PART II

MUHAMMAD AT MADINA

CHAPTER I

SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS LEGISLATION

Madina

MECCA stands in the midst of a desert. On all sides bare, stony hills, entirely devoid of vegetation, present one of the dreariest and most inhospitable aspects it is possible to conceive. Madina, on the contrary, stands in a fertile plain. On all sides are charming gardens and fruitful date-groves. Even at the present day the cultivation of the date-palm constitutes one of the principal occupations of the inhabitants.

Before the time of Muhammad the people of Madina were roughly divided into two classes, pagan Arabs and monotheistic Jews, though there were also a few Christian tribes settled in the surrounding country. Soon after the planting of Islam in the northern city, however, we find the people divided into four distinct groups. First of all  there were the non-Muslim Arabs of Madina who, anxious to curry favour with the powerful leader who had settled in their midst, and yet unwilling to embrace Islam, are designated by the Muslim historians with the epithet ‘the Hypocrites’.

Second, there were those Muslims who had fled from Mecca with the prophet, and had taken up their abode, in a more or less destitute condition, at Madina. These were termed ‘Refugees’, and were ever afterwards given a high place of honour in the annals of Islam. Muhammad himself was much attached to these, and always spoke with feelings of the deepest gratitude of the men and women who had left all for the Faith, and had shared with him the privations and dangers of the great flight from Mecca.

The third party in Madina consisted of the ‘Helpers’. These were the people of Madina who had first embraced Islam, and had offered hospitality and assistance to Muhammad and his Meccan disciples. These ‘Helpers’, as the first converts of Madina, were ever afterwards treated with the highest respect, and all who could boast the proud title of Ansar were looked up to with admiration and regard.

The fourth group stood apart by itself. It consisted of several numerous and wealthy tribes of Jews who lived in and around Madina. These, for a time, enjoyed the patronage of Muhammad who drew up a kind of treaty with them for mutual defence. This compact, however, did not last long, and, as we shall see in the third chapter, the time soon came when the utter expulsion of the ‘People of the Book’, as the Jews were called, was considered by the prophet a political necessity.

One of the first acts of Muhammad after his arrival in Madina was to call his disciples together and urge upon them the construction of a mosque for public worship. He himself, it is said, laboured with the rest in this work, and soon a substantial building of brick with a roof supported by the trunks of palm trees stood as a monument to the religious zeal of the Muslims. Adjoining the temple thus built, a row of humble dwellings gradually arose for the accommodation of the prophet and his wives.

It has already been remarked that Muhammad at first strove to win the allegiance of the Jews; and, for this purpose, he addressed them as the ‘People of the Book’, and treated them with studied respect. In fact, it is clear from the records that have come down to us that he adopted not a few of their religious practices and incorporated them into his system. One of the principal means adopted by the prophet for winning the favour of the Jews was the adoption of Jerusalem as his Qibla, or place towards which prayer was to be made. This, it need scarcely be remarked, was a practice already observed by the Jews. The Muslims, we are told, had been in the habit of praying with their faces turned towards the sacred temple at Mecca, but now, at Muhammad's command, and for some considerable time after, the Muslim prayers were made facing north instead of south. At length, however, finding the Jews obdurate, and seeing no prospect of winning them to his side, Muhammad determined once more to woo the favour of the Arabs by making the national sanctuary at Mecca again his Qibla. Thus one day the prophet, to the astonishment of the assembled worshippers, suddenly turned from north to south and once more said his prayers in the direction of the Ka'ba at Mecca. Such a drastic change demanded divine sanction, and so a ‘revelation’ was produced to satisfy the qualms of his bewildered disciples. It runs thus:

قَدْ نَرَى تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاء فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضَاهَا فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّواْ وُجُوِهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ.

‘We have seen thee (O Muhammad) turning thy face towards every part of heaven; but we will have thee turn to a Qibla which shall please thee. Turn, then, thy face towards the sacred mosque (of Mecca), and wherever ye be, turn your faces toward that part’ Qur’an Al-Baqarah 2:144. Candid Muslim scholars have freely acknowledged this change of policy on the part of Muhammad. Thus Jalalu'd-Din, in his comments on the above passage, clearly states that Muhammad,

كان صلى إليها فلما هاجر أمر باستقبال بيت المقدس تألفاً لليهود فصلى إليه سنة أو سبعة عشر شهراً ثم حول.

‘used to pray towards it (i.e., the Ka’ba), but after the flight (to Madina) he ordered (his followers) to turn towards the temple at Jerusalem in order that he might conciliate the Jews. So he prayed towards it for a year or seventeen months; after which he changed it again.’ Abdu'l-Qadir, in his Tafsiru'l-Mada'ihil Qur'an (p. 22) says,

چاہتے تھے کہ کعبہ کے طرف نماز پڑھنے کا حکم آئے سو آسمان کے طرف منہ کرکے راہ دیکھتے تھے کہ شائد فرشتہ حکم لائے کہ کعبہ کے طرف نماز پڑھو۔

‘He (Muhammad) wished that he might receive a command to pray towards the Ka'ba, and for this reason he kept his gaze fixed towards the heavens if, perchance, an angel might appear with a command to pray towards the Ka’ba.’ It is not strange that, under such circumstances, the prophet soon found a means of gratifying his wish, and that a ‘revelation’ forthwith appeared to sanction the change.

