BCS written syllabus

SYLLABUS FOR BCS (WRITTEN) EXAMINATION     
       
27/235 
 
ISLAMIC HISTORY & CULTURE 
(POST RELATED) 
Subject Code: 191 
Total Marks-200 
 
Part-I 
Marks-100 
 (a) Pre-Islamic Arabia 
  The Ayyam Al -Arab; the Social, Political, Economic and Religious Aspects of the Arabs‘ Life; 
Trade and Trade Routes; Geophysical Environs. 
  
 (b) The Prophet Muhammad(Sm) 632 A.C.  
  Important events of the Makkah life of the Prophet with reference to the backdrop of his receiving 
the prophetic call in the cave of Hira, to the oath of al -Aqabah and the hijrat or migration from 
Makkah to Madinah; the Madinite life with special emphasis on the Sanad or the  Charter of 
Madinah and the foundation of state, the war policy, the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, the conquest of 
Makkah, the farewell pilgrimage sermon and the multidimensional reforms. 
  
 (c) The Khulafa Rashidun (the pious caliphs) 632-661 A.C. 
  Hazrat Abu Bakr-his election and services for the cause of Islam and the nascent state of Madinah; 
Hazrat Umar -the territorial expansion of the caliphate and the administrative policy; Hazrat 
Uthman-charges and civil disturbances; Hazart Ali - civil war, forces of disin tegration and the end 
of the pious caliphate; the salient features of administration under the pious caliphs. 
 
(d) The Umayyad dynasty 661-750 A.C. 
The Umayyads: the Khilafat under Mu‘awiyah; Abdul Malik and his consolidation and 
arabicization; Khilafat of al -Walid-expansion in the East and the West; the services of Hajjaj B. 
Yusuf; later Umayyad Khalifas with special reference to Umar b. Abdul Aziz; the Mawali and their 
role in the Abbasid Revolution; causes for the fall of the Umayyad Khilafat; outline of the  
administration under the Umayyads. 
 
 (e) The Abbasid dynasty 750-1258 A.C. 
  Factors leading to the foundation of the Abbasid dynasty; Al -Mansur-his policy of the 
consolidation and administration; al_Mahdi -the important events of his reign; Harun al -Rashid-his 
character and achievements; al -Amin and al -Mamun-civil war between the t wo brothers and its 
aftermath; the reign of al -Mutawakil and the forces of disintegration; the rise and fall of the 
Barmakides; early Abbasid caliphs‘ Byzantine policy; Turkish and Persian‘s ascendancy in the 
court and its results; the development of learn ing and culture under Harun al -Rashid and al -
Mamun; the rise of the Buwaihids and Saljuqs with  reference to their impacts on the Abbasid 
caliphate; causes for the decay and downfall of the Abbasid dynasty; sack of Baghdad by Halaku 
Khan in 1258 A.C. and its farreaching effects; social and intellectual life under the Abbasids.  
 
 
(f) Religious beliefs and practices 
Five pillars of Islam; al -Quran, al Hadith; the sources of Muslim law; four Sunni schools of law; 
the Shites; the Murjites; the Kharijites; the Mutazilites, the Asharites.