Jews in the Early Islamic Period (Essential Lectures in Jewish History) Dr. Henry Abramson

A brief overview of the history of the Jews in the early Islamic period. Lecture is part of HIS 155: History of the Jewish People I, by Dr. Henry Abramson.
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[@williamnikolis2253]

Wonderful teacher, Rabii Abramson. My wife and I are Greek Orthodox, your lecture series is better than any explanations given to us by a priest. You’re doing a wonderful blessing to Christians, Jews and Moslems. PS.....I love, love, love the jokes. Good Health to you and your family. CN

[@kkassam]

Some small corrections, in addition to those I've seen mentioned by other commenters: Muhammad came into the employ of the merchantwoman Khadija before he married her, not the other way around. "Year Zero" in the Muslim calendar is not marked from the return to Mecca, but from the initial flight and migration to Medina.

[@YuryBakhnov]

Initial flight on a donkey to Jerusalem ?

[@kkassam]

@@YuryBakhnov No. Flight as in fleeing. Also, donkeys can’t fly.

[@AJ-pc9gu]

@@kkassam he assumed you were muslim and went in for an insult.

[@kkassam]

@@AJ-pc9gu well then he was right: I am a Muslim but I don’t believe the absurd idea that the Prophet’s night journey was a literal one on the back of a flying equine any more than a reasonable Christian believes that Jesus instructed his followers in the sermon on the mount to literally pluck out their right eyes.

[@AJ-pc9gu]

@@kkassam Well you're in good company, I agree and am Muslim too.

[@klf33]

It is very cool indeed to hear the 'other narrative' specially coming from someone who keeps a 'cool' history head. thank you.

[@tommyodonovan3883]

Thunder Bay-Men

[@sprachenwelt]

Dear Dr. Henry Abramson, as usual I enjoy your lessons very much. Need to say something tiny though. At Minute 12:10 you make the reference to Zakat and mentioning its relation to Zadaqa. This is not quite true. The Zadaqa is also existent in Arabic and in fact is even pronounced Zadaqa and comes from Tzadaqa with the very same meaning to be true or Zadek. Zakat commes from the verb Zakka and means to elaborate oneself or something else. You are a Zekky person if you are bright, because your mind is elaborated etc. and Zakkat is paying the tax money to the poor, to elaborate oneself. The Zadaqa is payed on free basis with no regulation, you may do it or not, not thought the Zakkat, which is mandatory in Islam. ve shalom

[@sprachenwelt]

***** I wish we had KZbin as Kids, we would have a better world and much more peace. ve shalom

[@easywriter3000]

"Zakat" comes from tazkiat = purification. In other words, the gift (to poor people inside the community) of a part of your capital is a way of cleaning it.

[@MarcNolte]

Thank you Dr. Abramson for your empathetic lectures. As a christian I love to feast on your profound insight on jewish and other topics as here. It seems to me, that despite a long history of persecution and sufferings of your people you are a living example of a man who shows impartiality and goodness. One, that tries to stick to facts concerning history and to open-mindeness concerning man. I´m glad and very thankful for that! Thank you for sharing!

[@Peter-the-Egyptian]

As an Arabic speaking man who was born and brought up in the most heavily populated Arabic and Muslim country , I testify this video is a true and honest account. Yes, Jews did better in Muslim than in Christian countries and deeply enriched their cultures.

[@n.d8001]

Thank you from Sydney

[@saadmarzouk5566]

There's so much history we need be aware of before we can understand the present. Often time, people tend to over-dramatize historic events and view them from a strictly religious perspective, leading to a lot of misconceptions. It's interesting to hear from the perspective of a non-Muslim about this topic. Nice work!

[@tommyodonovan3883]

6th crusade is my favorite....Frederick(2nd) HRE, King of Sicily/Jerusalem *(Deus Vult!)* and F2 didn't spill one drop of blood to get it.

[@arabian_semite_9966]

With all due respect Dr. Abramson there are a few statements mentioned that I would like to point out: 1. The Arabic words such as 'Quran' and 'Zakat' are not derived from Hebrew, as you mentioned. But rather they highlight the similarities between Arabic and Hebrew since both of these language are Semitic in origin and therefore share many similarities that derive from a common ancestor. Quran actually derives from the Arabic Qira'a which means to read and Zakat means almsgiving. Both of these are purely Arabic in origin. 2. When you mentioned "Favored an Arab tribe over a Christian tribe", the terms Christian and Arab are not equivalent comparisons simply because Christianity is a religion while Arab is an ethnicity. The Christians of Arabia were ethnic Arabs and there were no major differences between them and the pagan Arab tribes other than religion and customs, otherwise they were both part of the same ethnic group which is Arabian. 3. Also, I do not like the term 'Early Muslims Anti-semitism' because the term anti-semitism has no basis in the Middle East and only implies and pertains to Jewish discrimination in Europe. The Arabians themselves strongly identified themselves as being pure Semites themselves. So in my opinion the term anti-semistim should not be used in this case. Overall, it was an interesting presentation and great commentary. I might not agree with everything mentioned in this lecture but I was very interested, intrigued and delighted by understanding more about the Jewish perspective on the Early Islamic period. Thank you for your work.

