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Muhammad

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Religious figures and
leaders

   Muhammad (Arabic محمد muḥammad; also Mohammed, Mohamet, and other
   variants ), 570- 632 C.E., was an Arab religious, political, and
   military leader who established Islam and the Muslim community ( Ummah,
   Arabic: أمة) in Mecca to whom he preached. He united the tribes of the
   Arabian Peninsula into a federation of allied tribes with its capital
   at Medina.

   He is considered a prophet in Islam. Muslims do not regard him as the
   founder of a new religion, but rather believe him to be the last in a
   line of prophets of God (Arabic Allah) and regard his mission as one of
   restoring the original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and other
   prophets whose messages had become corrupted (only misinterpreted
   according to the majority of early and some modern scholars ) by people
   over time. For the last 23 years of his life, beginning at the age of
   forty, Muhammad reported receiving revelations from God delivered
   through the angel Gabriel. The content of these revelations, known as
   the Qur'an, was memorized and recorded by his followers and compiled
   into a single volume shortly after his death. The Qur'an, along with
   the details of Muhammad’s life as recounted by his biographers and his
   contemporaries, forms the basis of Islamic theology.

Etymology

   "Muhammad" in Arabic calligraphy.
   "Muhammad" in Arabic calligraphy.

   The name Muhammad etymologically means "the praised one" in Arabic.
   Within Islam, Muhammad is known as "The Prophet" and "The Messenger".
   Although the Qur'an sometimes declines to make a distinction among
   prophets, in verse 33:40 it singles out Muhammad as the " Seal of the
   Prophets" ( 33:40) . The Qur'an also refers to Muhammad as "Ahmad" (
   61:6) (Arabic :احمد), Arabic for "more praiseworthy".

Overview

   Born to ‘Abdu’llah ibn ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib, Muhammad initially adopted the
   occupation of a merchant. The Islamic sources indicate that he was a
   charismatic person known for his integrity. The sources report that, in
   his youth, he was called by the nickname "Al-Amin" (Arabic: الامين ), a
   common Arab name meaning "faithful, trustworthy," and was sought out as
   an impartial arbitrator. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muhammad
   would retreat to a cave located at the summit of Mount Hira, just
   outside Mecca in the Arabian Hijaz. There he fasted and prayed, and
   would often reflect on the troubles of Arab society that seemed to
   affect him profoundly. In the year 610, when Muhammad was about forty,
   he reported being visited in the cave by the Archangel Gabriel who
   commanded him to recite verses sent by God. According to Islamic
   belief, these revelations continued for the next twenty-three years,
   until his death. The collection of these verses is known as the Qur'an.
   He expanded his mission as a prophet, publicly preaching strict
   monotheism, preaching against the social evils of his day, and warning
   of a Day of Judgment when all humans shall be held responsible for
   their deeds. He did not wholly reject Judaism and Christianity, two
   other monotheistic faiths known to the Arabs, but said that he had been
   sent by God in order to complete and perfect those teachings.
   Persian illustration depicting Muhammad.- Bibliothèque nationale de
   France
   Enlarge
   Persian illustration depicting Muhammad.- Bibliothèque nationale de
   France

   After initially ignoring Muhammad's call, the elites in Mecca,
   commercially threatened by the growing popularity of his message,
   persecuted Muhammad and his followers. This continued, and intensified,
   over more than a decade. The hardships reached a new level for Muhammad
   after the deaths of his wife Khadija, an early convert to the faith,
   and his uncle Abu Talib, an important political protector of Muhammad.
   Eventually, in 622, he was forced to move out of Mecca in a journey
   known to Muslims as the Hijra (the Migration). He settled in the area
   of Yathrib (now known as Medina) with his followers, where he was the
   leader of the first avowedly Muslim community.

   Eight years of war between Muhammad and Meccan forces followed, ending
   with the Muslim victory and conquest of Mecca. The Muslims subsequently
   removed everything they considered idolatrous from the Kaaba. Most of
   the townspeople accepted Islam. In March 632, Muhammad led the
   pilgrimage known as the Hajj. On returning to Medina he fell ill and
   died after a few days, on June 8.

   Under the caliphs who assumed authority after his death, the Islamic
   empire expanded into Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt,
   North Africa, much of the Iberian Peninsula, and Anatolia. Later
   conquests, commercial contact between Muslims and non-Muslims, and
   missionary activity spread Islam over much of the Eastern Hemisphere,
   including China and Southeast Asia.

Western Academic view of Muhammad

   11th century Persian Qur'an folio page in kufic script
   Enlarge
   11th century Persian Qur'an folio page in kufic script

   The traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to
   him (the sira and hadith literature) provide further information on
   Muhammad's life. The earliest surviving written sira (Biographies of
   Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) dates to 150 years after
   Muhammad, the compilation and (critical) analysis of which took place
   even later.

Life based on Islamic traditions

   Part of a series of articles on

   Islam


   Islam

   History of Islam
   Beliefs and practices

   Oneness of God
   Profession of Faith
   Prayer • Fasting
   Charity • Pilgrimage
   Major figures

   Muhammad
   Household of Muhammad
   Prophets of Islam
   Companions of Muhammad
   Texts & Laws

   Qur'an • Sunnah • Hadith
   Fiqh • Sharia • Theology
   Major branches

   Sunni • Shi'a
   Societal aspects

   Academics • History
   Philosophy • Science
   Art • Architecture • Cities
   Calendar • Holidays • Women
   Leaders • Politics • Islamism
   See also

   Vocabulary of Islam

   Most Muslims, and Western academics who trust Islamic traditions,
   accept a much more detailed version of Muhammad's life.

Before Medina

Genealogy

   Muhammad traced his genealogy as follows:

   Muhammad was born into the Quraysh tribe. He is the son of Abd Allah,
   who is son of Abd al-Muttalib (Shaiba) son of Hashim (Amr) ibn Abd
   Manaf (al-Mughira) son of Qusai (Zaid) ibn Kilab ibn Murra son of Ka'b
   ibn Lu'ay son of Ghalib ibn Fahr ( Quraish) son of Malik ibn an-Nadr
   (Qais) the son of Kinana son of Khuzaimah son of Mudrikah (Amir) son of
   Ilyas son of Mudar son of Nizar son of Ma'ad ibn Adnan, whom the
   northern Arabs believed to be their common ancestor. Adnan in turn is
   said to have been a descendant of Ishmael, son of Abraham. (ibn means
   "son of" in Arabic; alternate names of people with two names are given
   in parentheses.)

   He was also called Abu-Qaasim (meaning "father of Qaasim") by some,
   after his short-lived first son.

Childhood

   Muhammad was born into an affluent family settled in the northern
   Arabian town of Mecca. Tradition places it in the Year of the Elephant,
   commonly identified with 570. Some calculate his birthday as 20 April
   of that year, while Shi'a Muslims believe it to have been 26 April 570.
   Other sources calculate the year of his birth to have been 571.
   Muhammad's father, Abdullah, had died almost six months before he was
   born and the young boy was brought up by his paternal grandfather Abd
   al-Muttalib, of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe. At the age
   of six, Muhammad lost his mother Amina and became fully orphaned. "Many
   years later, when he was exiled by his Meccan opponents, on his first
   pilgrimage from Medina to Mecca, he stopped at his mother's grave and
   cried bitterly, bringing tears to the eyes of his companions." When he
   was eight years of age, his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, who had become
   his guardian, also died. Muhammad now came under the care of his uncle
   Abu Talib, the new leader of the Hashim clan of the Quraish tribe, the
   most powerful in Mecca.

   Mecca was a thriving commercial centre, due in great part to a stone
   shrine (now called the Kaaba) that housed statues of many Arabian gods.
   Merchants from various tribes would visit Mecca during the pilgrimage
   season, when all inter-tribal warfare was forbidden and they could
   trade in safety. While still in his teens, Muhammad began accompanying
   his uncle on trading journeys to Syria. He thus became well-travelled
   and knowledgeable about foreign ways.

Middle years

   Muhammad became a merchant. He "was involved in trade between the
   Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea." He gained a reputation for
   reliability and honesty that attracted a proposal from Khadijah, a
   forty-year-old widow in 595. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which
   by all accounts was a happy one.

