The discovery of iron in West Africa had a big affect on life there.  For example, the had the best, most developed weapons in Africa because they were the only ones with metal.  Also, they could build better tools for farming, which was one of their main things that they did.  With metal tools, work was easier  and faster, and therefore more effective.  I think that having iron was one of the main things that made West Africa overall, a

The continent of Africa has many different types regions such as savannah, rain forest, sahel, and desert.  These all are very different and would all be hard to live in in thier own way, but I think living in the desert would be the hardest.  In the desert there is barely any water because of the scarce amount of rainfall.  Also, it gets very hot during the day and cold at night so I would not want to live there.  In other regions, there is more rain, vegetation, animals, and amore mild climate.  This is why I think that the desert would be the hardes

Trade was a main factor in the spread of Islam.  For example, Mecca was a crossroads for many trade routes and was also mainly Islamic, so as caravans went through it, they could pick up a little bit of knowledge of the religion, then eventually become Muslim if they chose to.  Also, when Muslim traders went traveling through Africa, Europe, and Asia, they had a big chance to spread their religion just by talking to the people they traded with.  So as you can see, trade was one of the biggest ways in which Muslims were able to spread Islam.

The five pillars of Islam are basically the guidelines of Islam.  They are a statement of your of faith, daily prayer, giving money to charity, fasting during Ramadan, and a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime.  Some of these seem very hard to follow, but it seems like the pilgrimage to Mecca would be the hardest, at least if you lived in the United States.  For Islamic people in America, traveling to Mecca may be very hard to do since it has become very expensive to travel.  That is why I think that the pilgrimage to Mecca is the hardest part of the Five Pillars of Islam.