LAST OF THE PROPHETS 35
up his community, leading it in worship, preaching to the assembled multitudes, and settling their private and public disputes. He was concerned, also, about the spread of Islam. His was no mere national religion. Islam was a faith for all mankind. Other peoples must be brought in as well as the Arabians. Thus it came about that the prophet-king of Arabia sent out letters to the rulers of the surrounding nations urging them to accept Islam, and declare their belief in Mohammed as the last of the prophets sent by the one true and all-wise Allah. Whether he was himself prepared to follow up the rejected invitations with military campaigns in order to extend the power and influence of Islam we shall never know, for he died in the year A.D. 632 in the arms of his beloved Ayesha.
THE SPREAD OF ISLAM
Following the death of Mohammed two matters of great importance had to be settled. One was the question of his successor. The other was the policy of expansion. As a prophet, the work of Mohammed was finished. In this respect he could have no successor. But Mohammed had been, also, the head of the large community of Moslems throughout Arabia. He had been their ruler. This place could and must be filled. After considerable difficulty and political maneuvering among the various parties that were already apparent, Mohammed's friend, Abu Bakr, was elected his successor or caliph, as he came to be known.
The problem of the caliphate being settled, the