   Ibn Ishaq records that Khadijah bore Muhammad six children: two sons
   named Al Qasem and Abdullah (who is also called Al Tayeb and Al Taher)
   and four daughters. All of Khadija's children were born before Muhammad
   received his first revelation. His son Qasim died at the age of two.
   The four daughters are said to be Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and
   Fatima.

   The Shi'a say that Muhammad had only the one daughter, Fatima, and that
   the other daughters were either children of Khadijah by her previous
   marriage, or children of her sister.

The Beginnings of the Qur'an

   The mountain of Hira where, according to Muslim tradition, Muhammad
   received his first revelation.
   Enlarge
   The mountain of Hira where, according to Muslim tradition, Muhammad
   received his first revelation.

   Muhammad often retreated to the cave of Hira on Jabal al-nur near
   Mecca. Here The first revelations of the Quran are reported to have
   been revealed to him by the angel Gabriel around the year 610. Muslim
   tradition narrates that the angel appeared and commanded him to recite
   the following verses:

     Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who
     created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
     Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use
     of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.

   His wife Khadijah and her Christian cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal were the
   first to believe that Muhammad was a prophet. They were soon followed
   by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, close friend Abu
   Bakr and adopted son Zaid bin Muhammad (later known as Zaid bin
   Haarith.)

   These revelations are reported to have frequently occurred over the
   next 23 years until his death. According to the tradition, the form of
   the revelations or messages from God was sometimes hearing the words
   spoken to him, but mostly he would have found them in his heart.
   "Muhammad believed he could easily distinguish between his own thinking
   and these revelations." To people around Muhammad, the most convincing
   evidence for the superhuman origin of Muhammad's inspirations,
   according to Welch, must have been his mysterious seizures at the
   moments of inspiration. Welch states that graphic descriptions of
   Muhammad's condition at these moments may be regarded as genuine, since
   they are unlikely to have been invented by later Muslims. Muhammad's
   enemies however accused him as one possessed, a soothsayer, or a
   magician since these experiences made an impression similar to those
   soothsayer figures well known in ancient Arabia.

   Around 613, Muhammad began to spread his message amongst the people.
   Most of those who heard his message ignored it. A few mocked him.
   Others believed and joined him.

Rejection

   The Cambridge History of Islam states that three following groups were
   forming the early converts to Islam: 1. Younger brothers and sons of
   great merchants 2. People who had fallen out of the first rank in their
   tribe or failed to attain it 3. The weak - mostly unprotected
   foreigners. Although these three groups of course converted because
   they believed the teaching of the Qur'an was correct, but these groups,
   The Cambridge History of Islam writes, were all suffering from the
   selfishness and unscrupulous dealings of the great merchants.

   As the ranks of Muhammad's followers swelled, he became a threat to the
   local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the
   Kaaba, the focal point of Meccan religious life, which Muhammad
   threatened to overthrow. Muhammad’s denunciation of the Meccan
   traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the
   Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba. The great merchants
   tried to come to some arrangements with Muhammad in exchange for
   abandoning his preaching. They offered him admission into the inner
   circle of merchants and establishing his position in the circle by an
   advantageous marriage, but Muhammad rejected their offer. Muhammad and
   his followers were thus persecuted. Some of them fled to the Ethiopian
   Kingdom of Aksum and founded a small colony there under the protection
   of the Christian Ethiopian king (called Al-Negashi, or "The King"). see
   Islam in Ethiopia.

   Several suras and parts of suras are said to date from this time, and
   reflect its circumstances: see for example al-Masadd, al-Humaza, parts
   of Maryam and al-Anbiya, al-Kafirun, and Abasa.

   In 619, both Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died; it
   was known as aamul hazn ("the year of sorrows"). Muhammad's own clan
   withdrew their protection of him. During this time Muslims endured
   ostracism, an economic embargo, poverty, hunger, even beatings and
   death threats.

Isra and Miraj

   Some time in 620, Muhammad told his followers that he had experienced
   the Isra and Miraj, a miraculous journey said to have been accomplished
   in one night along with Angel Gabriel. In the first part of the
   journey, the Isra, he is said to have travelled from Mecca to "the
   furthest mosque" (in Arabic: Masjid al Aqsa), identified with the
   Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In the second part, the Miraj, Muhammad is
   said to have toured Heaven and Hell, and spoken with earlier prophets,
   such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Ibn Ishaq, author of first biography
   of Muhammad, presents this event as a spiritual experience while later
   historians like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir present it as a physical
   journey.Those Muslims subscribing to the latter view consider the place
   under the Dome of the Rock the site from which Muhammad ascended to
   Heaven.

                                  Timeline of Muhammad
                  Important dates and locations in the life of Muhammad
                c.  569                    Death of his father, `Abd Allah
                c.  570            Possible date of birth, April 20: Mecca
                    570   Legendary unsuccessful Ethiopian attack on Mecca
                    576                                    Death of Mother
                    578                               Death of Grandfather
                c.  583                    Takes trading journeys to Syria
                c.  595                         Meets and marries Khadijah
                    610        First reports of Qur'anic revelation: Mecca
                c.  610                 Appears as Prophet of Islam: Mecca
                c.  613  Begins spreading message of Islam publicly: Mecca
                c.  614                  Begins to gather following: Mecca
                c.  615                  Emigration of Muslims to Ethiopia
                    616                    Banu Hashim clan boycott begins
                c.  618                          Medinan Civil War: Medina
                    619                      Banu Hashim clan boycott ends
                    619    The year of sorrows: Khadijah and Abu Talib die
                c.  620                                     Isra and Miraj
                    622                       Emigrates to Medina ( Hijra)
                    624              Battle of Badr Muslims defeat Meccans
                    624                          Expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa
                    625              Battle of Uhud Meccans battle Muslims
                    625                            Expulsion of Banu Nadir
                    626                   Attack on Dumat al-Jandal: Syria
                    627                               Battle of the Trench
                    627                        Destruction of Banu Qurayza
                    627             Bani Kalb subjugation: Dumat al-Jandal
                    628                               Treaty of Hudaybiyya
                c.  628                 Gains access to Mecca shrine Kaaba
                    628                      Conquest of the Khaybar oasis
                    629                              First hajj pilgrimage
                    629 Attack on Byzantine empire fails: Battle of Mu'tah
                    630             Attacks and bloodlessly captures Mecca
                c.  630                                   Battle of Hunayn
                c.  630                                      Siege of Taif
                    630           Establishes theocracy: Conquest of Mecca
                c.  631                Rules most of the Arabian peninsula
                c.  632                      Attacks the Ghassanids: Tabuk
                    632                           Farewell hajj pilgrimage
                    632                            Death ( June 8): Medina

In Medina

1st Hijra

   In 615, when a band of Muslims were counseled by the Prophet Muhammad
   to escape persecution in Mecca and travel to Ethiopia, which was ruled
   by a pious Christian king. see Islam in Ethiopia. In that year, his
   followers were fleeing from Mecca's new leading tribe, the reactionary
   Quraysh, who sent emissaries to bring them back to Arabia, but the King
   of Ethiopia protected the Prophet and his followers. Since then, the
   Prophet himself instructed his followers who came to Ethiopia, to
   respect and protect Ethiopia as well as live in peace with Ethiopian
   Christians. Accordingly, some scholars state that Ethiopia was the
   country that saved Islam from its near destruction and termination.

2nd Hijra

   By 622, life in the small Muslim community of Mecca was becoming not
   only difficult, but dangerous. Muslim traditions say that there were
   several attempts to assassinate Muhammad. Muhammad then emigrated to
   Medina, then known as Yathrib, a large agricultural oasis where there
   were a number of Muslim converts. By breaking the link with his own
   tribe, Muhammad demonstrated that tribal and family loyalties were
   insignificant compared to the bonds of Islam, a revolutionary idea in
   the tribal society of Arabia. This Hijra or emigration (traditionally
   translated into English as "flight") marks the beginning of the Islamic
   calendar. The Muslim calendar counts dates from the Hijra, which is why
   Muslim dates have the suffix AH (After Hijra).

