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Muhammad
Few people
in all of history ever have an influence so far reaching that the course
of nations are changed. Muhammad is just such a person. For
most of the world, Muhammad was an Arab who lived in the middle east in
the 7th century and is the founder of Islam. For Muslims, Muhammad
is the final prophet of Allah who supersedes all other prophets and who
alone delivered the final and perfect word of God. Whichever your
position, Muhammad is an important figure in human history.
Muhammad (full name is Muhammad Ibne Abdullah)
was born in 570(?) in Mecca which is now located in Saudi Arabia.
Mecca was then the cultural and religious center of Arabia. The area
had no central government and was full semi-warring tribes with numerous,
competing, polytheistic religions. At the heart of Mecca was the
Ka'aba (cube in Arabic), a shrine about 60 feet, by 60 feet, by 60 feet,
containing hundreds of idols, and known as the House of Allah. Allah
was recognized as the supreme deity, but was worshipped along with other
deities. The Ka'aba was believed to have been built by Abraham and
his son Ishmael on the same spot as the first shrine to God built by
Adam. On the eastern corner of the Ka'aba is the Black stone called
in Arabic, Hajar al Aswad. The Black Stone is probably a meteorite.
Muhammad is born
Muhammad was
born to his mother Amina, into the Quraish, the then ruling tribe of
Mecca. Up to the age of eight, he was raised by his grandfather
Abdul Muttalib because Abdallah, his father, died in Yathrib a few weeks
before Muhammad was born. Amina, his mother, died when he was
six. After the death of his grandfather, his uncle Abu Talib then
assumed responsibility for raising Muhammad. Abu Talib was a
businessman involved in trade so it is likely that Muhammad went with him
on business trips and encountered both Jews, 280 miles to the north in
Madina, and Christians also to the north and to the south in Nejran.
History tells us that when he was 12 he accompanied his uncle on a trading
caravan to Syria. His encounters with Jews and Christians seems to
be reflected in the Qur'an in passages that refer to "The People of
the Book" (3:64, 71, 187; 5:59). The term "People of the
Book" is a reference to Jews and Christians who had received God's
word through the prophets before Muhammad.
At 25 years old, Muhammad was hired to manage the
business of a wealthy widow named Khadija who was 15 years older than
he. He went to Syria and traded there successfully. Apparently
this impressed Khadija. She ended up proposing to Muhammad later and
in 595 they were married. They had two sons, who died in infancy,
and four daughters: Zaynab, Ruqaiyah, Fatima and Umm Kulthum.
Muhammad and Khakija were married for 25 years until Khadija died at the
age of 65 during the month of Ramadan, well after the start of
Islam.
Around 35 Muhammad assumed the habit of going
outside of Mecca to Mt. Hira for meditation and contemplation. There
was a cave there and he often went there for solitude. It was during one
of these times of meditation that Muhammad said an angelic being appeared
to him, calling him. This disturbed Muhammad (Qur'an 81:19-29) and
he told his wife Khadija that he thought he had been visited by an evil
Jinn. Jinn are supposed to be living beings like people, but not
angels, who were created from fire and are invisible, yet dwell on the
earth. A short time later, in the year 610 (believed to be the 26th of Ramadan), while in a
cave on Mt. Hirah, Muhammad said that the angel Gabriel appeared to him
and commanded him to recite (96:1-19). This recitation became the
Qur'an. In these encounters with the angel Gabriel, sometimes he
would see the angel, other times he would only hear him, and at others he
only heard the sound of a bell through which the words of the angel came.
Muhammad could neither read nor write so he was
instructed to memorize the words given to him by Gabriel. This
complete recitation which Muhammad received over a 23 year period, ending
in 632, the year of his death, is known as the Qur'an. Initially,
Muhammad doubted that he was being called by Allah to be a prophet.
Others, including his wife and a cousin, counseled him by saying that
Allah would only be truthful to him and would not allow him to be
deceived. Muhammad became convinced and even wrote in the Qur'an,
"Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel-for he brings down the
(revelation) to thy heart by Allah's will, a confirmation of what went
before, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe," (2:97).
Islam takes root
It became the
mission of Muhammad to proclaim the truth of Islam, given to him by Allah,
through the angel Gabriel. Muhammad called the people of his area to
repent from their idol worship, to do good, and to serve the one and true
God, Allah. He taught that man is God's slave and it is his duty to
submit to God and obey him. He said that the Day of Judgment was
coming and that a man's works will be weighed on that day. Those
whose good deeds out weigh their bad may, by Allah's grace, be saved and
enter Paradise which is full of sensual pleasures. The unsaved
go to hell. His first converts were his wife, Khadija, his
cousin Ali, and his adopted son Zaid ibn Haritha. Soon afterwards,
Abu Bakr also believed. In his first three years of proclaiming
Islam, he had 40 converts.
