| *Five Pillars – five basic acts of worship required of every able-bodied Muslim.They are (1) shahada, testifying to belief in one God and Muhammad’s prophethood, (2)salah, performing five daily prayers, (3) zakah, paying the poor due, (4) siyam, fasting in the month of Ramadan, (5) performing the hajj, or pilgrimage to Makkah once in a lifetime.
SEQUENCING EVENTS IN MUHAMMAD’S LIFE
| Muhammad was born to Aminah and Abdullah, son of Abd al-Muttalib in 570 C.E. |
| Muhammad was a shepherd as a young boy and went on several trading caravans to Syria with his uncle Abu Talib. |
| Khadijah, a wealthy widow who employed traders, asked Muhammad to take her goods to Syria and sell them. Khadijah was so impressed by Muhammad’s fine character that she proposed marriage to him. Khadijah and Muhammad had four daughters and two sons, who both died in infancy. |
| In 610 C.E., on a retreat to a cave on Jabal al-Nur (Mountain of Light) outside of Makkah, Muhammad received the first verses of the Qur’an from God, according to Muslim beliefs. Frightened, Muhammad left the cave and went home to Khadijah, who comforted and reassured him, and accepted the truth of what he said. |
| A verse told Muhammad to preach the message of the Qur’an to his family and members of his clan. Only his cousin Ali, who was 13 at the time, responded. |
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Muhammad began preaching to the people of Makkah, telling of a Day of Judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and the promised afterlife. |
| In the year 617, the Quraysh, unable to convince Muhammad to stop preaching, banished the Muslims and their supporters to a dry valley and refused to trade with them. Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib, lost his business and the Muslims nearly starved. Abu Bakr, once a wealthy trader, lost everything. In 619, Muhammad’s wife Khadijah died, and then Muhammad also lost his protector, Abu Talib. |
| In the year 620, the most remarkable spiritual event of Muhammad’s life occurred – the Night Journey called Isra’ and Miraj–in which Muslims believe Muhammad was transported to Jerusalem and then to Heaven. Muslims believe that God gave Muhammad the order for Muslims to pray the five daily prayers on this night journey. |
| The Muslims were offered asylum in a city north of Makkah called Yathrib (later, Madinah). The migration of the Muslims to Yathrib, in 622, is called the Hijrah. Hearing of a plot to kill Muhammad, he and Abu Bakr escaped to Madinah together, and received a joyful reception. |
| Muhammad purchased land for the first masjid, or house of worship, and established a mutual defense and cooperation pact among the tribes of Madinah, with himself as the leader of the city. This document was called the “Constitution of Madinah.” Muhammad paired immigrants from Makkah with the Muslims from Madinah in a relationship of brotherhood. |
| Muslims believe Muhammad was sent a verse from the Qur’an allowing the Muslims to fight against those who had turned them out of their homes because of their beliefs. The first battle between the Muslims from Madinah and the Quraysh from Makkah took place at Badr in 624 C.E. The Muslim army of about 250 defeated the Makkan army of more than a thousand fighters, according to historical accounts. |
| A year after the Battle of Badr, the Makkans sent an army to get revenge for their defeat. This battle was called the battle of Uhud. With many losses on both sides, the two sides withdrew in a stalemate. |
| The third major battle between the Quraysh and the Muslims was the Battle of the Trench, in which the Quraysh and their allies besieged Madinah. The Bani Qurayzah, a Jewish tribe in Madinah, sided with Quraysh and broke their treaty with the Muslims. When the Makkans finally left amid storms and the desertion of their allies, the Muslims turned to attack the Bani Qurayzah for siding with the attack against Madinah. |
| After the Battle of the Trench, in 628, Muhammad decided to lead a pilgrimage to Makkah. The Muslims camped at Hudaybiyyah, just outside Makkah, where they were halted by Quraysh. The Makkans didn’t want to let the Muslims make the pilgrimage but entered into a peace treaty with Muhammad. The treaty at Hudaybiyyah called for ten years of peace between the Muslims and the Makkans, and allowed the Muslims to make their pilgrimage the following year. |
| A year after the treaty at Hudaybiyyah, Muhammad and his companions completed their pilgrimage. Muhammad asked Bilal ibn Rabah, a former slave and among the earliest Muslims, to give the call to prayer from the top of the Ka’bah. This angered the Makkans, who were camped in the hills outside Makkah until the Muslims completed their pilgrimage. They couldn’t believe that a former slave stood on top of their sacred house. |
| The Makkans broke their treaty with the Muslims by attacking a tribe allied with the Muslims. Muhammad immediately marched on Makkah and took the city peacefully in 630 C.E. |
| Muhammad returned to Madinah after the conquest of Makkah. He made a final pilgrimage to Makkah, also called the Farewell Pilgrimage, to define the rites of the pilgrimage. He also gave his farewell address where he told Muslims to treat each other humanely. |
| Muhammad became ill with a strong fever. On June 8th, 632, Muhammad died. Abu Bakr, the leader of the Muslim community after Muhammad’s death, reminded the grieving Muslims that Muhammad was only human, and that they should worship God and not Muhammad. |
KEY HISTORICAL FIGURES IN MUHAMMAD’S LIFE
A. Abu Bakr was the first person to accept Islam outside of Muhammad’s immediate family. He was a close friend who was near in age to Muhammad. He was a wealthy Makkan merchant who lost almost all his wealth during the ban on trade with the Muslims of Makkah. At the time of the Hijrah, or migration to Madinah, Abu Bakr asked Muhammad if he could leave Makkah with those going to Madinah. Muhammad told him to wait, hinting that he may have the opportunity travel with Muhammad himself. They both made a dramatic escape from Makkah after escaping a murder plot to kill Muhammad by leading Makkan families. They stayed in a cave for several days south of the city while the Makkans searched for them. Eventually they made their way to Madinah. This journey was a major turning point for the Muslim community and gave Abu Bakr special status as Muhammad’s companion on the Hijrah.
