By Boy Tunnel
The success and accomplishments of the Islam religion, which was developed in the early 600's, can be accredited to its sole founder, Muhammad. Muhammad, who was born in 571 and died in 632, was seen as one of the greatest religious leaders of his time. Through his teachings that are found in his book The Koran, Muhammad communicated his revelations all over his home country of Arabia. Though being born and raised in Mecca, an Arabian city, Muhammad acquired only a small influence from there. It would be nearly impossible to examine the reasoning behind each and every belief or value that comprised the Islam religion. However, we can analyze a number of Muhammad's early influences, both internal and external, that compelled him to initiate the rise of Islam.
Though Muhammad's success and did not come until his mid-life, it is obvious that early impressions on Muhammad greatly influenced the course of his life. According to Arabian tradition, there were signs even before Muhammad was born that foreshadowed his future. For example, Muhammad's mother apparently experienced no symptoms of pregnancy. Muhammad was orphaned shortly after birth, though he was taken in and raised by a foster mother. Muhammad belonged to a poor, yet noble family and he had little formal education, as it is questionable whether or not he could even read or write.
To many, there was no religious reformer who was more influenced by his environment. At a young age, Muhammad inherited the Arabians' imagination and love of poetry. His geographical surroundings, mainly the gently rolling hills and the desert, inspired within him thoughts of there existing a "Supreme Being".
During his early years, Muhammad was a merchant who traveled in a caravan. Through these travels, Muhammad encountered many different people and tribes. Obviously, Muhammad came across monotheists and their beliefs. Here, he most certainly heard the teachings of both the Jews and the Christians. Perhaps Muhammad's most important trip was the one to Syria where the Christian customs and values impressed on him and compelled him to begin his religious reform. Through trips similar to these, Muhammad became to know a lot about Christianity, though he often misinterpreted it. For example, in The Koran, Muhammad asks the Lord to "send down a table to us out of Heaven, that it may become a recurring festival to us, to the first of us, and to the last of us, and a sign from thee; and do thou nourish us." This passage shows that Muhammad took the Christian rendition of the Lord's Supper as an actual meal.
There is very little precise information on the early years of Muhammad, but what maintains is that he was "mystically overwhelmed" at a fairly young age which initiated an interest and obsession in religion itself.
The crucial events in Muhammad's early life are summed up in the following passage found in The Koran, Sura 93:
Your Lord has not abandoned you nor hated you...and in the end your Lord will give to your satisfaction. Did he not find you and orphan and house you? Find you erring and guide you? Find you poor and enrich you? So oppress not the orphan, repulse not the beggar, but declare the favour of your Lord.
In itself, the passage describes Muhammad's early difficulties such as orphanism and other hardships. To Muhammad, these problems were overcome by the doings of Allah and he had only to credit his Lord for his accomplishments early in life.
However, this passage was written much after Muhammad's childhood so it would be simple to suggest that these thoughts are not totally accurate. As a result, it is possible to believe that Mecca's upper-classes did have some effect on Muhammad's beliefs.
It wasn't until the age of forty that Muhammad actually became a prophet. However, it is commonly believed that long before this, Muhammad, due to his worshipping and prayer, began to receive revelations. Because Muhammad was such a sensitive, honest man, even before his "recorded revelations" the people of Mecca put their trust in him. Therefore, for about twelve years, during the time previous to his prophethood, Muhammad preached in his home town of Mecca. However, the first three years of his revelations were expressed only to close friends. It was not until after these three years that Muhammad began to communicate his messages to the public.
Muhammad's attempted conversion of the Mecca peoples did not come without pay. Though the Islamic conversion posed no threat to those who held power in Mecca, those of a weaker power were often treated badly and faced serious rejection. Consequently, Mecca's rejection to the Islamic Faith caused Muhammad to move to Medina in the year of 622, so as to spread his faith there. It is here that Muhammad begins his prophethood.
The traditional story of the call to prophethood is that Muhammad was approached by Gabriel and told that he was the messenger of God. Naturally, Muhammad came to interpret this as a call from God himself. It is believed that when these revelations came to Muhammad, the inspirations were very intense and physically painful. Nonetheless, Muhammad proclaims the beginning of his prophetism in The Koran when "[his] prayer and [his] worship and [his] life and [his] death are unto God, Lord of the Worlds. He hath no associate. This [Muhammad is] commanded, and [he is] the first of the Muslims." Basically, Muhammad's duty then is to surrender his entire life to Allah, as he is the only god.
