We find under the word “civilization” in the Webster’s online dictionary:
“A society in an advanced state of development.”
When looking at the effects of Islam on the Arabs, anyone would recognize a huge transformation in the followers of the Prophet Muhammad from the very beginning and for centuries after that. This “advanced state of development” began the most powerful transition in a society known to the history of man. Some of the many major changes which took place during the 23 years of the Prophet’s mission were:
1. The whole of Arabia completely leaving a long history of polytheism to the purest form of monotheism.
2. The Arabs went from a lawless nation of continuous tribal feuds to a unified empire which accepted non-Arabs as part of their civilization and outlawed the incorrect notion of tribalism. This empire was built on the law of God with an executive leader (Caliph), governors, a judicial system, etc. The law wiped out virtually all social corruption and brought about sweeping justice throughout the land.
3. Although they were masters of their language and highly eloquent, Arabs were known as the illiterate nation. The teachings of Islam pushed them to not only become literate, but Islam thrust them into an age of scholarship and record keeping in addition to becoming a nation of high level academic publications. Lastly, the mosques became centers for learning and in the fields of science, math, and medicine they picked up where the Greeks left off. The Muslim civilization literally set the stage for the technological advancement we now live in.
4. The Arabs were a weak nation living under the authority of the Persian and Roman empires for over a thousand years. Within 35 years of the death of the Prophet the Islamic nation had toppled both empires within their region and pushing the Romans into the heart of Europe. The Muslim rule replaced these material empires of power and wealth which oppressed the commoners with justice and inclusivism.
5. Arabs had good qualities of generosity and honor, but generally, they were an immoral people engulfed in drunkenness, prostitution, and gambling. The Islamic Law strictly forbade all of these things and put heavy consequences upon those who indulged in them.
6. The Arab society was deeply into myth and superstition. Islam taught logic and common sense and brought forth a science for accepting narrated scripture which wouldn’t allow error in belief or practice. In addition to that Islam teaches that nothing happens without the will of God and that His knowledge encompasses everything past, present, and future.
Islam formed a unique bridge between the civilizations of the East and the West. Muslim scholars rescued knowledge that would have been lost for centuries, and brought something new to light each time. In the process, Muslims made their own contributions to the world over many centuries. Muslims saw the quest for knowledge as a religious duty. These contributions stemmed from the unique features of a religion that conferred dignity on human beings.
Islam made clear that people should enjoy earth’s bounties within moral and ethical boundaries, and also sought to delegitimize social distinctions between classes and races. Islamic civilization transcended geographical and temporal boundaries from Europe to Asia, and thus achieved unity among divergent peoples. The position of women improved in its communities. The Islamic way of life was responsible for the creation of Islamic civilization in all its achievements and influences.
Islam was one of the world’s leading civilizations for a thousand years. Its language, Arabic, was the international language of science. Yet many history books attribute achievements of Islamic civilization to borrowing from other civilizations. These historians prefer to devote their attention to the West as the only civilization of the Middle Ages, with a primary focus on Europe. Their descriptions and judgments derive from texts dating from the seventh century onward, attacking Islam, the Quran, and Prophet Muhammad. The historians dwell at length on Greece and Rome and the early development of Christianity, summarize the Islamic period, and make an enormous leap to the Renaissance.
Muslims borrowed from preceding cultures, as did all non-Muslim civilizations, then made their own contributions and created a unique civilization. In turn, other civilizations, especially the nascent civilization of Europe, borrowed ideas and materials from the Islamic civilization. Islam produced another historical continuation by supplementing the development of Judaism and Christianity, and provided the foundation of the next dominant civilization: the West.
Muslim Emphasis on Knowledge
In its emphasis on learning, Islam began to fill the gap that had been widening in the world of the 7th century. The major civilizations had waned, and Europe was in its Dark Ages, while Islam’s geographic expansion was matched by an intellectual and cultural fervor. The Quran has proved an important stimulus to learning. The word ilm (knowledge) occurs in the Quran about 750 times, one of the highest word counts in the text and one of the most repeated words in the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. In addition, the Quran clearly distinguishes humans from the rest of creation by their ability to reason. The language is rich in its descriptions of scientific concepts and other areas of knowledge. The Quran’s language was, and still is, repeated via attentive recitation and heard throughout a Muslim’s life. The great importance of classical Arabic, the linguistic basis of Islam and its civilization, needs more emphasis than it has received in the West. During Europe’s Middle Ages, Arabic dominated the Muslim world and was present in Europe. It was used in some European universities until Latin replaced it. The dictionary and basics of Arabic grammar also served as a resource for Jewish philology. Almost from its inception, the Muslim community considered the ability to read as one of its major needs, and established schools of all kinds, while in Europe literacy was a monopoly of the clergy. This was a unique society with widespread focus on literacy. Muslim scholars in the early centuries of Islam strongly believed that diligence, knowledge, and piety improved life on earth and in the Hereafter.
Learning was emphasized in the Quran and by the teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad and his immediate Successors.
First Muslim Community
The first Muslim community changed their way of life in response to revelations of the Quran and the behavior of Prophet Muhammad. These elements influenced all areas of life. For example, the Quran emphasizes the importance of working in harmony with nature and enjoying the beauty of God’s world. Islam also gives humans a high status rather than sin at birth or reincarnation. The Quran describes the human body as a miracle. God elevated humankind. The Quran states, “We have conferred dignity on the children of Adam” (17:70).
The Prophet Muhammad, born in Mecca in 570 CE, earned a reputation for being trustworthy in his personal and business life. He received his first revelation in 610 CE and preached to his fellow Meccans, who persecuted him until his migration to the future city of Madinah. This event, al-Hijrah, marks the start of the Islamic calendar and the establishment of the first Muslim community. After several wars the Prophet and his people conquered Mecca and established it as the center of Islam. The Prophet’s vision guided this new civilization. The mosque became the center of community, education, and government, and a system of Muslim charity were developed to support the poor. Prophet Muhammad was a humble and modest leader who lived normally and insisted that people, including women, be treated equally. This development was remarkable for its time, when fathers often considered the birth of a daughter to be a disgrace and frequently committed infanticide. The Prophet stated that women could keep their maiden names upon marriage and would not be under their husbands’ guardianship. Men were restricted from having innumerable wives and women were given the rights to divorce, alimony, and child support. Women could also own and control property and wealth. These developments were far ahead of their time.
With the expansion of Islam in all geographic directions, there was a need for common understanding in the form of law. Four scholars were the original founders of Islamic law: Abu Hanifah, Malik ibn Anas, Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafii, and Ahmed ibn Hanbal. Islamic law was established and came to form the foundation of Islamic civilization.
[1] J.M. Roberts, The Penguin History of the World (Harmondsworth, Middx, UK: Penguin Books, 1980), p.378.
[2] Ibid., p.62.
[3] Franz Rosenthal, Knowledge Triumphant (Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1970), p.70.
[4] Quran 3:13, 2:118, 2:269, 31:20.
[5] Roberts, Penguin History of the World, p.394.
Quran 2:241.
Quran 2:233.
Marshall G.S. Hodgson, The Venture, 3 vols. (Chicago, IL, & London, 1974), vol.1, p.182.