Mohammed, A Messenger of God

Muslims traditionally celebrate April 26 as Mohammed's birthday. Of all religious leaders, none is more vilified by Christendom than Mohammed. Many consider him the "false prophet" mentioned in the Book of Revelation, in large part because he came after Jesus, not before.

Many people in the west see Mohammed as the founder of a brand of religious fanaticism who set out to convert the world by force, but while Islam means "submission" in Arabic, the Arabic word for "peace," salaam, is also rooted in the word Islam. So Mohammed really wanted to help humanity reconcile with God, like Moses and Jesus before him.

Mohammed was born in Mecca in 570 AD, a member of the Hashemite clan of the Quraish tribe. Though the Quraish were very influential, the Hashemites were one of the poorer clans. However, the Hashemites were responsible for the upkeep of the shrines in Mecca, the most important of which was the Kaaba, a big black meteor that fell in what is now the centre of the city.

Always respected for his moral character, Mohammed was called El-Amin, which means "the faithful one." By all accounts, he was merchant, jurist, soldier and poet, as well as prophet. He ascribes only one miracle to himself: the Qu'ran, which, Muslims claim, the angel Gabriel revealed to him over several years. He is supreme among prophets, according to the Muslims, because he was the last, but Muslims hold Jesus and Moses in reverence as well; they are behind only Mohammed in importance.

Mohammed began to question the nature of things in the middle of life and often meditated in a cave outside Mecca, where he encountered the angel Gabriel. There, according to Islamic tradition, Gabriel revealed God's word. Three times, Gabriel ordered Mohammed to recite what he had taught him; three times, Mohammed refused. Finally, Gabriel seized him in an embrace so tight that Mohammed was afraid that the angel would crush him to death. So Mohammed submitted and began to recite the Qu'ran, which means "recitation" in Arabic.

At first, Mohammed feared for his sanity. He even asked his wife, Khadija, if she thought that he was crazy, but she assured him that he was still sane. Islamic historians such as Ishaq ibn-Muhammad write of Mohammed sitting with a towel over his head, and of his wife with her arms around him, trying to comfort him as he questioned his sanity.

Central to Mohammed's teaching is the oneness of God, though the Arabs worshiped several gods at the time. He also preached charity towards the poor and compassion towards the widow and the orphan. He expressly forbade the ancient Bedouin custom of burying alive baby girls soon after birth and considered polygamy something to be discouraged, not actively promoted. However, he once had as many as nine wives after his first wife, Khadija, died, Aisha being the favourite.

According to early sources, the devil tricked Mohammed and inserted some "satanic verses," but these verses never made it into the Qu'ran. Undoubtedly, historians like Ishaq ibn-Muhammad wanted to remind Muslims that Mohammed was a man, not a god, and that even their prophet could be deceived by the devil if he wasn't careful.

The Arabs were aware of Jewish and Christian monotheism, but people in Mecca ridiculed Mohammed and his followers, then persecuted them. After Mohammed successfully mediated a dispute in neighbouring Medina, the people of that city invited him and his followers to stay. The year that Mohammed and his followers migrated to Medina, 624 AD, is the year 1 on the Islamic calendar. This exodus is called the hegira, or "migration."

When Medina refused to extradite Mohammed, the Meccans made war on Medina. Mohammed soon became commander of Medina's army of faithful Muslims, the Ansari. Historians like Ishaq ibn-Muhammad admit some of Mohammed's military blunders to show that he was fallible. After one disastrous battle, as he decided upon a new course of action, some of his followers even jested: "Is this God talking, or just you?"

Those "insurgents" who set up roadblocks in Iraq today are using tactics that Mohammed and his followers once used to economically strangle the city of Mecca. People in the west often think of Muslims as bloodthirsty savages, but Mohammed allowed those who wanted to leave Mecca to leave when he captured the city, and nobody had to convert to Islam. However, the Muslims smashed all the idols in the Kaaba in the belief that the one true God had no image.

Mohammed died in 632 AD, soon after he captured Mecca. His followers felt bereft of their spiritual leader, but his closest friend, Abu Bakr, said at his funeral: "We have lost Mohammed, but God and the Qu'ran remain."

With the world's Muslim population increasing faster than the Christian population, Mohammed's stature is increasing in the world. To more than 1 billion people today: "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his prophet."

Source : History of Islam, by Karen Armstrong.