   Muhammad came to Medina as a mediator, invited to resolve the feud
   between the Arab factions of Aws and Khazraj. He ultimately did so by
   absorbing both factions into his Muslim community, forbidding bloodshed
   among Muslims. However, Medina was also home to a number of Jewish
   tribes, divided into three major clans: Banu Qainuqa, Banu Qurayza and
   Banu Nadir, and some minor groups.

   There was fighting in Yathrib for around a hundred years before 620.
   The Jewish tribes allied with other clans and were sometimes on
   opposing sides. The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the
   resulting claims, especially after the great battle of Bu'ath in which
   all the clans were involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal
   conceptions of blood-feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable
   unless "there was one man with authority to adjudicate in disputed
   cases." A delegation from Medina, consisting of the representatives of
   the twelve important clans of Medina, invited Muhammad as a neutral
   outsider to Medina to serve as the chief arbitrator for the entire
   community. Among the things Muhammad did in order to settle down the
   longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was drafting a
   document known as the Constitution of Medina, "establishing a kind of
   alliance or federation" among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim
   emigrants from Mecca, which specified the rights and duties of all
   citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina
   (including that of the Muslim community to other communities).

   Muhammad and his followers are said to have negotiated an agreement
   with the other Medinans, a document now known as the Constitution of
   Medina (date debated), which laid out the terms on which the different
   factions, specifically the Jews and other " Peoples of the Book" could
   exist within the new Islamic State.

   The Jewish groups had refused to acknowledge Muhammad as a prophet and
   in the document only appear second in character. [And] the prestige of
   his [Muhammad] military successes [later in life] gave him almost
   autocratic power.

   Some academic historians attribute the change of qibla, the Muslim
   direction of prayer, from the site of the former Temple in Jerusalem to
   the Kaaba in Mecca, which occurred during this period, to Muhammad's
   abandonment of hope of recruiting Jews as allies or followers.
   According to Muslims, the change of qibla was seen as a command from
   God both reflecting the independence of the Muslims as well as a test
   to discern those who truly followed the revelation and those who were
   simply opportunistic. This change happened once the idols in Kaaba were
   removed and destroyed. Minou Reeves, Fellow of the Institute of
   Linguists at London, states that the change in qibla or the change in
   the fasting day from Ashura, corresponding to Yom Kippur, to Ramadan,
   only shows that Islam was instituted progressively and the claim that
   "Muhammad made up the religion as he went along, to suit the
   circumstances" is unjustified.

War

   Relations between Mecca and Medina rapidly worsened (see surat
   al-Baqara). Meccans confiscated all the property that the Muslims had
   left in Mecca. In Medina, Muhammad signed treaties of alliance and
   mutual help with neighboring tribes.

   In March of 624, Muhammad led some three hundred warriors in a raid on
   a Meccan merchant caravan. The Meccans successfully defended the
   caravan, but then decided to teach the Muslims a lesson and marched
   against Medina. It should be noted that Islamic scholars question
   narratives regarding looting the caravan on the basis of the Qur'anic
   version of the account. On March 15, 624 near a place called Badr, the
   Meccans and the Muslims clashed. Though outnumbered more than three
   times (one thousand to three hundred - majority of Muslim historians
   put the exact total at 313) in the battle, the Muslims met with
   success, killing at least forty-five Meccans and taking seventy
   prisoners for ransom; only fourteen Muslims died. This marked the real
   beginning of Muslim military achievement.

Rule consolidated

   To his followers, the victory in Badr apparently seemed a divine
   authentication of Muhammad's prophethood. Muhammad and his followers
   were now a dominant force in the oasis of Yathrib (Medina).

   After Khadija's death, Muhammad had married Aisha, the daughter of his
   friend Abu Bakr (who would later emerge as the first leader of the
   Muslims after Muhammad's death). In Medina, he married Hafsah, daughter
   of Umar (who would eventually become Abu Bakr's successor).

   Muhammad's daughter Fatima married Ali, Muhammad's cousin. According to
   the Sunni, another daughter, Umm Kulthum, married Uthman. Each of these
   men, in later years, would emerge as successors to Muhammad and
   political leaders of the Muslims. Thus, all four caliphs were linked to
   Muhammad by marriage. Sunni Muslims regard these caliphs as the
   Rashidun, or Rightly Guided. (See Succession to Muhammad for more
   information on the controversy on the succession to the caliphate).

Continued warfare

   In 625 the Meccan general Abu Sufyan marched on Medina with three
   thousand men. The ensuing Battle of Uhud took place on March 23 and
   ended in a stalemate. The Meccans had lost too many men to pursue the
   Muslims into Medina.

   In April 627, Abu Sufyan led another strong force against Medina. But
   Muhammad had dug a trench around Medina and successfully defended the
   city in the Battle of the Trench.

   Following the Muslims' victory at the Battle of the Trench, the Muslims
   were able, through conversion and conquest, to extend their rule to
   many of the neighboring cities and tribes.

Muhammad and the Jewish tribes of Medina

   In the course of Muhammad's proselytizing in Mecca, he viewed
   Christians and Jews (whom he referred to as " People of the Book") as
   natural allies, sharing the core principles of his teachings, and
   anticipated their acceptance and support. Muslims, like Jews, were at
   that time praying towards Jerusalem. Muhammad was very excited to move
   to Medina, where the Jewish community there had long worshiped the one
   God.

   Many Medinans converted to the faith of the Meccan immigrants, but the
   Jewish tribes did not. Much to Muhammad's disappointment, they rejected
   his status as a prophet. Their opposition "may well have been for
   political as well as religious reasons". According to Watt, "Jews would
   normally be unwilling to admit that a non-Jew could be a prophet." Mark
   Cohen adds that Muhammad was appearing "centuries after the cessation
   of biblical prophecy" and "couched his message in a verbiage foreign to
   Judaism both in its format and rhetoric." As Muhammad taught that his
   message was identical to those of previous prophets (such as Abraham,
   Moses and Jesus), the Jews were furthermore in the position to make
   some Muslims doubt about his prophethood; the Jews, according to Watt,
   could argue that "some passages in the Qur'an contradicted their
   ancient scriptures". Mark Cohen states that "Muhammad could only have
   appeared to [Jews] as an impostor whose... message bore but a skewed
   resemblance to biblical and rabbinic Judaism." On political reasons,
   Esposito writes that "the Jewish tribes, which had long lived in Medina
   and had political ties with the Quraysh ... cooperated with
   (Muhammad's) Meccan enemies." Watt states that many of the Jews had
   close links with Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy , "the potential prince of Medina"
   who "is said that but for the arrival of Muhammad, had not become" the
   chief arbitrator of the community. The Jews may have hoped for greater
   influence if Ubayy had become a ruler. Watt writes that the Islamic
   response to these criticisms was:

     The Qur'an, met these intellectual criticisms by developing the
     conception of the religion of Abraham. While the knowledge of
     Abraham came from the Old Testament and material based on that,
     Abraham could be regarded as the ancestor of the Arabs through
     Ishmael. It was also an undeniable fact that he was not a Jew or
     Christian, since the Jews are either to be taken as the followers of
     Moses or as the descendants of Abraham's grandson, Jacob. At the
     same time Abraham had stood for the worship of God alone. The Qur'an
     therefore claimed that it was restoring the pure monotheism of
     Abraham which had been corrupted in various, clearly specified, ways
     by Jews and Christians.

