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N0KFQ > TODAY 24.09.16 17:55l 93 Lines 4737 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Sep 24
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 160924/1635Z 8321@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ6.0.12
622
Muhammad completes Hegira
On this day in 622, the prophet Muhammad completes his Hegira, or
"flight," from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution. In Medina,
Muhammad set about building the followers of his
religion-Islam-into an organized community and Arabian power. The
Hegira would later mark the beginning (year 1) of the Muslim
calendar.
Muhammad, one of the most influential religious and political
leaders in history, was born in Mecca around 570. His father died
before he was born, and Muhammad was put under the care of his
grandfather, head of the prestigious Hashim clan. His mother died
when he was six, and his grandfather when he was eight, leaving
him under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new head of the
clan. When he was 25, Muhammad married a wealthy widow 15 years
his senior. He lived the next 15 years as a merchant, and his
wife gave birth to six children: two sons, who died in childhood,
and four daughters.
From time to time, Muhammad spent nights in a cave in Mount Hira
north of Mecca, ruminating on the social ills of the city. Around
610, he had a vision in the cave in which he heard the voice of a
majestic being, later identified as the angel Gabriel, say to
him, "You are the Messenger of God." Thus began a lifetime of
religious revelations, which he and others collected as the
Qur'an, or Koran. Muhammad regarded himself as the last prophet
of the Judaic-Christian tradition, and he adopted aspects of
these older religions' theologies while introducing new
doctrines. Muhammad's monotheistic religion came to be called
Islam, meaning "surrender [to God]," and its followers were
Muslims, meaning "those who have surrendered." His inspired
teachings would bring unity to the Arabian peninsula, an event
that had sweeping consequences for the rest of the world.
By 615, Muhammad had gained about 100 converts in Mecca. He spoke
out against rich merchants, who he criticized as immoral in their
greed, and he denounced the worshipping of idols and multiple
gods, saying, "There is no god but God." City leaders became
hostile to him, and in 619 his uncle Abu Talib died and was
succeeded as head of the Hashim clan by another one of Muhammad's
uncles, Abu Lahib. Abu Lahib refused to protect Muhammad, and
persecution of the prophet and his Muslims increased.
In the summer of 621, an entourage of 12 men came to Mecca from
Medina, an oasis community 200 miles to the north. They were
ostensibly making a pilgrimage to Mecca's pagan shrines, but they
had actually come to meet with Muhammad and profess themselves as
Muslims. In 622, a larger group of converts from Medina came to
Mecca and took an oath to Muhammad to defend him as their own
kin. Muhammad immediately encouraged his Meccan followers to make
their way to Medina in small groups. When city authorities
learned that the Muslims had begun an exodus, they plotted to
have the prophet killed. Under this threat, Muhammad slipped away
unnoticed with a chief disciple and made his way to Medina, using
unfrequented paths. He completed the celebrated Hegira (Hijrah in
uncorrupted Arabic) on September 24, 622. The history of Islam
had begun.
At Medina, Muhammad built a theocratic state and led raids on
trading caravans from Mecca. Attempts by Meccan armies to defeat
the Muslim forces failed, and several leading Meccans immigrated
to Medina and became Muslims. Muhammad later become more
conciliatory to Mecca, and in 629 he was allowed to lead a
pilgrimage there in exchange for a peace treaty. Shortly after,
he was attacked by allies of the Meccans, and Muhammad denounced
the treaty. In January 630, he returned to his birthplace with
10,000 men, and the Meccans swore allegiance to its Muslim
conquerors. He was now the strongest man in Arabia. During the
next few years, most of the peninsula's disparate Arab tribes
came to him to ask for alliance and to convert to his religion.
By his death, on June 8, 632, Muhammad was the effective ruler of
most of Arabia, and his rapidly growing empire was poised for
expansion into Syria and Iraq.
Within 20 years, the Byzantine and Persian empires had fallen to
the prophet's successors, and during the next two centuries vast
Arab conquests continued. The Islamic empire grew into one of the
largest the world has ever seen, stretching from India, across
the Middle East and Africa, and up through Western Europe's
Iberian peninsula. The spread of Islam continued after the
fragmentation of the Arab empire, and many societies in Africa
and Asia voluntarily adopted Muhammad's religion. Today, Islam is
the world's second-largest religion.
73 - K.O., n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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