Mecca - Part 4

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Mecca - Part 4

 

(p.35) Muhammad was born into the clan of Hashim, one of the most distinguished

family groups in Mecca. His great-grandfather had been the first merchant to

engage in independent trade with Syria and Yemen and the clan had the privilege

of providing the pilgrims with water during the hajj, one of the most important

offices in the city. But recently, Hashim had fallen on hard times. (p.36)

Muhammad's father 'Abdullah died before Muhammad was born and his mother Aminah

was in such straitened circumstances that, it was said, the only Bedouin woman

who was willing to be his wet nurse came from one of the poorest tribes in

Arabia. He lived with her family until he was six years old, and would have

experienced nomadic life at its harshest. Shortly after he was brought back to

Mecca, his mother died. This double bereavement made a deep impression on

Muhammad; as we shall see, he would always be concerned about the plight of

orphans.

 

He was kindly treated by his surviving relatives. First he lived with his

grandfather, 'Abd al-Muttalib, who had been a highly successful merchant in his

prime. The old man made quite a favorite of Muhammad. He liked to have his bed

carried outside, where he could lie in the shade of the Kabah, surrounded by his

sons. Muhammad used to sit beside him, while his grandfather affectionately

stroked his back. When he died, however, Mohammad, now eight years old,

inherited nothing. His more powerful relatives controlled the estate and

Muhammad went to live with his uncle Abu Talib, who was now the 'sayyid'

( " chief " ) of Hashim and greatly respected in Mecca, even though his business was

failing. Abu Talib was very fond of his nephew, and his brothers also helped

with Muhammad's education. Hamzah, the youngest, a man of prodigious strength,

instructed Muhammed in the martial arts, making him a skilled archer and

competent swordsman. His uncle 'Abbas, a banker, was able to get Muhammad a job

managing the caravans on the northern leg of the journey to Syria.

 

The young Muhammad was well liked in Mecca. He was handsome, with a compact,

solid body of average height. His hair and beard were thick and curly, and he

had a strikingly luminous expression and a smile of enormous charm, which is

mentioned in all the sources. He was decisive and wholehearted in everything he

did, so intent on the task at hand that he never looked over his shoulder, even

if his cloak got caught in a thorny bush. When he did turn to speak to somebody,

he used to swing his entire body around and address him full face. When he shook

hands, he was never the first to withdraw his own. He inspired such confidence

that he was known as al-Amin, the Reliable One. But his orphaned status

constantly held him back. He had wanted to marry his cousin Fakhitah, but Abu

Talib had to refuse his request for her hand, gently pointing out that Muhammad

could not afford to support a wife, and made a more advantageous match for her.

 

But when Muhammad was about twenty-five years old, his luck suddenly changed.

Khadijah bint al-Khuwaylid, a distant relative, asked him to take a caravan into

Syria for her. She came from the clan of Asad, which was now far more

influential than Hashim, and since her husband had died, she had become a

successful merchant. Urban life often gives elite women the opportunity to

flourish in business, though women of the lower classes had no status at all in

Mecca. Muhammad conducted the expedition so competently that Khadijhah was

impressed and proposed marriage to him. She needed a new husband and her

talented kinsman was a suitable choice: " I like you because of our

relationship, " she told him, " and your high reputation among your people, your

trustworthiness, good character, and truthfulness. " [18] Some of Muhammad's

critics have sneered at this timely match with the wealthy widow, but this was

no marriage of convenience. Muhammad loved Khadijah dearly, and even though

polygamy was the norm in Arabia, he never took another, younger wife while she

was alive. Khadijah was a remarkable woman, " determined, noble, and

intelligent, " says Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad's first biographer. [19] She was the

first to recognize her husband's genius, and--perhaps because he had lost his

mother at such a young age--he depended upon her emotionally and relied on her

advice and support. After her death, he used to infuriate some of his later

wives by endlessly singing her praises.

 

Khadijah was probably in her late thirties when she married Muhammad, and bore

him at least six children. Their two sons--Al-Qasim and 'Abdullah--died in

infancy, but Muhammad adored his daughters Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum and

Fatimah. It was a happy household, even though Muhammad insisted on giving a

high proportion of their income to the poor. He also brought two needy boys into

the family. On their wedding day Khadijah had presented him with a young slave

called Zayd ibn al-Harith from one of the northern tribes. He became so attached

to his new master that when his family came to Mecca with the money to ransom

him, Zayd begged to be allowed to remain with Muhammad, who adopted him and gave

him his freedom. A few years later, Abu Talib [Muhammad's uncle] was in such

financial trouble that Muhammad took his five-year-old son 'Ali into his

household to ease his burden. He was devoted to both boys and treated them as

his own sons.

 

We know very little about these early years. But from his later career it is

clear that he had accurately diagnosed the malaise that was particularly rife

among the younger generation, who felt ill at ease in this aggressive market

economy. The Quraysh had introduced class distinctions that were quite alien to

the muruwah ideal. Almost as soon as they had seized control of Mecca, the

wealthier Quraysh had lived beside the Kabah, while the less prosperous

inhabited the suburbs and the mountainous region outside the city. They had

abandoned the badawah virtue of generosity and become niggardly, except that

they called this shrewd business sense. Some no longer succumbed to the old

fatalism, because they knew that they had succeeded in turning their fortunes

around. They even believed that their wealth could give them some kind of

immortality. [20] Others took refuge in a life of hedonism, making a religion

out of pleasure. [21] Increasingly, it seemed to Muhammad that the Quraysh had

jettisoned the best and retained only the worst aspects of muruwah [chivalric

code]: the recklessness, arrogance, and egotism that were morally destructive

and could bring the city to ruin. He was convinced that social reform must be

based on a new spiritual solution, or it would remain superficial. He probably

realized, at some deep level, that he had exceptional talent, but what could he

do? Nobody would take him seriously, because, despite his marriage to Khadijah,

he had no real status in the city.

 

Muhammad (Prophet For Our Time)

Chapter 1, 'Mecca', p. 35-39

Karen Armstrong

Harper Perennial - London, New York, Toronto and Sydney

ISBN-13 978-0-00-723248-2

ISBN-10 0-00-723248-9

 

Notes:

 

[18] Muhammad ibn Ishaq, 'Sirat Rasul Allah', 120, in A. Guillaume, trans., 'The

Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq's' Sirat Rasul Allah (London, 1955);

cf. Leila Ahmed, 'Women and Gender in Islam' (New Haven and London, 1992), 42.

 

[19] Ibid., 155, Guillaume translation.

 

[20] Qur'an 103:2-3.

 

[21] Qur'an 6:70, 7:51.