World Religions Assignment

Islam

Mohammed, the Koran, and the Hegira

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Introduction

In the early days of the 7th century, a new religion arose on the Arabian Peninsula.

The Prophet Mohammed, over a period of 22 years transmitted what Muslims believe to be the word of God, the Koran.

This was said to be the final revelation of God, superseding and correcting all prior sacred books, such as the Bible.

Most Arabs became Muslims, and the religion rapidly spread through both conquest and conversion.

While the Koran is written in Arabic, and while Islam insists on pilgrimage to a site in Arabia, Islam—submission to the will of Allah —did not become just a folk religion of the Arabs, but a universal religion followed by billions with adherents from all peoples.

Unlike the relationship of Jews and Judaism, while the Arabs are very important to the history of Islam, a history of the Arabs is not a history of Islam. Many non-Arab peoples such as the Turks adopted Islam. Today, the largest Muslim country in population is Indonesia—a non-Arab country in Southeast Asia.

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Arabia

“The Island of the Arabs” Much of Arabia is desert or marginally

inhabitable steppe

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Afro-Asiatic language group

The Arabs are Semites, speaking a language that is part of a family that includes Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac.

It is part of a language group, the Afro- Asiatic group, which includes Berber, Amharic, and ancient Egyptian.

The term Semite comes from Shem, one of Noah’s sons.

A few words and expressions will show you the close connection of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. Arabic is the first word, Hebrew the second.

(Salaam Aleikem=Shalom Aleichem, (peace be with you)

zedat= tzedakah (righteousness, charity)

Ibn = ben (son of)

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Arabian Peninsula

Traditionally, northern Arabs are descended from Adnan, a descendant of Ishmael. The Hejaz, in the west of the Peninsula, contains the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, and is called “the Cradle of Islam”.

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Pre-Islamic life

Arabs lived in independent, often nomadic tribes.

Change came rarely in the Arab world. They raised camels, sheep, and on occasion might act as bodyguards to caravans.

It was also a custom to raid both sedentary villages and other tribes camps as a way to gain goods. Raiding sedentary, settled peoples could sometimes produce great wealth.

Raids were called ghazwa, and bloodshed was to be avoided if possible. It seems to have been ritualized, and also fun.

There was much tribal and clan loyalty. Each clan had a shaykh, or chieftain. Vendettas would often occur between clans.

Personal honor was an individuals greatest possession.

Men had to show muruwa, or manliness— this included courage, loyalty, and generosity.

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The Camel The camel was the measure of wealth and prosperity, and much poetry was written about them. The camel was the ship of the desert.

Here’s an excerpt of some poetry, a rather typical one, about a camel—but a reader would be forgiven if he thinks at first it is a poem about a woman:

Perfectly firm is the flesh of her two thighs---

They are the gates of a lofty, smooth-walled castle—

And tightly knit are her spine-bones, the ribs like bows,

Her underneck stuck with the well-strung vertebrae…

Her cheek is smooth as Syrian parchment…

Her eyes are a pair of mirrors, sheltering

In the caves of her brow-bones, the rock of a pool’s hollow…

Such is the beast I ride.

Seven Odes, Arberry

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Poetry

Arabic is a language that rhymes much and is well-suited to poetry. To this day, Arabs hold “poetry slams”.

Poetry was the major form of artistic expression of the ancient Arabs.

Its origins were in religion, and in the Kahin, or diviners, who in trances or ecstasy could divine the future, heal, and most importantly, find lost camels.

A poet is a sha’ir, one who knows. Poets were believed to gain their knowledge and insights from a “shayan” (a satan) or from a jinn, a creature of fire who lived invisibly in the desert, usually in anthromorphic form, but invisible.

Poets were thus in a relationship with a being who could only be called demonic, and you did not want one as an enemy.

They could curse enemies and come up with damaging nicknames that would last your whole life.

