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Y201: The Rise of Islam c.550–750

The beginning of the Empire and the rule of the ‘Rightly Guided Caliphs’

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 2

Overview

Recall questions on Disagreements about the succession, the succession of Abu Bakr, the Ridda Wars of Wars of Apostasy, the beginnings of the Empire and expansion into Persia, reasons for success, the rule of Abu Bakr.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Who and when

How did Uthman's reign end?

Who and when

Who opposed Ali at the Battle of the Camel, and what was the outcome?

Who and when

How did Umar become caliph in 634?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Who was chosen as the first caliph in 632, and what did his title mean?

    Model answer

    Abu Bakr was chosen, and his title meant successor or deputy of the Messenger of God, indicating that he inherited Muhammad's political leadership but not his prophecy.

  2. 2

    Why did some believe Ali should have succeeded instead?

    Model answer

    They held that Muhammad had indicated Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, as his successor, and that leadership belonged within the Prophet's family, an argument that became the root of the lasting division within Islam.

  3. 3

    What were the Ridda Wars?

    Model answer

    They were the campaigns of 632 to 633 in which Abu Bakr forced back into obedience the tribes who had renounced their allegiance after Muhammad's death, and defeated the rival prophets who had arisen among them.

  4. 4

    Why did Abu Bakr treat the refusal to pay the alms levy as apostasy rather than a tax dispute?

    Model answer

    Accepting that tribes could keep the faith while withholding the levy would have destroyed the community's revenue and its authority, so he insisted that submission to God and submission to Medina could not be separated.

  5. 5

    State two achievements of Abu Bakr's caliphate.

    Model answer

    He held the community together through the wars of apostasy and re-established its authority over Arabia, and he launched the first campaigns beyond the peninsula against Persian and Byzantine territory.

  6. 6

    How did Umar become caliph in 634?

    Model answer

    Abu Bakr nominated him before his death and the leading Muslims accepted the nomination, so the succession passed without a contest.

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