RAJAB 11 1430 A.H.
FRIDAY JULY, 3 2009.
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Spread of Islam (VI)
D Islamic Theology
For centuries Muslim theologians have debated the subjects of justice and mercy as well as God’s other attributes. Initially, Islamic theology developed in the context of controversial debates with Christians and Jews. As their articulations of the basic doctrines of Islam became more complex, Muslim theologians soon turned to debating different interpretations of the Qur’an among themselves, developing the foundations of Islamic theology.
Recurring debates among Islamic scholars over the nature of God have continued to refine the Islamic concepts of God’s otherness and Islamic monotheism. For example, some theologians interpreted Qur’anic attributions of traits such as hearing and seeing to God metaphorically to avoid comparing God to created beings. Another controversial theological debate focused on the question of free will and predestination. One group of Muslim theologians maintained that because God is just, he creates only good, and therefore only humans can create evil. Otherwise, this group argued, God’s punishment of humans would be unjust because he himself created their evil deeds. This particular view was rejected by other Muslim theologians on the grounds that it limits the scope of God's creation, when the Qur’an clearly states that God is the sole creator of everything that exists in the world.
Another controversial issue was the question of whether the Qur’an was eternal or created in time. Theologians who were devoted to the concept of God's oneness maintained that the Qur’an must have been created in time, or else there would be something as eternal as God. This view was rejected by others because the Qur’an, the ultimate authority in Islam, states in many places and in unambiguous terms that it is the eternal word of God.
Many other theological controversies occupied Muslim thinkers for the first few centuries of Islam, but by the 10th century the views of Islamic theologian al-Ashari and his followers, known as Asharites, prevailed and were adopted by most Muslims. The way this school resolved the question of free will was to argue that no human act could occur if God does not will it, and that God's knowledge encompasses all that was, is, or will be. This view also maintains that it is God's will to create the power in humans to make free choices. God is therefore just to hold humans accountable for their actions. The views of al-Ashari and his school gradually became dominant in Sunni, or orthodox, Islam, and they still prevail among most Muslims. The tendency of the Sunnis, however, has been to tolerate and accommodate minor differences of opinion and to emphasize the consensus of the community in matters of doctrine.
As is the case with any religious group, ordinary Muslims have not always been concerned with detailed theological controversies. For ordinary Muslims the central belief of Islam is in the oneness of God and in his prophets and messengers, culminating in Muhammad. Thus Muslims believe in the scriptures that God sent through these messengers, particularly the truth and content of the Qur’an. Whatever their specific religious practices, most Muslims believe in angels, the Day of Judgment, heaven, paradise, and hell.
VI THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Belief in the message of Muhammad comes second only to belief in the one God. Muhammad was born around the year 570 and was orphaned at an early age. He was eventually raised by his uncle, who had religious prominence within the main Quraysh tribe of Mecca but was of modest financial means. At age 25, Muhammad married Khadija, a well-to-do, 40-year-old woman. At age 40, during a retreat in the hills outside Mecca, Muhammad had his first experience of Islam. The angel Gabriel appeared to a fearful Muhammad and informed him that he was God's chosen messenger. Gabriel also communicated to Muhammad the first revelation from God. Terrified and shaken, Muhammad went to his home. His wife became the first person to accept his message and convert to Islam. After receiving a series of additional revelations, Muhammad started preaching the new religion, initially to a small circle of relatives and friends, and then to the general public.
The Meccans first ignored Muhammad, then ridiculed him. As more people accepted Muhammad's call, the Meccans became more aggressive. After failing to sway Muhammad away from the new religion they started to persecute his less prominent followers. When this approach did not work, the opposing Meccans decided to persecute Muhammad himself. By this time, two main tribes from the city of Yathrib, about 300 km (200 mi) north of Mecca, had invited Muhammad to live there. The clan leaders invited Muhammad to Yathrib as an impartial religious authority to arbitrate disputes. In return, the leaders pledged to accept Muhammad as a prophet and thus support the new religion of Islam.
A Hegira
In the year 622, Muhammad immigrated to Yathrib, and the name of the city was changed to Medina, meaning city of the Prophet. This date was designated by later Muslims as the beginning of the Muslim calendar, year one of hegira (Arabic hijra, “immigration”). Only two years after Muhammad's arrival in Medina, the core community of Muslims started to expand. At Medina, in addition to preaching the religious and moral message of Islam, Muhammad organized an Islamic society and served as head of state, diplomat, military leader, and chief legislator for the growing Muslim community. Hostilities soon broke out between the Muslims in Medina and the powerful Meccans. In 630, after a series of military confrontations and diplomatic maneuvers, the Muslims in Medina extended their authority over Mecca, the most important city of Arabia at the time. Before Muhammad died in 632, the whole Arabian Peninsula was united for the first time in its history, under the banner of Islam.