A very large amount of space is devoted, in the traditions, to the prayers of Muhammad; and the most minute particulars as to the time and manner in which prayer should be offered have been handed down to us. From this mass of tradition we learn that the followers of Muhammad, themselves most punctilious in the performance of all the necessary ablutions and minute forms of ritual laid down by him, were at times scandalized by his own violation of the very rules he had himself laid down. Muhammad had, for example, told them that

إنّ الله لا يقبل صلاة بغير طهور.

‘Verily, God accepts not prayer without ablution.’ Yet in the Mishkatu'l-Masabih in the Kitabu'l-Atama there is a tradition from ‘Amr bin Umaya to the effect that,

أنه رأى النَّبيَّ الله صلى الله عليْه وسلم يَحتزُّ مِن كَتِفِ شاةٍ في يَدهِ، فدُعي إلى الصَّلاة، فألْقَاهَا والسكين التي كان يَحْتزُّ بها، ثمَّ قام فصلَّى ولم يَتوضَّأ.

‘Verily he saw the prophet cutting a shoulder of mutton which was in his hand. Then he was called to prayer; so he cast it down together with the knife with which he was cutting it, and then stood up to prayer, and he did not perform his ablutions.’

Tirmidhi relates that when the prophet entered the mosque he used to say,

رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي ذُنُوبِي وَافْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ.

‘O my Lord, forgive me my sins; and open for me the gates of thy mercy.’ Then, on leaving, he used to say,

وَقَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي ذُنُوبِي وَافْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ فَضْلِكَ.

‘O my Lord, forgive me my sins; and open for me the gates of thy favour.’ Bukhari further relates with reference to the prophet's prayers that he used to remain silent at the time of uttering the takbir and during the recital of the Qur'an. At length the prophet's friend and disciple Abu Huraira addressing him asked, ‘O prophet of God, what sayest thou in thy heart when thou remainest silent at the time of the takbir and at the recital of the Qur'an?’ The prophet replied:

أَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ بَاعِدْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ خَطَايَايَ كَمَا بَاعَدْتَ بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ، اللَّهُمَّ نَقِّنِي مِنْ خَطَايَايَ كَمَا يُنَقَّى الثَّوْبُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ، اللَّهُمَّ اغْسِلْنِي مِنْ خَطَايَايَ بِالثَّلْجِ وَالْمَاءِ وَالْبَرَدِ.

‘I say, “O my God, remove from me my sins as thou hast removed the east from the west. O my God, cleanse me from my sins as a white cloth is cleansed from impurity. O my God, wash my sins with water and snow and hail.”’ (Mishkatu'l-Masabih, Kitabu's-Salat.) It is evident from a perusal of the many traditions relating to the prophet's daily life, that he found the burden of ritual which he had imposed upon his followers greater than he himself could bear; and again and again his violation of those ritual observances is mentioned by the historians. Thus there is a tradition handed down by Ibn Mas’ud, one of the companions of the prophet, that one day Muhammad

صَلَّى الظُّهْرَ خَمْسًا فَقِيلَ لَهُ أَزِيدَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ فَقَالَ وَمَا ذَاكَ قَالَ صَلَّيْتَ خَمْسًا فَسَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ مَا سَلَّمَ. ورواية أخرى قال: إنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مثلكم أَنْسَى كَمَا تَنْسَوْنَ فإذا أنْسيْتَ فَذَكّروني.

‘performed the mid-day prayer in five raq’ats (or series of prostrations). Therefore it was said to him, “Have the prostrations been increased (from four to five)?” He said, “What do you mean?” They replied, “You made five series of prostrations.” Then after the salam he made two prostrations and said, “Verily I am only a man like you. I forget as you do. Therefore when I forget, do ye remind me”’ (Mishkatu'l-Masabih, Kitabu's-Salat).

Not only did Muhammad lay down minute liturgical rules for guiding the devotions of his followers; but in the new mosque at Madina he also constituted himself the great law-giver for all time, and founded a system of laws which were designed to govern every realm of life whether social, political or religious. It must be conceded that many of the regulations thus laid down were a vast improvement upon the conditions which ruled throughout Arabia previous to the promulgation of Islam; but by giving these laws a religious sanction Muhammad gave them a permanent and abiding character, so that, for all time, Muslims are tied down to the legislation which governed the seventh century of our era. There can, under such circumstances, be no progress towards higher ideals. Slavery and polygamy, because sanctioned by the prophet in the seventh century, is the law for Muslims for all time.

Before the advent of Muhammad an unrestricted system of polygamy prevailed amongst the Arabs, carrying with it abuses better imagined than described. Muhammad, not being strong enough to destroy the system root and branch, attempted to modify its evils by restricting his followers to four wives. This reform, however, though good in itself, was quite nullified by Muhammad's permission of an unlimited concubinage. He placed no restriction upon the carnal knowledge of female slaves or of women taken in war, even though the latter were married, and has thus perpetuated an evil which would not be tolerated in any civilized society to-day. Amongst the passages of the Qur'an sanctioning these shameful practices may be mentioned the following:

وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلاَّ تُقْسِطُواْ فِي الْيَتَامَى فَانكِحُواْ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاء مَثْنَى وَثُلاَثَ وَرُبَاعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلاَّ تَعْدِلُواْ فَوَاحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ.

‘If ye are apprehensive that ye shall not deal fairly with orphans, then of the women who seem good in your eyes marry two or three or four. And if ye fear that ye shall not act equitably, then one only or the slaves whom ye have acquired’ Qur’an An-Nisa’ 4:3.

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ ... وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ النِّسَاء إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ.

