The current relevance of Islam is due to the fact that it is one of the most talked about religions in the world. It is also one of the largest religions in the world. Islam has followers in all parts of the world. (Zissis, 2007) Islam began to spread in 610 CE and has not stopped. Today, India's population numbers around 150 million Muslims and Islam has contributed greatly to the growth of the region and its population. (Kennedy, 2007) The spread of Islam is vast and instead of focusing on the entire field of Islam, I will focus on the Mughal dynasty and its impact on the spread of Islam. The religion of Islam considers Muhammad to be the last prophet. He proclaimed revelations that he believed to come from God. Muhammad believed that Gabriel was sent by God to deliver these revelations. His companions recorded these revelations and they are known as the Quran. After receiving the revelations, Muhammad shared the Quran with the people of Mecca. Muhammad tried to persuade people to abandon their polytheistic religions. (Hussain) Polytheism is a religion in which you worship multiple gods. The local Meccan powers did not appreciate this and Muhammad and his early followers were persecuted. (Mazhar-ul) Although Muhammad was successful in converting people to Islam, they were often lower class people or slaves. After more than a decade of pursuit and harassment by the Meccans, many Muslims migrated to Medina. It was there that Muhammad established his political and religious authority over his old and new followers. A Constitution of Medina was drawn up and united all the groups into one massive society. The formulated declaration establishes security, certain freedoms, the sanctity of Medina, a tax system and a judicial system. In 629, Muh... middle of paper ... The Mughal Empire did not require people to convert to Islam. Therefore, he could not have used the sword to force people to convert. The Quran specifically states that an insincere conversion means nothing: “Let there be no compulsion in matters of religion” (Quran 2:256). This would make the spread of Islam by the sword unnecessary. Akbar also levied a tax specifically imposed on non-believers. Several Mughal rulers also married Hindu women, which shows their tolerance towards religions. The Mughal Empire was more tolerant than any other Islamic state at the time. Their position on religion, except under Aurangzeb, was that all are equal and all are entitled. It was when Aurangzeb took power that only Islam was accepted. The Mughals used the sword to expand their empire, but in no way imposed their own beliefs on other peoples. The Mughal Empire was just a vehicle for Islam.