Muhammad: Who Was He Anyway?

Sunday, March 14, 2004

CHALICE LIGHTING:

from the Koran of Muhammad

God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of his light is, as it were, that of a niche containing a lamp; the lamp is (enclosed) in glass, the glass (shining) like a radiant star: (a lamp) lit from a blessed tree – an olive tree that is neither of the east nor of the west – the oil whereof (is so bright that it) would well-nigh give light (of itself) even though fire had not touched it: light upon light.

OPENING WORDS:

from the Koran of Muhammad

Allah is the one God;

Allah, the eternal, the Uncaused Cause of all being.

He begets not, and neither is he begotten

and there is nothing that could be compared to him.

READING: f

from Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet by Karen Armstrong

But one major religion seems to be outside this circle of good will and, in the West at least, to have retained its negative image. People who are beginning to find inspiration in Zen or Taoism are usually not nearly so eager to look kindly upon Islam, even though it is the third religion of Abraham and more in tune with our own Judaeo-Christian tradition. In the West we have a long history of hostility towards Islam that seems as entrenched as our anti-Semitism, which in recent years has seen a disturbing revival in Europe. At least, however, many people have developed a healthy fear of this ancient prejudice since the Nazi Holocaust. But the old hatred of Islam continues to flourish on both sides of the Atlantic and people have few scruples about attacking this religion, even if they know little about it.

The hostility is understandable, because until the rise of the Soviet Union in our own century, no polity or ideology posed such a continuous challenge to the West as Islam. When the Muslim empire was established in the seventh century CE, Europe was a backward region. Islam had quickly overrun much of the Middle East as well as the great Church of North Africa, which had been of crucial importance to the Church of Rome. This brilliant success was threatening: had God deserted the Christians and bestowed his favour on the infidel? Even when Europe had recovered from the Dark Ages and established its own great civilization, the old fear of the ever-expanding Muslim empire remained. Europe could make no impression on this powerful and dynamic culture: the Crusading project of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries eventually failed and, later, the Ottoman Turks brought Islam to the very doorstep of Europe. This fear made it impossible for Western Christians to be rational and objective about the Muslim faith. At the same time as they were weaving fearful fantasies about Jews, they were also evolving a distorted image of Islam, which reflected their own buried anxieties. Western scholars denounced Islam as a blasphemous faith and its Prophet Mohammad as the Great Pretender, who had founded a violent religion of the sword in order to conquer the world. ‘Mahomet" became a bogy to the people of Europe, used by mothers to frighten disobedient children. In Mummers plays he was presented as the enemy of Western civilization, who fought our own brave St, George.

This inaccurate image of Islam became one of the received ideas of Europe and it continues to affect our perceptions of the Muslim world. (pp. 10-11.)

SERMON:

"Who Was Muhammad anyway?"

I must begin by confessing that I have never attended any type of Islamic service, though I have worked with Muslim clerics on interfaith issues many times. It is unnerving to me that I must be separated from the men and behind a screen to even be present at Muslim worship. For me this is not simply a cultural bias, but a denigration of my person. Yet, as I speak honestly with Islamic women, I find many of them see it as a sign of caring protection, as did Muhammad, who was very interested in the protection of women and children – but I am getting ahead of myself. My point is to beware cultural bias.

This morning’s reading from Karen Armstrong, a well known religious scholar and author who received the 1999 Muslim Public Affairs Council Media Award, indicates our deep cultural bias against Islam. Westerners are immersed in this cultural perception of Islam and Muhammad as violent and power-mad. The events of September 11, 2001 fed the fires of anger and chosen ignorance, as we continue to assert this narrow perception to our great detriment as human beings.

To try in some small way to offer a palliative to this perspective, I offer a biography, a picture of the man’s business and organizational skills, an understanding of his spiritual life, and reflections on the relationship of Islam to Unitarian Universalism.

BIOGRAPHY:

Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ’Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim was born in Mecca somewhere around 570 or 571 ACE. His father ‘Abd Allah predeceased his birth. His paternal grandfather, ‘Abd al Muttalib sent him out into the desert as an infant to live under the care of a wet-nurse, as people feared for his health in the city. His mother, Aminah of the clan of Zuhra, died when he was six, and his grand father died when he was eight. His uncle, Abu Talib, became head of his clan, and Muhammad began to make trade journeys with him. In 595, he oversaw the merchandise of a rich woman, Khadijah of the clan of Asad, on such a journey. She was so impressed with him that she offered marriage and he accepted, then at the age of 25. She was about 40 years old and bore two sons who both died while very young. Of the four daughters from this union, only Fatima survived beyond Muhammad’s death. Fatima married Muhammad’s cousin, ‘Ali, who is regarded by he Shi’ites as Muhammad’s divinely ordained successor.