   Watt states that the charge of altering the scripture may mean no more
   than giving false interpretations to some passages, though in later
   Islam it was taken to mean that parts of the Bible are corrupt. Muslims
   were also arguing that there was nothing surprising in Muhammad's
   rejection by Jews, as that had had occurred to other prophets mentioned
   in Jewish scripture. Watt claims that the Quran "also went on to
   criticize Jewish exaggerations of their claim to be the chosen people"
   and argued against the supposed claim of the Jews of Medina "that they
   alone had a true knowledge of God" (Watt, Muslim-Christian Encounters,
   p.14). The Qur'an also criticized the Jews for believing that Ezra is
   the Son of God, a claim unattested either in Jewish or other
   extra-Qur'anic sources. (Kate Zebiri, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, The
   Qur'an and Polemics) David Waines opines that the Qur'an is mirroring
   contemporary popular beliefs many of which probably bordered on heresy.
   (David Waines, An Introduction to Islam, p.27) Michael Cook considers
   the charge of considering Ezra as the Son of God to be petty or
   obscure. (Michael Cook, Muhammad, p.34)

   In the Constitution of Medina, Muhammad demanded the Jews' political
   loyalty in return for religious and cultural autonomy. However, after
   each major battle with the Medinans, Muhammad accused one of the Jewish
   tribes of treachery (See 2:100). After Badr and Uhud, the Banu Qainuqa
   and Banu Nadir, respectively, were expelled "with their families and
   possessions" from Medina. After the Battle of the Trench in 627, the
   Jews of Banu Qurayza were accused of conspiring with the Meccans;
   Qurayza men were beheaded, women and children enslaved, and their
   properties confiscated. Watt writes that some of the Arab tribe of Aws
   wanted to honour their old alliance with Qurayza, are said to asked
   Muhammad to forgive the Qurayza for their sake as Muhammad had
   previously forgiven the Nadir for the sake of Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy.
   Muhammad met this feeling by suggesting that the fate of Qurayza should
   be decided by one of their Muslim allies and thereby avoiding any
   likelihood of blood-feud. A suggestion to which the Jews agreed.
   Muhammad appointed Sa'd ibn Mua'dh, a leading man among Aws, who passed
   execution sentence against Qurayza. Watt states that there is no need
   to suppose that Muhammad brought pressure on Sa'd ibn Mua'dh: Those of
   the Aws who wanted leniency for Qurayza seems to have been regarded
   Qurayza unfaithful only to Muhammad and not to Aws; the old Arab
   tradition required support of an ally, independent of the ally's
   conduct to other people. But Sa'd didn't want to allow tribal
   allegiance to come before the Islamic allegiance.

   The Banu Qurayza incident has generated much controversy in the
   centuries since, and is therefore worth examining more closely here.
   Watt writes that "during the siege of Medina, Muhammad became anxious
   about their conduct and sent some of the leading Muslims to talk to
   them [the Jewish tribes]; the result was disquieting. Though Qurayza
   does not appear to have committed any overt hostile act and been
   overtly correct in their behaviour, they had almost certainly[probably
   ] been involved in negotiations with the enemy and would have attacked
   Muhammad in the rear had there been an opportunity. " Marco Scholler
   believes the Banu Qurayza were "openly, probably actively," supporting
   Meccans and their allies. Finally, Welch states that Muslims
   "discovered, or perhaps became suspected" that the Jews were conspiring
   with the enemy." A minority of academic scholars reject the incident
   holding that Ibn Ishaq, the first biographer of Muhammad, supposedly
   gathered many details of the incident from descendants of the Qurayza
   Jews themselves. These descendants allegedly embellished or
   manufactured details of the incident by borrowing from histories of
   Jewish persecutions during Roman times. Watt, however, finds this
   argument "not entirely convincing."

   The motivation for Muhammad's actions was political rather than racial
   or theological. John Esposito writes that the massacre of traitors was
   common practice, "neither alien to Arab customs nor to that of the
   Hebrew prophets." Watt writes that in Arab eyes, the massacre "wasn't
   barbarous but a mark of strength, since it showed that the Muslims were
   not afraid of blood reprisals."

   In Watt's view, the "Jews had opposed Muhammad to the utmost of their
   abilities and they were utterly crushed." Watt speculates that had Jews
   come to terms with Muhammad instead of opposing him, they had become
   partners in the Arab Empire and Islam a sect of Jewry. They could have
   secured very favourable terms with him, including religious autonomy. A
   great opportunity that was lost.

The truce of Hudaybiyya

   Although verses ( 2:196- 2:210) about the performing of Hajj had
   already come, Muhammad and Muslims did not perform it due to the enmity
   of the Quraish. It was the month of Shawwal 6 A.H. when Muhammad saw in
   a vision that he was shaving his head after the Hajj. Muhammad
   therefore decided to perform the Haj in the following month. Hence
   around the 13th of March, 628 with 1400 Companions he went towards
   Mecca without the least intention of giving battle. But the Quraish
   were determined to offer resistance to Muslims and they posted
   themselves outside Mecca, closing all access to the city. . In order to
   settle the dispute peacefully, Muhammad halted at a place called
   Hudaybiyya. Hence after series of talks a treaty was signed. The main
   points of treaty were the following:
    1. They have agreed to lay down the burden of war for ten years
    2. Muhammad, should not perform Hajj this year
    3. They may come next year to perform Hajj (unarmed) but shall not
       stay in Mecca for more than three days
    4. Any Muslim living in Mecca cannot settle in Medina, but Medinan
       Muslims may come and join Meccans (and will not be returned).

   Many Muslims were not satisfied with the terms of the treaty. However,
   on the way to Medina, God revealed to the Prophet a new chapter of the
   Qur'an named "Al-Fath" (The Victory) 48:1- 48:29. The new Revelation
   left no doubt in Muslims' minds that the expedition from which they
   were now returning must be considered a victorious one. . With the
   passage of time, it became more and more apparent why the Qur'an had
   declared the truce a victory. The men of Mecca and Medina could now
   meet in peace and discuss Islam. Hence, during the following two years
   the community of Islam more than doubled.

Muhammad's letters to the Heads of State

   After the truce signed by the Hudaybiyya, Muhammad is said to have sent
   letters to many rulers of the world, demanding they convert to Islam.
   Hence he sent messengers (with letters) to Heraclius of the Byzantine
   Empire (the eastern Roman Empire), Chosroes of Persia, the chief of
   Yemen and to some others.

After the conquest

   The truce of Hudaybiyya had been in force for two years. . The tribe of
   Khuz'aah had a friendly relationship with Muhammad, while on the other
   hand their enemies, the Banu Bakr, had an alliance with the Meccans. A
   clan of the Bakr made a night raid against the Khuz'aah, killing a few
   of them . The Meccans helped their allies (i.e., the Banu Bakr) with
   weapons and, according to some sources, a few Meccans also took part in
   the fighting . After the fighting Muhammad offered Meccans following
   three conditions.
   Muhammad advancing on Mecca, with the angels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil
   and Azrail (16th century Ottoman illustration of the Siyer-i Nebi)
   Enlarge
   Muhammad advancing on Mecca, with the angels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil
   and Azrail (16th century Ottoman illustration of the Siyer-i Nebi)
    1. The Meccans were to pay blood-money for those slain among the
       Khuza'ah tribe, or
    2. They should have nothing to do with the Banu Bakr, or
    3. They should declare the truce of Hudaybiyya null.

   The Meccans replied that they would accept only the third condition.
   However, soon they realized their mistake and sent Abu Safyan to renew
   the Hudaybiyya treaty, but now his request was declined by Muhammad.
   Muhammad began to prepare for a campaign. .

   In 630, Muhammad marched on Mecca with an enormous force, said to
   number more than ten thousand men. Most Meccans converted to Islam, and
   Muhammad subsequently destroyed all of the statues of Arabian gods in
   and around the Kaaba, without any exception. Henceforth the pilgrimage
   would be a Muslim pilgrimage and the shrine was converted to a Muslim
   shrine.

Unification of Arabia

   The capitulation of Mecca and the defeat of an alliance of enemy tribes
   at Hunayn effectively brought the greater part of the Arabian peninsula
   under Muhammad's authority. However, this authority was not enforced by
   a regular government, as Muhammad chose instead to rule through
   personal relationships and tribal treaties. The Muslims were clearly
   the dominant force in Arabia, and most of the remaining tribes and
   states hastened to convert to Islam.

Death

   The Al-Masjid al-Nabawi is Islam's second most sacred site; the Green
   dome in the background stands above Muhammad's tomb
   Enlarge
   The Al-Masjid al-Nabawi is Islam's second most sacred site; the Green
   dome in the background stands above Muhammad's tomb

   In 632 Muhammad fell ill and suffered for several days with head pain
   and weakness. He succumbed on Monday, June 8, 632, in the city of
   Medina, at the age of sixty-three. He is buried in the Muhammad's tomb
   in the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina.

