The Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad was born around 570 C.E. in Mecca into the powerful Quraysh tribe and the respected Banu Hashim clan. Muhammad was orphaned at a young age and so he had different caretakers throughout his formative years. His father, Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, died before Muhammad was born and his mother Amina died when he was only six years old. His grandfather Abd al-Muttalib took over his care, but died two years later. From then on, Muhammad was cared for by his uncle Abu Talib.
Muhammad started out as a shepherd, but he eventually became a merchant. In his twenties, he met Khadija, a wealthy widow, and became the manager of her caravan. She was impressed with him because of his integrity and success as a merchant, so she proposed to him, and he accepted. This marriage greatly improved Muhammad’s financial situation and may be considered somewhat of a turning point for him as up until that time he was a humble orphan.
Muhammad grew to be concerned with some of the practices he observed among his fellow Arabs. Some of the pre-Islamic Arabs buried infant girls alive, apparently to avert economic hardship and to avoid the risk of the daughter developing a bad reputation, which would be a scar on the family. As an orphan, it is no wonder that Muhammad felt a special compassion for these infants, other orphans, widows, the poor, and other social outcasts.
Muhammad took to retreating on a regular basis to Mount Hira, where he would meditate inside of a cave. It is here during one of these retreats that Muhammad the Prophet was born. He began to receive revelations which frightened him terribly at first. A voice told him that he was the messenger of God and eventually the presence revealed itself as the angel Gabriel. Gabriel instructed Muhammad, "Recite!" Muhammad objected that he was unable to recite, but when Gabriel insisted, he asked, "What shall I recite?" Then Gabriel revealed to him the very first verses of what would come to be known as the Qur’an, meaning "recitation." Muhammad thereafter continued to receive verses until he died.
His wife Khadija believed in Muhammad’s message, and soon a few others also converted to the new religion of submission to Allah. But by and large, in the early years of his Prophethood, the people of Mecca were angered by his teachings. He criticized the religion of their fathers and had it not been for the protection of his uncle Abu Talib, Muhammad may have been greatly persecuted. In fact the rest of the Muslims, who were mostly of lower classes, were persecuted to the extent that many emigrated to Abyssinia.
In 619, Abu Talib died, leaving Muhammad without a protector. His supportive wife Khadijah also died this same year. These challenges and tragedies in his life did not deter the Prophet, and he continued to receive guidance from Allah. In one of the most celebrated events of Muhammad’s life, he was sleeping near the Ka’ba when he saw the angel Gabriel come. The angel cut Muhammad open, removed his heart and entrails, washed them in a golden basin, and placed them back into his body. Then Gabriel brought Buraq, a magical horse, who took Muhammad on a journey through the sky to Jerusalem. From there he was taken up through the seven heavens where he reached God Himself.
Some men from the city of Yathrib came to Mecca for the pilgrimage in 620, where they met Muhammad and were impressed with him. They needed a strong leader who could arbitrate in their city, where the tribes were at war. These men embraced Islam and invited Muhammad to be their leader. In the year 622, several Muslims emigrated to Yathrib, which came to be known as Medina. Muhammad himself escaped death to travel to Medina in that same year which was so pivotal that it marked the start of the Islamic calendar.
This move was so important because it was in Medina that an authentic Muslim community, the umma could be established away from the danger of Mecca. Muhammad was able to unite the warring tribes with a common purpose and a common religion. In Medina, the Muslims were able to gain strength to fight against the Meccans who still threatened them.
The Muslims of Medina set out to raid a large caravan that was on its way to Mecca. The Meccans had sent an army of nine hundred to guard the caravan, but Muhammad’s army of only three hundred defeated them. This was called the Battle of Badr and it served to boost the confidence of the Muslims, for they felt that God and His angels were fighting on their side. As Muhammad’s army gained prestige, many tribes made alliances with the Medinans, making them stronger still. After another battle, known as the Battle of the Trench, the Meccans had become visibly weaker.
After a breach in a treaty with Mecca, the Medinans marched with ten thousand men to Mecca. The leader of the Meccans went out to meet and submit to Muhammad’s army and so the conquest of Mecca took place with very little loss of life. The city of Mecca, which had always been a holy pilgrimage site for the people of Arabia, had now become a Muslim city. Muhammad purified the Ka’ba there, dedicating it to the worship of Allah. Muhammad died in 632 in the arms of his wife A’isha, whom he had married after the death of Khadija.
