Early Muslims
Most historians would agree with the statement that the early Muslims were successful, but very few would agree with each other about what it means to be successful or the classification of the "early Muslims." Before attempting to answer the broad topic of why and to what extent the early Muslims were successful, one needs to define the terms "success" and "early Muslims." In the context of this paper, the early Muslims are defined as those that became Muslims during the first century since the birth of Islam. This century begins in 613 when Muhammad received the call, "Rise and Warn" and it includes the early Islamic conquests. Although success can be measured in many ways, in the context of this paper it will be defined in terms of these components: Initial military conquests, the ability to maintain the support of the conquered population, and the ability of the early Muslims to bring prosperity and a sense of unity for the various parts of Arabia and conquered regions. Within these set definitions and boundaries, it can then be said that the early Muslims were successful due to their ability to conquer vast areas of land and maintain the support of the conquered for the specified period. Their success is limited though since
Beginning under Muhammad's leadership and continuing after his death during the seventh and the early part of the eight century, the early Muslims conquered many areas with ease. The military conquests brought success to the early Muslims by bringing in more profits, allowing for possession of new land, and producing the opportunity to convert more people to the message of Islam. The success of the early Muslim military conquests can be explained partly by the weakness of the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires during the seventh century. Due to the drawn out conflict between the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in the period during the birth of Islam, both empires were kept busy with each other. As a result, the early Muslims flourished without interference. Furthermore, both empires were weak and in a state of decline when the Muslims attacked since they had been weakened militarily and had also suffered a loss of population and vitality. the early Muslims could not bring complete and enduring unity and prosperity to Arabia and surrounding regions. Although the era of the early Muslims extends past the death of Muhammad, one cannot discount the importance of Muhammad's leadership as being a catalyst that ignited the military success of the early Muslims. Muhammad's amazing ability as a military leader is proven by the fact that the early Muslims under his leadership were able to win countless battles despite their small army. It was also Muhammad's careful planning and good leadership skills that allowed him to conquer Mecca. Once he had won this decisive battle, the rest of the Arabian tribes realized that it would be impossible to challenge Muhammad and soon almost all of the Arabian tribes accepted Islam and the rule of the early Muslims.
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Approximate Word count = 1184
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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