Muhammad started his early life in Islam, the deserts and trade centers there helped to shape his way of living. Islam, which is in Arabian Peninsula, part of southwest Asia has mostly desert area, but through irrigation and oases, a fertile area in a desert, farming is possible. The Bedouins, nomadic herders, crossed the desert in search of seasonal pasturelands on camels. Some of these Arabs settled in oasis towns, one of which was a town called Mecca. Mecca was a very popular market due to the fact that it was the crossroad of two main caravan routes, one linked southern Arabia to Syria and Palestine on the Mediterranean coast, the second crossed from Mesopotamia to eastern Africa.
In about 570 Muhammad was born in Mecca. There he worked as a shepherd, later he led caravans and became a successful merchant. As he got older he married off and had a daughter. According to Muslim belief, when Muhammad went to pray one day he heard a voice tell him “Recite”, tell everyone god’s word. He later on became Islam and began to preach to the the people the word of Allah, or god.
Islam is monotheistic, or based on the belief of god. There teachings say that god is all-powerful, compassionate and that you are responsible for your own actions. They believe that each individual will stand before god on the final judgement day to face either eternal punishment in hell or eternal bliss in paradise.
All Muslims accept 5 basic duties, known as the Five Pillars of Islam. The Muslims have the Quran which contains the sacred word of god revealed to Muhammad. Islam is not only a religion to them but also a way of life. Before Islam the women’s place in their society varied. Though spiritually equal men and women had different roles and rights. Most women were under control of a male guardian that couldn’t inherit property.
Islam had a caliph, or a successor of Muhammad. The first four led them from victory to victory. They concord a large amount of land, but in 732 they were defeated in the battle of Tours. The Muslims later on invaded Europe. Their rule did not last long, but even after the knights from Normandy gained control, a strong Arabic culture still remained. The Muslims began to trade selling things from places like China, Asia, Africa, and Europe. In the 1900’s the Seljuk Turks migrated into the Middle East from central Asia and adopted the Islam culture. In about 1099