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The life and work of Muhammad/Pre-Islamic Arabia (His life part 1 (Around…
The life and work of Muhammad/Pre-Islamic Arabia
His life part 2
Muhammad and a small group of his followers were under threat from the people who ruled Mecca who controlled the Ka'ba the shine which held the many God's of Arabia. These rulers thought that him preaching monotheism would destroy the importance of the Ka'ba and which would lead to Mecca being in a political and economic ruin
After losing his wife and his uncle, Muhammad had reached the biggest low. This is when he had another spiritual experience which would transform his life
The spiritual experience happened when Muhammad fell asleep at the Ka'ba and was taken on a journey hundreds of miles north of Jerusalem
This is why Jerusalem is at the heart of some of the Middle Eastern wars
Jerusalem is important because God sent Muhammad there and from there to the heavens
He was taken to meet all the past prophets and pray. He then climbs a ladder in which he transcends through the seven heavens to the throne and is spoken to God himself - THE MOST IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE IN MUHAMMAD'S LIFE
Muslims believe this happened because it is said in the Qur'an
It was at this moment that Muhammad realised it was time to preach about the message to the world
He left his tribal life behind
Left Mecca
Muhammad met a group of men in which he told them about his mission from God
Hearing this they were excited and converted to Islam
Important because it was completely different reaction Muhammad was getting in Mecca
Mecca was beginning to become unbearable so he asked his followers to leave Mecca to go to Yathrib - a place with an uncertain future
Was unusual to leave your tribe, your birthplace permanently to create an Ummah
The year the escape happened was the start of the traditional Islamic calendar - all festivals etc. happen around this calendar dating back to when Muhammad left Mecca in 622 AD - this is also the start of the Muslim era unlike with Christians with the birth of the Messiah
Yathrib later changed its name in honour of Muhammad. Its now called Madinah, the city of the prophet
They allowed Muhammad to build the first Mosque
He used his Mosque as a community centre and also his office
Anyone could enter even if they were not Muslims
Muhammad chose the human voice to announce the time of pray - climbed to the roof of the Mosque
A Mosque is not just a place of worship, a Mosque is a focal point of community
Muhammad and his followers arrived penniless. Although they were protected by the city their enemies still wanted to destroy them
Muhammad received a series of revelations telling him to fight back. He decided to hurt the Qurish where their income would fail, their trading
The Meccans lost the fight and was the first time Muhammad went to war in the name of God
Muhammad received another revelation which would change his followers' way of life - to change the direction of their prayer
At that time Muhammad and his followers prayed towards Jerusalem like Christians, now face towards Mecca
Making that change was huge and now all Muslims, five times a day wherever they are, pray towards Mecca
His life part 3
After war, Muhammad became the most powerful man in all of Arabia
The revelations that he received were to make the Islam holy book - the Qur'an
Each revelation was terrifying and exhausting experience
Some came as words but others were visions which required intense concentration to understand their meaning
He would go pale and sweat to say that to speak the word of God was a huge effort
Revelations in Mecca were to do with faith and spirituality while in Madinah it was more pratical
These produced a blue print of day to day basis of how to be a Muslim from the social to the political
They try to follow today
Muhammad got rid of blood feuds, women were allowed to own property and allowed to have a fair share in money
To be able to get everyone to believe him he had to get the Quirish on his side. He was not going to be able to do that militarily so he had to politically undermine them
Getting tribes across Arabia to help and to get them to be on his side was marriage
He had many wives at the same time
Political wives
Muhammad had another revelation which suggested that his wives were to cover themselves up to protect their modesty
The covering of women - some choose to only cover their hair (hijab) or choose to cover their whole body
Covering up is a choice, it is not a requirement
Creating the Hajj
The visit to Mecca was successful and the Quirish were filled with content
Returning to Mecca
He forgave all his former enemies
Entered the Ka'ba and destroyed all the God's
Muhammad was the leader of Muslim Arabia
By the time he was 60 years of age he had achieved what he had to do
His health was failing
He gives a speech to his followers before he dies - the Final Sermon
