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Spread Of Islam Dbq Essay

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In 570 C.E., a man was born who would later go on to become the final prophet of the fastest growing religion in the world. Muhammad was a merchant trader from Mecca. He was praying in a cave near Mt. Hira when he first heard the words of Allah from Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad kept silent about the encounters besides telling his wife until two years later. He decided it was time for the world to hear the message of Allah. From there stemmed the religion of Islam in Mecca. The lifestyle of Islam spread quickly due to pre-existing trade routes, the appeal of the religion and through military conquest.

Trade and trade routes played a crucial role in the spread of Islam. Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, was a very prominent trade hub. Due …show more content…

The holy book of Islam is called the Qur'an, which holds the teachings of Allah. Within it a verse from the Qur'an states that, "Those who submit to God and accept the true faith; who are devout, sincere, patient, humble, charitable and chaste; who fast and are ever mindful of God – on these both men and women, God will bestow forgiveness and rich recompense." (Document B). This verse explains to people that submitting themselves to Allah and showing the traits of proper Muslim would be rewarded with happiness. Also, in the Qur'an, people would be able to see the value of Muslims in the Islamic religion. The holy book explains the value of human for Muslims, it states that killing one person is equivalent to killing all mankind and the same with saving a person's life which is equal to saving all of mankind." (Document B). Learning of the equivalent of human life in Islam could have convinced people into converting. In examining verses from the Qur'an, one may conclude that Islam spread quickly because the message the holy book sends appealed to the …show more content…

Though the religion started in Mecca, Islam spread far and wide. Under the rule of Muhammad, the Four Caliphs, and the Umayyad caliphs, lands from Spain and North Africa to the Middle East became Muslim territory. (Document C). The expanding of Muslim lands exposed more people to the religion. Previously they may not have heard of Islam until the areas in which they lived in came under Muslim control. Later on, a golden opportunity for the Muslims came from their neighboring kingdoms, "Persia and Byzantium had both been engaged for decades in a long . . . series of wars with one another. Both were exhausted. (Document D). With both kingdoms, Persia and Byzantium, weakened, Muslims had a quick and effortless victory and were able to double the size of their kingdom. Altogether, the expansion of Muslim territory resulted in the spread of Islam due to more people being exposed to the Islamic

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