Download Arabia before Muhammad

Arabia before Muhammad
Before the birth of Muhammad, the majority of Arabs were Bedouins. Some linguistics
link the word “Arab” to the Hebrew root “Abhar” which means to move or pass. As
herders, they roamed the desert in search of grass and water for their camels, goats, and
sheep. They lived in tents woven from camel or goat hair. Bedouin warriors raided other
peoples and fought one another over pastures and springs. They valued their camels and
swords above all else. They enjoyed poetry and music. Like other early peoples, they
believed in many gods. There was no single religion. The people were scattered in tribes
throughout the desert country. Each tribe had its own religion. Best described as animistic
polytheists, many tribes worshiped beastly sprites called jinn or demons, which were
believed to reside in trees, streams, and stones. Despite the personifications given to these
gods, they offered people no guidance for proper moral conduct.
Biblical tradition has it that Arabs are descendants of Noah’s son Shem. This is where the
word Semite comes from; a Semite literally, is a descendant of Shem. The descendants of
Shem can also be traced to the prophet Abraham. Indeed, it was the submission of
Abraham in the supreme test, the attempted sacrifice of his son, described in Qur’an
(Koran) by the verb aslama that appears to have provided Islam with its name. Abraham,
who was married to Sarah, had no son, yet wanted to continue his line. Consequently, he
took Hajra for his wife, who bore him a son name Ishamel; whereupon Sarah also had a
son name Isaac. Sarah then demanded that Abraham, banish Ishamel and Hajra from the
tribe. According to Qur’an, Ishamael went to Makkah (Mecca), and his descendants grew
to be the Arabs, whereas the descendants of Isaac remained in Palestine and became Jews
and early Christians.
Makkah was located in a narrow, sterile valley surrounded by bare mountains; its food
supply was drawn from the gardens of Ta’if, some 75 miles to the southeast, and its
livelihood depended entirely on the profits of trade. Traders stopped there for food and
water on their way north to Constantinople. In the fifth century, the Quraysh, a powerful
local tribe of Arabs, decided to try to bring more trade and business to Makkah. The
Quraysh negotiated treaties with people in neighboring areas that attempted to guarantee
that the Trade caravans traveling through the robber-infested desert would be safe. The
Quraysh were largely successful; by the late sixth century, Makkah had become the most
prosperous trading center all of Arabia.
Makkah was also an important religious center. Hundreds of years before the Quraysh
settled in Makkah, local tribes came to Makkah to worship. For safekeeping, some of
these tribes enclosed idols of their gods in a low, cube-shaped shrine called the Kaaba,
which means cube in Arabic. According to legend, the original Kaaba had stood in
heaven. When Adam was forced to leave the Garden of Eden, he built a structure on earth
exactly like the one in heaven. The Kaaba, it is also believed, had a black stone
embedded in its corner which had been a gift from the angel Gabriel to the prophet
Abraham. Inside the Kaaba were stones, statues and even some Christian pictures, for
Christians and Jews also visited Makkah. The Quraysh encouraged tribes to deposit their
idols in the Kaaba and promised to protect them for a fee. Originally a place dedicated to
the worship of one God, by A.D. 500, more than 360 idols of the gods of various tribes
were housed within the Kaaba.
Makkah’s heterogeneous urban population included Arab tribes, Syrians who worked as
caravan leaders, merchants, traveling monks, Christians and Jews. Largely because
Makkah’s population was so divers, there was little social unity in the city. The Quraysh
contributed to this when, in an effort to generate more wealth, they began to break the
tradition of favoring their own kinsmen. By forming business partnerships with members
of other families and tribes they caused hostility which led to feuds between different
families.
Muhammad’s Call to Prophet Hood
Sometime between the years A.D. 570 and 580, Muhammad (the name means “worthy of
praise”) was born into the family Hashim of the powerful Quraysh tribe. His father,
Abdallah, had died before Muhammad was born. During this time, it was custom of
mothers in the city to send their babies to the desert to be taken care of by women living
there. Mothers believed that the desert air was healthier for their children. A woman in
the desert cared for Muhammad until he was five years old. Then he returned to his
mother, Amina, who died only a year later. Muhammad was taken care of by his
grandfather and his uncle, Abu Talib, who adopted Muhammad.