His life part 1
Born 1400 years ago in Arabia - most inhospitable land with mountains, sand and scorching hot heat
Sandwiched between Byzantine Empire in the North the last remenent of the Roman Empire and to the east another ancient empire called Sassanid Empire, the remains of the great Persian Empire
Between the two empires were thousands of tribes and clans constantly fighting each other for survival and there were very few cities and one of them, Mecca, was where Muhammad was born
No signs of when the Messiah was coming and there is nothing to mark where Muhammad was born, not even a plack on a wall
Different opinions of the messenger and the message
Muhammad a high level of esteem but to worship him is known as shirk, an unforgivable corruption of Islam
Any shrine or signs of worship towards Muhammad were removed to ensure that Allah was the only one to worship
No images of Muhammad in Mosques or anyone - unlike Christians where visual pictions of Jesus on the cross and the virgin Mary are in the Church. No images of any prophets, it is out of respect for the oneness of God. There have been painting and drawings of him but not his face
Rich stories and sayings connecting to Muhammad are called the Hadith - written and presented after his death
Born into the tribe that ruled Mecca. His mother was very poor so after a few months of him being born, she gave him to a Bedouin tribe and was given a wet nurse till he was 4 years old
Arabia was a cruel place to live with no law and very little peace
Tribal loyalties were only type of protection - this era is known as the age of ignorance
They were polytheistic and had a number of different beliefs, each tribe had a different God
The Ka'ba was a shrine that brought people's attention to Mecca. Had statues surrounding it of different God's and Goddesses with the High God Allah at the top
No evidence of when it was built or how
Over 360 statues inside Ka'ba of different God's with different responsibilities
The Ka'ba brought attraction for many people across the world - this brought trade and wealth
Muhammad suffered from a lot of loss in his early life. His dad died before he was born, his mother died when he was six and two years later his paternal grandfather died
His affected his personality
Was taken in by his uncle, a powerful figure in Mecca
Abu Talid was a trader taking caravans to Seria. Part of a business which connected Arabia to Seria and the middle East - Mecca a link in that chain. Trading spices, silver, leather and other goods. Mecca great trading city
Being part of this trading was a great opportunity for Muhammad as it brought him out of poverty and made him connect with the outside world
By the time Muhammad was 21 he had a reputation for integrity, the honest and truthful one
Muhammad was asked by a rich older woman to make her some profit
Once he fulfilled his promise she asked him to marry her, a very unusual thing at that time
Muhammad never took another wife whilst she was alive
He had four girls and two boys which didn't survive
Between 25-40 he was not happy. The tribal life made him feel uneasy. He reached a personal crisis. He was upset by the treatment towards the poor and the weak
He made many spiritual retreats
He brought his family to the top of the mountain above Mecca to seek peace and pray
He was troubled and was searching some kind of spiritual truth
Went to the top of the hill above Mecca to a cave to pray for hours sometimes days to reflect
Around 610 CE Muhammad was meditating and fell asleep when he was awoken with terror
Described by an angel holding him in an suffocating position
Heard one voice saying one word; Read
Muhammad replied with 'I can't, I am not one of those who read'
Voice returned saying again 'read'
Muhammad repeated what he said before
The voice returned for a third time 'read'
Muhammad replied 'what shall I read'
This was the defining moment of Muhammad's life
He ran home to his wife and she comforted him and told him that what had happened was true
Muhammad believed that God had given a vision and was his job to spread it to the people
Muhammad's revelations would become the sacred text of Islam
The Qur'an
God himself who is the author of the Qur'an and Muhammad was the first person who it was revealed to
Islam means surrender. Anyone who follows Islam is surrendering to God
Muhammad got his people to leave Mecca to a place on the other side of the red sea
In order for the Muslims to stay, Muhammad recited words from the Qur'an about the virgin birth of Jesus and that he was a prophet of the one true God
Muhammad and his followers were enemies in Mecca
Weren't allowed to trade, buy food from the local market
Muhammad had a revelation whilst sitting in the Ka'ba to bring the Qutish tribe to follow one true God
His wife died and she was the first person to have realised that he was a prophet
Few months after her death, his uncle died - without uncle's protection more attacks were made against him