Islam
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Islam

Its Origin and Spread in Words, Maps and Pictures

F R J Verhoeven

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Islam

Its Origin and Spread in Words, Maps and Pictures

F R J Verhoeven

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First published in 2008. This volume is a historical summary which describes the main events in the rise and evolution of this world religion and indicates its significance for present-day relations between the faiths.

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Publisher
Routledge
Year
2013
ISBN
9781134540983
Subtopic
Religion
Edition
1

ISLAM

Over thirteen centuries ago – more than ten centuries after Buddha had proclaimed his doctrine, more than five after the preachings of Jesus Christ –, the youngest of the world religions originated in sparsely populated Arabia. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, considered himself the last of the prophets, the seal and keystone of the preceding twenty-seven, of whom Abraham was the first.
The present historical summary sketches briefly the main events in the rise and evolution of this world religion and indicates its tremendous significance for present-day relations.
Ancient Arabia
The Arabian peninsula is a vast desert region 650 miles broad and 1300 miles long, washed on three sides by the sea, which lies like a huge, impenetrable wedge between two of the oldest centres of human civilization, the valley of the Nile and the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates. In the Bible it was called Kedem (The East); later Arabian geographers described it more accurately as Jazirat (island) or Jazirat-al-Arab (island of the Arabs). The undulating, sandy desert rises precipitously to a plateau, which, at its best, is characterized by arid steppes and an occasional oasis. The climate is inhospitable; for the greater part of the year a scorching sun beats down from a cloudless sky, and only the refreshing morning dew renders human and animal life possible in the dry season. For a long time the Arabian peninsula formed an insurpassable barrier composed of burning sand, rugged mountains, and almost unapproachable shores.
Little is known of the early history of this inaccessible region. The interior of the ‘Island of the Arabs’ was inhabited by nomadic Bedouin tribes, who, with their lean herds of small livestock and camels, trekked from place to place in search of food from its meagre pastures. Raids and inter-tribal warfare were common occurrences among this proud and militant people, and their valorous deeds were handed down from generation to generation in the form of heroic ballads. Although the tribes, headed by their chieftains or sheiks, enjoyed a large measure of independence, many were united for a short time in the Kingdom of Kindah, which reached the zenith of its power at the beginning of the sixth century B.C. and soon afterwards disintegrated again.
Continually obstructed by a pitiless nature in their hard and difficult existence, the Bedouin worshipped trees, rocks, and spirits, or practised a primitive polytheism. Their most revered relic was the Kaaba, the oval Black Stone in Mecca, which was the spiritual centre of the land of the Arabs.
Only here and there was this rugged, inhospitable region crossed by a few hesitating, difficult caravan routes. Trade, which usually chooses the shortest route, therefore did not pass through this desert region but circumnavigated it, in the east and south by sea and in the north via the Isthmus of Suez, through Palestine and Syria. The world was smaller then than now and was mainly composed of the areas bordering the Mediterranean in the west and the countries of Southern Asia in the east, with the Indies and China on the horizon. The Arabian peninsula occupied a central position between these two halves of the world, and its trade was, naturally, primarily a transit trade. Situated in the north – in the Trans-Jordanian region – lay the old town of Petra (meaning rock), a flourishing trading centre in the prosperous Nabataean kingdom, and brilliant Palmyra, dating from a few centuries later, both of which owed most of their wealth to the transit trade with the south, with Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia).
It was in this south-western region of the peninsula, where the rainfall was heavier, that the highly developed kingdoms of the Minaeans and the Sabaeans (Sheba in the Old Testament) had, according to some historians, been established since the twelfth century B.C. The Marib dam, an irrigation work constructed here about 700 B.C., is well known. This dam with the artificial lake and sluices, still partially in existence, is a spectacular prototype of modern dams.
