Economic Activity
During the Umayyads' time in the Islamic region, the economy exploded because of the
vast area of the conquest, which included three continents, Asia, Africa, and Europe. That
way, all basic needs are easily obtained by mastering the trade route. The Umayyad
controlled many factors of production in the various areas under his control. Weaving centers
in Egypt and Morocco. Wheat was no longer exported to Byzantium but was brought to the
Hejaz and the Arabian Peninsula. New markets have emerged with products that are ready
to be marketed. Among these products, iron helmets, spears, swords, wooden and building
crafts, furniture, cotton, silk, and linen.
The Umayyads did not change the trading rules that existed at the time of Khulafa ar-
Rashidin much, and they did not exercise a monopoly on trade. The trade route starts from
the port on the coast of Syria to Suez at the seaport of Qalzum. These goods are exported to
Yemen's ports in India and even to an archipelago called Indonesia by the Netherlands. Ships
from India and the archipelago dock in Basra to load and unload spices and other clothing
and handicraft materials. Trade transactions are going well with neighboring countries such
as Byzantium and other Asian countries to Southeast Asia. Agricultural products were also
brought from Syria, such as figs, olive oil, and dried grapes. Other products, such as livestock
and handicrafts, also increased, such as woven, ceramics, marble, and alabaster. During the
time of the Umayyads, the economy experienced tremendous progress. With such a large
conquest area, it was possible to exploit the conquered countries' economic potential. They
could also transport large numbers of slaves to the Islamic World. This labor force made the
Arabs live from the conquered lands and made it a tax collector class. It allowed them to
exploit these countries, such as Egypt, Syria, and Iraq (Hitti, 1970). The economic system in
Islam is not a collective in which the state carries out everything. It is not an individualistic
system in which individuals can do everything; instead, it is a middle structure for the
individual, the community, and the state in which a clear fortune exists. When the individual
stands unable to meet and serve production requirements and provide its means, the state
undertakes to assume its responsibilities. Security and protection were among the first duties
that the state faced to provide to product owners, including farmers, merchants, industrialists,
and people of various professions. It defended them from the harm of those outside the state
and the defectors from the military, and worked to protect them from their transgressions,
and provided them with psychological and social security to give them the best they could
do, and took its workers to avoid offending them, and warned them of the consequences of
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