Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (part 2)

I've recently been reading a biography of the Prophet Muhammad, written by Muslim scholar Martin Lings.  While I am no closer to converting to Islam, I have learned quite a bit about what Muslims believe about Muhammad's life.  

Side note: Muslims will generally refer to Muhammad as "Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him."  I don't know if the "peace be upon him" phrase would be considered disrespectful for a non-Muslim to use or seen as mocking, and I do not share their beliefs around his calling as a prophet, so I will simply use his name without such titles, but mean no disrespect by this.  I am also trying to relay an accurate summary of what I've read, but I'm sure there is diversity in belief among Muslims so the views here may not represent all Muslims.

Abraham and Ishmael

Coming from a Christian background, I'm familiar with the story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar. Sarah was too old to bear children and when Abraham was around 85 years old, Sarah gave Abraham her handmaid Hagar to him through whom was conceived Abraham's oldest son, Ishmael. About 15 years later, when Abraham was around 100 years old, Sarah miraculously bore a son named Isaac. After Isaac was weaned, Sarah forced Hagar and her son Ishmael out of the house. Muslims consider themselves to be descendents of Ishmael and the Jews considered themselves as descendants of Isaac through his son Jacob (aka Israel).

What I was less familiar with was the stories of what happened to Ishmael and Hagar after being forced out of their home with Abraham and Sarah.

Well of Zamzam

According to Arab tradition, Hagar and Ishmael travelled about 40 days journey to what is present day Mecca, likely following the trading route known as the "incense route" through the barren Arabian desert. At some point, they departed from that route and were left by themselves. The young Ishmael (there seems to be conflicting beliefs on his age - anywhere from an infant to late teenager) was dying of thirst and cried out to God where he lay in the sand. The distraught Hagar paced seven times between two nearby hills looking for water or any help to be had.  After the seventh time, she sat to rest on a rock and was visited by an Angel who said, in part, "What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise and life up the lad and hold him in they hand, for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water." (Genesis 21:17-20)

The water was said to be a spring which God caused to well up from the sand at the touch of Ishmael's heel and become known as the Well of Zamzam.  This well is in present day Mecca and is said to have the promise that the well would never dry up.  The location of the well was lost for many years, but was said to have been rediscovered by Muhammad's grandfather Abd Al Muttalib in the sixth century CE.  

Today, millions of Muslim pilgrims travel to Mecca each year as part of what is known as the Hajj.  Part of this journey is to travel seven times between the hills of Safa and and Marwah (said to be the hills where Hagar paced seven times) and drink from the water from the Well of Zamzam. Below is a recent picture of the well.

(Well of Zamzam)

Ka'bah

One of the most important aspects of the Hajj is visiting the Ka'bah, a cube-like sanctuary structure in Mecca.  What I did not realize is that the history of the Ka'bah as well as the pilgrimage to Mecca significantly predates the founding of Islam through Muhammad.

The traditional story is that Abraham visited his son Ishmael in Mecca and God revealed to Abraham how the Ka'bah, a sanctuary for worship, must be built and its intended location near the Well of Zamzam.  The most sacred part of the Ka'bah is a black stone which is said to have descended from heaven in the days of Adam and Eve as a pure white stone but that the sins of the sons of Adam made it black.  An angel is said to have brought the stone from a nearby hill and the stone was placed on the eastern corner of the Ka'bah. The Ka'bah has been rebuilt or remodeled several times due to damage or destruction in various wars and conflicts.  The black stone is said to be one of the few items remaining from the original construction. 

(Ka'bah and a close up image of the current black stone)

God is said to have instructed Abraham to institute the rite of Pilgrimage to Mecca. The Ka'bah became an important part of Arab worship and the pilgrimage became a significant source of income and trade for those that lived in Mecca.   Pre-islamic Arab religion was largely polytheistic. Various sculptures and paintings of their deities were contained in, on, or around the Ka'bah, many of which were destroyed with the later conquest of Mecca by Islam. The modern pilgrimage of Muslims to Mecca and current ritualistic practices, known as the Hajj, was instituted by Muhammad in 628 CE with his conquest of Mecca toward the very end of his life. The Hajj is one of the five pillars, or central tenants/practices, of Islam.

Quraysh and Abd Al Muttalib

The Quraysh were said to be descendants of Ishmael and were a pre-Islamic people in charge of entertaining and serving the pilgrims who made their way to the Ka'bah for ritualistic worship of their deities. One of the leaders of the Quraysh was Abd al Muttalib, Muhammad's grandfather.  Abd al Muttalib was a man of great wealth and influence as a leader of the Quraysh of Mecca.  According to Islamic story, Abd al Muttalib only had one son but promised God that if he were given 10 sons, he would sacrifice one at the Ka'bah.  He subsequently had 9 more sons and intended to fulfill his promise to kill one. The lot fell on his favorite son, Abd al Allah, Muhammad's future father.  Not wanting to actually murder his loved son, he consulted with a local woman who was considered wise on what to do.  She suggested he offer 10 camels as a sacrifice to take the place of his son.  However, God refused the 10 camel sacrifice and still demanded the sacrifice of Abd al Allah. Abd al Muttalib offered additional camels in 10-camel increments until finally getting to 100 which was accepted by God and 100 camels were slaughtered instead of Muhammad's future father.

