The Prophet's Departure and the Community's Leadership
Muhammad is regarded as the final prophet in Islam, and after his death, no new prophet could lead the community. However, the community, known as the Ummah, needed leadership. This marked the beginning of a significant question in Islamic history: Who would succeed Muhammad?
In the early community, Abu Bakr was chosen as the first caliph, followed by Umar, Uthman, and Ali. In Sunni Islam, they are often referred to as the 'Rightly Guided Caliphs.' However, the situation was more complex.
A faction emerged that believed leadership should remain within Muhammad's family, particularly with Ali, who was both Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law. The term 'Shia' evolved from 'the party of Ali,' referring to those who supported him. In contrast, Sunni tradition emphasized the Sunnah of the Prophet and the community's traditions, leading to different interpretations of leadership legitimacy. The sectarian identities of Sunni and Shia did not crystallize immediately after Muhammad's death; rather, conflicts over succession and political power deepened over decades and centuries, influenced by theological and legal differences.
Initially, the question was political, but over time, it transformed into a religious one: Who should lead, and who has the legitimacy to guide the faith community?
Ali at the Center of Power
Ali was closely associated with Muhammad, being his cousin and son-in-law, and one of the early converts to Islam. However, it took time for him to become caliph. After Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, he finally became the fourth caliph in 656, but the community he inherited was already fraught with political strife.
Conflicts arose within the Islamic community, particularly surrounding Uthman's assassination, leading to civil strife during Ali's rule. Ultimately, Ali was assassinated in 661. God is one, the Quran is one, and the Prophet is one. Yet, humanity divided.
This presents an age-old paradox in religious history: While faith may be singular, human interests often diverge. Shared scripture does not guarantee uniform political judgments. Similar divisions have occurred in Christianity, Buddhism, and Confucianism, where different sects emerged over time. Religion speaks of unity, but humanity continually fractures. The issue lies not in the differences themselves but in humanity's desire to transform those differences into hostility and violence.
Karbala: Death Becomes Memory
Following Ali's death, the political center of the Islamic world shifted to the Umayyad dynasty, with the capital established in Damascus. However, for those who supported the legitimacy of Ali's family, the struggle continued.
In 680, an indelible event in Islamic history occurred in Karbala, present-day Iraq, where Hussein, the son of Ali and Fatimah and the grandson of Muhammad, was killed by Umayyad forces. The deaths of Hussein and his companions transcended mere political defeat, becoming a pivotal moment in shaping Shia Islam's faith and collective memory. Karbala symbolizes the struggle against oppression and injustice in Shia tradition, and Hussein's martyrdom is commemorated annually during Ashura.
The death of one individual became a religious memory. History does not solely survive through the victors' accounts; sometimes, the deaths of the vanquished endure longer. Those in power may leave behind dynasties, but the sacrificed can leave behind a spirit.
Thus, Karbala is not merely an ancient battle in Islamic history; it encapsulates questions of power, justice, legitimacy, and sacrifice. Why did the grandson of God's prophet have to die in a community established in God's name? This question has persisted for over 1,300 years.
Sunni and Shia: Two Major Streams
Subsequently, Sunni and Shia developed into two major currents within Islam. However, they should not be simplistically understood as 'two different religions.'
Both traditions regard the Quran as their central scripture, believe in Muhammad as the prophet, and profess the oneness of Allah. They share many commonalities in fundamental religious practices, including prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage.
However, significant differences emerged in their understanding of religious authority, leadership, and historical memory. In Sunni tradition, the Quran, the Prophet's Sunnah, and the community's traditions and legal frameworks hold significant importance. In Shia tradition, a belief developed that grants special religious authority to Ali and his descendants, particularly in the Twelver Shia, where the lineage of the twelve Imams from Ali holds central significance.
Yet, it is essential to recognize that neither the Sunni nor Shia worlds are monolithic. Within Islam, various legal schools, theological perspectives, philosophical traditions, and spiritual movements exist, making it impossible to encapsulate 14th-century Islam in a single term.
Umayyad: Faith Becomes Empire
When Muhammad began preaching in Mecca, his community was a small minority. However, within a few decades, the situation changed dramatically.
During the Umayyad dynasty, the political domain of Islam expanded beyond Arabia to encompass vast regions, including Southwest Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, and the Iberian Peninsula. A religion that began in the desert had acquired an empire.
This brings us back to a question encountered in Christian history: What changes when a persecuted religion gains power?