When Muhammad fell ill, Abu Bakr was the only companion of Muhammad to lead the communal prayer in his place. This was one of the reasons some say Abu Bakr was chosen as the first Caliph, or successor, to Muhammad after his death. Upon taking office Abu Bakr asked the Muslims for obedience only if he kept to Muhammad’s example, asking for assistance in this. In Muslim history, this was a memorable statement about the importance of limited government. When Muhammad died, the Muslim community was in a state of disbelief and confusion. Abu Bakr addressed the Muslims, saying, “O people, whoever among you worships Muhammad, Muhammad has died. But whoever among you worships God, indeed God is the Living and does not die.” Then he quoted a verse from the Qur’an: “Muhammad is but a messenger; and messengers have passed away before him. Will you, when he dies or is slain, turn back on your heels (back to your old religion)? He who turns back does not hurt Allah. And Allah will reward the thankful.” (Qur’an, 3:144)
B. ‘Amr (Abu Jahl) was one of the strongest opponents of Muhammad in Makkah. Abu Jahl was about to become an important man in Makkah when Muhammad began calling the Quraysh to Islam. Not only did Abu Jahl reject Islam, he also persecuted and tortured to death some early Muslims who were enslaved. Abu Jahl had been called Abul Hakam, “the Father of Wisdom,” but the Muslims of Makkah called him Abu Jahl meaning, “the Father of Ignorance” because of his violent opposition to Muhammad. Abu Jahl often took every opportunity to insult and humiliate Muhammad. After one such incident, Muhammad’s uncle Hamzah, who was not yet a Muslim, was returning from hunting when a woman told him what Abu Jahl had done to his nephew. Furious, he went straight to Abu Jahl and struck him with his bow saying, “Will you insult him, now that I am of his religion, and now that I stand for what he stands for?” The incident was curious because Hamza–a renowned warrior–actually did accept Islam after realizing what he had said, and also because it could have set off a clan war in Makkah, had Abu Jahl’s friends defended him. Abu Jahl was killed at the battle of Badr.
C. Abu Sufyan, a rich merchant who sent caravans to Syria, was an important leader of the Quraysh when Muhammad began to preach. Abu Sufyan opposed Muhammad in Makkah but did not abuse him in the same way that Abu Jahl did. He participated in all three major battles against the Muslims. The first battle at Badr began when the Makkans tried to protect Abu Sufyan’s caravan. However, when it became clear that the Muslims were going to capture Makkah itself, Abu Sufyan decided to become a Muslim. Muhammad made his house a place of asylum, or safety, for the people of Makkah.
D. Abu Talib, Muhammad’s uncle, was a poor but influential elder from the important clan of Bani Hashim. He took care of Muhammad as an orphaned child, and when Muhammad married, he returned the favor by taking Abu Talib’s son Ali into his household. Abu Talib gave tribal protection of his clan to Muhammad, a tradition that kept the Makkans from harming him while Abu Talib lived. Although Abu Talib never accepted Islam, he was loyal to his nephew to the end. When Abu Talib was dying, leaders of the Quraysh visited him hoping he would broker an agreement with Muhammad. Abu Talib sent for his nephew and said, “Son of my brother, these notables of your people have gathered here for your sake for give and take.” The Makkan clans did not try to carry out the murder plot until Abu Talib had died.
E. ‘Aisha bint Abu Bakr was the daughter of Abu Bakr. She was the first wife Muhammad married after the death of his first wife Khadijah when Aisha was still quite young. ‘Aisha was known for both her intelligence and quick temper. Nothing made her more jealous than when Muhammad would speak about Khadijah. ‘Aisha said to him, “It is as if there had never been any other woman in the world except Khadijah.” Muhammad praised her, saying, “She was the wife who believed in me while others rejected me. When people called me a liar, she affirmed my truthfulness. When I stood forsaken, she spent her wealth to lighten the burden of my sorrow.” ‘Aisha’s closeness to Muhammad gave her insights and knowledge about Muhammad and his teachings that made her one of the major scholars of hadith after the death of the Prophet. She was also a source of knowledge for Muslims who wanted to model their lives after the life of Muhammad.
