The Emergence and Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad

Constantinople and advanced into Eastern Europe as far as Yugoslavia. A Turkish army remained encamped outside Vienna until 1683. In the 16th century, the Mughals established Islamic rule in India and Afghanistan. Over the last thirteen centuries, Muslims have spread to every corner of the globe. Close to four-dozen countries in Asia and Africa have come to constitute a Muslim world. According to the World Muslim Gazetter9 there are 900 million Muslims today. This resulted from a twenty-three-year effort in Arabia under the Prophet’s guidance. In this short time, the Islamic revolution not only assured itself of a permanent place in human history; but also created a new history of its own. Humans alone do not have it in them to accomplish such a gigantic task; God can only do it. The Islamic revolution was indeed the work of God. When the Muslims returned from their victory at the Battle of Badr, they were met at Rauha by some well-wishers, who congratulated them on the outcome of the fighting. “Why do you congratulate us?” asked Salmah ibn Salamah. “The enemy was like tethered camels, and we duly slaughtered them.”10 All of this was evidently pre-ordained by God. From the bare Arabian Desert, He raised a people of extraordinary tenacity whose characters had been tempered by their environment. They knew only acceptance or denial; they had no third alternative. All the natural qualities needed for dedication to a cause were preserved in them. Added to this was the fact that the two great powers of the day