Umayyad Caliphate The History and Legacy of the Second Islamic Kingdom Established After

The Umayad Caliphate, the history and legacy of the second Islamic Kingdom established after Muhammad's death. Written by Charles River. Editors. Narrated by Daniel Introduction. The split between the two forms of Islam was already in the process of forming upon the death of the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad had constructed around himself not only potent new religious movement but also powerful young state called the Ummah, the community for lack of better translation. Belonging to the Islamic faith also meant belonging to the Umaha, which was governed by its own laws and had many of its own institutions. In his own lifetime, Muhammad had ruled the Umaha through what sociologists call charismatic authority. term coined by Max Weber that is defined as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person and the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him. Hence, Muslims believe Muhammad ruled because he was uniquely chosen and endowed by God as the exemplar of all humanity, giving him unique, though not perfect or infallible, ability to govern humanity. This was holistic form of governance because the prophet did not simply deliver God's words, what became the Holy Quran. nor did he simply pronounce upon court cases and create laws. He did all those things, but he also presented in his own person the embodiment of the best that humanity could aspire to. He was fully human, but the finest, most pious example that humans would ever produce. One of the problems with charismatic authority, as Max Weber recognized and pointed out, is that charismatic authority is fragile because it cannot last beyond the lifespan of the charismatic individual without major changes. As result, it is often difficult to create continuity after the death of charismatic leader. Plenty of societies or movements have experienced collapse or massive upheaval after the death of charismatic leader such as France after Napoleon and the ancient world after Alexander the Great. The process of converting charismatic authority into more stable long-term form of government is called routinizing charisma. In this process, the society attempts to keep some of the legitimizing elements of the deceased leader in place. Sample complete. Ready to continue.