Islam, the complete code of life ordained by
the Sustainer of the Universe, emerged as a Socio-economic and
Political power in the Seventh Century. This unpredictable and
sweeping emergence was a result of the Muslims disciplining their
lives in accordance with the injunctions of the Holy Quran, and
left an everlasting influence on the humanity.
The exalted person upon whom this code of life was revealed - Muhammad
(peace be upon him) - was born in Makkah on the twentieth of
April 571 A.D., and breathed his last in Madina in 632 A.D.
During this period the major empires neighbouring Arabia were the
Persian Sasanids and the Bazantines, who were locked in a constant
warfare. Arabia, whose only previous contribution had been to send
successive waves of Semitic nomads to invade the fertile crescent, was
held by clans. These included Christian, Jewish, and most Arabian
tribes, including Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) - The Quraish.
Allah’s final message to mankind revealed to Muhammad
(peace be upon him), now contained in the Holy Quran, attracted
a few truth-loving people but infuriated Quraish, who then
controlled the First house of Allah.
In 622 A.D., Makkah being no more amenable to his message, Muhammad
(peace be upon him) undertook Hijra to Madina, and this
feat of Rasool-Allah marks the start of Muslim
era. In Madina, a large number of people embraced Islam.
Muhammad (peace be upon him) stayed in Madina for eight
years, during which period he had to fight the most important battles
of his life. These battles were fought against the invading Quraish
at Badar, Uhud, and Madina itself. Makkah
was finally subdued in 630 A.D., after which the tribes throughout
Arabia also submitted to Islam. His successor Khalifa
(caliph) Abu-Bakr consolidated this conquest. Later on, the Sasanids
were overthrown and the Bazantines expelled from Syria, Egypt, and
North Africa. After these conquests, the Muslims penetrated to the
Atlantic, the Caucasus, the Oxus, and the Indus without meeting
effective opposition. The people of these areas were not forced to
accept Islam but adopted it gradually. Today, the influence of Islam
can be felt through almost every nook and corner of the globe.