This popular expression of the Arab Muslim peoples became an indelible part of Islamic culture. The tradition continued as the Qur'an was first memorized and transmitted by word of mouth and then recorded for following generations. Their travels from city to city and tribe to tribe were the means by which news, legends, and exploits would become known. In the city of Mecca, poets and writers would hang their writings on a certain wall in the city so that others could read about the virtues of their respective tribes. In the Pre-Islamic period, one of the traditions was that of the mu'allaquat (literally "the hangings").
(Aramco World Magazine, January-February 1995 photo Ergun Çagatay). Before that, the dragon-headed handle suggests it may have belonged to a Timurid ruler. (5½"), once furnished the Safavid palace at Tabriz, and probably passed into Ottoman hands after the Battle of Çaldiran in 1514. Islam civilization is based on the value of education, which both the Qur'an and the Prophet stressed. However, it has been the written record that has had the greatest impact on civilization. It has an oral tradition based on the transmission of culture through poetry and narrative. Islamic culture inherited an Arab culture born in the desert, simple but by no means simplistic. Thus Arab Muslim societies and other Muslims have cultural affinities, though every society has preserved its distinguishing characteristics.
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Read the full text here.īecause Islam originated and has developed in an Arab culture, other cultures which have adopted Islam have tended to be influenced by Arab customs. This is a chapter from "Introduction to Islam," by Cherif Bassiouni.