Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- history of Arabia - The life of Muhammad
- Islamic world - Islam at Muhammad’s death
- history of Arabia - The rise of Islam
- Islamic world - Mecca under the Quraysh clans
- Islamic world - New social patterns among the Meccans and their neighbours
- Islamic world - Efforts to reform Meccan society
- Islamic world - The ummah ’s allies and enemies
Why did Arabian tribes send delegations to Muhammad after Mecca submitted?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Muhammad
The Prophet's Mosque, showing the green dome built above the tomb of Muhammad, Medina, Saudi Arabia.
After the submission of Mecca in 630 CE, Arabian tribes began sending delegations to Muhammad to negotiate and accept Islam.12
These delegations were driven by several factors:
- Political Realignment: Many tribes had previously been linked to the Quraysh of Mecca. Following the city's submission, these tribes sought to establish new relations with the emerging power in the region.2
- Pragmatism: It is likely that many tribesmen were waiting to join the winning side. Their acceptance of Islam often meant little more than abandoning local deities to worship Allah alone and agreeing to pay taxes, a practice already familiar to them from their previous obligations to protect the Meccan Ka'bah.2
- Centralization: The submission of Mecca facilitated the centralization of Arabia around a single polity and the Ka'bah, which Muhammad had cleared of idols. This shift provided a new focus for supra-tribal organization that many tribes chose to align with following Muhammad's success.12
While these delegations marked the expansion of Muhammad's authority, many tribes remained indifferent to the faith itself, as evidenced by the widespread attempts to break away from the community upon his death in 632 CE.2