Early Christianity existed on the fringes of the Roman Empire for a long time, but during Constantine's era, it received imperial protection, leading to the complex relationship between church and state. The Islamic trajectory was different; Muhammad himself was both a religious and political leader in Medina, establishing a close relationship between religion and politics from the outset.
Yet, the question remains: How will a religion that gains power use that strength?
Abbasids: Moving to Baghdad
In the mid-8th century, the Umayyad dynasty fell, and the Abbasid dynasty emerged, claiming descent from Muhammad's uncle Abbas and shifting the political center from Damascus to the east.
The new center was Baghdad, which became one of the shining cities in the history of world civilization.
Islam was no longer confined to the Arab world; knowledge and culture from various civilizations, including Persia, Central Asia, Greece, and India, began to converge within the Islamic world. Baghdad during the Abbasid era became a vast marketplace of knowledge, where different languages, religions, and scholarly traditions intersected. The Abbasid dynasty particularly experienced a political and cultural zenith in the 8th and 9th centuries.
While the sword can expand territory, it is not the only means to create civilization. Books, questions, translations, and humility in learning from other civilizations are also essential.
Baghdad: A Hub of Knowledge
During the Abbasid era, various intellectual traditions, including Greek philosophy and science, Persian administration and culture, and Indian mathematics and astronomy, were translated and studied in Arabic.
The House of Wisdom, often referred to as Bayt al-Hikmah, symbolizes the translation and scholarly activities of this period in Baghdad. However, contemporary academia cautions against oversimplifying it as a single modern national translation institution. The key lies in the vast intellectual ecosystem of translation, research, and patronage that developed across Baghdad and the broader Islamic world.
The traditions of Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato, along with medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy, were translated into Arabic, enriched by Persian and Indian knowledge.
The strength of Islamic civilization lay not only in its acceptance of knowledge from other civilizations but also in its ability to further develop that knowledge.
Al-Khwarizmi: The Ancestor of Algorithms
In today's AI era, the term 'algorithm' is frequently used, and its history traces back to the 9th-century scholar Al-Khwarizmi. His name became the root of the term 'algorithm' as it was transmitted to the Latin-speaking world, and the title of his mathematical treatise included 'al-jabr,' which led to the modern term 'algebra.'
A religion that began in the desert 1,400 years ago became one of the foundations for the advancement of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy centuries later.
This underscores an important fact: When religion stifles questions, knowledge withers. However, when religion engages with humanity's quest to understand the world, civilization can flourish.
Al-Khwarizmi was not alone; Ibn Sina left a significant mark in medicine and philosophy, while Ibn Rushd deeply studied Aristotle's philosophy, influencing both the Islamic world and Latin medieval philosophy. Ibn Rushd also studied law, medicine, and philosophy concurrently.
Must faith and reason be adversaries? The golden age of Islamic civilization does not allow for a simple answer to that question.
Knowledge Knows No Borders
Knowledge created in Greece was translated into Arabic, and that knowledge was later translated back into Latin, entering Europe. The Indian numeral system also spread to Europe through the Islamic world. Civilization is not the monopoly of a single ethnicity; knowledge knows no borders.
It flows from east to west and back again. A student of one era becomes a teacher of the next, and a translator of one civilization becomes a creator in another.
This is why we read 'Spiritual Asia' as both a religious and a civilizational narrative.
When one believes they possess the truth exclusively, civilization becomes closed. However, when one acknowledges that there is something to learn from others, civilization remains open.
Sharia: Law or Way of Life?
An essential aspect of discussing Islam is Sharia. Today, when people hear the term Sharia outside the Islamic world, they often think of harsh punishments or strict religious laws. However, historically, Sharia encompasses a much broader scope.
It refers to normative paths of life, including worship, fasting, marriage, family, inheritance, contracts, commerce, charity, personal ethics, and community living.
The Quran serves as the most important foundation, while the Sunnah and Hadith, which convey Muhammad's words and actions, are also significant sources. Legal methodologies have developed, utilizing scholarly consensus (ijma) and analogical reasoning (qiyas), leading to the formation of various legal schools within Sunni Islam.
It is crucial to distinguish between Sharia and fiqh. While Sharia refers to the ideal and normative path presented by God, fiqh denotes the legal work and outcomes produced by human jurists interpreting scripture and tradition.
The greatness and danger of religious law lie in this distinction. When human interpretation is equated with divine will, questioning ceases.