Muhammad

Muhammad was born around 570 CE in Mecca. His father died of an illness shortly before Muhammad was born and his mother also died when he was very young.  He was raised for a couple years by his grandfather, who would take him to the Quraysh assembly meetings and involved him at his young age in the political discussions of his time.  After his grandfather died, around age eight, Muhammad was raised by one of his uncles, Abu Talib, who raised him as a son, and he became very close with the sons of Abu Talib, his cousins.

According to Muslim Hadith (sayings and traditions of Muhammad), a black clot is on everyone's heart from when the devil touches each child and created a black clot in their heart, which is given as an explanation for why babies cry when born. The only exceptions to this are believed to have been Jesus and Mary. At a young age, Muhammad is said to have been visited by two angels, dressed in white, who split open his chest and took from it the black clot and washed his heart and breasts with snow.  There are few accounts of Christian monks or other individuals who are claimed to have recognized Muhammad as a prophet. Upon passing these monks in a caravan route, they allegedly saw the trees physically move and small clouds passing to provide shade to Muhammad in his journeys.  

One of these stories had a profound impact on first wife Khadijah who was around 40 years old when she married Muhammad (he was about 15 years younger, about 25). They had six children, four girls and two boys but the boys both died young. Living in Mecca as part of the Quraysh, the Ka'bah and religion played an important role in his life and he was generally well-liked and respected among the Quraysh. Around when Muhammad was 35, the Ka'bah was rebuilt and Muhammad was given the honor of being the person to place the sacred black stone on the renewed structure.

Muhammad's Calling

Around the age of 40, he took to more solitary practice and would go to a nearby cave for meditation.  On one such instance around the end of the Arab month of Ramadan, he is said to have been visited by the Angel Gabriel and received the first of many subsequent revelations from Allah/God which are now known as the Qur'an.  The early teachings emphasized the importance of monotheism (only one God) and Muhammad's calling as the Messenger of God.  It is still said today that the only thing technically required to convert to Islam is to assert that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is his Messenger.  Muhammad was also given revelation on the true way to pray.

Initially, Muhammad seems to have had mixed success in convincing his family and relatives of his calling. None of his uncles, including Abu Talib who raised him, were inclined to follow him and one of his uncles, Abu Lahab, became a fierce critic of Islam.  Abu Lahab and his wife are among the very few people specifically reference in the Qur'an (surah 111) in the context that they were both destined for hell. The Quraysh leaders of Mecca (mostly Muhammad's family through a very complicated web of marriages) were generally considered to be tolerant of other religions and practices, and so at first, while not inclined to follow Muhammad, they were tolerant of his new religion. However, Muhammad's teachings became increasingly more antagonistic toward the polytheistic beliefs of the Quraysh.  Muhammad also started using the pilgrimage to Mecca as an opportunity to preach Islam and gain converts. One of the early converts, Abu Dharr, and his clan were robbers who would steal from travelling caravans.  As hostility between the Quraysh and Islam grew, he would give "special attention to the caravans of the Quraysh" but would offer to return their goods if they would accept the Oneness of God and Muhammad as God's messenger.

Overall impressions so far

I enjoyed learning about the Well of Zamzam, the Ka'bah and early history of the Quraysh people and would be interested in learning more about pre-Islamic Arab traditions and beliefs and how they came to influence Islam.  I see a lot of the miracle stories as likely embellishments of historic fact, perhaps through oral traditions that tend to become more grand over time, particularly in instances where there are attempts to convert others to a new religion. The biography even makes note of an instance where "exaggerated reports" reached a group of followers of Islam. 

I think it's interesting to think of the dynamics of the Quraysh - a group of family clans mostly interconnected through various marriages. They are tolerant of other beliefs until their beliefs, livelihood, and ways of life are more directly threatened - which seems consistent with human nature today.  It seems a lot of the Qur'an is directed at/against the hostility of the Quraysh and their lack of belief or even opposition to the beliefs of Islam. There seems to also be a notion that one's beliefs are simply a choice one makes with ultimatums such as those from Abu Dharr of essentially "Believe in Islam and you can have the stuff back that we stole from you."  I don't see beliefs as a choice and so don't see justification for condemning people for their beliefs or lack thereof. What we do with our beliefs is a choice and certainly something we could be judged on, but simply choosing to start to believe in Islam or God is not as simple as simple as choosing what to eat for breakfast each day.

I still have a lot to go in the biography - I know at some point Muhammad migrated to Medina before returning to Mecca and suspect the hostility from the Quraysh was likely the driving factor.  I also have heard Muhammad was known to have eleven wives with one of them being 6 or 7 at the marriage and 9 at the time of consummation. I'm interested to see how this is portrayed from a faithful biographer.  So far in the narrative, only his first wife has been mentioned and Muhammad is currently about 50 years old in how far I've gotten so far, which is when his first wife passed away.  

I'm interested to keep reading and learning more about the history of Muhammad. If I can get through this biography and my interest level is still high, I have a couple other books in mind from Reza Aslan (No God but God) and Karen Armstrong (Muhammad: A Prophet of our Time) that I feel like could add interesting perspective as I've read some of their other works.