when did islam began to spread

What made Islam spread so quickly?

Why Did Islam Spread So Quickly There are many reasons why Islam spread so quickly. The main reasons are trade, military conquest, and religion. Trade played the biggest role of why it spread so quickly because it went to Spain, Africa, and Europe. Military conquest because a large amount of land was conquered by Islam military.

What year did Islam start to believe in God?

The religion of Islam began in the 7th century when the prophet Muhammad received revelations from God and wrote them down in a book that would come to be called the Qur'an. Muhammad began teaching what he had learned from God, and the community began to follow him because he led by example from what he believed he had learned.

How did Islam change as it spread?

How did Islam change spread? Islam spread through military conquest, trade, pilgrimage, and missionaries. Arab Muslim forces conquered vast territories and built imperial structures over time. Click to see full answer. Likewise, how did Islam start and spread? The spread of Islam in Africa began in the 7th to 9th century, brought to North ...

What year did the religion of Islam start?

The start of Islam is marked in the year 610, following the first revelation to the prophet Muhammad at the age of 40. Muhammad and his followers spread the teachings of Islam throughout the Arabian peninsula. Which is the oldest religion in the world?

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How did Islam first began to spread?

The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territories and building imperial structures over time.

Who started spreading Islam?

the Prophet MuhammadThe growth and spread of Islam began when the Prophet Muhammad began sharing his divine revelations and spreading messages he received from Allah (god). He and his followers were persecuted and had to flee to the neighboring city of Medina in 622. There he and his followers were welcomed and the faith grew.

Why did Islam spread so fast?

There are many reasons why Islam spread so quickly. First Mecca was connected to many global trade routes. Another important reason was their military conquered lots of territory. A third factor was the Muslims fair treatment of conquered peoples.

How old is Islam in years?

According to religious historians, Islam was founded by Muhammad the Prophet around 622CE (Common Era), or about 1,382 years ago in Mecca.

Who was the founder of the Umayyad Empire?

Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan

What is a Fitna?

A civil war between opposing factions in the Islamic world.

How big was the population of the Umayyad Empire?

Estimates range from 20 to 60 million people, or 10-30% of the world's population at the time.

Why was there social unrest in the Umayyad Caliphate?

Muslim Arabs saw themselves as better than non-Muslim Arabs and did not mix with them. But as the empire increased, the proportion of non-Arabs inc...

What are two of the architectural achievements of the Umayyad period?

Great Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jersualem

Which caliphate did the Umayyad come after?

The Rashidun Caliphate

When was the First Fitna?

656-651 C.E.

Where did Islam originate?

Most historians believe that Islam originated in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE. Muslims regard Islam as a return to the original faith of the prophets, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus, and, with the submission ( Islam) to the will of God.

What is the most important historiographical source for the origins of Islam?

For example, the most important historiographical source for the origins of Islam is the work of al-Tabari. While al-Tabari is considered an excellent historian by the standards of his time and place, he made liberal use of mythical, legendary, stereotyped, distorted, and polemical presentations of subject matter—which are however considered to be Islamically acceptable—and his descriptions of the beginning of Islam post-date the events by several generations, al-Tabari having died in 923.

What was the Abbasid Dynasty?

The Abbasid dynasty rose to power in 750, consolidating the gains of the earlier Caliphates. Initially, they conquered Mediterranean islands including the Balearics and, after, in 827 the Southern Italy. The ruling party had come to power on the wave of dissatisfaction with the Umayyads, cultivated by the Abbasid revolutionary Abu Muslim. Under the Abbasids Islamic civilization flourished. Most notable was the development of Arabic prose and poetry, termed by The Cambridge History of Islam as its " golden age ". Commerce and industry (considered a Muslim Agricultural Revolution) and the arts and sciences (considered a Muslim Scientific Revolution) also prospered under Abbasid caliphs al-Mansur (ruled 754–775), Harun al-Rashid (ruled 786–809), al-Ma'mun (ruled 809–813) and their immediate successors.

What were the Abbasids' rivals?

