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Essay Name       : 1042.txt 
Uploader         : Nathan Johnson
Email Address    : nate@wingnet.net
Language         : English
Subject          : History
Title            : The Rise of Muhammad and Islam
Grade            : 96
School System    : College
Country          : USA
Author Comments  : A biography of Muhammad with several sources
Teacher Comments : "Thanks for using a source other than the text"
Date             : October 16, 1996
Site found at    : a link from an unofficial Sex Pistols page
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     When Charles Martel defeated the Muslims in Spain and stopped their advance into greater
Europe, he most likely did not know just how much of an effect his victory had on the history of not
only Europe, but of the known world.  The fact that Islam may have overtaken the rest of the world
had it not been for that crucial battle attests to the strength of this relatively new religion.  If the
strength of the religion is dependent upon those who start it, then it is important to analyze the life of
the one key character in history who began it all: Muhammad.
     Muhammad was born in 570 AD, and was soon an orphan without parents. He was raised by a
family of modest means and was forced to work to support himself at an early age.  He worked with a
travelling caravan as a driver and at the age of twenty-five, married his employer, a woman by the
name of Khadija, by which he had four daughters and no sons.
     In Mecca, the Ka'ba had long been a pagan pilgrimage site.  A black stone which has fallen to the
earth was kept in the cube which also held 360 idols representing different gods and prophets, one
for each degree of the earth.  The environment in which Muhammad was raised was a polytheistic
society which had a strong emphasis on religion but not religious purity.
     This upset Muhammad greatly, and he began to speak out against the idolatry.  By this time
Muhammad had gained a large following.  By the age of forty, Muhammad began to receive visits
from the angel Gabriel, who recited God's word to him at irregular intervals.  These recitations, known
as the Qur'an, were compiled by Muhammad's followers around 650 or 651.
     The basic message Muhammad received was that of submission.  Islam means "submission",
and Muhammad's followers became known as Muslims ("submissives" or "those who submit").
     So when Muhammad and his followers began to speak out against the pagan and immoral
practices in Mecca, they threatened the trade brought in by the pilgrims, which enraged the local
merchants.  Under serious persecution, Muhammad and his followers fled to the town of Medina, 240
miles north of Mecca, in 622.  This event has become known as the Hegira and marks the beginning
of the Islamic calendar.
     While in Medina, Muhammad and his men trained not only in religious aspects, but also trained to
be mighty warriors.  They attacked caravans going to and from Mecca for supplies and new recruits.
They gathered more support as the years went on and became a powerful force ready for battle.  In
630, that battle came.
     Muhammad and his men attacked and seized Mecca in 630 and destroyed all of the 360 idols
within the Ka'ba, with the exception of the sacred stone, which is still a revered Muslim artifact.
     It was during the Medina years that the basics of the Islamic beliefs came into focus.  Firstly, all
followers were to be fair and just in all that they did, including business actions.  They were also
expected to be completely loyal to the Muslim community of which they were a part and to Muslims
everywhere.  They were to abstain from pork and alcohol at all times.  Men were allowed to have up to
four wives (provided they loved and treated each one equally) and as many concubines as they
wished.  Women, on the other hand, were not allowed the right to polygamy, and could only show
their faces to their husbands.  Whereas men could divorce on demand, women had to prove
wrongdoing before an elder on the part of the husband.
     In addition, Muslims were expected to wash and pray toward Mecca five times daily.  Muslims
were to contribute to the poor and needy as they may one day be in need themselves.  Also, during
the month of Ramadan, followers of Islam were to fast during daylight hours.  They could eat during
nighttime hours, however, and the month was followed by a feast for all who stayed true to the fast of
the previous month.
     Another interesting requirement, which rounds out the Pillars of Faith (as they were to become
called), requires all followers to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime.  While in Mecca,
Muslims reenact many scenes from the life of Muhammad, such as the long walk from the Ka'ba to a
mountain, where they stand in the blistering sun before Allah for hours on end.  They also walk
around the Ka'ba (which has been closed since Muhammad purged the idols) seven times, kissing
the sacred stone at each pass (after about 20 billion kisses the stone has become black).  The
pilgrimage is known as the hajj, and all those who make the hajj add "Haji" to the end of their names
to signify they have fulfilled this important Pillar.
     The conquering of Mecca by force shows an interesting precedent: whereas Christianity sought to
convert individuals, Islam began to "evangelize" by violently taking over area governments and purging
any opposition to Muslim conversion.  They invaded Spain in 711 and could have possibly drastically
altered the history of the Judeo-Christian ethic in Western Europe under the rule of the Catholic
Church had they not been defeated in Gaul.
     After Muhammad's death in 632, several caliphs took over control (because Muhammad had no
sons), such as Abu Bakr, Muhammad's second-in-command from the time of Medina, but after the
assassination of Ali, leadership broke down into three groups: the Kharijites, who wanted to limit Islam
to only the most strict observers of the Pillars of Faith, the Sunnis, which followed tradition to
determine the new caliph, and the Shiites, easily the most radical, who follow the descendants of Ali
as the caliph.  The Shiites most recently have hijacked airplanes and destroyed buildings, as well as
publicly torture themselves annually to mourn for the lost control of the Islamic religion.
     Muhammad changed the world with roughly twenty-two years of leadership and service.  He is
considered the last and greatest prophet of God by more than a few, and it has been predicted that by
the year 2000, one-fourth of the world's (by then) six billion people will call themselves Muslims.



Works Cited

1. Gabrieli, Francesco.  Muhammad and the Conquests of Islam.  Officine Arnoldo Mondadori,
Verona Italy, 1968.

2.  Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck, John Obert Voll and John L. Esposito.  The Contemporary Islamic
Revival.  Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 1991.

3.  Kagan Donald, Stephen Ozment and Frank M. Turner.  The Western Heritage Fifth Edition.
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1995.
 
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