139-673: Banerjee , also known as Bandyopadhyay , is a Bengali Kulin Brahmin surname originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent . The surname belongs to the Rarhi clan of Bengali Brahmin caste. "Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi: Hindu (Brahman) name, the first element of which, Ban-, is taken from Bandyopadhyay The final element -jee is derived from jha (greatly reduced form of Sanskrit upadhyaya 'teacher'); thus, Banerjee 'teacher who
278-657: A hand axe in the upper Gandeshwari, Middle Dwarakeswar, Upper Kangsabati, Upper Tarafeni and Middle Subarnarekha valleys of the Indian state West Bengal , and Rangamati and Feni districts of Bangladesh. Evidence of 42,000 years old human habitation has been found at the foothills of the Ajodhya Hills in West Bengal. Hatpara on the west bank of Bhagirathi River has evidence of human settlements dating back to around 15,000-20,000 years. Artefacts suggest that
417-592: A scientific , economic and cultural flourishing . The expansion of the Muslim world involved various states and caliphates as well as extensive trade and religious conversion as a result of Islamic missionary activities ( dawah ), as well as through conquests . The two main Islamic branches are Sunni Islam (85–90%) and Shia Islam (10–15%). While the Shia–Sunni divide initially arose from disagreements over
556-505: A combined 6,236 verses ( āyāt ). The chronologically earlier chapters, revealed at Mecca , are concerned primarily with spiritual topics, while the later Medinan chapters discuss more social and legal issues relevant to the Muslim community. Muslim jurists consult the hadith ('accounts'), or the written record of Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Quran and assist with its interpretation. The science of Quranic commentary and exegesis
695-670: A diverse group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. Approximately 70% are adherents of Islam with a large Hindu minority and sizeable communities of Christians and Buddhists. Bengali Muslims , who live mainly in Bangladesh, primarily belong to the Sunni denomination. Bengali Hindus , who live primarily in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam's Barak Valley, Jharkhand and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, generally follow Shaktism or Vaishnavism , in addition to worshipping regional deities. There exist small numbers of Bengali Christians ,
834-423: A figurehead monarchy. The Sunni Seljuk dynasty campaigned to reassert Sunni Islam by promulgating the scholarly opinions of the time, notably with the construction of educational institutions known as Nezamiyeh , which are associated with Al-Ghazali and Saadi Shirazi . The expansion of the Muslim world continued with religious missions converting Volga Bulgaria to Islam. The Delhi Sultanate reached deep into
973-631: A god in general. Angels (Arabic: ملك , malak ) are beings described in the Quran and hadith. They are described as created to worship God and also to serve in other specific duties such as communicating revelations from God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They are described as being created variously from 'light' ( nūr ) or 'fire' ( nār ). Islamic angels are often represented in anthropomorphic forms combined with supernatural images, such as wings, being of great size or wearing heavenly articles. Common characteristics for angels include
1112-621: A historic legacy of borrowing vocabulary from languages such as Persian and Sanskrit , modern borrowings primarily come from the English language. Islam Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of the Islamic Prophet and messenger Muhammad , the religion's founder. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims , who are estimated to number approximately 1.9 billion worldwide and are
1251-537: A human being, rather than God, is central to Muslims' religion. The Islamic creed ( aqidah ) requires belief in six articles : God, angels , revelation, prophets, the Day of Resurrection , and the divine predestination. The central concept of Islam is tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد ), the oneness of God. It is usually thought of as a precise monotheism , but is also panentheistic in Islamic mystical teachings. God
1390-498: A lack of bodily needs and desires, such as eating and drinking. Some of them, such as Gabriel ( Jibrīl ) and Michael ( Mika'il ), are mentioned by name in the Quran. Angels play a significant role in literature about the Mi'raj , where Muhammad encounters several angels during his journey through the heavens. Further angels have often been featured in Islamic eschatology , theology and philosophy . The pre-eminent holy text of Islam
1529-696: A large number of whom are descendants of Portuguese voyagers , as well as Bengali Buddhists , the bulk of whom belong to the Bengali-speaking Barua group in Chittagong and Rakhine . Bengalis have influenced and contributed to diverse fields, notably the arts and architecture, language , folklore , literature, politics, military, business, science and technology. The term Bengali is generally used to refer to someone whose linguistic, cultural or ancestral origins are from Bengal . The Indo-Aryan Bengalis are ethnically differentiated from
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#17328022335931668-491: A major role in the Indian independence movement , in which revolutionary groups such as Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar were dominant. Many of the early proponents of the independence struggle, and subsequent leaders in the movement were Bengalis such as Shamsher Gazi , Chowdhury Abu Torab Khan , Hada Miah and Mada Miah , the Pagal Panthis led by Karim Shah and Tipu Shah , Haji Shariatullah and Dudu Miyan of
1807-556: A movement that would evolve into tasawwuf or Sufism . At this time, theological problems, notably on free will, were prominently tackled, with Hasan al Basri holding that although God knows people's actions, good and evil come from abuse of free will and the devil . Greek rationalist philosophy influenced a speculative school of thought known as Muʿtazila , who famously advocated the notion of free-will originated by Wasil ibn Ata . Caliph Mamun al Rashid made it an official creed and unsuccessfully attempted to force this position on
1946-729: A nation and as Bangladeshis as citizens." Bengalis are the third-largest ethnic group in the world, after the Han Chinese and Arabs . They are the largest ethnic group within the Indo–European linguistic family and the largest ethnic group in South Asia. Apart from Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Manipur, and Assam's Barak Valley, Bengali-majority populations also reside in India's union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands , with significant populations in
2085-504: A person to hell . However, the Quran makes it clear that God will forgive the sins of those who repent if he wishes. Good deeds, like charity, prayer, and compassion towards animals will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Muslims view heaven as a place of joy and blessings, with Quranic references describing its features. Mystical traditions in Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of God. Yawm al-Qiyāmah
2224-581: A place of prayer, it is also an important social center for the Muslim community . For example, the Masjid an-Nabawi ("Prophetic Mosque") in Medina, Saudi Arabia , used to also serve as a shelter for the poor. Minarets are towers used to call the adhan , a vocal call to signal the prayer time. Zakat ( Arabic : زكاة , zakāh ), also spelled Zakāt or Zakah , is a type of almsgiving characterized by
