Mohammed's First Wife

Mother of Believers - Robert Hunt

As I'm reading this book about Mohammed, I'm reminded of just how awesome his first wife, Khadija, really was. Mohammed's first biographer described her as "determined, noble, and intelligent". Twice a widow and single-mother, Khadija nevertheless became a wealthy, independent merchant in the trading hub of Mecca.

Side note: Khadija's name is often followed by the acronym RA. This is short for the Arabic phrase Radiallhu Anhu, or "May God be pleased with him/her."

Their meeting was interesting. Mohammed was hired by her to manage some caravans. He seemingly did such a good job that he caught Khadija's attention. He was already well-known in the community for his honesty and trustworthiness, and it was for these reasons, in spite of his low status in society, that Khadija extended her hand to him.

Mohammed was 25-years-old when they married, but I'm having a hard time finding any definitive source of how old Khadija was when she married Mohammed. The book I'm reading now suggests she was in her late thirties when she married. Further research (i.e. Googling for about fifteen minutes) shows that the most commonly accepted age was 40 at marriage, but the idea that she was closer to 28 is gaining ground in some small circles.

The marriage was described as one of mutual respect and love. Despite living in a polygamous society, Mohammed never married another while Khadija lived. Of his many political marriages after her death, this marriage to Khadija was the only one for which this was true.

When Mohammed received his first revelation from God, he was extremely shaken. He crawled down from the mountain and went immediately to his wife, who wrapped him in her arms until he was calm. She believed his story immediately, reasoning that God would not allow any demon to tell such a lie to a good, honest person. Because of this, she is described as "the first Muslim."

They were married 25 years until Khadija passed away. Even later with his younger wives, Mohammed would still speak highly of his first wife.

Sources:
"Muhammad: A Prophet For Our Time" - Karen Armstrong
“Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansar
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The Safavids – Pre-Iran Iran

For those that don't realize, Persia and Iran are interchangeable words for the same place and have been for centuries. It's a interesting thing to think about. The Iran of today is a descendant of many great civilizations and empires, predating even Islam.

This post is about a specific period in Iranian history: the Safavid dynasty. This was a dynasty that grew out of the destruction wrought by the Mongols across Asia and Arabia, and essentially made Iran the Shi'a heartland it still is today.

It has its beginnings as a community that collected around a Sufi Sheikh named Safi al-Din. From the outset, Safi al-Din's Sufi order was similar to others. It was a spiritual community of like-minded individuals that followed the charismatic leader's teachings. The group did not have any particular political aspirations. However, as time went on, a pattern of hereditary leadership developed. After Safi al-Din's passing, his son inherited, followed by the son's son, then the son's son's son, &c.

As time continued, this Safavid order began to militarize and more resemble an insular cult. As the group began to interact more with anti-government groups, the local princes decided to put a stop to things. In 1488, the current head of the Safavid order was killed, along with his eldest son.

However, the younger son, Ismail, survived and was whisked away into a life of hiding for roughly a decade. At the age of twelve, he left his life of hiding, mobilized his Safavid military force, and overtook the prince that had his father and brother assassinated. Three years later, he was strong enough to declare himself Shahanshah, "the king of kings". This was an ancient Persian title that was intentionally chosen to distinguish himself from the Arab caliphs and sultans to the west.

Another major shift was Ismail's declaration of the state religion as Twelver Shi'ism (a Shi'a branch that would take a while to explain, so maybe I'll save it for another post). He declared that he had direct communication with the Shi'a's Hidden Imam (seriously, it's a long story), and directed missionaries to spread the word across the Ottoman Empire to the west. He even began persecuting the Sunnis living within his domain for not following the correct path.

Needless to say, the Ottoman sultan of the time was less than pleased with this attempted power grab and began executing Shi'i living within his own borders. This led to a polarization of Islamic sects, with Sunnis fleeing west to Ottoman lands and Shi'is fleeing east toward Safavid lands. Ismail pushed to blend Shi'ism with Persian culture and intertwine the two.

Tempers finally broke years later when the Ottoman army marched on Iran. The two armies met at a place called Chaldiran. With the use of their powerful firearms, the Ottomans defeated the Safavid army and ostensibly won the battle. However, they could not hold the city they conquered during the onset of winter and fell back. The Safavids retook the city, destroyed the land between the two empires, and ensured that neither army could cross over. The old dividing line, to this day, marks the border between the two modern successor states: Turkey and Iran.

