Volume 2 Samples

Section 1: The World Between Isa and the Birth of Muhammad                                                     

The Brick Layer was about his job, moving through the dusty streets of this ancient city, shoring up any decaying walls with a bit of brick and mortar he carried on his pushcart. As this quiet Muslim moved along the only streets he had ever known, he thought about what might be beyond these crumbling city walls. It wasn’t out of his discontent that he had these thoughts.

He was what others would consider poor, but he had a home, small, but clean, made from the very bricks that were his livelihood, he had a good wife, two kind children, and enough to eat every day. In his religion those were all the blessings he needed. Even his job with the city had ease; he was so trusted that, when he did his work every day and reported back for his wages, no questions were asked regarding the integrity of his reporting.

No, he wondered about the world from a place deep inside him that hungered for knowledge which would be of benefit to his beliefs. He had heard stories from sailors who worked on the big ships that went to faraway ports, and they spoke of beauty and wonder he could feast on, but this barely quelled the pains of knowledge not yet discovered. It was like knowing there was an entire banquet out there, but only being given a morsel of each dish to taste. Your heart wants more!

This day, as he approached a wall in the city center in need of his gentle touch, he spied an Old Man propped up against it, taking shelter from the wind. He was used to seeing beggars around town, shabby, worn thin, and perpetually hungry. This weathered man, however, did not fit

any of these descriptions. As the Brick Layer got nearer, the man raised his head and smiled at him. He had never seen eyes like his, true windows to the soul, filled and ready to spill out all they had seen to any who would listen. His clothing was old, but not worn, and the design was unrecognizable to one not well-traveled. Rather than appearing downtrodden, the Old Man’s face teemed with life, his rosy cheeks belying any poverty perceived. The Brick Layer was drawn to him, so he greeted him and asked if he had eaten. The Old Man smiled warmly and shook his head. The Brick Layer went to his cart and pulled out the lunch his wife had lovingly put together for him, a lunch hearty enough for two, since she knew that her husband often tended to share. The Brick Layer hunkered down next to the Old Man, noticing a sweet, exotic fragrance about his person, which was quite unexpected. He laid out bread, cheese, fruit, and dates on a colorful cloth that his wife had packed and invited the Old Man to eat.

The Old Man whispered, “Bismillah” and reached for the bounty without haste, as if he got his nourishment from something other than food but did not want to refuse the invitation.

“As Salamu Alaikum,” he said, as he settled back to eat.

“Hmmm,” the Brick Layer thought, “How did he know that I was Muslim?”

“Wa Alaikum Salam,” he replied, pleased to share food with one of his own. “Where do you hail from? I do not recognize your clothing.”

The Old Man smiled – a broad one this time – and said, “It would take me a long time to answer your question. Let’s just say…I am not from here.”

The Brick Layer was intrigued. It was as if the banquet he yearned for was closer than he thought. He had so many questions that he did not know where to begin. What stories did this “man of the ages” hold inside of him?

They sat together, enjoying simple food packed by caring hands. After the empty containers were neatly wrapped in the cloth and put back on the cart, the Brick Layer again sat down next to the Old Man, but this time the Old Man had a question.

“How long have you had this deep yearning for knowledge of the world?”

The Brick Layer couldn’t believe that what he held hidden in the very depths of his heart was now on the tongue of a perfect stranger.

“How did you know?” he asked in amazement.

The Old Man tried to cover his tracks by saying that, “Everyone had this yearning,” but the Brick Layer felt there was more to this traveler than met the eye.

“I know much about this city,” the Brick Layer began, “but that is the extent of my knowledge. I feel a little like a house without a foundation. For instance, I know of our Prophet’s        birth and his coming to prophethood but know so little about the world before his  time. How can someone understand the change that took place when he  revived Islam on Earth without knowing why there had to be change in the first place? What were the people of the world like before him    ? How did the world fare with no prophet between Isa and Muhammad     ? These are the questions that I ask the streets as I move through them to my destination.”

The Old Man listened intently, aware that through Allah’s Grace, he had the answers to all the Brick Layer’s fervent questions. But where to begin? And to what end?

“What would you do with this information if you received it?” the Old Man queried.

