The Young Moslem Looks at Life/Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
THE LAST OF THE PROPHETS
Who was this prophet to whose law Mohammed Beg and millions of his fellow Moslems across Europe, Asia and Africa give such intense loyalty? Here we must turn back the pages of history for a picture of this remarkable founder of Islam, one of the world's greatest religions. He alone is the key to the understanding of the Moslem view of life. Thirteen centuries ago a new religion burst upon the world. Like the other great religions, it had its origin in one of the countries of Asia.
Sitting in his palace one day about A.D. 630, the emperor of the ancient Christian kingdom of Ethiopia was handed a letter from one Mohammed of Medina, Arabia. The writer informed His Ethiopian Majesty that God had called him, Mohammed, to be his messenger or apostle. He declared that he had a special commission from God as the last of the prophets to warn all nations of the impending doom which would overtake them, if all men everywhere did not turn to Allah for forgiveness and submit to his will. He therefore felt it his duty to invite His Majesty to accept the religion of Islam with all his people. So says Moslem fractional history.
Similar letters were received by the kings and rulers of various countries from Persia to Egypt. Great was the curiosity in the courts and palaces of the countries surrounding Arabia. "Who is this Mohammed?" "What is this religion of Islam that he invites us to accept, implying something serious will happen if we do not?" They did not have to wait long for the answer. For this new religion was soon to spread far beyond the bounds of the Arabian desert, and to extend the influence of this "last of the prophets" to three continents, from North Africa and Spain to China.
ARABIA IN MOHAMMED'S TIME
But we are going too fast. In order to understand the rise of Islam it is necessary to picture to ourselves something of the political, social and religious condition of Arabia some six hundred years after the time of Christ. In the first place, there was no national government. The Arabs of the desert, or Bedouins, belonged to various tribes and raised sheep and camels. They had no settled abode, and lived in tents, which on the approach of an enemy they could quickly fold up for a silent departure. As is true even today, very few of the Arabs of that time lived in cities. Only a very small proportion of the population lived in the few cities and settled towns in the oases or on the coast; and of these cities Mecca was the largest. The tribes, which were ruled by chiefs known as sheikhs, were very jealous of their individual independence. To make matters more complicated from a political point of view, it must be remembered that both the Roman and Persian empires had "spheres of influence" in the country, and there were settlements of Jews and Christians as well.
The people were chiefly shepherds and traders. Long camel caravans bearing valuable merchandise to and from the surrounding countries of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt were constantly on the move. By sea Arabs on the south and east coasts had for centuries been carrying on a thriving business in silks and spices with the western coast of India.
Mecca, the chief city of the Arabian peninsula, was primarily a settlement of a tribe called the Koreish. The Koreish were held in very special regard, because to them was entrusted the care of the temple or sanctuary, known as the Kaaba, which in spite of their differences was revered alike by all Arab tribes, and to which they made annual pilgrimages. Although there was no unity in the country—since no one ruler was recognized and the tribes were more or less constantly at war with each other—Mecca was the center of a certain amount of religious unity which centered around the Kaaba.
The religion of the Arabs at this time was a form of polytheism. They followed various debasing and immoral customs. Furthermore, the Arabs up to this time had no sacred scriptures; nor had they a national religious prophet. But at the same time it seems they were fully aware of their common racial origin with the Jews, for they also claimed Abraham as their ancestor, since they traced their descent through Ishmael.
While polytheism and the worship of idols were the common religious heritage of the scattered Arab tribes, there were other influences at work as well. The presence of Christians and Jews living in the trade centers among the Arabs was making itself felt, as was also the contact with the ancient Christian cities by the traders who passed over the caravan routes to Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch and Damascus. In fact some Arabs had actually embraced Christianity. One of these was a cousin of Khadijah, Mohammed's first wife, and from him the future prophet probably learned about the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Arabia was coming more and more under the influence of the outside world. Silently but surely the stage was being set for the birth of a new religion a religion that would shake the world and change the course of history.
EARLY LIFE OF MOHAMMED
Amid such circumstances as these Mohammed was born in the city of Mecca in the year A.D. 570 following the death of his father Abdullah. When he was only six years old his mother also died, and the orphaned boy was brought up by his grandfather, an old man almost one hundred years old, and an uncle, Abu Talib. His family belonged to the tribe of the Koreish which, as has already been said, was held
THE in high esteem because it was entrusted with the traditional guardianship of the sacred Kaaba. During his boyhood he spent much time with the Bedouins, and was engaged in herding sheep and goats. As he grew older Mohammed frequently went on journeys with caravans of merchandise to Syria, and on such journeys he met many Jews and Christians, from whom he learned a great deal about religion that was to be of use to him later on. And so the time passed until he was about twenty-five years of age.