Muhammad as a military leader

   For most of the sixty-three years of his life, Muhammad was a merchant,
   then a religious leader. He took up the sword late in his life. He was
   an active military leader for ten years.

Family life

   Muhammad was first married to Khadijah at the age of 25 with whom he
   lived in happiness and fidelity during the prime of his life for 25
   years. The death of Khadijah, his dear wife with whom he shared his
   every hope and fear seemed inconsolable and some of his friends advised
   him to marry again to reduce his grief but he was reluctant to do so.
   It was suggested to Muhammad by Khawla bint Hakim, that he should marry
   Sawda bint Zama, a Muslim widow, or Aisha. 'Muhammad is said to have
   asked her to arrange for him to marry both. It had already been agreed
   that Aisha should marry another man, whose father, though still pagan,
   was friendly to the Muslims. By common consent, however, this agreement
   was set aside and Aisha was betrothed to Muhammad.' As was common among
   Arabs and particularly among nobles and leaders of the Arabian society,
   later Muhammad married more wives mostly because of social and
   political motives, to make for a total of eleven, of whom nine or ten
   were living at the time of his death. "As was customary for Arab
   chiefs, many were political marriages to cement alliances." For
   example, as Watt in Encyclopedia of Islam states, Muhammad's marriage
   to Aisha to 'must have seen ... a means of strengthening the ties
   between himself and Abu Bakr, his chief follower.' "Others were
   marriages to widows of his companians who had fallen in combat and were
   in need of protection. Remarriage was difficult in a society that
   emphasized virginity." However these motivations should not obscure the
   fact that Muhammad was attracted to his wives and enjoyed his wives.
   Muhammad gave much emphasis to the importance of family and was
   concerned for his wives. He also viewed sex as "a gift from God to be
   enjoyed within the bonds of marriage" Muhammad, by all indications,
   "did not behave like a traditional head of household." Some of
   Muhammad's companians were "shocked by the way he allowed his wives to
   stand up to him and answer him back. Muhammad regularly helped with
   household chores, mended his own cloths, preparing his food and took
   his wives’ advice seriously. On one occasion Umm salamah, the most
   intelligent of his wives, helped him to prevent a mutiny." Sometimes
   his wives were of worry, for example when Muhammad found them
   quarrelling about "the division of booty after a raid, he threatened to
   divorce them all unless they lived more strictly in accordance with
   Islamic values ( 33:28-29)"

   Among Muhammad's wives, the status of Maria al-Qibtiyya is disputed;
   she may have been a slave, a freed slave, or a wife.

   Aisha was the only virgin wife of Muhammad. Watt states that she
   'cannot have been more than twelve years old when the marriage was
   consummated, while Spellberg writes that Aisha's youth might have been
   deliberately emphasized by scholars during the Abbasid caliphate to
   reject Shi'a political claims for the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib.

   Muhammad had children by only two of these unions. Khadijah is said to
   have borne him four daughters and a son; only one daughter, Fatima,
   survived her father. Shi'a Muslims dispute the number of Muhammad's
   children, stating that he had only one daughter, and that the other
   "daughters" were step-daughters. Maria al-Qibtiyya bore him a son, but
   the child died when he was ten months old. Asma Barlas, states that
   Muhammad "was far more progressive than his peers on the issue of
   children's position in the community."

   William Montgomery Watt states:

     He seems to have been specially fond of children and to have got on
     well with them. Perhaps it was the yearning of a man who saw all his
     sons die as infants. Much of his paternal affection went to his
     adopted son Zayd. He was also attached to his younger cousin 'Ali
     ibn-Abi-Talib, who had been a member of his household for a time...
     For a time a grand-daughter called Umamah was a favourite. He would
     carry her on his shoulder during the public prayers, setting her
     down when he bowed or prostrated, then picking her up again. On one
     occasion he teased his wives by showing them a necklace and saying
     he would give it to the one who was dearest to him; when he thought
     their feelings were sufficiently agitated, he presented it not to
     any of them, but to Umamah...He was able to enter into the spirit of
     childish games and had many friends among children. He had fun with
     the children who came back from Abyssinia and spoke Abyssinian.

   Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two epochs: pre-hijra
   (emigration) in Mecca, a city in northern Arabia, from the year 570 to
   622 , and post-hijra in Medina, from 622 until his death in 632. All
   but two of his marriages were contracted after the migration to Medina.

   He married 11 or 13 women depending upon the differing accounts of who
   his wives were. Two of his wives - Khadîjah and Zaynab bint Khuzayma -
   died during his lifetime. Only Khadijah and Maria al-Qibtiyya bore him
   many children.

   There is some dispute between Shia scholars regarding the genealogy of
   the four daughters of Khadija on whether they were born to Khadijah
   from her marriage to Muhammad, an earlier marriage, or if they were in
   fact the daughters of a widowed and dead sister of Khadija. Sunni's
   believe he had four daughters with Khadîjah.

   Shi'a accept Fatimah to be Muhammad's only surviving child , while some
   Sunni question that .

   There is also a difference of opinion regarding whether he had two or
   four sons. The conflict arises from some reports on the sons of
   Khadijah mentioning two sons called Tahir and Tayyab , and another
   mentioning one called Abdullah who was also called Tahir and possibly
   also called Tayyab . Ibrâhîm was the only child borne to him by Maria
   during his residence in Medina and the last to be born. Abdullâh was
   born after his prophethood but died during his residence in Mecca. All
   the other sons died before his prophethood.

   Children of Khadijah:

   Sons:
     * Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad
     * Qasim ibn Muhammad

   Daughters:
     * Ruqayyah bint Muhammad
     * Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad
     * Zainab bint Muhammad
     * Fatima Zahra

   Children of Maria:
     * Ibrahim ibn Muhammad

Companions

   The term Sahaba (companion) refers to anyone who meets three criteria:
   to be a contemporary of Muhammad, to have heard Muhammad speak on at
   least one occasion, and to be a convert to Islam. Companions are
   considered the ultimate sources for the oral traditions, or hadith, on
   which much of Muslim law and practice are based. The following are a
   few examples in alphabetic order:
     * Abdullah ibn Abbas
     * Abu Bakr
     * Abu Dharr
     * Ali ibn Abi Talib
     * Ammar

                           * Bilal
                           * Hamza
                           * Al-Miqdad
                           * Sa'd
                           * Zayd

                                        * Salman the Persian
                                        * Talha
                                        * Umar
                                        * Uthman
                                        * Zubair

Muhammad the reformer

   Islamic law transformed the nature of society and family. Bernard
   Lewis, Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at
   Princeton University, believes that the advent of Islam in a sense was
   a revolution which only partially succeeded after long struggles due to
   tensions between the new religion and very old societies in the
   countries that the Muslims conquered. He thinks that one such area of
   tension was a consequence of what he sees as the egalitarian nature of
   Islamic doctrine. Islam from the first denounced aristocratic
   privilege, rejected hierarchy, and adopted a formula of the career open
   to the talents."

   John Esposito, professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University,
   sees Muhammad as a reformer who did away with many of the terrible
   practices of the pagan Arabs. He states that Muhammad's "insistence
   that each person was personally accountable not to tribal customary law
   but to an overriding divine law shook the very foundations of Arabian
   society... Muhammad proclaimed a sweeping program of religious and
   social reform that affected religious belief and practices, business
   contracts and practices, male-female and family relations.". Esposito
   holds that the Qur'an's reforms consist of 'regulations or moral
   guidance that limit or redefine rather than prohibit or replace
   existing practices.' He cites slavery and women's status as two
   examples.

Social security and family structure

   William Montgomery Watt, a scholar of Islamic studies, states that
   Muhammad was both a social and moral reformer in his day and
   generation. He asserts that Muhammad created a "new system of social
   security and a new family structure, both of which were a vast
   improvement on what went before. By taking what was best in the
   morality of the nomad and adapting it for settled communities, he
   established a religious and social framework for the life of many races
   of men."