From early times merchants were attracted to this rich area, which was the centre for shipping to India and, together with Hadramaut, was famed for its spices (Shakespeare speaks of the “perfumes of Arabia”). Jews and Christians settled there, and for a time it was even ruled by Christian Abyssinia on the opposite side of the Bab el Mandeb, the entrance to the Red Sea. Its Arabian name is Yaman (Yemen).
The population of the towns along the lines of communication also shared in this commercial prosperity, and here too Jewish merchants resided. One of these towns was Mecca, situated about half-way along the Red Sea caravan route which ran from Yaman to Petra and Palmyra and later to Damascus and Aleppo. Their inhabitants – especially the patriarchs, business men, and wholesale dealers of the predominant Quraysh tribe – had a broad knowledge of foreign customs, towns, and peoples, acquired in their intercourse with Arab tribal chiefs, foreign merchants, and Roman officials. Twice a year long caravans of hundreds of camels laden with merchandise set out for the north and the south.
The Meccans thus advanced beyond the Bedouin; they were eager to learn, quick-witted, and, at the same time, circumspect and self-controlled: in short, city dwellers whose ways of life and thought differed from those of the nomads. Moreover, their moral superiority over the Bedouin was further strengthened by the possession of the holy relics in and near the town, of which the most important was the Kaaba, a black meteorite. In this remarkable town an exceptional man was born – Muhammad, the Prophet; his character and career were formed by this urban background.
In so far as it is possible for a Western historian to judge this matter, there are certainly enough grounds for stating that Muhammad succeeded in his mission for the very reason that he was a Meccan, not a Bedouin. But without the mobility and soldierly powers of the Bedouin the religion he preached could never have spread with such overwhelming rapidity over the world.
Muhammad, the Prophet
Little is known of the origin and youth of Muhammad. Apart from the many details about his later life and works, which appear to be established facts, there are so many points open to varying interpretations that practically every biographer presents a different picture of his life; for instance, he has been depicted as an epileptic, a forerunner of the Mormons, and a socialist agitator. Although such obviously distorted, or one-sided, portrayals and biographies are generally considered inaccurate, it cannot be denied that every biography of Muhammad betrays a more or less subjective tendency. Moreover the approach and appreciation of Western scholars, who assay the biographical data on Muhammad according to Western scientific methods, differ vastly from the devoted and reverent description given by Muslim biographers, whose views are formed by age-old traditions and scriptural studies. No true portrait of Muhammad as man and as prophet can be given until both these diverging attitudes have been assimilated in the mind of one great historian.
The prime, indisputable fact, however, is that the motive power within Muhammad was purely religious. From the moment that his career as prophet began, his conception of God’s dominion and purpose in the world of man determined his judgment of persons and facts.
Muhammad was born about 570 A.D., in the year of The Elephant, so-called because of that animal’s terrifying appearance in the army of the Abyssinian governor of southern Arabia, whose attack on Mecca in that year failed. Muhammad became an orphan at a very early age; his father Abdallah died before he was born, and he lost his mother Aminia when he was still a child. His relatives, the Hashim branch of the powerful tribe of Quraysh, and in particular his uncle Abu Talib, brought him up with loving care and always supported him in his later difficulties. A moving verse of the Qu‘ran testifies to the difficult years of his youth:
The Morning Hours
Did he not find thee an orphan and protect thee?
Did he not find thee wandering and direct thee?
Did he not find thee destitute and enrich thee?
(XCIII, 6–8)
The period preceding success was remarkably long, and it was only in the closing years of Muhammad’s life that he experienced success and victory; up to then only a small band of converts and devotees lent him faithful support.
The first to believe in his exalted mission was his wife Khadya, the widow of a wealthy merchant and his senior by some years, whom he married at the age of twenty-five. Her wealth raised him from his impoverished circumstances and gave him the time and opportunity to contemplate the religious situation in Arabia. What induced Muhammad to undertake his world-shaking actions will always remain a mystery, but it is certain that he was saddened and disturbed by the idolatrous polytheism of his compatriots and their vague ignorance concerning Allah the true God. He was painfully aware that the religious life of the Jews and Christians about him contrasted sharply with that of his compatriots.