To the right: Arab poetry contest

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Pre-Islamic Religion

The Kaaba (the cube-shaped building to the right) just before the Islamic period began contained 360 idols, and some argue that it was dedicated to the god Hubal. Hubal’s idol was red, human-shaped, and had 7 arrows before it used for divination.

Sacrifices of camels and others were made to the gods.

Besides Hubal, whose name means “spirit”, there were 4 gods who were rather important—

The High God, and his 3 daughters.

The God, or Allah, was the High God of Mecca and the Quraysh tribe, who created the universe, but then left it to lesser gods to take care of rainfall, fertility, etc. This is seen in many religions among non-literate peoples.

These High Gods do retain a function, and are powerful— but their power is often hidden.

This pagan version of Allah had three daughters, al’Uzza— that is, Venus, the morning star, al-Lat, and Manat, the goddess of faith and destiny. To al’Uzza would be given human sacrifices, and no hunting or killing could occur in al- Lat’s sacred precincts.

[While Muslims call the Deity by the same name as the pagan High God of Mecca, there the similarity ends. The Muslim Allah is the sole god, and has no children—he neither begets nor is begotten]

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Kaaba and the Black Stone

Many Arabs would come to Mecca to see the shrines, and especially the wondrous black stone in the corner of the Kaaba.

This stone fell from the sky—and it was believed to be a gift from the gods. Muslims believe an angel brought it to Abraham, who with Ishmael is said to have built the Kaaba.

Some tales said the Kaaba was originally built by angels as a place of worship.

Pagan Arabs would circle it several times as part of worship, and some believe this was an ancient fertility rite. The men were usually naked, and the women nearly so.

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Hanifs

There were some Arabs who were not Jews or Christians, but believed in one God—they are called by the Qu’ran hanifs.

Abraham is described as a hanif:

[Abraham] in truth was not a Jew, neither a Christian; but he was a Muslim and one pure of faith [a hanif]. Certainly he was never of the idolaters. Koran, 3:67.

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Mohammed

Mohammed ibn ‘Abdallah, better known as just Mohammed or the Prophet, was born about 569 or 570, maybe a little later but no later than 580, and was a member of the Quraysh tribe, one of the most powerful in Mecca. His clan, the Banu Hashim, was a lesser clan, but well thought of.

His early life had much tragedy in it.

His father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was only 6.

As a boy, he was wet-nursed by a Bedouin in the desert, as was the custom, in order to strengthen him and expose him to the purest Arabic language.

His grandfather ‘Abd al-Muttalib acted as his guardian, and took over his rearing when his mother died. But al-Muttalib died two years later, and Mohammed was then reared by his uncle, Abu Talib, who would protect Mohammed in later years.

To the right: Mecca, about 1885

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Mount Hira

The next few slides are based on the Koran, the Life of Mohammed, and other sources:

Mohammed began meditating in a cave outside Mecca at a mountain called Mount Hira. He was about 40 when the visions began, in 610 CE.

A presence came to him in a dream and told Mohammed that he was the Messenger of God. Jonah and many other prophets would probably sympathize with his reaction—he was absolutely terrified, and woke up and asked his wife Khadija to wrap him up, and he remained covered until his terror passed.

Again, the presence came to him while he was on a mountain, and he was so frightened he was about to throw himself off the cliff. The presence appeared again, announced that Mohammed was God’s apostle, and that the presence was the angel Gabriel.

[he was] one terrible in power, very strong; he stood poised, being on the higher horizon, then drew near and suspended hung, two bow’s length away, or nearer, then revealed to his servant that he revealed. Qu’ran 53:5-10

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The Qur’an revealed After appearing to Mohammed on the mountain, sometime later, in the month of Ramadan, Gabriel woke him up, and covered Mohammed with a coverlet with writing on it, and told him to

Recite!

Mohammed, being illiterate, could not comply, and said

“I am unable to recite!

Gabriel pushed the coverlet down so hard Mohammed could barely breathe and thought that he was going to die. But he told Gabriel he could not recite what was written.

Gabriel again commanded he recite, and Mohammed cried out

“What shall I recite!”

