Background of the Birth of Islam

Bibliography

Ahmadi Mianji, Ali, "Makatib-ar-Rasul," Qum, 'Al-Ilmiya press,
Pirnia, Hassan, "Ancient Iran,", Vol. 2, Tehran, Donyaye-Ketab,
Tho'alabi, Abu Mansur, "Shahnameh", translated by Mahmoud Hedayat, Tehran, Majliss Press, 1'328.
Georgi Zeydan, "History of Islamic Civilisation", translated by Ali Javaher Kalam, Tehran, Amir Kabir, 1352.
Hamidullah, Muhammad, "Watha'iq", translated by Mahmoud Mahdavi Damghani, Tehran, Printed and published by Bunyad, 1365.
Durant, Will, "History of Civilisation", Vol. 4, Tehran Institute of Publications and Instruction of Islamic revolution, 1366.
Dehkhuda, Ali-Akbar, "Persian Vocabulary", Tehran, Institute of Printing and Publication of the University, 1337.
Radi, Sayid Sharif, "compiler of Nahjul-Balagha", translated by Feidul-Islam, Tehran.
Saberi Hamedani, Ahmad, "Muhammad and Rulers", Qum, 1338.
Ferdowsi, Abul-Qasim, "Shahnameh", Tehran, Khavar Institute,
Forughi, Muhammad-Ali, "Review of Philosophy in Europe", Tehran, Zavvar Bookshop, 1344.
Friedrich, Johannes, "Silent Languages", Translated by Yadollah Samara, and Badruz-zaman Qarib, Tehran, Institute of cultural studies and research, 1365.
Falsafi, Nassrollah and Birashk, Ahmad, "History of the Rule of Qubad and Rise of Mazdak", Tehran, 1309.
Levi, Habib, "History of Judaism in Iran", Vol. 2, Tehran, Yahuda-Borukhim, 1339.
Majlessi, Muhammad Baqer, "Bahar-al-Anwar", Beirut, Institute of El-Wafa, 1403 of the Hejira.
Mo'in, Muhammad, "Persian Dictionary", Tehran, Amir Kabir, 1360.
Nuldke, Theodore, "History of the Iranians and Arabs in the Sassanid Time". Translated by Abass Zaryab, Tehran, Publication of the society of national monuments., 1358.
Hox, James, "Qamous the Sacred Book", Tehran, Tahuri Library,
Yaqubi, Ahmad Abi Yaqub, "History", Translated by Muhammad Ebrahim Ayati, Tehran, Scientific and Cultural Publications Co. 1366.
Iranian Center of Statistics, "Periodical Publications", Tehran.
Brockhaus Enzyklopaedie, F. A. Brokhaus, Wiesbaden, 1966.
Defence and Foreign Affairs Handbook, Washington D.C. 1986.
Der Fischer Weltalmanack, 1986, Fischer Tasch, Verl., Frankfurt am Main, 1985.
Fischer Weltgeschichte, Vol. 32, Pierre Bertaux, Fischer Verl., Frankfurt am Main, 1983.
Die Geschichte Schwarzafrikas, Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Fischer Verl., Frankfurt am Main, 1981.
Das Moderne Laenderlexikon, Vol. 1, Bertelsmann Verl., Guttersloh,
The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, 1970.