‘Forbidden to you . . . are married women, except those who are in your hands as slaves’ Qur’an An-Nisa’ 4:23-24.

The history of the great wars of conquest which followed the decease of Muhammad throws a lurid light upon the legislation quoted above; and even at the present day every Turkish massacre of helpless Armenians is accompanied by the rape and abduction to Muslim homes of hundreds of young girls and newly made widows.

Another great evil of Muhammad's day, which he tried in vain to reform, was the practice of slavery. To his credit, he it said, he taught his followers to be kind to their slaves, and even went so far as to teach that the emancipation of a slave was an act pleasing to God. But the simple fact remains that he allowed the buying and selling of human beings as slaves; and Muslims, all down the centuries which have passed since his day, have carried on this inhuman traffic under the full sanction of their prophet.

The Muslim refugees in Madina at first experienced very great privations. Many of them were penniless. Muhammad himself, more than once, endured the pangs of hunger. Tirmidhi tells us that many were reduced to a diet of dates and barley. A foolish and mistaken pronouncement on the part of Muhammad, made at this time, added not a little to the privations of the Muslims, who were largely dependent upon the bounty of the believers of Madina for their daily food. We have already remarked that many of the inhabitants of Madina and its suburbs were engaged in the cultivation of the date-palm: an occupation at which they had acquired considerable skill. Artificial fertilization was generally practised, and many had become prosperous in consequence. But in the Mishkatu'l-Masabih it is recorded that when Muhammad arrived in Madina he forbade this practice. The result was that when the time of the date harvest came round the disappointed Muslims found their own trees bare, whilst those of their non-Muslim neighbours were loaded with beautiful clusters of fruit. At this the disconcerted Muslims repaired to Muhammad and informed him of their state. The prophet is recorded as making the following reply:

إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ، إِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ دِينِكُمْ، فَخُذُوا بِهِ، وَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ رَأْيٍ، فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ.

‘I am only a man. When, therefore, I command you anything concerning your religion, then accept it; but when I command you anything as a matter of my own opinion, then—verily I am only a man’ (Mishkatu'l Masabih, Kitabu'l-Iman). Needless to say, the prophet's reply did little to fill the hungry mouths of his disconcerted disciples or to avert the ruin which was staring them in the face.

In the next chapter we will endeavour to show the reader how Muhammad solved the problem, and changed the poverty of his followers into wealth.

CHAPTER III

MUHAMMAD'S RELATIONS WITH THE JEWS

IT has already been remarked that at the time of the flight from Mecca numerous and powerful tribes of Jews were settled in and around Madina. At first Muhammad made repeated attempts to win them to his side. He not unnaturally hoped that as he came preaching the unity of God the monotheistic Jews would receive him with open arms, and welcome him as an ally in the fight against idolatry. But to all his advances the Jews had one reply. No prophet, they said, could arise out of Israel. Syria and Palestine were the home of the prophets, and Mecca could never produce a true successor to Abraham and Moses and David. Indeed in the Tafsiru'l-Baidawi, (p. 381) it is recorded that the Jews ridiculed the prophet in these words:

الشام مقام الأنبياء فإن كنت نبياً فالحق بها حتى نؤمن بك.

‘Syria is the home of the prophets. Therefore if thou art indeed a prophet, repair thither that we may believe on thee.’ For once Muhammad's natural astuteness seems to have deserted him. He failed to see that the Jews were but mocking his Meccan birth, and, instead, took their words as serious advice, for, Baidawi proceeds

فوقع ذلك في قلبه فخرج مرحلة.

‘That (advice) appeared pleasing to him; so he set out and went a day's journey.’ After which the inevitable ‘revelation’ caused him to return.

With the object of gaining the good-will of the Jews Muhammad made constant laudatory references to their ancient Scriptures. They were ‘the word of God’, and ‘a light and guidance for men’ which the Qur'an was but sent down to confirm. But the Jews would have none of Muhammad or his Qur'an; rather they ridiculed and lampooned the prophet upon every possible occasion. Thus when Muhammad approached them with questions concerning their ancient Scriptures they hid the matter from him and told him instead some legendary tales from their traditions. Muslim has preserved for us a striking utterance of Ibn ‘Abbas with reference to this practice of the Jews. He says:

قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فلما سَأَلَ النَّبِيُّ صلعم عَنْ شَيْءٍ من أهل الكتاب فَكَتَمُوهُ إياه وَأَخْبَرُوهُ بِغَيْرِهِ فَخَرَجُوا وَقَدْ أَرَوْهُ أَنْ قَدْ خْبَرُوهُ بِمَا قَدْ سَأَلَهُمْ عَنْهُ.

‘Ibn ‘Abbas said that, when the prophet asked any question of the People of the Book, they suppressed the matter, and in place of it told him something else, and went away letting him think that they had told him what he asked.’

Moreover it is difficult not to believe that Muhammad's egregious mistakes regarding Bible history afforded a constant butt for the ridicule of the Jews. We have no space to refer at length here to these anomalies, but if the reader of this book will take the Bible and the Qur'an and compare the histories of any of the Patriarchs as recorded in those books, he will quickly see how very far the Qur'an is from ‘confirming’ the words of the former. One who was so ignorant of Bible history as to confuse Mary the mother of Jesus with Miriam the sister of Moses and Aaron, could scarcely expect much respect from an intelligent and educated community such as the Jews of Madina were—and he received none. The latter at length began to lampoon the prophet in verse, and this so stirred his anger that he renounced for ever all hopes of winning them to his side, and, instead, embarked upon a campaign of murder and oppression which only ended with the complete expulsion of the Jews from the city and its neighbourhood.