[@erikweinstein550]

I appreciate what you said but almost everyone understands that antisemites is a misnomer but it still has a commonly accepted definition. It means bigotry against jews not bigotry against semites. They English language and many other languages are filles with these type of misnomera

[@haelotny6523]

Actually the word Zakat is not from Arabic. It is derived from Aramaic זכותא‎ / ܙܟܘܬܐ‎ (zākūṯā) otherwise attested in the senses of “merit”, “gain; victory” from base stem זכי‎ (zəḵē, “to overcome; to triumph over; to gain”) but not in the sense of “alms”, however in the geminate stem in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic זכי‎ (zakkē) also as “to give possession”, “to give merit” and ultimately “to give charity.”

[@tommyodonovan3883]

Dr Adamson I liked your lecture very much. Thank you for your important work.

[@sjappiyah4071]

As a Christian, though we see ourselves extremely close to Judaism, theologically speaking Islam and Judaism are quite similar, learning their similarities is fascinating.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Glad you found it interesting!

[@joelmacdonald6767]

Hi rabbi, loving these lectures!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very interesting material!!!!!

[@samuelmaster1107]

With all due respect Dr. Abramson, I am wondering why in the 8ish minute mark you say the 'convert or die' approach? There are records of paganism surviving in the early Umayyad caliphate in Bukhara- and even by the time of the Safavids a significant portion of Iran was still Zoroastrian. What is that statement based upon?

[@samuelmaster1107]

+Henry Abramson I will go through the sources. loke I said, I am not trting to be disrespectful I just hadn't heard it before.

[@samuelmaster1107]

It could be because I am coming at it from a faith perspective, and was taught Islamic history in the context of the believer rather than historian. Either way, thanks for your lectures they have been enlightening! I especially enjoyed the one on the lubavitcher rebber. You are both educational and entertaining, a rare mix.

[@indialover83]

@@HenryAbramsonPhD please do a video presentation on the Jews of India

[@ashrafalattar]

Henry Abramson With all due respect Dr. Abramson, could you cite some of the historical evidence (either during Mohamed’s lifetime or after) that is mentioned in the literature as a basis for the “convert or die” claim?

[@salimjkanji230]

Very informative lectures from this good Teacher.

[@AlaaAlAbadi]

Great Lecture that reflects deep understanding. I enjoy very much thank you, Dr. Abramson

[@baddbeliever]

Actually zakat and sadaqa are two different types of alms. One is za (zayin) kaaf (kof) taa (tet). The other is suad (tsade) daal (dalet) qaaf (qaf).

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Thank you for the correction!

[@samimas4343]

@@mmss3199 yes Zakat is a type of Sadaqa. But Sadaqa has a broader meaning. Eg. smiling towards someone is sadaqa, giving a helping hand is sadaqa. Sadaqa can be any time and any amount and to different people even nonmuslims. Zakat has a specific time and a specific amount and is paid to specific types of people. Zakat is a right of the poor and can be taken by force (by the islamic state) but sadaqa is optional. You can give sadaqa to your parents and a wife can give sadaqa to her husband but not zakat.

[@normanrobinson4624]

I really enjoyed this. I take it as a confirmation of my core understanding of the three great Abrahamic religions. More people should know this.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

You're certainly welcome! I appreciate your feedback.

[@kalininization]

the "convert or die" was an exception practiced by some extremist leaders (for example Almohades, from which Maimonades fled to Egypt). It was never the norm. The norm was "to you your religion, to me mine" , which is a verse from Surah Al Kafiroon

[@abdullahireland1172]

Dear Dr Abramson. You made a distinction between Jewish and Muslim... Then corrected it to "Arab" peoples. This seems to imply that Jews are an ethnic group/race. In some of your other videos you refer to Judaism as a religion with religious edicts etc etc. Could you please clarify this for me. Many thanks.