The Abbasids soon became caught in a three-way rivalry among Coptic Arabs, Indo-Persians, and immigrant Turks. In addition, the cost of running a large empire became too great. The Turks, Egyptians, and Arabs adhered to the Sunnite sect; the Persians, a great portion of the Turkic groups, and several of the princes in India were Shia. The political unity of Islam began to disintegrate. Under the influence of the Abbasid caliphs, independent dynasties appeared in the Muslim world and the caliphs recognized such dynasties as legitimately Muslim. The first was the Tahirid dynasty in Khorasan, which was founded during the caliph Al-Ma'mun 's reign. Similar dynasties included the Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids and Seljuqs. During this time, advancements were made in the areas of astronomy, poetry, philosophy, science, and mathematics.

What religion was the dominant religion in the Himyarite Kingdom?

Judaism became the dominant religion of the Himyarite Kingdom in Yemen after about 380, while Christianity took root in the Persian Gulf. There was also a yearning for a more "spiritual form of religion," and "the choice of religion increasingly became an individual rather than a collective issue.".

What was the longest period between the Abbasid and Ottoman Empires?

Thus they united Syria and Egypt for the longest interval between the Abbasid and Ottoman empires (1250–1517) . The Mamluks experienced a continual state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the "Muslim territory" ( Dar al-Islam) and "non-Muslim territory" ( Dar al-Harb ).

How many sects are there in Islam?

It is said that Muhammad had claimed that the number of sects in Islam would account to seventy three. New schools of thought in Islam have constantly been created since the dawn of Islam. Today there are over two million Muslims that are mainly divided into 5 major schools of thought in Islam across the globe. With Islam being such a popular religion, it is inevitable that Islam will be interpreted differently across the world. These 5 major Islamic schools of thought consist of: Sunni Muslims, Shi'a Muslims, Ibadi Muslims, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and Sufi Muslims.

Where was Prophet Muhammad born?

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born in 570 A.D. to Abd Allah bin Al-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahb. The family resided in Mecca which was controlled by the Quraysh. His uncle, Abu Talib, was the chief of the Banu Hashim clan and as such, the family were afforded relative protection.

When did Muhammad return to Mecca?

In a bid to heal the rifts and return to his homeland, Muhammad (PBUH) sought to return to Mecca in 628 A.D. On his journey, the Quaraysh intercepted him, but there was no conflict. They presented Muhammad (PBUH) with the Hudaybiyyah treaty which recognised him as an equal and guaranteed that he and his followers would not face persecution or resistance in Mecca.

What did the angel tell Muhammad?

He told Muhammad (PBUH) that he was sent by Allah (SWT), the one and only true God. The angel told Muhammad (PBUH) that he was to recite the words of Allah (SWT). Muhammad (PBUH) was a labourer by trade and could not read or write, but he was able to perfectly recall exactly what the Angel Jibril was telling him.

Why did Muhammad's followers receive jibes from the Quraysh?

Whilst Muhammad (PBUH) and his followers received jibes from the Quraysh, they were protected from direct persecution because of Muhammad’s (PBUH) wife’s social standing and the protection afforded by his uncle. This ended in 619 A.D. when both Muhammad’s (PBUH) wife and his uncle died. This is known as the year of sorrow and was a troublesome time for Muhammad (PBUH) as he and his followers now faced physical persecution and threats from the people of Mecca who were defensive of the pagan trade gods.

What year did Muhammad's wife die?

This ended in 619 A.D. when both Muhammad’s (PBUH) wife and his uncle died. This is known as the year of sorrow and was a troublesome time for Muhammad (PBUH) as he and his followers now faced physical persecution and threats from the people of Mecca who were defensive of the pagan trade gods.

How many Prophets were there before Muhammad?

Although there were 24 prophets before him, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is considered to be the founding father of the religion of Islam and is highly revered amongst Muslims as it is believed the religion of Islam as it is now known started with him.

How many prophets are there in Islam?

The religion of Islam begins with the 25 prophets selected by Allah (SWT), the first of whom was Adam who was the first human being and is considered the father of the human race.

Where did Islam originate?

By 1500, Islam was well established in West Africa throughout the Sahil belt and along the Niger River into modern Nigeria. In East Africa, traders had spread Islam down the coast by the tenth century, and it gradually developed further in the subsequent centuries.

When did Islam spread to non-Arabs?