In the Siratu'r-Rasul there is preserved to us the story of a Jewess named ‘Asm abint Marwan which illustrates the new policy that was adopted by the prophet. This woman had incurred the displeasure of Muhammad by composing some verses in which he was held up to ridicule. When this reached the ears of the latter he was filled with rage and exclaimed, ‘Shall I not exact satisfaction for myself from the daughter of Merwan?’ A Muslim named ‘Umair bin ‘Udai heard the words of Muhammad, and, rightly interpreting them as a desire for the death of ‘Asma entered her house at night and brutally murdered her. On the following day he acquainted the prophet with the accomplishment of his purpose. The latter on hearing of the death of ‘Asma exclaimed, ‘Thou hast helped God and his apostle, O ‘Umair.’

Another murder carried out about this time at the direct instigation of Muhammad was that of a man named Kab-binu’l-Ashraf. This is fully detailed in the Siratu'r-Rasul (vol. ii, p. 73-74). Briefly the story is as follows: becoming annoyed with Kab, the prophet one day exclaimed, ‘Who is for me in the matter of Ibnu'l-Ashraf?’ A disciple of the prophet immediately exclaimed, ‘I am for thee in his affair, O apostle of God; I shall kill him.’ Then, after consulting with Muhammad, and taking with him several companions, the murderer stole forth to the house of Kab, and having enticed him outside on the pretence of pawning some arms, foully murdered him in cold blood.

Another Jew killed by the direct orders of Muhammad was an old man named Abu Rafi. His story as related by Bukhari is as follows:

بَعَثَ النَّبيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَهْطًا إِلَى أَبِي رَافِعٍ فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَتِيكٍ بَيْتَهُ لَيْلًا وَهُوَ نَائِمٌ فَقَتَلَهُ.

‘The prophet of God sent a party to Abu Rafi. Then, when he was asleep, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Atik entered his house at night and killed him.’ These murders and others mentioned by the historians, for which we have no space here, led the Jews to see that their very existence was at stake, and as one by one, the neighbouring Jewish tribes were attacked and their goods plundered they were driven to despair. Not a few in order to save their lives apostatized and embraced the faith of the conquerors. Thus Ibn Hisham tells us in his Sirat p. 186, that numbers

 فظهروا بالإسلام واتخذوه جنة من القتل.

‘pretended to have embraced Islam; but they (really only) embraced it as a protection from being killed.’

The terror of the Jews was intensified by a fearful calamity which overtook a Jewish tribe called the Bani Quraiza. This is related at length in the Siratu'r-Rasul (vol. iii, pp. 9-24); the Kitabu'l-Maghazi, (p. 125), the Mishkatu'l-Masabih in the Kitabu'l-Jehad and other books, and briefly is as follows: the Bani Quraiza had in one of the wars of Muhammad acted in a hostile and treacherous manner which called for reprisals on the part of the Muslims. When, therefore, Muhammad obtained the necessary leisure he put himself at the head of a large band of armed men and attacked the Bani Quraiza. These latter shut themselves up in their fortresses, and only capitulated when compelled by the pangs of hunger and the sufferings of their wives and little ones. Their prayers for mercy were unheeded, and the decision as to their punishment was given into the hands of their bitter enemy Sad bin Mu’adh. This latter was, at the very time, suffering from wounds received in battle, and immediately advised that all the males over puberty should be slain, and the women and children given into slavery. Muhammad, upon hearing the verdict exclaimed:

حكمت بحكم الله.

‘Thou hast ordered according to the command of God’ (Tafsiru'l-Baidawi, p. 556 and Siratu'r-Rasul, vol. iii, p. 92). Trenches were forthwith dug in the bazaar at Madina, and between six hundred and nine hundred Jewish males were beheaded in cold blood. The number of the murdered is stated differently by different authors, due probably to the fact that the corpses were not counted, but only approximate estimates made of their number. The lowest number given is six hundred, whilst Ibn Hisham says that

المكثر لهم يقول كانوا بين الثمانمائة والتسعمائة.

‘he who amongst them estimates the number highest says they were between eight hundred and nine hundred.’ Then, proceeds the same biographer of the prophet,

إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قسم أموال بني قريظة ونساءهم وأبناءهم على المسلمين.

‘The apostle of God divided the property of the Bani Quraiza and their wives and their children amongst the Muslims.’

The inhuman massacre narrated above, which has cast an indelible stain upon the character of Muhammad, is referred to thus in the Qur'an: ‘And He caused those of the people of the Book who had aided (the confederates) to come down from their fortresses, and He cast dismay into their hearts. Some ye slew. Others ye took prisoners. And he gave you their land and their dwellings and their wealth for an heritage—even a land on which ye had never set foot’ Qur'an Al-Ahzab 33:26-27. Amongst the share of the plunder claimed by Muhammad was a beautiful woman named Raihana, whose husband had just been murdered by the orders of her captor.

