The early Muslim community was divided into religious, political, and legal groups. What was caused such divisions?

Abstracts

Life in Arabia Before Islam .social chaos and turmoil .the massage of Islam .society walk of life .the early caliphates after Muhammad . the differences among the companions of Muhammad on becoming caliph

the wars among Muslims .the four imams and their schools of thought

_The early Muslim community was divided into religious political , and legal groups . What was caused such divisions .doc

There are various reasons of divisions among the early Muslims society If we need to study the differences among the Muslims of the early Islamic era we must

have some knowledge about the pre-Islamic society .The kind of well thought , planned and integrated lifestyle that was introduced by Islam in a society where social values were greatly marred by ignorance . The actions of the members of the society were mainly driven by personal interests and not by any well-wrought and designed social-code . The members of the society lived under extremely dilapidated social conditions because of the absence of a judicious approach based on civility in almost every Bedouin Arab living in Mecca where Islam pronounced itself for the first time . Tribal strife was rampant and the habit of vengeance was deep-rooted . These engulfed the whole society into a vicious cycle of turmoil . Individuals and the tribes were living in the atmosphere of unending violence

Islam , on the other hand , preached forgiveness and peace as the predominant features of the society . All mankind is from Adam and Eve an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white - except by piety and good action (The last sermon of Muhammad

The Arabs who embraced Islam were sociable persons in a very short span of time . Now the difference of opinion was welcomed rather than considered as a contention . The issues now were settled by the means discourse and by respecting opinion of all the parties involved in the related dispute . The even the rules and conventions to fight in battles were announced which gave the art of war a new dimension and converted it into a science . This tactic forced the Meccans to attack with the sun in their eyes , thus making it clear that the Muslims were not going to simply run away (Armstrong , 1993

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Though there were differences of opinion in individual or collective issues pertained to the day-to-day life or the distribution of booty after the winning of a battle yet no considerable rift came to existence as a result . But after the death of Muhammad (PBUH ) the succession of throne became a matter of discord between the companions of Muhammad and the members of his family

When Muhammad was on deathbed the conversation about the succession of throne (Khilafah ) started . At that time there were three major sections of the Islamic society who were interested in getting the privilege of being a Caliph . The Caliph for them was...