F. Ali ibn Abi Talib was the son of Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib, who grew up in Muhammad’s household. Ali was the second person to become a Muslim, when he was only ten years old. After Muhammad was told to spread the message of Islam to his family, Muhammad invited the men from the clan of Hashim to a meal. He asked them who would help to spread God’s message. No one offered assistance but Ali, who stood courageously among the clansmen. Many of them were amused that Muhammad’s only aid was from a thirteen-year-old boy. In the years that followed, however, Ali played a vital role in the Muslim community. He was counted among the closest companions, a valiant warrior, and a wise and brave leader. In the murder plot, young clansmen intended to strike while Muhammad slept. When they learned of the plot, Muhammad escaped to Madinah while Ali slept in his empty bed. Seeing they were foiled, the clansmen left. They did not dare to kill the son of Abu Talib. Ali remained in Makkah for a few days to settle some of Muhammad’s financial transactions before he left for Madinah. Ali married Fatima, Muhammad’s youngest daughter, and they had three children, Hasan, Hussain and Zaynab. Ali served as Muhammad’s scribe, writing the treaty of Hudaybiyyah. After Muhammad’s death, Ali became one of the major scholars of Islamic law, and became the fourth “rightly-guided” Caliph after the death of Uthman. According to the Shi’i branch of Muslims, Ali ibn Abi Talib was the rightful heir to Muhammad’s leadership of the Muslim community, although Ali did not press that claim over Abu Bakr. Ali was later killed in the course of a conflict over the succession that led to the founding of the Umayyad dynasty by Muawiyyah, son of Abu Sufyan.
G. Bilal ibn Rabah was a slave of Ethiopian descent who lived in Makkah early in Muhammad’s prophethood, and who accepted Islam while still a slave. His master was a wealthy merchant opposed to Muhammad’s teachings. He tortured Bilal by placing large stones on his chest under the noonday heat. Abu Bakr bought Bilal and set him free. Bilal migrated to Madinah, and was chosen to make the first call to prayer, or adhan, in Islam, and that unique call can be heard wherever Muslims are found. During the pilgrimage, Muhammad asked Bilal to climb to the roof of the Ka’bah to call the adhan. His voice echoed throughout the valley. Bilal served as Muhammad’s treasurer in Madinah, taking care of the wealth gained in battles and raids and distributing it to the needs of the community. Bilal was buried in Damascus, Syria where traveled to after Muhammad’s death.
H. Fatimah bint Muhammad was the fourth daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah. She was five years old when Muhammad received the first revelations of the Qur’an. She sometimes accompanied her father when he prayed at the Ka’bah. One day some of the leaders of Quraysh poured something filthy on Muhammad as prayed, and Fatimah wept for her father as she wiped off the mess. She migrated with the Muslims to Madinah. There she helped take care of the poor people who came to study and live at the masjid. Fatimah married Ali when she was twenty years old. Ali and Fatimah had three children, Hassan, Hussain, and Zaynab. Muslims known as Sharif, or descendants of Muhammad, trace their ancestry through Hassan and Hussain, Fatimah’s sons. Fatimah died six months after her father’s death.
I. Khadijah was a wealthy widow in the caravan trade in Makkah. She had hired Muhammad to buy and sell her goods in Syria. Impressed by Muhammad’s honesty, skill and good character, she asked him to marry her. According to Muslim sources, she is said to have told Muhammad, “I love you for your kinship with me, and your honor amongst your people. I love you for your trustworthiness and for the beauty of your character and the truthfulness of your speech.”
Khadijah was forty years old when she married Muhammad who was then only twenty-five years old. For the next fifteen years, Muhammad and Khadijah were happily married, and she was his only wife. They had four daughters and two sons, who died in infancy. Khadijah comforted and reassured Muhammad after his experience in the cave at the beginning of his prophethood, and she took him to her cousin Waraqah, a Christian hermit for advice. Khadijah became the first Muslim woman, and endured persecution by the Makkans, which probably resulted in her death at 65 years of age. Her death was a great blow to Muhammad, who relied upon her encouragement and friendship. He remained loyal to her memory throughout his life.
J. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab lived in Makkah with Muhammad during the earliest days of Islam. ‘Umar was known for his uncontrollable temper, skill as a warrior, and imposing personality. ‘Umar was a strong believer in the idols that the Makkans worshipped, and actually decided to kill Muhammad to end the division in the Makkan community over Islam. On his way to do the deed, he met a man from his own clan who was secretly a Muslim. The man told him to first go to his own sister and her husband who had become Muslims. ‘Umar rushed to his sister’s house and confronted her striking his sister. His action startled himself and made him feel bad. According to tradition, he then asked to see the Qur’an, and was overcome by the beauty of its language and message. He then asked to go to Muhammad to declare Islam instead of killing him. ‘Umar went straight to the Ka’bah in the middle of Makkah and publicly proclaimed that he was Muslim. He then began to pray and dared anyone from Quraysh to stop him. Of course, no one did. ‘Umar’s acceptance of Islam helped the Muslims at Makkah practice their faith more openly, because he was a strong defender. ‘Umar became one of Muhammad’s close companions and was one of the migrants to Madinah . Muhammad married ‘Umar’s daughter Hafsa.
After Muhammad’s death, ‘Umar became the second khalifah, or successor to Muhammad, who governed for fourteen years, the longest of the four “Rightly Guided Caliphs”. Known for justice and equity, he made important rulings that showed how Islamic law could be applied to new situations that arose after Muhammad’s death. His rulings were important to the development of Islamic law, the Shari’ah.
K. Salman al-Farisi was a Persian slave born in Isfahan, in present-day Iran, and who worked in the date orchards of Madinah. He became a Muslim after Muhammad immigrated to Madinah, and Muhammad bought him his freedom. Salman is best known for his role in the Battle of the Trench, when the Makkan army besieged Madinah. Salman suggested a strategy that was common in Persia, but had not been used in Arabia before. Using his advice, the Muslims dug a trench around Madinah, which was deep and wide enough to prevent the Makkans’ horses from crossing it. The Muslims kept the Quraysh out of Madinah until they and their allies grew tired and hungry. When the weather turned bad and their allies deserted, the Quraysh ended the siege. With Quraysh humiliated in front of their allies, the Battle of the Trench gave the Muslims a major victory, which led to the peace treaty at Hudaybiyyah.