Though his continued preaching brought only a few
converts, it did bring much opposition. The ruling tribe, the
Quraish, tried to get Muhammad to stop his preaching by appealing to his
uncle, Abu Talib. But, Muhammad adamantly refused to stop proclaiming the
message he had received. Because Abu Talib was very influential in
the Quraish, Muhammad's life was protected and he was able to continue his
preaching which angered many people. The Quraish began to persecute
the Muslims by beating them and boycotting their businesses. During
public prayers, Muhammad was accosted and mocked. His followers were
likewise treated poorly. But, Muhammad remained steadfast.
Because of the persecution, the Muslims moved to
Abyssinia, Ethiopia today, and were protected by the Christian ruler
there. After a time, he returned to Madina and continued his
preaching. More converts joined his ranks and more idolaters sought
to defeat him. This is because the message of Islam was
socio-political. Islam covers belief, society, behavior, ethics,
etc. This monotheistic belief system threatened the lucrative
business that grew around the pilgrimages to the Ka'aba that so many Arabs
enjoyed. The ruling tribe, the Quraish, soon found that within their
reign a small band of believers, a small "country" unto
themselves, was rising up. The ruling party became more and more
concerned and threatened by the Muslims and their pressure increased
against Muhammad.
In the year 620 Muhammad lost his beloved uncle
Abu Talib (who never became a Muslim) and his wife Khadija.
"After a few months Muhammad sought comfort by marrying the widow of
one of the believers named Sawdah. He also later married Ayisha, the
seven-year old daughter of his friend Abu Bakr, who he took into his home
three years later."1 According to
Muslim historians, Muhammad has 12 wives when he died.
Hegira
622 is a
significant date for Muslims. It is known as the year of the Hijra,
or Migration from Mecca to Yathrib (which later became Medina) where they
established their first real Islamic community. The Muslim calendar
begins its history from July 16, 622 the first day of the lunar year in
which the Hegira took place.
In Medina, he preached about Allah and monotheism
and urged all people to return to the true faith of Abraham. At that
time in Medina, he would pray facing Jerusalem, as did the Jews who were
very populous in that city. He preached about repentance, one God,
and forgiveness of sins. His first sermon in Medina was on a
Friday. Therefore, Islamic congregational worship occurs on
Fridays.
Gradually, however, the Jews began to disapprove
of him and his movement. He confronted them and told them they had
misread the Scriptures. This estranged the Jews in the region and
finally one day while praying, he suddenly changed direction and faced
Mecca. He said the Ka'aba, in Mecca, was the true place of worship
since it was built by Abraham. To this day, all Muslims are to face
Mecca when praying.
After two years in Medina, the Muslims were not
fairing too well financially and that, combined with mild persecution,
prompted a revelation to come to Muhammad permitting him to raid passing
caravans. This he did and the Muslim financial problems were
solved. Soon afterward, there was then a significant battle at Badr
where Muhammad, with 350 men, defeated an army of 1,000 men. This
boost gave confidence to the Muslims, encouraged more converts, and made
the Quraish even more uneasy.
In the fifth year of the Hegira, the Quraish
tried to destroy the Muslims but failed. By now the Muslims were too
strong so the Quraish never again tried to defeat them. Muhammad
then set his sights on Mecca. At one point in 628, Muhammad took
10,000 men and entered Mecca unchallenged. The leader of the Quraish
converted to Islam.
From there, Muhammad's movement gained further
momentum. In 631 two tribes joined Muhammad. They were the Hijaz and Najd. From this time on, many battles ensured. In 625
there was the Battle of Uhud. In 627, the Battle of the
Trench. In 628 Muhammad signs a treaty with Quraish.
There is the Battle of Hunsin. In 630 Muhammad had conquered Mecca
and he destroys all the idols in Mecca.
In 632, Muhammad delivers his last sermon, later
falls ill, and dies in the presence of his favorite wife, Aisha, and her
father, Abu-Bakr. He was buried in Medina in his own house.
His father in law, Abu-Bakr, becomes Caliph, the religious leader of
Islam.
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1.
Miller, William M., A Christian's Response to Islam, Presbyterian
and Reformed Publishing, Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 1976. page 23.
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