Now it happened that one of the leading residents of Mecca was a charming and wealthy widow by the name of Khadijah. Because she was in need of an agent to manage her business enterprises, she became interested in the reports concerning the young man Mohammed, whose reputation for trustworthiness had earned him the name Amin, The Faithful One. This lady secured the services of Mohammed, and put him in charge of some of her trading expeditions. He took over the management of a large caravan, and handled the business with such success that his employer, Khadijah, fell in love with him and married him, though she was at least fifteen years older than he. As a result of this marriage Mohammed at once attained a position of wealth and influence in the city of Mecca.
It was during the first fifteen years following his marriage that his religious and political views began to take shape. He was frequently associated with a group of men who were greatly disturbed over the political and religious situation among their people. Some of these men had given up the common practice of idolatry; they asserted their belief in one God, whom they called Allah; and they called themselves Hanif s, a name which some derive from a word meaning "to incline" that is, their inclination was to search for truth among the maze of popular superstitions. They said they wanted to re-establish the religion of Abraham, the original ancestor of the Arabs. Not only was the religious condition of the country in need of reform, but the political condition was well-nigh hopeless as well. Torn with internal strife among the warring tribes, it was continually at the mercy of the encroachments and imperialistic ambitions of the Roman and Persian empires. The time was ripe for a thoroughgoing revolution, and there is no doubt that during those fifteen years Mohammed caught the vision of the need of a political-religious leader for his people a vision which he was in the fulhiess of time to apply to himself, and to develop into a comprehensive system providing for government under religious control.
MOHAMMED'S REVELATIONS FROM ALLAH
ALout the year A.D. 610, when Mohammed was forty years of age, something very unusual happened. One of the Hanifs, Zaid by name, was living as a hermit in a cave in the side of the mountain called Mount Hira, near the city. He had been forced into this retirement because he had greatly angered the
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people of Mecca by his violent protests against their worship of the idols in the Kaaba. Mohammed used to visit Zaid the Hanif in his lonely cave, and finally he was convinced that he too should abandon idolatrous practices. On one occasion, while deeply engrossed in meditation on the side of this lonely mountain in the cave of old Zaid, he had a singular experience. He seemed to be aware of a heavenly presence. The angel Gabriel appeared to him and commanded him as follows:
Recite, thou, in the name of thy Lord who created; Created man from clots of blood.
This was the beginning of the Koran, the sacred book of the Moslems, although he did not know it then.
This experience was very vivid, but also very confusing. It was followed by a series of others of similar nature, and Mohammed was greatly disturbed by them. Could it be that they were revelations from God himself? Was God calling Mohammed to be a prophet? But he was not sure that they were real revelations from God at all. They seemed so much like the usual Arab poetry, in the form of rhyming prose, that there were some besides himself who were inclined to the view that he was no prophet, but just an ordinary Arab poet. Now the Arabs held all poetry was due to the inspiration of a jinni a sort of evil spirit and was very far removed from divine revelation indeed. However, the peculiar nature of the revelations, which seemed to come direct from God himself, and for which Mohammed felt in no way personally responsible, and the fact that they came at times when he was in a trance or fit, and that he appeared to he only a medium for receiving and delivering the messages and not the author of them, all seemed to reassure him and his wife Khadijah that he had really received a divine revelation.
Now completely certain of his revelations, he began to proclaim his divine message, first of all to the members of his immediate family and to his close friends. Following his wife, Khadijah, his cousin Ali, then Zaid, a former slave, and Abu Bakr, a close and influential friend, became his followers. They were undoubtedly impressed by his sincerity and humility.
MOHAMMED'S EARLY PREACHING
In due course his career as a public preacher began. The period of mild persuasive methods was past, when he had declared that "there must be no compulsion in religion." His messages from heaven, which later on formed the basis of the Koran, became more forceful and aggressive. He met not only with great opposition, but also with fierce persecution from the idolaters of Mecca. They told him he was a lunatic, and possessed with evil spirits. They called him an impostor, and made fun of him publicly. But all to no purpose. Little by little the band of believers grew; and, on the occasion of the annual pilgrimages to Mecca, Mohammed was able to preach his new doctrines of the unity of God to the thousands of pilgrims
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who flocked to die sacred city from all parts of Arabia. In this way his followers began to form small groups in different parts of the country.
The strongest of these groups appears to have been in the city of Medina. Since the persecution of Mohammed and his followers had become very bitter in Mecca, their home city, some people of Medina invited the Prophet and his converts to come and make their home in more friendly surroundings. The people of Mecca, the guardians of the sacred Kaaba, were specially aroused against Mohammed because he was the bitter enemy of idolatry. In this he was attacking their special privilege, by which they thrived and made a living from the pilgrims. Thus it will be seen that, while the objections of the people of Mecca were ostensibly religious, they were actually economic. They were far more afraid of losing their income from the pilgrim trade than they were of going to Mohammed's fiery hell because they would not throw away their idols and submit to belief in one God.