The Brick Layer did not hesitate, “I would use it to deepen my faith, round out some rough edges I hold onto due to my lack of knowledge, and then I would pass it on. How can one profess love for his fellow man if he did not want the best for him?”

The Old Man sat back to ponder this truth. “What if I told you that I have what you need?”

The Brick Layer’s face brightened, “Then I would invite you to stay at my home until I was satiated, or until you ran out of knowledge, whichever came first!”

The Old Man laughed at this and moved to get up.

“That won’t be necessary, but I will come to your home every Friday at 7:00 pm and we will speak of these matters.”

Before the Brick Layer could tell him the address, he moved quickly down the alley to the right.

The Brick Layer sat for a minute, knowing somehow that the wonder and mystery of this moment was a gift from his Lord. How could this Old Man know that the very history of the world from Isa to Muhammad     was what he was craving? He knew that Friday night at 7 could not come fast enough. He murmured a prayer of thanks and gathered his cart for the next stop on his journey through these earthly streets, but his thoughts were of the heavens.

Precisely at 7 pm on Friday, the Brick Layer heard a gentle knock at his door. He had rushed his family through dinner and made sure that his wife and children were tucked away in their bedrooms, so as not to cause any distractions. He knew he would pass this knowledge on to them, but he wanted to get it right first. He pulled open the worn, wooden door to behold his companion from lunch, looking radiant in a red robe with Chinese characters splashed over its surface, an unusual bit of clothing to pack for a wanderer. The Old Man seemed more intense this night, more focused than before.

“As Salamu Alaikum,” the Brick Layer motioned him in with a sweep of his hand. “Wa Alaikum Salam,” was the warm reply.

They settled into one of the few adornments of this stark room, a sturdy table in the middle of the space. Tea was poured without small talk, one ready to give and one who had been ready to receive for a lifetime. The Old Man took a sip of the warm liquid and set his cup down. He leaned forward a bit and asked, “With all of your yearnings to know, what is your most burning question?”

The Brick Layer thought for a moment and said, “The state of the world before our Prophet came? How were the people of the world prepared by Allah to accept him     ?”

“Bring out your beloved map,” The Old Man requested.

The Brick Layer wondered how this supposed stranger knew of his well-kept secret, a tattered map, dog-eared from being unfolded, poured over with a multitude of questions about its history and then reverently refolded and tucked between the mattress of his bed and the floor. Maybe the Brick Layer hoped that his dreams would come forward to answer him, but here was someone in his home who seemed to be full to the brim with the knowledge he longingly desired.

He quietly got up and returned with his tiny treasure, carefully opening it up and smoothing it flat in the middle of the table.

“Oh, yes,” the Old Man said, as he perused the world, sliding along the oceans and lands with his finger, giving slight nods as he went. “I have separated these lessons of the world into five regions, circling around the map until I end, inshallah, with Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.”

“Where to start?” he whispered to himself, looking up with a smile so broad that it gave the darkened room a sheen.

“You seem to be as hungry as the larvae of the Chinese silkworm, so let’s start there!”

Part 1: Region One: China, Japan, Mongolia, Tibet, and Russia

Part 10: General                                                                                                                                                                                            

Qur’an: 2:216: “Fighting is prescribed upon you, and you dislike it. But it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knows and you know not.”

Our Prophet     knew the peace of Islam and believed that it was good for people. Contrary to popular belief, Islam was not spread by the sword, it was spread by the good character of those behind the sword. This is what truly conquered nations from China to Spain and beyond. He and his warriors were fighting to keep hope alive for us. This was the only chance for light, otherwise darkness would have overwhelmed the Earth.

Narrated Abu Hurairah (r) in the interpretation of the verse in 3:110:

“You are the best of peoples ever raised up for the benefit of mankind…”

He said, “The best for mankind are those who bring them with chains around their necks until they embrace Islam (and thereby save them from the eternal punishment in the Hellfire and make them enter Paradise in the Hereafter)” (Al Bukhari)

The Muslim strategies of war early on with the disbelievers of Quraysh in the Battles of Badr, Uhud, and The Trench set the stage for the sweet victories to come. Again, the Prophet     took a group of Arab tribes in disarray and smoothed out their rough edges, taught them strategies like the innovative phalange, and gave them the ultimate reason to fight, victory for their Lord’s religion. This, in turn allowed this newly formed Islamic army to defeat armies three times their size. His warriors gave up their lives for His cause and this sacrifice kept the religion timeless.

