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The personality of Muhammad, as it is presented in the Koran and the earliest stratum of tradition, is that of an ordinary human being charged with a special mission from God. Explain the basis for this judgement and discuss the extent to which it accurately reflects the beliefs of Muslims down to the present day.We know a good deal about the prophet Muhammad. He was born in Mecca circa 570ce to Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib of the clan Quraish. His father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was six, after which he was raised by his uncle Abu Talib [5/6 1.6]. He earned the nickname Al-Ameen, meaning "the Honest, the Reliable and the Trustworthy" [URL1]. At the age of 40 he was chosen by God to receive the final revelation - the Qur'an. He preached in Mecca, suffering increasing persecution until 622ce when he was invited to migrate/emigrate (the hijra) to Medinah, from whence Islam took root [units 5-6: 2.2; also Reader 3.43]. With all this apparently historical data, it is hard not to regard Muhammad as a real and ordinary man.Canonical Islam stresses this a great deal. Muhammad was an ordinary man, albeit an unusually honourable and good man. That he was chosen as God's final prophet in no way grants him any sort of divine status, and to attribute any such status is considered heretical [Encyclopaedia p167]. He was never considered to have any magical powers, or to have performed any miracles. The only 'miracle' ever ascribed to him was in the writing of the Qur'an when he was "neither a poet nor a professional skilled in rhyme and verse". [units 5-6: 3.5]. Indeed, it is commonly believed that he could not read or write at all. Muhammad in his life, even during his prophethood, suffered all the pains of humanity. He suffered doubt - questioning his own sanity when first he witnessed the angel Gabriel (Jibra'il) who was to impart the Qur'an, eventually having to be reassured by his wife Khadijah [units 5-6: 1.8; also Women in Religion p86]. He suffered persecution at the hands of the Meccan authorities - eventually being forced to withdraw to Medina. In the conflict that followed, he suffered a significant defeat in the battle of Uhud [units 5-6: 2.3.1]. These all portray a man as flawed as any other. However, how accurately does the canonical line actually reflect the attitude of Muslims towards the prophet? After all, he is the figure who has most influenced the lives of Muslims and the Islamic world, so perhaps it is only natural for people to see him as "someone far more significant than simply the recipient of the revelation of the Qur'an" [Sacred Place p97; also Encyclopaedia p167]. He is seen as a paragon of men, an ideal to aspire to. Muhammad "while no more than a man ... is also the perfect man" [Making Moral Decisions p97]. One need only recall the 'Salman Rushdie Affair' to get an idea of this reverence. Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses does not at first glance appear to be in any way directly blasphemous, but it was alleged to feature a thinly disguised caricature of Muhammad. This was deemed sufficiently offensive to Muslim sensibilities to warrant widespread and impassioned demonstrations, and eventually the decree of the Ayatollah Khomeini that Rushdie deserved to die [unit 16: 8.8, see also su33:57 "Those who speak ill of God and His apostle shall be cursed by God"]. However there are more long-standing traditions that illustrate this reverence. The Qur'an itself says "Bless him, then, you that are true believers" [su33:56]. At his burial place near Mecca, after the close of the Hajj pilgrimage in particular, a number of elaborate ceremonies and rituals are performed to honour him - all "non-canonical, but hallowed by centuries of use" [Sacred Place p97]. Over the years, myths have arisen surrounding his birth and life. His grandfather Abdul Muttalib is said to have sworn an oath to God to sacrifice his son Abdallah (who was to become Muhammad's father), and was only discharged from the debt after an alternative sacrifice of 100 camels was offered. His mother Aminah "did not feel the weight of the child during her pregnancy", and Muhammad himself is said to have been born circumcised. He stoically endured repeated persecutions by his uncle Abu Lahab and aunt Umm-e-Jamil, preferring to pray to God for their guidance [URL2]. It must be stressed that these myths are not necessarily held in any credence, either by orthodox teaching or by everyday Muslims. However, myths do exist that are more respected, such as the "splitting of the moon" and the "Night Journey" to Jerusalem [Encyclopaedia p176]. In this latter story, the Prophet, accompanied by the angel Gabriel, was transported to Jerusalem on a winged donkey, where he met and conversed with the early prophets (Jesus, Abraham, Moses). He then ascended into the heavens into the divine presence [Sacred Place p104 and Encyclopaedia p176]. These stories seem better suited to Greek myth or the Old Testament than to the biography of an ordinary man. A more down to earth