Notes

We should say 'intellectual reasons' rather than 'scientific reasons', since it is not appropriate to use the latter term, and to a certain extent is not pertinent to the prophet.
Heraclius the First (about 575-641 A.D.), Emperor of Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) from 610 to 641 A D. Mo'in Dictionary Vol. 6.
A name given by the Arabs to Cyrus, governor of Alexandria Mo'in Dictionary 6.
Negus is the title of rulers of Abyssinia, similar to Khusrow fur Iranian kings, and Caesar for Emperors of Rome. (Various Arabic sources).
Haaris bin-Abi-Shenlr, a Ghassani king residing in Damascus who died in the year of capture of Mecca, (Similar Arabic Arabic sources.)
".... Moreover, the language of the Arabs was similar to those of their neighbours, having the same Semitic root. And as it can be seen to-day, much as in that period, the Arabic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Hebrew, Abyssinian and Phoenician languages are similar, their relation resembling the relation between colloquial and the scholastic Arabic. At that time if an Arab travelled from Hejaz to Iraq or Abyssinia or Phoenicia he could follow the local language without an interpreter," History of Islamic Civilisation, Gergie Zeydan. Translated by Javaher Kalam, p. 9
Ya'qubi recorded: The Arabs placed poetry above all knowledge and philosophy and if a poet understanding and discerning poetry was found in the tribe, they invited him to their seasonal markets of the year such as their pilgrimage to recite his poetry in front of various tribes, and considered this a sign of honour and distinction for themselves. They had nothing else to give but poetry. History of Ya'qubi, Vol. I, p. 342.
Ya'qubi's book gives this name as Bani-Teem, sub-tribe of Mundher-bin-Sawi, but the correct name is Bani-Tamim, because Mundher bin Sawi was Tamimi and not Timi, Book of Mustadrak Hawashi, p. 531.
A village in Yemen where Sahari cloths were made. Ya'qubi History, Vol. I.
Ruler of Omman, History of Ya'qubi, Vol. 1, p 349.
Ya'qubi speaks of 'Shahr Fair' before this one under the patronage of a tribe of Qada'a, called Malhreh History of Ya'qubi, Vol. I, p 35.
Al-Qur'an, Chapter 85 (Boruj), Verses 4 onwards.
The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 2 (Baqarah), verse 62; Chapter 6 (Ma'idah), verse 69. Chapter 22 (Hajj), Verse 17.
Abu Ghubshan, History of Ya'qubi, Vol. 1, p. 307.
Akhassa min-Safqat-e-Abi Ghabshan, History of Ya'qubi, Vol. 1, p.
This house was preserved for a long time, but I don't know whether it has survived as an important historical monument.
At first the Greeks applied the title 'Berber' to all non-Greeks, using it to mean wild, uneducated and coarse. The Romans used it for all nations outside Greco-Roman culture. Brukhaus Encyclepedia; Wil Durant's History of Civilisation, Vol. 4, p. 30.
In subsequent discussion, it will become apparent that Abyssinia played a noteworthy role in the history of Islam in that period.
According to the statistics for the years 1976 and 1986 the two provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran had the highest population density, whereas the population density f or Iran excluding Urumia Lake but including the unpopulated desert areas, the average was 20.5 per square kilometers f or 1976, and 30.3 f or 1986. In the year 1976 Gilan had an average of 107, and in 1986 141.9. Mazandaran came third with a slight difference after Hamdan. The total population of Gilan and Mazandaran for 1986 was 5,536,018. The population of Tehran has not been taken into account owing to its attraction and numerous other appeals. For Tehran the average in the year 1976 as 194.2, and f or 1986 it was 301 per square kilometers. Source:

Iranian Center of Statistics.

It would appear that f or King Darius, horses had more value than the human beings since he has mentioned horses before human beings.
Meaning through the Red Sea via the strait of Aden to the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf, either of which lay in Iranian domain.
The word class system should not be applied to what exists today, since there is almost no such thing to-day, with India's exception. The use of the term 'classes' in connection with civilised countries would be wrong. One could use the word 'group' or 'existing groups' instead.
Here we are dealing with the time of Darius.
Ancient Iran, by Hassan Pimia, Vol. 2, p. 1,500.
Shahnameh, Ferdowsi, Vol. 1, p. 26.
Shahnameh of Tho'alebi's, translated by Mahnloud Hedayat, p. 6.
In the time of Darius, western Rome was of no significance, and the civilised lands of those days included a small Greece, and to some extent the island of Sicily and southern part of Italy and Rome which were collectively of little account.
History has referred to Azarbayjan in one case as the place where Zoroaster made his appearance, and Susa (Shoosh) capital of the Achaemenid kings as another spot, and again elsewhere in eastern Iran in the deserts of Baluchestan.
History of Judaism in Iran, Vol. 1, pp. 25 onward.
Ancient Iran, Hassan Pimia, Vol. 2, p. 52.
In the Torah the namme of Darius, son of Histaspes, has been mentioned in a few places: once in the Book of Azra, Chapter Six, Verse 1, saying: "Then King Darius ordered a search in the library of Babylon which held treasures". and then in Verse 15 of the same chapter related to Darius' order f or building a temple: "This temple was completed on the third of Azar in the sixth year of Darius' reign." Likewise, the Book of Prophet Zachariah (a.s.), too, mentions, him in Chapter 1, Verse 1 and Chapter 7, Verse 1. It should be mentioned that in ancient times, we come across the names of two other Dariuses, namely the Median Darius the last Median king, and Darius the 2nd or 3rd who was vanquished by Alexander, and they should not be mistaken f or Darius the Great.
All calendar years given here must be approximate, since the calendar took an exact form only a few centuries ago, Calendars used to be carried owing to the different ways of Compilation and thus a difference of one or two years is possible. Although these dates are related to a source, yet that source itself may have variation.
Crete, the old name of which was Kandie, is a Greek island in the south of Greece, with an area of 8,618 square kilometers.
Sicily, an island with an area of 25,740 square kilometers, was colonised by the Phoenicians, then Greeks and in 241 A.D. by the Romans. Later on the Vandals and Normans invaded it, and finally in 1860 it was annexed to Italy.
The Sassanide rule began in 224 A.D. and ended in 652 A.D. with the murder of Yazdgerd III.

