3. The Medina Period

Mohammedanism owes much to the differences between Mecca (q.v.) and Medina. The former, gathered about the Kaaba (q.v.), in which were collected about the Black Stone more than 300 idols representative of the gods of the tribes, made trade of religion then as now, and was the seat of such fanaticism as perhaps only Arabs could show. Mo hammed's propaganda seemed to strike at the very foundations of the city's trade and pre eminence, and its present prestige and future pros pects seemed menaced when Mohammed attacked idolatry. Medina, 250 miles north, was a center of traffic, open therefore to the civilizing influences of the empires of, Rome and Persia, consequently more cosmopolitan and tolerant. Idolatry was al ready under suspicion, and there was consequently an opening for the prophet's resolute preaching. Mohammed's repute for wisdom grew with the fre quency with which he was called upon to act as arbiter; his decisions he claimed not as his own but as the dictates of Allah, and his position soon came to be practically that of city judge and dictator. Ordinances for practise were soon formulated by the prophet; prayer was directed toward Mecca (not Jerusalem, which, in the endeavor to conciliate the Jews and gain their support, he had formerly adopted), the fast of Tisri was changed for that of Ramadan. The five fundamentals of Islam (see below, IV.) were conceived and formulated at Medina. Most important of all, citizenship was made dependent not on family but on faith, preparing the way for a united Arabia and a world religion. For the triumph of the faith the bonds of kinship had to yield if they stood in its way-Mohammed did not blanch at fratricidal war. The idolater, even though a brother, was doomed unless he gave up this practise, and to the believer belonged the idolater's goods. In this last was manifested Mohammed's shrewdness, making capital of the Arab's lust for plunder. Mecca was idolatrous, therefore its caravans were fair booty. When the Meccans retaliated, they were defeated by the appalling fury of the Moslems' attack. Thus the battle of Bedr (Jan. 13, 624) was the result of a raid in which Mohammed hoped to capture a rich Meocan caravan, but instead he found himself confronted by an unencumbered armed force of twice his own strength, over whom he won a decisive victory. Yet the Medina period was not one of unvarying success. Mohammed lost heavily in the- battle of Ohod (Jan. 625), when the Homish defeated the Moslems, and in some minor affairs his followers lost. This period was marked also by many assassinations instigated or sanctioned by the. leader and by wholesale slaughter of those opposed to him or whose wealth he coveted for his followers, including that of the Jews. These latter looked with scorn upon Mohammed's claim that he was reinstating the religion of Abraham, while in retaliation for treachery he had the men of a whole tribe, 800 in number, slaughtered in cold blood and their women and children sold into slavery, while the proceeds were divided among his followers. In self-interest Arabs flocked to him, and he was soon ready to march upon Mecca, which he had already fixed upon as the center of the faith. In thus deciding, he was doubtless influenced by his kinship with the Koraish, also doubtless by the fact that in this method he was following the lines of least resistance and would eventually conciliate the Meccane.

The start for Mecca was made early in Jan., 633. The city fell easily, doubtless because of an arrangement with some inside who favored Mohammed, and in part because his force was too great to be resisted. A general amnesty was proclaimed from which ten persons were excluded, 4. Final though of these, through the interces- Period. sion of persons in Mohammed's own circle, only four were put to death. The Kaaba was swept of all idols except the Black Stone. The Koraish were conciliated and the tra ditional privileges of the city as a religious center were retained. The Medinans, to whose fidelity so much was due, were disappointed, but were recon ciled by Mohammed's impassioned appeals to their

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loyalty and by his promise still to make his home with them. As master of Mecca., the center of pilgrimage and the sanctuary of all the Arabs, the prophet was able to dictate the terms on which the tribes might worship there. Taif, a rival stronghold of idolatry, submitted in Dec., 630, and its idol was destroyed. A last attempt to overturn the new religion, made by a confederation of tribes, was defeated with comparative ease. The tribes soon accepted Islam, since Mohammed's policy toward Arabs was-conciliation if possible, but at any cost submission. In 631 the Kaaba was closed to all but Moslems. This act marked the peninsula as Mohammedan. Before the prophet's death all Arabia was at his feet; Christians and Jewish tribes were permitted to exist, but only upon condition of paying a heavy tribute.