The Iranian border solidified, and Ismail's remaining reign was relatively peaceful. Succeeding leaders oversaw a glorious growth in arts, architecture, industry, and technology.

For better or worse, time marched on, and the usual pattern of dynastic succession began to set in. After several great rulers, the Safavid dynasty began to devolve, preferring the decadent lifestyle over actual governance. Meanwhile, the Shi'a scholars began to draw power away from the monarchy. They gradually felt that the ruler did not really speak for the Hidden Imam; these ayatollahs actually spoke with that authority. Unfortunately for the ruling class, the merchants and the peasants believed them.

Now, monarchies don't like it when others question their authority. The Safavid rulers imported European military consultants to ensure that its armies were strong enough to keep the rabble in check.

This did little to slow the Safavid collapse during the late 18th century. Succession struggles allowed factions and provinces to break away, while Sunni neighbours were able to break in. Eventually, the Safavid dynasty completely dissolved. A new dynasty, the Qajars, filled the vacuum, but they were little more than puppets of the European powers. The Shi'a scholars continued to hold their religious authority, and felt nothing but disgust for this state of foreign control.

Sources:
“Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansary

Sufism - The Mystical Side of Islam

[image source]

Sufism is the more mystical branch of Islam. It grew out of many Muslims' desires to have a more personal experience with God. They would look at the religious laws coming into existence and felt there must be more to Islamic spirituality than blindly obeying. To accomplish this, believers would collapse into themselves and not only fulfill God's laws, but also completely dedicate themselves.

These early Sufis would find all sorts of ways to express their love of God. Some would pray constantly. Some, known as dervishes, would voluntarily relinquish all of their wealth. Some would wear clothing made of rough-spun wool, also known as suf in Arabic. Making the etymological connection will be left as an exercise for the reader.

Generally, Sufis were pretty laid back, so to speak. They weren't trying to form a new religion, sect, branch, or fork. They just really loved God and wanted to do everything they could to get closer to Him.

Some Sufis, apparently, were better at getting close to God than others. These charismatic leaders would occasionally attract groups of followers, form little communities of their own, and earn the honorific "Sheikh", or "elder". These groups would start to form their own traditions, beliefs, and understandings, but would generally move on when they lose their leader. In rare cases, however, a Sufi group can grow into a powerful dynasty. Actually, I think I'll save that last bit for another post.

Believe it or not, one of the earliest Sufi stars was a woman. Rabia al-Basri was born in Basra during the early 700's. As a child, her parents died and she was sold to a rich household as a slave. One night, her master heard her praying and was so awestruck by her passion that he agreed to free her and arrange a marriage for her. However, she declined and declared that she was already in love. She was in love with God. From then on, she became an ascetic and a mystical poet. Many Muslims gravitated toward her message of love for God and hoped some of her spirituality would transfer to them.

Needless to say, traditional Muslim scholars did not appreciate these shenanigans. They began to drop the hammer when some Sufi Sheikhs began declaring themselves God. Executions and torture were put into effect, but did little to stop the growing popularity of Sufi mysticism.

Mind, not all Sufi Sheikhs were overtly heretical. Most were relatively tame. For example, a Baghdad Sufi named al-Junayd would go to work every day, but would then return home and devote himself to God. He would perform four-hundred units of Muslim prayer, read the Qu'ran constantly, and generally try to win the struggle with his own desires.

Sufism remained a big deal for centuries. The people's interest in establishing a more personal connection with God never really abated. Overtime, Sufism's more relaxed, pick-and-choose spirituality helped spread Islam to further nomadic people.

Sources:
“Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansary

The Early Caliphate

Rashidun - The Rightly Guided Caliphs

In the year 632 CE, Mohammed passed away. Barely a moment passed before the expanding Muslim community began asking who would lead them. The first leader to step up took the title of "caliph", which modestly meant "deputy". This man, Abu Bakr, Mohammed's father-in-law, became the first of the four so-called Rightly Guided Caliphs, which, according to Sunni tradition, tried hardest to stay true to Mohammed's revelations.