2363-667: A religious group. This has been undertaken by communist forces like the Khmer Rouge , who viewed them as their primary enemy to be exterminated since their religious practice made them stand out from the rest of the population, the Chinese Communist Party in Xinjiang and by nationalist forces such as during the Bosnian genocide . Myanmar military's Tatmadaw targeting of Rohingya Muslims has been labeled as
2502-728: A root that means "to measure" or "calculating". Muslims often express this belief in divine destiny with the phrase "In-sha-Allah" ( Arabic : إن شاء الله ) meaning "if God wills" when speaking on future events. There are five acts of worship that are considered duties –the Shahada (declaration of faith), the five daily prayers, Zakat (almsgiving), fasting during Ramadan , and the Hajj pilgrimage–collectively known as "The Pillars of Islam" ( Arkān al-Islām ). In addition, Muslims also perform other optional supererogatory acts that are encouraged but not considered to be duties. The shahadah
2641-466: A rounded total of 280 million) worldwide. Bengalis constitute the largest ethnic group in Bangladesh, at approximately 98% of the nation's inhabitants. The Census of India does not recognise racial or ethnic groups within India, the CIA Factbook estimated that there are 100 million Bengalis in India constituting 7% of the country's total population. In addition to West Bengal , Bengalis form
2780-535: A trust from God's bounty, and is seen as a purification of one's excess wealth. The total annual value contributed due to zakat is 15 times greater than global humanitarian aid donations, using conservative estimates. Sadaqah , as opposed to Zakat, is a much-encouraged optional charity. A waqf is a perpetual charitable trust , which finances hospitals and schools in Muslim societies. In Islam, fasting ( Arabic : صوم , ṣawm ) precludes food and drink, as well as other forms of consumption, such as smoking , and
2919-398: Is Sahih al-Bukhari , often considered by Sunnis to be one of the most authentic sources after the Quran. Another well-known source of hadiths is known as The Four Books , which Shias consider as the most authentic hadith reference. Belief in the "Day of Resurrection" or Yawm al-Qiyāmah (Arabic: يوم القيامة ) is also crucial for Muslims. It is believed that the time of Qiyāmah
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#17328022335933058-456: Is also identified in the Quran as Yawm ad-Dīn ( يوم الدين "Day of Religion"); as-Sāʿah ( الساعة "the Last Hour"); and al-Qāriʿah ( القارعة "The Clatterer"). The concept of divine predestination in Islam ( Arabic : القضاء والقدر , al-qadāʾ wa l-qadar ) means that every matter, good or bad, is believed to have been decreed by God. Al-qadar , meaning "power", derives from
3197-594: Is also used a lingua franca among other ethnic groups and tribes living within and around the Bengal region. Bengali is generally written using the Bengali script and evolved circa 1000–1200 CE from Magadhi Prakrit , thus bearing similarities to ancient languages such as Pali . Its closest modern relatives are other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages such as Assamese , Odia and the Bihari languages . Though Bengali may have
3336-403: Is an oath declaring belief in Islam. The expanded statement is " ʾašhadu ʾal-lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh " ( أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمداً رسول الله ), or, "I testify that there is no deity except God and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God." Islam is sometimes argued to have a very simple creed with the shahada being the premise for
3475-571: Is based on the belief in oneness and uniqueness of the God ( tawhid ), and belief in an afterlife ( akhirah ) with the Last Judgment —wherein the righteous will be rewarded in paradise ( jannah ) and the unrighteous will be punished in hell ( jahannam ). The Five Pillars —considered obligatory acts of worship—are the Islamic oath and creed ( shahada ), daily prayers ( salah ), almsgiving ( zakat ), fasting ( sawm ) in
3614-672: Is head and only performs the main work aarti or, Vandana. A Sanskrit version of this name, Vandyopadhyaya, was coined from the elements vandya 'venerable' + upadhyaya 'teacher'. " Notable people with the surname Banerjee, Bandopadhyay, or variations, include: Bengalis Lores Genres Institutions Awards Folk genres Devotional Classical genres Modern genres People Instruments Dance Theater Organizations People Bengalis ( Bengali : বাঙ্গালী, বাঙালি [baŋgali, baŋali] ), also rendered as endonym Bangalee , are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with
3753-581: Is known as tafsir . In addition to its religious significance, the Quran is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature , and has influenced art and the Arabic language. Islam also holds that God has sent revelations, called wahy , to different prophets numerous times throughout history. However, Islam teaches that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, such as the Tawrat ( Torah ) and
3892-407: Is optional and can be undertaken at any time of the year. Other sites of Islamic pilgrimage are Medina , where Muhammad died, as well as Jerusalem , a city of many Islamic prophets and the site of Al-Aqsa , which was the direction of prayer before Mecca. Muslims recite and memorize the whole or parts of the Quran as acts of virtue. Tajwid refers to the set of rules for the proper elocution of
4031-422: Is performed from dawn to sunset. During the month of Ramadan , it is considered a duty for Muslims to fast. The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to God by restraining oneself for God's sake from what is otherwise permissible and to think of the needy. In addition, there are other days, such as the Day of Arafah , when fasting is optional. The Islamic pilgrimage , called the " ḥajj " (Arabic: حج ),
4170-766: Is preordained by God, but unknown to man. The Quran and the hadith, as well as the commentaries of scholars , describe the trials and tribulations preceding and during the Qiyāmah . The Quran emphasizes bodily resurrection , a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death. On Yawm al-Qiyāmah, Muslims believe all humankind will be judged by their good and bad deeds and consigned to Jannah (paradise) or Jahannam (hell). The Quran in Surat al-Zalzalah describes this as: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." The Quran lists several sins that can condemn
4309-488: Is seen as incomparable and without multiplicity of persons such as in the Christian Trinity , and associating multiplicity to God or attributing God's attributes to others is seen as idolatory , called shirk . God is described as Al Ghayb so is beyond comprehension. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules and do not attribute forms to God. God is instead described and referred to by several names or attributes ,
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4448-433: Is the Quran . Muslims believe that the verses of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad by God, through the archangel Gabriel, on multiple occasions between 610 CE and 632, the year Muhammad died. While Muhammad was alive, these revelations were written down by his companions , although the primary method of transmission was orally through memorization . The Quran is divided into 114 chapters ( sūrah ) which contain
4587-563: Is the mention of a land ruled by the king Xandrammes named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BCE. The word is speculated to have come from Gangahrd ('Land with the Ganges in its heart') in reference to an area in Bengal. Later from the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE , the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire . One of the first recorded independent kings of Bengal
4726-403: Is the verbal noun of Form IV originating from the verb سلم ( salama ), from the triliteral root س-ل-م ( S-L-M ), which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of submission, safeness, and peace. In a religious context, it refers to the total surrender to the will of God . A Muslim ( مُسْلِم ), the word for a follower of Islam, is the active participle of
