of Rajab in the year 621 C.E., Muhammad underwent a two-fold mystical experience. In the first part, God “carried his servant by night, from the Mosque of the Sanctuary to the Farther Mosque” (Quran 17:1). Later interpreters would equate the first site with the shrine of the Ka’ba in Mecca, the second with the southern end of the temple platform in Jerusalem, where now stands an early eighth-century structure called “the Farther Mosque” (al-masjid al-aqsa). This “Night Journey” (isra) was already clearly a kind of otherworldly experience, for ancient narratives place Muhammad in the company of earlier prophets in the Farther Mosque, and they naturally ask him to lead them in the ritual prayer. The second phase of the journey, however, called the “Ascension” (mir’aj), finds the Prophet riding a winged human-faced steed named Buraq and led by Gabriel toward the very throne of God. Marvelously embellished tales have developed around this experience. Vivid descriptions of Muhammad’s excursion follow him through the various levels of heaven, where he meets all of his major prophetic forebears, down to the dark circles of hell where Gabriel shows him the horrors of the damned. This is truly the picture of a heroic journey of initiation in the mysteries of the unseen world. Many Muslims believe the journey involved physical locomotion, but a strong tradition of non-literalistic interpretation has always regarded it as a spiritual and inward experience. However one interprets these moments in Muhammad’s life, the power of the link tradition forged between the Prophet and Jerusalem remains as great as ever and continues to be part of the mix in current events in the Middle East.
What events led to the Muslim community’s understanding of the “official” beginning of Islam?
Under pressure from the leading Meccans, Muhammad had been investigating the possibility of moving his community from the increasingly hostile environment of Mecca to a safer haven. Hopeful prospects arrived in 621 C.E. with a delegation from Yathrib, a city several hundred miles north of Mecca. Looking for someone to help them negotiate a peaceful settlement to factional problems in their city, the representatives invited Muhammad to come and apply his already renowned talent for arbitration. Arrangements were finalized, and in 622 C.E. the Muslims headed north to Yathrib, whose name would soon change to Madinat an-Nabi (“City of the Prophet”), or simply Medina. That crucial journey was called the Hijra or Emigration. It marked the birthday of Islam, so to speak, and the beginning of the Muslim calendar (with dates marked A.H., “after the Hijra”).
When Muhammad led his followers to the city of Medina it marked the beginning of the Muslim calendar in 621 C.E. Today, Medina is an important city that many pilgrims visit as part of the Hajj.
What are some key events during the Medina period?
Muhammad’s years in Medina, as reflected in the text of the Quran as well as in later historical writing, witnessed major changes in his style of leadership and in the shape of the community of believers. Muhammad’s prominence in the new setting gave prestige to the community. As the group increased, so did the demands on Muhammad’s administrative time and skill, so that what began as spiritual leadership gradually grew into a more comprehensive oversight. During the Medinan period the Muslims also took up arms against the Quraysh and fought a number of serious military engagements with the Meccan forces. After nearly eight years of bitter conflict, the two sides struck a truce. The Muslims would be allowed to return to Mecca without opposition. In 630, Muhammad led a triumphal band to claim the city for the Muslims. Two years later, Muhammad returned to Mecca for what would be his farewell pilgrimage to the Ka’ba. He died in Medina in 632 after an illness of several months.
What happened when Muhammad died? Did Muslims develop religious institutions to carry on the leadership Muhammad had begun?
Muhammad’s death thrust the young community into a protracted debate over the criteria of legitimate succession. According to sources compiled as many as two or three centuries after Muhammad’s death in 632 C.E., two predominant solutions to the problem of succession emerged. One group maintained that the Prophet had explicitly designated his son-in-law Ali to be his Caliph (literally, “successor” or “vicegerent”). The other, convinced that Muhammad had made no such appointment, opted for the procedure of choosing from among a group of elder Companions of Muhammad. They chose Muhammad’s father-in-law, Abu Bakr. The group that supported Ali’s candidacy came to be called the Shia (party, faction, supporters) of Ali, popularly known as Shi’ites. Those who backed Abu Bakr were in the majority and formed the nucleus of what came to be called the “People of the Sunna and the Assembly,” Sunnis for short. Ali’s backers continued to insist that Ali was unfairly passed over three times, gaining only in 656 C.E. the leadership role that had been his by right for nearly thirty-five years. The well-known distinction between Sunni and Shi’i identifies only the largest institutional division within the Muslim community. Muslims are quick to point out that none of these so-called “divisions” indicates any noteworthy variations in belief and practice among the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims. Still, major classical sources from within the tradition have seen fit to describe their own history in terms of these allegiances.
Is Mecca the only Islamic holy city?
As the birthplace of Muhammad and the site of the Ka’ba, Mecca, and its immediate environs, is naturally the holiest place on earth for Muslims. According to tradition, other prophets and important holy people passed through Mecca as well. Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Ishmael at Arafat (the valley just outside Mecca) and built the Ka’ba. God rescued Abraham’s consort, Hagar, and their son Ishmael from dying of thirst in the desert by causing the well of Zamzam to bubble forth. In 622 Muhammad traveled with his young community to Medina and there established Islam as an all-encompassing social entity. From Medina, the Prophet secured access to Mecca for Muslims and in Medina he died. Muhammad’s house and earliest mosque remain a regular stop for most pilgrims who make Hajj and Umra. For these reasons and more, Medina ranks as the second-holiest city for Muslims. But Muhammad and a number of the other prophets also have important connections to Jerusalem. Muslim tradition has it that God carried Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem, to the “farther mosque,” where he met and led the other major prophets in prayer. From a spot nearby, Muhammad began his Ascension or Mi’raj (mi-RAAJ). For a time members of the young Muslim community in Medina faced Jerusalem when they prayed, but the orientation for prayer changed to Mecca in connection with a falling-out with the local Jewish tribes. Nevertheless, Jerusalem has retained a lofty place in Muslim piety and remains politically sensitive real estate.
What is the principal Muslim sacred text?
In about the year 610, Muhammad began to deliver orally the messages he believed were of divine origin. His “recitation” (qur’an) of the revelation was initially held in memory by his followers, and, according to traditional accounts, was not produced in full written form until some years after Muhammad’s death in 632. Scholars distinguish between the “Meccan period” (610–622) and the “Medinan period” (622–632), and they note various significant differences in the tone and content of the revelations from one to the other. What began as “an Arabic recitation” retained that name even after it was written down, and the resulting book is still known as “The Recitation” or Quran.
How have Muslims preserved the teachings of Muhammad? Is the Hadith literature anything like the New Testament Gospels in which the words of the founding figure are enshrined?
Second only to the Quran in sacred authority are the “sayings” of Muhammad, enshrined in a large body of literature called Hadith. The Hadith literature is similar to the Gospels to the extent that it preserves the words and deeds of the religious founder. But the two sources are very different in a number of ways. First of all, the four Gospels developed as conscious literary-theological endeavors. Their authors (or schools of thought associated with individuals
