Muhammad
Mohammed (A.D. 570-632) or Muhammad was the founder of Islam. He began life as a wealthy tradesmen, one of the elite of his city of Mecca. He claimed to be privy to certain revelations in middle age, speaking of a need to abandon worship of the many gods who dominated Mecca's religion at the time, and worship the one God, Allah.
These early revelations spoke of a need to return to the monotheism of Abraham; in this way, at an early age, Mohammed saw himself as reviving an ancient faith, a perceived correction to Christianity and Judaism, and restoring his people to what he saw as their rightful position as the true founders and heirs of monotheism. In these revelations, submission to the will of God - Allah - was critical. Mohammed's fledgling religion continued to develop throughout his life, through periodic revelations often relating directly to events currently facing his new faith.
The faith caught on slowly, winning only a few converts in Mecca (the first being his wife). Under increased pressure and ostracism from elders in Mecca, Mohammed began the hijra, an organized exodus of his followers from Mecca to the city of Medina. Muslims date the formation of their religion to the hijra itself, even beginning their dating system at this point.
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With the arrival of the Messenger in Madina, the struggle between Islam and unbelief entered a new phase. In Makka the Prophet had devoted himself almost exclusively to expounding Islam's basic principles and to his Companions' moral and spiritual training. After the Emigration (622), however, new Muslims belonging to different tribes and regions began to gather in Madina. Although the Muslims held only a tiny piece of land, the Quraysh allied itself with as many tribes as possible to exterminate them.
In addition to threats from Makka and its allies, the young community had to contend with Madina's three Jewish tribes, which controlled its economic life. Although they had been waiting for a Prophet, they opposed the Messenger because he was not Jewish. One of the first things the Messenger did in Madina was to sign a pact with the Jews. Despite this, the Jews continued to harbor considerable ill-will toward to Messenger and plot against him and Islam. For example, the skilled Jewish poet Ka'b ibn Ashraf composed poems satirizing the Messenger and instigating his enemies. Link titleGulen, F (2000). Prophet Muhammed: Aspects of His Life.The Fountain: Turkey
After Mohammed's Death
Mohammed's death at an early age caused the splintering of his religion into new sects, over the question of succession. The groups called themselves the Sunnis and the Shi'as. Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Mohammed himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.[1]
The failure or splintering of movements built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the routinization of charisma. Christianity faced the same problem, and many attribute the conquest of this problem to the leadership of the apostle Paul.[2].
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Notes
HIR | Muhammad's massacre of the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayzah [1]