KB
From the Prophet Muhammad to the Death of Ali
According to most Muslims, Muhammad designated no successor before he died in 632 C.E. The Shi’is believe that he had indeed designated a successor, Ali, but Ali did not become the first leader after Muhammad. Instead, Abu Bakr was selected as khalifa or caliph. With Muhammad gone, some of the tribes withdrew their loyalty from the Muslim government, and had to be brought back in with military action by Abu Bakr. This trying time became known as the ridda, "apostasy," but in some sense this was the beginning of the Muslim conquests which would lead to a vast empire.
In the year 640 Egypt was conquered by the Muslims. For the most part, the Egyptians actually welcomed this conquest, because they were tired of the oppression of the Byzantine Empire. The Islamic Empire continued to expand and the Arabs would settle in garrison cities from which they could rule and preserve their cultural identity. Eventually there was cultural influence that went both ways, but mostly there was an Arabization and Islamization that would leave a lasting mark on the various cultures.
Abu Bakr served as caliph only two years before he died. Umar had played a crucial role even during Abu Bakr’s time as caliph, and since he was a little older and therefore presumably wiser, he became a natural choice for the next caliph. He was a great military leader and came to be known as the Commander of the Faithful, which would remain a title for the caliphs. Umar was killed in 644, but before he died, he appointed a committee whose job it would be to select the next caliph.
Uthman was chosen to be the next caliph. He was not a strong candidate but he carried a lot of prestige because he was a member of the Qurayshi aristocracy. He came to be resented by many because he appointed his relatives to high positions instead of choosing the best man for the job and treating everyone as equals. In spite of Uthman’s weaknesses as caliph, he did accomplish something that was very important to Islam. He took action to preserve Muhammad’s revelation by organizing a committee to collect and authorize the text of the Qur’an. All unofficial copies were ordered destroyed, and he thereby saw to it that all Muslims would read from the same authentic Qur’an.
Uthman was assassinated in 656 in his own home in Medina which was undefended. With the death of Uthman began a dark period of Islamic history referred to as the fitnas, the "trials." These were civil wars that were fought over the leadership of the community. Some of the struggles would end up dividing the Muslim community in ways that are often still felt today.
Ali understandably hesitated when in 656, after the death of Uthman, he had the chance to become caliph. The two caliphs who preceded him had been murdered, and he had detractors who posed a danger. But he had strong support from the Medinans and so he became the fourth caliph. The Umayyads, the aristocracy who had supported Uthman, were angered at Ali. They resented him because they felt he had done nothing to stop the assassination of their favored caliph, and furthermore, he made no move to punish those who were responsible for his death. Ali also replaced many of the people that Uthman had appointed to government positions.
Ali had many supporters in Iraq and he moved the capital of the empire to Kufa from Medina. Kufa was a logical location for the seat of the government due to its central position and its connection with the former prestige of the ancient Mesopotamian Empire. In Iraq, Ali was able to bring together many in his support but he faced imminent trouble.
Ali was Muhammad’s son-in-law, the husband of his and Khadija’s daughter Fatima. A’isha had felt jealous of Khadija because of Muhammad’s great love for her. Perhaps this is part of the reason that she fought against Ali. She and two other Meccans who opposed Ali were suspected of playing a role in Uthman’s assassination. Nevertheless, they used the occasion of Uthman’s assassination to stir up resentment against Ali for not bringing the assassins to justice. The three marched with an army to Basra, Iraq. They were defeated at what is now known as the Battle of the Camel.
During Uthman’s reign, he had appointed his nephew Mu’awiya as governor of Syria. Ali attempted to appoint a new governor to Syria but was unsuccessful. Mu’awiya refused to recognize Ali as caliph and soon war became inevitable. In 657, Mu’awiya’s and Ali’s forces met at Siffin, near the Euphrates River. Ali’s forces were winning. But the Syrians then decided to try playing on the religious sensitivities of Ali’s army. They placed copies of the Qur’an on their spears, and held them up with the cry that Allah should decide. This worked. Although they had been winning, Ali’s men agreed to stop fighting and negotiate.
Some of Ali’s supporters were very disappointed over this turn of events. They felt it was a weakness in Ali to give up the fight and arbitrate. They withdrew their support from Ali and became known as the Kharijites. Ali then had to fight them in battle, in which he was successful, but he had lost much support. He had lost much prestige because of the arbitrations with the Syrians, and his regime was further weakened by raids led by the Umayyads. He was murdered in 661 by a Kharijite.
The Shi’is continue to this day to express their support for Ali and his rightful rule as caliph. They consider him an infallible, a rightly guided imam, second in a line that begun with Muhammad. Ali’s death marks the last of what are known by Sunnis as the "rightly guided" caliphs, or the Rashidun.
KB
Source: Denny, Frederick Matthewson. An Introduction to Islam. Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2006.
