Much has been made of Muhammad's role as a merchant, within a mercantile society, in accounting
for the dramatic rise of Islam. Historians have speculated that Muhammad was influenced by various
forms of Jewish and Christian monotheism, whilst travelling with the merchant caravans. It has also
been suggested that the mercantile wealth and influence of Mecca was significant in bringing the rest of
Arabia under the control of the Ummah. Others have suggested that a recent transition to a mercantile
economy within Mecca had undermined the traditional tribal order, leading to social and moral malaise.
Muhammad's preaching can be seen as a response to this decay, offering social and moral reform. Was
there a general spiritual crisis in sixth century Arabia? There was certainly widespread eschatological
awareness throughout the civilised world at this time, and it is not unlikely that Arabia experienced similar
apocalyptic trends.
Another issue to consider is the originality of Muhammad and his message: did he
arise out of a milieu of prophets and religious experimentalism? In verse 25:5 of the Koran, there is an
indignant denial of an accusation that Muhammad's preaching was no more than a rehash of old stories,
"And they say: 'Fables of the ancients he has written'".
How significant was the influence of Christianity
and particularly Judaism on Islam? Was there much that was distinctively Islamic already present in
Arabia - the notion of the "religion of Abraham" was not an invention of Muhammad's, but had existed in
Western Arabia for many years? Alternatively, there are some who suggest that it was not so much the
potency of Muhammad's religious message, but rather the ongoing efficiency of his social and political
control, enforced by Jihad, or holy war, that accounts for the astonishing success of early Islam. There
is so little evidence pertaining to pre-Islamic Arabia that theories surrounding the rise of Islam can only
be speculative, however, it is certainly interesting to bear the above in mind when approaching the Koran.