MUHAMMAD’S FAMILY, COMPANIONS, AND OPPONENTS
THE “CONSTITUTION OF MADINAH”
The Constitution of Madinah is a voluntary pact among three groups, namely the Muslims from Makkah, the Muslims from Yathrib, and the non-Muslims of Yathrib. It followed a period of disagreement over leadership in Yathrib, which was one reason that the people of the city invited Muhammad to come to the city. The Constitution was unique in Arabian history, because it went beyond the system of tribal loyalty that people depended upon. Not breaking completely with tradition, the Constitution incorporates the tribes into an agreement in which loyalty, rights and responsibilities are based on voluntary association and religious belief. The groups named “Bani” refers to the clans, a subgroup of a tribe, often living in a certain neighborhood in the city. The following excerpt is from a biography of Muhammad’s life, and explains the Constitution further. “[Upon arriving at Madinah,] The Prophet gave orders that his newly acquired courtyard should be made into a mosque. They began work on it immediately. Most of the building was done with bricks, but in the middle of the northern wall, that is, the Jerusalem wall, they put stones on either side of the prayer niche. The palms in the courtyard were cut down and their trunks were used as pillars to support the roof of palm branches, but the greater part of the courtyard was left open.
The Muslims of Madinah had been given the title of Ansar, or Helpers, by the Prophet. The Muslims of Makkah, who had left their homes and emigrated to Madinah, were called Muhajirun, or Emigrants.
It was to be hoped that these two parties would be strengthened by a third, and the Prophet now made a covenant of mutual obligation between his followers and the Jews of the oasis, forming them into a single community of believers but allowing for the differences between the two religions. Muslims and Jews were to have equal status. If either a Jew or Muslim was wronged, then he must be helped to his rights by both Muslims and Jews. In case of war against polytheists, the two parties must fight as one force, and neither Jews nor Muslims were to make a separate peace, but peace was to be indivisible. If there were differences of opinion or dispute or controversy, the matter was to be referred to God through His Messenger. There was, however, no express stipulation that the Jews should formally recognize Muhammad as the Messenger and Prophet of God, though he was referred to as such throughout the document.” [From of Martin Lings, Muhammad, His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, pp. 125-126]
The “Constitution of Madinah” (622)
The Prophet’s Document Between the Muhajirun (The Emigrants), the Ansar (The Helpers from Madinah) and the Jews (of Madinah):
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim (In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate)
(1) This is a document from Muhammad, the Prophet (governing the relations) between the believers and the Muslims of Quraysh and Yathrib, and those who followed them and joined them and struggled with them.
(2) They are one community (ummah) to the exclusion of all men.
(3) The Quraysh Muhajirun, according to their present custom, shall pay the blood money within their number and shall redeem their prisoners with the kindness and justice common among believers.
(4) The Banu ‘Awf, … with kindness and justice.
(5) Banu al Harith (Ibn al Khazraj)…
(6) Banu Sa’idah…
(7) Banu Jusham …
(8) Banu al Najjar ….
(9) Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf …
(10) Banu al Nabit…
(11) Banu al Aws… with kindness and justice.
(12a) Believers shall not leave anyone destitute among them by not paying his redemption money or blood money in kindness.
(12b) A believer shall not take as an ally against him the freedman of another Muslim.
(13) The God-Fearing believers shall be against the rebellious or anyone who seeks to spread injustice, or sin, or enmity, or corruption between the believers; the hand of every man shall be against him even if he be a son of one of them.
(14) A believer shall not slay a believer for the sake of an unbeliever, nor shall he aid an unbeliever against a believer.
(15) God’s protection is all-embracing, the least of them may give protection to a stranger on their behalf. Believers are friends and protectors one to the other, to the exclusion of outsiders.
(16) To the Jews who follow us belong help and equality. He shall not be wronged nor shall his enemies be aided.
(17) The peace of the believers is indivisible. No peace shall be made when believers are fighting in the way of God. Conditions must be fair and equitable to all.
(18) In every foray a rider must take another behind him.
(19) The believers must avenge the blood of one another shed in the way of God.
(20a) The God-fearing believers enjoy the best and most upright guidance.
(20b) No polytheist shall take the property or person of Quraysh under his protection nor shall he intervene against a believer.
(21) Whosoever is convicted of killing a believer without good reason shall be subject to retaliation unless the next of kin is satisfied (with blood money), and the believers shall be against him as one man, and they are bound to take action against him.
(22) It shall not be lawful to a believer who holds by what is in this document and believes in God and the Last Day, to help an evil-doer or to shelter him. The curse of God and His anger on the Day of Resurrection will be upon him if he does, neither repentance nor ransom will be received from him.
(23) Whenever you differ about a matter, it must be referred to God and to Muhammad.
(24) The Jews shall contribute to the cost of war so long as they are fighting alongside the believers.
(25) The Jews of Banu ‘Awf are one community with the believers (the Jews have their religion and the Muslims have theirs), their freedmen and their persons except those who behave unjustly and sinfully, for they hurt but themselves and their families.
