Destiny Disrupted

Scholars,

Philosophers, and Sufis

10-505 AH

632-1111 CE

S
o FAR r HAVE been recounting political events at the highest levels as
Muslim civilization evolved into the civilization of the middle world.
Big stories were unfolding, however, below that highest level, and none
was bigger than the development of Muslim doctrine, and the social class
it generated, along with the opposing and alternative ideas it engendered.
Looking back, it's easy to suppose that Mohammed left his followers
exact instructions for how to live and worship, complete in every detail.
How complete they were, however, is difficult to gauge. What's pretty cer-
tain is that, in his lifetime, Mohammed established the primacy of five
broad duties, now called the five pillars of Islam:

shahadah, to attest that there is only one God and Mohammed is his

messenger;

salaat (or namaz), to perform a certain prayer ritual five times every

day;

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