Compiled by: Lewis Loflin
This chronology is compiled from various sources and cross-checked for accuracy. Key points to note: The Quran was not formalized until years after Muhammad’s death. From 655 to 661 CE, disputes over the caliphate led to civil war, creating the enduring Sunni-Shiite divide. Military defeats and Mongol invasions later gave rise to Ibn Taymiyyah, whose teachings shifted Islam toward rage and conflict. Islam borrowed heavily from Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism—traditions later eradicated from the Arabian Peninsula. Deism views such holy books skeptically due to questionable authorship, lack of originals, and the political agendas of organized religion. “Romans” here refers to the Byzantine Empire.
570 CE: Muhammad, traditionally born in Mecca, is considered the founder of Islam—though some argue “Muhammad” is a title, not a name. Muslims regard him as God’s final and greatest prophet. The Quran, written years after his death, contains 114 chapters of his alleged divinely inspired revelations, reflecting influences from Judaism and Christianity. Notably, Medina, where Muhammad lived for eight years, was over half Jewish at the time.
610 CE: Originally polytheistic, Muhammad experiences a transformative religious vision, hearing a divine voice—later identified as the angel Gabriel from Christian tradition—declaring Allah as the only god. He is instructed to adopt the title of “Prophet” and convert the Quraysh tribe to monotheism. Some suggest he founded a Jewish messianic sect, not the Islam that solidified in the 9th-10th centuries.
622 CE: Facing resistance from the Quraysh, Muhammad and his followers migrate to Yathrib in the north, a town receptive to his new faith. This Hijrah marks the start of the Muslim era. Muhammad becomes ruler, renaming Yathrib to Medina (“City of the Prophet”), which later serves as the caliphate’s seat. These events are based on Hadiths and Sunnah, lacking contemporary proof.
630 CE: Muhammad and his followers conquer Mecca. With the Quraysh subdued, the Kaaba, a central worship site for Arabian tribes, becomes Islam’s main shrine. This narrative also relies on Hadiths, with no 7th-century historical evidence.
632-661 CE: Orthodox Caliphate (Mecca and Medina)
662-711 CE: Egypt falls under Umayyad and Abbasid control until 868. The Fertile Crescent and Persia are ruled by Umayyads (until 1258) and Abbasids (until 820). By 669, Muslim conquest reaches Morocco, under Umayyad and Abbasid rule until 800. By 711, Islam includes the Persian Empire and most of the former Roman world, with conquests in Sindh (Afghanistan) beginning that year.
717-732 CE: The Umayyads fail to conquer the Byzantine capital in 717, weakening their government. Islamic expansion is halted in France at the Battle of Poitiers in 732 but continues in Asia and Africa.
750 CE: The Abbasids overthrow the Umayyads, moving the capital to Baghdad. Spain remains under Umayyad descendant Abd al-Rahman, leading to the “Golden Caliphate,” the greatest Islamic civilization yet. The Arabian Nights, compiled under the Abbasids, reflects their Persian-influenced governance.
768-1126 CE: Muhammad’s history is first recorded by Ishaq ibn Yasar in 768. Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809), a figure in the Arabian Nights, rules during this period. North Africa sees shifting dynasties: Aghlabi (800-909), Idrisid (789-985), and Al-Moravi (1056-1147). Persian unity fragments with Samanid (819-1055), Tharid (820-874), and Alid (864-1032) dynasties. The Seljuk Empire unites Mesopotamia and Persia by 879, disrupting Abbasid structures by 1077. Islamic poet Umar Khayyam’s The Rubaiyat (1123) gains fame, and Averroes of Cordova (1126-1198) becomes the last major Islamic philosopher, blending rationalism with faith.
700 CE: Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, emerges, focusing on an intimate relationship with Allah. Sufis emphasize verse 7:172 of the Quran, describing a pre-creation covenant between God and the soul, aiming for mystical union through renunciation.
857-1037 CE: Sufi Al-Muhasibi introduces conscience studies into Sufism in 857. Physician Rhazes (865-925) distinguishes measles from smallpox. Al-Farabi (950) applies Plato’s philosopher-king concept to Muhammad, merging philosophy and religion. Avicenna (1037) advances prophetic psychology and identifies tuberculosis as contagious.
