2013 Centro de Estudos Afro -Orientais - CEAO

Adelson S. de Brito

A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture]

A brief paper on the main aspects studied during the development of the course Islamic Culture and History, a short term course by Prof. Dr. Angela Lano held at CEAO from May through July 2013 at CEAO.

A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

Dedication I dedicate this paper to the Palestinian people scattered through the world in a simillar way to what was done to my African brothers and sisters in the African Diaspora

By Professor Adelson S. de Brito 2013.2

A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

CEAO - Centro de Estudos Afro-Orientais P. Inocncio Galvo, 42, Largo Dois de Julho - CEP 40025-010. Salvador - Bahia Brasil Tel. (0xx71) 3322-6742 / Fax (0xx71) 3322-8070 - E-mail: ceao@ufba.br - Site: www.ceao.ufba.br

Curso: Isl Culturas e Histria

A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture Professor: Dr. Angela Lano A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture: A brief course conclusion paper By Adelson S; de Brito August 5, 2013

By Professor Adelson S. de Brito 2013.2

A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

Summary

Topic 1. Introduction

page

2. Fundamental concepts in Islam 3. Meaning of the terms "Islam" and "Muslim" 4. Where was Islam born 5. The Pillars of faith / belief and the Pillars of worship / adoration 6. The Caliphs rashidun / the rightly guided 7. The fitna the Civil War 8. The differences between Sunnis and Shiites 9. The sources of Muslim law and ijtihad 10. What is the Golden Age of Islam?

By Professor Adelson S. de Brito 2013.2

A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

1. Introduction I have developed a special interest in Islamic studies after my broader interest in African and Eastern Cultures. In fact, when I was living in Japan (1991 2006) I worked as a translator in a Honda infrastructure factory I was asked by one of the engineers from Pakistan: Mr. Brito, why dont you embrace the Islam? Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the Qur'anwhich Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammadand, with lesser authority than the Qur'an, the teachings and practices of Muhammad as recorded in traditional accounts, called hadith ."Muslim" is an Arabic word meaning "one who submits to God". At the time I simply delivered a lame explanation so to avoid going deep into the details of my difficulties towards embracing another official major religion out of Catholicism. Cultural reasons keep me connected to Catholic world and maybe the chief motivation is the freedom I enjoy in it. This freedom that provides me the precious opportunity to stay connected to my Primitive African Religions. In fact, I love the Arabic culture so much that I have started studying Arabic language during my residence period in Japan (I stayed in Japan from 1991 to 2006 and achieved the status of permanent resident). From my Arabic studies I remember:

Welcome (male and female forms)

How are you doing? Peace be upon you

Response

What is your name?

...

My name is

And in fact, I saw in the present course an opportunity to come back in touch with my early studies of Arabic language. And Internet has played its part and provided written Arabic texts and I am back trying to read phrases in Arabic.

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

I love the sound of Arabic language and I am fascinated by the muezzin chants sung during the call for prayers: Recital 4x 2x Arabic Transliteration Translation[6] Allah is greatest.

Allahu Akbar

I testify that there is none worthy of Ash-had an-la ilha illa llah worship except Allah. Ash-hadu anna Muhammadar-raslu llh I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

2x

2x1 2x 2x 2x 2x 2x

Ash-hadu anna Aliyan wali- I testify that Ali is the wali ul-lah (viceregent) of Allah. Hayya 'alas-salh Hayya 'alal-falh Hayya 'ala khayr al amal Allah-u Akbar L ilha illallh Hasten to the salat. Hasten to success. The time for the best of deeds has come! Allah is greatest. There is none worthy of worship except Allah.