36 It seems that the system of inquisition had existed in the Zoroastrian ecclesiastical organisation.

37 This shows that the assignment of ordinary attendants, too, had to be confirmed by the King as well as the head priest.

38 This is one of the Zoroastrian injunctions.

This remark shows the degree of influence wielded by the clergy and religion in the government of Ardshir Babakan, founder of the Sassanid dynasty.
Antioch was a famous ancient city built by Slukus I about 300 B.C. and named it after his father Antiocus. This city was occupied and pillaged by the Sassanid king, Shapour I in the years 258 and 260 A.D. Antioch held importance owing to the Christian religious councils convened there. Delhkhoda Persian Dictionary.
Henri Masse (1886-1969), born in Lorraine where he was educated, and for further studies went to Nancy and then to Paris in the school of Oriental Studies at the Sorbonne University. He became familiar with Sanskrit and Pahlavi languages and archaeology. He learnt Persian from Mirza Muhammad Mahalati, the eye specialist and assistant professor at the same school, and from Clement Huart. He visited Iran five times, and more than half of his 62 works are related to Iranian literature and history, especially about Sa'di, Hafez and Ferdowsi.
Nestorious (380-451 A.D.) Bishop of Constantinople (428-431 A.D.), unlike the bishops of Alexandria who believed in the divinity of Jesus, believed that Jesus was the son of a human mother, and the unity of divinity and humanity in Jesus resembles the unity of a man and woman after marriage, namely two separate natures in a single body. He was exiled to the Lybian desert f or this belief and excommunicated.

43 Constantine the 1st (274-337 A.D.), vanquishing Maxence by the walls of Rome in 312 A.D. caused the recognition of Christianity as the official religion of the Rorhian emhhpire, transferred the capital to Byzantine which was given the name of Constantinople. This city was in 45 A.D. captured by Sultan Muhammad II of the Ottomans.

Eastern Roman empire existed from 330 to 1461 A.D. - Dehkhoda Persian Dictionary. Vol.. 5 and 6 44. Manichaeus (215-276 A.D.) in his youth studied philosophy, science and various religions, and at the age of 24 he claimed prophethood. After being treated with disfavor by Shapoor the 1st, he was exiled from Iran, and he travelled to India, Tibet and China, and in 272 A.D. returned to Iran after Shapoor's death. Hormoz, Shapoor's successor, allowed him to propagate his faith freely, and he found many followers in a short time. He was killed by Bahram I after Hormoz.

Among his works are the books of Shapoorgan in Pahlavi and Arjang in which he employed pictures to attract the illiterate, thereby he was nicknamed 'the painter' - Dehkhoda Persian Dictionary Vol. 6; History of Iranians and Arabs in the Sassanid time, Theodore Noldke, pp. 123, 611 and 615.

Of course this communistic idea of sharing wealth and women has a Platonic root, a matter which is questionable.
Khosrow I Anushirvan became king in 53 1 A.D. When the question of whether Anushirvan or Kavous should succeed Qubad was being decided in a religious session, the Mazdakis were defeated and the soldiers who had encircled them, killed them all including Mazdak and his leading priests - Rise of Mazdak by Nasrollah Falsafm, and History of Iranians and Arabs in Sassanid time, by Abass Zaryab, p. 688 onward.
Between the death of Khosrow Parvis II (627 A.D.) until the succession by Yazgerd the 3rd, these individuals reigned in Iran: Ghobad II, Shiruya son of Khosrow Parviz (627-629 A.D.), Ardshir III son of Shiruya, Khosrow III son of Ghobad I, Javanshir son of Khosrow Parviz (629 A.D.), Purandokht daughter of Khosrow Parviz (630 A.D.),

