Outline Lecture Eleven—Redefining the Umma: Muhammad and Khadija
I) The Historical Setting of Muhammad’s Message
a) The Calling—610 C.E.
i) Annual family retreat on Mount Hira
(1) “A man like any other man”—a “bashar”
(2) Yet, a series of dreams or trances
(3) Vision of the angel Gabriel
(4) Image of Muhammad as an unwitting, reluctant messenger of God
ii) Initial doubts
(1) Immediate fear of being jinn-possessed
(2) Crucial role of Khadija in reassuring him
b) The Message of “The Seal of the Prophets”
i) To revive the spirit of ethical monotheism that had been distorted
ii) Provide Arabs with a belated yet decisive contribution to the monotheistic tradition
iii) Islam’s acute sense of spiritual and physical “siege mentality”
c) Challenge to the Meccan Oligarchy
i) The oasis of Mecca on the Hijaz corridor
ii) Recognized by all Arabs as a Haram or spiritual sanctuary
(1) Ka’aba—a black rock housing a powerful deity called All’at
(2) Key source of revenue for the Quraysh
II) The Challenge of Muhammad’s Message
a) Impact of Personal Experience (570-632)
i) “Quraysh of the Inside” vs. “Quraysh of the Outside”
ii) Marriage to Khadija
iii) Experience as a merchant
b) Muhammad’s Egalitarian Ethos
i) Women in pre-Islamic Arabia
ii) Muhammad’s inclusion of gender equality in faith
(1) Men and women equal before God
(2) Muhammad’s own response to A’isha’s alleged adultery
iii) New rights for women introduced by Muhammad
iv) Prominent Role of A’isha
(1) “Mother of the Faithful”
v) Later Restrictions placed on Women
(1) Leila Ahmed’s Women and Gender in Islam
c) Flight to Medina—the Hijra in 622
i) Persecution of Muhammad and his followers
ii) Political authority and religious authority became synonymous
iii) Relationship with the Jews of Medina
(1) The Banu Qurayza clan of Arab Jews
(2) The change in the qibla
III) The Forging of the Umma
a) A New Trans-social Tribe of Faith
i) Consortium of tribes built on common faith
ii) Muhammad as an inter-tribal sheikh
b) The Five Pillars—the tenets of a community
i) The Kalima or Creed
(1) “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger”
ii) The Prayer
(1) Muezzin and Imam
iii) Almsgiving
(1) Zakat vs. Sadaqa
iv) Period of Fasting (Ramadan)
(1) “Every good work a man does is for himself, save fasting”
v) Pilgrimage (Hajj)
(1) Reinforce equality and unity in the umma
c) Muhammad’s Last Sermon
i) Main concern: the unity of the umma and peaceful coexistence with neighbors
ii) Instruction to defend the faith
(1) Dual meaning of Jihad
(2) Ethical definition of a martyr