When Muhammad was no longer a child, he found work tending sheep and buying and
selling goods for a wealthy widow named Khadija. This job gave Muhammad the
opportunity to travel around the Arabian Peninsula and to Syria and Byzantium, where he
met many different people including Christians and Jews.
Khadija was impressed with Muhammad’s hard work and honesty. When Muhammad
was 25 years old and Khadija was 40, the widow offered Muhammad the opportunity to
be her husband. Muhammad accepted and married her; and the two lived together happily
for about 24 years until Khadija’s death in 619. The wealthy couple had seven children,
three boys and four girls. However all three boys died in infancy; and of the girls, only
one, Fatima lived long enough to marry and have children.
Of the period in Muhammad’s life before his “call” to prophet hood at the age of forty,
we know very little. However it is known that he had a reputation as seeker of solitude
and spiritually. It was his habit that every year he would spend some time alone in a cave
on Mount Hira, outside Makkah. Tradition has it that the call of God came to Muhammad
during one of these solitary retreats. As he lay on the floor of the cave, his mind deep in
concentration, a voice directed Muhammad to “recite.” Twice the voice commanded and
Muhammad resisted, wishing nothing so much as to escape from the cave. “Recite!”
commanded the voice for the third time. “What shall I recite?” answered Muhammad in
terror. The answer came back
Recite- in the name of thy Lord!
Who created man from blood coagulated
Recite! Thy Lord is wondrous kind
Who by the pen has taught mankind
Things they knew not (being blind)
Ammer Ali, the Spirit of Islam, 52
Muhammad was so terrified that he rushed home and told his wife that he had become
either a prophet or one possessed- mad.” Khadija then told a neighbor, who had a
reputation for his wisdom in matters of holiness and spirituality. This neighbor concluded
that Muhammad had been chosen by God ( called Allah in Arabic) as a prophet.
Muslims believe that the message that the Angel Gabriel brought to the Prophet was not a
new one; many prophets before Muhammad were given messages from God to share with
humankind. Islam teaches that Adam and Eve were created by Allah and that Adam was
the first prophet. Throughout history, Muslims believe, many other special people were
chosen by God to be prophets. Some of the most eminent prophets include Noah,
Abraham, Ishamel, Isaac, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus. Like Moses, David and
Jesus, Muhammad- whom Muslims believe to be the last of the prophets- was given
scriptures through the Angel Gabriel to teach humanity more about God and how to
worship Him.
Muhammad, like the prophets who preceded him, taught people to believe in One God (
which in Hebrew is “Eloh” and in Arabic is “ Allah). Many of the prophets recognized by
Muslims are the same individuals respected by Jews and Christians, and preaching
monotheism was central to their missions. (Whenever mentioning the names of any of the
prophets, Muslim say “May peace be upon him.’) Muslims believe that each of the
prophets was blessed with different miracles that God performed for them in order to
convince those who did not believe them. The miracle of the Prophet Muhammad was the
Qur’an itself, which Muslims consider to be the final message from God to humanity.
Muhammad continued to receive revelations from Allah. He was told by Angel Gabriel
that it was his duty to spread the word of the oneness of God and of the existence of
Judgment Day and resurrection. To escape the divine wrath and eternal fire, the sinner
must repent and throw himself upon the mercy of God, a submission (Islam) that gave its
name to the religion.
In the beginning, not many people believed Muhammad. The first converts to the religion
revealed through Muhammad were his wife Khadija, his ten year old cousin Ali ibn Abi
Talib (who later married Muhammad’s daughter Fatima) the former slave and later
Muhammad’s adopted son Zayd ibn Haritha and Muhammad’s respected friend Abu
Bakr (who later became Muhammad’s father in law). Abu Bakr was unique in that, unlike
many of Muhammad’s early followers who came from the ranks of the poor and
downtrodden, he was a prominent and respected member of the community in Makkah.
Abu Bakr became Muhammad’s closest companion and advisor, and like Ali, played an
important role in supporting the Prophet.
