ABSTRACT

By Abbasid times, Islamic civilization in the Middle East had reached a prosperous and successful state. Islam had evolved into a thriving and prevalent religion by the Abbasid era. The Middle East became the main intermediary in trade and intellectual exchange between east and west, given that Islamic rule extended from Spain to India. One of the most meaningful of all the pillars is the requirement to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca on the hajj once in a lifetime. The rituals of the hajj are designed to remind Muslims why Mecca and the Kaaba are so important. The Abbasid caliphate saw the elaboration of a structure to interpret and administer Islamic Holy Law. Sunni and Shii jurisprudence are very similar in many aspects of property and business law. Over the next few centuries, Sufi scholars began to write in Persian, with poetry and Sufism increasingly linked in Persian literary masterpieces.