The correct answer is A) they were an important and respected class of people.
In the middle ages, the role that merchants had in Arab society was "they were an important and respected class of people."
Arab merchants were very respected people because they traded in distant places and generate income for their countries. When trading in distant places, merchants also spread Islam in those far regions. Islam spread along the Silk Road that was a series of trade routes that expanded from China, the Middle East, and North Africa.