Another Jewish tribe to feel, later on, the heavy hand of Muhammad was that inhabiting the fertile oasis of Khaibar, situated about a hundred miles to the north of Madina. These Jews had done nothing to incur the resentment of the Muslims, but their wealth and prosperity were well known to the freebooters who now ruled over Madina, and a strong force under the leadership of the prophet himself was soon on its way to attack the unsuspecting Jews. The latter were overcome, and were compelled to hand over enormous booty to the conquerors. The latter allowed the Jews to remain in possession of their lands on the condition that one-half of the produce should be regularly remitted to Madina! The importance of this raid may be judged from the fact that Ibn Hisham devotes no less than eighteen pages to his account of the expedition and the events connected with it. One of the latter is of special interest, and may be mentioned here. It is related that the widow of one of the Jewish slain, named Zainab bint Harith, resolving to avenge herself upon Muhammad, cooked some mutton and having poisoned it placed it before him. Muhammad, as well as some of his companions, ate of the poisoned meat, and one of the latter died in consequence. Muhammad himself escaped death, though he suffered severe pains; and he was wont to declare that until the day of his death he felt the effects of the poison he had taken. When the woman Zainab was brought before Muhammad, the latter asked the reason for the attempt upon his life, and was met by the following reply:

فقلت إنْ كان ملكاً استرحت منه وإنْ كان نبياً فسيُخبر.

‘I said (to myself) “If he is (only) a king, we shall be rid of him; but if he is a prophet, then he will be informed (regarding the poison).”’

Another event indicating the hostility of Muhammad and his party to the Jews is that relating to a Muslim named Tu'mah ibn Ubayriq, who, so the story goes, stole a coat of mail from a neighbour and hid it in a bag of flour. Tu'mah being suspected, he in conjunction with some others, ²⁵ endeavoured to cast the blame upon an innocent Jew named Zayd ibn As-Samin. Muhammad himself, we are told, not wishing to punish his disciple, determined to make a scapegoat of the Jew by inflicting upon him the legal punishment for theft, namely, amputation of the hand. He was, however, miraculously restrained from carrying out his unjust intention and was ordered, instead, to ask pardon from God for his momentary weakness (Tafsiru'l-Baidawi on Qur’an An-Nisa’ 4:105).

Muhammad's latest utterances regarding the Jews and Christians were characterised by the deepest enmity and hostility. When he was a helpless and persecuted man at Mecca he could say, ‘Dispute not, unless in kindly sort, with the People of the Book, save with such of them as have dealt wrongfully with you, and say ye, “We believe in what hath been sent down to us, and what hath been sent down to you. Our God and your God is one, and to him are we self-surrendered.”’ At Madina, on the other hand, when he found himself a powerful chieftain surrounded by warlike Arabs, he addressed his followers thus, ‘Make war upon such of those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in God, or in the last day, and who forbid not that which God and His Apostle have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth, until they pay tribute out of hand, and they be humbled’ Qur’an At-Taubah 9:30.

CHAPTER V

THE DEATH OF MUHAMMAD

Tomb of Muhammad

HAVING subjugated the Jews living near and around Madina Muhammad proceeded to despatch armed bands of his followers to the more distant tribes of Arabia, demanding, in the case of idolaters, either instant acceptance of Islam or death by the sword. In the Jami'u-Tirmidhi, vol. ii, p. 468, it is recorded that Muhammad sent his followers forth in these words,

أمرت أن أقاتل الناس حتّى يقولوا لا إله إلا الله.

‘I am commanded to fight against men until they say, “There is no god but God”’; in other words, until they embrace Islam. Needless to say, hundreds chose the ‘easy way’ of Islam, and thus found a refuge from the bloody swords of the Muslim bands which now swept the country on every side.

Muhammad now determined to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca; and in the sixth year of the Hijrah he proceeded, accompanied by a large band of his followers, to the metropolis. But the Quraish refused an entrance; and after some parleying a treaty was drawn up at a place near Mecca named Hudaibiya in which it was stipulated that the Muslims should return to Madina without performing the pilgrimage, but on the following year they should be granted full permission to enter Mecca free from molestation. Bukhari has preserved an interesting account of this treaty which is found in the Mishkatu'l-Masabih. Ibn Hisham has also recorded it at length in his Siratu'r-Rasul, vol. iii, p. 159. The former tells us that ‘Ali was chosen as the prophet's amanuensis on this occasion, and that when Muhammad bade him write the words ‘A treaty between Muhammad the prophet of God and Suhail bin ‘Amr’, the latter objected to the term ‘apostle of God’, remarking that if the Quraish acknowledged that, there would be no necessity for opposing Muhammad at all. The latter then turned to ‘Ali and told him to cut out the words ‘apostle of God’, and write in their stead the words suggested by Suhail, viz. ‘Son of ‘Abdu’llah.’ To this ‘Ali objected saying, ‘By God I will never cut it out.’ Then, the narrative proceeds,

أخذ رسول الله صلعم الكتاب وليس يحسن يكتب فكتب هذا ما قاضى محمد بن عبد الله.

‘The apostle of God took the writing, and though he did not write well, wrote what he had ordered (‘Ali), viz. “Muhammad son of Abdu’llah’ This story is interesting as affording a proof that Muhammad, despite modern Muslim assertions to the contrary, was able to read and write. Other occasions are mentioned of Muhammad writing, some of which are referred to in this book.

After the ratification of the treaty of Hudaibiya with the Quraish Muhammad returned to Madina. In the following year he once more appeared before Mecca with a numerous band of followers, and, in terms of the treaty, was granted the opportunity of performing the various ceremonies connected with the pilgrimage. The treaty of Hudaibiya, amongst other things, provided that there should be peace between the Muslims and the Quraish for a period of ten years, but in the year following that in which Muhammad made the pilgrimage, he found some pretext for breaking the treaty, and one day suddenly appeared before Mecca at the head of an army of ten thousand men. The Quraish were unprepared, and the city was won without a blow. Various campaigns followed, having for their object the subjugation of the surrounding tribes, and messages were also despatched to the Emperors of Rome and Persia calling upon them to embrace the faith.