Muhammad's original mission was to warn Mecca and the outlying region and at the same time, act as a messenger to his people. In The Koran, it is written that Muhammad himself said that "[he] is only the conveying [of truth] from God and of his message...he who disobeys God and his messenger, for him is the fire of Hell, to be there forever." With Muhammad's own analysis of his duty, we see that Muhammad indeed was not a "God on Earth", as sometimes mistaken for, but rather a messenger of God to his people. This same passage suggest that all who resist God and Muhammad will be punished when they die. The passage also implies that Muhammad never tried to assume greater power that what God had assigned him.
This notion, however, greatly changed. After Muhammad's "warner preachings" were being rejected in places, he changed to a warrior-prophet, though he did not use weapons to enforce Islam. It turns out that Muhammad held some political aim at the beginning of his mission. He had wanted to be the ruler of Arabia so he could unify his country and free them of foreign control.
The Koran itself was said to be revelations sent to Muhammad from the highest heaven and delivered by Gabriel. Muhammad simply compiled them to form his book. Since The Koran was the "Divine Word of God", Muhammad grew frustrated when it was rejected by the Jews and even his Meccaens. The desire to gain acceptance eventually led to Muhammad's venture back to Mecca where, triumphantly, he converted the Meccaens to his Islamic Faith.
Though many possible influences are given which may have inspired Muhammad, none of them are fully correct. It is argued that he may have gotten influences from the Hanifs, a band of inquirers who believed in God's Unity. Similarly, it may have been Coss, the Christian Bishop of Najran, that left the deepest and longest-lasting impression on Muhammad's religious mind. Muhammad's prophetic personality has been considered as the driving force behind the new religion, yet it can still be argued that Muhammad lacked originality in that he appropriated so much of the Jewish and Christian religions in Islam. In total, there is no certainty that one thing or another solely influenced Muhammad's actions, though many elements can be suggested.
In conclusion, Muhammad had numerous external influenced that initiated his course of Islam. Everything from his home town of Mecca to the faraway travels of his merchant caravan seem to have some sort of influence on his values and beliefs. There are simply too many external influences that can possibly be attributed to the success of Muhammad. Above all else, it was Muhammad's greatest internal influence, his own belief in and love of his God, that secured Islam its place in our world.
Endnotes
Karen Armstrong, Muhammad: A Western Attempt to Understand Islam (London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1992), 73.
Rev. John C. Blair, The Sources of Islam (Madras: The Christian Literature Society for India, 1925), 4.
W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad's Mecca (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1988), 44.
H. M. Balyuzi, Muhammad and the Course of Islam (Oxford: George Ronald, 1976), 11.
Tor Andrae, Mohammed: The Man and His Faith, trans. Theophil Menzel (Salem: Ayer Company, Publishers, Inc., 1936), 21.
Blair, 3.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Balyuzi, 14.
Andrae, 21.
Watt, 49.
Ibid, 22.
The Koran, Sura 5, 114.
Andrae, 50.
Ibid, 4.
The Koran, Sura 93.
Watt, 49.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid, 54.
Balyuzi, 10.
Armstrong, 73.
Watt, 62.
Balyuzi, 27.
Armstrong, 73.
Watt, 72.
Ibid, 54.
Andrae, 10.
Ibid, 67.
The Koran, Sura 6, 163.
Watt, 72.
The Koran, Sura 72, 23.
Watt, 77.
Blair, 31.
Ibid, 4.
Ibid, 13.
Ibid, 16-18.
Armstrong, 75.
Watt, 16.
Ibid, 81.
Andrae, 12.
Bibliography
Andrae, Tor. Mohammed: The Man and His Faith. Translated by Theophil Menzel. Salem: Ayer Company, Publishers, Inc., 1936.
Armstrong, Karen. Muhammad: A Western Attempt to Understand Islam. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1992.
Balyuzi, H. M. Muhammad and the Course of Islam. Oxford: George Ronald, 1976.
Blair, Rev. John. C. The Sources of Islam. Madras: The Christian Literature Society for India, 1925.
Watt, W. Montgomery. Muhammad's Mecca. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1988.
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This page last updated on March 25, 1997