Faith and Reason
As Islamic civilization expanded, more complex questions arose. What happens when revelation and reason collide? How far is philosophy permitted? To what extent does human free will exist? Has God predetermined everything? To what degree must humans take responsibility for their actions?
Numerous theologians and philosophers debated these questions.
Some emphasized reason, while others prioritized revelation and tradition. The debates of great thinkers like Al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd can be understood within this tension.
What matters here is not who ultimately prevailed but the fact that questions were asked. Great civilizations are not those without questions; they are those that do not fear asking good questions.
The Shadows Behind Civilization
However, we should not view the golden age of Islamic civilization romantically.
Empires were empires.
There were assassinations and purges over power, wars between dynasties, and religious and political minorities did not always enjoy equal status. While there were periods and regions where Jews and Christians were recognized as 'People of the Book' under Islamic rule, allowing them to maintain their communities, this did not equate to complete civic equality in the modern sense. Conditions and treatment varied by era, dynasty, and region.
It is dangerous to judge history by today's standards, but it is equally untruthful to romanticize the past.
Light should be seen as light, and shadows as shadows. That is fundamental, principled, and common sense.
The Sword and the Book
In examining the history of Islamic civilization, two symbols emerge: the sword and the book.
The sword expanded the empire's territory, while the book broadened the realm of civilization. Territory gained through the sword can be lost, but knowledge acquired through books can transcend civilizations and be revived. The Umayyad territories have vanished, and the Abbasid empire has also disappeared.
However, Al-Khwarizmi's mathematics leaves traces in today's computers, and the questions posed by Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd have become part of the history of global intellect.
So, where does the true power of civilization lie?
Is it in the power to conquer or the power to think?
This question returns to us in the 21st century.
From Power to Civilization, From Civilization to Spirituality
Reflecting on the long journey of Islamic history, we see that Muhammad passed away, and Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali led the community.
Ali was killed. Hussein died in Karbala.
The paths of Sunni and Shia diverged. The Umayyads established an empire in Damascus, while the Abbasids opened a new era in Baghdad.
There, books were translated, and mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and philosophy flourished.
Faith became a community, and the community encountered power, which in turn created an empire. However, the empire also fostered civilization, which returned questions to humanity.
What is the purpose of power? What is the purpose of knowledge? What is the purpose of faith?
We asked in the Jewish narrative: Whom does the power you gain save?
In the Christian narrative, we asked: What happens when a religion that began with love acquires power?
In the Islamic narrative, we ask: What occurs when the faith of submission to God meets human power?
The answers are not singular. Power struggles ensued. Divisions occurred. Wars took place. Yet, simultaneously, a global civilization was born, mathematics, medicine, and philosophy advanced, and knowledge from different civilizations converged to create new insights.
Human history always walks with light and shadow.
Thus, we must not focus solely on one side.
Returning to Humanity
As we conclude the second story of Islam, we return to the initial question.
What does it mean to submit to God? Is it to compel others to submit in God's name, or is it to first humble oneself before God? Is it to gain power in the name of religion, or is it to exercise restraint when one possesses power?
Using Dasok's language, the question becomes simpler.
Does the self-centered 'Jena' hold power, or does the true self 'Eolna' govern power?
When humans begin to confuse their desires with God's will, religion becomes dangerous. Conversely, acknowledging that a higher truth and justice exist beyond one's power can lead to the restraint of that power.
The first story that began in the cave of Hira was a path from arrogance to humility.
The second story illustrates how challenging that humility can be in the face of power.
So, where should the third story lead us?
It should return from power to the heart. It should transition from law to spirituality. It should return from empire to the inner self of a human being.
There, we will encounter the Sufis.
We will meet Rabia, Al-Ghazali, and ultimately Rumi, asking whether we can love God not just out of fear but out of love, reexamining what jihad truly means, and navigating through colonialism, modernization, women's rights, human rights, extremism, and war to meet today's Islam.
And in the age of AI, we will again ask:
In an era of machines that know more and judge faster than humans, where does human spirituality reside?
In the first story of Islam, we asked: What can humans humble themselves before?
In the second story, we asked: What happened when the faith of submission to God met human power?
Now, in the third story, we must finally ask: Does submission to God ultimately make humans more peaceful?
The path that began in the desert traverses through empires and returns to the human heart.
There, we will encounter the third face of Islam: spirituality.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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