(26) The Jews of Banu al Najjar are like the Jews of Banu ‘Awf.
(27) The Jews of Banu al Harith …
(28) The Jews of Banu Sa’idah ….
(29) The Jews of Banu Jusham …
(30) The Jews of Banu al Aws …
(31) The Jews of Banu al Tha’labah …
(32) Jafnah, a clan of the Tha’labah, are as themselves.
(33) The Jews of Banu al Shutaybah …
(34) The freedmen of Tha’labah are as themselves.
(35) The close friends of the Jews are as themselves.
(36a) None of them shall go out to war save with the permission of Muhammad.
(36b) But he shall not be prevented from taking revenge from a wound. He who slays a man without warning slays himself and his household, unless it be one who has wronged him, for God will accept that.
(37a) The Jews must bear their expenses and the Muslims their expenses. Each must help the other against anyone who attacks the people of this document. They must seek mutual advice and consultation, and righteousness is a protection against sinfulness.
(37b) A man is not liable for his ally’s misdeeds. The wronged must be helped.
(38) The Jews must pay with the believers so long as war lasts.
(39) Yathrib (Madinah) shall be a sanctuary for the people of this document.
(40) A stranger under protection shall be as his host doing no harm and committing no crime.
Three Major Events in the Rise of Islam
The three major events are: (1) the Hijrah, (2) the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, and (3) the victory over Makkah.
· Why did Muhammad allow groups of Muslims to migrate to Madinah from the city of Makkah? [A: he allowed them to emigrate in order to get away from the danger of further persecution]
· What event led to his own migration to Madinah, together with Abu Bakr? What did the Quraysh leaders plan, and what was their response to his escape from Makkah? What did the leaders of Makkah gain from the departure of the Muslims, and what did they lose or risk losing? [A: The Quraysh murder plot led to his emigration. They planned to kill him, and when he escaped, they sent tribesmen to capture him. The leaders gained the property and homes of the Muslim emigrants; they lost control over the Muslims, and risked the Muslims gaining influence among tribes loyal to Quraysh, and creating a center of influence out of the Quraysh’s reach.]
· What reaction did Quraysh display to the establishment of the Muslim community at Madinah? How did hostilities between the two groups begin? What battles took place? [A: The Quraysh sought to continue their trade in the region unchallenged by the Muslims, and they sought to weaken and if possible eliminate the Muslim community. The conflict began when Muslim forces met a Quraysh caravan and the Battle of Badr resulted. Major battles included Badr, Uhud and Khandaq.]
· What was the purpose of Muhammad’s journey to Makkah with his followers after the Battle of Khandaq? What symbol of their peaceful intention was clearly understood by the Quraysh? [A: Muhammad led his followers, unarmed showing the recognized signs that they intended to make pilgrimage to Makkah, their pilgrim dress and animals marked for the sacrifice.]
· Were the Muslims allowed to enter Makkah for the pilgrimage? What was the outcome of the challenge posed by the Quraysh to the Muslims? [A: The Quraysh, in violation of their role as custodians of the Ka’bah and hosts of the pilgrimage, denied them entry. Muhammad, however, asked the Quraysh to negotiate and secured a treaty with them.]
· Muhammad compromised on almost every point in the treaty of Hudaibiyya. Why would the treaty be called a “clear victory” in the Qur’an? How did the treaty of Hudaibiyya change the relationship between the Muslims and the Quraysh? [A: The treaty represented the long-sought recognition of the Muslims as a bargaining partner, as a legitimate entity with whom a treaty could be made. Before that, no such entity had existed other than tribes, and the Muslims had been considered renegades from Quraysh itself. Furthermore, the denial of entry to the pilgrims was a clear violation of Quraysh’s traditional role as host of the pilgrimage, just as Quraysh’s leadership in battle and position as head of tribal alliances had been destroyed by their inability to defeat the Muslims. Finally, the treaty committed Quraysh to conditions that didn’t allow them to continue to pressure the Muslims. It forced them to give up trying to destroy the Madinan community in order to maintain the terms of their agreement.]
· Makkah was finally captured peacefully by the Muslims when the Makkans broke the treaty. What enabled the Muslims to capture Makkah without a fight? [ A: The Muslim forces had become stronger both in military skill, in numbers of adherents to Islam, and in alliances with other tribes. While the Quraysh position had become steadily weaker, militarily, economically and politically. By the time they broke the treaty, a mere show of force with the assembly of 10,000 troops outside Makkah was enough to overcome the city with only token opposition.]
THE BATTLE OF THE TRENCH
A. The Battle of the Trench
The Battle of the Trench occurred in 627 C.E. between the Quraysh and their allies and the inhabitants of Madinah. The year before the battle, one of the three Jewish tribes of Madinah had been expelled by the Muslims due to a foiled plot to kill Muhammad. The tribe left Madinah and went to the walled fortress of Khaybar. A leader of the Bani Nadir asked the Quraysh to help raise an army that would put an end to the Muslims at Madinah. Muhammad received word from friends in Makkah of the coming attack. He called his companions to consult on what to do. Salman al Farisi, a freed slave originally from Persia, suggested that the Muslims dig a deep trench as they did in Persia to keep the enemy cavalry from entering the city. The Muslims had only a week to dig the trench around the part of Madinah that was not protected by walls and natural barriers. They finished the trench in six days, just before the Makkans and their allies arrived.
