Discuss the Rise of Islam and Compare the Aspects of Its Early Formation to Another Religious Tradition by Doing Some Outside Research

Rise of Islam

Alex Kaye

Columbia College

MECS 101

discuss the rise of Islam and compare the aspects of its early formation to another religious tradition by doing some outside research.

Arabia, more specifically Mecca, was the birthplace of Islam, and became the nucleus of the Islamic world. Mecca was slightly inland from the Red Sea, tucked away among the Hijaz region.  The cities vast, dry conditions were useless for farming, however benefited more from trade and traveling merchants.  The Ka’ba, or cube like structure inside the al-Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca, is the most sacred Muslim site in the world, and is said “to house as many as 360 representatives, or idols, of gods, instead of just one”. (Egger, 2004) Others believe that the Ka’ba housed only one God, Allah.  Nonetheless, the site was used by the Bedouin, Desert tribesmen, and inhabitants of other cities to worship and to trade. One of those merchants was a man by the name of Muhammad.

Muhammad was a tradesman and merchant that began receiving messages from God through an Angel named Gabriel, stating that he was a prophet along the same roles as Jesus and Moses.  His wife, uncle/father-in-law Abu Bakr, and cousin Ali were the first to convert to Islam.  The Arabs of Mecca were tolerant of Muhammad’s new found believe until Muhammad began insulting the traditional Pagan deities stating their ancestors will burn in hell for eternity for worshiping false gods. (Guillaume, 2000) This did not sit well with the local Pagan Arab leaders, and after failed brief negotiations, forced Mohammad and his followers out of Mecca north to Medina in about 622 AD. This transition, Hijrah, was noted as the first year of Islam and its calendar.  It was here that Mohammad traded his arbitration skills, that were needed in Medina, for protection from the Pagan tribe from Mecca.  Although Mohammad was said not to be a violent man, over the next several years many battles occurred between Mohammad and his followers, and the Pagan tribes’ caravans and Jewish population. The rise of Islam had begun.

The Jews of Medina were dissatisfied with Muhammad’s revelations, which were now becoming known as the Quran. Muhammad gained more followers with every battle that he had won, which added strength to his Army.  The Battle of the Ditch was a turning point in Muhammad’s career, noting a victory and gaining respect from the populace. The conquering of surrounding oases built enough of a reputation that Mohammad and his force was not to be reckoned with. In 630 AD, with little resistance, Muhammad “forced a supremacy with Mecca by leading his Army against the city”.  (Egger, 2004) After taking Mecca, Muhammad cleansed Ka’ba preserving it as the supreme religious center of Islam, under one God, Allah. Most of the Arabian Peninsula had accepted Islam by 632 AD.  Muhammad had sent ambassadors to the neighboring empires to announce the new religion and encourage converts. (Egger, 2004) In the middle of the same year, Muhammad had suffered an illness, that eventually took his life.  Out of the twenty-eight prophets, Muhammad is believed to have been the last and greatest of all of Allah's messengers. (World History Project, 2002)