2. The fundamental concepts in Islam

I use to develop researches through the World Web in many fields of interest I keep in life. I research on Physics (that is my main branch of activities), languages, politics, etc. In the field of languages I develop a strong interest in the Arabic language. I wrote the phrase above using the resources in Google, but I shall stress an interesting aspect phrase above: when I copy the word that I am building it reads like

and I paste it directly in the phrase

. However, I insist to write the word God in the

classical Islamic way.So I work a lot in order to assemble the writing of the word God

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

as it is written in the phrases throughout this paper : The fundamental concepts of Islam are: 1. Tawhid: Affirming belief in Divine Unity - the oneness of God; 2. Nubuwwah: Belief in the necessity of prophets to guide humanity; 3. Ma'ad: Belief in resurrection to account for ones deeds on the Day of Judgment; 4. Imamah: Belief in the continuation of guidance through the line of Imams as rightly guided successors of the Prophet; 5. 'Adl: Belief in the Divine Justice - the attribute that guarantees that all humans will be treated equally as Gods creatures, and that all humans are endowed with the conscience to distinguish the right from the wrong. 2.1. Tawheed - (Oneness of God) The most fundamental aspect of all beliefs revolves around the total acceptance of the Absolute and Perfect Creator. A Belief that God Almight is the Originator of all causes and effects. He is the Only One, Ever living, Everlasting, Beneficent and Merciful. He has neither a colleague nor a partner and that there is none like Him. The Almighty God is Unique and is Absolute in the Absolute sense. No entity in His Universe can ever comprehend His true state and none should even bother to try for it will lead to futility and insanity. Yet there is no doubt in any sane mind that His existence precedes all and His presence is absolutely ubiquitous (ever present). For anyone to say that God does not exist is a liar and a fool because such a person can NEVER disprove His existence, whether scientifically or philosophically, or for that matter in any method known. Because He is Absolute and none is like Him, no one in the relative world can ever physically define Him, and thus all idol worshippers and those who ascribe a shape or a body to Him are wrong. Ascribing a shape to the One who is beyond our limited perceptions would be tantamount to lying and giving a false appearance and a false representation. In addition, to believe that one can see God in the physical sense of sitting on a throne like some mythical being is certainly an untrue statement and should never be accepted. 2.2.'Adl - (Justice) It is essentially a branch of Tawheed. It is the essence of the belief that God is Just and that He will reward or punish any person according to his/her deeds and thus the notion of predestination (where all decisions are God's and not anyone else's) in one's deeds does not exist. It is absolutely forbidden in Islam to believe that the Almighty, Merciful Allah planned our destiny and

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

that the good and the bad are just His Will and there is no choice for us between them (God forbid!). Those who ascribe to such lies do so because they want to blame their own evils on Allah and claim the good for themselves! Although the attribute of Allah's Justice is not a separate entity of Allah for certainly the Almighty God can never be compartmentalized nor defined in any relative terms, it is nonetheless absolutely compulsory to believe and fully understand the importance of this attribute in Islam.

2.3. Nubuwwat - (Prophethood) Belief in the Prophets of God The Prophets are those ones who excel all other persons. All prophets of Allah are perfect and sinless (ma'soom). Prophet Muhammad Mustafa is the last of the prophets sent by God

and the sealer of prophets for NO more are to come, EVER! The total number of prophets that were sent by God to mankind is 124,000 and every nation on earth was given guidance through them. In fact, all major religions today on earth can be traced to back to these divinely guided teachers as their original propagators of the Truth of Allah. The best of His messengers all came from the same tree i.e. family lineage and many of them are mentioned in The Holy Qur'an which describes who they were and what their mission on earth was. It is important to note that no prophet on earth ever negated or rejected any of the other divinely ordained prophets and thus their message was always the same and one in purpose. Each established the law of the One and Only God and showed the way of life for humans to observe. From the very first creation of mankind, there was always a prophet on earth which was Prophet Adam. This guidance from the Merciful Allah to establish His complete laws continued to the last Prophet Muhammad who exemplified the letters of the law in his most perfect behavior. He completed and perfected the one and only True religion, Islam. With the revelation of the last Holy Book, the Qur'an, which is the most protected and perfect book of God with us, he established as part of his mission, every concievable and practical law for mankind to follow in order to attain spiritual perfection. Great prophets such as Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaaq (Isaac), Yaqoob (Jacob), Yusuf (Joseph), Dawood (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Musa (Moses), Yahya (John), and Isa (Jesus), - (Peace be upon them all) - all came from the one blessed lineage of Prophet Adamand ended with the last Messenger, Muhammad.