Time and again he withdrew to a cave under Mount Hira (or Jabal Nur) near Mecca to devote himself to pious meditation and prayer. Then in 611 the Revelation of Allah suddenly came to Muhammad, imparted to him by Jibra’il (the archangel Gabriel). The first verses of the Qu’ran were sent down to him. He and his wife were now convinced that he was the prophet of Allah, and he began preaching Islam, the absolute surrender to Allah. Fervently he called upon the Meccans to be converted before the approaching day of doom should dawn. At first only very few answered his call, but amongst them were prominent figures – his friends Abu Bakr and the powerful Omar, his slave Zayd, his daughter Fatima, his sons-in-law Uthman and Ali, and also his uncle Hamza, whose heroic contributions to the spread of Islam won him legendary fame.
Apart from this intimate circle, however, no one was interested in Muhammad’s mission. Gradually the antagonism of his fellow-citizens became so violent that he was forced to send a number of adherents to Coptic Christian Abyssinia to seek asylum with the Negus, while only the support of his influential relatives in Mecca enabled Muhammad to hold his ground there. His vigorous attacks on idolatry and his infraction of the power-position of the leading merchants caused ill feeling, and his actions – heresy in the eyes of his fellow-citizens – were condemned outright. Muhammad experienced set-back after set-back. His wife’s death was followed by that of the sympathetic patriarch of the clan, whose successor was hostile to him. At this difficult period he had a vision in which he was carried to Jerusalem and thence to heaven, where he was proclaimed the crown and purpose of creation by God and accepted as prophet by the patriarchs and angels.
Ultimately Muhammad’s activities in Mecca would have been doomed to failure had he not come into contact with the inhabitants of Yathrib, a city with a large Jewish community 250 miles to the north of Mecca. In 622, after prolonged negotiations, Muhammad came to an agreement with a number of prominent citizens of Yathrib, who agreed to admit him and his followers to their midst. Preceded by a few trusted friends, Muhammad and his little band journeyed north in September of that year, “severing the bonds with Mecca”. This is the so-called Hijra, formerly wrongly interpreted as a flight. Since then Yathrib has been called Medina (Madinat-an-Nabi: town of the Prophet). One section of the inhabitants believed unconditionally in his mission, but others, more cautious, adopted a waiting attitude. The former group, the believers, were later given the honorary title of Ansār (Helpers), while the Meccan followers who had accompanied the prophet received that of Muhajerun, “those who have taken part in the Hijra”. The doubters and the cautious, however, passed into history as “the hypocrites” (Munafiqun).
Opinions on this event, the Hijra, differed greatly. The Meccans saw in it the final downfall of Muhammad, little realizing that eight years later their city would be conquered by him and his followers. Muhammad had expected the Jews to welcome him with open arms, but they rejected and even reviled him. And finally, to many of his followers the future must have seemed very precarious indeed.
In fact, the Hijra signified the birth of a new, independent religion, Islam, which shortly afterwards began its irresistible, triumphal march across the Arabian Peninsula and a large part of the world. The Hijra, which was the first historically dated and supremely important event, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
Muhammad continued to proclaim revelations in Medina, but they were changing in character – less prophetic ardour and more regulation and law-giving for the new theocratic community known as the Umma, which he forged from the heterogeneous elements of the population. It was always the word of Allah, however, which a voice, accompanied by the ringing of bells, recited to Muhammad when he was in ecstatic trance. The superhuman nature of the revelations established Muhammad’s authority as prophet in Medina and enabled him to take strong action against doubters and Jewish repudiators. Once Islam had been consolidated in Medina efforts were concentrated on the second aim, the conquest of Mecca as centre of the new religion. In Medina he occupied a favourable tactical position for effectively attacking the caravan trade with the north, which was of vital importance to Mecca. Thus he and his followers gained a brilliant victory over the Meccans in the battle of Badr. A few years later his greatly increased power enabled Muhammad to enter Mecca as conqueror in 630, after negotiations and almost without the use of force.
