Many towns and bedouin clans renounced Islam, but the Islamic community expanded militarily
• Conquests laid the foundation for rapid growth of Islamic society

The Early Caliphs and the Umayyad Dynasty

• Muhammad's advisors selected Abu Bakr as caliph following his death
• Abu Bakr and later caliphs led the umma as lieutenants of Muhammad
• Abu Bakr became head of state, chief judge, and religious leader
• Under Abu Bakr, the umma launched offensives against those who renounced Islam
• Within a year, they were compelled to recognize Islam and the caliph's rule
• Islamic armies expanded into Byzantine and Sasanid territories, exploiting their internal conflicts
• Between 633 and 637 CE, Muslim forces seized Byzantine Syria and Palestine and took much of Mesopotamia
• During the 640s, they conquered Byzantine Egypt and north Africa
• In 651, the Sasanid dynasty was toppled and Persia was incorporated into the empire
• By the mid-8th century, an Islamic empire extended from India to northwest Africa and Iberia

Problems of Governance

• The selection of caliphs was a major issue after Muhammad's death
• Leaders negotiated among themselves to appoint the first four caliphs
• Political ambitions, personal differences, and clan loyalties led to factions within the community

The Shia

• Disagreements over succession led to the emergence of the Shia sect
• The Shia supported Ali and his descendants as caliphs
• Ali was a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad
• Ali served briefly as the fourth caliph (656-661 CE)
• His enemies assassinated him and imposed their own candidate
• The Shia resisted and struggled to return the caliphate to the line of Ali
• They adopted distinct doctrines and rituals
• Shia partisans observed holy days and taught that Ali's descendants were infallible and divinely appointed
• Shia Muslims advanced interpretations of the Quran supporting their views
• The Shia served as a source of support for opponents of Sunni leaders

The Umayyad Dynasty

• The Umayyad dynasty (661-750 CE) solved the problem of succession
• They ranked among the most prominent Meccan merchant clans
• The Umayyads established their capital at Damascus, a thriving commercial city
• Damascus allowed them to maintain better communication with the expanding empire
• The Umayyads ruled as conquerors favoring their fellow Arabs

Policy toward Conquered Peoples

• The Umayyads appointed elites as governors and administrators, distributing wealth among them
• This contributed to high morale but caused discontent among other groups
• Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Buddhists were part of conquered lands, as well as Arabs, Indians, Persians etc.
• Conquered peoples could observe their own religions but paid a head tax if they did not convert to Islam
• Converts did not have access to wealth and authority reserved for the Arab military

Umayyad Decline

• Early eighth century, Umayyad caliphs became alienated from even other Arabs, devoting themselves increasingly to luxurious living
• By midcentury the Umayyads faced resistance from the Shia, whose promote descendants Ali caliph, and also discontent of conquered people and the disillusionment of Muslim Arab military leaders

Abu al-Abbas

• Led the rebellion in Persia and brought the Umayyad dynasty to an end with alliance with Shias and non-Arabs in 740’s
• Rejected Umayyad authority and seized control of Persia and Mesopotamia with supporters such as Persian converts who resented the preference shown by the Umayyads to Arab Muslims
• His army shattered Umayyad forces in 750
• Annihilated remaining members of the Umayyad clan during festivities that invited reconciliation
• Founded the Abbasid dynasty which became the principal source of authority in the dar al-Islam

The Abbasid Dynasty

• The Abbasid state was far more cosmopolitan than its predecessor, without special favor to the Arab military aristocracy
• Persians, Egyptians, Mesopotamians, also rose to positions of wealth and power
• The empire continued to grow during the Abbasid era, but the caliphs had little to do with the expansion

Instead of Conquering New Lands

• Abbasids largely contented themselves with administering the empire with the central authority from the court at Baghdad with instructions flowing to distant reaches of the Abbasid realm
• Governors represented the caliph in the provinces and implemented his political and financial policies
• Officials known as ulama and qadis set moral standards in local communities and resolved disputes
• Abbasid caliphs kept a standing army, established bureaucratic ministries, and maintained roads

Harun al-Rashid

• High point of the Abbasid dynasty
• Baghdad became a center of banking, commerce, crafts, and industrial production, a metropolis
• Harun al-Rashid provided liberal support for artists and writers, and bestow gifts on his contemporary Charlemagne

Abbasid Decline

• Abbasid empire entered a period of decline as Civil war between Harun's sons damaged Abbasid authority and Provincial governors took advantage of disorder in the ruling house
• Popular uprisings and peasant rebellions weakened the empire, but Baghdad allied with Saljuqs against them
• Later, imperial authorities in Baghdad fell under the control of the Saljuq Turks
• During the 1050s the Saljuqs possessed Baghdad, extending authority to Syria, Palestine, and Anatolia
• They retained Abbasid caliphs as nominal sovereigns, but until arrivals of the Mongols, the Saljuq ruler was the true source of power in the Abbasid empire

Benjamin of Tudela on the Caliph's Court at Baghdad

• Baghdad was a major city with a palace three miles in extent
• Members of the caliph's family has an abode in the palace, but were all fettered in chains of iron
• The caliph is a benevolent man and built a hospital for the sick poor maintained by the caliph’s house with medical assistance
• The city of Baghdad is situated in a land of palms, wise men who know all manner of wisdom, and magicians expert in witchcraft

Society and Economy

• Early Islamic world had peasants tilling the land and manufacturers and merchants supported thriving urban economy
• Umayyad and Abbasid empires created a zone of trade from India to Iberia, stimulating vigorous economic growth

New crops, agriculture

• Transplantation of crops in the spread of food of staples and vegetables such as sugarcane, rice, sorghum, spinach, artichokes, and egg plants
• New crops led to richer and more varied diet, and led to increase quantities of food available increasing the growing season
• Cotton became the basis for a thriving textile industry throughout much of the Islamic world, and indigo and henna also were sources of income textile manufacturer
• Encouraged experimentation in agricultural methods cultivating crop rotation led to increase of quantity

Explore the history and significance of the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. Learn about its evolution from ancient camel caravans to modern jumbo jets. Discover the rituals and their symbolic importance in Islam.