Early social changes under Islam

Many social changes took place under Islam between 610 and 661, including the period of Muhammad's mission and the rule of his four immediate successors who established the Rashidun Caliphate.

A number of historians stated that changes in areas such as social security, family structure, slavery and the rights of women improved on what was present in existing Arab society.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] For example, according to Bernard Lewis, Islam "from the first denounced aristocratic privilege, rejected hierarchy, and adopted a formula of the career open to the talents".^[1]^[7]

^ ^a ^b Lewis, Bernard (1998-01-21). "Islamic Revolution". The New York Review of Books.
^ Watt (1974), p.234^{[incomplete short citation]}
^ Robinson (2004) p.21^{[incomplete short citation]}
^ Esposito (1998), p. 98^{[incomplete short citation]}
^ "Ak̲h̲lāḳ", Encyclopaedia of Islam Online
^ Cite error: The named reference Nancy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Leila Ahmed, Women and the Advent of Islam, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 665-691