2.4.(Imamat - (Guidance)
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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

Belief in the divinely appointed leadership after the death of the Holy Prophet to protect and guide mankind with the revealed Truth, the Holy Qur'an and the true practices of the Holy Prophet himself. The roles of these leaders are an integral part in the protection of all the Messengers and their divine Messages. The Almighty Allah appointed through the Holy Prophet himself, twelve Guides (Imams) to protect mankind from misrepresenting and misinterpreting the Truth. Belief in this is most important in Islam and no doubts about their positions should be allowed. They are indeed sinless (ma'soom) and perfect in the highest sense of the word. The Imams have direct knowledge from God, and their verdict is the verdict of God. After the Holy Prophet, only they can interpret and guide mankind in every aspect of life and death and all believers must acquire guidance from them or else they will certainly be lost. They do NOT bring any new laws nor do they ever innovate their own laws. They always exempliy and elucidate the practical (Sunnah) and the written (the Holy Qur'an). It is also important to note that they NEVER disagree with each other in their manners and duties nor in their representations of the Divine Laws. They are from the best and the most blessed and purified lineage of the last Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUT) and their names are as follows: (1) Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Holy Prophet who called him his only brother in this world and in the next, (2) Imam Hasan son of Ali, (3) Imam Husain son of Ali, (4) Imam Ali son of Husain, (5) Imam Muhammad son of Ali, (6) Imam Ja'far son of Muhammad, (7) Imam Musa son of Ja'far, (8) Imam Ali son of Musa, (9) Imam Muhammad son of Ali, (10) Imam Ali son of Muhammad, (11) Imam Hasan son of Ali, and the last and living Imam Muhammad son of Hasan, the establisher of the Truth till the end of this world. There is no successor to the Twelfth Holy Imam Muhammad ibnul Hassan and he is LIVING today but is in occultation and appears only to those who are most in need and to those who are most virtuous and pious. By the Command of Allah, he will reappear to all when he will establish true justice on earth and will rule mankind compassionately with utmost perfection as is the Will of the Almighty Allah. He will abolish the evil establishments on earth and mankind will live under true guidance as should have been many centuries ago! 2.5.Qiyaamat - (Resurrection) Belief in the Day of Judgement when all human beings shall be raised from the dead and all their good and bad deeds shall be ultimately judged and recompensed accordingly. This belief is most essential along with the belief in the One True God. The Day of Judgement will prove to all in this Universe that the Almighty Allah is the Creator of all from nothing and is the Absolute Master. His divine presence shall be most apparent on this important Day for all to witness. It is a judgement Dayfor His creatures to know themselves and their relationship to the Creator Allah. Just as pursuit

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

for justice is inseparable in any society on earth, so is the Ultimate Day of Justice inseparable for mankind. 3. Meaning of the words "Islam" and "Muslim" The Arabic word 'Islam' simply means 'submission', and derives from a word meaning 'peace'. In a religious context it means complete submission to the will of God. 'Allah' is the Arabic name for God, which is used by Arabic-speaking Muslims, Jews and Christians alike as the normal word for God. "Allah" is also used to refer to God by Muslims speaking other languages, including English. Arabic speaking Christians do not refer to God as 'Allah'. They refer to him as 'Yaweh'. The deep origin meaning of Yahweh and Allah are very different according to Jews and Christians. A Muslim, also spelled Moslem is an adherent of Islam. Muslims believe that Allah is eternal, transcendent, absolutely one (see the tawhid, explained in section 2.1) and incomparable. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through the prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus (Isa). Muslims maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time, but consider the Qur'an to be both unaltered and the final revelation from GodFinal Testament. Most Muslims accept as a Muslim anyone who has publicly pronounced the Shahadah (declaration of faith) which states, "I testify that there is no god except for the God, and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God." In addition to the belief that Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets and the final prophet Muslims basic religious practices are enumerated in the Five Pillars of Islam (see section 5) The majority of Muslims are Sunni, being over 7590% of all Muslims The second largest sect, Shia, makes up 1020%. The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims followed by Pakistan (11.0%), Bangladesh (9.2%), and Egypt (4.9%). Sizable minorities are also found in India, China Russia, Ethiopia, Americas, Australia and parts of Europe. Islam comprises about 1.8 billion followers or 26% of earth's population to be is the second-largest and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. 4. Where was Islam born? In pre-Islamic Arabia Arab people lived on the Arabian Plate. In the south of Hedjaz (principal religious and commercial centre of post-classical Arabia), the Arabic tribe of Quraysh (Adnani Arabs), to which Muhammad belonged, had been in existence. Near