Slavery

   Bilal, a freed slave, was the first Muezzin
   Enlarge
   Bilal, a freed slave, was the first Muezzin

   The Qur'an makes numerous references to slavery, regulates it and thus
   implicitly accepts it ( 2:178, 16:75, 30:28). Bernard Lewis states,
   "Slavery existed in all the ancient civilizations of Asia, Africa,
   Europe, and pre-Columbian America and had been accepted and even
   endorsed by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as other
   religions of the world." Lewis, however, states that Islam brought two
   major changes to ancient slavery which were to have far-reaching
   consequences. "One of these was the presumption of freedom; the other,
   the ban on the enslavement of free persons except in strictly defined
   circumstances," Lewis continues. The position of the Arabian slave was
   "enormously improved": the Arabian slave "was now no longer merely a
   chattel but was also a human being with a certain religious and hence a
   social status and with certain quasi-legal rights."

   In Muslim lands, in contrast to the ancient and colonial systems,
   slaves had a certain legal status and had obligations as well as rights
   to the slave owner, Bernard Lewis states. Lewis speculates that it was
   for this reason that "the position of the domestic slave in Muslim
   society was in most respects better than in either classical antiquity
   or the nineteenth-century Americas." The pressure from the European
   opponents of slavery on the Ottoman empire to abolish slavery was not
   because of the situation of slaves in Muslim lands (as it was no worse
   than, and even in some cases better than, that of the free poor) but
   because the processes of acquisition and transportation of slaves to
   Muslim lands often imposed appalling hardships although "once the
   slaves were settled in Islamic culture they had genuine opportunities
   to realize their potential. Many of them became merchants in Mecca,
   Jedda, and elsewhere." Lewis states that the practice of slavery in the
   Islamic empire represented a "vast improvement on that inherited from
   antiquity, from Rome, and from Byzantium." Although slavery was not
   abolished, Annemarie Schimmel asserts that as the reforms seriously
   limited the supply of new slaves, slavery would be theoretically
   abolished with the expansion of Islam.

Women's rights

   Majid Khadduri, professor and director of Middle East Studies at the
   School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University,
   writes that under the Arabian pre-Islamic law of status, women had
   virtually no rights. Islamic law, however, provided women with a number
   of rights. John Esposito, professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown
   University, states that the reforms affected marriage, divorce, and
   inheritance. Women were not accorded with such legal status in other
   cultures, including the West, until centuries later. Under the Arabian
   pre-Islamic law, no limitations were set on men's rights to marry or to
   obtain a divorce. Islamic law, however, restricted polygamy ( 4:3)
   'Women were given inheritance rights in a patriarchal society that had
   previously restricted inheritance to male relatives.' Annemarie
   Schimmel, Professor of Oriental Studies and Sufism at Harvard
   university, states that "Compared to the pre-Islamic position of women,
   Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the
   right, at least according to the letter of the law, to administer the
   wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work"
   The Oxford Dictionary of Islam states that the general improvement of
   the status of Arab women included prohibition of female infanticide,
   and recognizing women's full personhood. The dowery was paid to woman
   herself rather than her family. Women were also granted the right to
   live in the matrimonial home and receive financial maintenance during
   marriage and a waiting period following the death and divorce. "In the
   earliest centuries of Islam, the position of women was not bad at all.
   Only over the course of centuries was she increasingly confined to the
   house and was forced to veil herself." The Quran and Muhammad's example
   were more favorable to the security and status of women than history
   and later Muslim practice might suggest. For example, the Qur'an
   doesn't require women to wear veils; rather, it was a social habit
   picked up with the expansion of Islam. In fact, since it was
   impractical for working women to wear veils, "A veiled woman silently
   announced that her husband was rich enough to keep her idle."

   The institution of marriage, characterized by unquestioned male
   superiority in the pre-Islamic law of status, was redefined and changed
   into one in which the woman was somewhat of an interested partner. 'For
   example, the dowry, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the
   father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her
   personal property' Under Islamic law, marriage was no longer viewed as
   a "status" but rather as a "contract". The essential elements of the
   marriage contract were now an offer by the man, an acceptance by the
   woman, and the performance of such conditions as the payment of dowry.
   The woman's consent was imperative. Furthermore, the offer and
   acceptance had to be made in the presence of at least two witnesses.

   William Montgomery Watt, Professor (Emeritus) of Arabic and Islamic
   Studies at the University of Edinburgh, believes that Islam is still,
   in many ways, a man’s religion. However, he states that Muhammad, in
   the historical context of his time, can be seen as a figure who
   testified on behalf of women’s rights and improved things considerably.
   Watt explains the historical context surrounding women's rights at the
   time of Muhammad: "It appears that in some parts of Arabia, notably in
   Mecca, a matrilineal system was in the process of being replaced by a
   patrilineal one at the time of Muhammad. Growing prosperity caused by a
   shifting of trade routes was accompanied by a growth in individualism.
   Men were amassing considerable personal wealth and wanted to be sure
   that this would be inherited by their own actual sons, and not simply
   by an extended family of their sisters’ sons. This led to a
   deterioration in the rights of women. At the time Islam began, the
   conditions of women were terrible - they had no right to own property,
   were supposed to be the property of the man, and if the man died
   everything went to his sons." Muhammad, however, by "instituting rights
   of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce, gave women
   certain basic safeguards."

   Haddad and Esposito state that 'although Islam is often criticized for
   the low status it has ascribed to women, many scholars believe that it
   was primarily the interpretation of jurists, local traditions, and
   social trends which brought about a decline in the status of Muslim
   women. In this view Muhammad granted women rights and privileges in the
   sphere of family life, marriage, education, and economic endeavors,
   rights that help improve women's status in society.' However, 'the Arab
   Bedouins were dedicated to custom and tradition and resisted changes
   brought by the new religion.' Haddad and Esposito state that in this
   view 'the inequality of Muslim women happened because of the
   preexisting habits of the people among whom Islam took root. The
   economics of these early Muslim societies were not favorable to
   comfortable life for women. More important, during Islam's second and
   third centuries the interpretation of the Qur'an was in the hands of
   deeply conservative scholars, whose decisions are not easy to challenge
   today. The Qur'an is more favorable to women than is generally
   realized. In principle, except for a verse or two, the Qur'an grants
   women equality. For example, Eve was not the delayed product of Adam’s
   rib (as in the tradition for Christians and Jews); the two were born
   from a single soul. It was Adam, not Eve, who let the devil convince
   them to eat the forbidden fruit. Muslim women are instructed to be
   modest in their dress, but only in general terms. Men are also told to
   be modest. Many Muslims believe the veiling and seclusion are later
   male inventions, social habits picked up with the conquest of the
   Byzantine and Persian Empires.'

   Gerhard Endress, professor of Islamic Studies at Ruhr University,
   states: "The social system ... build up a new system of marriage,
   family and inheritance; this system treated women as an individual too
   and guaranteed social security to her as well as to her children.
   Legally controlled polygamy was an important advance on the various
   loosely defined arrangements which had previously been both possible
   and current; it was only by this provision (backed up by severe
   punishment for adultery), that the family, the core of any sedentary
   society could be placed on a firm footing."

Social reforms

   Dale Eickelman, Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations, writes
   in Encyclopedia of the Qur'an that:

     Writing in 1960s, sociologist Robert Bellah (Beyond belief) argued
     that Islam in its seventh-century origins was, for its time and
     place, "remarkably modern...in the high degree of commitment,
     involvement, and participation expected from the rank-and-file
     members of the community." Its leadership positions were open, and
     divine revelation emphasized equality among believers. Bellah argues
     that the restraints that kept the early Muslim community from
     "wholly exemplifying" these modern principles underscore the
     modernity of the basic message of the Qur'an, which exhorted its
     initial audience in seventh-century Arabia to break through the
     "stagnant localisms" of tribe and kinship. In making such
     statements, Bellah suggests that the early Islamic community placed
     a particular value on individuals, as opposed to collective or group
     responsibility (q.v.), so that efforts by contemporary Muslims to
     depict the early Islamic community as an egalitarian and participant
     one are not unwarranted.

