FREE ESSAY ON THE INFLUENCE ON MOHAMMED THE PROFIT AND ISLAM ON ARABIA

THE INFLUENCE ON MOHAMMED THE PROFIT AND ISLAM ON ARABIA

THE INFLUENCE OF MOHAMMED THE PROPHET 
AND ISLAM ON ARABIA
The success of the Arabian civilization is due to the 
contributions and efforts of one single man by the name of Pbuh 
Mohammed. Mohammed was a prophet who was responsible for the 
creation and development of the Islam religion which would later 
become the foundation of the Arabian society. Other than the fact that 
he developed a religion that is accepted world wide, he granted the 
people of Arabia with a new culture and way of life. There is no way to 
measure the importance of this one man's life, or the impact that he 
had on both Arabia and the rest of the world. Arab civilization truly 
began in AD 570 with the birth of a man that would grow up to 
develop the foundation for every aspect of the Arabian life.
The Islam religion is the first and oldest of its kind. The 
development of this Muslim belief caused a great turning point in the 
development of the Arabian civilization. It would eventually grow and 
develop, forming the foundation of the entire Arabian Empire. The 
word Islam itself means submission to the will of the Gods. While the 
word Muslims, the name given to followers of the Islam religion, 
simple translates into those who submit. The religion began with one 
follower named Mohammed, and expanded to the present day 
estimate of about 750,000,000 ( , ). The Muslims believe in one
God and one God only, Allah. They believe that he stands alone and 
has absolute control over the actions of all people on earth. 
Muslims also believe that all men are equal to Allah. For this 
reason, the importance of acts of charity, and easing the 
suffering of those in need were greatly stressed by Mohammed. 
At the time this was directed towards the poor, the women and 
the children of Arabia. Islam religion is said to be a cross 
between Christianity and Judaism. There are many similarities 
between the Christian and Jewish God, and Allah. Muslims 
believe that there was a man by the name of Jesus, but that he 
was one of the six prophets that Allah chose to help Him 
communicate His word to the people here on earth. They accept 
the virgin birth of Jesus, but deny His divinity and resurrection. 
They considered Mohammed, who was born in AD 571, ( , ) 
to be the final and the greatest of all the prophets. Not only was 
he an outstanding preacher of God's word, but he took on both 
political and military roles while living in Yathrib (modern day 
Medina). It is said that while meditating in a cave on Mount Hira, 
the angel Gabriel spoke to Mohammed and told him to read the 
name of the Lord, who created man from a lot of blood ( , ). 
The voice of this heavenly angel was sent down by Allah to 
communicate his words of wisdom to Mohammed. In about AD 
613, after three years of living the life intended by Allah in 
private, the angel Gabriel was said to appear to him once again 
and tell him to Arise and warn ( , ). That is when 
Mohammed began to preach the word of Allah in public. Over 
the next twenty three years Mohammed attempted to improve the 
society's morality. His speeches were often written down by 
more than one of his many followers. They greatly inspired the 
Arabian people to live a life following the words of Allah, and 
made them want to learn more about the wishes of their God. 
Directly following the death of Mohammed, his followers began 
to compile the notes from his speeches into a Holy book, which 
eventually was called the Koran. People believed that the words 
of Allah were delivered to Mohammed piece by piece from 
Gabriel and therefore believed this Holy book to be the exact 
words of God delivered to them through Mohammed. This Holy 
Book holds one hundred and fourteen chapters that are 
memorized by many people throughout the world. It describes 
what one must do to be loved and accepted in the eyes of Allah. 
This religion was a gradual development that took twenty three 
years to complete, but when it was finished, it outlined the 
beliefs and lifestyle of the Muslim Arabs.
As Mohammed the prophet spread the word of God, new 
tradition and development of the Arabian culture began to take place. 
The roles among the society became clearly defined. Especially 
between the two genders and those of various social status. The 
society developed into a very male dominated one that focused of 
male honor. Women were believed to be weak, and more subjected 
to temptation. While men's lives were focused on success and pride, 
women's were focused on trying to keep others, especially their 
husbands, happy. In a way, they were treated almost like slaves, in 
the sense that their life was dedicated obeying the wishes of other 
people in an attempt to make others happy, or satisfied with them. To 
do any less would be a great disgrace to both your husband, and 
family, one which could never be erased. The most distinctive 
tradition that developed is the clothing and role of Arabian women. 