What other General could offer backup troops of thousands of angels to help on the battlefield? Allah says in two places in the Qur’an in 3:124 and 8:9:

3:124: “Remember when you said to the faithful, ‘Is it not enough for you that Allah should help you with three thousand angels specially sent down?’”

And:

8:9: “Remember you implored the assistance of your Lord and He answered you, I will assist you with a thousand of the angels, ranks upon ranks.’”

What other General could offer such bravery on the battlefield that his best fighters took shelter behind him when the fighting got red hot?

What other General could dispense perfect justice after the battle to keep the peace? This was a role well-suited to his zeal and fortitude in his deen. He revealed from his Lord in 8:60:

“Muster against them all the military strength and cavalry that you can afford so that you may strike terror into the hearts of your enemy and the enemy of Allah…”

He did this to his utmost and, through the ages, Muslims have tried to make strides in the modes of war. In the 9th century, Al-Kindi was a master of many sciences, one of which was Mathematics. The mail carriers of his time were pigeons, so codes were needed for privacy. Al- Kindi used the Holy Qur’an and the frequency of certain letters to compile a code for messages and also a code-breaking method called Frequency Analysis. This method was used all the way through WWII when it was used to break the code of German messages for the allies.

In the 13th century, a Syrian scholar named Hasan Al-Rammah wrote The Book of Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices, which included the first diagrams of rockets and torpedoes, dozens of recipes for different kinds of gun powders, and plans for a trebuchet to fling missiles.

​

The 15th century saw the formation of one the largest navies ever established by a Chinese Muslim named Zheng He, with ships like floating cities. He made seven epic journeys to thirty countries, one of which has been proven to be America before Columbus. His fleet included 317 ships with 27,800 crew members. He carried zebra, oryx, and ostriches and used trained otters to herd fish to feed his crew.

Another heroic General was Omar Mukhtar of Libya, the Lion of the Desert. A quick history of Libya and the surrounding lands tells us that it belonged to the Roman Empire of its time, but in the 7th century, Amr ibn Al-As conquered the hearts there and the Libyans became Muslim. In 1510, Spain overran it and gave it to the remnants of the Crusaders. The Ottomans took it back in 1551 and split the area into three parts.

Omar Mukhtar was born in 1860 and was orphaned as a teen. His early education was in the mosque and he mastered Arabic, hadith, and memorized the Qur’an. His people said that he spent the last third of the night in prayer and he was a man of few words. He trained himself in the necessary art of fighting and studied genealogy and herbal medicine. He was appointed Sheikh of the religious school when he was less than thirty years old.

He had to go south to fight the French in Chad and, by 1913, was fighting all three of the colonial oppressors, France, Britain, and Italy.

Italy had been using a peaceful penetration policy in Libya with trade, banks, and schools to spread the Italian culture. The real struggle began when Italy believed it was their historic destiny to occupy Libya. For the next twenty years, Omar

Mukhtar and his band of freedom fighters kept them at bay with simple strategies, like drawing the Italian troops deep into the desert and then quickly ambushing them. As the brave Libyan soldiers were overwhelmed by sheer numbers in 1930, the Italians offered General Omar the salary of an Italian General if he would stop, but he promptly refused and kept fighting. He was finally captured when he was injured and trapped under a horse. They arrested him, shackled the aged valiant man, and with him maintaining his Islamic dignity throughout, hanged him for the crime of fighting for Allah and his country.

All those who oppressed him and his people are forgotten or reviled, but his bravery lives on in the memory of all Libyans.

​

Now, bogus so-called “Islamic Fighters” claim the headlines when their cause has nothing to do with Islam. The real struggle for saving life and home by righteous Muslim warriors in war-torn cities around the globe is quietly inspired, against all odds, by the likes of Ja’far (r) who gave up his arms to keep the banner of Islam high, Umm Makhtum, the blind companion who stood his ground amidst the raging of wars, and Al-Bara, who was tossed over the orchard fence in the Battle of Yamamah and who fought to reopen the gate for the Muslims. The smell of blood-red musk wafts from every honorable battlefield.