[@jinkess]

Hey Doc, (if you allow me to call you Doc). I just had to give you a shoutout, don't know how and why I came across your channel but ever since I had to pass on what I now consider a missed pivotal opportunity ( thanks to my inherit bias, conditioned paranoia and social/political climate back then thanks to Sept 11th) at college when my English Professor (who was Jewish) advised me to join the newly established Hebrew classes taught by him, some 23 years ago, ....I have regretted missing this opportunity but it had made me significantly curious about Judaism, Jews, Judea, The Tribes, The Jews of Sudan, Arab Jews, Muslim/Arab Jewish relations and yeah [zionism].... etc. and everything I was being told by elders and their memories of the Jewish in Sudan and their contribution to society and how sad for example my grandmother was when her Jewish neighbor had to flee with her children while her husband stayed behind so they are not stopped leaving the country..... I'm going off on a tangent... I just want to say, I have no idea why I just came across your body of work just now (mild sarcasm and jabs aside, which actually make your segments more entertaining) but thank you - you are a good man but I have to withhold my final assessment until you issue part 3! COME ON DOC!

[@mustafadawood9243]

Sufism was a movement within Islam and not that Islam absorbed Sufism.

[@nivdaus3973]

Can you please refer me to some lectures on Yemen jews

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Forthcoming

[@nivdaus3973]

@@HenryAbramsonPhD תודה רבה !

[@imraneachkhbar9908]

No Muhammad peace be upon him never kill a innocent people with out reason , banu quraida tribe broke a treatment between muslims.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

More on this coming shortly.

[@iworship6951]

LoL😂

[@dgetzin]

18:00 Interesting, this prohibition on renovation or expansion of synagogues was (from what I have heard from Bart Ehrman) a continuation of Roman laws that date back to the time of Theodosious.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Interesting

[@sarahmascara8341]

Why am I hearing counting in the back ground? Weird. Makes it hard to concentrate.

[@ShowMeMo]

why do I hear someone in the background talking. It's soft but I can hear it.

[@erichusayn]

Peace. I very much enjoyed this lecture. Keep up the good work.

[@kishmish64]

Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Jewish people . I'm Muslim and my parents always said just because someone is of the same faith does not mean they will do right by you. We were taught to make friends of good character regardless of faith or no faith .

[@DeborahCaldwell77]

This lecture has been very instructive to/for me.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Great! Thank you for being a Public Subscriber!

[@BoqPrecision]

7:00 the Map is not all that accurate (and follows the stereotypical and mainstream modern consensus of how to visually represent the spread of Islam). Islam spread south into the Horn of Africa well before the Rashidun Caliphate. The first Muslim community outside Mecca were those who sought refuge in Ethiopia (even before Medina) to escape Quraish persecution in Mecca. They established a community there and even successfully proselytized to the then Christian ruler, As-hama ibn Abjar, better known in the Arabic chronicles as the "Najashi (The Negus, which was his titular name)". Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migration_to_Abyssinia To this day there is a mosque in Northern Somalia called "Masjid al Qiblatayn" ("The Mosque with the two qiblas"...one towards Mecca, and the older qibla still pointing towards Jerusalem...proving that this particular mosque was built before Prophet Mohammed changed the direction of prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca in 624 CE)

[@eraynedir]

hey dr. I have a question. is there any chance of being a jew? and he branched out his own religion ?

[@michaelferto6588]

...Important information, for sure....

[@mustafadawood9243]

Wrong again on the New Testament. Islam says there was an Injeel - Gospel given to Prophet Jesus (PBUH).

[@samuelmithran5586]

There was no such things at all.. 😂

[@Caveman007freelancer]

I'm a christian and appreciate your teachings.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Thank you!

[@freddiedonnellan]

2:38 anyone else hear another voice

[@toni4729]

Yeah, Christopher Hitchens.

[@lizgichora6472]

Very interesting, Thank you.

[@alistairz601]

Did Muslim allow Jews to charge interest, or even allow them to lend money or not ? Thanks.

[@schechter01]

An interesting lecture, but you need to improve the sound editing.

[@flone644]

Sufism wasn't a pre-existing religion, it stemmed directly from Islam. It Is Islam, having come from it.

[@bananagee9706]

Me Dna what is bedaa

[@WMedl]

According to Wikipedia there are historians dating the existance if Sufism before Islam into the gbostic iranian culture e.g. Geo Widengren: Iranischer Gnostizismus. In: Iranische Geisteswelt. Holle Verlag, Baden-Baden 1961, S. 245-279.

[@WMedl]

@KZbin A Life is always changing and the sufi root has integrated islam ....

