Muhammad’s Community

THE RISE OF ISLAM AND CALIPHATES HIST 1301 | History Muhammad’s Community Although the story of Islam under Muhammad's leadership mostly focuses on Arabs and Arab civilization in the seventh century, a variety of variables also had an impact on Muhammad's teachings, leadership style, and the expansion of the Muslim community, or ummah. Muhammad wanted refuge for his people, a chance to propagate Islam outside of his own territory, and ultimately the union of Arab tribes into a confederacy that had never before existed in the region. The Muslim exodus to Medina was one phase in a larger process. Several members of Muhammad's congregation tried to spread the monotheistic message of Islam throughout the region even before they left Mecca, so they looked for safety and assistance wherever they could. Across the Red Sea, in the Christian Kingdom of Aksum in East Africa, was one source of assistance. There, Muslims escaping Meccan persecution found refuge and freedom to practise their faith under the protection of the Negus, the leader of Aksum in what is now Ethiopia. Many stayed there until they were permitted to go back to Muhammad and settle in Medina as well. Islam's existence depended on the Aksumites' assistance; in fact, the choice made by some early Muslims to go to Ethiopia is frequently referred to as "the first hijra." Muhammad's ummah, Jewish Arabs, and the once polytheistic Arabs united at Medina for mutual defence. Muhammad assumed the role of de facto head of the city shortly after acting as an arbitrator in conflicts amongst the tribes. Under his leadership, the people of Medina came up with the Medina Constitution, which established the joint obligation among the tribes to defend the city and its citizens against outside threats. Subsequent Muslim rulers saw the constitution as a model for building a religious community that upheld Muhammad's leadership, the worship of a single God, and mutual defence of the community while tolerating members of other religions. "The believers and Muslims of [the tribe of] Quraysh and Medina and those who join them... form one ummah to the exclusion of others," according to the constitution. The text continues by stating that the Banu Awf tribe of Jewish Arabs "are secure from the believers [the Muslims]." Muslims and Jews each have their own religions. Muhammad's followers are most frequently referred to in the constitution as "believers" (al-Mu'minun) and "Muslims" ("those who have submitted to God"). Because of this, the early ummah has been characterised by some historians as a "community of believers" that was accessible to the majority of monotheists. Muhammad's new society shared many characteristics with both monotheistic Jews and Christians in these early decades of Islam, and there is no indication of the unique Muslim identity that developed over the following few centuries. The eventual success of Muhammad and his community depended heavily on their impartial treatment of members of this new ummah. Muhammad spent a large portion of the final ten years of his life fighting with this nascent Muslim community in Medina and their formerly compatriots in Mecca. In addition to the intense fighting between the two sides, tensions existed inside Medina and the early ummah as Muhammad's supporters gained popularity and stature at the expense of other Arab residents of the city, particularly the Jewish community. Even if their religious views had changed, many people on both sides were linked by blood. Muhammad's society grew and gained more adherents until 630, on the eve of a war outside Mecca, his old tribe, the Quraysh, surrendered and the people of the city became Muslims. After that, Muhammad and his supporters were allowed to travel back to Mecca. There, in the sacred Kaaba, he entered and destroyed every idol that the Arabs worshipped, evoking a well-known tale of the biblical prophet Abraham. Muslims believed that the house of Abraham, which was once devoted to the worship of a single God, had been purified. Under his guidance, the majority of the Arab tribes in western Arabia had been successfully united. Until his death in the year 632 from natural causes, he continued to build his community and propagate Islam throughout the next two years.