Christians look to the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles as examples, but not as perfect ones. They're flawed. For us, only Christ is the perfect example and the perfect human being. For Muslims, Muhammad plays that role.
So, who was Muhammad? That's what you'll learn about today on Renewing Your Mind. This week, you'll be hearing teaching on the differences between Christianity and Islam. Today, our guest teacher is James Anderson, a professor of theology and philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary. Let's go back and get a biographical sketch of the man who became the prophet of Islam.
Here's Dr. Anderson. In December 2013, Time magazine published a feature with the title. Who's biggest? the one hundred most significant figures in history.
The methodology that they used to come up with their rankings was interesting, but of course what everyone was most interested in was the list itself and the figures on the list. According to time, The most significant figure in history was Jesus. Rightfully so. In second position was Napoleon Bonaparte. In third place was Muhammad.
Now I'm neither a historian nor the son of a historian, but to put Muhammad below Napoleon in terms of historical significance seems strange to me. I don't know how many followers of Napoleon there are in the world today, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't come close to the 1.8 billion followers of Muhammad. In any event, there can be little question about the historical significance of Muhammad given the prominent place held by Islam in the world today.
So the question before us is Who was he? Who was Muhammad? In this lecture, I'm going to give a brief summary of his life and how he came to be established as the prophet of a new monotheistic religion. And I'm going to present this overview under five headings corresponding to five periods. First, Muhammad's birth and early life.
Second, Revelations and recitations. Third, The Meccan period. Fourth, The Medinan period And then fifth, Mohammed's death and successors. Before I begin, however, I do need to issue an important disclaimer. What I'm going to give you is a summary of the traditional Islamic account of Muhammad's life.
But you need to know that there is serious scholarly debate about how much of this account is historically reliable and accurate. From a Christian perspective, some of it has to be rejected as unhistorical. But even the main sources for this traditional account date to several hundred years after Muhammad's death. Just compare that with the gospel accounts of Jesus' life, which were written within the lifetimes of his immediate followers. It turns out that the Quran is not a major source of information about the historical Muhammad.
All this to say then, what follows is what most Muslims believe about Muhammad's life. but the actual historical facts are very much open to debate. Let's begin then with Muhammad's birth and early life. Mohammed was born in the city of Mecca. around the year 570 AD.
He was born into the Quraysh tribe, which was the dominant Arab tribe in Mecca at that time. The Quraysh controlled the Kaaba. which was at that time a focal point for pagan idol worship. Muhammad's grandfather had been a leading citizen of Mecca and a guardian of the Kaaba. And Muhammad's father died before he was born.
And his mother died when he was a young boy, probably around six years old. And so Muhammad was subsequently raised by his uncle. Abu Talib. a camel train merchant, who took Muhammad on many trading journeys, during which it appears that Muhammad came into contact with Jews and Christians. but not necessarily orthodox ones.
As a young man, Muhammad gained a reputation for piety. honesty and wisdom. And he was hired as a manager. by a wealthy Meccan businesswoman by the name of Khadijah. whom he eventually married around the year five ninety five.
He was aged twenty five, she was aged forty. Muhammad and Khadijah had a number of children, including two sons. although both of these sons died in infancy, meaning that Mohammed had no male heir or successor.
Now, according to some accounts, Khadijah and her family were Christians. Whether that's true or not, it does seem that this family influenced Muhammad in a more monotheistic direction.
Now we come to the second period. Revelations and recitations. By his thirties, Muhammad was regularly spending prolonged periods in solitary meditation. In the year 610, In the month of Ramadan, We're told that the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad and commanded him, with one Arabic word, ikra, ikra, meaning recite. Muhammad protested that he was Umi.
which means unlettered or unlearned. Many Muslims understand this as Muhammad saying that he was illiterate, although it may just mean that he was uneducated. In any event, Gabriel repeated this command several times. Ikra, recite. until a divine revelation erupted from Muhammad's mouth.
And these Recitations became the first verses of the Quran. Quran means recitation. Specifically, they become the first five verses of chapter 96 of the Quran.
Well, afterwards, Muhammad was very concerned that this had in fact been a satanic encounter. He was deeply distressed about this experience and even, we're told, considered suicide.
