World History up to 1500: The Rise of Islam and the Caliphates Q&A

Question: What role did the cities of Mecca and Medina play in the formation of Islam?
Answer: Mecca was the home of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the place where God first made contact with him to reveal the Muslim holy scripture, the Quran. Mecca is also where Muhammad found his first converts and the location of the holiest site of Islam, the sacred mosque and the Kaaba. After being persecuted in Mecca, Muhammad’s community found refuge in Yathrib, later called Medina, where Muhammad became a leader. In its earliest years, his community there welcomed a variety of monotheists and grew and expanded while waging war against the Meccans. Muhammad eventually triumphed over the Meccans, who then embraced Islam.

Question: How did monotheistic faiths spread through the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam?
Answer: In the south, the conversion to Judaism by the kings of Himyar in Yemen preceded the expansion of Judaism throughout the southern Arabian Peninsula. On the other side of the Red Sea, the Christian Kingdom of Aksum was a major power in Arabia before the formation of Muhammad’s community. Both Himyar and Aksum saw their faith and culture spread by overland and oversea trade routes from the south to the markets of the ancient empires in the north. In the northern part of Arabia, contact between the Arab tribes of the Ghassanids and the Lakhmids and their conversion to Christianity also spread monotheism southward.

Question: What issues did the Muslim community have to consider in choosing Muhammad’s first successor?
Answer: The Muslims had to decide whether to choose a ruler through a council/popular acclamation, or whether leadership of the community should fall to a person from Muhammad’s bloodline. Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali claimed Muhammad had chosen him as his successor, but others argued he had not named anyone.

Question: What differences separated the two umbrella sects of Islam, the Sunni and the Shia, in the Abbasid period?
Answer: The first divide in the community came after Muhammad’s death, over the question of who should lead the community. The Sunni followed the popular choice of Abu Bakr as caliph, believing that Muhammad did not designate a successor; the Shia believed Muhammad had chosen his son-in-law Ali. The next major difference concerned the place of the family of Muhammad; the Shia believed they should have a special place in leadership, whereas the Sunni did not view this family tie as a requirement.