What was it like in the beginning of Islam?

Answer 1

Pre-Islamic Arabia was a time filled with idol-worship with over 360 idols being worshiped at one time in Mecca.

When the Message was given to Muhammad (peace be upon him) to establish Islam (to submit your will to the will of Allah), this did not go over well with the pagan Arabs and in particular the powers that be, the Quresh tribe. They were in control at the time, and at first they didn't oppose Islam and its followers much, but as they started to see that it was changing the face of Mecca's citizens, they saw it as a threat to their power. As a result they heavily oppressed the Muslims and even boycotted them to the extent where life was almost unbearable for the Muslims. At this point they sought refuge in the land of Ethiopia under the king Negus. This was known as the first migration.

It was during this time of great trials and tribulations that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was offered the leadership in Madinah (a city north of Mecca) by some waring tribes so that they may be unified with peace under the authority of Muhammad whom they took a pact from.

This set off the second migration that the Muslims use as a start date for their calendar. In Madinah, the Muslims prospered, grew strong, people from all over Arabia and its surrounding areas heard of this Prophet of God and came to see for themselves. This lead to many conversions to Islam. When the Muslims were strong, they requested from the Meccan authorities for permission to make the Annual Pilgrimage. A pact was agreed upon by the two parties that guaranteed safe journey and pilgrimage for Muslims under the condition that they go back and start the following year as well as the condition that no Muslim attacks and kills any from the Quresh and vice versa. This ensured the Muslims many years of guaranteed peace, freedom of religion, and the opportunity to grow strong. However, shortly after this agreement was sign, there came a point where some men from the Quresh tribe slaughtered some innocent Muslims, hence voiding the pact. Upon this violation, Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 and marched down to Mecca to liberate it from the idol worship and ignorance which was rampant around the Kaa'ba (the first house of worship and the house that Prophet Abraham re-built along with his son Ishmael.)

Upon arrival in Meccah with his army, the Prophet Muhammad rested his army at the outskirts of Mecca. It was during this time that the leader of the Quresh took the opportunity to go to Muhammad personally and willingly submitted to Islam and gave up the city with the hope that Muhammad would not seek vengeance from its inhabitants whom heavily oppressed the Muslims when they were in Mecca years earlier.

For the first time in a very long time, Mecca was free from idol worship and paganism. The Prophet Muhammad declared the guarantee of safety and security of all of Meccan citizens and forgave them for their harshness and boycotting of them which led to much sufferings earlier in their history. No blood was shed, all were guaranteed safety, and as a result most Meccan's from the Quresh accepted Islam. From that small handful of Muslims until today, Islam has grown to over 2,000,000,000 (billion) people across every nation in this world and growing.