reverence is illustrated by considering Islamic law (shari'ah). The Qur'an does not deal with all circumstances that can arise in life, so Muslims had to decide how best to fill in the blanks. The Qur'an itself gives some clues, with quotes such as "obey God and obey the Apostle ... Should you disagree about anything refer it to God and the Apostle" [Sur4:59]. There is also a quote attributed to Muhammad himself "if you do not find any direction therein, what then? Then I will act according to the Sunnah of the Prophet" [Reader 3.37]. These suggest that the example and practice (sunnah) of Muhammad to be the next recourse when looking for wisdom. There exist six "sound collections" of hadith or accounts of Muhammad's life, all authenticated by tracing them back to one of the prophet's companions [Making Moral Decisions P101]. From these, the Sunni law schools take their inspiration. Some of the accounts are almost obsessively detailed, and from them can be gleaned instructions on how to eat, how to greet people, and even how to sneeze [Making Moral Decisions p102]. One notable example is that of the hijab, the head scarf widely perceived by the west as characterising Muslim women. In fact, the Qur'an does not proscribe its wearing, but the wives of Muhammad would wear them to distinguish them from other women. Rather, it was later "taken on by Muslim women in emulation of these 'Mothers of Islam'" [Reader 3.44]. The Shi'ah Muslims hold to a slightly different view, although it too illustrates the reverence with which Muhammad is held. Whereas the Sunni hold that religious authority rests in the hands of anyone deemed knowledgeable enough to be worthy (the ulama), the Shi'ah hold that Islamic law can only be refined by the edicts of a descendant of Muhammad [units 5-6: sect 7; also Encyclopaedia p172 and Women in Religion p85]. More precisely, they follow a line of descendants from Muhammad's cousin Ali, who married the prophet's daughter Fatima [units 5-6: 7.2]. (Shi'ah is derived from Shi'at'Ali - the partisans of Ali [Encyclopaedia p170]). This idea of a sacred lineage could be seen to contradict the view of Muhammad as an ordinary man. The idea is taken still further with the idea of the "Hidden Imam". Shi'ah Islam is split into those who maintain the sacred line ended at the Seventh Imam - Ja'far, d765ce - and those who maintain it continued until the Twelfth Imam - Muhammad al Muntazar d874ce [units 5-6: 7.3.4]. Both regard the lineage as now "hidden", and maintain that the hidden Imam (or "the awaited Mahdi") will reveal himself in the latter days, when God's final judgement is visited upon the Earth. The "Twelver's", take this one step further, maintaining that it is the 12th Imam himself, who disappeared mysteriously at the age of seven, who will return as "Lord of the Age" [Encyclopaedia p189 and Making Moral Decisions p100]. Both these approaches, but especially the latter, bear strong similarities to the messianic beliefs of Jews and Christians, and while not reflecting on Muhammad directly they certainly question the ordinary nature of his lineage. Aspects of Sufi teachings also exhibit ideas of a sacred lineage. Although theirs is a more mystical sect, striving towards union with God through abandonment of the self, they still trace their lines of students (khangah) and teachers (shaikhs) in a sort of family tree. Each Sufi school of teaching traces its roots back to one of the companions of Muhammad, most often to the same Ali revered by the Shi'ah [Encyclopaedia p191]. These teachers can sometimes be elevated to the status of 'saints', with Muhammad as a kind of 'chief saint' in this hierarchy. [Encyclopaedia p168]. "Muhammad himself, as 'perfect man', represents this link between heaven and earth" [Sacred Place p106]. As a contrary view however, Sufi teachings can imply that as Muhammad was just an ordinary man, then perhaps other ordinary men can be as he was. By being pious and disciplined, and by seeking union with God through applied contemplation, God and the Qur'an was revealed to him. Thus surely, any ordinary man, through equal levels of pious contemplation can achieve the same unity with God that Muhammad attained. [U5/6, 8.3.2]. Indeed the 'Saints' of Sufism often have ascribed to them quite extraordinary mystical powers that even Muhammad did not possess, from healing, through walking on water, to beheading a person with a gesture [Sacred Place p109]. This certainly makes Muhammad look ordinary by comparison. In conclusion, Muhammad may once have been an ordinary man, but the enormity of the mission from God with which he was charged inevitably raises his status well above that of 'ordinary'. Orthodox dogma may try and stress his ordinary status, and Sufi teaching may regard his unity with God as repeatable, but these do not exemplify the wider view. Myths, both canonical and less so, his example as an ideal to aspire to, the idea of a sacred lineage of his descendants, all conspire to portray someone who, while maybe not divine, is certainly far more than a man. Bibliography
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