​

An Acrostic Communique of the Ottomans

 We will trace the outline of the history of how this came about in the next seven segments, each segment opening with a letter forming a word which resounded like thunder through history for 700 years.

Osman and his tribe followed in the footsteps of his upright and brave ancestors, the Great Seljuks, who had swept across Iran, picking up the Persian culture and their popular names, and adding it to their Islam as they moved through.

The first thing these Turks did when they reached Anatolia was to declare their independence from the leader, Malik Shah. Turkish nomads flooded Anatolia and settled in the corners.

They replaced the Greek and Armenian cultures with the Muslim/Turkish lifestyle. After Malik Shah’s death, the Muslims of Anatolia broke apart into small, independent atabeys or principalities. The Great Seljuks divided their state into provinces ruled by the sultan’s sons and relatives.

One branch of the family had their own dynasty on the high plateau of Central Anatolia, a people called the Seljuks of Rum. The Muslims referred to the land of the Byzantines as “Rum” for “Land of the Romans.” Despite constant attacks by the Crusaders, Shi’ites, and Mongols, the Seljuks of Rum became one of the longest-standing states, with the city of Konya as

their capital, from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. As they were on the border with the Byzantines, they mixed with them, learning the city ways and incorporating these new ways into their lives.

Turkish culture became refined and enlightened with military might, brisk commerce, and widespread education.

After the emperor who fought Alp Arslan was blinded by his own people and died, the new emperor had a rebellion he couldn’t handle and asked Suleyman ibn Kutalmus (1077-1086), son of Alp Arslan’s brother, to help him. In 1077, Suleyman ended up moving the Seljuk capital to Iznik, a city very close to the Byzantines so they could lend him a hand. It would take another four hundred years for this area to fall to the Muslims. He is considered the founder of the Seljuks of Rum and his son, Kilij Arsalan I (1092-1107), was proclaimed the first sultan of Rum.

Around 1090, the Muslims, scattered and weak, were expelled from the Mediterranean Islands of Corsica and Malta, and 1091 marked the end of 264 years of Muslim rule in Sicily when the Normans conquered and took it from them.

The year 1095 began a run of two hundred years of conflict centered on Jerusalem. The Byzantines couldn’t fight the Turks, so they called on Pope Urban II, leader of the western Roman church after the earlier split of the churches. However, instead of marching to the land of the Byzantines, he decided to head directly for Jerusalem. He got his warriors so riled up for combat before they left that they ended up killing many European Jews along the way. The

disunity of the Turks at this time allowed the Christian troops to capture the city of Antioch and a massacre occurred. Many Muslim amirs were so terrified of the Crusaders and their wrath that they actually gave them food, arms, and safe passage through their lands.

In 1096 the first Crusade was called the People’s Crusade, but they were not professional soldiers and so were soundly defeated. 1097 was when the real Crusader warriors went to Jerusalem. By 1099, Jerusalem was in shambles from the changing of rulers between the Seljuks and Fatamids. The Fatamids were weak, as were the Abbasids, and the Turks seemed to be in constant civil war. It only took a short time to take Jerusalem, and 70,000 were massacred that day. It was said that the Crusaders were running in blood up to their horse’s bridles.

T

 The Crusaders killed all those in the city, but simply incorporated the villages of Muslims surrounding the cities into their rule, and this is how knowledge began passing to Europe for their later Renaissance.

he Crusaders in 1097 charged the Turkish capital of Iznik and occupied it, and the Seljuk leader, Kilij Arslan I moved the capital back to Konya, a much safer place to defend.

Konya, to this day, contains a wealth of Seljuk monuments. These are some of the most complex and stunning examples of architecture in the Muslim world. In its time, Konya was a sprawling and lush city, with many orchards and gardens, large mosques and palaces, madrasahs, Sufi lodges, and domed markets. The city was an ethnic mix of many skin colors and tongues, Byzantine Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Turks, and Iranians.

