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Muslims conquered lands after the death of Muhammad. The spread of Islam took longer than most people believe as Muslims made up a small minority of the community. The spread of Muslim territory happened very quickly, but the spread of Islam took much longer.

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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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The quote, stated in the Qur'an, means that Muslims cannot force converts as a person shouldn't be forced to accept a religion against her/his will. Muhammad would discuss religious ideas with other religious groups and the questions that he received about his religion were recorded in the Qur'an--along his replies. As commanded by both the Qur'an and the Sunnah, Muslim leaders were required to be tolerant and except for a few exceptions, Muslims rulers stuck to this command.

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Muhammad preached in Islam and only in his house did people come to hear him, which led to the pattern of preaching at home. One needs to profess their faith in front of at least two witnesses to become Muslim and they must develop an understanding and practice the faith. Islam is very diverse as different societies and individuals have a different understanding of Islam.

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Different Muslim groups rule different territories, which is can be easily mapped out. Theses territories were also home to people of other religions such as Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Hindus, etc.. These religions continued to live under Muslim rule.

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After Muhammad's death, many people in Arabia accepted Islam, but khalifas did not encourage conversion in the newly conquered areas. The lowest class of people were the first to experience the conversion; however, early converts were starting to become a problem for the central government. Muslims rulers would offer protection to other religious groups in return for a payment of tax. After the decline of the Muslim empire, Islam began to spread outside of the empire.

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After the Muslim Turkish military groups began to conquer parts of India, the amount of Muslims in India increased. Merchants and Sufi preachers, in South India and Sri Lanka, played a huge role in the spread of Islam. In addition to spreading to China, Islam also spread to the homelands of the Turkic-speaking peoples and became the main religion of most of them.

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The town of Gao was the first major town to become majority Muslim and many other parts of the population began to convert as well. After the ruler has accepted the faith, Muslims would begin to migrate into that region to build Muslims administration and cultural life. By the 10th century, Islam was passed by trade throughout the coast and during the 14th century, Islam was spread through Muslim Arab pastoral groups.

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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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The expansion of Islam reached farther distances and occurred faster when the Muslim rule was weaker and there was less unity. Merchants, Sufis, Muslim lawyers, scholars, and artisans aided in influencing the conversion of Islam. Many may have resisted converting to Islam as they viewed Muslim rulers as money-hungry tax collectors; however, those who did convert to Islam mostly likely converted due to influences outside the Muslim government.