Editing Jihad (section)

====Early Muslim conquests====
{{main|Early Muslim conquests}}
[[File:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|350px|thumb|right|Age of the [[Caliph]]s {{legend|#a1584e|Expansion under [[Muhammad]], 622–632/A.H. 1–11}} {{legend|#ef9070|Expansion during the [[Rashidun Empire|Rashidun Caliphate]], 632–661/A.H. 11–40}} {{legend|#fad07d|Expansion during the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], 661–750/A.H. 40–129}}]]

In the early era that inspired classical Islam ([[Rashidun Empire|Rashidun Caliphate]]) and lasted less than a century, ''jihad'' spread the realm of Islam to include millions of subjects, and an area extending "from the borders of India and China to the Pyrenees and the Atlantic".<ref name=Lewis/>{{rp|4}} The role of religion in these early conquests is debated. Medieval Arabic authors claimed the conquests were commanded by God, and presented them as orderly and disciplined, under the command of the caliph.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|60-61}} Many modern historians question whether hunger and [[desertification]], rather than ''jihad'', was a motivating force in the conquests. Historian [[William Montgomery Watt]] argued, "Most of the participants in the [early Islamic] expeditions probably thought of nothing more than booty ... There was no thought of spreading the religion of Islam."<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|87}} Similarly, Edward J. Jurji argues that the motivations of the Arab conquests were certainly not "the propagation of Islam....Military advantage, economic desires, [and] the attempt to strengthen the hand of the state and enhance its sovereignty...are some of the determining factors."<ref name=AD11/>{{rp|76}} Some recent explanations cite both material and religious causes in the conquests.<ref name=Bonner/>{{rp|62-63}}