The armies advanced towards the city of Madinah, hoping to storm the city with their cavalry. When they saw the trench in front of them and the Muslim archers on the opposite side, they were dismayed. The trench frightened their horses, which could not jump across it, and any horseman that rode down into the trench would be trapped and picked off by archers. The Makkans had to take the city quickly though, because they had not brought enough supplies for a long encampment. There was little to feed them or their animals outside the city. The Makkans repeatedly tried and failed to storm the trench. The Muslims guarded the trench in shifts around the clock. No one passed over.
A leader of the banished Jewish tribe then went secretly to the Bani Qurayzah, another Jewish tribe still in Madinah, and convinced its leader to break their agreement with the Muslims and join the Makkan alliance. This would allow the enemy to enter the city through a fortress that protected one side of the city. The defection of the Bani Qurayzah was dangerous to the Muslims who were already weak and tired from the siege. The Makkans planned to send troops into the fortress of the Bani Qurayzah and capture the Muslim women and children while the men were guarding the trench. Upon hearing of the defection, Muhammad sent three hundred troops to the center of Madinah to hold off the attack. As it happened, a dispute broke out between the Makkans and the Bani Qurayzah who kept delaying the attack. A dispute erupted between the two because the Bani Qurayzah wanted to hold some nobles of Quraysh hostage to make sure they were sincere in their offer. During this dispute, the weather turned cold and the wind blew down all of the tents of the Quraysh and their allies. The Quraysh and their allies lost heart and withdrew their troops to go home.
After the Quraysh and their allies left, the Muslims besieged the fortress of their former allies. Seeing that they were trapped, the Bani Qurayzah negotiated a surrender. Muhammad agreed to allow the Aws, former friends of the Bani Qurayzah who asked for leniency, to choose an arbitrator from their own clan to decide the fate of the inhabitants of the fortress. Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, the chief of the Aws, was chosen to pass judgment on the Bani Qurayzah. He had been wounded at the Battle of the Trench and was brought on a stretcher to the fortress of Bani Qurayzah. He judged that the men would be executed and that the women and children would be taken as slaves.
Comments by Guest Scholars on the Banu Qurayzah
Professor Firestone: When Muhammad came to town, the organized Jewish community did not accept his prophecy. There were, according to the Islamic sources, some individual Jews that did accept him, but the community as a whole did not. If the Jews would accept his prophethood then he has tremendous and complete confirmation of his prophethood. But the Jews were so well respected that when they rejected his prophethood, and they did it actively, they became a very serious political threat to his very existence in Madinah. Islamic sources say that the Jewish community did indeed aid the enemy in trying to defeat Muhammad. This was absolutely against the terms of the Madinah agreement. The Jews and the Muslims would choose an arbitrator to determine what would be the future of the Jews. The person who was chosen was a man who was mortally wounded in the battle of the Trench. He determined that the women and children of the Banu Qurayzah would be taken as slaves and the men would be killed.
Hamza Yusuf: Muhammad agreed with this judgment when he judged. He said, “You have judged according to God and His messenger.” Approximately 700 men were killed. They were executed. This definitely occurred.
QUOTES ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPHETHOOD
Hamza Yusuf: The revelation does not come in a lump sum. It doesn’t come down from heaven–here is the book, now go out and teach it to the people, No. It is coming down slowly. It is coming down as events unfold. It’s explaining events but it is also coming down in a way that he can absorb it because the idea is that this thing is so tremendous, this thing is so immense, it is not something we can give you all at once. This is going to take time.
Karen Armstrong: Muhammad was always very insistent that he was not a divine figure. And he always warned his followers not to do with him what the Christians had done to Jesus, and put him on a pedestal and say that he was God or divine. He was not, he was an ordinary human being and the Muslims have taken that seriously. But what they do say is that Muhammad is the perfect man, that if you look at Muhammad you can see how a perfect act of surrender to the divine can be made. He used to say, “I never once experienced a revelation without feeling that my soul had been torn from my body.”
Karen Armstrong: He would feel a great weight descend upon him. He would sweat profusely even on a cold day. Sometimes it would be like the reverberations of a bell and “that would be the hardest for me.”
Michael Wolfe: He tells them to be good to each other and not to violate each other’s rights, for men and women to treat each other humanely, for brothers and sisters to treat each other well, for Muslims to treat each other as brothers and sisters. He calls an end to blood killing, to the vendetta, which has bled this culture terribly since he was born. At the end of Muhammad’s sermon he does not list his achievements. This man has unified a people, he has taught them monotheism, he has brought them to peace and yet he does not mark these as his accomplishments. Quite the opposite, he asks his community, “Have I fulfilled my mission to God and to you?” You can hear in his words the desire to hear a completed mission. This is a man of faith who is unsure of his effects. This is a very human moment in which he needs to know and he asks. And the people affirm that yes, three times they say, “Yes, you have fulfilled your mission.”
M. Cherif Bassiouni: This was not a leader who was looking for his legacy in time. It wasn’t for any purpose other than to make sure that when he was going to face his Maker, he was going to be accountable and he would be in a position of saying, Allah, I did the best I could, and I hope I was successful in doing it. And that’s all we can do as human beings.
