FIVEThe Early Arab Conquests
Muhammad's death left a great void within the community of his follow¬
ers, the Islamic umma. As long as he was alive, he had been prophet, ar¬
biter, lawgiver, and military commander. In fact, just about any issue that
arose among Muslims had been referred to him. How could they make de¬
cisions without his guidance? This posed a crisis for the umma, but Mu¬
hammad's survivors found new leaders. They overcame the challenge of an
Arab tribal rebellion and went on to expand the area under their control.
The mightiest empires of the Middle East—Byzantium and Persia—were
humbled by the Arab warriors for Islam. Success bred dissension and later
caused sectarian rifts that have never completely healed, but the momen¬
tum of expansion was only briefly broken. The early Muslims' ability to
surmount these crises ensured that Islam would survive, that its civiliza¬
tion would flourish, and that its legacy would endure.
THE SUCCESSION ISSUEDuring his lifetime Muhammad never chose a successor. Some say this was a
mistake, but Arab leaders did not usually name their replacements. Besides,
how would he have sorted out the functions he could pass on to someone
else? He probably did not expect to die as soon as he did. He would not have
thought of designating another divine messenger, for he viewed himself as
the seal of the prophets. No one after his death could receive revelations.
Perhaps no more were needed, for the Judgment Day was supposed to come
at any time. Yet, even if the umma sought no successor-as-prophet, it still
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