He said it was so advantageously situated for trade that merchants from India, Mosul, and Hormuz, as well as parts of Europe, come to purchase and to sell. ... His answer to his people's threats were that "Muhammad said Men shall journey to but three mosques, the Holy Shrine (Mecca), my mosque (Medina) and the mosque of the Holy City (Jerusalem)' and appointed them to the Holy Shrine of Mecca. ... In mid-11 century CE, Persian Muslim traveler and Ismaili spy Nasier visited Cairo and witnessed the innumerable shops and caravansaries. ...

• Word Count: 998
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

., and within a century of his death, Islam engulfed an unprecedented following throughout Asia, India, north Africa, and Spain. ... It started with the death of his father a mere three months before his birth. ... During a meditation while he visited Mecca, the angel Gabriel appeared before him and told him the following "Repeat after me, in the name of God, the creator who created man coagulated blood, repeat after me: because your God is full of goodness- and went on in length with a new way to believe (Dijskra, p.1085). ...

• Word Count: 1152
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

He was visited one day in the cave on Mount Hira, in which he used to go to meditate, by Jibreel, an angel sent down from Allah, in 610. ... Three years after the first revelation, Allah commanded Muhammad to spread the message to the public. ... It should be noted that Ali ibn Abu Talib did not become a Caliph until the fall of his three preceding Caliphs. ... Debatably, the most important Imams for the Shias are the first three: Ali, Hasan, and Husayn. ... The shrine is visited by Shias, especially in the first 10 days of Muharram to recognize the martyrdom of their third Imam. ...

• Word Count: 2747
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School