Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Discussion Questions - Essay Example Islamic teachings of early Islam inclined towards the social ideals of a settled life in preference to the nomadic way of life of the troublesome Arab nomads. The great importance that Prophet Muhammad placed on a settled way of life (hijra), and the abandonment of the nomadic way of life in the process of embracing Islam formed the basis of this means to subdue the troublesome Arab nomads. According to Donner (1981), this enabled the early Islamic elites to draw support from these religious teachings in their attempts to subdue the potentially troublesome Arab nomads, as can be seen from this quote, when supplies were requested for the troublesome Arab nomads, â€Å"by God, I will not supply you until I have supplied the settled people [ahl al-ha-dira]†. (1) The early Islamic elites denied the troublesome Arab nomads’ high positions of power in the political set up, and in the army chain of command, even if their loyalty was not in doubt, as the second means to control the Arab nomads. This ostracizing of the nomadic tribes meant that in the eyes of the ruling elite, they were not fit to occupy such seats of power. This meant that only the settled people occupied these seats of power, and removed the possibility of the Arab nomads being able to use these seats of power to incite action on behalf of the Arab nomads. (1) The tax pattern that was introduced by the early Islamic elites in the opinion of Donner (1981), sought to ostracize the Arab nomads. While the Muslims leading a settled way of life had to pay alms or zakat, and the non-Muslims leading a settled way of life tribute, or tax called jizya, the nomadic tribes had to pay a tax called sadaqa. This differentiation suggests that though the nomadic Arabs, who had embraced the religion of Islam were not considered to the settled Muslimsm and could be extended to mean that they were not Muslims in the true sense. (1) The final means employed by the early Islamic elite in subduing the