4865-595: Is thought to ultimately derive from) in the south, Rāṛha in the west, Puṇḍravardhana and Varendra in the north, and Samataṭa and Harikela in the east. The historic land of Vaṅga ( bôngô in Bengali), situated in present-day Barisal , is considered by early historians of the Abrahamic and Dharmic traditions to have originated from a man who had settled in the area though it is often dismissed as legend . Early Abrahamic genealogists had suggested that this man
5004-528: Is to be done at least once a lifetime by every Muslim with the means to do so during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah . Rituals of the Hajj mostly imitate the story of the family of Abraham . In Mecca , pilgrims walk seven times around the Kaaba , which Muslims believe Abraham built as a place of worship, and they walk seven times between Mount Safa and Marwa , recounting the steps of Abraham's wife, Hagar , who
5143-401: Is to worship God. He is viewed as a personal god and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy , to contact God. Consciousness and awareness of God is referred to as Taqwa . Allāh is a term with no plural or gender being ascribed to it and is also used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews in reference to God, whereas ʾilāh ( إله ) is a term used for a deity or
5282-818: Is when Muhammad received his first revelation . By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam . Muslim rule expanded outside Arabia under the Rashidun Caliphate and the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate ruled from the Iberian Peninsula to the Indus Valley . In the Islamic Golden Age , specifically during the reign of the Abbasid Caliphate , most of the Muslim world experienced
5421-803: The Hijra ("emigration") in 622 to the city of Yathrib (current-day Medina). There, with the Medinan converts (the Ansar ) and the Meccan migrants (the Muhajirun ), Muhammad in Medina established his political and religious authority . The Constitution of Medina was signed by all the tribes of Medina. This established religious freedoms and freedom to use their own laws among the Muslim and non-Muslim communities as well as an agreement to defend Medina from external threats. Meccan forces and their allies lost against
5560-532: The Injil ( Gospel ), have become distorted —either in interpretation, in text, or both, while the Quran (lit. 'Recitation') is viewed as the final, verbatim and unaltered word of God. Prophets (Arabic: أنبياء , anbiyāʾ ) are believed to have been chosen by God to preach a divine message. Some of these prophets additionally deliver a new book and are called "messengers" ( رسول , rasūl ). Muslims believe prophets are human and not divine. All of
5699-648: The Arab Spring , Jamaat-e-Islami in South Asia and the AK Party , which has democratically been in power in Turkey for decades. In Iran , revolution replaced a secular monarchy with an Islamic state . Others such as Sayyid Rashid Rida broke away from Islamic modernists and pushed against embracing what he saw as Western influence. The group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant would even attempt to recreate
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5838-593: The Battle of Nahrawan but a Kharijite assassin later killed Ali. Ali's son, Hasan ibn Ali, was elected Caliph and signed a peace treaty to avoid further fighting, abdicating to Mu'awiya in return for Mu'awiya not appointing a successor. Mu'awiya began the Umayyad dynasty with the appointment of his son Yazid I as successor, sparking the Second Civil War . During the Battle of Karbala , Husayn ibn Ali
5977-583: The Bengal region of South Asia. The population is divided between the sovereign country Bangladesh and the Indian regions of West Bengal , Tripura , Barak Valley , Goalpara , Andaman and Nicobar Islands , and parts of Meghalaya , Manipur and Jharkhand . Most speak Bengali , a language from the Indo-Aryan language family. Sub-section 2 of Article 6 of the Constitution of Bangladesh states, "The people of Bangladesh shall be known as Bengalis as
6116-610: The Bengal Army , and had the world's sixth earliest railway network. Great Bengal famines struck several times during colonial rule, notably the Great Bengal famine of 1770 and Bengal famine of 1943 , each killing millions of Bengalis. Under British rule, Bengal experienced deindustrialisation. Discontent with the situation, numerous rebellions and revolts were attempted by the Bengali people. The Indian Rebellion of 1857
6255-758: The Chandraketugarh , which flourished in present-day North 24 Parganas , date as far back as 600 BC to 300 BC, and Wari-Bateshwar civilisation , which flourished in present-day Narsingdi , date as far back as 400 BC to 100 BC. Not far from the rivers, the port city of Wari-Bateshwar, and the riverside port city of the Chandraketugarh, are believed to have been engaged in foreign trade with Ancient Rome , Southeast Asia and other regions. The people of this civilisation live in bricked homes, walked on wide roads, used silver coins and iron weaponry among many other things. The two cities are considered to be
6394-516: The Chola dynasty , who invaded Bengal in the 11th century, speak of Govindachandra as the ruler of Vaṅgāladeśa (a Sanskrit cognate to the word Bangladesh , which was historically a synonymous endonym of Bengal). 16th-century historian Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak mentions in his ʿAin-i-Akbarī that the addition of the suffix "al" came from the fact that the ancient rajahs of the land raised mounds of earth 10 feet high and 20 in breadth in lowlands at
6533-684: The Deobandi movement. In response to the Deobandi movement, the Barelwi movement was founded as a mass movement, defending popular Sufism and reforming its practices. The Muslim world was generally in political decline starting the 1800s, especially compared to non-Muslim European powers. Earlier, in the 15th century, the Reconquista succeeded in ending the Muslim presence in Iberia . By
6672-574: The Faraizi movement , Titumir , Ali Muhammad Shibli, Alimuddin Ahmad , Prafulla Chaki , Surendranath Banerjee , Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani , Bagha Jatin , Khudiram Bose , Sarojini Naidu , Aurobindo Ghosh , Rashbehari Bose , and Sachindranath Sanyal . Leaders such as Subhas Chandra Bose did not subscribe to the view that non-violent civil disobedience was the best way to achieve independence, and were instrumental in armed resistance against
6811-683: The Hejaz , which popularly became known by the Arabs as Bengali madrasas . As a result of the British conquest of Bengal, some Bengalis decided to emigrate to Arabia. Notable examples include Mawlana Murad, an instructor of Islamic sciences based in Mecca in the early 1800s, and Najib Ali Choudhury , a participant of the Battle of Shamli . Notable people of Bengali-origin in the Middle East include
6950-788: The House of Wisdom employed Christian and Persian scholars to both translate works into Arabic and to develop new knowledge. Soldiers broke away from the Abbasid empire and established their own dynasties, such as the Tulunids in 868 in Egypt and the Ghaznavid dynasty in 977 in Central Asia. In this fragmentation came the Shi'a Century , roughly between 945 and 1055, which saw the rise of
7089-502: The Indian Subcontinent and many converted to Islam, in particular low-caste Hindus whose descendants make up the vast majority of Indian Muslims. Trade brought many Muslims to China , where they virtually dominated the import and export industry of the Song dynasty . Muslims were recruited as a governing minority class in the Yuan dynasty . Through Muslim trade networks and the activity of Sufi orders, Islam spread into new areas and Muslims assimilated into new cultures. Under