Hamza Yusuf: [Muhammad died on June 8, 632] Abu Bakr comes into this scene of pandemonium and he immediately stands up and says, “If you worshipped Muhammad, know that Muhammad is dead, but if you worship Allah, He is Alive and never dies.” Suddenly the people come to their senses. Muhammad is a man and men are mortal, and this is his legacy. He did everything within his power to prevent himself from being worshipped because he recognized that, that was a danger inherent in religious tradition, that the object becomes the messenger and not the one sending the message.
Kevin James: Prophet Muhammad was a man, he’s flesh and blood, who brought one of the most eloquent revelations to mankind. He has set an example to mankind through his behavior, through his actions, a living example. This is a legacy he has left for Muslims.
M. Cherif Bassiouni: Muhammad’s legacy is obviously the seed that he planted. It is his righteousness, his honesty, his integrity, his model as a political leader, his model as an individual, a man who has made great accomplishments in his time and yet who didn’t let his ego get the best of him. He remains, I think, more than anything else, a great role model.
John O. Voll: Muhammad is the kind of person that combines political and military, and social, and religious, and intellectual dimensions of life in ways that are important for those of us in the 21st century who are struggling to put together complete lives ourselves.
Najah Bazy: If I were to have met Prophet Muhammad on the street I feel like I would know him and he would know all of us. The beauty of it is that we live our lives through his example. But, he’s not God. Our reverence is to God; our reference is to him. So, how I walk and how I speak, and how I carry myself, and how I treat my husband, and how I treat my mother and my father, and how I behave as a sister and a daughter and a nurse and a friend and a neighbor, that’s all Prophet Muhammad in action.
ROLES AND PERSONAL QUALITIES OF PROPHETHOOD
CONCEPT OF PROPHETHOOD IN THE QUR’AN
He has revealed to you (Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was revealed before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel. Qur’an, 3:3
And if they argue that with you (O Muhammad), say: “I have surrendered myself to Allah, and (so have) those who follow me.” And say to those who have received the Scripture and those who read not: “Will you too surrender yourselves to Allah?” If they become Muslims they shall be rightly guided; if they turn away, then your duty is only to inform them. Allah is Seer of all His servants. Qur’an, 3:20
Muhammad is but a messenger; and messengers have passed away before him. Will you, when he dies or is slain, turn back on your heels (go back to your old religion)? He who turns back does not hurt Allah. And Allah will reward the thankful. Qur’an, 3:144
It was by the mercy of Allah that you were lenient with them (O Muhammad). Had you been stern and hard-hearted, they would have surely have dispersed from round about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult with them in the conduct of affairs (of the community); and when you are resolved, put your trust in Allah. Allah loves those that trust (in Him). Qur’an, 3:159
Say (O Muhammad!): “We believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes; and that which was vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have surrendered.” Qur’an, 3:84
O Messenger! Make known that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, for if you do it not, you will not have conveyed His message. Allah will protect you from men (who mean mischief). Surely, Allah guides not the disbelieving people. Qur’an, 5:67
Such (stories) are some of the narratives of the Unseen which We have revealed unto you (O Muhammad). Before this neither you nor your people knew them. So have patience. For the end is for those who are righteous. Qur’an, 11:49
And nothing prevented mankind from believing when the guidance came unto them but that they said: “Has Allah sent a human as (His) messenger?” Say: “Had there been in the earth angels walking at peace, We would have sent down for them from heaven an angel as messenger.” Qur’an, 17:95-96
Verily in the messenger of Allah you have a good example for him who hopes for Allah and the Last Day, and has remembered Allah much. Qur’an, 33: 21
PERSONAL AND CIVIC VALUES IN ISLAM
| Values Expressed by Modern Day Muslims |
Quotes from the Qur’an and Hadith |
| 1. “One of the things the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, taught us was that it is our duty to correct injustices in the world.” – Jameel Johnson, Congressional Aide
2. “Prophet Muhammad, he asked the question to the people around him, ‘Do you love your Creator, serve your fellow man first.’” – Kevin James, FDNY Fire Marshall
3. “The Prophet put that emphasis on inner development, jihad, struggle with yourself to improve yourself in your intent for the sake of God.” – Kevin James, FDNY Fire Marshall
4. “He said to these people, these are your neighbors, your brothers and sisters, and he establishes that sense of humanity, that ummah.” – Najah Bazzy, nurse
5. “Prophet Muhammad has taught us that we don’t even understand, we could never comprehend the value of taking care of the ill or providing for the dying and maintaining their dignity.” – Najah Bazzy, nurse
6. “This piece (of calligraphy) is the golden rule in Islam. It is the basis of relations between people.” – Mohamed Zakariya, master calligrapher
7. “Before you reform the society you have to reform yourself.” Imam Qazwini, religious leader |
“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” Hadith in al-Bukhari
“O believers! Why do you say what you do not do? It is most odious in Allah’s sight that you should say that which you do not do.” [Qur’an, 61: 2-3]
“O people, Surely we have created you from a male and female, and made you tribes and families that you might know one another. Indeed, the noblest of you with Allah is he who is best in conduct.” [Qur’an, 49:13]
“Whosoever of you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart – and that is the weakest of faith.” Hadith in al-Bukhari
“There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” Hadith from Ibn- Majah
“He is not one of us who does not show tenderness to the young and who does not show respect to the elder.” Hadith from at-Tirmidhi
“A man said to the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): Counsel me. He (the Prophet) said: Do not become angry. The man repeated [his request] several times, and he (the Prophet) said: Do not become angry.” Hadith in al-Bukhari |
