This is a free essay sample available for all students. If you are looking where to buy essays on the topic “Why Did Islam Spread So Quickly”, browse our private essay samples.
One of the fastest-growing religions in the world today, Islam spread at a rapid pace throughout the centuries. There are many factors that influenced how it spread so quickly; and today, we can probably name a handful of friends and even neighbors who practice Islam.
How did Islam spread far beyond Arabia so quickly? What is behind the rapid spread of Islam today? The writer of this sample essay dives deep into these questions and explores the rich heritage of this religion.
Check out the rest of our website for more good essays on other topics. To avail of our affordable essay writing services, click here.
Why Did Islamic Religion Spread So Quickly?
When it comes to the world’s fastest-growing religions, it seems that Christianity and Islam are neck-and-neck with each other. While there are still relatively more Christians in the world today, recent figures reveal that the growth rate of Islam is set to increase in the next few years. There is even a projection that it will overtake Christianity as the world’s most dominant religion by the latter half of this century if trends continue.
At the center of Islam is the prophet, a man named Muhammad. Muhammad received divine revelations, the first few of which became the backbone of the Quran, or the Holy Book of Islam. These revelations earned him a growing base of new followers, despite the anger and disapproval of the Meccans over his monotheistic convictions. As life in Mecca started to become more dangerous for him and his family, Muhammad moved to Medina, where he continued to receive divine revelations. They eventually returned to establish their belief in one god once Meccans surrendered to the Quraish.
Said to be the only person who was able to see both Heaven and Hell while still being fully alive, Muhammad ascended as a Prophet when the Archangel Gabriel took him on a journey while he was asleep. He traveled to the “Farthest Mosque,” where he was said to have prayed with other prophets like Moses, Abraham, and Jesus.
After Muhammad’s death, the Shi’a faction believed that it made sense to choose a direct blood relative to take the place of the deceased Prophet, since no successor was ever named. Another faction, the Sunni, thought that it would be better to instead elect leaders to take his place. As a result, four people rose to the ranks of caliphs – Ali, the closest blood male relative, and three of the Prophet’s most trusted allies, also called the Rightly Guided Caliphs. From here, the Islamic faith continued to spread and attract many followers. It had gained acceptance as a new type of faith.
In this essay, I would like to propose three main reasons behind the quick spread of the Islamic faith.
Trading routes allowed Islam to spread outside the Arabian peninsula
One of the most powerful methods and the first reason behind the spread of Islam was trade, particularly in Southeast Asia. This spread was encouraged through the use of the Silk Road. Muslim traders and businessmen were known for their talents and skills at the time, and on top of it, they were good at sailing. It was easy for them to monopolize the maritime Silk Roads, which served as the gateway to various ports in East Asia. As their commercial ships stopped at many of these ports frequently to replenish food and water supplies, every Muslim merchant trader had the opportunity to interact with different cultures.
These engagements and conversations led Islam to spread quickly to neighboring Asian nations such as Indonesia and the Philippines. At the same time, some traders ended up migrating to the Indonesian islands and connecting with locals. It is said that after merchants arrived in Sumatra Island, even the kings of that area converted to the Islam religion, and slowly but surely, a Muslim community began to form.
It must also said that the same strategy worked in African trade routes. Three major routes were used by Muslim merchants: one across the Sahara, which went through trading towns like Timbuktu, through the Nile Valley which goes into Sudan and then Uganda, and crossing the Red Sea going to South Africa, which would land them in key settlements such as Mombasa.
Military campaigns in the Middle East led to numerous conversions
In the Middle East, Islam spreading can be primarily attributed to military conquests. This is the second reason behind the rise of the Islam empire. Publicity-wise, the motivation was the spread of religion, but in truth, greed and politics were also involved.
The first conquest happened soon after Muhammad’s death, when no successor had been named and Abu Bakr, one of the Prophet’s most trusted companions and also father-in-law, ascended as one of the caliphs who would take his place. Within the burgeoning Muslim community were several groups and individuals that wanted to break away from the faith because of the death of their original leader. Recognizing this, Abu Bakr immediately leaped into action and launched the apostasy wars against them. This ended with the Arabian peninsula consolidating into one country under Muslim rule in just a couple of years’ time.
The second caliph succeeding Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, focused his campaigns against the Byzantine empire. True enough, after the decisive Battle of Yarmouk, the Byzantine states of Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon were effectively conquered by Muslim armies. Following the conquest of this empire was the attack on the Sassanid empire, which was weakened by its own internal struggles and a long war with the Byzantine states. After this, the expansion of Islam intensified, penetrating even parts of Egypt, Anatolia, and Armenia. Expansion into new lands was a major contributor to the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam.
Good governance played a role in why Islam spread quickly
Finally, out of many reasons behind why Islam spread so quickly, this might be the most strategic: good governance by the caliphates. A political-religious state that is made up of the community of Muslims itself, the caliphate was a key contributor to the expansion of Islamic beliefs across many conquered lands. Caliphs were to implement the key principles of good governance. The strategy was not to immediately Islamize the people they had acquired, but to treat them well. They made it a point to build relationships with the tribes and groups without forcing a new religion upon them. Their government was just and fair and it was this admirable demonstration of good leadership that swayed new people to this faith.
Conclusion
To this day, Islam is expected to surpass Christianity in terms of a total number of believers within the next few years. Their religious and spiritual campaigns continue to attract a large number of new followers. With its rich history of growth and expansion all over the world, it is no surprise that their strategies for growth have been passed on to the next generations of communities of Muslims worldwide. In fact, today, they are known to be intentional about passing on their faith to other people.
I admire these followers of Allah because of their dedication to their faith. They are devoted doers of the faith and closely follow the teachings of the Quran. I think that followers of Islam are some of the most committed believers I know. The way that they integrate their spiritual disciplines into their day-to-day lives is admirable. I hope that followers of other religions and faiths will take a look at their integrity and learn a thing or two about what it means to truly walk your talk. It is their lives and practices that make it easy for me to believe that the Islamic religion has grown to be what it is today.