However, he was reassured by Khadijah and her cousin Waraka. that he had indeed been called by God to be a prophet. and a messenger. And Muhammad continued to receive divine revelations over the next 22 years, that is right up until his death. And these revelations were dramatic experiences and took different forms at different times.
Muhammad himself sometimes described them as like the ringing of a bell. According to some sources, They were accompanied by seizures. In any event, Muslims take the Quran to be the final collection of these revelations. Although They were originally transmitted orally. from memory and not in writing.
We come now to the third period, the Meccan period. Around the year 613, so three or so years after those first revelations, Muhammad began to preach in Mecca. A simple but strident message of religious reform. Forsake idolatry. The cause of judgment day.
At the heart of his message was a strict monotheism. There is only one God. Allah. And he alone must be worshipped and obeyed.
So repent. and submit to Allah and to his messenger. It was a message of faith. Repentance And good works. Muhammad was seen both as a warner, a warner of judgment, but also a bringer of good news, that there would be reward for the faithful.
in Paradise. The very first convert to Muhammad's cause was a woman. His wife. Khadija. But there were also a number of significant male converts.
Abu Bakr. who would later become the first caliph successor to Muhammad. Uthman. who would later become the third Caliph. Ali Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law, married to his daughter Fatima, who would later become the fourth Caliph.
And also Zayd ibn Haritha. Muhammad's own adopted son. Converts to Islam were small in number at this time and faced considerable persecution. Mohammed was seen as a threat, a threat to both the rulers and the wealth of Mecca.
However, Muhammad and his immediate family were spared the worst persecution due to the ongoing protection of his uncle. Abu Talib. The year 619 is known by Muslims as the year of sorrow. Because in that year Muhammad lost two people very dear to him. His uncle?
Abu Talib. and his wife. Khadija. In addition to the sorrow of these bereavements, Abu Talib's death meant that Muhammad and his family became more exposed to persecution. And this persecution would eventually reach the point where Muhammad would have to flee Mecca altogether.
Before that happened, however, another very significant event took place. Around the year six twenty one, Muhammad experienced what is known as his miraculous night journey. And there are Two parts to this night journey that's spoken of in the Islamic traditions. The first part is called the Isra, and it was a journey. From Mecca to Jerusalem.
Apparently, Muhammad was transported on some kind of winged steed, basically a flying donkey. From Mecca to Jerusalem. But the second part, known as the mirage, which means ladder, In the second part of the journey, Mohammed was transported from Jerusalem to heaven. Actually, the seven levels of heaven. And at each of these levels, Muhammad was personally introduced to some of the prophets, including Adam.
Jesus. Moses and Abraham. And it appears that finally Muhammad conversed directly with Allah.
Now Muhammads have debated whether this was just a vision. or an out-of-body experience, or whether it actually happened. The majority view is that it actually happened. But the incident is important to Muslims for two reasons. First, it served to confirm Muhammad's prophetic credentials because he had met with other prophets and with Allah himself.
But secondly, it also explains why Muslims are required to pray five times a day. Originally, we're told Allah required 50 prayers a day. But Moses On the basis of his experiences with the Jews, he advised Muhammad to ask for a reduction. because the Muslim community couldn't bear the burden of the original requirement. And Allah conceded.
So five times a prayer a day it was.
Now in 622 A delegation from the city of Yathrib Which is about 200 miles north of Mecca. came to Mecca to invite Muhammad to be their leader. Groups of Muslims had already begun migrating to Yathrib by this time. Around the same time, there was an attempt by some of the leaders in Mecca to assassinate Muhammad. But they were outwitted.
by his son-in-law, Ali. Clearly, Muhammad's position in Mecca had become very precarious. And eventually, in September of 622, Muhammad fled Mecca with his followers. To take up this offer of leadership in Yathro. And this climactic event is known as the hijrah, the hijra, the migration.
And its significance for Muslims is marked by the fact that the Muslim calendar is dated from that year, the year of the Hijrah. It has such significance for Muslims. In fact, it would be as significant for Muslims as the Exodus is. for Jewish people. That's how significant the hijrah is in the Muslim mindset.
