The Five Pillars Of Islam: The Spread Of Islam

In 610 CE, a merchant named Muhammad made a trip from Mecca to a cave in nearby Mount Hira that would cause him to create a religion that is now the second largest religion in the world. Muhammad received the words of Allah, which he then spoke to many crowds across the Arabian Peninsula. The words Allah spoke to him are what is now known as the Five Pillars of Islam. The religion spread rapidly through many countries in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, and even some parts of East Asia and East Europe. The cause of Islam’s rapid spread was due to Islam’s beliefs, conquest, and the heavy amount of trade that passed through Islam’s holiest city, Mecca. The beliefs of Islam made a very large contribution to the spread of the religion. The Five Pillars of Islam are the morals that Islam is based off of. The Five Pillars are daily prayer, giving to charity, fasting during the month of Ramadan, declaration of faith, and pilgrimage. Muhammad and his followers used

Mecca is the holiest city of Islam. Every year, thousands of Muslims go on pilgrimages to Islam to show their devotion to Islam, and every time that someone Muslim prays, they must pray facing Mecca. During the time of Islam’s creation and spread, Mecca was one of the largest trade cities in the world. As one could tell from looking at the map titled “Trade Routes, 570,” Mecca had many trade routes going through it that went as far as Spain, China and India, and East Africa, and of course everywhere in the Arabian Peninsula (Document A). So, when foreign merchants traveled through Mecca, they would discover all of the people practicing Islam and pick up on it. The people who picked up on Islam would then bring it back to their land, and to all of the places they travel through to get home. When they traveled, Islam traveled with them. Based on all of this, one could see that trade was a big factor to the rapid spread of