Khadijah died in 619, and, until then, against the traditions of his people, he married no other wives. All subsequent wives were married to solidify political alliances. It was through his marriage to Khadijah that Muhammad enjoyed the monetary wealth to practice commerce as successfully as he did. It was Khadijah’s reassurance of Muhammad in his mystical experience, and her Christian cousin, Waraca’s willingness to write the visions down that allowed him to maintain his religious fervor. At the outset, he was unsure that his experiences had any merit, for he had only one vision, that of an angel (later identified as "Gabriel") telling him, "You are the Messenger of God." The rest of the verses came from intimations in his heart.

Mecca being a center of commerce, Muhammad was able to make a modest living as a trader moving in and out of Syria. But the following his religious fervor gained him also contributed to his opposition in Mecca. He spoke out against injustice, especially rich merchants who did not give generously to the poor. Ostracism for his religious preaching grew until he was forced out of Mecca in 622, when he began the hijrah ( or emigration that severs kinship ties) that ended on September 24, 622 with his safe arrival in Medina. His followers in Medina had encouraged this emigration for several years prior. In Medina, Muhammad began to form the alliances with various clans that resulted in creating a confederation of Arab tribes.

It is important to know that Muhammad tried to create alliances with the Jews of Medina, but was rebuffed. Karen Armstrong explains this succinctly:

. . . The Jews of Medina were at first prepared to give Muhammad a chance: life had become intolerable in the oasis, and like many of the committed pagans of Medina they were ready to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially since he seemed so positively inclined toward their faith. Eventually, however, they turned against Muhammad and joined those pagans who were hostile to the newcomers from Mecca. The Jews had sound religious reasons for their rejection: they believed that the era of prophecy was over. They were expecting a Messiah, but no Jew or Christian at this stage would have believed that they were prophets. Yet they were also motivated by political considerations: in the old days, they had gained power in the oasis by throwing in their lot with one or the other warring Arab tribe. Muhammad, however, had joined both these tribes with the Quraysh in the new Muslim ummah, a kind of super-tribe of which the Jews were also members. As they saw their position in Medina decline, the Jews became antagonistic. (Armstrong, A History of God. P. 153.)

Thus, fear of the building power of Muhammad caused Islam to become a separate religion, though he did no intend for that to happen.

Muhammad proceeded to take control of commerce through Medina and environs by a series of razzias, or raids, against various caravans in the area. These efforts gained for him the alliances of more and more Arab tribes, largely because of Muhammad’s strategic prowess in such battles, but also through strategic marriages. Two of his daughters became the wives of the third and fourth caliphs (political leaders of the confederation). His wife, Aisha was daughter of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and another wife, Hafsah, was daughter of ‘Umar, the second caliph.

Muhammad’s opposition from Mecca continued through several battles. He won the Battle of Badr on March 16, 624, survived a siege from Mecca in April of 627, and ultimately entered Mecca on a negotiated pilgrimage to the Ka’bah, where he broke pagan idols and settled administrative issues to become a religious leader there, as well as in the area surrounding Medina. This made Islam the leading religion in the region. As a religious leader, Muhammad forced rich Meccans to loan him money to ease the suffering of the poor, emphasizing his quest for justice.

Though he became the most powerful man in Arabia militarily, Muhammad was more interested in religious conversion to Islam than in his political power, so when nomadic tribes came to him for alliances, he made conversion to Islam a condition of alliance. Muhammad also benefited from the defeat of the Persian Empire by the Byzantine (Christian) Empire (627-628), as those tribes who had relied on Persian support turned to Muhammad. By the end of 630, Muhammad had united most of the tribes of Arabia and was poised for expansion into Syria and Iraq.

In March of 632, Muhammad lead a pilgrimage to Mecca that emphasized Muslim practice. By June, poor health forced him to stop attending to his work, and he died on June 8. He had no appointed successor, but Abu Bakr, husband of his daughter Aisha, was elected to lead the prayers. Shortly thereafter, all the Muslims of Medina agreed that Aby Bakr should be caliph, or successor.

