16.2.2 Spread of Islam

The First Expansion after the Prophet’s ﷺ Time

When the Prophet ﷺ passed away in Madinah, Islam was firmly rooted in the Arabian Peninsula. The message he carried did not end with his death. Rather, the community he had nurtured, and the way he had trained the Companions, allowed the religion to move beyond Arabia and reach other peoples and lands in a remarkably short time.

The Companions understood that they were continuing the mission described in the Qur’an:

هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَىٰ وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ

“It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religion.”
(Qur’an 9:33)

They did not see this as a project of domination for its own sake, but as the unfolding of guidance that had to be carried to people who had not yet heard the message.

Under Abu Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنهما, Islam spread to the lands of the two great neighboring empires, Byzantium and Persia. This spread happened by a combination of factors, including defensive and preemptive battles, treaties, protection of persecuted populations, and the moral attraction of the new faith. Within a few decades, cities such as Damascus, Jerusalem, Ctesiphon, and later parts of Egypt and Persia, came under Muslim rule. Many of the people in these lands did not become Muslim instantly, but they were introduced to Islam directly, without the barriers of hostile regimes.

The early Muslims saw conquest as a door for da‘wah, not as an end in itself. Accounts of the Companions show them explaining Islam, offering security to non-Muslims, and focusing on justice in governance. The Prophet ﷺ had already set this pattern in his letters to rulers and his instructions to armies. Among his general principles was the command:

انْطَلِقُوا بِاسْمِ اللَّهِ وَبِاللَّهِ، وَعَلَى مِلَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ، لَا تَقْتُلُوا شَيْخًا فَانِيًا وَلَا طِفْلًا وَلَا صَغِيرًا وَلَا امْرَأَةً

“Go in the name of Allah, and with the help of Allah, and upon the way of the Messenger of Allah. Do not kill a very old man, nor a child, nor a minor, nor a woman.”
(Reported by Abu Dawud)

These guidelines shaped the character of early expansion and made the spread of Islam different from many purely political or economic empires.

Non-Military Spread: Trade, Scholarship, and Example

After the first generations, the spread of Islam increasingly took non-military forms. In many parts of the world, Islam reached people through merchants, scholars, travelers, and the quiet influence of Muslim communities living among others.

Muslim merchants sailed across the Indian Ocean to the coasts of India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and China. Their honesty and reliability in trade reflected the Prophetic teaching:

الصَّادِقُ الأَمِينُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ

“The truthful and trustworthy merchant will be with the Prophets, the truthful ones, and the martyrs.”
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi)

In places like the Indonesian archipelago and parts of coastal India, there were no Muslim armies and no political conquest. Instead, local populations encountered Muslim traders who prayed, avoided cheating, and maintained distinct moral standards. Over generations, this led to admiration, curiosity, and then acceptance of Islam. Today, Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, a direct result of this non-military spread.

Similarly, Muslim scholars traveled to teach and learn. Centers of learning such as Baghdad, Nishapur, Bukhara, Qayrawan, Timbuktu, and later Istanbul and Delhi, attracted students from many regions. The Qur’an describes the believers as a community that carries knowledge to others:

وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ

“Let there be from you a group who call to goodness, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong.”
(Qur’an 3:104)

These scholars not only taught religious sciences but also brought with them a way of life: prayer in congregation, charity, concern for justice, and communal solidarity. Over time, their influence helped Islam take root in regions far from the original heartlands, such as Central Asia, West Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe.

Islam in Africa, Asia, and Beyond

The African continent offers a clear illustration of different paths of spread. In North Africa, Islam arrived with early Muslim armies but grew deeper over centuries through the work of local scholars and Sufi teachers. To the south and west, across the Sahara, merchants carried Islam from city to city in caravans that connected Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia with Mali, Niger, and Nigeria.

In cities such as Timbuktu and Gao, Islam became a religion of kings, judges, merchants, and students, then gradually of the common people. Mosques and schools were built, and Islamic law influenced governance, marriage, trade, and daily life. This pattern shows that even where political power was involved, long-term acceptance of Islam was rooted in learning and conviction.

In Central and South Asia, Islam reached lands like Transoxiana, the Indian subcontinent, and later the Malay world. Even when Muslim rulers established states, many conversions took place away from courts and armies. Ordinary people met Muslim mystics and teachers who lived among them, learned their languages, and presented Islam as a path of worship, ethical living, and nearness to Allah. The Qur’anic invitation appealed across cultures:

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا

“Say, O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all.”
(Qur’an 7:158)

Because the Prophet ﷺ is described as sent “to you all,” Muslims understood the message as universal, not limited by language, ethnicity, or geography. This understanding helped Islam cross cultural and civilizational boundaries.

In China and parts of Eastern Europe, Muslim communities formed as traders and soldiers settled in new lands, married locally, and built mosques. They often lived as religious minorities under non-Muslim rulers. Their survival and growth depended less on power and more on maintaining their identity, good character, and worship. Their example shows another face of the spread of Islam, where the faith remains strong even without political control.

The Rhythm of Advance and Retreat

The historical spread of Islam was not a simple, one-way expansion. It involved periods of advance and retreat, strength and weakness, dominance and decline. Some regions became strongly Muslim for centuries then later changed. Other places had small Muslim minorities that grew slowly over time.

The Qur’an itself prepares believers for such rhythms:

وَتِلْكَ الْأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ

“Such days We alternate among the people.”
(Qur’an 3:140)

This verse was revealed about victory and defeat in battle, but it also reflects a broader pattern in history. Muslim rule in parts of Spain, Sicily, or certain regions of India eventually ended. Yet the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual traces of Islam in those lands influenced later societies and often left behind Muslim communities that still exist.

The spread of Islam cannot be judged only by political borders or the rise and fall of dynasties. The deeper measure lies in the number of hearts and minds that accepted the message, carried it forward, and tried to live by it. Over time, even when empires fell, the religion remained and continued to move through family lines, local institutions, and written scholarship.

Islam’s Presence in the Modern World

Today, Islam is present in almost every country of the world. In some regions, Muslim populations are old and deeply rooted. In others, they are more recent, formed through migration, trade, or new conversions. This global presence reflects the universal mission of the Prophet ﷺ and the enduring power of the Qur’an.

In the modern era, new forms of spread have appeared. Migration has carried Muslims from traditional heartlands to Europe, the Americas, Australia, and other regions. Many came for trade, study, or work, not directly for da‘wah. Still, their presence introduced Islam to societies that had little direct contact with it before. Some non-Muslims encountered Islam through neighbors, coworkers, students, or local mosques and then chose to accept the faith.

Translations of the Qur’an and Hadith into dozens of languages now allow people to read the message without needing Arabic at the beginning. Media, books, and digital platforms have opened new paths for learning. This situation carries both opportunities and challenges, because information can spread fast but can also be misrepresented.

The Qur’an describes the Prophet ﷺ as a mercy to the worlds:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ

“We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.”
(Qur’an 21:107)

Whenever Muslims reflect that mercy in their conduct, their worship, and their treatment of others, they participate in the most authentic form of spreading Islam. The Seerah shows that faith is most convincing when it appears in justice, gentleness, honesty, and patience.

Continuity of the Prophetic Mission

The ongoing spread of Islam across time and space is part of the continuation of the Prophet’s ﷺ mission in the world. He ﷺ said:

بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي وَلَوْ آيَةً

“Convey from me, even if it is one verse.”
(Reported by al-Bukhari)

This instruction made every believer, in some way, a carrier of the message. The early Companions carried it from city to city. Later generations took it to new continents. Today, it moves through spoken words, written texts, and lived example.

From a small community in Makkah and Madinah, Islam has grown into a global faith embraced by people of countless languages, colors, and histories. The journey from the first revelation to the present diversity of the Muslim world reflects the prophetic reality that this message was never meant for one tribe or one land alone, but for all of humanity, in every age.