Gabriel replied:

Recite: In the Name of thy Lord who created, Created Man of a blood-clot.

  Recite: And thy Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the Pen,Taught man that he knew not. (Qur’an 96:1- 5)

These are the first verses of the Qur’an to be revealed. The word Koran means “recitation”.

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The Koran

Most of Mohammed’s visions were not visual, but auditory, and revealed bit by bit over twenty two years. Muslims believe Mohammed was distinctly aware that he was not writing the Koran, but transmitting it— Allah was the one who was writing it. Muslims regard the Koran as the product of God and not of a human being—only its chapter arrangement, verse numbering, and surah (chapter) names are human.

Mohammed would clearly distinguish his own words from the Qu’ran’s. However, his words are recorded in many hadith and Muslims follow his sunnah, or example.

Whether the Koran is the Word of God or not is a matter of faith. Parts of it are reminiscent of sources from other faiths that Mohammed may have been familiar with. Muslims argue that of course the revelations given by God to Mohammed and others are similar.

The vast majority of those who have studied Mohammed, including his critics, believe that he was sincere, not a deceiver, and truly believed he was receiving and delivering the word of God to his people.

Again, whether it was is a matter of faith, but Mohammed truly believed it was God’s word.

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Koran, continued

Muhammad and many Muslims believed the Koran was a miracle in of itself.

Mohammed, who had never been considered a poet, had produced a beautiful work of poetry. That was a miracle and, it was argued, showed its divine inspiration.

It has been argued that while Mohammed was a man of fine character and morals, he could not have produced such a beautiful work—only the finest of poets could have attempted anything like it, and the Qur’an, it is argued, is superior to their work.

Some find the Koran’s beauty in the original Arabic almost hypnotic. Many believe it should not be translated, but one should learn Arabic in order to understand the Koran. Translations usually call themselves “interpretations”.

God’s word was heavy, and Mohammed would often feel them as a great weight.

Having begun to receive revelations, Mohammed told his wife Khadija, and she became the first to become a Muslim. She was a great support in the difficult times to follow.

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The Koran, continued

The Koran is not a history, but a series of pronouncements, warnings, and the like, and was revealed slowly over many years. Many memorized it, and some are said to have written verses down on parchment or even camel shoulder blades during Mohammed’s life.

Sometime after Mohammed’s death, it was finally fully written down, and placed into its present chapter set up. It consists of 114 surahs, or chapters. Except for the initial surah, it is arranged approximately from longest to shortest surah. The surahs are divided by both Islamic and Western scholars into Meccan and Medinite, though some surahs seem to contain both, and many have tried to figure out when what verse was produced.

The Meccan ones are the earlier ones and deal with the Day of Judgment, the Oneness of God, and morals. They confront regressive Arab customs such as the aforementioned infanticides, superstitions and witchcraft, and the blind following of tradition.

Medinite ones come later, from when Mohammed ruled the city of Medina, and deal with more down to earth matters such as inheritance, marriage, divorce, civil and criminal law, and statecraft.

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The Eternal Koran

In a discussion that has echoes of the question of the Logos—the Word—in Christianity and of the Arian controversy, Muslims consider the Koran to be the earthly version of an eternal heavenly work. Many believe that it is uncreated and eternal—others have argued that God wrote it and must have created it. The eternal view is the prevailing one.

The dispute became a significant point of contention in early Islam. The Islamic rationalist philosophical school known as the Mu’tazila held that if the Qur’an is God's word, logically God "must have preceded his own speech". Traditionalists, on the other hand, held the numerous hadith support the contention that Qur’an was co-eternal with God and hence, uncreated.

In the Muslim world, the doctrine that the Qur’an is uncreated has been unchallenged among the Sunni for many centuries, while many Shi’a believe the Qur’an is created.

Sufi philosophers view the question as artificial or wrongly framed.

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Idolatry

The one unforgiveable sin is shirk, associating of anything with God (4:48) . To do this is to become a mushrik, or idolater.