The 1975 Encyclopaedia Brittanica summarizes his life:

Muhammad was admired by his contemporaries for his courage, resoluteness, and impartiality, and for a firmness that was tempered by generosity. He won men’s hearts by his personal charm; his pleasant smile is remarked on. He was gentle, especially with children. Though he was sometimes silent in thought, for the most part he was engaged in purposeful activity. He walked vigorously and spoke rapidly. He became for later Muslims an exemplar of virtuous character, and stories presented him as realizing the Islamic ideal of human life. (Vol. 12, "Muhammad." p. 609.)

He was hardly the devil Christians have made of him. He lived and strove for religious understanding in a time and place of tremendous upheaval.

BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS:

Muhammad brought disparate and contentious Arab tribes into confederation and created an Empire that lasted through ages. He did this through military strategy, no doubt, but he was also gifted at anticipating his enemies’ plans and building alliances that did not depend upon military might. He knew that, as they became Muslim, the Arabs would need to redirect the energy they spent fighting one another outward toward those outside their cultural group.

He used customary marriage bonding to good end, but he did not multiply marry until after his first wife, the love of his life, had died. He brought women and children under more protection than they had ever had in that region before his religious conversion. And he had the personal power to make these changes stick, so much so that they became ossified in the form of his times.

SPIRITUAL POWER

Muhammad was an unusually spiritual man. Each year, during the month of Ramadan, he would take his family on spiritual retreat to Mount Hira, outside of Mecca.

This was not unusual, for many Arabs did this, also giving alms and food to the poor who visited during this sacred time for the existing pagan religion. What was unusual was that on the seventeenth night of Ramadan in 610 ACE, Muhammad was awakened from sleep by an ineffable presence that commanded him, "Recite (iqra! )! Muhammad refused, knowing soothsayers as generally disreputable kahin. He was then embraced by he presence until the wind went out of him. The angel repeated the command. When Muhammad refused again, the presence again squeezed him until he had no more breath. Again Muhammad refused, again the angel placed him in terrifying embrace. After this third enforced pressure, Muhammad found the first words of new scripture coming out of his mouth: "Recite in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created – created man out of a germ-cell! Recite – for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful, one who has taught (man) the use of the pen – taught him what he did not know.!" (Armstrong, A History of God, p. 137.) Thus began the qur’an : the Recitation, the first words of God in Arabic.

Muhammad was petrified that he had become something he despised, but his wife Khadija reassured him that he was a good man and could not be disreputable. Her literate Christian cousin, Waraqa concurred and, over the next twenty-three years, carefully copied down the verses as they were revealed to Muhammad. This was not an easy process for Muhammad. He said in later years, "Never once did I receive a revelation without feeling that my soul was being torn away from me," Like many mystics, the experiences of power were not always as articulate as the words finally seem. One must listen patiently and carefully, so as not to impose a meaning that is not true to the message. It is hard work and often involves physical discomfort such as chills or deep feelings of grief until the message is clear. But, also like many mystics, he was inexorably drawn into the experience over many years. He also worked hard for the practicalities of justice, because he had this experience of oneness with God and creation. For Muhammad, living his spiritual teachings was most important to him.

IMPLICATIONS FOR UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS:

Clearly, we, as Unitarian Universalists, need to move beyond the cultural perspective of the West (of which Armstrong writes) to a deeper understanding of mystical experience and the teachings of justice of Muhammad. We need to include Islam in our appreciation of world religions because this powerful world religion clearly serves growing numbers of people.

Like UUs, Muslims are encouraged to use intelligence in making sense of the Koran, and to examine the world as it is experienced with curiosity. This perspective enabled Muslims to make great strides in natural science. Surely we hold common cause in this perspective.

I am convinced that our UU Purposes and Principles find resonance in much of the Koran. We share concern for justice for women and children. We are against poverty and repression of people. James Gilligan assures us that violence is a function of disrespect. Progressive Muslims need our support as they try to move Islam beyond the times of Muhammad, and into this strange and wonderful twenty-first century. May we be willing and able agents of that effort.

So, we learn that Muhammad was a complex and fascinating man, one who had business acumen and organizational skills that transcended those around him, a spiritual depth that led to the founding of a new religion for the world. He may still have something of value to say to Unitarian Universalists.

I close with Muhammad’s revealed words of Allah, spoken in front of the Ka’bah as he was solidifying the peace with Mecca:

O mankind, We have created you male and female, and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely, the noblest among you in the sight of God is the most godfearing of you. God is All-knowing, All-wise.

These powerfully anti-racist words remind us that we are all in this life together and benefit by living with that understanding, with respect, responsibility, and relish for the process.

So Be it!

Blessed Be!