PERSONAL AND CIVIC VALUES IN ISLAM
| Values Expressed by Modern Day Muslims |
Quotes from the Qur’an and Hadith |
| 1. “One of the things the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, taught us was that it is our duty to correct injustices in the world.” – Jameel Johnson, Congressional Aide
2. “Prophet Muhammad, he asked the question to the people around him, ‘Do you love your Creator, serve your fellow man first.’” – Kevin James, FDNY Fire Marshall
3. “The Prophet put that emphasis on inner development, jihad, struggle with yourself to improve yourself in your intent for the sake of God.” – Kevin James, FDNY Fire Marshall
4. “He said to these people, these are your neighbors, your brothers and sisters, and he establishes that sense of humanity, that ummah.” – Najah Bazzy, nurse
5. “Prophet Muhammad has taught us that we don’t even understand, we could never comprehend the value of taking care of the ill or providing for the dying and maintaining their dignity.” – Najah Bazzy, nurse
6. “This piece is the golden rule in Islam. It is the basis of relations between people.” – Mohamed Zakariya, master calligrapher
7. “Before you reform the society you have to reform yourself.” Imam Qazwini, religious leader |
1. “Whosoever sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart – and that is the weakest of faith.” Hadith in al-Bukhari
2. “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” Hadith in al-Bukhari
3. “A man said to the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): Counsel me. He (the Prophet) said: Do not become angry. The man repeated [his request] several times, and he (the Prophet) said: Do not become angry.” Hadith in al-Bukhari
4. “O people, Surely we have created you from a male and female, and made you tribes and families that you might know one another. Indeed, the noblest of you with Allah is he who is best in conduct.” [Qur’an, 49:13]
5. “He is not one of us who does not show tenderness to the young and who does not show respect to the elder.” Hadith from at-Tirmidhi
6. “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” Hadith from Ibn- Majah
7. “O believers! Why do you say what you do not do? It is most odious in Allah’s sight that you should say that which you do not do.” [Qur’an, 61: 2-3] |
RESPONSES TO SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2001
M. Cherif Bassiouni (Professor of Law):
Jihad is misused. There is absolutely nothing in Islam that justifies the claims of Osama bin Laden or al Qaida or other similar groups to kill innocent civilians. That is unequivocably a crime under Islamic law. Acts of terror, violence that have occurred in the name of Islam are not only wrong, they are contrary to Islam.
Kevin James (FDNY Fire Marshall):
September 11th, I hooked up with two other fire marshals. We found a place to park near the bridge, there was about two inches of soot, and if it were white and colder out, you would have sworn that it was snow. I came over the Brooklyn Bridge and it was like something out of a movie, it was very quiet, you know that muffled sound like your in a blizzard when you can’t hear your feet hitting the ground, it was very quiet. So we put on our turn-out gear and we started heading over there. I think I can speak for all of us, we were in a state of shock. In the back of my head I thought, don’t be Muslims doing this. I just felt sick. We could see this fragment of the World Trade Center sticking up almost like a lopsided crown. We started walking down one way and we saw some firefighters dazed. They said, “Don’t go down there, there is still more collapsing.” We were dying to go out there and do something, figuring that some of the brothers, that anyone, could still be trapped under the rubble. But it was frustrating. But you gotta understand, they don’t want to lose more people on top of those already lost. This is just, I mean, of course, out and out madness. The Prophet himself, because of the circumstances, engaged in battle, warfare, but he had a certain code of conduct, which he followed. You have to separate fanaticism, which every religion has, from the reality and truth of that religion. These are fanatics who have lost sight of what the purpose of religion is, and they are acting, you know, on their own.
What hurt me probably most of all in the World Trade Center attack was that here is a religion that I had entered because of the universality and the tolerance that are throughout the Book and the sayings of the Prophet. Yet these people that did that and were behind it and planned it were so intolerant and so disregarding of their own tenets that they could do something so horrific and kill people in such a horrible manner. It was hard, it was hard, you know that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. It’s like, you know, after you do all this work and you try so hard and now this. The Prophet says, if you’re planting a tree and the end of the world comes, you finish planting the tree. It means you just keep on going and try to live your life according to what you believe in, and for me and others to keep this from ever happening again.
September 11th underscored the need to have dialog with non-Muslims and other faiths to understand each other and try to resolve these hotspots that fester and cause this type of hatred.
Daisy Khan (Architect):
The death and destruction in New York City that was caused by this terrible, terrible event in the name of Islam has propelled the Muslim community to respond in many different ways. And one of the ways I want to respond is the way the Prophet would have responded which is to just talk about the humanity we all belong to.
Mohamed Zakaria (Muslim calligrapher):
Catastrophes have brought us here but not all is lost. Through our art we pick up all these broken pieces and try to put them back together again and make something that’s going to work. Revenge, suicide bombing and things of that kind, they have no place in Islam, they must never have a place, never, never. Islam is really a soft thing, not a hard thing and so we must approach it with softness and be soft to each other. The Prophet said, make it easy and not difficult. So we should put away all those angry words, the harsh and strident rhetoric that we’ve been dealing with for all these years that we’ve suffered with this sweet religion through this beastly stuff, and come out into the light and be bright in America, be bright and look in the mirror, that’s what we have to do.
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