By 1104, the Crusader army, which included Normans, Scandinavians, and Turkish mercenaries, had seized the Levantine port city of Acre, but at the same time they were defeated at Harran, the stargazer city of Ibrahim’s time. In 1110, Beirut fell to the Crusaders might.

In Sultan Mas’ud I’s time (1116-1156), he consolidated the Seljuk groups and left a secure and prosperous kingdom. During his time, in 1128, the long-lasting and secretive organization, Knights of the Templar, began and in 1144, the Seljuks took the Crusaders’ principality of Edessa in Syria, bringing on the Second Crusade, but this lasted only four days and the Byzantines were defeated. Sultan Mas’ud I also built the famous Aladdin Mosque in Konya in 1153.

During Mas’ud’s time was when western sources began calling Anatolia “Turkey,” due to the Turkish presence there. His son, Kilij Arslan II (1156-1192) fought the decisive battle of Myriocephalon in 1176 with the Byzantines and defeated them. This brought all of Anatolia under Seljuk control. He was one of the most pivotal of the sultans, as he reduced the once powerful Byzantines to a few scattered areas around Constantinople and the shores of the Black Sea. In 1189, the Third Crusade began.

  By the twelfth century, the Seljuks of Rum had Afghanistan, Persia, and the Middle East all the way to Egypt, but it was too big, and a breakup soon began.

One of three very important events happened in the time of the next sultan, Kai Khusraw I (1192-1211). The first was the conquest of the land around Constantinople after the fourth Crusades. This allowed the Seljuks to consolidate power in Central Anatolia. The second was that in 1207, the port city of Antalya on the southern coast of the Mediterranean was taken by the Seljuks, giving them for the first time a trading outlet on that coast. The third significant event was that in 1214, the Black Sea port of Sinop was taken, giving the Seljuks direct access to trade with China, India, and Persia. With this, the city of Konya became a strong, thriving, and bustling trade center. It also produced the famous poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273), known throughout the world for his rich religious poetry.

Masterful was the rule of the most brilliant sultan in Seljuk history, Ala ad-Din Kai-Qubad I (1220-1237). There was a definite Golden Age during his time, as massive amounts of food for consumption and export were produced from the farmlands, a shipyard was built, expansion increased commerce, time-honored buildings were erected, he enhanced the military, and through all of this there was a full fifteen years of economic ease. He constructed towering walls around Konya and other major cities for defense, built roadways, and received in his royal court many scholars and artists who were fleeing the Mongol sweep. Sadly, after his death in 1237, the Mongols destroyed his magnificent kingdom.

Doku, the Turkish Storyteller and the Fall of the Ottomans

Doku entered the fairgrounds, a converted park, and stopped for a moment to breathe in the sea air. This Storytelling Fair was his venue to relax and let his words flow. He saw the line of ornamental yurts set up on the grounds, forming a semi-circle facing the diamond- like Marmara Sea. Every yurt was elaborately embellished in red and gold, complete with oversized tassels on every entrance. The yurts were clearly labeled, one for comedy, one for drama, one for ancient folklore, one for children, one for the storytelling novices, and the largest one had his name on it in bold black script, Mehmet “Doku” Ognaz. This didn’t make him feel prideful, just grateful for the gift his Lord had bestowed on him. If he could show Islamic history for what it was and teach what not to do again, then his primary goal be fulfilled.

Although he was early, the tranquil grounds were already teeming with thousands of ready ears. It seems like a quick picnic by the water and a good story was amenable to many. He quietly found his way to the back entrance of his designated tent and was warmly greeted and waved in by the guard standing there. He entered, dragging his prop box on wheels behind him. He was shielded from the gathering spectators by a wooden tri-fold screen and he stepped up onto the back of the stage, lifting his prop box up beside him. He popped the fasteners up and lifted the lid. Inside were the visuals that he hoped would bring this mournful segment of Islamic history to life. Everyone wants to experience the story of the rise, but only the bravest of souls wants to experience the story of the decline.