Muhammad was born around 570 C.E. in Mecca into the powerful Quraysh tribe and the respected Banu Hashim clan. Muhammad was orphaned at a young age and so he had different caretakers throughout his formative years. His father, Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, died before Muhammad was born and his mother Amina died when he was only six years old. His grandfather Abd al-Muttalib took over his care, but died two years later. From then on, Muhammad was cared for by his uncle Abu Talib.
Muhammad started out as a shepherd, but he eventually became a merchant. In his twenties, he met Khadija, a wealthy widow, and became the manager of her caravan. She was impressed with him because of his integrity and success as a merchant, so she proposed to him, and he accepted. This marriage greatly improved Muhammad’s financial situation and may be considered somewhat of a turning point for him as up until that time he was a humble orphan.
Muhammad grew to be concerned with some of the practices he observed among his fellow Arabs. Some of the pre-Islamic Arabs buried infant girls alive, apparently to avert economic hardship and to avoid the risk of the daughter developing a bad reputation, which would be a scar on the family. As an orphan, it is no wonder that Muhammad felt a special compassion for these infants, other orphans, widows, the poor, and other social outcasts.
Muhammad took to retreating on a regular basis to Mount Hira, where he would meditate inside of a cave. It is here during one of these retreats that Muhammad the Prophet was born. He began to receive revelations which frightened him terribly at first. A voice told him that he was the messenger of God and eventually the presence revealed itself as the angel Gabriel. Gabriel instructed Muhammad, "Recite!" Muhammad objected that he was unable to recite, but when Gabriel insisted, he asked, "What shall I recite?" Then Gabriel revealed to him the very first verses of what would come to be known as the Qur’an, meaning "recitation." Muhammad thereafter continued to receive verses until he died.
His wife Khadija believed in Muhammad’s message, and soon a few others also converted to the new religion of submission to Allah. But by and large, in the early years of his Prophethood, the people of Mecca were angered by his teachings. He criticized the religion of their fathers and had it not been for the protection of his uncle Abu Talib, Muhammad may have been greatly persecuted. In fact the rest of the Muslims, who were mostly of lower classes, were persecuted to the extent that many emigrated to Abyssinia.
In 619, Abu Talib died, leaving Muhammad without a protector. His supportive wife Khadijah also died this same year. These challenges and tragedies in his life did not deter the Prophet, and he continued to receive guidance from Allah. In one of the most celebrated events of Muhammad’s life, he was sleeping near the Ka’ba when he saw the angel Gabriel come. The angel cut Muhammad open, removed his heart and entrails, washed them in a golden basin, and placed them back into his body. Then Gabriel brought Buraq, a magical horse, who took Muhammad on a journey through the sky to Jerusalem. From there he was taken up through the seven heavens where he reached God Himself.
Some men from the city of Yathrib came to Mecca for the pilgrimage in 620, where they met Muhammad and were impressed with him. They needed a strong leader who could arbitrate in their city, where the tribes were at war. These men embraced Islam and invited Muhammad to be their leader. In the year 622, several Muslims emigrated to Yathrib, which came to be known as Medina. Muhammad himself escaped death to travel to Medina in that same year which was so pivotal that it marked the start of the Islamic calendar.
This move was so important because it was in Medina that an authentic Muslim community, the umma could be established away from the danger of Mecca. Muhammad was able to unite the warring tribes with a common purpose and a common religion. In Medina, the Muslims were able to gain strength to fight against the Meccans who still threatened them.
The Muslims of Medina set out to raid a large caravan that was on its way to Mecca. The Meccans had sent an army of nine hundred to guard the caravan, but Muhammad’s army of only three hundred defeated them. This was called the Battle of Badr and it served to boost the confidence of the Muslims, for they felt that God and His angels were fighting on their side. As Muhammad’s army gained prestige, many tribes made alliances with the Medinans, making them stronger still. After another battle, known as the Battle of the Trench, the Meccans had become visibly weaker.
After a breach in a treaty with Mecca, the Medinans marched with ten thousand men to Mecca. The leader of the Meccans went out to meet and submit to Muhammad’s army and so the conquest of Mecca took place with very little loss of life. The city of Mecca, which had always been a holy pilgrimage site for the people of Arabia, had now become a Muslim city. Muhammad purified the Ka’ba there, dedicating it to the worship of Allah. Muhammad died in 632 in the arms of his wife A’isha, whom he had married after the death of Khadija.
