Comparing The Life Of Charlemagne And The Quran

History has a lot of educative scenarios that we can look into and find the instances that made the world become what it is today. Einhard “The_ Life_ of_Charlemagne_1_2_” and The _Qu_ran_4 are the two main sources of our essay. The Quran was a revelation to prophet Muhammad at around the 610AD during the period of Ramadhan. The_ Life_ of_Charlemagne_1_2_ was created by Einhard who was a servant of Charlemagne during the early middle ages. The two books are rich in history and have quite a lot of similarities in terns of the teachings they professed and the people they gave as examples in different scenarios.This paper will discuss the similarities between ”The Quran“and ”The life of Charlemagne“, how it changed the western societies and the impact it had on western civilizations.

            The first similarity noted is in the description of doing good and generosity to others especially feeding the poor in the Quran and the Life of Charlemagne.The Quran states that ”and do good (to others); surely Allah loves the doers of good”[1]. Einhard also states that

”so much so that he not only made a point of giving in his own country and his own kingdom, but when he discovered that there were Christians living in poverty in Syria, Egypt, and Africa, at Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Carthage, he had compassion on their wants, and used to send money over the seas to them.”[2].

            The Quran and King Charlemagne share the kind of heart and generosity to the people to whom they were responsible for. This is one of the reasons that led to many changes in the western society as people lived together in harmony and peace. Peace and harmony are key ingredients to a prosperous society. It is one of the keys that led to the development and spread of western civilization.In many cases the knowledge that the westerners had was shared among the people and it was also spread to other part of the world. They knew that without generosity, they would not get the chance where people would listen to them. They had to find a way of warming up the hearts of the people and the provision of food to the poor societies contributed immensely to such developments. This led to the development of western civilization all over the world.

The second similarity is seen when both sources describe war and mercy and the circumstances that surround the subjects. The Quran quotes

”And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you, and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits. And fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah, but if they desist, then there should be no hostility except against the oppressors.”[3].

On the same breath Einhard also says, ”but all the traitors were banished, some of them without mutilation, others after their eyes had been put out. Three of them only lost their lives; they drew their swords and resisted arrest, and, after killing several men, were cut down”[4]. It is evident that the western society was built on war between different societies that had different cultures. The prevailing society won the war against the other weaker groups.In the process, they decided to show mercy to the people who surrendered. This is mainly because they needed people to who they can teach their ways. They needed people to learn their modes of life which they termed as civilization.  The others who did not surrender and opted to fight were slain by the greater power. War was a major ingredient in the civilization of the western culture and so was mercy. The people who were shown mercy saw the advantage of embracing western civilization while others did not have any choice but to oblige and conform to the teachings of the stronger party.

In conclusion, ”The Quran and The Life of Charlemagne”, are two different entities but spell a lot of similarities between them. This is evident by the spread of mercy, generosity and the mention of war in both books. King Charlemagne was a just King who exhibited a kind of lifestyle that is being advocated for in the Quran. Apart from his mercy, generosity and good heart, there were certain practices he exhibited in his life that are advocated for in the Quran. These are some of the deeds that contributed to development and spread of western civilization and brought about changes in the western societies.

Bibliography

Quran. 610 AD ”Quran.“Fordham University’s Intern Islamic History Sourcebook. Accessed November 11, 2018. http://www.c.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/cmt/resources/Quran/.

Turner, Samuel Epes. 1880. ”Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne.“SOurce books. Accessed November 11, 2018. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/einhard.asp.

[1]Quran. 610 AD ”Quran.“Fordham University’s Intern Islamic History Sourcebook. Accessed November 11, 2018. http://www.c.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/cmt/resources/Quran/.

[2]Turner, Samuel Epes. 1880. ”Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne.“SOurce books. Accessed November 11, 2018. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/einhard.asp.

[3]Quran. 610 AD ”Quran.“Fordham University’s Intern Islamic History Sourcebook. Accessed November 11, 2018. http://www.c.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/cmt/resources/Quran/.

[4]Turner, Samuel Epes. 1880. ”Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne.“SOurce books. Accessed November 11, 2018. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/einhard.asp.