Chapter 7 2. Prophet

A majestic voice echoed in the sky: Read it! I won't.said the person who heard the voice. This is the truth, as he is illiterate, he really doesn't know what to read. Read it! The majestic voice continued to issue orders.At the same time, the person who was ordered felt that he was being held tightly by invisible hands, and he could hardly breathe.But, when he was exhausted and felt let go, he said weakly: I won't. So the command and action are repeated again, and so on three.Finally, the majestic voice told him clearly: You should read in the name of your Creator, who created man out of blood clots.You should read, Your Lord is the most majestic, who taught to write with a pen, and to know what he does not know.

Hearing this, the man trembled all over. It was a February night in AD 610, September in the traditional Arabic calendar and later the Islamic calendar.The location is in the Hira' cave in the north of Mecca, and the speaker is the angel Jibra'il (Jibra'il, also translated as Jibril, Jibrili, etc., that is, the Christian Archangel Gabriel) Li), the man facing the angel is of course Muhammad. Like the Chinese sage Confucius, Islam's great prophet Muhammad was born into a family of shabby nobles.His grandfather used to be in charge of Zamzam Spring in Mecca, but his father died while doing business, leaving his wife with five camels, a flock of sheep, and an Ethiopian slave girl.

As a posthumous child, Muhammad, who was born in Mecca, was sent to a Bedouin family in the desert for adoption, and was taken back to his mother when he was five years old.Unfortunately, his mother and grandfather passed away soon one after another, and he was lonely and had to go out to do business with his uncle at a young age.Fortunately, the hard life and difficult journey have given him a healthy body, and he is hardworking and studious, so he is well-informed. This is really "Heaven will send a great responsibility to man". Muhammad also performed well as an adult.His appearance is handsome, his eyes with long eyelashes are deep, and his steps are firm and steady.His character is also noble, hard-working, sincere, and keep his promises.Although he had no formal education, he was so respected that he earned the title al-Amin, which means "loyal and reliable man".

Even luckier, he married Hattich as his wife. Khadija was the widow of a Quraysh nobleman who married Muhammad at the age of forty.At this time Muhammad was twenty-five years old and was originally an employee of Khetticher.After marriage, Kheditcher handed over the "company" to her husband, which promoted Muhammad to a wealthy and responsible position, and laid the foundation for him to become the spiritual and political leader of the Arabs in the future. Muhammad, freed from poverty and trivialities, began to think.In his view, the people of Mecca and Quraysh had become depraved.While accumulating wealth, they abandoned morality, and the whole society was full of desires.Greed has replaced bravery as the passport of the mean, and loyalty has become the epitaph of the noble.There are 360 ​​idols crowded in the sacred Kaaba, and small traders shamelessly peddle all kinds of amulets and gadgets, which is simply a blasphemy and a mockery of God.

It was a betrayal, Muhammad thought. Therefore, before the age of forty, the future prophet would often spend the forbidden month, the ninth month of Al, known as Ramadan (also translated as buried Dan, Ramadan, etc.), alone in the cave of Hila. Meditate and pray until the arrival of the angel Jebre Eli.This is the first time he received the apocalypse, and this night is also called the "noble night" by Islamic historians, also known as the "authorized night". That is, from then on he became a prophet. Yet the Prophet seems unprepared for this.At a loss, he trotted all the way back home, and tremblingly said to his good wife who bore him four daughters and two sons: Quick, quickly take a blanket and cover me up!

Hetticher was calm. After hearing about her husband's adventure, this wise woman, later known as the "Mother of Believers", decided to ask her cousin for advice, because the old man had not only converted to Christianity, but was also proficient in Hebrew.As a result, the elder announced: Muhammad received a revelation from heaven.The One God gave this revelation to the prophet Moses and Christ Jesus, and now to Muhammad, who must obey. Then obey! Obedient Muhammad accepted the mission.Of course, the angel Jebre Eli also came to give him revelations many times.It is these revelations that laid the core content of Islam: there is no God but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of the Lord.Those who accept this creed and worship Allah and the Prophet are Muslims.

The earliest Muslims were Khadijah, and some relatives and friends of the Prophet.Missions and evangelism are first secret and then public.Muhammad did this, of course, because he was ordered by Allah, but he was resisted and even persecuted by the nobles of the Quray clan in Mecca.These guys have a vested interest in the old order, and many of Muhammad's claims and practices have clearly moved their cheese. The Prophet decided to move to Yatrib. Yathrib (Yathrib, also translated as Yathrib) is also a caravan city on the Hijaz trade route. About 400 kilometers north of Mecca, it is an oasis surrounded by date palm trees.When the living environment of Muslims is getting worse, it may not be a wise choice to move to Yatrib, which stretches out its arms to welcome them.

Yes, the Yathrib extended an invitation to the Prophet, although they saw Muhammad only as a wise man who could mediate their internal disputes, not as a religious leader.But having this oasis is better than being stuck in Mecca. Allah seems to have given his approval.It is said that on a dark night, the angel Jebre Eli led Muhammad to Jerusalem on a white horse with wings, where he climbed to the sky, saw the prophets of all ages, and also witnessed the Paradise and Hell. Then return to Mecca at dawn.This day was later designated as the "Festival of Ascension" in Islam, and therefore Jerusalem became the holy city of Islam, although it was previously both Jewish and Christian.

This incident seems to indicate that a turning point is about to happen. On September 24, 622 AD, the Prophet arrived at Yathrib.It was a historic step for him and his followers, but also fraught with risks.Because according to the tradition, this means cutting off the blood relationship with the original tribe, and automatically giving up the resulting rights and obligations.Once they can't gain a foothold in that strange city and crowd, how will they get along and make a living? Muhammad wisely turned bad things into good things.Yes, since blood is meaningless, let's rely on faith!Thus, a Muslim community called the Umma was invented and established.The Ummah has constitutions, disciplines, institutions, and division of labor: Migrants (Muslims who immigrated with them) hold important military positions, Auxiliaries (local Muslims) are responsible for household registration and taxation, and the mentor, leader, and commander are of course the Prophet.It is not difficult to see that such a church-state organization is only one step away from the state.

The Prophet was a great success.Yatrib was also renamed Medina, and its full name is Madinah al-Nabi, which means "City of the Prophet".This migration was called Hijrah (Hijrah, English Hegira, Chinese translation Migration), and the year of migration was later designated as the first year of the Islamic calendar. The successful prophet did not forget about Mecca.In 630 AD, Muhammad led an army of 10,000 people into his hometown.He accepted the conversion of the nobles of Mecca, demolished the idols in the Kaaba, and sanctified ancient temples and meteorites.Since then, Mecca has become the religious center of Islam, and Medina has become the political center.

This year, Tang Taizong also became Tian Khan. At the beginning of 632 AD, half a year before the death of the Prophet, Muhammad, who had a premonition that he would die soon, came to Mecca from Medina and presided over an unprecedented pilgrimage ceremony, known as the farewell pilgrimage in history.The 100,000 people who participated in this pilgrimage were all Muslims. The Prophet climbed Mount Arafat and announced the last revelation of Allah: Today, I have fulfilled your religion for you, and I have fulfilled the grace I bestowed on you. , I have chosen Islam to be your religion. This is the rite of passage of a new religion. According to the revelation, it is named Islam (Islam).

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Notes: 96:1-5. There is a hint in it, see 17:1.Since then, the Kaaba in Mecca has been called the Haram, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is called the Far Mosque, and the Sahlai Mosque, 300 meters away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is considered to be the place where the Prophet ascended to heaven.Please refer to Ha Quanan and Zhou Shuqing's Ups and Downs of the Caliphate. 5:3.