History of the Rightly Guided Caliphs

Instructor:  Dr. Jaan Islam

Date/times:

October 19 - December 7, Saturdays 10 AM - 12 PM US Eastern Standard Time

Course description:

How did the caliphs react to economic woes and natural disasters? What was the sociological structure of the early caliphate outside Arabia? How did the companions strive to preserve Islam intellectually and politically? This course examines the life, work, and geopolitical legacy of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (al-Khulafā’ al-Rāshidūn) (CE 632-661). Starting from succession to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), this course critically examines the Islamic conquests (futūhāt), the legal and political makeup of the early Caliphate, preservation of the Qur’an, and lastly, civil strife that afflicted the Ummah in its first generation. 
This course delves into history beyond the spectacular personalities of the Caliphs, taking students across a complex landscape of military struggle, economic policies, natural disasters, and most importantly, the strong leadership that would define the next millennium of global history.  
In a time marked by lack of appreciation for Islamic history – and subsequently of few dedicated courses – the Ummah’s collective imagination is largely indebted to orientalists whose narratives make up the lion’s share of media and education curricula. In employing a multi-faceted critical historical approach – utilizing Islamic sources and critically assessing orientalist works – this course provides an intellectual edifice for students to understand history through Islamic historiography and epistemology.

Student Learning Outcomes: 

This course aims to equip learners with the following objectives:

1.    Understanding the role of history (tārīkh) in the Islamic sciences, such as jurisprudence and tafsir (exegesis), and gaining knowledge of primary Islamic historical texts
2.    Understand major orientalist narratives and their epistemology, and be able to critique them from an Islamic perspective based on Islamic epistemology
3.    Explain the features of Islamic civilization catapulted by the caliphs in the following fields: 
(a) establishment and preservation of Islam; 
(b) the military and political makeup of the Caliphate; 
(c) development of Islamic sciences; and 
(d) its legal system and sociological achievements (e.g., jizyah system, removal of poverty)
4.    Extract principles implemented by the caliphs to find solutions for the Ummah’s problems today
5.    Develop your Iman through firm knowledge of the Islamic historical tradition and the deep epistemologies and historical content of the first century of Islam

Attendance & Participation: 

While this is an online course, students are expected to attend all the lectures and complete any set essays for the course. Attendance is required for at least 75% of the classes, and while attendance registers will not be taken at the start of the classes, a note will be made on who is attending.  Absences can disrupt the classes, so please try to attend as much as possible. There is a recording of the class available but it is for a limited time only.

Term essay: 

Paper subjects will be provided in the first half of the semester. The general subject will be: demonstrate why a certain orientalist researcher (secondary literature) is wrong or how he/she is orientalist (intellectually colonized) in their conclusions or historiography regarding the Khulifāʾ Rāshidūn. It will also ask you to compare the orientalists’ ideas to Suyūtī, Ṭabarī, Ibn Khaldūn and other Islamic authors. All papers must approximately 1500 words long. While secondary sources must be from an academic publisher (Yale University Press, Oneworld, American University in Cairo Press, International Institute of Islamic Thought, I.B. Taurus, etc. Ask me if you are not sure), primary sources can be academic or university publishing houses. 

Course schedule: