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The Holy Prophet (S) said, “You want to ask me about my age.” “Yes, O Messenger of Allah (S),” he said. The Holy Prophet (S) said, “I will live for sixty-three years.” He said, “I testify that you have told the truth.” The Holy Prophet (S) said, “You make only a verbal claim, but don’t believe in it.”
- Overview
- Different trajectories
- The first Arab Muslim empire
- A new political structure
Learn about the Arab Muslim conquests and the establishment of the caliphate.
To begin to understand the rich history of Islam, let’s start with the historical context and events that led to Islam’s spread. For example, Islam initially spread through the military conquests of Arab Muslims, which happened over a very short period of time soon after the beginning of Islam. However, only a small fraction of the people who came under Arab Muslim control immediately adopted Islam. It wasn’t until centuries later, at the end of the eleventh century, that Muslims made up the majority of subjects of the Islamic empires.
The spread of Islam through merchants, missionaries, and pilgrims was very different in nature. These kinds of exchanges affected native populations slowly and led to more conversion to Islam. As Islamic ideas traveled along various trade and pilgrimage routes, they mingled with local cultures and transformed into new versions and interpretations of the religion.
Another important thing to note is that not all military expansion was Arab and Muslim. Early on in Islamic history, under the Rashidun caliphate—the reign of the first four caliphs, or successors, from 632 to 661 CE—and the Umayyad caliphate, Arab Muslim forces expanded quickly. With the Abbasids, more non-Arabs and non-Muslims were involved in the government administration. Later on, as the Abbasid caliphate declined, there were many fragmented political entities, some of which were led by non-Arab Muslims. These entities continued to evolve in their own ways, adopting and putting forth different interpretations of Islam as they sought to consolidate their power in different regions.
What are some of the ways in which Islam spread?
During the seventh century, after subduing rebellions in the Arabian peninsula, Arab Muslim armies began to swiftly conquer territory in the neighboring Byzantine and Sasanian empires and beyond. Within roughly two decades, they created a massive Arab Muslim empire spanning three continents. The Arab Muslim rulers were not purely motivated by religion, nor was their success attributed to the power of Islam alone, though religion certainly played a part.
Non-Muslim subjects under Arab Muslim rule were not especially opposed to their new rulers. A long period of instability and dissatisfaction had left them ambivalent toward their previous rulers. Like all other empires, the first Arab Muslim empires were built within the context of the political realities of their neighboring societies.
During the Rashidun caliphates, Arab Muslim forces expanded outward beyond the Arabian peninsula and into the territories of the neighboring Byzantine and Sasanian Empires. These empires were significantly weakened after a period of fighting with one another and other peripheral factions like the Turks, economic turmoil, disease, and environmental problems. The Arab Muslim conquerors were primed to take advantage of this; they were familiar with Byzantine and Sasanian military tactics, having served in both armies.
With the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires on the decline and strategically disadvantaged, Arab Muslim armies were able to quickly take over vast territories that once belonged to the Byzantines and Sasanians and even conquer beyond those territories to the east and west.
Most conquests happened during the reign of the second caliph, Umar, who held power from 634 to 644. The Rashidun caliphate constructed a massive empire out of many swift military victories. They expanded for both religious and political reasons, which was common at the time.
One political advantage the Rashidun caliphate held was their ability to maintain stability and unity among the Arab tribes. Distinct, feuding Arab tribes united into a cohesive political force, partially through the promise of military conquest. However, this unity was tentative and ultimately gave way to major divergences that disrupted state and religious institutions in the coming centuries.
The Rashidun can be credited for military expansion, but did Islam truly spread through their conquests? Significant conversion and cultural exchange did not occur during their short rule, nor were complex political institutions developed. It was not until the Umayyad Dynasty—from 661 to 750—that Islamic and Arabic culture began to truly spread. The Abbasid Dynasty—from 750 to 1258—intensified and solidified these cultural changes.