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#17328022335937228-510: The Maghreb , the Iberian Peninsula , Narbonnese Gaul and Sindh . The Umayyads struggled with a lack of legitimacy and relied on a heavily patronized military. Since the jizya tax was a tax paid by non-Muslims which exempted them from military service, the Umayyads denied recognizing the conversion of non-Arabs, as it reduced revenue. While the Rashidun Caliphate emphasized austerity, with Umar even requiring an inventory of each official's possessions, Umayyad luxury bred dissatisfaction among
7367-432: The Muslim population in Latin America . The resulting urbanization and increase in trade in sub-Saharan Africa brought Muslims to settle in new areas and spread their faith, likely doubling its Muslim population between 1869 and 1914. Forerunners of Islamic modernism influenced Islamist political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and related parties in the Arab world, which performed well in elections following
7506-451: The Nawabs of Bengal in 1717. Already observing the proto-industrialization, it made direct significant contribution to the first Industrial Revolution (substantially textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution ). Bengal became the basis of the Anglo-Mughal War . After the weakening of the Mughal Empire with the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, Bengal was ruled independently by three dynasties of Nawabs until 1757, when
7645-540: The Ottoman Empire , Islam spread to Southeast Europe . Conversion to Islam often involved a degree of syncretism , as illustrated by Muhammad's appearance in Hindu folklore. Muslim Turks incorporated elements of Turkish Shamanism beliefs to Islam. Muslims in Ming Dynasty China who were descended from earlier immigrants were assimilated, sometimes through laws mandating assimilation, by adopting Chinese names and culture while Nanjing became an important center of Islamic study. Cultural shifts were evident with
7784-444: The Prince of Sylhet . The man, presumably from Sylhet in eastern Bengal, was waited upon by the Prime Minister of Great Britain William Pitt the Younger , and then dined with the Duke of York before presenting himself in front of the King. Today, the British Bangladeshis are a naturalised community in the United Kingdom, running 90% of all South Asian cuisine restaurants and having established numerous ethnic enclaves across
7923-485: The Ridda wars . Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, persecuted as religious minorities and heretics and taxed heavily, often helped Muslims take over their lands, resulting in rapid expansion of the caliphate into the Persian and Byzantine empires. Uthman was elected in 644 and his assassination by rebels led to Ali being elected the next Caliph. In the First Civil War , Muhammad's widow, Aisha , raised an army against Ali, attempting to avenge
8062-456: The language of the Bengali people to gain patronage and support, contrary to previous states which exclusively favoured Sanskrit , Pali and Persian . The born-Hindu Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah funded the construction of Islamic institutions as far as Mecca and Madina in the Middle East. The people of Arabia came to know these institutions as al-Madaris al-Bangaliyyah ( Bengali madrasas ). The Mughal Empire conquered Bengal in
8201-402: The mathematical model that was later argued to be adopted by Copernicus unrevised in his heliocentric model, and Jamshīd al-Kāshī 's estimate of pi would not be surpassed for 180 years. After the introduction of gunpowder weapons, large and centralized Muslim states consolidated around gunpowder empires , these had been previously splintered amongst various territories. The caliphate
8340-400: The millennialist Isma'ili Shi'a missionary movement. One Isma'ili group, the Fatimid dynasty , took control of North Africa in the 10th century and another Isma'ili group, the Qarmatians , sacked Mecca and stole the Black Stone , a rock placed within the Kaaba, in their unsuccessful rebellion. Yet another Isma'ili group, the Buyid dynasty , conquered Baghdad and turned the Abbasids into
8479-447: The succession to Muhammad , they grew to cover a broader dimension, both theologically and juridically . The Sunni canonical hadith collection consists of six books , while the Shia canonical hadith collection consists of four books . Muslims make up a majority of the population in 49 countries. Approximately 12% of the world's Muslims live in Indonesia , the most populous Muslim-majority country; 31% live in South Asia ; 20% live in
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#17328022335938618-476: The " Night of Power " ( Laylat al-Qadr ) and is considered a significant event in Islamic history. During the next 22 years of his life, from age 40 onwards, Muhammad continued to receive revelations from God, becoming the last or seal of the prophets sent to mankind. During this time, while in Mecca, Muhammad preached first in secret and then in public, imploring his listeners to abandon polytheism and worship one God. Many early converts to Islam were women,
8757-421: The "world's first true scientist", in particular regarding his work in optics . In engineering, the Banū Mūsā brothers' automatic flute player is considered to have been the first programmable machine . In mathematics , the concept of the algorithm is named after Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi , who is considered a founder of algebra , which is named after his book al-jabr , while others developed
8896-426: The 10th century were of various religious backgrounds. Tilopa was a prominent Buddhist from modern-day Chittagong , though Samatata was ruled by the Buddhist Chandra dynasty . During this time, the Arab geographer Al-Masudi and author of The Meadows of Gold , travelled to the region where he noticed a Muslim community of inhabitants residing in the region. In addition to trade, Islam was also being introduced to
9035-409: The 16th century, ending the independent Sultanate of Bengal and defeating Bengal's rebellion Baro-Bhuiyan chieftains. Mughal general Man Singh conquered parts of Bengal including Dhaka during the time of Emperor Akbar and a few Rajput tribes from his army permanently settled around Dhaka and surrounding lands, integrating into Bengali society. Akbar's preaching of the syncretic Din-i Ilahi ,
9174-433: The 16th century. One such example is I'tisam-ud-Din , a Bengali Muslim cleric from Nadia in western Bengal, who arrived to Europe in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim as a diplomat for the Mughal Empire . Another example during this period is of James Achilles Kirkpatrick 's hookah-bardar ( hookah servant/preparer) who was said to have robbed and cheated Kirkpatrick, making his way to England and stylising himself as
9313-403: The 1800s. On the other hand, Ram Mohan Roy led a socio-Hindu reformist movement known as Brahmoism which called for the abolishment of sati (widow sacrifice), child marriage , polytheism and idol worship . In 1804, he wrote the Persian book Tuḥfat al-Muwaḥḥidīn (A Gift to the Monotheists) and spent the next two decades attacking the Kulin Brahmin bastions of Bengal. Bengal played
9452-444: The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against the Pakistani military junta. The war caused millions of East Bengali refugees to take shelter in neighbouring India, especially the Indian state of West Bengal , with Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal, becoming the capital-in-exile of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh . The Mukti Bahini guerrilla forces waged a nine-month war against the Pakistani military. The conflict ended after