The non-Mohammedan estimates of the founder vary in all possible ways, some classing him among the most highly endowed prophets and others placing him with rank impostors. Of his mental abilities there can be no doubt-the Koran

g. Char- is incontestable testimony to his acter. powers as poet and orator, organizer and statesman; and this book, chron ologically arranged, affords an index to his character and is the chart of his development from the time when he began to write. His courage was magnificent and seems to have failed him but once (when he compromised temporarily with idolatry). To preach against idolatry in its home and under such circumstances to incur persecution for what had become conviction, later to prohibit wine to wine-loving Arabs, still later to refuse compromise when that seemed an easy way out of an apparent impasse, to insist upon the absolute submission which eventually unified Arabia-these are marks of a courage almost sublime-paralleled, indeed, perhaps often in the history of Christian religion, yet none the less worthy of acknowledgment when found in Mohammed. Not the least eminent of his characteristics was his faith in himself and his mis sion. Two meritorious qualities, aside from what have been mentioned, were enthusiasm and patriot ism. Once more, the loyalty which he inspired among men of worth such as Abu Bekr is absolute proof of his deep sincerity. Of his, spiritual nature his abhorrence of idolatry and lofty doctrine of God are sufficient evidence. On the other hand, Moham med had many of the vices of his age and sur roundings. He showed often a cold vindictiveness, a savage insistence upon vengeance, and a severe ruthlessness in procuring or permitting the whole sale slaughter of his foes or of those whose property he needed for his followers. His lenience after the taking of Mecca was due not to motives of mercy but to policy. Those who escaped the proscription at that time owed their lives to the urgent inter cession of Mohammed's trustiest friends, not to his clemency. Of his early sincerity as a reformer there can be as little doubt as of his courage. But he failed under the test of success. His decline began with the Medina period. The early Surahs of the Koran, long after they pass the period of inquiry, bear well the test of examination. But after success seemed assured, they show advancing deterioration

in the prophet's character. Revelations thereafter were not always in the interest of the faith, they pandered often to Mohammed's desires. When he wished another wife, a revelation was forthcoming to sanction it. If former utterances stood in the path of present wish, the doctrine of abrogation permitted removal of the obstacle. When he desired the wife of his adopted son Zaid-among Arabs a scandalous thing-Surah xxxiii. sanctioned the divorce by Zaid of his wife that she might be free to marry the prophet. Four was the legal limit of wives for a believer, but the same Surah gave the prophet all license. And when old age and approaching death aroused his uxorious jealousy, though by Arab law a widow not only may but rather must marry, it was revealed for his comfort that his wives were to remain bereaved.

III. The Koran: There is no room to question that the Bible of Islam is the work of one man and that man Mohammed. The speaker, except in the prayer in the opening Surah and in a few scattered passages, is Allah. But as he is too exalted to speak directly even with his prophet, Gabriel is the medium of communication. The book, the claim runs, is not a new creation, but exists in archetype in heaven, fixed in the very essence of God, and was delivered piecemeal to the prophet. But the arrangement is due to the editor. Mohammed had not only memorized his own deliverances but had taught them to his followers. Necessarily many knew parts of the Koran, none knew all. When the prophet died, the utterances existed on scattered bits of leather, ribs of palm leaf, even on stones, and in the memory of the faithful. In the wars of revolt which followed the path of Mohammed, many who knew parts of the Koran perished, and Omar began to fear that it would be wholly lost. He therefore begged Caliph Abu Bekr to have it collected. From all the sources named Zaid of Medina, who was made editor, gathered it. But variant texts existed. A second edition was therefore made by Zaid with the help of three members of the Koraish tribe; this was made canonical, and all variants obtainable were destroyed. In the editing no principle was thoroughly carried out, the one that is partly observable being to place the longer Surahs first. The immediate acceptance of this text by those who had heard the original is fairly presumptive of its fidelity, especially in view of the antagonisms of the times. The claim is made by Mohammedans that its contents evince its entire and complete inspiration. Since it is spoken by Allah, it is absolutely and wholly true. As a historical monument the Koran is valuable for the light it throws upon the mentality of the prophet. Significant is the diffuse and prosaic character of the latest Surahs as compared with the concise, exalted, and poetic style exhibited by the earlier ones. As to the order in which the Surahs were delivered, it must be said that of five authorities, Jajalu al-Din, Rodwell, Muir, Nöldeke, and Hughes, no two agree and Palmer favors a still different order. As to the originality it displays, there is now no doubt that while most of the matter is new, Mohammed wove into his deliverances bits of tribal tradition, popular sayings, legends beloved by the

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people, and much that he had gathered from his converse with Jews and Christians, though in the latter case the real origin was apocryphal rather than canonical, while the Jewish matter was haggadic rather than derived from the Old Testament.