After establishing himself in Medina and accomplishing the job he had been invited to do, the people of Medina began several years of battle with Muhammad's former home city. In 624, the Muslims won their first battle against the Meccans. As the latter had a much larger army, the former took the victory as a sign that God was on their side. However, a subsequent battle was not victorious, and Muhammad himself was wounded. But in 627, the Meccans attacked Medina, and Medina came out on top. The Prophet was not to lose again.
In 630, Muhammad and his forces marched to Mecca and defeated it. The Prophet rededicated the Ka'ba temple to Allah, witnessed the conversion to Islam of nearly the entire Meccan population, then returned to Medina. Muhammad died in 632, having conquered nearly all of Arabia for Islam.
Spread of Islam
By 634, Islam had taken over the entire Arabian peninsula. Within 100 years of Muhammad's death, it had reached the Atlantic in one direction and borders of China in the other. This success was due in large part to the military and political abilities of Muhammad's successors, the caliphs.
Sources
- " Muhammad." Encyclopedia Britannica (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2004).
- "The Islamic world: Muhammad's years in Mecca." Encyclopaedia Britannica (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2004).
- "The Life of the Prophet Muhammad." Islam Online, August 14, 2003.
- "The Prophet of Islam." Muhammad.net
- Dr. A. Zahoor and Dr. Z. Haq, "Biography of Prophet Muhammad." Cyberistan.org.
- Huston Smith, The World's Religions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
|
No comments:
Post a Comment