Amidst these incessant campaigns the apostle still found leisure to promulgate fresh laws; and ‘revelations’ covering every conceivable sphere of life continued to issue from his lips. Some of this teaching sounds strangely out of place in this twentieth century; yet all good Muslims are bound to accept it as a revelation from the God of heaven. In the Qur'an, for example, it is recorded again and again that the purpose of God in creating mountains was to prevent the earth from shaking! Meteors are gravely described in the same book as darts thrown at the devils by the angels, when the former attempt to listen by stealth to the converse of heaven! Long and realistic descriptions of heaven and hell form a special feature of the prophet's teaching. Both places are described as material. Heaven is a place of shady trees and cooling streams, where the carnal appetites run riot, and rivers of wine flow to satisfy the thirst of men. Hell is a place of physical agony which God, according to the express teaching of the Qur'an, has sworn to fill with men and genii. Indeed, we are told in the same book, He has created men for the purpose. Even Muslims will not escape a purgatorial punishment in the fires of hell; and there is a famous verse of the Qur'an which declares that everyone will enter the place of torment.

Far from Muhammad being, as some modern Muslims maintain, an intercessor for them at the throne of God, the Qur'an repeatedly declares that there will be no intercession whatever at the judgement day. Even in the Traditions, which are admittedly contradictory on the subject, Muhammad is represented as addressing his daughter Fatima in these words,

يا فاطمة انقذي نفسك من النار فإني لا أملك لكم من الله شيئاً.

‘O Fatima, save thyself from the fire; for verily I am not able to obtain anything from God for you.’

The prophet not only confessed his inability to save others, he even declared his ignorance of his own future. Thus Bukhari has preserved a statement of his to the effect that,

والله لا أدرى وأنا رسول الله ما يُفعل بي ولا بكم.

‘By God, although I am an apostle of God, I do not know what will be done to me or to you.’ The same statement also occurs in the Qur'an Al-Ahqaf 46:9. In the Mishkatu'l-Masabih, in the Kitabu'smu'llah he is reported as saying that,

لَنْ يُنَجِّيَ أَحَدًا مِنْكُمْ عَمَلُهُ قَالُوا وَلَا أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ وَلَا أَنَا إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَغَمَّدَنِي اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَته.

“‘The works of none of you will ever save him.” (His disciples) said, “Not even you, O apostle of God?” He said, “Not even I, unless God cover me with His mercy.”’ So concerned indeed was the prophet regarding his own future destiny that he instructed his followers to pray for him in these words,

إذا تشهد أحدكم في الصلاة فليقل: اللهم صل على محمد وعلى آل محمد وبارك على محمد وعلى آل محمد وارحم محمدا وآل محمد كما صليت وباركت وترحمت على ابراهيم وعلى آل إبراهيم.

‘When any one of you (in his prayers) bears witness (concerning God and His apostle), then let him say, “O God, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and have mercy upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as thou hast blessed and had mercy upon Abraham and the family of Abraham.”’ To the present day, the wide world over, Muslims repeat this prayer for the welfare of their prophet.

In the eleventh year of the Hijrah Muhammad fell sick. Persistent fever rapidly weakened him, and it was soon seen that he was seriously ill. He seems to have had some premonition of his coming end, for he appointed Abu Bakr to take his place in the mosque as leader of the prayers, and then, in the quiet of his own, or rather ‘Ayesha's, room called for pen and ink in order to add something to his previous teaching. But the fire which had blazed so fiercely was fast flickering out, and Muhammad did not live to add the words that were to complete his religion and prevent his followers ever after from straying. The incident is important for two reasons. It proves that Muhammad could read and write, and it suggests that he left his system incomplete. Bukhari records the incident thus from Ibn ‘Abbas. ‘When the apostle of God approached his death, and a number of people were in the room, amongst whom was ‘Umr bin Khattab, he said,

هلمَّوا أكتب لكم كتاباً لن تَضِلّوا بعده.

“Come, I will write for you a writing (so that) after it you will never go astray.” Then ‘Umr said, “He is certainly overcome with pain; and, moreover, you have the Qur'an. The word of God is sufficient for you.” Then a division arose amongst those who were present in the room, and they began to wrangle. Some said, “Bring him pen and ink in order that the prophet of God may write for you”. Others of them agreed with ‘Umr. At length, when they made a great noise and confusion, the prophet of God said, “Leave me”’. A little later Muhammad breathed his last in the room of ‘Ayesha, and there, where he had died, the prophet of Arabia was buried to await the great day when every one shall give an account of himself to God.

Thus passed away a great personality. The purpose and limits of this little book forbid a fuller treatment of his life. Many interesting and important facts have been omitted; but we have tried, in what we have written, to remain true to the title of the book, and give only what is found ‘in Islam’ itself. The picture which the Muslim chronicles have given us is not an altogether lovely one, and we now leave the reader to judge whether, and in what respect, Muhammad may be considered as indeed a Prophet of God.

