“On first revelation, the early Muslims brought under their control the Fertile Crescent and the

entire Sassanian Empire. These ancient lands were populated mainly by Christians and Jews,
who possessed their own deeply entrenched institutions and cultures. This rather familiar story of
“nomadic invasion” has nevertheless raised a puzzling question. The first Muslims emerged from
a distant, isolated desert region where the only sedentary life known had been confined to the
oasis. Despite their growing commerce with the north, peninsular Arabs remained closely tied to
the nomadic life around them. Yet, far from being assimilated by the ancient cultures they
vanquished, they were instrumental in creating a full-fledged civilization.”

“Coexistence among religions then was enshrined in rules which, while ensuring Muslim
governance and securing stability for the nascent Islamic institutions, did not deny others the
right to practice their religion. Indeed, the authors dispute even the notion, supposedly based on
the Prophet’s words, that no religion beside Islam could inhabit the sacred lands of Arabia (pp. 6-
7). Non-Muslims did not entirely disappear from the Arabian Peninsula. There were Christians at
Najran, and the Jews of the twelfth century living on the periphery prospered at Aden (p. 7).
Early records of jizya, or the poll-tax, give a rough idea of the Christian presence in Egypt and
Syria. Christians of all denominations remained a majority well into the third century (p. 12).”

Review of “Christians and Jews Under Islam” by Asaad F. Shaker, Ph.D. Accessed
https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/51106848/j.1949- on 1/14/20
Excerpts from “Daily Life of the Islamic World” by James E. Lindsay. Accessed
https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=6J0WnWABM34C&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=life+under+islam+7th+century&ots
=u118RK81I0&sig=lzwm-JCHHJKMy9Ld2h_5n3BQO6I#v=onepage&q=life&f=false on
1/14/20
Women, gender, and family
We have little information about the lives of women in the early Islamic era. Before the eleventh
century, most historical accounts are limited to elite women, and legal sources do not shed much
light on the lived experiences of non-elite women. While still limited, there is more information
about women living in medieval Islamic societies.

Reconstructing women’s lives using these limited resources is tricky. It’s even more difficult
because of the many different experiences of women, which make it impossible to generalize.
Women’s lives were affected by religion, but they were also influenced by their socioeconomic
status and the political environment around them.

Many historical accounts were authored by elite male scholars and were moralistic in nature,
which means they were designed to instruct and give moral prescriptions. This makes them poor
sources for understanding the reality of women’s lives. They can offer some indirect insights,
however. For example, traditional jurists complaining about women’s independence, freedom,
and role in public life suggest that at least some women ordinarily acted in such ways. Except for
elite women, women frequented markets and mosques and acted in a number of spheres,
including agriculture, craft-making, food preparation, medicine, and midwifery.

The ordinary behaviors of women hinged on much more than religion. Socioeconomic status
arguably had a much more important role. The practices of veiling, seclusion, and polygyny—
marrying more than one wife—were more common in the elite sphere. Jewish and Christian elite
women were much more likely to wear a veil or remain secluded than Muslim women of the
lower classes, suggesting that these practices had little to do with religion. In fact, the elite
practice of having separate female spaces, sometimes called harems, might have been adapted
from the Byzantine gynaikonitis, a zone of the home that was reserved for women only.

Practices of seclusion seem to have evolved over time, as there is little evidence of women’s
seclusion during the life of the Prophet Muhammad. There is evidence that women in
Muhammad’s time freely interacted with the Prophet and their male counterparts in mosques and
other public arenas.

It would be hasty to conclude that women constituted an oppressed class, however. While elite
women did not visit public spaces, these spaces were not the center of society as they are in the
modern world. Also, elite women still enjoyed considerable power and were able to use their
wealth to cement political alliances, hire their own administrative staff, and fund charitable
trusts. They regularly financed mosques, schools, and other institutions, and they were often the
effective heads of their families. Royal women exerted significant influence at court and were
often influential regents.
Elite women were also often educated. While they did not participate in official Islamic legal
bodies, they had their own educational institutions where they studied and taught religion and
other subjects to other women. There were also Sufi convents, where women were able to live
and worship. One notable Sufi mystic was Rabia of Basra, who lived in the eighth century and
was known for her extreme piety.

…
As in earlier civilizations, enslaved people were an important component of the domestic and
military workforce, and the slave trade was active in many Muslim-ruled regions. Slavery
remained legal after the advent of Islam, but Islamic rules concerning the treatment of enslaved
people were enacted. People were enslaved through trade and war, but they often ended up doing
skilled labor as opposed to working in agriculture. Many enslaved people ended up working as
nurses, merchants, or administrators on behalf of their masters.

Excerpts from “Medieval Muslim Societies” by Eman M. Elshaikh. Accessed on Kahn Academy,
1/14/20
 migrated and fought for the sake of God—
Qu’ran
those look forward to God’s mercy. God is
1. In the name of God, the Gracious, the
Forgiving and Merciful.
Merciful.
219. They ask you about intoxicants and
2. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.
gambling: say, “There is gross sin in both,
3. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
and some benefits for people, but their
4. Master of the Day of Judgment.
sinfulness outweighs their benefit.” And
5. It is You we worship, and upon You we
they ask you about what they should give:
call for help.
say, “The surplus.” Thus God explains the
6. Guide us to the straight path.
revelations to you, so that you may think.
7. The path of those You have blessed, not
220. About this world and the next. And
of those against whom there is anger, nor
they ask you about orphans. Say,
of those who are misguided.
“Improvement for them is best. And if you
…
intermix with them, then they are your
172. O you who believe! Eat of the good
brethren.” God knows the dishonest from
things We have provided for you, and give
the honest. Had God willed, He could
thanks to God, if it is Him that you serve.
have overburdened you. God is Mighty
173. He has forbidden you carrion, and
and Wise.
blood, and the flesh of swine, and what
221. Do not marry idolatresses, unless they
was dedicated to other than God. But if
have believed. A believing maid is better
anyone is compelled, without desiring or
than an idolatress, even if you like her.
exceeding, he commits no sin. God is
And do not marry idolaters, unless they
Forgiving and Merciful.
have believed. A believing servant is better
…
than an idolater, even if you like him.
218. Those who believed, and those who
These call to the Fire, but God calls to the has given them from His bounty. We have

Garden and to forgiveness, by His leave. prepared for the disbelievers a disgraceful

He makes clear His communications to punishment.

the people, that they may be mindful. 38. And those who spend their money to

… be seen by people, and believe neither in

240. Those of you who die and leave wives God nor in the Last Day. Whoever has

behind—a will shall provide their wives Satan as a companion—what an evil

with support for a year, provided they do companion.

not leave. If they leave, you are not to …

blame for what they do with themselves, Excerpts from the Qur’an

provided it is reasonable. God is Mighty The Quran Translated to English by Talal

Itani Published by ClearQuran Dallas Beirut
and Wise. Copyright © 2009-2012 Talal A. Itani
241. And divorced women shall be provided
for, equitably—a duty upon the righteous.

242. God thus explains His revelations to

you, so that you may understand.

36. Worship God, and ascribe no partners

to Him, and be good to the parents, and

the relatives, and the orphans, and the

poor, and the neighbor next door, and the

distant neighbor, and the close associate,

and the traveler, and your servants. God

does not love the arrogant showoff.

37. Those who are stingy, and exhort people

to stinginess, and conceal what God
Excerpts from “The Arabs in History” by Bernard Lewis (1993).