   Frederick M. Denny, Professor of Islamic Studies and the History of
   Religions, concludes his article on Community and Society in the Qur'an
   (cf. Encyclopedia of the Qur'an) by the following remark about the idea
   of Muslim community (umma), developed by the Qur'an:

     Surely the most enduring and influential qur'anic idea of community
     is that of umma and so flexible is it in specific social, religious,
     and political terms that it can be embraced across a wide range of
     concerns by Muslims without their losing a general sense of common
     cause and consensus concerning the big question of belief and the
     proper conduct of life both individually and communally. Indeed, the
     umma idea has enabled Muslims to endure serious setbacks as in the
     times of western colonialism when political power was at a lower
     point in many Muslim regions. What is more, the umma ideal does not
     require a unified political order among Muslims in order to be
     realized and activated... Whenever one looks in the spreading Muslim
     populations of today..., the Qur'anic formulations and models of
     social and communal life of Muslims predominate and provide an ever
     fresh and innovative approach to defining what is meant to be Muslim
     and how to live in a pluralistic world alongside other communities
     and societies, whether religious or secular in nature.

Economic reforms

   Michael Bonner, Professor of Medieval Islamic History at the University
   of Michigan, writes on poverty and economics in the Qur'an that the
   Qur'an provided a blueprint for a new order in society, in which the
   poor would be treated more fairly than before. This "economy of
   poverty" prevailed in Islamic theory and practice until 13th and 14th
   century. At its heart was a notion of property circulated and purified,
   in part, through charity, which illustrates a distinctively Islamic way
   of conceptualizing charity, generosity, and poverty markedly different
   from "the Christian notion of perennial reciprocity between rich and
   poor and the ideal of charity as an expression of community love." The
   Qur'an prohibits bad kind of circulation (often understood interest or
   usury) and asks for good circulation ( zakat [legal alms giving]). Some
   of the recipients of charity appear only once in the Qur'an, and
   others—such as orphans, parents, and beggars—reappear constantly. Most
   common is the triad of kinsfolk, poor, and travelers. Unlike
   pre-Islamic Arabian society, the Qur'anic idea of economic circulation
   as a return of goods and obligations was for everyone, whether donors
   and recipients know each other or not, in which goods move, and society
   does what it is supposed to do. The Qur'an's distinctive set of
   economic and social arrangements, in which poverty and the poor have
   important roles, show signs of newness. The Qur'an told that the
   guidance comes to a community that regulates its flow of money and
   goods in the right direction (from top down) and practices generosity
   as reciprocation for God's bounty. In a broad sense, the narrative
   underlying the Qur'an is that of a tribal society becoming urbanized.
   Many scholars have characterized both the Qur'an and Islam as highly
   favorable to commerce and to the highly mobile type of society that
   emerged in the medieval Near East. Muslim tradition (both hadith and
   historiography) maintains that Muhammad did not permit the construction
   of any buildings in the market of Medina other than mere tents; nor did
   he permit any tax or rent to be taken there. This expression of a "free
   market"—involving the circulation of goods within a single space
   without payment of fees, taxes, or rent, without the construction of
   permanent buildings, and without any profiting on the part of the
   caliphal authority (indeed, of the Caliph himself ) —was rooted in the
   term sadaqa, "voluntary alms." This coherent and highly appealing view
   of the economic universe had much to do with Islam's early and lasting
   success. Since the poor were at the heart of this economic universe,
   the teachings of the Qur'an on poverty had a considerable, even a
   transforming effect in Arabia, the Near East, and beyond.

Literary reforms

   Wadad Kadi, Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at
   Chicago university and Mustansir Mir, Professor of Islamic studies at
   Youngstown State University state that:

     Although Arabic, as a language and a literary tradition, was quite
     well developed by the time of Muhammad's prophetic activity, it was
     only after the emergence of Islam, with its founding scripture in
     Arabic, that the language reached its utmost capacity of expression,
     and the literature its highest point of complexity and
     sophistication. Indeed, it probably is no exaggeration to say that
     the Qur'an was one of the most conspicuous forces in the making of
     classical and post-classical Arabic literature.

     The main areas in which the Qur'an exerted noticeable influence on
     Arabic literature are diction and themes; other areas are related to
     the literary aspects of the Qur'an particularly oaths (q.v.),
     metaphors, motifs, and symbols. As far as diction is concerned, one
     could say that qur'anic words, idioms, and expressions, especially
     "loaded" and formulatic phrases, appear in practically all genres of
     literature and in such abundance that it is simply impossible to
     compile a full record of them. For not only did the Qur'an create an
     entirely new linguistic corpus to express its message, it also
     endowed old, pre-Islamic words with new meanings and it is these
     meanings that took root in the language and subsequently in the
     literature...

Other reforms

   Islam reduced the devastating effect of blood feuds, which was common
   among Arabs, by encouraging compensation in money rather than blood. In
   case the aggrieved party insisted on blood, unlike the pre-Islamic Arab
   tradition in which any male relative could be slain, only the culprit
   himself could be slain.

   The Cambridge History of Islam states that the nomadic structure of
   pre-Islamic Arabia had the serious moral problem of the care of the
   poor and the unfortunate. "Not merely did the Qur'an urge men to show
   care and concern for the needy, but in its teaching about the Last day
   it asserted the existence of a sanction applicable to men as
   individuals in matters where their selfishness was no longer restrained
   by nomadic ideas of dishonour."

   Islam, in an effort to protect and help vargants, orphans and destitute
   made regular almsgiving — zakat — obligatory for Muslims. This regular
   alms-giving developed into a form of income tax to be used exclusively
   for welfare.

   Hossein Nasr, professor of Islamic studies at George Washington
   University, states the following about the social reforms of Islam in
   pre-Islamic Arabian society


   Muhammad

    Islamic social teachings also include support and help for those who
    have been oppressed or deprived in one way or another. In the reform
   that Islam carried out in Arabian society, it sided with the poor, and,
      like Christ, who said, "Blessed are the poor," the Prophet said,
   "Poverty is my pride." Of course, in both instance poverty means, above
     all, spiritual poverty, but also on the material level the Prophet,
    like Christ, lived in simplicity and was closer to the poor and weak
      than the wealthy and the powerful. Although the Prophet said that
    wealth is like a ladder with which one can either ascend to Heaven or
   descend to hell, he always emphasized that the poor must be helped and
          respected regardless of their lack of worldly provisions.


   Muhammad

Miracles in the Muslim biographies

   The Dome of the Rock, built atop the Jewish Temple Mount, marks the
   spot from which Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to Paradise.
   Enlarge
   The Dome of the Rock, built atop the Jewish Temple Mount, marks the
   spot from which Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to Paradise.

   The pre-modern Muslim biographies of Muhammad envisions Muhammad as a
   cosmic figure, invested with superhuman qualities. Modern Muslim
   biographies of Muhammad however portray him as a progressive social
   reformer, a political leader and a model of human virtue. The view of
   these modern biographies is that Muhammad's real miracle, as Daniel
   Brown states modern historians would probably agree, 'was not a moon
   split or a sighing palm tree, but the transformation of the Arabs from
   marauding bands of nomads into world conquerors.'

   Carl Ernst believes that this main shift in the treatment of Muhammad
   has been a response to the stridently negative depictions of Muhammad
   created by European authors. Daniel Brown adds two more reasons: First,
   Muslims in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were faced with
   social and political turmoil. The desire for the restoration of the
   Muslim community encouraged them to view Muhammad as a model for social
   and political reform. And lastly, 'the ongoing challenge of reforming
   or reviving Islamic law perpetuated concern for the life of Muhammad as
   a normative model for human behaviour.' Ernst states that this main
   shift reflects the growth of bourgeois scientific rationalism in Muslim
   countries.

Criticism

   Many critics doubt Muhammad's sincerity. According to William Muir,
   Muhammad in mecca was a man of good faith, but after the hijra, he
   says, "There [in Medina] temporal power, aggrandisement, and
   self-gratification mingled rapidly with the grand object of the
   Prophet's life, and they were sought and attained by just the same
   instrumentality." Muir accuses Muhammad of manufacturing messages from
   heaven. Other criticism is over Muhammad's marriages, especially his
   marriage with Aisha, when she was nine years old. Many critics of
   Mohammad use this marrage to say that Mohammad a "pervert."