Goshtasb-Bandeh son of Ghobad I, Azarmidokht daughter of Khosrow Parviz, Hormoz V grandson of Khosrow Parviz, Khosrow IV grandson of Khosrow Parviz, Firus II grandson of Anushirvan, Khosrow V grandson of Anushirvan, (631 A.D.), Yazgerd III (632-652 A.D.). The Sassanid rulers were 37 in number, eleven of whom after the death of Khosrow Parviz, ruled only f or six years of the total life of this dynasty which was 429 years.

For further information refer to "Makatib-ar-Rasul" translated by Ali Ahmadi Mianji, and "Muhammad (a.s.) and the Kings" by Ahmad Saberi, and "Watha'iq" by Muhammad Hamidullah.
The process followed in reading the inscriptions was in the following manner. Carsten Niebuhr published copies of the three lingual inscriptions in the year 1788, and then in the year 1798 Gerhard Tychsen, a German scholar, based his theory on the assumption that the inscriptions were in three different languages.

In 1802 a Danish scholar, Friedrich Munter, took another step in deciphering the inscriptions. The man who succeeded in discovering the key to the ancient Persian writing was a young German teacher named Friedrich Grotef end who presented his discovery to the Scientific society of Gottingen. The Danish scholar Rasmus Kristian Rask (1787-1832) professor of Oriental languages of Copenhagen University in 1826, and ten years later in 1836 the French scholar Burnouf, and later on Christian Lassen completed this research.

The three scholars mentioned in the above text must have been Grotefend, Rask and Burnouf. For further information refer to "Silent Languages" by Johanes Friedrich, p. 54 onward; also Brookhaus German Encyclopedia, Vol. 15, and British Encyclopedia, Vol. 8, under Rask.

With regard to the naming of Egypt in connection with the Greek word Aigyptos which has appeared in different forms in European languages, there are numerous interpretations. One of these is the etymology of a Greek word meaning 'dark' which led to the deduction that the use of this word f or the land of Egypt is due to the f act that the colour of the waters of the Nile near the delta is dark, and it is supposed that the word Kemt which has been the original name of this land meaning 'black' conforms with the above appellation.
Ramses is the name of a family of Egyptian pharaohs from the 19th and 20th dynasties. Ramses II was the third ruler of the 19th dynasty, and one of the most famous pharaohs of Egypt. Qamus, the holy book, mentions him as a contemporary of Moses (a.s.), his son who pursued the Israelis, and was drowned, to be his thirteenth son. It should be remembered that the word 'pharaoh' is the Common name of all the rulers of ancient Egypt whom the Greeks called Pharaon. The word may have entered Arabic through Syriac language. The pharaohs were spread over 26 dynasties with a history of almost three thousand years.
Hammurabi is the most famous king of Babylon who united the whole of that realm. Historians used to believe that he lived in about 1900 B.C., but recently the date has been revised to a period from 1728 to 1686 B.C. He carried out great administrative reforms which are described as his famous code. These laws were discovered in Susa in 1902 A.D., and are kept in the Louvre Museum. "Silent Languages" pp. 34-35, and German Encyclopedis of Brookhaus, Vol. 8.
The word 'Aton' means the sun, but it is not clear whether their god had been the sun, or whether it was regarded as the greatest thing for man and as a sign of God. In my studies, I have not come across any specific information, however, some people consider it to be a sign of God. 54. Scientific from the viewpoint of Christianity.
The Neoplatonics were a group of scholars in the Alexandrian academic circle who, in one respect, revived Plato's and in another respect produced new research in philosophy and learning as an independent subject. The founder of this school was Ammenius Saccas of Egypt who lived at the end of the second century and beginning of the third century A.D. in Alexandria. The philosophy which is attributed to the Neoplatonics is related to Flotin, an Egyptian Greek who had originally been a Roman, living in Alexandria. He had the opportunity of contact with Ammenius Saccas.
The Ptolemies were the descendants of Alexander's generals from Macedonia fourteen of whom ruled Egypt after Alexander' s death (323-30 B.C.). In Roman language a king was called Ptolemy.
By Laura Vaccia Vaglieri, professor of Arab literature and Islamic civilisation at the Naples University of Italy, translated into Persian by Sayyed Ghulam Reza Sa'idi.
Since 312 A.D. when Christianity became the state religion of the empire.
Ya'qubi's History, Vol. 1, p. 235 onward.
Those statistics belong to the year 1960. In 1986 the population was 42,289,000. Defence and Foreign Affairs handbook, 1986, etc.
The last Abyssinian emperor, Haile Selassie, had to abdicate in 1974, and was superseded by a Marxist government after a coup d'etat.
In the north of Abyssinia around lake Tanasea live a group of Jews. They are black-skinned and are called Falasha. They consider themselves to be descendants of Menelik, son of the Queen of Shiba and Prophet Solormmon. Tluough this group many Hebrew words have entered the Abyssinian tongue.

