Which of the following was of greater importance in the early growth of Islam: the personal contribution of the Prophet Muhammad, or the politial circumstances of Medina in the early seventh century?

These 10 mark questions are straightforward to answer as long as you use a clear structure: no introduction, one paragraph giving reasons why the first specified factor was the most important, one pargraph doing the same for the second factor, then a brief conclusion giving your answer on which is more important. It is crucial to avoid comparing the two factors within the first two paragraphs, and examiners will penalise harshly if your answer does not have a clear structure.For this question then, factors you could touch upon might be as follows:The Prophet's role as both religous and political leader of the Islam ummah meaning strong, clear leadership. His political skill as demonstrated in, for instance, the Consitution of Medina - a document which carefully incorporates and includes the many ethnic and religious groups in Medina and tries to limit the potential for factionl conflict, while also establishing the Prophet as the arbiter of disputes, and therefore the pre-eminent authority in the settlement. For the second factor, the tribal stucture of pre-Islamic Arabian society meaning that there was no clear central political authority that could act against the Prophet; constant, violent inter-tribal conflict which meant the message of unity (tawhid) that the Prophet offered was incredibly attractive; Mecca's status as a trading city meaning political and economic links to, for instance, Jerusalem and Damascus which meant that the inhabitants of Mecca and Medina were familar with the concept of monotheisitic religions such as Christinaity and Judaism.There is no 'correct' conclusion, but it must be supported. For instance, one could conclude that the poltical circumstances of Mecca and Medina were more important since these created the conditions in which the Prophet was able to operate. The conclusion does not have to be lenghty - remember that you will have only twenty minutes in which to answer this question before moving onto the essay.