Even when not many people believed in what he was saying, Muhammad continued to
preach the message revealed to him. He was reported to be a very forceful man, in spite
of his gentle nature. He was considered to be handsome and burly, with dark busy
eyebrows and dark eyes. However, not many pictures Prophet exist because Muslims
believe that depictions of the prophets of God and other respected by Persons are not
acceptable. Islam teaches that throughout history the prophets chosen by Allah were
charged with preaching the belief in One God; often the people to whom they preached
believed in idols, worshipped natural objects, or their ancestors. Thus, God chose
prophets to encourage people to worship one God. To discourage the practice of
worshipping important leaders, Muslims follow a policy of not depicting the Prophet in
any way, so that people will worship since they, like human beings, are creations. Though
some, Muslims have produced paintings and pictures of the Prophet and other respected
figures, the majority of Muslims do not consider such representations to be accurate or
acceptable-and they request that others respect their view on this matter.
Muhammad Spreads the Word of Allah
Muhammad wanted to abolish idolatry and pagan religions so that all would recognize
the oneness of Allah. His preaching was also very critical of the wealthy merchants in
Makkah who controlled most of the money and power in the city. Islam teaches that the
rich should share their wealth with the poor. But most of the people in Makkah did not
wand to give up their idols, their wealth, or their power; and Muhammad met with fierce
opposition. The Makkans became very angry with Muhammad, who was able to remain
in Makkah only because his powerful and respected family protected him.
Many miraculous deeds are credited to Muhammad. Islamic tradition holds that although
the Prophet was initially scorned by many of the desert tribes of Arabia, Muhammad
convinced one tribe of his prophet hood when, by God’s leave, the prophet was able to
cause a dry well to gush forth with water so that people could fill their water bags.
Another deed his followers love to tell about is his journey through the seven levels of
heaven. In 619, Muhammad experienced the famous Night Journey (Miraj in Arabic).
The Qur’an tells us that the Angel Gabriel led the way as Buraq, the winged white horse,
carried Muhammad from Makkah to Jerusalem and then ascended with him to heaven.
Muhammad traveled through the seven levels of heaven, meeting the prophets Adam,
John, Jesus, Joseph, Idris, Aaron, Moses, and Abraham. Finally, Buraq took Muhammad
to Paradise to meet Allah.
Muhammad’s public teaching stressed five main points: 1) Allah was the one and only
God and all should submit and be thankful to Him; 2) all believers in Allah were equal
under Him; 3) the rich should share their wealth with the poor; 4) that although Allah
knows every person’s destiny, people should strive to live righteously and avoid impiety;
and 5) all would be subjected to Judgment Day. Ten years after his first revelations,
Muhammad had about 100 followers. However, some angry Makkans who refused to
convert to Islam plotted to kill Muhammad.
The Emigration to Madinah
The same year of the Night Journey, both Khadija and Muhammad’s uncle Abu Talib,
died. Abu Talib had used his power as the head of Hashim clan to protect Muhammad.
Now the new leader refused Muhammad protection. By A.D. 622, Muhammad decided to
leave Makkah and travel to Yathrib, another oasis city about 200 miles north of Makkah.
As the prophet fled Makkah, he and Abu Bakr were pursued by Makkan soldiers. Islamic
tradition holds that the first night of the journey to Madinah, Muhammad and Abu Bakr
spent the night in a cave. Soldiers never searched the cave, however because, legend has
it, that Allah caused a spider web to be spun and a dove’s nest to be built at the entrance
to indicate that no one was hiding within.
This journey, known as the hijrah in Arabic, marks the introduction of Islam to
humankind through the Prophet Muhammad and its first year of the Muslim calendar.
Followers of Muhammad who believed in Islam were called Muslims, meaning “those
who submit to the will of God.” Both the Jews and Arabs of Yathrib welcomed
Muhammad and his followers. The city was about to erupt in civil war, and the people
looked to Muhammad and his followers to unite them. They renamed Yathrib Madinaht
unNabit, which means “City of the Prophet.” Yathrib was then called Madinah (Medina)
and Muhammad remained in Madinah to lead the new Islamic community there.
Muhammad was optimistic and hoped that all the different people living in Madinah
would become believers of Islam. Muhammad felt that because he was accepting of
Judaism and Christianity as the predecessors of Islam, he would win many converts. So
in the beginning, Muhammad named Jerusalem (the sacred city of Jews and Christians)
as the Qiblah, the direction of prayer. He accepted Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as also
being among Allah’s prophets.