Only toward the end of that period, in about 710, did the first major spread of Islam to non-Arabs take place, among the Berber (or Amazigh) population of North Africa. The Berbers embraced Islam rapidly, but their process of Islamization, which is not well documented, took a long time. Within a few centuries, however, the process was well along, ...

How did Islam spread?

Islamization . In the central lands of Islam, its gradual spread cannot be precisely documented. Nevertheless, some scholars such as Richard Bulliet have proposed that in Egypt only few Egyptians had become Muslims before the year 700 and that the 50-percent mark was only reached in the 900s, three hundred years after the introduction of Islam. By about 1200, Muslims were more than 90 percent of the population, and religious Islamization was moving apace, as expressed by the proliferation of Muslim religious writing in Egypt that began around that time. In geographical Syria, the process was even slower. The 50-percent mark was not reached until 1200, nearly six hundred years after the arrival of Islam. Iraq and Iran probably were closer to the pattern of Egypt than that of Syria, but Islamization was gradual there too. In large parts of Spain and Portugal, Islam was established between 711 and about 1250 and continued to exist until after 1600; it is not clear that a majority of the population there was ever Muslim, and the Spanish Christian reconquest eventually eliminated Islam completely from the Iberian peninsula. (Spain, Portugal, and the island of Sicily are the only places from which Islam has ever been driven out.) In the East, Muslim law treated Zoroastrians, Buddhists, and Hindus just as it treated Jews and Christians, offering them protection of life, property, and freedom of religious practice in exchange for the payment of a tax. In Sind, the largely Buddhist population appears to have embraced Islam rather rapidly, over about two centuries (712–900), a period during which Buddhism disappeared entirely from that region and for the most part from Afghanistan and Central Asia. Hinduism in Sind, however, declined much more slowly than Buddhism. All the lands discussed to this point were part of the khilafah, but after the decline of the khilafah Islam spread to lands outside its boundaries. Anatolia (or Asia Minor ), which makes up most of modern Turkey, came under the rule of rather superficially Islamized Turkish tribesmen after 1071, and its population embraced Islam gradually for centuries thereafter. In Anatolia, the spread of Islam was probably facilitated by the alienation of the population from the Byzantine Empire that had ruled oppressively there in its last period. After the Ottoman Turks reached southeastern Europe in the mid fourteenth century, most Albanians and Bosnians and some Bulgarians became Muslims. Beginning in the fifteenth century, however, the spread of Islam in this area seems to have been impeded by the aversion of the populace to the centralized bureaucracy of the Ottoman Empire, a factor that had not had the same effect in Anatolia because most of the people there had already become Muslims.

Where did Mohammad preach?

The Process of Conversion . The Prophet Mohammad preached Islam at Makkah and Madinah in Arabia for about twenty-three years. Early on, from about 612 to 622, he preached in public at Makkah, but after the migration to Madinah he appears to have preached only in his own house, which became the first masjid, and only to those people who chose to come to him. Preaching in one’s house or in the masjid became the pattern in Islam. Under the first two khalifahs, Islam was required of most of the inhabitants of Arabia who had been pagans, but Christian and Jewish communities were allowed to exist there, particularly in Yemen, where there are still Jews. Outside Arabia, however, the khilafah did not compel non-Arab inhabitants to become Muslims; indeed, it did not even encourage them to do so, fearing a decrease in the state’s revenues from its taxes on non-Muslims, a major source of income. Only Khalifah ‘mar ibn ‘Abd al-Aziz (ruled 717–720) made an effort to encourage adherence to Islam, sending out missionaries to North Africa and other areas. Despite this brief attempt during the early khilafah (632–750), non-Arabs became Muslims mainly of their own volition, sometimes migrating to Muslim military-camp cities, where they were normally not supposed to reside, in order to embrace Islam. Such converts may often have been seeking economic or social advantages rather than individual spiritual fulfillment, but their actions nevertheless spread and eventually deepened popular adherence to Islam. Non-Arab Muslims, called mawali, were sometimes mistreated by their patrons and rulers, and many threw themselves into learning about their new religion as a means of self-defense and resistance against oppression—themes that appear frequently in the Qur’an and hadiths. More literate than the early rulers, these mawali, along with a few of the Arabs, began to produce the enormous body of scholarship on Islamic law and creed. Each group of mawali also sought to spread Islam among their relatives and other members of their ethnic group. Thus, Islam spread in spite of political rulers, not because of them. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that during the years 661–750, apart from the Arabs, the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the Umayyad khilafah—which stretched from Morocco to China—were not Muslims. Only toward the end of that period, in about 710, did the first major spread of Islam to non-Arabs take place, among the Berber (or Amazigh) population of North Africa. The Berbers embraced Islam rapidly, but their process of Islamization, which is not well documented, took a long time. Within a few centuries, however, the process was well along, and Christianity disappeared completely from North Africa—as it did from no other place in the Muslim world—while Judaism

What was the movement that broke the unity of Islam?