9591-423: The 19th century such as Sailaifengye in China after returning from Mecca but were eventually persecuted and forced into hiding by Sufi groups. Other groups sought to reform Sufism rather than reject it, with the Senusiyya and Muhammad Ahmad both waging war and establishing states in Libya and Sudan respectively. In India, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi attempted a more conciliatory style against Sufism and influenced
9730-563: The 19th century, the British East India Company had formally annexed the Mughal dynasty in India. As a response to Western Imperialism , many intellectuals sought to reform Islam . Islamic modernism , initially labelled by Western scholars as Salafiyya , embraced modern values and institutions such as democracy while being scripture oriented. Notable forerunners in the movement include Muhammad 'Abduh and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani . Abul A'la Maududi helped influence modern political Islam . Similar to contemporary codification , sharia
9869-402: The Arabic language and performed in the direction of the Kaaba . The act also requires a state of ritual purity achieved by means of either a routine wudu ritual wash or, in certain circumstances, a ghusl full body ritual wash. A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name masjid . Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as
10008-725: The Bengal region in British India into two provinces for administrative and development purposes. However, the partition stoked Hindu nationalism . This in turn led to the formation of the All India Muslim League in Dhaka in 1906 to represent the growing aspirations of the Muslim population. The partition was annulled in 1912 after protests by the Indian National Congress and Hindu Mahasabha . The breakdown of Hindu-Muslim unity in India drove
10147-784: The British. Bose was the co-founder and leader of the Japanese-aligned Indian National Army (distinct from the British Indian Army ) which fought against Allied forces in the Burma campaign . He was also the head of state of a parallel regime, the Azad Hind . A number of Bengalis died during the independence movement and many were imprisoned in the notorious Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands . The first partition in 1905 divided
10286-516: The Caribbean during the 1830s. Workers from Bengal were chosen because they could easily assimilate to the climate of British Guyana , which was similar to that of Bengal. Swami Vivekananda is considered a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America, and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, and bringing Hinduism to the status of a world religion during
10425-536: The Indian Armed Forces intervened on the side of Bangladeshi forces in the final two weeks of the war, which ended with the surrender of East Pakistan and the liberation of Dhaka on 16 December 1971. Thus, the newly independent People's Republic of Bangladesh was born from what was previously the East Pakistan province of Pakistan. Approximate distribution of native Bengali speakers (assuming
10564-615: The Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh , Delhi , Odisha , Chhattisgarh , Jharkhand , Mizoram , Nagaland and Uttarakhand as well as Nepal 's Province No. 1 . The global Bengali diaspora have well-established communities in the Middle East , Pakistan , Myanmar , the United Kingdom , the United States , Malaysia , Italy , Singapore, Maldives , Canada , Australia , Japan and South Korea . Bengalis are
10703-527: The Middle East–North Africa ; and 15% live in sub-Saharan Africa . Muslim communities are also present in the Americas , China , and Europe . Muslims are the world's fastest-growing major religious group, due primarily to a higher fertility rate and younger age structure compared to other major religions. In Arabic, Islam ( Arabic : إسلام , lit. 'submission [to God]')
10842-793: The Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution in 1943, calling the creation of "independent states" in eastern and northwestern British India. The resolution paved the way for the Partition of British India based on the Radcliffe Line in 1947, despite attempts to form a United Bengal state that was opposed by many people. The rise of self-determination and Bengali nationalism movements in East Bengal , led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman . This eventually culminated in
10981-473: The Muslim rulers in Bengal to conquer Sylhet , turning the town into Jalal's headquarters for religious activities. Following the conquest, Jalal disseminated his followers across different parts of Bengal to spread Islam, and became a household name among Bengali Muslims . The establishment of a single united Bengal Sultanate in 1352 by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah finally gave rise to the name Bangala for
11120-583: The Muslims at the Battle of Badr in 624 and then fought an inconclusive battle in the Battle of Uhud before unsuccessfully besieging Medina in the Battle of the Trench (March–April 627). In 628, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was signed between Mecca and the Muslims, but it was broken by Mecca two years later. As more tribes converted to Islam, Meccan trade routes were cut off by the Muslims. By 629 Muhammad
11259-785: The Ottomans from the beginning. The Mevlevi Order and Bektashi Order had a close relation to the sultans, as Sufi-mystical as well as heterodox and syncretic approaches to Islam flourished. The often forceful Safavid conversion of Iran to the Twelver Shia Islam of the Safavid Empire ensured the final dominance of the Twelver sect within Shia Islam. Persian migrants to South Asia, as influential bureaucrats and landholders, helped spread Shia Islam, forming some of
11398-679: The Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations , such as the Tawrat (the Torah ), the Zabur ( Psalms ), and the Injil ( Gospel ). They believe that Muhammad is the main and final Islamic prophet , through whom the religion was completed. The teachings and normative examples of Muhammad, called the Sunnah , documented in accounts called the hadith , provide a constitutional model for Muslims. Islam
11537-733: The Quran. Many Muslims recite the whole Quran during the month of Ramadan. One who has memorized the whole Quran is called a hafiz ("memorizer"), and hadiths mention that these individuals will be able to intercede for others on Judgment Day. Supplication to God, called in Arabic duʿāʾ ( Arabic : دعاء IPA: [dʊˈʕæːʔ] ) has its own etiquette such as raising hands as if begging. Remembrance of God ( ذكر , Dhikr' ) refers to phrases repeated referencing God. Commonly, this includes Tahmid, declaring praise be due to God ( الحمد لله , al-Ḥamdu lillāh ) during prayer or when feeling thankful, Tasbih , declaring glory to God during prayer or when in awe of something and saying ' in
11676-588: The Quranic accounts are collected and explored in the Qisas al-Anbiya (Stories of the Prophets). Muslims believe that God sent Muhammad as the final prophet (" Seal of the prophets ") to convey the completed message of Islam. In Islam, the "normative" example of Muhammad's life is called the sunnah (literally "trodden path"). Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad's moral behaviors in their daily lives, and
11815-472: The actual wording, called matn . There are various methodologies to classify the authenticity of hadiths, with the commonly used grading grading scale being "authentic" or "correct" ( صحيح , ṣaḥīḥ ); "good" ( حسن , ḥasan ); or "weak" ( ضعيف , ḍaʻīf ), among others. The Kutub al-Sittah are a collection of six books, regarded as the most authentic reports in Sunni Islam . Among them
