"The history of Islam begins with Muhammad, but not with his birth, for its date is one of many things which are not known about him." Muhammad's mother died when he was six years old, his father before he was born. Muhammad was bought up by his grandfather and later his uncle.He came from a relatively poor clan, the Hashim, the clan that headed the opposition to the wealthy merchant clans. Born after the death of his father it meant that he could inherit none of his father's property. He became the servant and at the age of twenty-five married a wealthy widow, Khadija. Muhammad later became a respected trader in Mecca. His travels exposed him to different types of religion such as Judaism and Christianity. This deepened his interest in spiritually, and at the same time caused him to grow intolerant of the spiritism and idolatry of his people.

One night, after months of meditation on Mount Hira, 40 year-old Muhammad unexpectedly became aware of a 'presence.' Moments later, he was caught up in a 'revelation'

The Arab tribes conquered almost the entire Middle East and North Africa. The Sassanian Empire based in Iran and Iraq as a result ceased to exist. The Byzantine Empire to the west lost large territories around the Mediterranean basin, including Syria, Egypt, and North Africa. There are many reasons for this rapid expansion. The Persian and Byzantine empires were not what they once were and could not resist Muslim attacks. They also found themselves at a disadvantage as many people in the lands of both Byzantine and Persian empires favoured monotheism. Byzantine trinity and Persian dualism were distasteful to many of their conquered lands. Islam was more to their liking and many converted faiths. Islam was simple to understand, and its observances were clear and unequivocal. It did not call for asceticism and condemned excesses of all kinds. Conversion was a simple and straightforward matter. Those who converted helped to spread it further by joining the army or preaching it to others.

Muhammad died in 632 by this time Islamic armies had conquered most of Arabia. There was much confusion over the succession of Muhammad. It is believed that Muhammad made no provisions for his succession. "A committee (shura) of prominent Muslims met to decide who should be the Prophet's political successor (khalifa, or caliph), since no one could follow Muhammad as Prophet. The issues of political succession and authority proved difficult to define and quickly became points of contention within the Islamic community" . The first four successors to the Prophet Muhammad are called the Rashidun ("rightly guided") Caliphs. They were among the earliest of Meccan members and converts to Islam. The Prophet regarded them as his close companions (sahaba). The Rashidun caliphs were all tied to Muhammad through marriage. Each of them had either married a daughter of the Prophet or had given his daughter to him in marriage. They oversaw th

Some common words found in the essay are:
Byzantine Persian, Prophets God, , Mount Hira, Muslims Ka'ba, Prophet Monotheism, Meccan Quraysh, Islam Prophet, Sassanians Throughout, Middle East, middle east, north africa, religious toleration, expansion islam, muhammad prophet, peoples islam, rapid expansion, arab tribes, muslim expansion,
Approximate Word count = 1297
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)