Muhammad’s success was complete. Such holy places as the Kaaba, the Zemzem well and the stone of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) were now in Muslim possession and were, for the most part, purified of the elements of the old Arabian religion. Opposition in Arabia was practically wiped out. Two years later, when Muhammad the messenger of Allah died, almost the whole of the Arabian Peninsula had embraced Islam. Owing to insufficient research into the historical sources and the numerous, multifarious traits and stories imputed to him in later times, it is difficult to obtain an accurate impression of the personal stature of the prophet. What does emerge, however, is a broad and many-sided strain of humanity, sympathy for the weak, a sense of social justice, a gentleness that turned to anger only when insufficient respect was shown for God, a certain modesty even in personal relations combined with great powers of persuasion, and a sense of humour as well as a deep sympathy for his female fellow-creatures – characteristics which contrast strangely with those considered normal in his time and surroundings and also among his followers. Undoubtedly the portrait of Muhammad handed down to us by history has been “touched up”, but it is certain that he was a very exceptional person, unwavering in his belief in the mission to which Allah had appointed him.
Muhammad’s personality has remained central to Islam; the creed professes first the oneness of Allah and, immediately following, that Muhammad is “the messenger of God”. His is the most common proper name in Muslim lands. His innumerable descendants enjoy a special status. His tomb in the great mosque of Medina is one of the places of pilgrimage for his believers, and the influence of his teaching has remained undiminished to the present day.
The Qu‘ran, the Holy Book
All that which Allah revealed to Muhammad over a period of twenty-three years is written down in the Holy Book, the Qu‘ran. After his death these revelations were compiled and recorded from written annotations – on stone tablets, camels’ bones, on leather, parchment, papyrus – and from oral sources and combined in a definite codification about 650 A.D. Qu‘ran actually means “recitation”, and the 114 chapters (suras), subdivided into verses, are still recited in a slow, chanting manner.
The revelations in the Qu‘ran vary in style and content. The early ones are high-minded and speak of the approaching last judgment, while the unity and oneness of Allah occupy a prominent position. Those sections that depict the rewards and punishments of the life hereafter and relate the histories of former prophets and of the peoples who had accepted or rejected their preaching are written in a less exalted style. Another section contains prescriptions concerning pilgrimage, marriage, fasting-days, the prohibition of wine and many other matters; this part dates from the period when Muhammad had to lay down regulations for the young Islamic community of Medina. The contents of the book resemble most closely sections of the books of the prophets in the Old Testament together with the ten commandments transmitted to the Jewish people as God’s laws by Moses.
The Muslims regard the Qu‘ran as a “wonder” that is God’s word from beginning to end; Muhammad was only the bearer of God’s message. In addition to the Qu‘ran there also exists the hadith (statement) in which Muhammad’s own words and pronouncements, addressed to his friends, supporters and co-religionists, were noted down after his death. They are recorded in many voluminous works and are not always historically reliable.
The Qu‘ran still plays an important role in education in Muslim countries. Only the Arabic text, which is actually untranslatable, is considered authoritative and innumerable schoolchildren have learnt it all by heart. As the Qu‘ran is written in rhythmic prose, this is comparatively easy. An impression of this rhythmic prose may be obtained from the following translation:
So Glory be to Allah when ye enter the night and when ye enter the morning –
Unto him be praise in the heavens and in the earth! – and at the sun’s decline and in the noonday.
He bringeth forth the living from the dead, and He bringeth forth the dead from the living, and He reviveth the earth after her death. And even so will ye be brought forth.
And of his signs is this: He created you of dust, and behold you human beings, ranging widely!
And of his signs is this: He created for you helpmeets from yourselves that ye might find rest in them and He ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are portents for people who reflect.
(XXX, 17–21, by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall)
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