Encyclopedia of Islam

Introduction

  

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ethnic and national bodies. They may even take 

pride in tracing their origins to particular regions 

(like the Hijaz in Arabia), cities and towns, and 

families and tribes. Education, profession, gender, 

and social status also contribute to the formation 

of Muslim identity. The form of Islam by which 

Muslims live and in which they believe, therefore, 

is something that is shaped by any combination 

of these factors. Muslim understandings of them-

selves and their religion have also been shaped 

by their ongoing encounters with non-Muslims, 

peaceful and otherwise, through the centuries.

The Expansion of Islam

Islam has long been a global religion, but this 

was not the way it began. It first appeared dur-

ing the seventh century in the Hijaz, a remote 

mountainous area along the western edge of the 

Arabian Peninsula, far from the centers of urban 

civilization. The dominant powers in the Middle 

Eastern and eastern Mediterranean regions at the 

time were the Byzantines, heirs to the Roman 

Empire, and the Persians. These two empires 

had been fighting continually with each other for 

control of trade routes, land, and people. Within 

less than 100 years after Islam’s appearance, Arab 

Muslim warriors had swept out of Arabia into the 

Middle East and North Africa, bringing about the 

downfall of Byzantium and Persia and inaugurat-

ing a succession of Islamic states that would rule 

a large part of the known world until the collapse 

of the Ottoman dynasty after World War I. At its 

height in the 10th century, Muslim rule extended 

eastward from Spain (known as Andalusia) and 

Morocco to the eastern frontiers of Persia and 

Afghanistan. On the basis of the success of the 

Muslim conquests, it has become a commonplace 

to assert that Islam is a violent religion that was 

spread by the sword. Like all stereotypes, it is 

based on some truth, mixed with distortion and 

erroneous conclusions drawn from incomplete 

evidence. Scholars specializing in the early his-

tory of Islam and its transregional expansion have 

found that the historical factors involved were 

much more varied and complex than the “con-

quest by the sword” thesis would suggest.

Early Islamic historical sources and evidence 

drawn from the Quran and the hadith indicate that 

several different religious currents existed in Ara-

bia in the seventh century. These included native 

Arabian religions, different Jewish and Christian 

doctrines, and Zoroastrianism—the dualistic reli-

gion of ancient Persia. Muhammad ibn Abd Allah 

(ca. 570–632), the historical founder of Islam, 

was born in Mecca, a regional shrine town in the 

Hijaz. After receiving what Muslim sources report 

were his first revelations at the age of 40 while on 

Mount Hira outside of Mecca, he drew from these 

religious currents and launched a religious move-

ment that called for Meccans to worship one God 

instead of many, perform acts of charity for the 

weak and the poor, and believe that there would 

be a final judgment when God would resurrect the 

dead and hold each person accountable for his or 

her righteous and wrongful acts. The blessed were 

promised a place in paradise, the heavenly garden, 

and the damned would suffer the tortures of hell, 

the realm of fire. Muhammad attracted a small 

following of converts from among his relatives, 

friends, former slaves, and even some non-Arabs. 

Other Meccans, particularly influential members 

of the Quraysh clan, became hostile toward him. 

This opposition resulted in the Hijra (emigra-

tion) of Muhammad and his followers to Medina 

in 622. The community soon grew larger, thanks 

to the conversion of Medinan clans to Islam. 

They are remembered as the Ansar (helpers). 

The earliest expansion of the Muslim community, 

therefore, occurred peacefully and involved the 

emigration of the first Muslims from their old 

home to new ones. Emigration and resettlement 

subsequently became important factors in the 

spread of Islam. During this time, the commu-

nity also had to defend itself from attacks by the 

Quraysh. After engaging in a successful series of 

campaigns against his opponents, Muhammad 

finally achieved the peaceful surrender of Mecca 

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