KB
From the Prophet Muhammad to the Death of Ali
According to most Muslims, Muhammad designated no successor before he died in 632 C.E. The Shi’is believe that he had indeed designated a successor, Ali, but Ali did not become the first leader after Muhammad. Instead, Abu Bakr was selected as khalifa or caliph. With Muhammad gone, some of the tribes withdrew their loyalty from the Muslim government, and had to be brought back in with military action by Abu Bakr. This trying time became known as the ridda, "apostasy," but in some sense this was the beginning of the Muslim conquests which would lead to a vast empire.
In the year 640 Egypt was conquered by the Muslims. For the most part, the Egyptians actually welcomed this conquest, because they were tired of the oppression of the Byzantine Empire. The Islamic Empire continued to expand and the Arabs would settle in garrison cities from which they could rule and preserve their cultural identity. Eventually there was cultural influence that went both ways, but mostly there was an Arabization and Islamization that would leave a lasting mark on the various cultures.
Abu Bakr served as caliph only two years before he died. Umar had played a crucial role even during Abu Bakr’s time as caliph, and since he was a little older and therefore presumably wiser, he became a natural choice for the next caliph. He was a great military leader and came to be known as the Commander of the Faithful, which would remain a title for the caliphs. Umar was killed in 644, but before he died, he appointed a committee whose job it would be to select the next caliph.
Uthman was chosen to be the next caliph. He was not a strong candidate but he carried a lot of prestige because he was a member of the Qurayshi aristocracy. He came to be resented by many because he appointed his relatives to high positions instead of choosing the best man for the job and treating everyone as equals. In spite of Uthman’s weaknesses as caliph, he did accomplish something that was very important to Islam. He took action to preserve Muhammad’s revelation by organizing a committee to collect and authorize the text of the Qur’an. All unofficial copies were ordered destroyed, and he thereby saw to it that all Muslims would read from the same authentic Qur’an.
Uthman was assassinated in 656 in his own home in Medina which was undefended. With the death of Uthman began a dark period of Islamic history referred to as the fitnas, the "trials." These were civil wars that were fought over the leadership of the community. Some of the struggles would end up dividing the Muslim community in ways that are often still felt today.
Ali understandably hesitated when in 656, after the death of Uthman, he had the chance to become caliph. The two caliphs who preceded him had been murdered, and he had detractors who posed a danger. But he had strong support from the Medinans and so he became the fourth caliph. The Umayyads, the aristocracy who had supported Uthman, were angered at Ali. They resented him because they felt he had done nothing to stop the assassination of their favored caliph, and furthermore, he made no move to punish those who were responsible for his death. Ali also replaced many of the people that Uthman had appointed to government positions.
Ali had many supporters in Iraq and he moved the capital of the empire to Kufa from Medina. Kufa was a logical location for the seat of the government due to its central position and its connection with the former prestige of the ancient Mesopotamian Empire. In Iraq, Ali was able to bring together many in his support but he faced imminent trouble.
Ali was Muhammad’s son-in-law, the husband of his and Khadija’s daughter Fatima. A’isha had felt jealous of Khadija because of Muhammad’s great love for her. Perhaps this is part of the reason that she fought against Ali. She and two other Meccans who opposed Ali were suspected of playing a role in Uthman’s assassination. Nevertheless, they used the occasion of Uthman’s assassination to stir up resentment against Ali for not bringing the assassins to justice. The three marched with an army to Basra, Iraq. They were defeated at what is now known as the Battle of the Camel.
During Uthman’s reign, he had appointed his nephew Mu’awiya as governor of Syria. Ali attempted to appoint a new governor to Syria but was unsuccessful. Mu’awiya refused to recognize Ali as caliph and soon war became inevitable. In 657, Mu’awiya’s and Ali’s forces met at Siffin, near the Euphrates River. Ali’s forces were winning. But the Syrians then decided to try playing on the religious sensitivities of Ali’s army. They placed copies of the Qur’an on their spears, and held them up with the cry that Allah should decide. This worked. Although they had been winning, Ali’s men agreed to stop fighting and negotiate.
Some of Ali’s supporters were very disappointed over this turn of events. They felt it was a weakness in Ali to give up the fight and arbitrate. They withdrew their support from Ali and became known as the Kharijites. Ali then had to fight them in battle, in which he was successful, but he had lost much support. He had lost much prestige because of the arbitrations with the Syrians, and his regime was further weakened by raids led by the Umayyads. He was murdered in 661 by a Kharijite.
The Shi’is continue to this day to express their support for Ali and his rightful rule as caliph. They consider him an infallible, a rightly guided imam, second in a line that begun with Muhammad. Ali’s death marks the last of what are known by Sunnis as the "rightly guided" caliphs, or the Rashidun.
KB
Source: Denny, Frederick Matthewson. An Introduction to Islam. Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2006.