By the age of twelve, a young lady's body must be completely 
covered from head to toe. The only skin allowed to be shown is a 
small part of the skin around your eyes, that was revealed by the veil. 
The veil is very well recognized by foreigners. Veils have been worn 
by women of the middle east since at least 1500 BC. There are both 
traditional and practical reason why this garment is worn. First of all it 
protects women's faces from the hot desert sun and dry windblown 
sand. The religious purpose is that goes along with the whole 
conservative women's role that was laid out by Mohammed. Another 
traditional outfit worn by Muslim woman is the abaaya. The abaaya is 
a long black outer cloak which drapes over a woman, covering her 
body from head to toe. The Practical use of the abaaya is that in the 
winter, it keeps one warm, and in the summer, it prevents the 
evaporation of the moisture on women's body. Although both these 
garments have practical purposes, the main reason that they were 
worn by woman was for extra precautions. They were used to 
safeguard ones modesty and insure that one would not receive a bad 
name. A conservative women reveals nothing with her looks, words 
or actions which she displays ( , ) . It was the men's job to keep 
the woman in line; always obeying the laws created for conservative 
woman. If a woman was caught out of the traditional attire, or if she 
earned herself a bad reputation in any other way, shape, or form, 
than she would be punished in the town square in front of everyone. 
This was the officials way of preventing any other woman from 
rebelling. Punishments included horrendous tortures such as the 
cutting off of one's hand. You could earn a poor reputation very easily, 
for example, if you are caught talking to a male who is not directly 
related to you. You were really frowned upon if you made any sort of 
contact with a man outside of your family, even if it was just a simple 
hello. For this reason, marriages were arranged by the parents of the 
couple. However, it was more of a suggestion by the family, it was 
never forced on them. The Prophet Mohammed believed in 
polygamy, therefore, men were allowed to have as many a four wives. 
The one condition was that they all had to be treated equally. If the 
man could not do so, than he must choose one of the women to keep 
as his wife and let the rest go. Women however, were only allowed to 
have one husband. Women really did not have many options. They 
were not religiously, or riotously protected from harm unless they 
were proved to be a conservative woman with a good name. The 
cleaner your background, the more protection you would receive. 
Woman were very much babied in this society. They were not free to 
make their own decisions. They were not allowed to enroll in school, 
to have important jobs, or to be seen in the company of a man that 
was not related to them. While men were off working hard, women 
had the option of being homemakers, which was much more socially 
preferred, or of working in the medical, social, or educational field. 
The only exception being that all of your CO-workers and customers 
had to all be female. Women really had no choice but to obey the 
very unfair rules because they were not free to leave the country and 
to protest would mean severe punishments. However, growing up in 
that environment, made the woman accept their roles without a lot of 
fuss. The Islam religion defined and changed the roles of various 
people throughout the Arabian society. 
Finally, the impact that Mohammed made on Saudi Arabia and 
the rest of the world was very dramatic. The Arab's worship of jinn 
spirits was quickly replaced by the Islam religion. This new found 
religion along with the inspiring words of Mohammed, encouraged the 
Muslims to preach the word of Allah and convert as many people as 
possible. The Muslims began to set out and conquer many cities 
and countries. The Muslims would continue to conquer large lands 
which belonged to the civilized world, hundreds of years later. The 
Beginning of the Muslim calendar is marked at the beginning of 
Mohammed and his followers' migration to the city of Yathrib, which 
is known today as Medina. The Koran was not only the book of the 
Islam faith and rituals, but of the government and law. It laid out 
common sins and laid out punishments for them. They holy book 
defined the social status of women and men. It provided Arabia with 
a good sense of how to govern family life and it offered clear 
guidelines on personal behavior and legal matters. There was no real 
distinction between the church and religious activities, and the 
government and the state. The holy book was a guideline of which 
the Muslims looked to, for answers to their everyday lives. 
Mohammed created a religion that would eventually spread world 
wide personally effect and change the lives of over seven hundred 
million people. Mohammed placed the grounds for the development 
of the Arabian lifestyle, which would spread like wildfire, shaping the 
lives and cultures of civilizations around the world. 
To Muslims, Pbuh Mohammed's life was of greater importance 
the life of Christ, and all others who were sent to earth by God. His 
life changed the faces of many cultures and civilizations world wide. 
His words and actions were greatly influential and are still studied and 
recited by scholars and many others today. He was a man who made 
history, from the day he was born until the day he died. Those who 
were followers of this great man realized that after his life had 
finished, the world, and Arabia would never be the same.