Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time

which all members were treated with respect. The political well-being of the Muslim community was, and is, a matter of supreme importance. Like any religious ideal, it is almost insuperably difficult to fulfill, but after each failure, Muslims have tried to get up and begin again. Many Islamic rituals, philosophies, doctrines, sacred texts, and shrines are the result of frequently anguished and self-critical contemplation of the political events of Islamic society.

The life of the Prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632 CE) was as crucial to the unfolding Islamic ideal as it is today. His career revealed the inscrutable God’s activity in the world, and illustrated the perfect surrender (in Arabic, the word for “surrender” is islam) that every human being should make to the divine. Beginning during the Prophet’s lifetime, Muslims had to strive to understand the meaning of his life and apply it to their own. A little more than a hundred years after Muhammad’s death, as Islam continued to spread to new territories and gain converts, Muslim scholars began to compile the great collections of Muhammad’s sayings (ahadith)

The work of Muhammad’s first biographers would probably not satisfy a modern historian. They were men of their time and often included stories of a miraculous and legendary nature that we would interpret differently today.

Muhammad gave Abu Sufyan, Suhayl, and Safwan the lion’s share. Safwan was so overcome that he instantly made his surrender. “I bear witness that no soul could have such goodness as this, if it were not the soul of the Prophet,” he cried. “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are his Messenger.”42 Suhayl followed his example.
Some of the Helpers were offended by this apparent favoritism. Did it mean that Muhammad would abandon them, now that he had been reunited with his own tribe? Muhammad instantly reassured them by making a moving speech, which reduced many of them to tears.

“If anyone worships God, God is alive, immortal.”49 Finally, he recited the verse that had been revealed to Muhammad after the battle of Uhud, when many of the Muslims had been shocked by the false rumor of his death: “Muhammad is naught but a Messenger; Messengers have passed away before him. Why, if he should die or is slain, will you turn upon your heels?

venerated Jesus: He was a mere mortal, no different from anybody else. To refuse to admit that Muhammad had died was, therefore, to deny his message. But as long as Muslims remained true to the belief that God alone was worthy of worship, Muhammad would live on in their minds.

Abu Bakr reminded them that Muhammad had dedicated his life to the preaching of tawhid, the unity of God. How could they possibly imagine that he was immortal? That would be tantamount to saying that he was divine—a second god.

‘Umar absolutely refused to believe that the Prophet was dead: his soul had just left his body temporarily, he argued, and he would certainly return to his people. He would be the last of them all to die. The hysteria in ‘Umar’s compulsive harangue must have been evident, because Abu Bakr murmured “Gently, ‘Umar.” But ‘Umar simply could

One morning, he seemed to pray for an especially long time in honor of the Muslims who had died at Uhud and added: “God has given one of his servants the choice between this world and that which is with God, and he has chosen the latter.” The only person who seems to have understood this reference to his imminent death was Abu Bakr, who began to weep bitterly. “Gently, gently, Abu Bakr,” Muhammad said tenderly.47

Muhammad concluded, “O God, have I not told you?” There was pathos in this last appeal. Muhammad knew that despite his repeated admonitions, not all Muslims fully understood his vision. Standing before them for what he knew would probably be the last time, he may have wondered whether all his efforts had been in vain. “O people,” he cried suddenly, “have I faithfully delivered my message to you?” There was a powerful murmur of assent from the assembled crowd: “O God, yes!”(Al

In October 631,he became aware that a mosque in Medina had become a center of disaffection, so he was forced to destroy it.