Abu Bakr

Shortly after Mohammed's death, the Muslim community faced an existential crisis. Without a single leader, it was going to break apart into the separate communities that existed before. To prevent this, representatives gathered together and decided to elect someone that will hold everyone together. To fill this newly created role of caliph, they chose Abu Bakr, Mohammed's well-respected father-in-law.

This was one of many contentious moments of the early caliphate. There were those who saw Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law, as heir apparent. While the others were electing the new caliph, Ali respectfully stayed by Mohammed's side. This was the beginning of the well-known Shia-Sunni schism.

An aside: In an extreme oversimplification, Sunnis see reaching communal consensus as spiritual guidance, while the Shia see appointed leaders as the proper spiritual guides (i.e. Mohammed's chosen successor, Ali, and not the community-elected successor, Abu Bakr). As a result, the followers of Ali felt cheated and victims of the tyranny of the majority.

After some time, Ali accepted Abu Bakr, and Abu Bakr got to work dying. I don't mean clothes, I mean no longer living. Abu Bakr was caliph for only about two years before dying of a fever. During his short tenure, he managed to hold the community together, but to do so he established the idea linking apostasy with treason.

Omar

On his deathbed, Abu Bakr nominated Omar as his successor, and the community properly elected him. Omar was described as having a tough-guy exteriour. However, he was actually very frugal and humble.

At the time, Byzantium and Persia were moving to take advantage of young Arabia's weakness. The Byzantines were largely kept at bay, but Omar decided to face the Persian threat head on. This war against the Persians was the first physical battle to be declared a jihad. Meanwhile, the battle against Byzantium resulted in the capture of Jerusalem. Following all of these battles, Omar was not strict with the conquered. He did not force anyone to convert, so long as they agreed to pay a jizya, or religious tax.

Ten years following his election, Omar was assassinated by a crazed Persian slave. On his deathbed, instead of choosing a successor, he chose representatives from the community to elect the next caliph.

Othman

The company elected Othman, the old and rich fifth cousin of Mohammed. When I say rich, I mean exceptionally rich. He was a skilled businessman that maintained much of his wealth after moving to Medina with the rest of the community.

Nevertheless, Othman was very humble and charitable. He converted to Islam early and always had a nagging fear that he was not worthy of the heaven that awaited. At all times, he tried to do good for the community.

When Othman was elected as caliph, the Muslim community was no longer a small group that needed minimal governance. It had grown into its own entity, with its own taxes, courts, and infrastructure that was managed by the caliph. Othman was a very capable manager, but he had a habit of filling positions with friends and family of his own clan, the Umayyads. One name in particular was Mu'awiya, who Othman appointed as governor of Damascus. Remember that name, since it will be important later.

Meanwhile, the appointed governor of Egypt was collecting a much larger tax than his predecessor. If there's one thing the common folk dislike, it's a tax increase. A mass of petitioners marched on Othman's palace demanding the replacement of the governor. After some time, Othman relented and agreed. The mob was largely satisfied.

At least, they were satisfied until they received word of a "secret letter". On their way home, the group intercepted a messenger carrying a message that ordered the governor to arrest and physically punish the protestors. The letter did have Othman's seal, but, when confronted, he denied all knowledge of it.

The truth is not known, but Othman paid with his life. The mob eventually stormed his palace and assassinated the elderly caliph. Many believe someone's hand moved the mass to murder, but it is not agreed whose hand it was: Ali? Aisha? Mu'awiya?

Ali

Battle of Siffin

At last, it was Ali's turn to be elected caliph. His election succeeded largely to appease the mob that lingered following Othman's death, and he entered the leadership role with the cloud of death hanging above him. Making matters worse were separatists chipping away at his legitimacy from the inside. Mu'awiya was calling for punishment of the unknown assassins, the upper class politicians would not listen to him, and Aisha was raising her own army and denouncing Ali.

Mu'awiya was using symbolism to its fullest. He had and frequently waved around the supposed bloody shirt that Othman wore when he was killed. He demanded that the assassins receive just punishment for the death of the caliph. This was not simple, as no one knows who exactly killed Othman, and executing an entire mob was simply not practical.

In an effort to appease the mobs, Ali attempted to sack many of Othman's appointed governors and tried to reverse the economic reforms. Unfortunately for Ali, many of Othman's reforms had created a new upper class that refused to live the austere, religious life style. Most of the governors refused to step down.

Aisha, picking up on Mu'awiya's rabble-rousing, began a charismatic effort to denounce Ali. This came to a head when the armies of Aisha and Ali met. Before there could be any bloodshed, the two met and managed to clear the bad blood between them diplomatically. Unfortunately, some of Ali's men acted against orders and launched a surprise attack. This escalated into a full battle known as the Battle of the Camel. At the end of the bloodshed, Ali arguably won and settled things between Aisha, but a great deal of Muslim blood was spilled.

Shortly after this confrontation, Mu'awiya officially declared that the caliphate belonged to him. In 657 CE, the armies of Ali and Mu'awiya met at Siffin, Syria. The battle lasted for months. Mu'awiya's troops finally gained the upper hand by attaching pages of the Qu'ran to their weapons, which forced Ali's troops into talks for fear of defiling the holy text. At the end of the talks, Mu'awiya kept his hold on Syria and Egypt, while Ali kept his hold on everything else.

In 661 CE, a member of the radical Kharijites that disagreed with Ali's peace deal stabbed the caliph with a poison laced sword, resulting in Ali's death. The last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs was dead. Whether Mu'awiya had a hand in this or not continues to be debated, but he had won. He had become the caliph.

With Mu'awiya's ascension, the Arabs had ceased to be a solely a religious community. The Sunni-Shia split was all but assured. The Ummayyad Empire had begun.

 Sources:
“Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansary
“After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split” - Lesley Hazleton

The Life and Times of Mohammed

Okay, this post is going to sum up what I've learned about Islam's prophet from two books (see below). I read After the Prophet some time ago, but decided to bring it back out since I'm currently reading Destiny Disrupted, which gives Mohammed only about a single chapter. I figure the two of them together should give me a good enough picture.

Mohammed was born sometime around 570 CE. He was born a member of the Quraysh tribe, which was basically the leading group in Mecca. Sadly, both of his parents died while he was young, and he was basically a nobody for quite some time.

At 25, Mohammed was hired by a well-to-do businesswoman, Khadija. In a relationship that would totally work nowadays, boss and employee fell in love and married. This turned out to be pretty handy. After Mohammed was first visited by the angel Gabriel, Khadija was the first person to believe him. Until Khadija's death he never married another woman.

After a while, Mohammed received more revelations. Things along the lines of: there is only one God, give up immoral vices, help the poor, &c. He started to take this message public and gathered some followers. Several of these followers will be important later: Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali.

Mecca's leadership did not like this one bit. They had built up a big religious tourism industry around various idols and gods. They decided this loudmouth had to be eliminated. The assassination was set for an evening in September, 622 CE. Mohammed found out about the plot and evacuated to Yathrib (later named Medina).

This flee from Mecca, called the Hijra, was kind of a big deal. It marks year 0 on the Muslim calendar. It's so big because it's considered the start of the Umma, or the Muslim community. Members would abandon their tribes and clans and become one with the Umma. They would live together in peace and all would be cared for.

Mecca wasn't done with Mohammed yet, though. After the Hijra, there were several battles that tried to eliminate Mohammed. They didn't succeed and, after a while, they basically gave up. A few years later, after a dream, Mohammed decided it was time to return to Mecca. So he did. Eventually, the elders of Mecca gave up the city and it rolled into the Umma.

One of the first things Mohammed did in Mecca was rededicate the Kaaba. Originally, this big black box was a tourist attraction that housed various local idols. Not anymore. The idols were destroyed and Mohammed declared it the most sacred place (supposedly, it was built by Abraham himself). The tourism industry in Mecca is still doing fine to this day.

Twenty-five years after their marriage, Khadija died. Mohammed married nine times after this for political reasons, but his favourite wife was the young firebrand Aisha. That's another name to remember, since it will be important later and on the test.

It was in Aisha's company that Mohammed would die of illness at the age of 63.

Sources:

“Destiny Disrupted: A History of theWorld Through Islamic Eyes” - Tamim Ansary

“After the Prophet: The Epic Story ofthe Shia-Sunni Split” - Lesley Hazleton