Question

Muhammad said, “The ink of scholars is more precious than the blood of martyrs.” What is one way this mantra reflected in Abbasid society?

Answer 1

1. The Abbasids destroyed people and property in conquered areas to discourage dissent.

2. The Abbasids devised a system of social classes to bolster the sense of community.

3. The Abbasids translated great works of literature to advance Islamic knowledge.

4. The Abbasids forced non-Muslims to convert to Islam to enrich the culture.

Answer 2

I'd go with (3). An example of this is when they set out to build the "House of Wisdom" in Baghdad to collect together as many ancient works as possible, some of which could have been lost forever, to translate. Anyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, could participate.

The other answers don't quite fit. The Abbasids tried to heal the rifts between the many people in their empire, even going so far as moving the capital, to bring everyone together -- aside from their enemies, the Umayyads, who they took over from. Though there were social divisions, the Abbasids did not make them stand in the way of advancement in their government as the Umayyads did before them. They also did not force anyone to convert to Islam and had a high tolerance for other religions. These reasons and more are among those that why many refer to this period in Muslim history as Islam's "Golden Age."