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People of the Book The Koran regards Jews and Christians as People of the Book (ahl al-kitab) who, though they possess authentic scriptures, have over the generations twisted and corrupted, garbled their messages and split up into sects.

While it would be nice if the People of the Book converted to Islam, they will not be forced to and are to be treated justly.

Most Muslim scholars believe that religious persecution and forced conversion are prohibited by the Koran (see for example Koran 2:256, 18:29, and 10:99-100), but there have been times when those injunctions have been ignored.

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God’s Unity

God’s unity is emphasized throughout the Koran—compromising this is the greatest sin:

The Sura of Sincerity:   In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate Say: “He is God, One, God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, and has not been begotten, and equal to Him is not any one.” (112)

To the right: Sura 112 in calligraphy form  

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Early Converts

• First Convert: Khadija, Mohammed’s wife • First Male Convert: Ali, Mohammed’s cousin

and son-in-law, married to Fatima

• 2d Male Convert: Abu Bakr, Mohammed’s future father-in-law and the first caliph

• Sole Meccan oligarch: Uthman, the third caliph

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Persecution of Early Muslims

Mohammed began to greatly emphasize God’s unity, and Muslims began to be persecuted.

Some have argued that the persecutors feared the loss of pilgrimage income to see the Black Rock and Kaaba if people became monotheists.

Some may have been greatly insulted at the attacks on their gods.

The Muslims were laughed at, insulted, bullied, made fun of as they prayed. Mohammad was followed by poets who told people he was a madman. Muslims were imprisoned, kept out in the heat, and tortured.

His uncle had enough pull to keep Mohammed and his family from the worst of this, but others were not so fortunate.

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Bilal

One of the early Muslims was a black African slave named Bilal.

He was forced in the heat of the day to lie on his back with a heavy rock on his chest. His master said he would stay there till he died or denounced Muhammed and worshipped Al-lat and al’ Uzza—two of the daughters.

Bilal refused, and repeated over and over “One, One!”

Abu Bakr saved him by rebuking his master and trading a non-Muslim slave for him.

He eventually freed Bilal, who later became the chief mu’adhdhin, or muezzin, the one who calls Muslims to prayers.

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The Night Journey and the Ascent to Heaven: Isra and

Mi’raj

Muslims believe that while on a prayer vigil, Mohammed was sleeping near the Kaaba, when an angel split his body open, and washed his organs in the waters of faith—or the waters of the Zamzam spring beneath the Kaaba.

Once he was sewn up, he was given a steed, Buraq, often said to have the head of a woman, that could travel with incredible speed.

He was led to Jerusalem, to pray at” the furthest mosque” (by which is meant a place of prostration).

Muslims believe that this was the place of the Jewish temple, and the Al Asqua Mosque is built there.

From here, he ascended to Heaven.

He reached the Seventh Heaven where he met God.

The Sufi mystics placed great importance on the isra—the Night Journey—and the mi’raj— the Ascent.

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The Seal

• There are 25 prophets listed in the Koran, with the most notable being Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed.

According to Islam:

• Mohammed is the Seal of the prophets, the final one, and like a seal on a document validates prophecy.

• All prior prophecy was complete and perfect, but the messages have been distorted over the generations. The message sent over the generations is essentially united.

• Mohammed and the Qu’ran restored the primordial monotheistic religion of Abraham, which had degenerated.

• Islam—Submission to the Will of Allah—is the original true religion of Abraham. All true religion is surrender to God, or islam, without the capital, while following the Koran is Islam.

• The original pure message from God is restored.

• Mohammed is the Seal . There will be no other prophets after him.

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The Conversion of Umar

The Arabs were rather warlike.

One of the Meccans was Umar ibn al-Khattab. He was strong and believed Mohammed was a pest. He had split his tribe, mocked the traditions, and preached the worthlessness of their gods. He needed to be taken care of—permanently.

So Umar went to Mohammed’s house to kill him.