Before the Umayyads, Islamic rule was non-centralized. The military was organized under the caliphate, a political structure led by a Muslim steward known as a caliph, who was regarded as the religious and political successor to the prophet Muhammad. The early caliphate had a strong army and built garrison towns, but it did not build sophisticated administrations. The caliphate mostly kept existing governments and cultures intact and administered through governors and financial officers in order to collect taxes.
The Rashidun caliphate was also not dynastic, meaning that political leadership was not transferred through hereditary lineage.1 During this period, it seems the Arab tribes retained their communal clan-based systems of choosing leaders.
However, to sustain such a massive empire, more robust state structures were necessary, and the Umayyads began developing these structures, which were often influenced by the political structures in neighboring empires like the Byzantines and Sasanians. Under the Umayyads, a dynastic and centralized Islamic political state emerged.
The Umayyads shifted the capital from Mecca to Syria and replaced tribal traditions with an imperial government controlled by a monarch. They replaced Greek, Persian, and Coptic with Arabic as the main administrative language and reinforced an Arab Islamic identity. Notably, an Arab hierarchy emerged, in which non-Arabs were accorded secondary status. The Umayyads also minted Islamic coins and developed a more sophisticated bureaucracy, in which governors named viziers oversaw smaller political units.
The Umayyads did not actively encourage conversion, and most subjects remained non-Muslim. Because non-Muslim subjects were required to pay a special tax, the Umayyads were able to subsidize their political expansion.
Abstract. Islam is a religion originating from the teachings of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. Both the Qur’an and Sunnah are the foundational sources of Islam. In Islamic conflict resolution, the Qur’an and Sunnah serve as a primary source of guidance, providing principles and values that underpin the resolution of ...
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The spread of Islam to South Asia is because of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. The North Africans were captured by the Turks which in turn caused the Spread of Islam. The Europe Continent was not very popular to have Islam ruling but the Turks had also captured places like Italy. ( 5 votes) Upvote.
- I looked it up and this is what I found... Mystic interpretation of Islamic life within the bonds of religious orthodoxy is known as Sufism, which...
- Man, that looks like a homework question. Is it?
- Women did contribute to Islam - in fact the first person to convert was the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH)own wife. Many women helped to spread Islam, e...
- The spread of _Islam_ to South Asia is because of the *Delhi Sultanate* and the *Mughal Empire*. The North Africans were captured by the Turks whic...
- Through the trades with other nations, such as Persia and China. Also, the interaction of Arab-Muslims with non-Arab ones contributes vastly.
- Yes, Muslims and Christians had differences, and continue to have differences. Yes, there were wars, but those wars were more about each community...
- Yes, people were only encouraged. No one was ever 'forced' to convert to Islam. Upon hearing the message, with its truth and mrals, they converted...
- Having a shared religion means having a shared belief system and shared values, which facilitates trade. Not having a shared religion spawns disagr...
- The fight was mainly over power. That might have meant controlling more land, but it was about power. Religion was co-opted on both sides for the p...
Taif is also very active in the manufacturing of traditional attar, and is known locally as "City of the Roses" (Arabic: مَدِيْنَة ٱلْوُرُوْد, romanized: Madīnat al-Wurūd). Taif also hosts the historic Souq 'Okaz. The Taif governorate is divided into 15 smaller municipalities, with Ta'if as the capital.
Feb 17, 2024 · The impact of the Holy Spirit's arrival was nothing short of revolutionary, igniting a spiritual fire within the apostles and equipping them with the courage, unity, and spiritual gifts necessary to spread the message of Christ to the ends of the earth.
This ruthless and merciless attitude of the polytheists greatly affected the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). For this reason, he decided to go to Taif. His aim was to ask the Thaqif Tribe, who lived in Taif, against the Qurayshi polytheists, to protect him and accept the cause of Islam. Taif was one of the important places in Arabia. It was famous ...