11954-838: The beginning of the compilation of the Quran. The Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz set up the committee, The Seven Fuqaha of Medina , and Malik ibn Anas wrote one of the earliest books on Islamic jurisprudence, the Muwatta , as a consensus of the opinion of those jurists. The Kharijites believed there was no compromised middle ground between good and evil, and any Muslim who committed a grave sin would become an unbeliever. The term "kharijites" would also be used to refer to later groups such as ISIS . The Murji'ah taught that people's righteousness could be judged by God alone. Therefore, wrongdoers might be considered misguided, but not denounced as unbelievers. This attitude came to prevail into mainstream Islamic beliefs. The Umayyad dynasty conquered
12093-465: The concept of a function . The government paid scientists the equivalent salary of professional athletes today. Guinness World Records recognizes the University of Al Karaouine , founded in 859, as the world's oldest degree-granting university. Many non-Muslims, such as Christians , Jews and Sabians , contributed to the Islamic civilization in various fields, and the institution known as
12232-458: The country – most prominent of which is Banglatown in East London . An important and unifying characteristic of Bengalis is that most of them use Bengali as their native tongue, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family. With about 226 million native and about 300 million total speakers worldwide, Bengali is one of the most spoken languages , ranked sixth in the world, and
12371-526: The death of Uthman, but was defeated at the Battle of the Camel . Ali attempted to remove the governor of Syria, Mu'awiya , who was seen as corrupt. Mu'awiya then declared war on Ali and was defeated in the Battle of Siffin . Ali's decision to arbitrate angered the Kharijites , an extremist sect, who felt that by not fighting a sinner, Ali became a sinner as well. The Kharijites rebelled and were defeated in
12510-751: The decrease in Arab influence after the Mongol destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Muslim Mongol Khanates in Iran and Central Asia benefited from increased cross-cultural access to East Asia under Mongol rule and thus flourished and developed more distinctively from Arab influence, such as the Timurid Renaissance under the Timurid dynasty . Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) proposed
12649-585: The demographic majority in Assam 's Barak Valley and Lower region as well as parts of Manipur . The state of Tripura as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory , which lies in the Bay of Bengal , are also home to a Bengali-majority population, most of whom are descendants of Hindus from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) that migrated there following the 1947 Partition of India . Bengali migration to
12788-558: The early 17th century, Islam Khan I had conquered all of Bengal and was integrated into a province known as the Bengal Subah . It was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire , as it also encompassed parts of Bihar and Odisha , between the 16th and 18th centuries. Described by some as the "Paradise of Nations" and the "Golden Age of Bengal", Bengalis enjoyed some of the highest living standards and real wages in
12927-470: The early Abbasid era, scholars such as Muhammad al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj compiled the major Sunni hadith collections while scholars like Al-Kulayni and Ibn Babawayh compiled major Shia hadith collections. The four Sunni Madh'habs , the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi'i, were established around the teachings of Abū Ḥanīfa , Ahmad ibn Hanbal , Malik ibn Anas and al-Shafi'i . In contrast,
13066-582: The foot of the hills which were called "al". This is also mentioned in Ghulam Husain Salim 's Riyāz us-Salāṭīn . In 1352, Muslim nobleman Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah united the region into a single political entity known as the Bengal Sultanate . Proclaiming himself as Shāh -i-Bangālīyān , it was in this period that the Bengali language gained state patronage and corroborated literary development. Ilyas Shah had effectively unified
13205-511: The gates of itjihad rather than blind imitation of scholars. He called for a jihad against those he deemed heretics, but his writings only played a marginal role during his lifetime. During the 18th century in Arabia, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab , influenced by the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim , founded a movement called Wahhabi to return to what he saw as unadultered Islam. He condemned many local Islamic customs, such as visiting
13344-399: The giving of a fixed portion (2.5% annually) of accumulated wealth by those who can afford it to help the poor or needy, such as for freeing captives, those in debt , or for (stranded) travellers, and for those employed to collect zakat. It acts as a form of welfare in Muslim societies. It is considered a religious obligation that the well-off owe the needy because their wealth is seen as
13483-476: The grave of Muhammad or saints, as later innovations and sinful and destroyed sacred rocks and trees, Sufi shrines, the tombs of Muhammad and his companions and the tomb of Husayn at Karbala, a major Shia pilgrimage site. He formed an alliance with the Saud family , which, by the 1920s, completed their conquest of the area that would become Saudi Arabia . Ma Wanfu and Ma Debao promoted salafist movements in
13622-512: The largest Shia populations outside Iran. Nader Shah , who overthrew the Safavids, attempted to improve relations with Sunnis by propagating the integration of Twelverism into Sunni Islam as a fifth madhhab , called Ja'farism, which failed to gain recognition from the Ottomans. Earlier in the 14th century, Ibn Taymiyya promoted a puritanical form of Islam, rejecting philosophical approaches in favor of simpler theology, and called to open
13761-712: The latter archipelago was also boosted by subsequent state-funded Colonisation Schemes by the Government of India . Bengali ethnic descent and emigrant communities are found primarily in other parts of the subcontinent , the Middle East and the Western World. Substantial populations descended from Bengali immigrants exist in Saudi Arabia , Pakistan and the United Kingdom where they form established communities of over 1 million people. The majority of
13900-652: The majority. Caliph Al-Mu'tasim carried out inquisitions , with the traditionalist Ahmad ibn Hanbal notably refusing to conform to the Muʿtazila idea that the Quran was created rather than being eternal , which resulted in him being tortured and kept in an unlit prison cell for nearly thirty months. However, other schools of speculative theology – Māturīdism founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and Ash'ari founded by Al-Ash'ari – were more successful in being widely adopted. Philosophers such as Al-Farabi , Avicenna and Averroes sought to harmonize Aristotle's ideas with
14039-484: The modern gold dinar as their monetary system. While some of those who broke away were quietist , others believed in violence against those opposing them, even against other Muslims. In opposition to Islamic political movements, in 20th century Turkey, the military carried out coups to oust Islamist governments, and headscarves were legally restricted, as also happened in Tunisia. In other places, religious authority
14178-675: The month of Ramadan , and a pilgrimage ( hajj ) to Mecca . Islamic law, sharia , touches on virtually every aspect of life, from banking and finance and welfare to men's and women's roles and the environment . The two main religious festivals are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha . The three holiest sites in Islam are Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Prophet's Mosque in Medina , and al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem . The religion of Islam originated in Mecca in 610 CE . Muslims believe this
