The Islamic Religion

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Recommended: Rise and expansion of Islam

Islam is a very practical and comprehensive religion that teaches the individual to think and reflect by observing the world around him. Islam, being a monotheistic religion, proclaims that there is only one God and he has no partners. Muslims worship Allah in all their thoughts and actions. The message of Islam was appealing due to the fact that it allowed Jews, Christians, and other religions entities to worship freely without fear of retribution or forced conversion. In fact, up to about 100 years after Muhammad the Prophet died, conversion to Islam was frowned and was reserved for Arabs only. Islam learned how to manage and flourish as an economic and social power. The establishment of caravan routes and shipping lanes were used as arteries of intellectual and economic exchange throughout the dar al-Islam, or “House of Islam”.1(Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World Loc 1891) At the heart of this unprecedented rise to success, in its expansiveness and pace, is Muhammad. A calculated, tactical, and forgiving man believed to be the conduit to God, a God that he preached was the one and only. During the time of Muhammad both Persia and Byzantium were in a decline due to a series of debilitating wars with one another.(MAPOOT loc 298) Now, while I will not go into depth about this topic, as it would deserve focus on those particular dynasties, it is certainly crucial to state. It was the message of equality, cohesion, and harmony that Muhammad brought to Arabia, through God, along with trade and business practices, which allowed Islam to shape and mold its message and its influences across vast time and place.
Muhammad was a complex man who was driven by ideology and who often did things that puzzled his followers and convert...

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... path to Byzantium and Syria with goods of incense, spices, ivory, cereals, pearls, woods, fabrics, and medicines.(MAPOOT loc 220) The Quraysh established all of this and remained neutral so to gain the maximum amount of profits from all sides. They established the Haram, a zone near the Kabah where violence was forbidden and made deals with the Bedouin to cease attacks on caravans during trade seasons. (MAPOOT loc 241) Many trade routes were abandoned in Syria and Mesopotamia due to wars between Persia and Byzantium. Mecca filled this void and allowed the Quraysh to become more powerful. (MAPOOT loc 300) The business practices established by the Quraysh and the fortune of geography allowed the practice of trade to expand Islam as this allowed it to reach men from all corners of the known earth. Trade and religion were now indistinguishably combined through Mecca.

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