Well, that leads us to the fourth period. the Medinan period. This city of Yathrib was immediately renamed. Madinat al-Nabi. The city of the prophet.
and was thereafter known As Medina. Medina Muhammad instituted a constitution, the Constitution of Medina. Which was basically an alliance or treaty between the tribes of Medina, some of which were Jewish. which acknowledged Muhammad as the leader and the final judge under God. In effect, this constitution established the first Islamic state.
but with important protections and allowances for non-Muslim monotheists, Christians and Jews, known as the people of the book. But Medina had thus become the first Islamic city. And the Meccan Muslims and the Medina Muslims became united in a single community known as the Ummah, the Ummah. And this Ummah, concept of Ummah, is very important to Muslims even today, the Islamic community.
Now, during his time in Medina, Muhammad We're told, took multiple wives, around 12. The traditions aren't entirely clear on this, but it was around 12 wives. Two of his wives hold particular significance. One was Aisha. Aisha was the daughter of Aisha.
Of Abu Bakr, one of Muhammad's companions. And Aisha was betrothed to Muhammad at age five or six. and this marriage was consummated, we're told, at age nine or ten. when Mohammed was fifty-three.
Now that is very shocking to us, of course. but we should recognize that it would not have been so shocking in the culture of that day. In any event, Aisha is regarded as Muhammad's favorite wife, his most beloved wife. It was, by all accounts, a happy marriage. Another wife, however, went by the name of Zainab.
Zainab and this marriage was much more controversial at the time. Zaynab was a cousin of Muhammad and apparently Muhammad had been very attracted to Zaynab, but the problem was she was already married. to his adopted son, Zaid. Zayd eventually divorced Zaynab. But even in that culture, it was regarded as unacceptable to marry your former daughter-in-law.
Nevertheless, Muhammad received a special revelation from Allah. which is actually included in the Quran now. And this special revelation granted him a special permission. to marry Zaina.
Now this of course looks rather convenient. to non-Muslim observers. And even Aisha raised an eyebrow, we are told.
Well, during this Medinan period, There were ongoing conflicts between the Muslims and the pagan Meccans. Muhammad began to lead his followers in raids on Quraysh caravans. mainly out of economic necessity. They just needed stuff, so they had to go and take it. This led to escalating hostilities.
with the pagan Meccans. And there were three significant battles. which established Mohammed's reputation as a military leader. and set precedents for later Muslim victories. The first battle was the Battle of Badr.
Battle of Badr in 624. Muhammad led a raid on a large Quraysh caravan. and his three hundred men were victorious over a force of nearly a thousand. Muhammad declared that Allah had sent angels to help the Muslims. And the victory became legendary.
And a model. for Muslim military victories. The second battle was the Battle of Uhud. In six twenty five. In this case, it was a defeat.
Muhammad's men were shamefully defeated, but afterwards Muhammad received a revelation explaining that defeat. The Muslims had lost because they'd been more concerned with gaining spoils. than fighting in the cause of Allah. They had wrong motives. And so they were defeated.
The third battle is known as the Battle of the Trench, the Battle of the Trench, in 627. Here, the Meccans joined together with some other Arab tribes and they laid siege to the city of Medina. Muhammad and his followers were able to resist the siege until the Meccans eventually gave up. and went home. But this battle is also notorious because the Muslims were betrayed by one of the Jewish tribes within Medina.
And afterwards, Muhammad ordered every adult male in that tribe to be beheaded. And that's what happened.
Now, around the year six twenty-eight. Muhammad traveled to Mecca And he arranged a truce, a 10-year truce with the Quraysh in Mecca. This apparently was prompted by a vision. in which Muhammad had performed the pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca. This pilgrimage, it turns out, was already a pagan practice, but Muhammad wanted to Islamicize it.
and the treaty allowed him and his followers to make an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, known as the Hajj. This treaty did not last, however. For reasons that are obscure, Mohammed decided that the Meccans had violated the treaty. And so in the year 630, he marched his army of now 10,000 men. to Mecca.
Well the Meccans didn't put up much of a fight. They quickly surrendered. embraced Islam. and installed a Muslim government in Mecca, just as in Medina. And Mecca thus became the second Islamic city after Medina.
