You better run all day and run all night. (Roger Waters)
Thinking about the musings from DAY 42: Rest…Relax…Reflect…
I would submit to you that the geography of the Arabian Peninsula, and more specifically Mecca, was instrumental in the development of the 8th major belief system of mankind, Islam. It is also important to note that the locations of Mecca and the Arabian Peninsula are not so far off geographically from where both Judaism and Christianity both started, the Middle East. With almost 2 billion current followers of Islam today, one cannot underestimate the influence this belief system has had over the last 1400 plus years.
Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was a merchant by trade, representing his family the Quraysh tribe, in and around the Arabian Peninsula. It is interesting to note that Muhammad was not in charge of the wealth of his family, but instead Khadija was.
His wife.
One of the big take-aways that students must be aware of from the 8,000 BCE – 600 CE time period what a patriarchal system is and how it operates. The patriarchal system was socially, politically, economically culturally centered around males. So the idea that his wife Khadija, a female, was in charge of the Quraysh caravan was quite progressive for the time and place, pre-7th century Arabia.
It might also help to explain that since he was not in charge of everything regarding the family wealth, that from time to time he would go to the series of caves located on the outskirts of Mecca when he was around the age of 40.
In the deep, dark quiet of these caves, and one in particular the cave of Hira, mediation came easily for Muhammad, and ultimately he was visited by Gabriel.
Who was Gabriel? If you are Jewish or Christian you will recognize him as an angel, a messenger of God.
Consider from the Old Testament, Daniel 9:21 (KJV):
21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
And from the New Testament, Luke 1:26-33(KJV):
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Like Jews and Christians traveling throughout the region, this would help to explain why Muslims would have been familiar with the angel Gabriel as well.
From the very first revelation, where the angel Gabriel proclaimed that Muhammad was the ‘Messenger of God’ and for the next twenty years, Muslims believe that Muhammad continued to receive revelations. At first he would recite these revelations to Khadija, and then to a growing community of believers in Mecca.
Over these next twenty years, these divine revelations convinced Muhammad that he was the last of the prophets of the monotheistic belief systems, Judaism and Christianity:
1) Abraham, the Father of Many Nations, the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam;
2) Moses, who historians credit with writing the Torah, the first five books of the Jewish bible;
3) Isaiah, who told the Jews that their continued, growing distance from God would have dire consequences if they did not repent and come back to him;
4) Jeremiah, an ignored prophet of the Jews, most likely due to the fact of his ‘doom and gloom’ revelations which ultimately came true;
5) Ezekiel, another ‘doom and gloomer’ in his own right, who preached to the Jews living in Babylonian Empire, considered the regional, superpower land at the time of their exile;
6) Daniel, also in exile in Babylon, whose interpretations of the ‘writings on the wall’ regarding the restoration of Jerusalem, enabled him to gain favor with the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar;
7) Malachi, the author of the last book in the New Testament, before the 400 year ‘silence’ between God and the Jews;
8) John the Baptist, responsible for preaching the coming of Jesus of Nazareth and;
9) Jesus of Nazareth.
For almost 2 billion followers of Islam, they would place Muhammad as last of the great prophets at number 10.
With this heavy responsibility thrust upon him, Muhammad began the process of convincing others that the one, true god, Allah, was telling Gabriel to tell him, to come back to the one, true god.
For those who believed what Muhammad was preaching, they became known as Muslims, or those who submitted to the will of Allah.
For those who were unsure about the preaching of Muhammad, he tried to convince them that their gods and goddesses were false.
Needless to say, two things happened as a result of Muhammad’s actions:
1) His ideas became quite controversial with the general population and rejected him in Mecca and;
2) Due to Muhammad’s rejection of these other gods and goddesses, his own family rejected him, in large part due to the potential, financial implications of moving Mecca from a polytheistic to a monotheistic belief system.
In other words, they were concerned that the pilgrims that would frequent the Kaaba in Mecca because of its history and influence as a polytheistic, pilgrimage center, would dry up and hurt their bottom line financially.
Follow the money….
So, what would you do if you believed in something so strongly, yet rejected by pretty much everyone around you, including your family, and you are not only no longer welcome in your own family’s house, but you are also unwelcome in your own city?
You would most likely do what Muhammad did.
You run.
Do not feel discouraged if are still trying to understand the facts and history surrounding Islam. Do not feel discouraged if you are still trying to figure out if Muhammad and his revelations do in fact justify him as the last great prophet of the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Instead, embrace the idea that this knowledge that you are accumulating is making you come to a more logical, rational, well-thought out decision once you have all the facts in front of you.
47For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. (Acts 13:47 KJV)
Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?
Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 43: Ready. Set. Go!.
If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.
Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:
Another great read. Cibdy