Mohammed was in the middle of a meeting with Abu Bakr, Ali, and a recent convert, his uncle Hamza. But before Umar got there, he was intercepted by someone who told him he’d never succeed—but Umar’s sister seemed to be converting or on the verge. At that very moment, she and her husband and nephew were in another house listening to the Qu’ran being recited.

Umar storms in, grabs the brother in law, and strikes his sister in the ear when she tries to defend her husband.

He felt remorse, and demanded to read the sheet of the Qur’an. After washing himself because he was unclean as a polytheist, Umar reads the sheet—he was one of the few Meccans who could read. According to the Life of Muhammed, he said

How fine and noble is this speech.

He was then led to Mohammed, and converted—after being berated by Mohammed for his persecutions. With this powerful warrior , and with Hamza who also was a good fighter on board, the Muslims could now worship at the Kaaba without being bothered by the Meccans.

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The Hejira

Nearly 300 miles northwesterly of Mecca is a large oasis called Yathrib, usually called today Medina—short for “Madinat al-nabi”… the city of the prophet. The city had originally been settled by Jews, but they were now outnumbered by two Arab tribes, the Aws and Khazraj, who were constantly engaged in bloody fighting.

Yathrib was urban and socially complex, and the old pattern of vendetta were disastrous. Some kind of government to run herd over Medina was needed.

In 620, several men from Medina met Muhammed during a fair near Mecca during the pilgrimage time. They had heard about him, and wanted to meet this prophet. They were greatly impressed, and the next year they brought more people, representing most of the factions in Yathrib. They agreed to become Muslims and obey the prophet.

In 622, Muhammed invited his Meccan followers to emigrate to Medina, and they left slowly.

Muhammed and several leaders stayed in Mecca, but word came of a plot to kill him. Ali slept in his fathers bed, and the plotters did not kill him. In the meantime, Muhammed and Abu Bakr hid in a cave.

Finally, on Sept 24, 622, Mohammed and Abu Bakr arrived in Medina, and Ali arrived safely. This became Year 1 of the Islamic calendar. The journey to Medina of the Muslims and Mohammed is called the Hejira, or “The emigration”). This used to be translated as the “Flight”, but that is incorrect.

Mohammed let his camel loose, and when the camel rested, he bought the plot and built his house there, and his two wives set up tents in the yard.

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The Umma In Medina, Mohammed was the arbitrator, and all were to obey Allah and his prophet. The Muslims were a religious community , an umma. The Arab tribes were bound together into a “supertribe” bound together not by kinship but by religion. This created the possibilities of large scale cooperation that the old system did not have.

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Battle of Badr

Many of the Meccans, with little to do, were sent on caravan raids during a traditional truce month. The Qur’an (2:217) justified this by saying, while fighting in the holy month was heinous, the Meccans persecution of Islam was worse.

More raids on Mecca were ordered.

The oasis cities like Mecca were like islands in a sea of sand—cut off their trade, and they were greatly weakened.

At the Battle of Badr, in March 624, a large caravan was assaulted by 300 Medinans. It was guarded by 900 Meccans, but the Muslims won.

This remarkable victory gave the Muslims a sense of destiny as a people of God.

The Koran said a thousand angels stood behind the Muslims at Badr.

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Battle of the Trench

The Meccans attacked Medina twice, and Mohammed launched raids. He concluded many treaties with the Bedouins, and some converted.

In 627 CE, 10000 Meccans marched on Medina. Medina had only 3000 defenders, but they built

a trench at the suggestion of a Persian convert, and that made their defense stronger. This is the Battle of The Trench. Not liking siege warfare, the Meccans left after two weeks.

The Jews in Medina had long seemed less than happy with events. For a few months, the Muslims and Jews prayed together, facing Jerusalem to the North. Then, in February 624, Mohammed received an inspiration and faced Mecca, and since then Muslims have faced Mecca.

Relations with the Medinan Jews worsened. At the Battle of the Trench, the Jewish clan of Qurayza plotted with the Meccans to attack the Muslims in the rear of their lines. This was discovered, and the Jews were attacked, their men killed and the women and children sold into slavery.

