Ibn Sina Chapter 1 Summary

Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur was a founder of India’s Mughal Empire; furthermore, he was a Chaghatai-Turkish prince and a direct descendant not only of Timur but also of Chinggis Khan (Balabanlilar 2). There was an effective centralized rule that was provided by the Mughal dynasty to the Indian subcontinent during the first half of the Mughal period (Stearns 32).

2. His goal was to reach the East (East Indies) by sailing west, thus bypassing the around-Africa route that Portugal monopolized.

The Thousand and One Nights was written during the 9-14th century. It was one of the richest reservoirs of narrative genres in medieval times, apart from the Qur’an. “The Arabs at that time, the late 6th and early 7th

The author develops the theme by using the micro setting when Muhammad and Thomas showed how their family was treated throughout the generations

In the year of 610 CE, it was the starting point in which a prophet named Muhammad ibn Abdallah created a new generation with a new way of teaching called Islam, that would soon take over the parts of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. During his time on earth, the start of Islam did not flourished as much after his death. But why did it not grow or expand when Muhammad was still on earth? The new teaching of Islam is soon expanded and the new world will have a new spiritual leader named Imam (Document E). Following the death of Muhammad the first caliph is chosen. With a new “leader” comes with new rules, polices, and a way of life. Reasons why Islam had spread so quickly is because of the qualities it possesses which is its fairness, the trade routes, and its ordinance of government.

The Qur’an was an important educational source for newly converted Muslims. It influenced their beliefs and their behaviors towards others. It changed the way the people of lower status, such as the poor and women, were treated. It also promoted equal treatment for everyone and claimed that people would be rewarded for their good deeds to others. This caused life for the poor and women to be greatly improved in places that converted to Islamic faith. In addition to bettering the lives of these people the Qur’an however also limited the freedom of them.

Moreover, the transfer of ideas also had an intellectual impact in fields such as astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. To begin with, Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek scholar, created a model of how the solar system is arranged, the Earth in the center (document one). Claudius Ptolemy most likely described the inverse with the Earth in the center because of the limited technology during his time period, some time around 100 AD. Persian Muslim scholar, Al-Biruni, describes the Hindu view of how the earth is shaped and that the earth is the center of the universe (document six). Al-Biruni is a Persian Muslim and not a Hindu and therefore writes about these conceptions with the point of view of an outsider. During this time period, various scholars came up with

Chraibi’s book Muhammad: A Novel is a fantastic, powerful read because it is just that: a novel. It is a fictional story, but written by an author who had an unusual, mystical calling himself to write the book. By using original aspects from the traditional biographies of Muhammad and then adding his own personal, esoteric twist on these characteristics, Chraibi creates a work of literature that is truly compelling and shows Muhammad’s journey to becoming a prophet in a mystical light. Two central distinctions, namely Muhammad’s relations with Khadija and Bahira, add the spice in this novel that really help the reader grasp what is mystical about both this literature and most importantly, Muhammad himself.

This chapter begins with the Muhammad and the message he brings. It all began in the Arabian Peninsula, which was mostly desert. The people who lived there were called Nomadic Bedouin, and they are organized in family and clan groups. The importance of long-distance trade networks became important again between China, India, and Persia, Byzantium. The section starts talking about the early life Muhammad ibn Abdullah was born in to a Mecca merchant family in 570 C.E. He had a difficult life growing up, but in 595 C.E, he married a wealthy widow. By the time, he was thirty he became a merchant and exposed too many faiths. He had a spiritual transformation at the age of forty, and declared that there was only one true god, whose name was Allah, “the god.” His believe that Allah would soon bring judgment on the world, and the divine messenger, Gabriel, delivered these revelations to Muhammad. The Quran, also known as the “recitation,” is the holy book of Islam. Muhammad followers complied with his revelations. They had works of poetry and definitive authority on Islam;

At the time he did not know that he was in the Americas a new place never found before, he thought he was somewhere in Asia. Portuguese began importing Asian spices by the sea route around Africa. Spices that we use today would not have ever been spread across the world without The Age of Exploration finding new trade routes and exploring the world. With all of this new trade and imports going on, Antwerp, in the Netherlands became the richest trading city in

5. According to the historian in this segment of the film, what was “the birth of the new Islamic science?” What caused it?

This book mainly narrates the adventures and travels of a 14th century Muslim scholar, native of Tangier who studied law but dreamed of traveling and seeing different perspectives of the world. Ibn is described by many as the Marco Polo of the Muslim world. Ibn traveled by all means possible during his time period, horse, camel, boat, foot, and boat for approximately 29 years. The area he covered would now be the equivalent to 40 modern countries and 73,000 miles. Quotes I found most interesting were “A scholar’s education is greatly improved by traveling in quest of knowledge and meeting the authoritative teachers (of his time).” by Ibn Khaldun pg. 27. This was quite inspiring because it shows that with an open mind and many travels you can age with wisdom and share your knowledge with

After reading the first chapter, I thought the author of Escape from Camp 14 had a better style than the author of Journey of Ibn Fattouma. I find this to be true because Blaine Harden includes a foreword and introduction that tells the readers his motivation for writing the book, while Mahfouz, in contrast, does not provide as much detail. Mahfouz should have included some context about the religion of Islam because I might not have understood the concepts of the veil, arranged marriages, or “sheiks” without having had background knowledge on these concepts I learned in Cultural Studies. On the other hand, I did like the plot of this chapter. Although the author left out some important parts about Islam, he did bring suspense at the end of

The source A History of Medieval Islam was written by John Joseph Saunders in 1965. John Joseph (J.J.) Saunders was a British Historian who was especially knowledgeable of Medieval Islamic. J.J. Saunders taught at the

The founder of the Mughal Empire was Babur, who had an esteemed background, in regards to his family. Babur’s father was an Asian conqueror of Tamerlane, and Babur inherited a part of the empire. At his youth, Babur led a group of soldiers who conquered Kabul in 1504. With Babur’s past working an an authoritative figure for the Tamerlane’s Empire, helped him to seize Delhi, and other parts of North India, until his death in 1530 (Spielvogel 530). However, it was not his revere background that made Babur a powerful model during this time, it was Babur’s resilience and dominance that led India into one of it’s highest peaks. With only twelve thousand troops against a significantly large army, Babur captured Delhi, and established his rule there (Spielvogel 531). With Babur’s explicit intelligence, and prowess, Babur established himself to be one of the greatest rulers in India, and led India into a time of achievement and success.