CHAPTER II

THE RECENSIONS OF ABU-BAKR AND ‘UTHMAN

From the third chapter of the Mishkat we learn that for some time after the death of the prophet, the Qur’an continued to be preserved in the memories of the people, and was still recited in various conflicting ways; but in the famous battle of Yamamah a great number of the Qur’an reciters were slain. Then ‘Umar, fearing lest another battle should still further reduce the number of those able to recite the Qur’an, so that much of it might be lost, came to Abu-Bakr and importuned him to order the Qur’an to be collected into one book. At first Abu-Bakr objected. “How can I do a thing which the prophet has not done?” he asked; but at last, yielding to the entreaties of ‘Umar, the Khalif gave orders to Zaid-ibn-Thabit, who had been an amanuensis of the prophet, to search out the Qur’an and bring it all together. This the latter did, “collecting it from leaves of the date, white stones, and the hearts of men. ⁴ This copy of the Qur’an was given to the Khalif Abu -Bakr, after whose death it passed into the possession of the Khalif ‘Umar, who in turn gave it into the keeping of his daughter Hafsa, one of the widows of Muhammad. ⁵

This valuable tradition of Al-Bukhari makes it clear that Abu-Bakr, for the first time, collected the whole Qur’an into one book; but he apparently made no critical study of the text with a view to reducing the various readings to one uniform standard. On the contrary we learn from Al-Bukhari that within a short period the discrepancies and contradictions which existed in the various readings of the Qur’an became of a still graver nature; until at last the Khalif ‘Uthman took steps to allay the doubts which began to arise in the minds of the people. The means which ‘Uthman adopted were drastic in the extreme, and simply consisted in transcribing one complete copy of the Qur’an, and then burning all other copies! ⁶   For this purpose the Khalif appointed a committee, with Zaid at its head, to do the work. In the case of any difference of opinion Zaid, who was a native of Medina, had to give way, and the final decision lay with the Quraish members of the revision committee, or with the Khalif himself. A significant illustration of the latter’s interference is given in one of the traditions. It was the Khalif’s expressed desire to preserve the Qur’an in the Quraish dialect, the dialect of the prophet himself. ⁷ It is recorded that ‘Ali wished to write تابوة with ة; the others preferred تas تابوت; but ‘Uthman decided in favour of the latter as being according to the Quraish dialect. But it so happens that the word تابوت is not an Arabic word at all, but was borrowed by Muhammad with many other words from the Rabbinical Hebrew! ⁸ It is simply the Hebrew word for ‘ark,’ and is so introduced into the story of Moses in Qur’an Ta-Ha 20:39.  This little incident will serve to show how far the compilers of the Qur’an were successful in preserving the book in the Meccan dialect, the language of Gabriel and of Muhammad.

We now give below the tradition concerning ‘Uthman’s recension of the Qur’an as recorded by Al-Bukhari, so that the reader may see for himself the serious condition of the Qur’anic text at that time, and may judge of the extraordinary and arbitrary methods adopted by ‘Uthman for its rectification.

«وعن أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ أَنَّ حُذَيْفَةَ بْنَ الْيَمَانِ قَدِمَ عَلَى عُثْمَانَ وَكَانَ يُغَازِي أَهْلَ الشَّأْمِ فِي فَتْحِ إِرْمِينِيَةَ وَأَذْرَبِيجَانَ مَعَ أَهْلِ الْعِرَاقِ فَأَفْزَعَ حُذَيْفَةَ اخْتِلَافُهُمْ فِي الْقِرَاءَةِ فَقَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ لِعُثْمَانَ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَدْرِكْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْتَلِفُوا فِي الْكِتَابِ اخْتِلَافَ الْيَهُودِ وَالنَّصَارَى فَأَرْسَلَ عُثْمَانُ إِلَى حَفْصَةَ أَنْ أَرْسِلِي إِلَيْنَا بِالصُّحُفِ نَنْسَخُهَا فِي الْمَصَاحِفِ ثُمَّ نَرُدُّهَا إِلَيْكِ فَأَرْسَلَتْ بِهَا حَفْصَةُ إِلَى عُثْمَانَ فَأَمَرَ زَيْدَ بْنَ ثَابِتٍ وَعَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ الزُّبَيْرِ وَسَعِيدَ بْنَ الْعَاصِ وَعَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ هِشَامٍ فَنَسَخُوهَا فِي الْمَصَاحِفِ وَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ لِلرَّهْطِ الْقُرَشِيِّينَ الثَّلَاثَةِ إِذَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ أَنْتُمْ وَزَيْدُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ الْقُرْآنِ فَاكْتُبُوهُ بِلِسَانِ قُرَيْشٍ فَإِنَّمَا نَزَلَ بِلِسَانِهِمْ فَفَعَلُوا حَتَّى إِذَا نَسَخُوا الصُّحُفَ فِي الْمَصَاحِفِ رَدَّ عُثْمَانُ الصُّحُفَ إِلَى حَفْصَةَ وَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى كُلِّ أُفُقٍ بِمُصْحَفٍ مِمَّا نَسَخُوا وَأَمَرَ بِمَا سِوَاهُ مِنْ الْقُرْآنِ فِي كُلِّ صَحِيفَةٍ أَوْ مُصْحَفٍ أَنْ يُحْرَقَ قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ وَأَخْبَرَنِي خَارِجَةُ بْنُ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ سَمِعَ زَيْدَ بْنَ ثَابِتٍ قَالَ فَقَدْتُ آيَةً مِنْ الْأَحْزَابِ حِينَ نَسَخْنَا الْمُصْحَفَ قَدْ كُنْتُ أَسْمَعُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقْرَأُ بِهَا فَالْتَمَسْنَاهَا فَوَجَدْنَاهَا مَعَ خُزَيْمَةَ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ مِنْ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْحَقْنَاهَا فِي سُورَتِهَا فِي الْمُصْحَفِ».