945-1258 CE: A Shiite band invades Baghdad in 945, reducing the Abbasid Empire to a symbolic role until its destruction by the Mongols in 1258. Egypt’s Ikhidid dynasty rules (935-969), followed by the Fatimid dynasty (969-1171). North Africa and Sicily are controlled by the Fatimids (900-1071).
997-1492 CE: Mahmud of Gujarat conducts raids into India (997-1030), earning the title “Sword of Islam.” Afghanistan stabilizes under the Ghaznavid dynasty (962-1186), later Ghorid (1100-1215). The Ayyubid dynasty rules Egypt (1168-1250), with Salah al-Din ending the Christian Crusades in 1187. The Crusaders capture Jerusalem in 1099, massacring Jews and Muslims. Muslim control in Spain reduces to Granada by 1248, ending in 1492 with Ferdinand and Isabella’s conquest.
1327-1453 CE: The Seljuk Empire fragments, and the Ottoman Turkish Empire establishes its capital at Bursa, moving to Istanbul after defeating the Byzantines in 1453. The Moguls (1526-1857) and Safavids (1520-1736) follow the Ottoman military model.
1703-1792 CE: Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, born in 1703, preaches a puritanical form of Islam known as Wahhabism, aiming to “purify” the faith by rejecting innovations and heresies. Educated in Medina, he wrote Kitab al-Tawhid (“Book of Unity”) after traveling in Iraq and Iran, where he opposed Sufism. Expelled from Medina, he settled in Ad-Dir’iyah, Saudi Arabia, forming an alliance with Ibn Sa’ud that fueled Wahhabi expansion. Wahhabism bans gravestones, minarets, and smoking as un-Islamic, becoming Saudi Arabia’s official practice, where converting from Wahhabism is a state crime. Historians argue Wahhabism introduced changes, not a return to original Islam.
Sufism, often viewed as pre-Islamic with roots in Greek mysticism and Gnosticism, is rejected by many Muslims, especially Sunnis, as non-Islamic. Western apologists often highlight Sufism to depict Islam as a “religion of peace,” a claim I dispute. Critics argue Sufism’s basis lies in “exaggerated human emotions,” not authentic religious doctrines, making it appealing to some in the West as a form of New Age mysticism.
Sufism embraces the Quran and most Shiite and Sunni beliefs, seeing its teachings as the essence of all religions. Central to Sufism is the concept of “love” as a projection of God’s essence onto the universe, viewing everything as a reflection of God. Sufis practice infinite tolerance, exemplified by Mevlana’s words: “Come, come, whoever you are… ours is not a caravan of despair.” The term “Sufi” (Arabic for “wool”) refers to the simple cloaks early Sufis wore, but also symbolizes “enlightenment” through hidden meanings.
Sufis teach in personal groups, using parables and metaphors to guide pupils toward truth and self-knowledge. Much of Muslim literature, including the Arabian Nights, stems from Sufi poetry. Universal Sufism, promoted by figures like Hazrat Inayat Khan and Idries Shah, views Sufism as predating Islam and independent of the Quran, a perspective popular in the West.
Arabic initially lacked written literature beyond the Quran and a few poems. As Arabs settled in cities and conquered peoples adopted Arabic, a rich religious literature emerged. Lives of Muhammad, based on oral accounts, were written, alongside Hadiths—collections of his alleged deeds, often depicting him as a thief, bandit, murderer, and rapist, compiled centuries later. Hadiths, used to justify Muslim persecution of non-Muslims, vary between Sunni and Shiite sects.
The Kharijites argued true Muslims couldn’t sin, viewing sinners as unbelievers to be converted, and championed free will. The Mutazilites, influenced by Greek philosophy, emphasized reason alongside revelation, advocating free will and viewing Quranic descriptions of God metaphorically. Asharism, founded by al-Ashari (d. 935), reasserted predestination and the Quran’s uncreated nature, becoming the basis of Sunni theology.
Greek philosophy, translated into Arabic by Jews and Christians, birthed Arabic philosophy. Al-Kindi (d. 870) and al-Razi (d. 925-934) prioritized reason over revelation, while al-Farabi (d. 950) and Ibn-Sina (Avicenna, 980-1037) reconciled philosophy with theology. Ibn-Rushd (Averroes, 1126-1198) influenced medieval Judaism, and al-Ghazzali (1058-1111) rejected philosophy for mysticism. Islamic philosophy declined after 1400, with Ibn-Khaldun (d. 1404) as the last major thinker, contributing to sociology.