Not all of the residents of Madinah, however, became believers of Islam; some Jewish
leaders did not accept Muhammad as God’s latest prophet. Unable to unite the people of
Madinah into a single community of believers, Muhammad expelled the Jews who
opposed him from the city. After the rejection of the Prophet by Jewish tribes of
Madinah, Muhammad told Muslims that the Qibah (direction of prayer) was changed
from Jerusalem to the Kaaba, in Makkah.
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The Return to Makkah
As more people accepted Islam of their own free will, The Quraysh and other pagan
tribes became increasingly alarmed and hostile towards the Muslims, to the point of
inflicting torture. In A.D. 624, after constantly being challenged to battle by the Quraysh
and their allies, Muhammad led his army of 300 followers to attack and capture a
Makkan caravan. The caravan escaped but a Makkan army of 950 men, 700 camels and
100 horses learned of Muhammad’s plan and went to fight Muhammad and his followers.
The Prophet is said to have cried out just prior to battle: “O, God, Here are Quraysh in
their pride and vanity fighting against Thee and calling Thine Apostle a liar. O God,
Grant the help which Thou had promised me. Destroy them this morning.” Muhammad’s
army even though tremendously outnumbered, won the Battle of Badhr overwhelmingly.
The success was a great spiritual victory for Islam. It led to Islam gaining more followers
and fostered the belief that God would fight on the side of the Muslims.
The Makkans, angry at their defeat at the Battle of Badr, wanted revenge. In the years
that followed, more battles were fought between the Makkans and Muhammad and his
army. At one point, in A.D. 627, in the Battle of the Trench, the Quraysh laid siege on
Madinah, but the Muslims had built a trench to protect the city. During the siege, the
Makkans had attempted to cooperate with the Banu Kuraiza, a Jewish tribe in Madinah.
The siege was a failure, and the Quraysh returned unsuccessfully to Makkah. In order to
punish the relations of the Banu Kuraiza with the pagan Makkans-which the Muslims
believed to be treasonable-their quarters were blockaded. After twenty-five days, the
Banu Kuraiza opened the gates of their fortresses and surrender unconditionally.
Muhammad allowed their punishment to be decided by Sa’d b. Mu’adh the chief of the
Madinan tribe of Aws, the former allies of the Banu Kuraiza. This man a bitter enemy of
the Banu Kuraiza decreed that all the men of the clan should be put to death for treason
and the women and children should be sold into slavery. The sentence was instantly
executed, and 600 or 700 Jews were led out in batches and beheaded.
Finally in A.D. 630, Muhammad, with an army of 10,000 captured Makkah. An
important part of Muhammad’s capture of Makkah was his rededication of the Kaaba to
the worship of One God. The holy shrine, a stone structure in the form of a 40 by 35 by
50 foot cube, traditionally housed Arab idols, as well as a fragment of a polished black
stone. Muhammad destroyed the idols and other pagan relics and rededicated the shrine
to God. The Kaaba then became the new religious center for all Muslims.
In March A.D. 632, Muhammad led the hajj, or greater pilgrimage to Makkah, commonly
called “the pilgrimage of farewell,” for it was his last. Every detail of his actions on this
occasion was carefully noted and imitated by his disciples: the rites and ceremonies that
he had endorsed by his example and presence became standard Muslims practice. On his
return to Madinah, he fell ill and requested Abu Bakr to lead prayers in his place. On
June 8, A.D. 632, he died in the house of A’isha, one of his wives.
Although revered by millions of Muslims, Muhammad has rarely been viewed with
sympathy in the Christian world. The losses Islam inflicted on Christendom and the
propaganda spread during the Crusades have clouded the West’s understanding of
Muhammad’s life. Even in the recent past, Muhammad has been portrayed in
controversial literature as a lying deceiver and a shameless lecher who spread his creed
by the sword. Yet, despite the various victories against the Quraysh and others, he never
encouraged his followers so forcibly convert others to Islam, including Christians and
Jews. With regard to his martial life, it must be noted that so long as Khadija lived,
Muhammad had no other wife, and that of the ten he subsequently married, the majority
were widows whose husbands had supported his teachings and for whom he might have
felt obligated to provide.