[@israfilangel8062]

@@WMedl since you're relying on Wikipedia then let me share with you what's been said there: academics and scholars have rejected early Orientalist theories asserting a non-Islamic origin of Sufism; the consensus is that it emerged in Western Asia. Sufism has existed as an individual inner practice of Muslims from the earliest days of Islam. According to Carl W. Ernst the earliest figures of Sufism are Muhammad himself and his companions (Sahabah). Sufi orders are based on the bay‘ah (بَيْعَة bay‘ah, مُبَايَعَة mubāya‘ah 'pledge, allegiance') that was given to Muhammad by his Ṣahabah. By pledging allegiance to Muhammad, the Sahabah had committed themselves to the service of God. And the term itself is in Arabic too which has multiple meanings.

[@WMedl]

@@israfilangel8062 You should realize that there are often debates and different standpoints in sciences.... And if this were widely accepted in the islamic world the Wahabits and corresponding groups would be labeled as heretics....

[@ordonyko777777777]

I think that the real conflects in opinions , debate...etc....root from what and the objectve criterias are chosen to favour this refrence over another......that is whole story brothers .this will definitely remove any potential bias.

[@abuzainah1]

thanks for the lecture sir but just a correction the zakah is more than the tax paid by none muslims and it is paid for protection meaning if somebody attacks or there's a war you dont have to fight and your wealth houses lives are protected but if you cant afford it you dont pay

[@seerar1]

+Henry Abramson not everyone pays it the second khalifa umar bin kattab saw an old Jewish man begging for food because jizya was too much for him so umar said how can I do this so he made it that women , children , elderly and poor people don't have to pay. Also the purpose of jizya is tax and exemption from joining the army whereas Muslim have to if it gets serious etc

[@abuzainah1]

@@seerar1 no he was a elderly man and umar said how can we make him pay jizya and when he's old he's abandoned so money was paid to him on a monthly basis women and children and the elderly have never paid jizya it only for military aged men

[@azminapirani2933]

Many of his comments suggest that Mohamed borrowed from the Jews. This is only his opinion. Islam was the last of the three main monotheistic religions. It is also clearly mentioned in the Qur'an that it was revealed to Mohamed at the appropriate time that (God) had perfected the religion, meaning the message that commenced with Judaism followed by Christianity and finally culminating in the religion of Islam.

[@alfapaul5593]

Using the word borrowed doesn’t mean anything. Allah said prophet Mohammed is not a new thing (bidiya) from among the prophets. Yes Jews were the first to a lot of acts of worship or ibadat which Allah ordered we Muslims to do the same as the Jews. Allah gave Jews salat before he gave we Muslims, Allah gave Jews zakat before he gave it to Muslims, Allah ordered Jews not to eat pork before he ordered Muslims not to do same , Allah ordered Jews not to charge interest before he ordered Muslims not to do the same. So if the doctor chooses to say that Muslims borrow from Jews, no problem it’s fine don’t take offense to that. Even the books of Hadith told us that prophet Muhammad used to follow the Jews of Medina on issues that Allah has not given him instructions on.

[@bingeltube]

Very recommendable!

[@heshamgalal68]

Be honest,prophet Muhamed(pbuh) did not persecute Jews or ordered them to convert,Madina had four tribes of Jews and one of them( bano kuraiza) betrayed the allies of Madina(Muslims ,Jews , others)at the time of war and let the Makkan infiltrate into Madina ,that is TREASON at war time,so the punishment was only at that tribe(bano kuraiza) not because of their religion,but because of their act of treason.

[@cprauss7254]

Henry.. Is Allah yud hey vav hey? the same Ein Od Milvado?

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

That is the argument

[@LondonFriendsWalks]

Convert or die? Surah Taubah says if pagans want to know about the faith tell them and then escort the to a safe place and let them free. The death penalty was only issued to pagan people who actively persecuted and fought the Muslim community.

[@YuryBakhnov]

Very interesting, can’t stop listening. Jewish history is a universe in itself. Half of the world is deeply influenced by the Jewish history and culture.

[@theprisonerofzenda2862]

Rabbi, thank you for your invaluable teachings.

[@mustafadawood9243]

Wrong again Professor. Poll tax was not higher than Zakaat.

[@grizzlybearusa4175]

Sir Henry, I don't know why as a historian you must exclusively look at this with a modern historian 'politically correct' lens and you do not include enough traditional jewish sources which probably was censored not to offended the ones in power . However, it would be correct to say, Islam and Arabs have a lot in common with the jewish religion and jewish traditions. I believe Arabs and Jews had similar traditions even pre Islam (some arabs would've had Ishmaelic traditions that pre-date Islam. I would love to know more about that) . As you know there were big difference in attitude towards Jews in Islamic countries and times and different Islamic groups.