He began to sort through what the box carried. First came the props for part four: a tweed suitcoat and bowtie, and an unzipped hat box containing a burgundy, velvet fez, complete with a cream-colored tassel which was fastened to the top of the hat and hung at chin level on the wearer. These were carefully laid out onto the last third of the black prop box. Part three had a foldable easel, which he set up, with a map of the Ottoman Empire decline of the 15th to 17th centuries, which he balanced on its outstretched pegs. Part two had a tulip and a scroll of onion paper rolled tightly and fastened with a gold ribbon in the center, and these were placed in the middle third of the box. Part one had a turban, not of the sultans this time, but of the grand viziers, as he knew they had held most of the power during the decline. He lifted this out of an oversized hat box and placed it on the first third of his prop area, ready for action.

Doku checked the time on his watch, peeking through the slats in the screen to see if the tent, which would hold around a thousand souls, was full yet. It was, he found, and apparently had been for the last hour, as his name and fame were widespread. He cleared his throat, and with as much dignity as he could muster, pushed the prop box around the screen and parked it at the rear center of the stage. As the crowd became hushed with his presence, he went to the other side of the screen and retrieved the easel and map, placing it stage left, to the audience’s right. Just a teaser, he thought. He then came stage front, the soft white lights illuminating his deep blue pants and shirt, making them ripple like the sea he had the pleasure to face for this packed performance.

“Good Morning, and peace be upon you. So many fearless souls ready to partake of the final section, the complicated Decline of the Ottoman Empire. I am honored.

Just a note, this session will not include Abdel Hamid II and the ultimate fall of the empire, this simply highlights how the fall began.

As most of you know, the name Istanbul comes from Islambol, or ‘plenty of Islam.’ This is how life used to be in this alluring city, complete with its own Tughra, a cooling Islamic calligraphy used first on the flag of the Seljuks and then adapted for use by the earlier Ottoman sultans for official stamps, each sultan   adding their own unique monogram with name and title given. It was recognizable as a symbol showing the Ottomans extensive power. It later became a mockery of itself in the years of the slowly ebbing empire.

After the death of the laudable Sulaiman the Magnificent, there was a series of weak and ineffective leaders. Since the time of Ahmed I, ending in 1617, there were no more princes vying for the throne. After this time, the princes were banished to isolated harems to be pampered and fawned over. The eldest would simply be called up when it was his time to lead, but it was the viziers who ultimately held the power of the empire in their hands. The sultans after Sulaiman I only wanted to enjoy the luxuries of Istanbul and would allow their deputies to go to war for them. They no longer had the fervor required to lead the troops in glorious wars of conquest and the spread of Islam. This span was a time of chaos and many sultans were deposed, killed, or both.

Also during this time, the European powers had ventured forth to the New World, North and South America, and grabbed land and heaps of gold and silver which was then brought to Europe through the gates of Spain. This influx, along with multiple wars, tore down and devalued the Ottoman economy, further burying their chance to revive the empire. The only event to plug the slow drip of the draining empire was the French Revolution, which acted as a distraction to the rest of Europe.

World War I, 1914-1918:

The players and when they joined:

Austria/Hungary declared war on Serbia in 1914, eventually dragging the rest of the world in

Ottomans and Germany were on allied on one side in 1914

The French and British in 1914 and Italy in 1915 were on the side of the central powers. The British colonies joined in 1914: India (950,000 for combat - 450,000 for non-combat),

Australia and New Zealand, Egypt (exempted at first because they were still under the Ottomans umbrella, but then the British said they seceded from the empire and had to fight), and Canada

The French colonies joined in 1914: North Africa (Army of Africa, some fought on one side, some on the other), Senegal, Madagascar, Indo China, and Algeria

The Arab Alliance in 1916 fought with a promise of the rule of Arabia when it was done The United States declared war on Germany in 1917

The Ottomans were faced with war on all fronts. They fought bravely but lost to the winds of change. The Great Powers shifted after the war, from Russia, Austria, and the Ottomans to the rising of France, Britain, and Italy to take the reins.

The Ottoman lands were carved up even before the end of the war in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, which was a secret agreement between the three new powers. This treaty ended up creating the boundaries of the modern Middle East. It was made official in 1920 at the San Remo Conference and here is the breakdown: