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After Muhammad's death, Muslims conquered vast lands. With this expansion, Islam also spreads significantly. However, despite common belief, this spread took centuries.

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"Let there be no compulsion in religion."

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"Let there be no compulsion in religion."

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As the Qur'an teaches, Muhammad preached tolerance of other religion such as Judaism, Christianity, and polytheism. This was also practiced through the Sunni and in Muslim political leadership. For example, Spain allowed Jews and Christians to practice until the conquest of Ferdinand and Isabella. In modern day, Christian and Jewish descendant of the Spaniard refugees still exist in several places such as Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

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After twenty years of preaching at his house which becomes the first mosque, Muhammad died in 632. Preaching in one's house becomes a pattern known as Masjid. To convert to Islam, a person must make a profession of faith known as shahada with one to two witnesses. However, in the faith, interpretations of the Qu'ran will differ depending on the individual and their social class.

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Due to historians' use of the term "Muslim" or "Islamic" as a geographic area, most people in those area should consider themselves to be Muslims. However, there are several questions regarding religion, language, and culture. In addition, several people in the region actually continued their religion rather than converting, causing even more questions about the transition from a majority religion to a minority.

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Although Islamic conversion was not encouraged, it gradually took place by starting with the lower class and migrants known as mawali. During the Umayyad dynasty, there was an overwhelming majority of non-Arabs who did not practice Islam, but the first major groups to convert was the North African Berbers while Persia was the second. Now, Muslims were of diverse ethnicities, and conversion rates even outside the borders of Muslim rule increased significantly. Additionally, tolerance was shown to other religions such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

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Because Buddhist, Hinduism, and local polytheist religions had already existed in India and Southeast India, the establishment of Islam took several centuries. Nevertheless, due to merchants and Sufi preachers, it became popular in several areas such as Bangladesh, Punjab, Kashmir, and Malaysia. During the eighth century, Islam also existed in the original lands of the Turkic-speaking people along with China.

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Before 1500, sub-Saharan Africa already had a strong Islam population, beginning in Gao. This spreads to Senegal, Mali, and Guinea. By 1040, traders and Sufis expanded Islam to West Africa. With the acceptance from local rulers, Muslim scholars were integrated into the administration, culture, and justice system. By the tenth century, Islam was also in East Africa. Overall, several commercial city-states became predominantly Muslim.

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Strong Governments and the Spread of Islam

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Strong Governments and the Spread of Islam

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Ironically, the expansion of Muslim rule and the spread of Islam occurred separately. When Muslim rule was weak, Islam flourished. During strong eras for Muslim rule such as the Ottoman Empire, Sultanate of Delhi, and the Mogul Empire of India, Islam barely spread. This is because of the negative view of powerful Muslim rulers and the attraction to merchants and missionaries such as the Sufis.