“Anas-ibn-Malik relates: ‘Huzaifah came to ‘Uthman, and he had fought with the people of Syria in the conquest of Armenia; and had fought in Azurbaijan with the people of ‘Iraq, and he was shocked at the different ways of people reading the Qur’an, and Huzaifab said to ‘Uthman, “O ‘Uthman, assist this people before they differ in the Book of God, just as the Jews and Christians differ in their books.” Then ‘Uthman sent a person to Hafsa, ordering her to send those portions which she had, and saying, “I shall have a number of copies taken, and will then return them to you.” And Hafsa sent the portions to ‘Uthman, and ‘Uthman ordered Zaid-ibn-Thabit, Abdullah-ibn-al-Zubair, Sa’id-ibn-al-As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham; and he said to the three Quraishites, “When you and Zaid-ibn-Thabit differ about any part of the reading of the Qur’an, then do ye write it in the Quraish dialect, because it came not down in the language of any tribe but theirs.” Then they did as ‘Uthman had ordered; and when a number of copies had been taken, ‘Uthman returned the leaves to Hafsa. And ‘Uthman sent a copy to every quarter of the countries of Islam, and ordered all other leaves to be burnt. ⁹ And Az-Zuhri said, “Kharijah-bin-Zaid narrated to me that Zaid-ibn-Thabit said, ‘I could not find one verse when I was writing the Qur’an, which I had heard from the prophet; then I looked for it, and found it with Khuzaimah bin Thabit, and I entered it into Surah Al-Ahzab 33:23’.” ¹⁰

From this tradition, recorded by Bukhari, we learn several important facts. Thus it is clear that when ‘Uthman perceived with dismay that the differences in the reading of the Qur’an were becoming more and more serious day by day, he ordered Zaid and three others to again compile an authoritative edition of the Qur’an. The fact that these scholars had to consider a variety of readings, to weigh their authority, and, if necessary, discard them in favour of the Meccan readings shows to what an extent corruptions had crept into the text. Having completed his recension, ‘Uthman then collected all the copies of the older editions he could find, and burnt them. He then ordered a number of copies to be made from the new edition, and distributed them throughout the Muhammadan world. From this narrative it is clear that the Qur’an compiled under the direction of ‘Uthman, and still current, differed very materially from the readings which were current in different parts of Arabia at that time: otherwise it is inconceivable that the Khalif should have taken the trouble to collect and burn them in the manner recorded by Bukhari. The result is that Muslims to-day are shut up to the arbitrary edition circulated by ‘Uthman, and are quite unable by critical study to arrive at any satisfactory decision as to how far ‘Uthman’s recension agreed with that compiled under the direction of Abu-Bakr, or with the various Qur’anic readings current in Arabia. This at least we know, that the Shiahs have constantly charged ‘Uthman with suppressing and altering various passages of the Qur’an favourable to ‘Ali and his family. Thus in the book ‘Faniki-kitab-Debistan’ it is written, “‘Uthman burnt the Qur’an, and excised from it all those passages in which was related the greatness of ‘Ali and his family.” Shiah books quote numerous passages which have been altered in this way, but for which this little book contains no room. ¹¹ The reader may find them in the writings of Ali-ibn-Ibrahim-ul-Qumi, ¹² Muhammad-Ya’qub-ul-Kulaini, ¹³ Shaikh-Ahmad-ibn-’Ali-Lalit-ul-Tabrasi and Shaikh-Abu-Ali-ul-Tabasi. ¹⁴ This two-fold witness of the Shiahs on the one hand, and of Bukhari on the other, leaves no room for doubt that the Qur’an which we possess to-day is far indeed from being free from corruptions and omissions.

Further, from the significant fact that ‘Uthman burnt all the copies of the Qur’an which he could find, and circulated only the one copy compiled by himself,  ¹⁵ we learn that he, at any rate, did not accept the story of the ‘seven readings,’ nor credit the prophet with having called seven mutually conflicting readings of the Qur’an equally correct. The fact is, any unbiased study of the whole story makes it clear that, not Muhammad, but his immediate followers circulated the story which attributed to him such a foolish statement in order that Muslims should not stumble at the astounding sight of a Qur’an, sent down from God, appearing in different contradictory texts.

Additional light is shed upon this subject by a tradition of ‘Ali, which runs thus, “At the time that Abu-Bakr became Khalif, ‘Ali was sitting in his house. When the former came to visit him, ‘Ali addressed him thus, ‘I saw that people were adding to the word of God, and I resolved in my mind that I would never wear my outer cloth again, except at the time of Namaz, until I had collected the word of God’.” ¹⁶ These various traditions make it perfectly clear that the differences in the reading of the Qur’an were by no means confined to pronunciation, but that certain persons were in the habit of ‘adding’ words of their own at the time of reciting the Qur’an. From Islamic history we learn that ‘Ali did actually carry out his intention of making a collection of the Qur’an; ¹⁷ and it is a matter for sincere regret that ‘Ali’s compilation is not to be found to-day. ¹⁸ That it would have differed materially from the present Qur’an is practically certain; for it is recorded that when ‘Umar asked him to lend his copy in order that other copies might be compared with it, he refused, saying that the Qur’an he possessed was the most accurate and perfect, and could not be submitted to any changes and alterations which might be found necessary in the other copies. He further said that he intended to hand down his copy to his descendants to be kept until the advent of the Imam Mahdi.