The Moslem era officially begins with the year A.D. 622, when with a little band of persecuted followers Mohammed fled from Mecca to Medina. This event, known as the Hegira (the Flight), is of great importance in Moslem history and in fact in world history, for it marks the beginning of Mohammed's rise to power and the turning point in his mission. Before this in Mecca he had been only a preacher. In Medina he was to become a king, ruling over his people, and dreaming dreams of world conquest. During the twelve years of his ministry in Mecca, from A.D. 610-622, there are certain characteristics of his life and work which stand out as different from the years in Medina. At the beginning of his mission he undoubtedly had a genuine religious experience, which moved him profoundly and changed him from a polytheist and idolater into a vigorous preacher of the truth that God is one. His was a vital message of salvation. He was saved himself and he wanted others to be saved. He spoke with passion and persuasion. The messages or sermons all divine revelations which he delivered in the Meccan period were mostly short discourses. They form today the shorter chapters or suras of the Koran. He insisted that they were not his own words, but that every word he spoke came from God as dictated to him by the angel Gabriel.
Since the message was not his own, but God's, he therefore came to his people in the role of a prophet and apostle sent from God. He declared that the religion he was preaching was not new at all. It was as old as Adam, and the original religion of mankind. Its name was Islam, which means submission to God's will and law. Not only was Adam a Moslem a follower of Islam but so also were Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus. He announced that he, Mohammed, was the last of the prophets or apostles that God would send upon the earth. Likewise the Koran the messages from God which he was delivering was the last and best of all the revealed scriptures sent down to mankind. Those who accepted the teaching, "There
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is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is the apostle of Allah," would be saved and would share in the spiritual and sensuous delights of paradise; while those who disbelieved would be tormented in the fires of hell in everlasting punishment. The people were warned to seek forgiveness from God the merciful and compassionate, and to flee from the day of judgment which was surely coming. It was a message of great urgency, and we have no reason to doubt that at this stage Mohammed was genuinely sincere.
During this Meccan period, too, he remained the faithful husband of one wife. Khadijah was not only a real homemaker but likewise a great strength and help to him in his public life. She was a powerfully steadying influence. The death of Khadijah, as well as his move to Medina, brought two new factors into the life of Mohammed. In the one case his private life took on a new aspect. Released from the wholesome control of Khadijah, he married ten other lawful wives, of whom the ten year old child-wife, Ayesha, was his favorite. His family life with its many wives became extremely complicated; and his own example became an important factor in determining the future ethical and social standards of life in Islam. Second, his public life entered a new phase and he began to feel his political power.
MOHAMMED AS PROPHET-KING
In Medina, Mohammed became the ruler of a large group of followers. He had hoped to secure the support of the large company of Jews who lived there, but finding them unwilling to yield to his designs he punished them with severe slaughter. From Medina, too, he won some successful engagements against his Meccan opponents, gradually increased his power, and consolidated his position. Mohammed was only a prophet in Mecca; hut in Medina he became a prophet-king.
And as prophet-king his message also changes. The revelations are longer y less spiritual in tone, more filled with legal directions for the control of his growing community. There are fewer impassioned sermons, and a growing indication that he is called of God to political as well as to religious leadership of the Arabian people, for the purpose of welding them into one nation.
As the head of the nation Mohammed felt divinely led to bring all the Arabian tribes under his rule. Having already discovered the power of the sword to make himself secure in Medina, he set out to wage war with his armies of the "church militant." Finally in the year A.D. 629 he entered the holy city of Mecca in triumph, and from that date became the virtual master of the whole of Arabia. He entered the sacred precincts of the Kaaba and destroyed all its idols, with the exception of the famous Black Stone, which is still an object of veneration to Moslems. Islam had triumphed, Mohammed was supreme.
After securing control of Mecca, Mohammed retired again to Medina. He busied himself in building
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up his community, leading it in worship, preaching to the assembled multitudes, and settling their private and public disputes. He was concerned, also, about the spread of Islam. His was no mere national religion. Islam was a faith for all mankind. Other peoples must be brought in as well as the Arabians. Thus it came about that the prophet-king of Arabia sent out letters to the rulers of the surrounding nations urging them to accept Islam, and declare their belief in Mohammed as the last of the prophets sent by the one true and all-wise Allah. Whether he was himself prepared to follow up the rejected invitations with military campaigns in order to extend the power and influence of Islam we shall never know, for he died in the year A.D. 632 in the arms of his beloved Ayesha.
