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Monthly Archives: December 2020
After the Battle of Badr: Muhammad’s Social Revolution
The aftermath of the first Battle of Badr has many details and incidents that show just how revolutionary Muhammad’s new way was. His message was one of radical individualism pitted against the old systems of clan solidarity and social class. … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History A: the Prophet
Tagged Abbas, Ali, Battle of Badr, Fatimah, Muhammad, ransom, Umar
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Medina’s Foreign Policy (Battle of Badr)
Most of the Emigrants from Mecca had left their wealth (or their poverty) behind. Their clans would have re-absorbed the houses they were occupying, passing them to families that stayed. Some of their possessions were seized by others. I wasn’t … Continue reading
The Prophet’s Third Wife, A’isha
One of the diciest parts of Muhammad’s story is that as soon as his new house was completed, he and Abu Bakr decided it was time for A’isha to move into her wife-apartment in the house. Until this time, she … Continue reading
The First Islamic State at Medina
It’s important to understand how society was organized in Muhammad’s Medina, because it set the pattern for Muslims as what a perfect society would look like. One of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Maliki) takes customs and memoirs from Medinans … Continue reading
The Move to Medina
Ten years had passed since the Prophet’s first revelations, and it was increasingly clear that Mecca was not going to have a change of heart regarding the new beliefs. Toward the end of this time, six men from the oasis … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History A: the Prophet
Tagged Mecca, Medina, mosque, Muhammad
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Two Deaths: “The Year of Sorrow”
In the year 619, Muhammad’s wife Khadijah died. Most Sunni accounts say that she was significantly older than her husband, 65 years old to his 50. Her great age seems less likely when you consider that she left a daughter … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History A: the Prophet
Tagged Abu Talib, Khadijah, Muhammad, Yathrib
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Coping with Persecution
Two major events define the next, more intense, stage of persecution. They were happening simultaneously, and they represented two different ways of handling what was happening: to leave, or to stay. Persecution ramped up to include some beatings, torture, and … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History A: the Prophet
Tagged Abyssinia, Banu Hashim, boycott, Mecca, Muhammad, persecution
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Mecca and the Revelations
One reason that, at first, Muhammad’s message stayed among his clan is that in Mecca, people tended to live in family and clan blocks. It’s a typical way that older cities grew: each patriarch built additions onto the house, and … Continue reading
Muhammad’s Family and the Revelations
Sometimes there were long silences, while other times, the revelations came in quick succession. Muhammad was able to recite each one to his family and close friends, who also memorized them. Each revelation incident became a surah, a chapter in … Continue reading
The First Revelations of Muhammad
When Muhammad was forty years old, probably in the year 610, he was staying in the cave of al-Hira for prayer and meditation when the first revelation occurred. He saw the figure of a man appear to him and command, … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History A: the Prophet
Tagged Jibril, Khadijah, Muhammad, Quran, revelation
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