PROPHETIC CLAIMS- FLIGHT TO MEDINA

Rebuilding of the ka'bah

   The Ka'bah, having been damaged by flood, had to be rebuilt.  The Ka'bah was the cubed stone building which housed the 360 idols of the local Arab tribes. The Ka'bah from kaab. Meaning square, contained a black stone alleged to have been given to the first man, Adam, and subsequently found by the patriarch Abraham to identify the place of Allah's worship.
   A quarrel arose among the leading families as to which of them should deposit the black stone in its rightful place.  They agreed that t he first citizen approaching the pagan temple should decide between them.  Muhammad then came in sight.  He had been called "the Faithful One'" and all cried, "We are content."  Spreading his mantle on the ground, he bade them to place the stone upon it.  "Now," said he, "let a chief man from each of you seize a corner of this mantle and raise the stone."  When the sacred stone was lifted to the proper height, Muhammad guided the beams to the proper place.  The building was then completed.  A black curtain was later thrown over the edifice and hung like a veil all around.

Literacy, Dreams, and Early Followers

 Around Muhammad's fortieth year, the idolatry and moral debasement of his people pressed heavily upon him, and his soul was troubled about what might be the true religion.  He often meditated in a cave on the side of Mount Hira', two or three miles from Mecca.  The view from this place was dreary: only barren black and gray hills and white sandy valleys met the eye.  He would stroll with his faithful wife, Khadija, to Mt. Hira'.  During this period, he probably composed some of the chapters of the Quran which express the yearning of an inquirer.)   No scribe accompanied Muhammad at that time.
 Many experts on the life of Muhammad believe he was illiterate.  However, such a claim is not true.  The myth may be an attempt to magnify the work of Muhammad in producing the Quran, thus substantiating the so-called miraculous nature of the book.  Here are my reasons for rejecting this notion.
 First, we are told that when the treaty with the Meccans was to be signed by Muhammad, they refused to acknowledge him as the Apostle of Allah.  Relenting to their demands, he struck out that title and wrote instead Muhammad, son of 'Abdu'llah, then signed the peace treaty.)
 A second incident supporting Muhammad's literacy occurred on his deathbed.  Realizing that he was dying, he motioned to 'Ayisha, his favorite wife, to bring him something on which he could write the name of his successor, but he was too weak to perform the task.)
 Third, he served for many years as a trading camel-caravan merchant, who would naturally know reading, writing, and arithmetic as he traveled to Damascus and other cities.
 Fourth, while visiting the St. Catherine's Monastery at Mt. Sinai in 1979, I was shown a personal letter said to be signed by Muhammad himself, guaranteeing the freedom of the monks and their monastery and dated 632.  The document was issued because the monks honored Islam by building a small mosque within their walled fortress.  If this document is verified as coming from Muhammad's hand, it presents strong proof for his literacy.
 Fifth, the most eloquent and articulate in the Arabic language the Bedouins.  Muhammad lived with them until he was five years old.  He traveled with them as an adult and learned their classical language, which to this day is not any different from the Quranic Arabic.  In other words, just as Shakespeare and the King James Bible present us with beautiful seventh-century English, so does the Quran with seventh-century Arabic.
 Finally, in Srat al-'Alaq ( the Clot ) 96:1-5, Gabriel, the angel of inspiration, commands Muhammad to read and Muhammad reads!  If Muhammad could not read, could he not also write?  Why would Allah also refer to Muhammad as the one "who taught by the pen" if the prophet could not write?
 Now Muhammad's writing ability may be disputed, but his dreams and visions are not.  At times we are told that Muhammad's mind was so troubled that escape by suicide was suggested.  Once when seeking a precipice from which to jump, it is said that he was suddenly arrested by the angel Gabriel seated on a throne in the sky, who called, "O Muhammad, thou who art the Prophet of the Lord, I am Gabriel."
 At times Muhammad's excitement took the shape of a trance or vision.  At the moment of inspiration, the tradition says, sweat dropped from his forehead, and he fell to the ground.  Once, as he lay wrapped in his garment and stretched upon his carpet, Gabriel again addressed him, bidding him, "Arise and preach!"  Muhammad then believed himself to be a commissioned Apostle, the Prophet of Allah sent to reclaim a fallen people.
 The first convert to Islam was Muhammad's wife, Khadija; the next two were Ali, his cousin, and Zeyd, his adopted son; afterwards his friend, Abi Bakr, a prosperous merchant.  Others followed till Muhammad had about forty adherents.  When he began to preach publicly, he called the new way Islam, or "surrender" to the will of God.
 