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

Mecca, the tribe was increasing in power. The Quraysh were the guardians of the Kaaba within the town of Mecca and was the dominant tribe of Mecca upon the appearance of Islam. The Kaaba, at the time, was used as an important pagan shrine. It brought revenues to Mecca because of the multitude of pilgrims that it attracted. Muhammad was born into the Banu Hashim tribe of the Quraysh clan, a branch of the Banu Kinanah tribe, descended from Khuzaimah and derived its inheritance from the Khuza'imah (House of Khuza'a). According to the traditional Islamic view, the Qur'an (Koran) began with revelations to Muhammad (when he was 40 years old) in 610. The history of the Qur'an began when its verses were revealed to the Sahabah during Muhammad's life. The rise of Islam began around the time Muslims took flight in the Hijra, moving to Medina. With Islam, blood feuds among the Arabs lessened. Compensation was paid in money rather than blood and only the culprit was executed. In 628, the Makkah tribe of Quraish and the Muslim community in Medina signed a truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyya beginning a ten-year period of peace. War returned when the Quraish and their allies, the tribe of 'Bakr', attacked the tribe of 'Khuza'ah', who were Muslim allies. In 630, Muslims conquered Mecca. Muhammad died in June 632. The Battle of Yamama was fought in December of the same year, between the forces of the first caliph Abu Bakr and Musailima. The Islamic state and Muslim's system of government evolved through various stages.The precise dates of various periods in history are more or less arbitrary. The City-state period lasted from 620s to 630s. The Imperial period lasted from 630s to 750s. The Universal period lasted from 750s to around 900s. These correspond to the early period of post-classical history. The "Decentralization" period lasted from around 900s to the early 1500s. This correspond to the high period and late period of postclassical history. The "Fragmentation" period lasted from around 1500s to the late 1910s. The contemporary period, referred to as the National period, lasted from 1910s into the twenty-first century. 5. The Pillars of faith / belief and the Pillars of worship / adoration

The pillars of faith make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the needy, self purification and the pilgrimage. They are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Shahadah (belief or confession of faith) Salat (worship in the form of prayer) Sawm Ramadan (the fasting during the month of Ramadan) Zakt (alms or charitable giving) Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime).

5.1. Shahada is the declaration of faith and trust, i.e. the professing that there is only one God and that Muhammad is God's messenger Kalima is a set statement normally

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

recited in Arabic: 'La 'ilea-ha 'IL-all-laa-hu mu-ham-ma-door Ra-soo-lul-laah "I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger." Reciting this statement is obligatory in daily prayer (salh) as well as on other occasions; it is also a key part in a person's conversion to Islam.[10] 5.2. Salat (Prayer) (alh) is the Islamic prayer. Salat consists of five daily prayers according to the Sunna; the names are according to the prayer times: Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (noon), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (evening), and Isha' (night). The Fajr prayer is performed before sunrise, Dhuhr is performed in the midday after the sun has surpassed its highest point, Asr is the evening prayer before sunset, Maghrib is the evening prayer after sunset and Isha is the night prayer. All of these prayers are recited while facing the Kaaba in Mecca. Muslims must wash themselves before prayer, this washing is called wudu ("purification"). The prayer is accompanied by a series of set positions including; bowing with hands on knees, standing, prostrating and sitting in a special position (not on the heels, nor on the buttocks).

5.3. Sawm: Fasting

Three types of fasting (Siyam) are recognized by the Quran: Ritual fasting, fasting as compensation for repentance (both from sura Al-Baqara), and ascetic fasting (from Al-Ahzab). Ritual fasting is an obligatory act during the month of Ramadan. Muslims must abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk during this month, and are to be especially mindful of other sins. Fasting is necessary for every Muslim that has reached puberty (unless he/she suffers from a medical condition which prevents him/her from doing so). The fast is meant to allow Muslims to seek nearness and to look for forgiveness from God, to express their gratitude to and dependence on him, atone for their past sins, and to remind them of the needy. During Ramadan, Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam by refraining from violence, anger, envy, greed, lust, profane language, gossip and to try to get along with fellow Muslims better. In addition, all obscene and irreligious sights and sounds are to be avoided. 5.4. Zakt Zakt or alms-giving is the practice of charitable giving by Muslims based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all who are able to do so. It is considered to be a personal responsibility for Muslims to ease economic hardship for others and eliminate inequality. zakt consists of spending 2.5% of one's wealth for the benefit of the poor or needy,like debtors or travelers. A Muslim may also donate more as an act of voluntary charity (sadaqah), rather than to achieve additional divine reward.

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

There are five principles that should be followed when giving the zakt:
1. The giver must declare to God his intention to give the zakt. 2. The zakt must be paid on the day that it is due. 3. After the offering, the payer must not exaggerate on spending his money more than usual means. 4. Payment must be in kind. This means if one is wealthy then he or she needs to pay 2.5% of their income. If a person does not have much money, then they should compensate for it in different ways, such as good deeds and good behavior toward others. 5. The zakt must be distributed in the community from which it was taken.

5.5. Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca The Haji is a pilgrimage that occurs during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah to the holy city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life. When the pilgrim is around 10 km (6.2 mi) from Mecca, he/she must dress in Ihram clothing, which consists of two white sheets. Both men and women are required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. After a Muslim makes the trip to Mecca, he/she is known as a hajj/hajja (one who made the pilgrimage to Mecca).[27] The main rituals of the Hajj include walking seven times around the Kaaba termed Tawaf, touching the Black Stone termed Istilam, traveling seven times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah termed Sa'yee, and symbolically stoning the Devil in Mina termed Ramee. The pilgrim, or the haji, is honoured in the Muslim community. Islamic teachers say that the Hajj should be an expression of devotion to God, not a means to gain social standing. The believer should be self-aware and examine their intentions in performing the pilgrimage. This should lead to constant striving for self-improvement.[28] A pilgrimage made at any time other than the Hajj season is called an Umrah, and while not mandatory is strongly recommended. Also, they make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem in their alms giving feast. 6. The Caliphs rashidun / the rightly guided The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs (al-Khulafu r-Rshidn) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four caliphs after the Prophet Muhammad who established the Rashidun Caliphate: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the later Abbasid Dynasty, which was based in Baghdad. It is a reference to the Sunni tradition, "Hold firmly to my example (sunnah) and that of the Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood). The implication of the term is that later caliphs were less "righteous" and perhaps lesser examples of Muslim piety.

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

7. The fitna the Civil War

The Islamic State expanded very quickly under Muhammad and the first three caliphs. Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, marginalized as religious minorities and taxed heavily to finance the ByzantineSassanid Wars, often aided Muslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting in exceptionally speedy conquests. As new areas joining the Islamic State, they also benefited from free trade while trading with other areas in the Islamic State; so as to encourage commerce, in Islam trade is not taxed, wealth is taxed. The Muslims paid Zakat on their wealth to the poor. Since the Constitution of Medina was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the Jews and the Christians continued to use their own laws in the Islamic State and had their own judges. Therefore they only paid for policing for the protection of their property. To assist in the quick expansion of the state, the Byzantine and the Persian tax collection systems were maintained and the people paid a poll tax lower than the one imposed under the Byzantines and the Persians. Before Muhammad united the Arabs, the Arabs had been divided and the Byzantines and the Sassanid had their own client tribes that they used to pay to fight on their behalf. Now some of the elite in the old empires of the Middle East felt discontented with the passage of their empires. After being defeated on the battlefield, they started to think about other ways of slowing down the progress of the Arabs, by making them fight amongst each other. The First Islamic Civil War (656661), also called the First Fitna (Fitnat Maqtal Uthmn) "The Fitna of the killing of Uthman"), was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate. It arose as a result of the death of the previous Caliph Uthman.The Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth of the Sunni Rightly Guided Caliphs and first Imam of Shia'a. It was caused by the controversial assassination of his predecessor, Uthman Ibn Affan. It lasted for the entirety of Ali's reign, and its end is marked by Muawiyah' s assumption of the caliphate (founding the Umayyad dynasty), and the subsequent recorded peace treaty between him and Hassan ibn Ali.

