Muhammad (570-632) was
born into a humble family. His father, Abdullah, had died suddenly, leaving his
new bride, Amina, pregnant. Muhammad was raised by his uncle, Abu Talib, a
merchant. He first worked as a shepherd, then as a merchant on his uncle’s
trade caravans.
Muhammad was 40 years
old before he received a revelation from the Angel Gabriel. During the rest of
his life, he continued to receive messages from God. These messages formed the
beliefs of Islam. First his friends and then the tribes of Arabia were
converted to Islam. Later it spread across huge areas.
Muhammad arrived in
Medina with several of his followers. The people there welcomed him as the
prophet of God and found places in their homes for the Muslims. Muhammad continued
to preach and got more followers. He soon became the leader of Medina. People
looked to him to solve disputes in the town and with other tribes. He started
to arrange collections for the needy. Gradually, he began to make laws for
people to follow, including rules about marriage, divorce and food. He was
still getting messages from God and these were more and more about how people
should lead their lives. For example, Chapter 17 of the Koran includes commands
for Muslims to be kind to their parents and the old and to be generous. Islam
gave status and the hope of Heaven to the poor; Muhammad’s laws brought justice
and order. Medina had become a small Islamic state with Muhammad as its leader.
But tension between the
Muslims and the Koraish in Mecca continued. The Meccans accused the Muslims of
raiding their trade caravans. In 624, the Meccans sent an army of about 1.000
men to punish the Muslims. The Muslims only had a force of 300 but they were
very loyal and brave. They won the fight, called the Battle of Badr. The
Muslims were now a fighting force as well as a religious group. Muhammad made
treaties with other Arab tribes to make sure that they didn’t join the Meccans.
Some of these tribes became Muslims.
Fighting continued for
the next few years. Muhammad sometimes led the Muslims in battle; once he was
wounded in the face and leg. He was a successful general. Eventually, the
Muslims wore down the Meccans and in 630 Muhammad took his followers back to
Mecca in triumph. He went directly to the Ka’ba, took out all of the altars and
idols and declared it a temple to Allah alone. This was wise decision since the
Ka’ba was known all over Arabia and it became a place of worship for all
Muslims. By a mixture of preaching, persuasion and force, the Muslims soon
controlled all of the main tribes and town of Arabia.
Muhammad fell ill in
Medina in 632 and died. He had a fever and violent headaches. For several days
he was nursed by his wife, Ayesha. Finally, his head cradled in Ayesha’s arms,
the Prophet Muhammad died. In about 23 years he had started a religion which
had come to dominate the lives of thousands of followers and was still
expanding.
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