Similar to most civilizations, the Islamic civilization expanded throughout the Middle East, parts of Asia and Europe, and North Africa in order to establish an extensive empire. The spread of Islam occurred in the late 600’s and 700’s, which has drawn numerous studies on how this religion encompassed multiple regions. To begin with, the central figure of Islam is Muhammad, who is the founder of Islam and claimed to be the last prophet of God by the Muslim belief. Muhammed shared his teachings, also described in the Qu’ran - the Islamic sacred book, believed to be the word of God as dictated to Muhammad in Arabic. His teachings as well as the Qu’ran itself served as the moral guidelines for Muslims and appealed to many Arabs and non-Muslims
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The Islamic ‘culture’ emphasizes that all Muslims are equal and the only one that ranks higher than them is their God - Allah. According to the excerpt from History of the Arabs, by Philip K. Hitti, he explains the Muslim view as - “We have witnessed a people [Muslims] to each and every one of whom death is preferable to life, and humility to prominence, and to none of whom this world has the least attraction. Their leader is like one of them: the low cannot be distinguished from the high, nor the master from the slave. And when the prayer time comes, all wash their hands and feet and humbly pray.” From this document, Hitti describes the Muslims as equal to each other, an uncommon ideology at the time. Although it’s unusual, the Islamic civilization created social stability and uniformity, which became a vital factor in the expansion of the empire. Additionally, the Islamic culture offer rewards by fulfilling obligations of a Muslim. As cited from the Qu’ran (Document 2), “Ye shall do battle with them, or they shall profess Islam… whosoever shall obey God and His Apostle, He shall bring him into the gardens of [Paradise]; but whosoever shall turn back, He will punish him…” This quotation from the Qur'an reveals a reward a Muslim receives in the afterlife, if he/she obeys God, which is entering heaven, or Paradise. These rewards attracted the non-Muslims to several benefits, In other words, these …show more content…
To begin with, various ancient empires and civilizations were successful due to religious tolerance, in order to keep the people satisfied and under control. However, several ancient empires and civilizations were not successful, since they did not allow the people to practice their own religion or exercise their beliefs. Additionally, this led to unsatisfactory and several riots against the ruler of the empire. According to Document 5, J.J. Saunders shares how Muhammad dealt with the non-Muslims, offering options in conversion. For example, “But many Arabs were Jews or Christians: What was to be done with them? Mohammed respected the older monotheistic faiths… he called them “People of the Book”... they were not forced into Islam but were allowed to retain their ancestral religion on payment of tribute.” In this excerpt, Saunders describes Muhammad as tolerant and lenient towards the Arabs who were Jewish or Christian, and they were not required to convert to Islam, but rather to maintain their religion they practice. In addition, Document 1 describes of how Muhammad gave choiced to the leader of a Christian Arab tribe. As an example, “Believe or else pay tribute [money]... obey the Lord and His Apostle [Mohammed], and he will defend you… But if ye oppose and displease them… I will fight against you and take captive of your little ones and slay the elder... “ From this
The Islamic ‘culture’ emphasizes that all Muslims are equal and the only one that ranks higher than them is their God - Allah. According to the excerpt from History of the Arabs, by Philip K. Hitti, he explains the Muslim view as - “We have witnessed a people [Muslims] to each and every one of whom death is preferable to life, and humility to prominence, and to none of whom this world has the least attraction. Their leader is like one of them: the low cannot be distinguished from the high, nor the master from the slave. And when the prayer time comes, all wash their hands and feet and humbly pray.” From this document, Hitti describes the Muslims as equal to each other, an uncommon ideology at the time. Although it’s unusual, the Islamic civilization created social stability and uniformity, which became a vital factor in the expansion of the empire. Additionally, the Islamic culture offer rewards by fulfilling obligations of a Muslim. As cited from the Qu’ran (Document 2), “Ye shall do battle with them, or they shall profess Islam… whosoever shall obey God and His Apostle, He shall bring him into the gardens of [Paradise]; but whosoever shall turn back, He will punish him…” This quotation from the Qur'an reveals a reward a Muslim receives in the afterlife, if he/she obeys God, which is entering heaven, or Paradise. These rewards attracted the non-Muslims to several benefits, In other words, these …show more content…
To begin with, various ancient empires and civilizations were successful due to religious tolerance, in order to keep the people satisfied and under control. However, several ancient empires and civilizations were not successful, since they did not allow the people to practice their own religion or exercise their beliefs. Additionally, this led to unsatisfactory and several riots against the ruler of the empire. According to Document 5, J.J. Saunders shares how Muhammad dealt with the non-Muslims, offering options in conversion. For example, “But many Arabs were Jews or Christians: What was to be done with them? Mohammed respected the older monotheistic faiths… he called them “People of the Book”... they were not forced into Islam but were allowed to retain their ancestral religion on payment of tribute.” In this excerpt, Saunders describes Muhammad as tolerant and lenient towards the Arabs who were Jewish or Christian, and they were not required to convert to Islam, but rather to maintain their religion they practice. In addition, Document 1 describes of how Muhammad gave choiced to the leader of a Christian Arab tribe. As an example, “Believe or else pay tribute [money]... obey the Lord and His Apostle [Mohammed], and he will defend you… But if ye oppose and displease them… I will fight against you and take captive of your little ones and slay the elder... “ From this