Legacy

   The Oxford dictionary of Islam writes:

     Muhammad served as administrator, legislator, judge, and
     commander-in-chief as well as teacher, preacher, and prayer leader
     of the Muslim community. For the scholars of Islamic law he is the
     legislator-jurist who defined ritual observance; for the mystic he
     is the ideal seeker of spiritual perfection; for the philosopher and
     statesman he is the role model of both a conqueror and a just ruler;
     for ordinary Muslims, he is a model of God's grace and salvation.

Historical impact

   After Muhammad, a rapid creation of an empire under the Umayyads
   established a new polity from the Atlantic to the Indus River. Within a
   few decades after his death, his successors had united all of Arabia
   under an Islamic empire, which essentially became the successor to the
   Sassanid, Byzantine, and ultimately Roman empires. With a historically
   unprecedented swiftness, they conquered present-day Iran, Iraq, Egypt,
   Palestine, Syria, Armenia, and most of North Africa. By 750, Islam was
   as fully established as the two great earlier monotheistic belief
   systems, Judaism and Christianity, and had become the world's greatest
   military power. The rest of North Africa came under Muslim rule, as
   well as most of the Iberian Peninsula, much of Central Asia, and Sindh
   (in present day Pakistan). As of 2006, Islam is estimated to be the
   religion of 1.3 billion people.

Descendants

   Muhammad was survived by his daughter Fatima and her children, see
   Shia. Some say that his daughter Zainab, mother to a daughter called
   Amma or Umama, survived him as well.

   Descendants of Muhammad are known by sharifs شريف (plural: ِأشراف
   Ashraaf) or sayyid. Many rulers and notables in Muslim countries, past
   and present have professed such descent, with various degrees of
   credibility, such as the Fatimid dynasty of North Africa, the Idrisids,
   the current royal families of Jordan, Many Scholars of Iran and Iraq.
   In various Muslim countries, there are societies of varying credibility
   that authenticate claims of descent.

   In the Islamic prayer, Muslims end with the second tashahhud asking God
   to bless Muhammad and his descendants just as Abraham and his
   descendants were blessed.

Views on Muhammad

Seal of the Prophets

   The Muslim Profession of faith, the Shahada, illustrates the Muslim
   conception of the role of Muhammad - "There is No God (ʾilāh) but
   God(Allāh), and Muhammad is His Messenger." As shown on the Flag of
   Saudi Arabia
   Enlarge
   The Muslim Profession of faith, the Shahada, illustrates the Muslim
   conception of the role of Muhammad - "There is No God (ʾilāh) but
   God(Allāh), and Muhammad is His Messenger." As shown on the Flag of
   Saudi Arabia

   Muslims believe Muhammad to be the last in a line of prophets of God
   (Arabic Allah) and regard his mission as one of restoring the original
   monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and other prophets of Islam that
   had become corrupted by man over time. The Qur'an specifically refers
   to Muhammad as the " Seal of the Prophets", which is taken by most
   Muslims to believe him to be the last and greatest of the prophets.
   Scholars such as Welch however hold that this Muslim belief is most
   likely a later interpretation of the Seal of the Prophets. Carl Ernst
   considers this phrase to mean that Muhammad's "imprint on history is as
   final as a wax seal on a letter". Wilferd Madelung states that the
   meaning of this term is not certain.

Islamic view

   Muslim beliefs concerning Muhammad upon some aspects can vary widely
   between the sects of Islam. This article focuses on the more common
   beliefs about Muhammad. For how different sects differ in their views
   see : Islamic views of Muhammad.

More traditions

   Image made in 1315 of Pre-Prophethood Muhammad re-dedicating the Black
   Stone at the Kaaba. From Tabriz, Persia and can be found in Rashid
   al-Dins Jami' al-Tawarikh ("The Universal History" or "Compendium of
   Chronicles"), held in the University of Edinburgh.
   Enlarge
   Image made in 1315 of Pre-Prophethood Muhammad re-dedicating the Black
   Stone at the Kaaba. From Tabriz, Persia and can be found in Rashid
   al-Dins Jami' al-Tawarikh ("The Universal History" or "Compendium of
   Chronicles"), held in the University of Edinburgh.
     * Muslims tradition narrates miracles during his time growing up in
       the desert as an infant during the period when Muhammad was placed
       in the care of a Bedouin wet nurse - Halima Sadia.
     * After he returned to Mecca, he is said to have been beloved by all
       around him because he was such a polite and honest child.
     * As a youth, he was called upon to solve a vexing political problem
       for his Meccan neighbors. They were rebuilding the Kaaba and
       feuding over which clan should have the honour of raising the Black
       Stone into place. Muhammad suggested that the heads of each clan
       raise the Black Stone on a cloth, so that all had the honour of
       lifting it. Muhammad then put the stone into its place.
     * As a young man and a merchant, Muhammad was known to be trustworthy
       and honest. The other Meccans called him "Al-Amin", the trustworthy
       one or the honest one. After he proclaimed his prophethood,
       however, his neighbors turned against him.

Depictions of Muhammad

   Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of
   Islam, while Muslims differ as to whether or not visual depictions of
   Muhammad are permissible: Some Muslims believe that to prevent idolatry
   and shirk, or ascribing partners to Allah, visual depictions of
   Muhammad and other prophets of Islam should be prohibited. Other
   Muslims believe respectful depictions should be allowed . Both sides
   have produced Islamic art — the aniconists through calligraphy and
   arabesque, the pictorialists through book illustration and
   architectural decoration . Negative portrayal of Muhammad, whether
   spoken, written, drawn, or filmed, may be taken as a great offense by
   Muslims, see Muslim veneration for Muhammad.

Muslim veneration of Muhammad

   It is traditional for Muslims to illustrate and express love and
   veneration for Muhammad. This is observed in a number of different
   ways. Most notably, when Muslims say or write Muhammad's name, they
   usually follow it with Peace be upon him or its Arabic equivalent,
   sallalahu alayhi wasallam, and for Shias this is extended to Peace be
   upon him and his descendants. In English this is often abbreviated to
   "( pbuh)", "(saw)" and "pbuh&hd" for Shias, or even just simply as "p".
   The Quran gave him the title Apostle of God (Arabic: Rasul-Allah or
   Rasulallah), which has also been used by Muslims, as well as the more
   obvious title "Prophet". Concerts of Muslim, and especially Sufi,
   devotional music include songs praising Muhammad. There are religious
   songs Nasheeds which regularly praise Muhammad.

   Conversely, criticism of Muhammad is often equated with blasphemy,
   which is punishable by death in Pakistan. The position of the four main
   Sunni Muslim Maddhabs is that Islam prohibits depicting the prophet
   Muhammad in art; some non-maddhab groups, such as the Salafi movement,
   take a similar line. The Shia and others have historically taken a much
   less restrictive view of such depictions, allowing them if they are to
   praise Muhammad, while a school of Sufi'ism uses calligraphy of the
   name of Muhammad, Ali, Hussein and other important people in Muslim
   History to create images of the people.

Other religious traditions in regard to Muhammad

     * According to some scholars, vague hints of Muhammad's upcoming
       prophecy are foretold in the Christian Bible. Among those scholars
       is Ahmed Deedat. A more detailed mention of Muhammad can be found
       in the Gospel of Barnabas, the earliest version of which has been
       traced to the late 16th Century. In addition, another reputed
       gospel, found in Egypt, the Didache gospel, also foretells the
       coming of prophet Muhammad (meaning the teachings of the twelve
       Apostles). Article in Arabic
     * The Druze, who accept most but not all Qur'anic revelations, also
       consider him a prophet.
     * Bahá'ís venerate Muhammad as one of a number of prophets or "
       Manifestations of God", but consider his teachings to have been
       superseded by those of Bahá'u'lláh.
     * The Sikh holy text refers to Muhammad as a holy man, but does not
       elevate him to the status of a Sikh Guru.

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