THE SPREAD OF ISLAM
Following the death of Mohammed two matters of great importance had to be settled. One was the question of his successor. The other was the policy of expansion. As a prophet, the work of Mohammed was finished. In this respect he could have no successor. But Mohammed had been, also, the head of the large community of Moslems throughout Arabia. He had been their ruler. This place could and must be filled. After considerable difficulty and political maneuvering among the various parties that were already apparent, Mohammed's friend, Abu Bakr, was elected his successor or caliph, as he came to be known.
The problem of the caliphate being settled, the stage was all set for the spread of this amazing religious-political movement, which had had its orgin in the Arabian desert. This expansion proceeded vigorously north, east and west. In quick succession blows were struck which sent empires reeling. The fate of the Eastern Roman Empire was decided at the battle of the river Yarmuk near the Sea of Galilee in the year A.D. 634. Damascus, a stronghold of Christianity, was taken the following year. The Persian Empire and Egypt were the next to capitulate, while the conquest of Spain and India, was begun in the same year, A.D. 711. Twelve years later the Moslem armies, having swept across North Africa from Egypt to the Straits of Gibraltar, destroying the great Christian civilizations in their path, pushed on into France. In A.D. 732 the famous Charles Martel at the battle of Tours forever turned the tide of Moslem conquest from Western Europe, although seven hundred years were to pass before the hosts of Islam were finally expelled from Spain.
Balked in Europe, Islam continued its eastward conquests. Sweeping over the whole of Asia Minor, Central Asia, India, and even into China, the Moslem power was triumphant. The Moslems demanded subjection and tribute from followers of Christianity and Judaism, since these were religions of a sacred Book. They offered others a choice of Islam or the sword. Many became Moslems for economic and social reasons. Islam was spread also by the quiet influence of Moslem traders, and the pious and zealous efforts of
THE Moslem missionaries. But the early centuries of Moslem power were marked by the use of military force in the form of the jihad, or holy war, for the spread of the Moslem rule and religion.
"THE GREATEST OF THE PROPHETS"
As Islam has spread across Africa and Asia it has proudly maintained Mohammed's claim that he was the last of the prophets, with a revelation that supersedes all others. Titles of honor and glory—two hundred and one of them in the Arabic list—have been heaped upon him. He has been called the Light of God, the Peace of the World, the Glory of the Ages, and the First of all Creatures. He alone will successfully intercede for his people on the day of judgment. His abode is the highest heaven, and he excels Jesus in honor and position by several degrees. While no Moslem ever prays to Mohammed, every Moslem prays for him, and in fact his name is never spoken or written without a prayer for God's blessing and peace to rest upon him. As Dr. Samuel M. Zwemer, one of the great Christian authorities on Islam, so well puts it:
In short, to the Moslem the character of Mohammed may be summed up as being the very epitome of purity and truth.
This is the traditional Mohammed of the Moslem, to whom he is not only the last of the prophets, but the greatest.
In bringing this chapter to a close we may well note the changes that have taken place in the attitude of young Moslems of today toward the Prophet.
In the first place, he is not the Mohammed of the historical lives, which were written by Moslems themselves. An interesting process of thought has been going on through which Mohammed is given a character that no doubt reflects on the part of those describing it an intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ. This idealized conception of the Prophet of Islam presents him as the perfect man, a model for all mankind to follow. He is represented as sinless, for no prophet can commit sin, a view which reinterprets Mohammed's own requests, as found in the Koran, for forgiveness of sins.
He is also referred to as a great moral and social reformer, as tender-hearted, abolishing the horrible atrocities of war, as gentle and merciful even to his greatest foes. He is presented as combining the highest of human attributes: justice and mercy.
In fact in these interpretations Mohammed is not only like Jesus in every manly quality, but is superior to him. Jesus had a triumphal entry; so did Mohammed when he entered the holy city of Mecca in triumph over his enemies. Jesus forgave his enemies; so did Mohammed forgive his persecutors in Mecca—all but four, who were put to death. Mohammed was more practical than Jesus. He performed no miracles, and offered the Koran as sufficient proof of his claims. He gave practical laws for his followers instead of visionary principles. Even his many marriages but demonstrate the perfection of his nature which enabled him to live successfully with several wives at the same time. Mohammed fully understood human nature, and accommodated his teaching to its frailties. And, finally, Mohammed came to complete the work which Jesus started but did not bring to full accomplishment. Moslems hold that Jesus was sent as a prophet only to the Jews, while Mohammed came with a mission to the whole world.
- ↑ Islam, a Challenge to Faith, by Samuel M. Zwemer, p. 47. New York, Student Volunteer Movement, 1907.