As long as Abu Talib was alive, Muhammad was protected by the Hashim, even though that clan was the object of a boycott by other Quraysh after 616. About 619, however, Abu Talib died, and the new clan leader was unwilling to continue the protective arrangement. At about the same time Muhammad lost another staunch supporter, his wife Khadijah. In the face of persecution and curtailed freedom to preach, Muhammad and about 70 followers reached the decision to sever their ties of blood kinship in Mecca and to move to Medina, a city about 250mi to the north. This move, called the hegira, (an Arabic word meaning "emigration"), took place in 622, the first year of the Muslim calendar. (Guillaume, 1955).
In Medina an organized Muslim community gradually came into existence under Muhammad's leadership. Attacks on caravans from Mecca led to war with the Meccans. Muhammad's followers obtained (624) victory at Badr but were defeated at Uhud a year later. In 627, however, they successfully defended Medina against a siege by 10,000 Meccans. Clashes with three Jewish clans in Medina occurred in this same period. One of these clans, the Banu Qurayza, was accused of plotting against Muhammad during the siege of Medina; in retaliation all of the clan's men were killed and the women and children sold into slavery. Two years later, in the oasis of Khaybar, a different
fate befell another Jewish group. After defeat they were allowed to remain
there for the price of half their annual harvest of dates. Since AD 624 the
Muslims of Medina had been facing Mecca during worship in memory.
(earlier, they had apparently turned toward Jerusalem). (Newby, 1989).
Mecca was considered of primary importance to the Muslim community because of the presence there of the Kabba. This sanctuary was then a pagan shrine, but according to the Koran, it had been built by Abraham and his son Ishmael and had therefore to be reintegrated in Muslim society. An attempt to go on pilgrimage to Mecca in 628 was unsuccessful, but at that time an arrangement was made allowing the Muslims to make the pilgrimage the next year, on condition that all parties cease armed hostilities. Incidents in 629 ended the armistice, and in January 630, Muhammad and his men marched on Mecca. The Quraysh offer to surrender was accepted with apromise of general amnesty, and hardly any fighting occurred. Muhammad's generosity to a city that had forced him out 8 years earlier is often quoted as an example of remarkable magnanimity. (Newby, 1989).
In his final years Muhammad continued his political and military
involvements, making arrangements with nomadic tribes ready to accept Islam and sending expeditions against hostile groups. A few months after a
farewell pilgrimage to Mecca in March 632 he fell ill. Muhammad died on June
8, 632, in the presence of his favorite wife, Aisha, whose father, Abu Bakr,
became the first "caliph." (Jeffrey, 1958).
III. Muhammad as God's Messenger
As I have already stated, Muslim belief dictates that God sent Muhammad as a messenger (dubbed rasul, or "apostle") from among the Arabs, bringing a revelation in "clear Arabic" according to The Holy Koran. Thus, as other
peoples had received their messengers, so the Arabs received theirs. As one
who the Koran reports had lived "a lifetime" among them before his calling,
however, Muhammad was rejected by many because he was simply a man
among men and not a traditional angelic being. As Moses had brought the Law and Jesus had received the Gospel, the Prophet Muhammad was the recipient of the Koran. He is "the Seal of the Prophets", and the Koran is the perfection of all previous revelations. (Azzam, 1964).
In his sermon during the farewell pilgrimage Muhammad testified that he had
fulfilled his mission by leaving behind "God's Book and the sunna {custom}
of the Prophet." Following the example of his life in all circumstances is
now a prerequisite for every Muslim. Moreover, the "Blessing of the
Prophet," based on a Koranic verse and consisting of an invocation of God's
blessing on the Prophet (and his family and companions) plays a major role
in Muslim piety. In addition to the accomplishments of his lifetime and his
significance for the present, most Muslims anticipate a future role for
Muhammad; as intercessor, "with God's permission," on Judgment Day.
IV. Muhammad & Christianity: Conclusions
Similar to other controversial biblical figures of most religions, Muhammad
is the center of much inter-religious conversation. Christians in
particular, have always been concerned with two specific points; First,
there is the question of Muhammad's sincerity, and secondly, the assertion
that Islam is the crown of earlier religions, summing them all up and
proclaiming that nothing essential on the level of religion and human conduct has been omitted from the Koran. Islam, was in fact, born in the face of a Christianity which was divided, complicated, a prisoner of nationalisms- in an abnormal situation. Essentially, it founded a separate movement. Might Islam not have been born in this way, with the difficulty arising from Christianity and without rebels re-reading the bible's messages in their own way....? According to one Muslim, "Only God knows..." (Andrae, 1971).
Bibliography
Ali, Muhammad, The Living Thoughts of Muhammad. Printed in 1950.
Andrae, Tor, Muhammad: The Man and His Faith, Printed in 1971.
Azzam, Abd al-Rahman, The Eternal Message of Muhammad, Printed in 1964.
Glubb, John, The Life and Times of Muhammad . Printed in 1970.
Guillaume, Alfred, ed. and trans., The Life of Muhammad: A Translation ofIbn
Ishaq's Sirat Rasaul Allah'. Printed in 1955.
Jeffrey, Arthur, ed., Islam: Muhammad and His Religion. Printed in 1958.
Newby, Gordon D., The Making of the Last Prophet: A Reconstruction of the
Earliest Biography of Muhammad. Printed in 1989.