[@ordonyko777777777]

I mean what and how

[@bingeltube]

Very recommendable

[@chitchat3191]

I am from Iraq ..we welcome Muslim army to help us against Rome army…after a while they took of control and forced us to convert to Islam or should pay tax ….in these ways converted Christian to Islam

[@Leopold284]

A treaty is a political document; therefore breaking a treaty is dealt with by prosecution throughout the world.

[@chitchat3191]

Five times of prayers took it from Christian monks…

[@kishmish64]

Why do u insist on calling the Arabs Muslim and ur people Jews?? There are such peoples as Arab Jews or Christian Arabs. I have Arab Jewish friends who's parents had to leave Israel as they were forced to " de Arabize " them. They were originally from what is now southern Saudi bordering Yemen . They live in uk and say that being Jewish is not a race

[@onggangsiregarsalak1069]

Tolerancy and understand each other will make small earth becoming a wide space... but hate each other will make earth to small space for us

[@kishmish64]

Interesting link below about Jewish lost tribes of Afghanistan

[@mustafadawood9243]

Professor, wrong again. The Jewish tribes abrogated on their agreements and hence faced consequences. It was not realpolitik or some other floating agendas.

[@mikenyr4life491]

Have you considered following the money (coins) or direction mosques were facing in early Islamic history? It looks like Islam probably started in Petra.

[@HenryAbramsonPhD]

Outside my area of specialization, I think.

[@mikenyr4life491]

@@HenryAbramsonPhD Thanks, I just know that Judaism is always questioned and coins and religious places located in Israel today are proven regularly, and I mostly see Islam taken at face value of what is in the Koran without any questions or proof. I enjoy your lectures and appreciate you sharing them, they just often leave me with more questions than when I started which I think is a good thing.

[@israfilangel8062]

@@mikenyr4life491 brother that baseless claim of dan gib.. is a joke! Saying islam started in petra is like saying Christianity started in planet mars! And all his arguments are refuted by anyone who had a clue about islam. but I suggest you a small channel called (detective O'wil) he has 30 videos on his playlist dedicated to refuting and exposing dan's lies check it out: kzbin.info/door/NC4-VGazZV1ZLuofEoy1jQ

[@mikenyr4life491]

@@israfilangel8062 Islam orginated out of what was Greater Israel at the time which included Petra. All the stories in the Quaran point to Jewish Holy Sites and Jerusalem including early moques.

[@israfilangel8062]

@@mikenyr4life491 you think so because you depended and relied on unreliable sources, the Qur'an point to many places and Isrl is the prophet jacob so it includes all the prophets. Islam is not a new religion it is a continuation of the original message it didn't originate from Isrl it was always there in the beginning of mankind, and the law was given to the last prophet as a revelation from God to bring people back to that original message

[@e.z.6916]

Love your lectures. I do have a point to make about egalitarianism in Islam. I think it is an important fact that the egalitarianism is only WITHIN Islam. Sharia does not allow for equality with persons of any other religion unless the Muslim population is not in power.

[@alfapaul5593]

The same with Judaism. Non Jews witnesses are not allowed under Jewish rules. Also Jews who steal are made repay what he stole but a non Jews is sentenced to death for the same offenses.

[@Robins769]

Where Islam ends humanity begins

[@IndoJaya77]

When Christianity destroyed The Light of God will appear

[@BigDud210]

you give way too much context and background history and don't speak enough about the actually subject matter in the title. not until the 12th minute and 26th second in this 21+minute video do you speak about Jews under Islam. I enjoy your talks but you do this in many of your lectures

[@paulcock8929]

Henry Abramson, tell me why did an overwhelmingly majority of the Jews did live in Europe, if the Islamic world was so much better? There is something wrong in your theory.

[@GholamFareed]

the overwhelming majority of Jews also lived in Muslim Europe namely the Iberian peninsula & the Ottoman Empire.

[@paulcock8929]

@@GholamFareed Not true, the numbers don't mach. There is a big majority of "Askenasi" Jews (even after the genocide of the Nazi"s) in the world, the Oriëntal Jews are a smal minority. This Andalouse Paradise is a fantasy of Jewish historians of the 1930. The Jews of the Otoman impire where mosly converted to Islam.

[@GholamFareed]

@@paulcock8929 you're missing a rather pertinent fact that the majority of the world's Jewish population lived in Muslim lands namely the Sephardic & Mizrahi Jews who lived in the Ottoman Empire & all over the Middle East & beyond up until Persia & Central Asia.

[@paulcock8929]

@@GholamFareed You got the numbers wrong, the majorituy of Jews are Askenazi Jews, so Jews of Western heritage. What you are telling is a Muslim Myth and not reality. Look it up.