In the government of Jafar Numeiri in Sudan and with the aid of the Marxist government of Ethiopia and on the pretext of this uncertain lineage. twenty thousand of this group have been transferred to occupied Palestine.

The name of this priest is recorded as Fromentius who was appointed by Anthanasius, a famous bishop of Alexandria as the head of the Chr.istian mission in Abyssinia.
In 1487 A.D. John II sent two men named Alfonso de Paiva and Petroda Covilha in search for Yuhenna, a priest and muythical ruler. In their travel to the east these two obtained informuation to the effect that Yuhenna is the eruperor of Abyssinia. They also gathered information in Aden about the naval route to India.

Paiva died in this journey, but Covilha managed after much trouble to reach the court of Eskander, Emperor of Abyssinia (1478-1494) who died soon after. Lebna Dengeh, successor of Eskandar (1508-1540) prevented Covilha's return, and this led to an exchange of letters between him and Queen Helena, the next ruler of Portugal. In this correspondence the Abyssinian emuperor asked the aid of the Portuguese for confronting the Muslirmms. As during this time Vasco da Gama had gone round Africa and had reached India, the king of Portugal sent a new mission via this route to Abyssinia in 1520 A.D. Fischer Weltgechichte, Vol. 32, (Afrika), 1983.

65 The name of this priest was Francisco Alvarez who was sent as a member of the Portuguese military mission to Abyssinia in 1520 A.D. He wrote a detailed book about this period of Abyssinian history.

At the time of this discussion Britain still held Aden as a naval base in southern Yemen.
In ancient Abyssinia the most important language was Ge'ez which is now used as a literary language by the clergy of Ethiopian church. This language together with Arabic and at least seventy other living tongues (such as Tigre', Tigrinia, Amharic etc.) are prevalent in Ethiopia, and they are regarded as Semitic tongues. The most important of these since seven hundred years ago when it was a national language, is Amharic which is spoken by many millions. Das noderne Laenderlexikon, Vol. 1.
In any discussion with Christians who claim that Islam had been spread by means of the sword while Christianity was a religion of love and peace, or that Judaism had such and such advantages, they should be reminded of these historical facts and the extent to which force and sword had been employed in the spread of Christianity.
The Abyssinians ruled over Yemen for 72 years, namely Eryat for 20 years, Abraha (killer of Eryat) for 23 years, Yeksoom son of Abraha for 17 years, Massrouq another son of Abraha for 12 years when Vahraz with his Iranian army killed him in the year 570 A.D. Yaqubi's History, Vol. 1, p. 204.
As he recited: "O God, everyone defends his own house; so You, too defend yours. Let not the Cross and their forces unjustly overcome Your forces. If You do this, it must lead to a situation when You accomplish Your tasks through them." Ya'qubi History, Vol. 1, p.329.
'Nahjul-Balagha', translation by Feyzul-Islam, pp. 31 and 1,187; Forou'-e-Kafi, Vol. 4, Book of Al-Hajj; Bahar-al-Anwar, Vol. 96; Book of El-Hajj wal-Umra.
These two years are mentioned in history as the period when the Prophet contacted other tribes in order to win their support.
In the sixth year of migration many of the injunctions had not yet been revealed to the Prophet.
It is commonly seen that in royal decrees that the name of the sovereign is placed first at the top to be followed by the name of the addressee, even though from the viewpoint of composition the latter's name should come first but the royal prerogative forbids that!
At that time a part of Yemen was a satellite of Iran. This incident is related to the time after Abraha's campaign.
Holy Qur'an, Chapter 9 (Towba), Verses 25 onward