14317-502: The moral decline and idolatry prevalent in Mecca and seeking seclusion and spiritual contemplation, Muhammad retreated to the Cave of Hira in the mountain Jabal al-Nour , near Mecca. It was during his time in the cave that he is said to have received the first revelation of the Quran from the angel Gabriel . The event of Muhammad's retreat to the cave and subsequent revelation is known as
14456-399: The most common being Ar-Rahmān ( الرحمان ) meaning "The Entirely Merciful", and Ar-Rahīm ( الرحيم ) meaning "The Especially Merciful" which are invoked at the beginning of most chapters of the Quran. Islam teaches that the creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by God's command as expressed by the wording, " Be, and it is ," and that the purpose of existence
14595-418: The name of God ' ( بسملة , basmalah ) before starting an act such as eating. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 CE and was orphaned early in life. Growing up as a trader, he became known as the " trusted one " ( Arabic : الامين ) and was sought after as an impartial arbitrator. He later married his employer, the businesswoman Khadija . In the year 610 CE, troubled by
14734-488: The non-Indo-Aryan tribes inhabiting Bengal. Their ethnonym , Bangali , along with the native name of the Bengali language and Bengal region, Bangla , are both derived from Bangālah , the Persian word for the region. Prior to Muslim expansion , there was no unitary territory by this name as the region was instead divided into numerous geopolitical divisions. The most prominent of these were Vaṅga (from which Bangālah
14873-568: The oldest cities in Bengal . It is thought that a man named Vanga settled in the area around 1000 BCE founding the Vanga kingdom in southern Bengal. The Atharvaveda and the Hindu epic Mahabharata mentions this kingdom, along with the Pundra kingdom in northern Bengal. The spread of Mauryan territory and promotion of Buddhism by its emperor Ashoka cultivated a growing Buddhist society among
15012-476: The overseas Bengali diaspora are Muslims as the act of seafaring was traditionally prohibited in Hinduism; a taboo known as kala pani (black/dirty water). The introduction of Islam to the Bengali people has generated a connection to the Arabian Peninsula , as Muslims are required to visit the land once in their lifetime to complete the Hajj pilgrimage. Several Bengali sultans funded Islamic institutions in
15151-548: The people of Bengal through the migration of Sufi missionaries prior to conquest. The earliest known Sufi missionaries were Syed Shah Surkhul Antia and his students, most notably Shah Sultan Rumi , in the 11th century. Rumi settled in present-day Netrokona, Mymensingh where he influenced the local ruler and population to embrace Islam. The Pala dynasty was followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena Empire . Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout
15290-598: The people of present-day Bengal from the 2nd century BCE. Mauryan monuments as far as the Great Stupa of Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh mentioned the people of this region as adherents of Buddhism. The Buddhists of the Bengal region built and used dozens of monasteries, and were recognised for their religious commitments as far as Nagarjunakonda in South India . One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal
15429-711: The pious. The Kharijites led the Berber Revolt , leading to the first Muslim states independent of the Caliphate. In the Abbasid Revolution , non-Arab converts ( mawali ), Arab clans pushed aside by the Umayyad clan, and some Shi'a rallied and overthrew the Umayyads, inaugurating the more cosmopolitan Abbasid dynasty in 750. Al-Shafi'i codified a method to determine the reliability of hadith. During
15568-570: The poor, foreigners, and slaves like the first muezzin Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi . The Meccan elite felt Muhammad was destabilizing their social order by preaching about one God and giving questionable ideas to the poor and slaves because they profited from the pilgrimages to the idols of the Kaaba. After 12 years of the persecution of Muslims by the Meccans , Muhammad and his companions performed
15707-401: The present-day Rajshahi Division in northern Bengal, preaching to the communities there. A community of 13 Muslim families headed by Burhanuddin also existed in the northeastern Hindu city of Srihatta (Sylhet) , claiming their descendants to have arrived from Chittagong . By 1303, hundreds of Sufi preachers led by Shah Jalal , who some biographers claim was a Turkistan-born Bengali, aided
15846-406: The prophets are said to have preached the same basic message of Islam – submission to the will of God – to various nations in the past, and this is said to account for many similarities among religions. The Quran recounts the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam , including Adam , Noah , Abraham , Moses and Jesus , among others. The stories associated with the prophets beyond
15985-404: The region into one country. Archaeologists have discovered remnants of a 4,700-year-old Neolithic and Chalcolithic civilisation such as Dihar and Pandu Rajar Dhibi in the greater Bengal region, and believe the finds are one of the earliest signs of settlement in the region. However, evidence of much older Palaeolithic human habitations were found in the form of a stone implement and
16124-684: The region was annexed by the East India Company after the Battle of Plassey . In Bengal, effective political and military power was transferred from the Afshar regime to the British East India Company around 1757–65. Company rule in India began under the Bengal Presidency . Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. The presidency was run by a military-civil administration, including
16263-464: The region, and the development of Bengali language . The Ilyas Shahi dynasty acknowledged Muslim scholarship , and this transcended ethnic background. Usman Serajuddin , also known as Akhi Siraj Bengali , was a native of Gaur in western Bengal and became the Sultanate's court scholar during Ilyas Shah's reign. Alongside Persian and Arabic, the sovereign Sunni Muslim nation-state also enabled
16402-494: The region. Bakhtiyar Khalji , a Turkic general, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. Consequently, the region was ruled by dynasties of sultans and feudal lords under the Bengal Sultanate for the next few hundred years. Many of the people of Bengal began accepting Islam through the influx of missionaries following the initial conquest. Sultan Balkhi and Shah Makhdum Rupos settled in
16541-567: The renowned author and journalist Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur Attar of Saudi Arabia and Qur'an translator Zohurul Hoque from Oman . The family of Princess Sarvath al-Hassan , wife of Jordanian prince Hassan bin Talal , are descended from the Suhrawardy family of Midnapore . Earliest records of Bengalis in the European continent date back to the reign of King George III of England during
16680-429: The rest of the religion. Non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the shahada in front of witnesses. Prayer in Islam, called as-salah or aṣ-ṣalāt (Arabic: الصلاة ), is seen as a personal communication with God and consists of repeating units called rakat that include bowing and prostrating to God. There are five timed prayers each day that are considered duties. The prayers are recited in
16819-415: The revival of Buddhism in Tibet and also held the position of Abbot at the Vikramashila monastery in Bihar . The Pala Empire enjoyed relations with the Srivijaya Empire , the Tibetan Empire , and the Arab Abbasid Caliphate . Islam first appeared in Bengal during Pala rule, as a result of increased trade between Bengal and the Middle East. The people of Samatata , in southeastern Bengal, during