8. The differences between Suni and Shia

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs and articles of faith. The differences between these two main sub-groups within Islam initially stemmed not from spiritual differences, but political ones. Over the centuries, however, these political differences have spawned a number of varying practices and positions which have come to carry a spiritual significance.

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet's companions, that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows the traditions of the Prophet." On the other hand, some Muslims share the belief that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet's own family, among those specifically appointed by him, or among Imams appointed by God Himself. The Shia Muslims believe that following the Prophet Muhammad's death, leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Ali bin Abu Talib. Throughout history, Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslim leaders, choosing instead to follow a line of Imams which they believe have been appointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself. The word "Shia" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. The commonly-known term is shortened from the historical "Shia-t-Ali," or "the Party of Ali." They are also known as followers of "Ahl-al-Bayt" or "People of the Household" (of the Prophet). Sunni Muslims make up the majority (85%) of Muslims all over the world. Significant populations of Shia Muslims can be found in Iran and Iraq, and large minority communities in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, and Lebanon.

9. The sources of Muslim law and ijtihad Ijtihad ( "diligence") is an Islamic legal term that means independent reasoning or the utmost effort an individual can put forth in an activity.[1] As one of the four sources of Sunni law, it is recognized as the decision making process in Islamic law (sharia) through personal effort (jihad), which is completely independent of any school (madhhab) of jurisprudence (fiqh). As opposed to taqlid, it requires a thorough knowledge of theology, revealed texts and legal theory (usul al-fiqh); an exceptional capacity for legal reasoning; thorough knowledge of Arabic.[2] By using both the Qu'ran and Hadith as resources, the scholar is required to carefully rely on analogical reasoning to find a solution to a legal problem, which considered to be a religious duty for those qualified to conduct it. Thus, a mujtahid is recognized as an Islamic scholar who is competent in interpreting sharia by ijtihad. Today, there are many different opinions surrounding the role of ijtihad in modern society, and whether or not the doors of ijtihad are closed.

10. What is the Golden Age of Islam?

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A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

The Islamic Golden Age is an Abbasid historical period beginning in the mid 8th century lasting until the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258. The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad. The Abbasids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr" that stressed the value of knowledge. The rise of Islam was instrumental in uniting the warring Arab tribes into a powerful empire. The Abbasids claimed to belong to the same tribe to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged, and were for that reason considered holy. During this period the Arab world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education; the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the House of Wisdom (Bait-ul-Hikmat) at Baghdad where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic. The Arabs displayed a remarkable capacity of assimilating the scientific knowledge of the civilizations they had overrun. Many classic works of antiquity that might otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later in turn translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. During this period the Arab world was a collection of cultures which put together, synthesized and significantly advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, Greek, Byzantine and Phoenician civilizations. The decimal system travelled from India to Arab during this time and in 9th century it was popularized in the region by the Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi. Later in 12th century a monk Abelard introduced it in Europe. They also began the use of Algebra in order to solve complex mathematical problems. 11. Conclusion The present paper is a condensation of the information received during the course. I intend to include Islamic Culture as one of the Cultures I Afro-Asian Culture into my field of interests. Author data: Adelson Silva de Brito Master of Sciences Faculty of Medicine Universidade Federal da Bahia Pedagogic Coordinator in Nigeria Cultural House Tel (71) 8644 7753 adelsondebrito@gmail.com CV Lattes: http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.do?id=K4475720Z0

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