Mohammad
was born in 570 AD in Mecca in present day Saudi Arabia. It was then a very prosperous place because
of its strategic trading location. Even
before Mohammad’s time it was a sacred city and the scene of annual pilgrimage
for the tribes round about. His father
and mother died when he was young and he was raised by his relatives. A wealthy widow employed him and they
subsequently married.
In
610 – following some religious experiences – he began his career as a messenger
of Allah – the Arabic word for ‘the God’.
At first he spoke of his revelations only to the family and close
associates but after three years embraced his public mission and formed a small
community. As a result of persecution
they moved to Yathrib in 622 AD. From
then on this town is called Medina. The
move to Yathrib is called the hijra (the migration) and marks the start of the
Islam era. They date their years by
reference to this event. By now Muhammad
was widowed and he agreed to take the leadership of Medina which had been in a
state of division for some years. An
armed struggle against the people of Mecca followed and in a few years he was
master of a large slice of Arabia and had plans for further conquests when he
died in 632 AD.
The
religious experiences that started him on this course seem to have been vague
at first. The mighty being that he saw
on the horizon he thought initially to have been God but later concluded that
it must have been the Archangel Gabriel.
Gabriel made him read from a book, though Muhammad is said to have been
illiterate. These words and subsequent
utterances were eventually brought together in the Qur’an, the Islamic holy
book. Muslims believe that Allah
communicated his utterances to a number of messengers – such as Moses and Jesus
– as guidance to mankind and each transmitted it to meet the needs of their own
people. Finally he sent it in its
complete form through his messenger Muhammad who was only a man, exemplary
though he was – the human channel of God’s will. Since Allah is ‘the one who is God’ there can
be no rival religions or people divided against each other. All people should, therefore, become a single
community or umma. Every action and
aspect of life should bear witness to the fact that ‘there is no god but God
and Muhammad is his messenger.’ This is the first of the Five Pillars of Islam
– the foundation of Muslim life, meant to give structure and unity to Muslims all
over the world. The shahada or
affirmation that ‘there is no god but God’ is chanted daily in the call to
prayer.
The
Second Pillar is the set prayers that Muslims must perform five times each day
while facing Mecca – in the morning, at midday, in the afternoon, at sunset and
in the evening. Each time they must
prepare by performing ablutions and find a clean spot, often ensured by using a
prayer mat, from which they conduct the rituals of bowing, kneeling and
prostrating accompanied by calls to God and recitations of parts of the Qur’an
in Arabic.
The
Third Pillar is the observance of Ramadan.
Muslims abstain from food and drink during daylight hours throughout the
month which ends with the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast when they
exchange gifts. The Fourth Pillar is
almsgiving which often takes place in Ramadan.
This entails contributing money – usually one fortieth of their annual
income – for the poor and charitable causes.
The
Fifth Pillar is Hajj – the pilgrimage to Mecca in the twelfth Islamic
month. All healthy Muslims are meant to
attempt doing this at least once in their lifetime. When pilgrims visit at other times of the
year they perform umra, the lesser pilgrimage which has far fewer requirements. Mecca is very much in the news at present
because of the large number of people killed (perhaps over a hundred) and a
larger number injured when a crane collapsed on Mecca’s Grand Mosque. The city has been in the midst of numerous
construction projects to prepare for the millions of Muslims who will converge
on the city next month to undertake the Sacred Hajj pilgrimage.. The mosque was
packed at the time for evening prayer.
After
the death of Muhammad the Muslim community split. Those who thought that his successor or
caliph should be the best qualified man eventually became the Sunni
Muslims. Others thought that his nearest
relative – who was his cousin and son-in-law – should succeed him and they
became the Shià Muslims. Relations
between the two can often be very bitter and violent.