While this was the destruction of a Jewish tribe, it does not seem to have been done because they were Jewish.

The clan was considered to have committed treason and were treated as traitors.

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Din wa Dawla

After the Battle of the Trench, Islam was firmly established, and Muhammed was the greatest single power broker in Arabia.

Mecca’s prestige visibly waned after the Battle of the Trench. In Medina, the details of religious life and community life became fixed, and the Qu’ran from this period deals more with practical, religious, legal and similar matters.

Islam was a din wa dawla, a religion and political order, and thus all of these matters were religious.

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Return to Mecca

In 628, Mohammed led some pilgrims to Mecca. They were prepared for battle, but hoped for peace. They signed a treaty with the Meccans, but did not complete the pilgrimage. In 629, he returned, and the pilgrimage was completed peacefully.

Then there was a killing between the two parties, breaching the treaty. Mohammed established a force of 10000, an enormous force by the standards of the time, and marched on Mecca in 630. Abu Sufyan, who was Mohammed’s father –in-law, ventured from Mecca and surrendered the city. The Meccans were given an amnesty provided they became Muslims.

A few dissidents were killed.

Property remained in its proper hands, and the conquest was virtually bloodless.

Mecca became a Muslim city—the Kaaba was purified by having the idols smashed and removed, and then rededicated to the original monotheism of Abraham.

Mohammed and the Muslims were the masters of Arabia.

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Sunnah and Hadiths

• Mohammed is considered by Muslims to be the best model of a husband, father, leader, friend, guide, and politician. The Sunnah, or Way of the Prophet, is contained in the books of hadiths—sayings of the Prophet.

• Muslims are urged to follow the example of Mohammed, his sunnah. These are a guide to what to do , because Mohammed is a pretty good example.

• For example, if Mohammed brushed his teeth, a Muslim will follow his example and brush his teeth—not because Islam requires it—it doesn’t—but because you should follow the example of Mohammed.

• Of course, not all hadiths are given equal weight. Sometimes, the chain of transmission is suspect, so that hadith is considered by Muslims—and non- Muslim scholars of Islam—more suspect than ones with very good chains of transmission.

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A Description of Mohammed

• Ali said in one of the more authoritative hadiths:

• [Mohammed was] neither very tall nor excessively short, but was a man of medium size, he had neither very curly nor flowing hair but a mixture of two, he was not obese, he did not have a very round face, but it was so to some extent, he was reddish-white, he had black eyes and long eyelashes….

• He ate little and often went without food, because as a prophet he should not engage in trade and begging, and the people neglected to provide for him. Aisha [a wife of Mohammed] is supposed to have said that Mohammed liked three things in the world, women , perfume, and food, but only managed to get women and perfume. Mohammed mended his own sandals, and did other similar chores.

• He tended to pardon and forgive. He could have crushed the Meccans, and the Arabs would have accepted that as just. Instead, his conquest was mild and forgiving. One of the great virtues of the ancient Arabs was forbearance, and this is one of the names of God in the Koran—Forbearing.

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The Death of Mohammed

Mohammed died in 632 CE. He seemed to know his death was coming, and gave a great Farewell Sermon on a hill overlooking the plain of Arafat near Mecca:

 YOU ARE ALL EQUAL. NOBODY HAS SUPERIORITY OVER ANOTHER EXCEPT BY PIETY AND GOOD ACTION. …O People, NO PROPHET OR APOSTLE WILL COME AFTER ME AND NO NEW FAITH WILL BE BORN. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QUR'AN and my example, the SUNNAH and if you follow these you will never go astray.

Parts of the Sermon are included in the Koran:

Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam for your religion. Koran 5:3.

This was in March of 632. In June of that year he died in his wife Aisha’s arms and was buried beneath her house. All Arabia was united by the religion of Islam.

When he died, the Arabs were organized into a coherent political-religious group, well-organized, well-armed, and inspired by a powerful new monotheistic religion—Islam, which means submission—submission to the will of God.

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