16958-412: The same verb form, and means "submitter (to God)" or "one who surrenders (to God)". In the Hadith of Gabriel , Islam is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence). Islam itself was historically called Mohammedanism in the English-speaking world . This term has fallen out of use and is sometimes said to be offensive , as it suggests that
17097-408: The sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of the Quran. This example is preserved in traditions known as hadith , which are accounts of his words, actions, and personal characteristics. Hadith Qudsi is a sub-category of hadith, regarded as God's verbatim words quoted by Muhammad that are not part of the Quran. A hadith involves two elements: a chain of narrators, called sanad , and
17236-447: The teachings of Ja'far al-Sadiq formed the Ja'fari jurisprudence . In the 9th century, Al-Tabari completed the first commentary of the Quran, the Tafsir al-Tabari , which became one of the most cited commentaries in Sunni Islam. Some Muslims began questioning the piety of indulgence in worldly life and emphasized poverty, humility, and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Ascetics such as Hasan al-Basri inspired
17375-498: The teachings of Islam, similar to later scholasticism within Christianity in Europe and Maimonides ' work within Judaism, while others like Al-Ghazali argued against such syncretism and ultimately prevailed. This era is sometimes called the " Islamic Golden Age ". Islamic scientific achievements spanned a wide range of subject areas including medicine , mathematics , astronomy , and agriculture as well as physics , economics , engineering and optics . Avicenna
17514-399: The world at the time. Singlehandedly accounting for 40% of Dutch imports from Asia, eastern Bengal was globally prominent in industries such as textile manufacturing and shipbuilding , and was a major exporter of silk and cotton textiles, steel, saltpetre , and agricultural and industrial produce in the world. Mughal Bengal eventually became a quasi-independent monarchy state ruled by
17653-399: The world's second-largest religious population after Christians . Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier prophets and messengers , including Adam , Noah , Abraham , Moses , and Jesus . Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of God and the unaltered, final revelation. Alongside
17792-400: Was Shashanka , reigning around the early 7th century, who is generally thought to have originated from Magadha , Bihar, just west of Bengal. After a period of anarchy, a native ruler called Gopala came into power in 750 CE. He originated from Varendra in northern Bengal, and founded the Buddhist Pala Empire . Atiśa , a renowned Buddhist teacher from eastern Bengal, was instrumental in
17931-445: Was Bang, a son of Hind who was the son of Ham (son of Noah) . In contrast, the Mahabharata , Puranas and the Harivamsha state that Vaṅga was the founder of the Vaṅga kingdom and one of the adopted sons of King Vali. The land of Vaṅga later came to be known as Vaṅgāla ( Bôngal ) and its earliest reference is in the Nesari plates (805 CE) of Govinda III which speak of Dharmapāla as its king. The records of Rajendra Chola I of
18070-428: Was a pioneer in experimental medicine , and his The Canon of Medicine was used as a standard medicinal text in the Islamic world and Europe for centuries. Rhazes was the first to identify the diseases smallpox and measles . Public hospitals of the time issued the first medical diplomas to license doctors. Ibn al-Haytham is regarded as the father of the modern scientific method and often referred to as
18209-515: Was claimed by the Ottoman dynasty of the Ottoman Empire and its claims were strengthened in 1517 as Selim I became the ruler of Mecca and Medina . The Shia Safavid dynasty rose to power in 1501 and later conquered all of Iran. In South Asia, Babur founded the Mughal Empire . The religion of the centralized states of the gunpowder empires influenced the religious practice of their constituent populations. A symbiosis between Ottoman rulers and Sufism strongly influenced Islamic reign by
18348-484: Was co-opted and is now often seen as puppets of the state. For example, in Saudi Arabia, the state monopolized religious scholarship and, in Egypt, the state nationalized Al-Azhar University , previously an independent voice checking state power. Salafism was funded in the Middle East for its quietism. Saudi Arabia campaigned against revolutionary Islamist movements in the Middle East, in opposition to Iran. Muslim minorities of various ethnicities have been persecuted as
18487-409: Was described as a blasphemy by the Qadi of Bengal, which caused huge controversies in South Asia. In the 16th century, many Ulama of the Bengali Muslim intelligentsia migrated to other parts of the subcontinent as teachers and instructors of Islamic knowledge such as Ali Sher Bengali to Ahmedabad , Shah Manjhan to Sarangpur , Usman Bengali to Sambhal and Yusuf Bengali to Burhanpur . By
18626-404: Was established in 1969 after the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem . Contact with industrialized nations brought Muslim populations to new areas through economic migration. Many Muslims migrated as indentured servants (mostly from India and Indonesia) to the Caribbean, forming the largest Muslim populations by percentage in the Americas. Migration from Syria and Lebanon contributed to
18765-511: Was for the first time partially codified into law in 1869 in the Ottoman Empire's Mecelle code. The Ottoman Empire dissolved after World War I , the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished in 1924 and the subsequent Sharifian Caliphate fell quickly, thus leaving Islam without a Caliph . Pan-Islamists attempted to unify Muslims and competed with growing nationalist forces, such as pan-Arabism . The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of Muslim-majority countries ,
18904-421: Was initiated on the outskirts of Calcutta, and spread to Dhaka, Jalpaiguri and Agartala, in solidarity with revolts in North India . Havildar Rajab Ali commanded the rebels in Chittagong as far as Sylhet and Manipur . The failure of the rebellion led to the abolishment of the Mughal court completely and direct rule by the British Raj . Many Bengali labourers were taken as coolies to the British colonies in
19043-412: Was killed by Yazid's forces; the event has been annually commemorated by Shias ever since. Sunnis, led by Ibn al-Zubayr and opposed to a dynastic caliphate, were defeated in the siege of Mecca . These disputes over leadership would give rise to the Sunni - Shia schism, with the Shia believing leadership belongs to Muhammad's family through Ali, called the ahl al-bayt . Abu Bakr's leadership oversaw
19182-476: Was looking for water for her baby Ishmael in the desert before Mecca developed into a settlement. The pilgrimage also involves spending a day praying and worshipping in the plain of Mount Arafat as well as symbolically stoning the Devil . All Muslim men wear only two simple white unstitched pieces of cloth called ihram , intended to bring continuity through generations and uniformity among pilgrims despite class or origin. Another form of pilgrimage, Umrah ,
19321-548: Was victorious in the nearly bloodless conquest of Mecca , and by the time of his death in 632 (at age 62) he had united the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity . Muhammad died in 632 and the first successors, called Caliphs – Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman ibn al-Affan , Ali ibn Abi Talib and sometimes Hasan ibn Ali – are known in Sunni Islam as al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn (" Rightly Guided Caliphs "). Some tribes left Islam and rebelled under leaders who declared themselves new prophets but were crushed by Abu Bakr in
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