In North Africa, a Berber movement set up a counter khilafah, breaking the political unity of Islam, while in Central Asia, a revolutionary movement arose that replaced the Umayyads with the Abbasids. Islam was no longer the religion of a single ethnic group or ruling elite. Islamization . In the central lands of Islam, its gradual spread cannot be ...

How does assimilation work in Islam?

Even after an individual has embraced Islam, he or she may take a long time to learn and apply its rituals and rules, going through many different stages or levels of understanding and practice over time. When such individual processes of religious assimilation are multiplied across a whole population, different people or even whole social classes have different understandings of Islam at the same time. Thus, it is usually not possible to single out a particular historical period as representing the essence of normative Islam. Also, many local nuances and differences remain even after a society has been Islamized for a long time, further guaranteeing the continued existence of diversity within Islam.

What is the spread of Islam?

The Spread of Islam. A Gradual Process . It is often wrongly imagined that as soon as any country came under the political rule of Muslims or a Muslim state, a majority, or even all, of its population started professing Islam as their personal religion, whether from choice or compulsion. In actuality, the spread of Islam as a religion in ...

Why did Islam spread?

A. J. Arberry has also pointed out that the reason for the spread of Islam is Islam itself and its religious values. (Aspects of Islamic Civilization, p.12) He states: “The rapidity of the spread of Islam, noticeably through extensive provinces which had been long Christian, is a crucial fact of history… the sublime rhetoric of the Quran, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy".

Where did the first Muslims migrate to?

In about five years after the advent of Islam, a group of Muslims consisting of six men and four women fleeing from the severe torture of the pagans of Qoraysh sought asylum to Ethiopia. That marked the first migration of Muslims and the spread of Islam out of the land of Arabia.

How did Islam change the world?

Islam completely changed the intellectual outlook of Arabia, so much so that it divided the history of Arabs into pre-Islamic era known as the era of Ignorance, and the post Islamic era. Within a span of 23 years Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w) transformed the barbarous and impious Arabs into a civilized and religious nation. During his life and also after his death, Muslims took the message of Islam to every corner of the world and within a few years Muslims became the super power of the era.

What did Ibn Hisham say to Muslims?

Ibn Hisham narrated: “After Muslims offered the dawn prayer with the Prophet, the Messenger of Allah said to them: "Exhort the servants of Allah to do good. Allah has disallowed Paradise to one, who becomes the guardian of the affairs of the people, but does not endeavour to guide them and show them the right path. You should rise and convey the message of Islam to far-off regions and should make mankind hear the voice of monotheism. However, you should not oppose me in the manner in which the disciples of Prophet ‘Isa opposed him".

What was the significance of the Prophet's arrival in Madina?

Immigration of the Prophet to Madina, was indeed a turning point in the history of Islam and hence marked the commencement of the Islamic calendar. During his stay in Madina, the Prophet of Islam dispatched many ambassadors to various tribes in the Arabian Peninsula hence inviting them to Islam.

How many Muslims are there in Cape Town?

Today, there are nearly one million Muslims living in the area around Cape Town. A second group of Muslims came to South Africa in the 19th Century.

Why did the Emperor approve the establishment of the first mosque in China?

To show his admiration for Islam, the emperor approved the establishment of China’s first mosque at Ch’ang-an. The mosque still stands today, after fourteen centuries.

What were the factors that led to the spread of Islam?

These were, in no certain order, the ease of conversion, the political consolidation of the Islamic state and the remarkable military effectiveness of Islamic armies.

What was the role of the Islamic state in the early Arab world?