Islam as a Way of Life
After being invited by the people of Madinah to lead their city, Muhammad began to
establish an Islamic community with unique customs. During the 23 years of his prophet
hood, Muhammad received revelations from God, which were recorded by his
companions and compiled into a book called the Qur’an. When the Prophet died, his
companions, who desired to maintain the community, recorded his own personal words,
and deeds into a separate book called the Sunna. The guiding rules and principles for
Muslims are based on the Qur’an and the Sunna (which describes how the prophet lived
his own life in accordance with the Qur’an). The most basic of these rules is summarized
in the Five Pillars of Faith. The instructions behind these five duties came from the
Qur’an but it is in the Sunna that the examples and detailed explanations of these can be
found.
The first pillar is the shahada or professional of faith. A Muslims demonstrates his belies
in one God and the importance of Muhammad by saying: “There is only one God (Allah)
and Muhammad is his Prophet.”
The second pillar is the salat, or daily worship, which states the number of times a
Muslim should pray daily. A Muslims prays five times a day: at dawn, noon,
midafternoon, sunset, and dusk. Unlike Christianity and Judaism, Islam sets no day of the
week apart from the others as a holy day. This is because Muslims do not believe God
“rested” after the creation of the heavens and earth, and so no special day is consecrated
for resting. The closest Muslims come to a formal service is when they gather on Fridays
for noon prayers and collective recital of the Qur’an. Salat is an important part of Islam
because it is the worshipping and thanking of God, so Muslims are encouraged to spread
their prayer rug wherever they find themselves at the appointed hour.
The third pillar is zakat or almsgiving. Islam recognizes that material things are important
to life and that some people have more than others. Islam is not concerned with why this
situation exists. Instead it turns to the practical question of what should be done to help
lift the burden of those who are less fortunate. Muhammad set a figure of two and one
half per cent of each person’s income. Compared with the tithe of Judaism and
Christianity this figure looks modest, but it represents two and one-half per cent of not
just income, but all of the holdings. Poorer people owe nothing, but those in the middle
and upper income brackets must annually distribute among the poor one-fortieth of the
value of all they possess.
The fourth pillar is the sawn or fast (from sunrise to sunset) during the holy time of the
Ramadan. Ramadan is a month in the Arabian calendar, Islam’s holy month because
during it Muhammad received his initial commission as a prophet and ten years later
made his historic Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah. Being a month in a lunar calendar
Ramadan rotates around the year. When it falls in the winter its demands are not
excessive. When, on the other hand, it falls during the scorching summers, to remain
active during the long days without so much as a drop of water is a great trial.
The fifth pillar is the Hajj or pilgrimage to Makkah, which is to be undertaken once in a
lifetime. Every Muslim who is physically and economically in a position to do is
expected to journey to Makkah. The hajj’s historical significance lies in commemorating
the trials and tribulations of Abraham, his wife Hajra, and their son Ishamel. The rituals
of the hajj performed in and near Makkah are meant to convey a Muslim’s rejection of
evil and his or her embracement of monotheism—the same monotheism that Abraham
believed in. The basic purpose of the pilgrimage is to bring the Muslim spiritually close
to God, but the practice has some other effects as well. It is for example, a reminder of
the equality between all people. Upon reaching Makkah, Muslims remove their usual
clothes, which tend to reveal social and economic statues, and don two simple sheet like
garments. The Hajj also provides a useful service in international relations. It brings
together people from various countries, showing that they have in common a loyalty that
is more important than the loyalties of earthly kingdoms created by humans.
Sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar jijad or “struggle” is another important concept
in Islam. Often misunderstood in the West, the jihad is a multi-faced concept with a
variety of applications, personal, and collective internal and external. The different
aspects of jihad can be accessed depending upon the circumstances. For example, in the
case of drug abuse, a person could wage their jihad to release themselves from their
addiction. In the case of oppression jihad could mean defensive warfare to protect one
from the enemies of Islam. Regardless, Muslims believe that jihad must conform to the
guidelines of the Qur’an and Sunna. Thus, although on occasion, jihad was used to
conqueror land, it was rarely performed to forcibly covert non-believers in those lands to
Islam.