How Islam spread in the past

On the night of 610 AD, atop a mountain in a cave, sat our beloved Prophet Muhammad, where he used to
find solace spending his nights. But on that particular night, Angel Jibreel came to him by the will of Allah
and said, (Iqra) READ, to which our Prophet replied, I'm not able to read. Since our Prophet didn't know how
to read and write, Angel Jibreel repeated this three times. And the Prophet replied three times. And then
finally he said, Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clinging clot. And those were
the first words in the Quran. And that was the beginning of the Quran from the guidance of which people
went on to conquer vast lands.

Personally, I started reading the Qur'an with its translation last Ramadan, and the depth I found in it was
astounding. Every verse seemed to address different aspects of life, offering a perspective that helps us
understand the real purpose of humanity and why we’re here. It shifts your focus from petty, worldly
problems to something far greater and more meaningful. And that’s the transformative power of the Qur'an
that helped the early Muslims conquer not just lands but conquer hearts..."

"Just a century after Islam began, in 710 AD, imagine: if you set out on a journey from the border of India to
the western shores of Portugal—crossing deserts, mountains, and seas—every land you would touch was
part of the caliphate. And this wasn’t empty, untouched land. It was land previously ruled by mighty
empires, the likes of Rome and Persia, who had towered over the world, undefeated. But then came Islam,
and no empire had to adopt it to give it strength. Islam rose from nothing but faith, courage, and the
guidance of Allah. There was no powerful ally, no worldly force backing it. It spread from Mecca and Medina
through the courage of Muslims alone under the guidence of Allah—people like you, like me. They believed,
just as we believe, and through this belief, they conquered hearts and lands alike. These were our brothers,
our forebears—people like Khalid ibn al-Walid, who strode into battle undefeated, saying, ‘I’d rather spend
my night on the battlefield than with the most beautiful woman on earth.’ And Tariq ibn Ziyad, who, when
told to survey the Iberian Peninsula, returned instead with the banner of Islam raised across its lands. These
were just a few: Ali, Umar, Hamza, Hussain, and countless others who walked the earth with fearlessness,
loving the next life as much as their enemies clung to this one.their victories are our heritage. This is the
legacy we carry with us, the courage, the sacrifice, the pure faith that reshaped the world—not by the sword,
but by conviction, by integrity, by the command of Allah.

Although Muslims were fierce warriors on the battlefield, their ferocity was always confined to that arena,
as Islam teaches us that during wartime, the sanctity of human life must be upheld. Civilians must never be
harmed, and even wounded soldiers are to be treated with respect. If an enemy soldier is injured and no
longer poses a threat, we are not permitted to harm him. The essence of this principle is that as Muslims,
our duty is to combat the enemies of Islam, not to seek revenge against individual adversaries. And there
are very beautiful example of this. So, while fighting, Ali r.a threw a man to the ground and was about to kill
him, but then the man spat on his face. And in response, Ali let him go and spared him. Later, when he was
asked why he spared the man, he said, when the man spat on my face, it made me angry and I am not
supposed to kill anyone because of my anger. I'm supposed to kill him in the way of Allah. coing to slavery,
yeah, it was allowed in islam, but there were certain conditions. Only prisoners of war could be enslaved and
even when they were, it was an obligation upon their master to feed them with the same food and cloth
them with the same clothes as himself.

A common narrative persists that Islam was spread through brutality and the sword. Yet, if that were true,
how do we account for the 60% of Christian populations living peacefully under Islamic rule and one point
in history? Most Christians during that time resided in regions like Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and the Iberian
Peninsula—all under Muslim governance. Surprisingly, about 5-10% of the population in the caliphate was
Buddhist, particularly in areas like Afghanistan. If Islam were imposed by force, shouldn’t these
communities have either converted, fled, or faced extermination?Islam has clear
regulations that if a non muslim wants to live in your lands all you can impose on them is a tax called
jizya which was later set by the second caliph Umar to be a few dirhams per month and it differed
based on ones income. we can will find multiple books and resources by historians ,most of them non
muslim, stating that islam being spread by sword was a lie. like de lacy o leari a british orientalist says
in his book islam at the crossroads “History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical
Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered
races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.” the period of
islamic rule on the iberian peninsula is known as la covivencia “coexhistence” because muslims,
christians and jews live there side by side in harmony to such extent that the time period was
considered the golden age for jews and jewish literature and people have written books about this like
“"The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in
Medieval Spain" by Maria Rosa, "Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of Al-Andalus" by Hugh
Kennedy, and "Convivencia: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Medieval Spain" by Vivian B. Mann,
Thomas F. Glick, and Jerrilynn D. Dodds,Just reading the titles of these books reveals a clear truth:
where Muslims ruled, they did not spread Islam through brutality or force. Instead, they fostered a
remarkable coexistence among different faiths. The period known as la convivencia shows how
Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together in harmony, creating a rich culture of learning and
progress. So, if it wasn’t the mythical swords of Muslims that spread Islam, then what was the true
reason for its rapid and effective growth? It was the kindness, piety, honesty, persistence, justice, and
resilience that our religion teaches us. These qualities shine through in the lives of Muslims and draw
many to the faith, proving that it is compassion and integrity that truly win hearts.

ill show you some examples of these from the Qur'an: ill be using notes for this so im not istaken since
this is the Qur'an:

“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even though it be against
yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, be he rich or poor, Allah is a better protector to both (than
you). So follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you may avoid justice; and if you distort your witness
or refuse to give it, verily, Allah is Ever Well-Acquainted with what you do.”
— Surah An-Nisa (4:135)

this clearly states about the the most justice that the quraan emphesises on even if you have to go
aginst your family to seek or give that justice

adding to the scriptures were the deeds of people which encouraged people to accept islam.
there was an old woman in Mecca at the very begining of islam, she used to hate our prophet so much
that she used to throw trash on him every day but one day she didnt throw trash on our prophet so he
got really worried about the old woman and went to check up on her after he found out she was sick,
this act of kindness led the woman to accept islam.
islam also emphesizes the importance of forgiveness and ill give you an example of this
the wife of abu sufiyan hind got the paternal uncle of our prophet (hamza) martyred and she carved
his stomach, pulled his liver out and ate it but when she later accepted islam she was forgiven. and she
is one of the many people that were forgiven after the conquest of mecca.