Consequently, the Islamic state, or Caliphate, spread order, civilization and infrastructure along with the religion. Furthermore, the early Arab armies carrying Islam saw extraordinary military successes in the first decades after the Prophet's death, including conquests of the entire Arab peninsula, much of North Africa, Spain and beyond.

How did Islam spread?

Following the conquest of North Africa by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century CE, Islam spread throughout West Africa via merchants, traders, scholars, and missionaries, that is largely through peaceful means whereby African rulers either tolerated the religion or converted to it themselves. In this way, Islam spread across and around the Sahara Desert.

When did Islam spread to North Africa?

Islam spread from the Middle East to take hold across North Africa during the second half of the 7th century CE when the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE) of Damascus conquered that area by military force.

What is the association between Islam and trade?

The association of Islam and trade in sub-Saharan Africa is a well-known fact. The commercially most active peoples, the Dyula, Hausa and Dyakhanke, were among the first to be converted when their respective countries came into contact with Muslims. The explanation of this phenomenon is to be found in social and economic factors. Islam is a religion born in the commercial society of Mecca and preached by a Prophet who himself had for a long time been a merchant, provides a set of ethical and practical prescripts closely related to business activities. This moral code helped to sanction and control commercial relationships and offered a unifying ideology among the members of different ethnic groups, thus providing for security and credit, two of the chief requirements of long-distance trade. (Vol. III, 39)

What were the technological innovations of Islam?

There were several technical innovations that came with Islam such as writing, numbers, mathematics, measurements and weights. Not only did Muslim scholars and missionaries visit and stay in African communities but also Muslim travellers and chroniclers like Ibn Battuta and Ibn Khaldin (1332-1406 CE) who made invaluable observations and records of African life in the medieval period. These writers, along with archaeology, have helped enormously in the reconstruction of ancient Africa following the European colonial period where every attempt was made to obliterate the history of the continent lest it conflict with the racist belief that Africa had long been waiting to be civilised.

Why did rulers adopt Islam?

Another motivation for rulers to adopt Islam besides greater riches with which to impress their people and hold on to power was that a new dynasty may have been bolstered in its claims of legitimacy by also adopting a new religion. This could well be the most important factor in the Kingdom of Kanem 's adoption in the late 11th century CE. Adopting Islam permitted, too, the exchange of diplomatic embassies with North African states, as well as the possibility to send scholars for training, both of which brought the sub-Saharan states, in particular, into contact with the wider Mediterranean world and increased the prestige of rulers. Yet another appeal of Islam was that it brought literacy, a tremendously useful tool for empires who built their wealth on trade.

When did Islam spread to the Mali Empire?

From there, the religion spread eastwards to the Mali Empire (1240-1645 CE) and the Songhai Empire (c. 1460 - c. 1591 CE). With the adoption of Islam by the rulers of the Kingdom of Kanem (c. 900 - c. 1390 CE) between the 11th and 13th century CE and Hausaland from the late 14th century CE, the religion's encirclement of Africa below ...

Which two Muslim states were in the Horn of Africa?

In addition, two important Muslim states in the Horn of Africa were the Sultanates of Adal (1415-1577 CE) and Ajuran (13-17th century CE). Aside from genuine spiritual conviction, African leaders may have recognised that adopting Islam (or seeming to) would be beneficial to trade. Islam had more immediate success further south on the Swahili Coast.

Overview

Origins of Islam

Early Islam arose within the historical, social, political, economic, and religious context of Late Antiquity in the Middle East. The second half of the 6th century CE saw political disorder in the pre-Islamic Arabian peninsula, and communication routes were no longer secure. Religious divisions played an important role in the crisis. Judaism became the dominant religion of the Himyarite Kingdom in Yemen after about 380 CE, while Christianity took root in the Persian Gulf. There was …

Timeline

Early sources and historiography

Rashidun Caliphate

Umayyad Caliphate

Islamic Golden Age

Fatimid Caliphate

Islamic Prophets

Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) – 610 A.D.

Persecution from The Quaraysh – 619 A.D.

Return to Mecca – 628 A.D.

Islam in Modern Times

• Following Muhammad’s (PBUH) return to Mecca, Islam spread rapidly and he kept receiving teachings from the Angel Jibril until his death in 632 A.D. During his life, he compiled the Qur’an which is now the holy book for almost two billion people all around the world, making it the second most followed religion behind Christianity.

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