One of Muhammad's first actions once he got into Mecca was to purify the Kaaba by destroying all of the pagan idols. But the conquest of Mecca was the crowning victory. of Mohammed's career. In the two years that followed, Muhammad and his followers defeated or subjugated all of the other major tribes in the area. And Arabia fell under Muslim rule.
Muhammad's policy toward the Arab tribes was basically this. Submit to Islam. or face the consequences. submit to Islam or face the consequences. If they were pagans, Then they had to convert.
They had to convert to Islam. There was no other option. If they were Jews or Christians, if they were people of the book, then they didn't have to convert to Islam, but they had to at least submit to Muslim rule and pay the jizya, a kind of poll tax, a payment for protection for living under Muslim rule.
Well, now we come to the final period. in Muhammad's life. In the year 632, Muhammad managed to make one final pilgrimage. Before falling ill, and dying on June 8th of that year. Many Muslims believe, in fact, that he was poisoned.
In any event, That brought An end. the life of one of the most influential religious and military leaders in history. Muhammad was buried in the house that he shared with Aisha in Medina and that tomb, his tomb is now incorporated into the mosque at Medina, the Masjid al-Nabawi. Muhammad's somewhat unexpected death created an immediate crisis in the Muslim community because he hadn't left any explicit instructions about how Muslims should be led and governed following his death. The short version of the story is that the tribal chiefs came together and elected a series of caliphs.
to rule over the entire Muslim world. known as the caliphate. It's like our word king and kingdom. A caliph is one who rules over the caliphate. The first four successors to Muhammad were known as the Rashidun Caliphs, the righteous or rightly guided caliphs.
And they were Abu Bakr, one of the first converts and the father of Aisha, Then Umar, who had been Abu Bakr's right hand man, Thirdly, the third caliph was Uthman, another early convert. and the fourth caliph was Ali. the cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed. Ali's right to the caliphate was in fact challenged by several different groups, which led to a series of Muslim civil wars. and ultimately led to different Islamic sects.
that continued throughout subsequent centuries, each sect claiming to be the true successors of Muhammad. and the true representatives of Islam. And the main division would, of course, be the Sunni-Shia split, which we'll come back to later. later on. But by the time of Ali's death, Muslim rule had been decisively established in the Arabian Peninsula.
It extended to modern-day Libya in the west and beyond modern-day Iran to the east, having completely overrun the Persian Empire. And it would continue to expand across North Africa and Central Asia in successive centuries, pushing up against the boundaries of Christian Europe and eventually leading to the historic conflicts that we know as the Crusades.
Now why does all this matter? Why does this history lesson matter?
Well, here are two reasons. White matters, and here I close. First, the way the world is today depends in large measure on Muhammad. And that is why it's important. But secondly, Muhammad, we need to understand, is viewed by Muslims As the model Muslim, as a perfect example.
This is the Islamic concept known as sunnah. Mohammed as the model Muslim. Christians look to the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles as examples, but not as perfect ones. They're flawed. For us, only Christ.
is the perfect example and the perfect human being. For Muslims? Muhammad. plays that role. That was James Anderson from his series Exploring Islam.
Since 2001, the religion of Islam has captured the attention of the media.
So it's important for Christians not simply to reject the teachings of Islam or to embrace caricatures of the religion, but to understand it rightly. and therefore be able to stand firm for the historic Christian faith and the good news of the Gospel. That's why R. C. Sproll recorded his series The Cross and the Crescent.
and why we invited James Anderson more recently to teach his study, Exploring Islam. You can receive access to both series until tomorrow. When you give a donation at renewingyourmind.org, or when you call us at 800-435-4343. Both series will be unlocked for you in the free Ligonier app. along with the study guide for exploring Islam.
and we'll send you the DVD set of Exploring Islam. It's a 10-part study. Use these resources in your small group. or as part of your home school, to be better informed about what your Muslim neighbors believe. There's a convenient link to donate in the podcast show notes or visit renewingyourmind.org and this week's resource package on Islam and the differences between it and Christianity will be yours as our way of saying thank you for supporting this daily outreach that is made freely available to Christians around the world every single day.
Thank you again for your support. Do you have a Muslim neighbor or work colleague? Tomorrow, James Anderson will offer some practical advice for sharing the gospel with them. Don't miss Friday's episode here on Renewing Your Mind.