 Problems with the Meccans
 The Meccans at first gave little heed to the teaching of Muhammad; but no sooner did he condemn their idols than they became angry and persecuted his new converts.  Zeyd was attacked while leading a party in prayer.  He defended himself and struck one of his opponents with a camel's goad.  This was the first blood spilled for the cause of Islam.
 As believers increased in number, so did the enmity of the persecutors.  Muhammad recommended those of his followers who were without protection seek asylum in a foreign land.  Some went for a time to Abyssinia ( Ethiopia ).  Muhammad tried to protect his followers by arranging a compromise with the Meccans, which admitted their gods into his system as intercessors.  He recited the following lines as inspired:

 Have ye thought upon Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?

Al-Lat, AL-'Uzza, and Manat were the three protecting Arabic deities of Mecca.  "These are exalted goddesses," Muhammad instructed his followers, "and verily their intercession is to be sought."  The compromise brought reconciliation and led the Meccans to bow before the God of Muhammad.  But Muhammad soon repented of what he had done.  He gave the message as now found on the Quran, confessing that the previous verses were inspired by Satan.

 Are your the males and His the females?  That indeed was an  unfair division!  They are but names which ye have named, ye and  your fathers, for which Allah hath revealed no warrant.

 Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses caused a worldwide furor among the Muslims in February 1989.

 Death of Khadija and Marriage to Sauda
 In the tenth year of his mission and the fiftieth of his life, Muhammad lost his faithful wife, Khadija, who died at sity-five.  Abu Talib, his uncle and guardian, died a few weeks afterward.  Khadija was the only wife of Muhammad during her lifetime.  His grief over her death at first was inconsolable; but within two months he married Sauda, a widow.  He also betrothed himself to "Ayisha, the daughter of his best friend Abu Bakr, then only seven years of age15,   Muhammad eventually married fifteen women, eleven of whom are mentioned in this chapter because of their importance.  From several historical accounts, it is clear that he married someone new every year after Khadija's death.
 In the sixtieth year of his life, Muhammad was joined by two leading citizens of Mecca, his uncle Hamza and 'Umar.  Noted for his bravery, Hamza was called the "Lion of God."  Umar was a former persecutor, who confessed to Muhammad, "Verily, I testify that thou art the prophet of God."  Filled with delight, Muhammad cried aloud, "Allahu Akbar" ( Allah is greater ).

 The Quraish elders of Mecca became alarmed at the progress of Muhammad's religion and tried for a time to suspend all dealings with him and his followers; but the interdict had to be canceled due to popular pressure.

 The Flight to Medina
 Soon after the death of Abu Talib, Muhammad and Zeyd went to Ta'if, a city to the east of Mecca.  The people refused to listen to their message because they had a god of their own.  Hooting and yelling, the citizens drove the two visitors through the streets and pelted them with stones.  Blood flowed from Muhammad, and his companion was wounded in the head.  On their way back to Mecca, Muhammad said that a company of Jinn, or spirits, pressed around them to hear the preaching of Islam.
 Two hundred and seventy miles north of Mecca is Yathrib.  Twelve idolaters from the city accepted Islam during the annual pilgrimage and pledged their faith to Muhammad.  This is called "the first pledge of Aqaba," named after the location where they met at night.  The twelve ( on their return to Medina ) became zealous missionaries of Islam and spread the faith from house to house.  They wrote to Muhammad for a teacher to instruct inquirers.  The Prophet Muhammad's hopes were now fixed on Yathrib, which was named Medina after he took up residence there.
 Another year passed for Muhammad without any progress at Mecca, then tidings came to him of the growth of Islam at Yathrib.  Arriving at Mecca for the pilgrimage, the enthusiastic band of disciples from Yathrib surrounded him and placed their life and property at his service.
    After two months nearly all of the Islamic believers had left for Yathrib with their households except for  Muhammad and Abu Bakr. The Quraish became determined to slay Muhammad, but being warned of their design, he fled with Abu Bakr to a cave near Mecca, where they hid for three days. Miracles were reported to have happened there. Allegedly, a spider wove her web across the mouth of the cave and branches sprouted over it on which wild pigeons settled as camouflage. On the evening of the fourth day, Muhammad and Abu Bakr set out for Yathrib. The date was June 25, 622. Muhammad was fifty-three years of age.  Muslims observe this as "The Hijra," or Flight, which marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar.