Muhammad was historically significant in many ways. “… Muhammad, was born in the bustling city of Makkah around A. D. 570. ” (pg 271). Muhammad was a man born in Makkah, a city in Arabia, around the year 570 A. D. He was raised by his uncle, since he was orphaned at a young age. “By age 13 he was working as a camel caravan worker. ” (notes). At the young age of 13, Muhammad already had a job as a camel caravan worker. “When Muhammad was about 25 years old, Kadijah proposed marriage to him. ” (pg 271).
When Muhammad was 25, his boss, a 40 year old woman named Kadijah, asked him to marry her, which brought him from the poor class to the elite class. “… in A. D. 610, Muhammad experienced a revelation, or vision. ” (pg 272). In the year 610 A. D. , Muhammad had a vision. In this vision, he was supposedly told by Allah (Arabic for God) to recite two messages. The first message was that there was only one god (Allah) instead of multiple gods.
The second message was that the wealthy should share their wealth and power with the poor so everyone would be equal. In A. D. 613 Muhammad began sharing his revelations with his family and friends. ” (pg 272). Muhammad began to talk about his revelations in 613 A. D. , but only spoke to his family in friends. Later, he began to preach to everyone in Makkah. “Kadijah and members of Muhammad’s family became the first Muslims… ” (pg 272). Due to the fact that Muhammad preached to his family, his family soon became followers of the new religion called Islam.
These followers were called Muslims. Many people were against this new religion, so “In A. D. 622 Muhammad sent about 60 Muslim families from Makkah to Yathrib; soon after, he followed them in secret. ” (pg 272). Since so many people didn’t support Islam, Muhammad sent his followers to Yathrib in 622 A. D. and then secretly followed them. This event is called the Hijrah and is known as the beginning of the Muslim calendar. Once Muhammad came to Yathrib, they accepted his religion and made him the ruler. Yathrib soon “became known as Madinat al-Nabi, “the city of the prophet,” or Madinah. ” (pg 273).
Yathrib was called Madinah because it meant “the city of the prophet” and Muhammad was known as “the prophet of Islam”. In A. D. 624 Muhammad created the Madinah Compact. The Madinah Compact “laid the foundation of an Islamic state. ” (pg 273). In the Madinah Compact, it really specified how the Muslims were supposed to live. “He decreed that all Muslims were to place loyalty to the Islamic community above loyalty to their tribe. ” (pg 273). By writing the Madinah Compact, Muhammad made everyone be loyal to him instead of being loyal to their sheikh and their tribe.
This affected the people of Madinah greatly. “Since Muhammad created the religion of Islam, he took religious power. He also took military power, political power, legal power, and made himself chief judge, which made him a totalitarian. ” (notes). By writing the Madinah Compact, Muhammad became a totalitarian and took power over almost every aspect of the city of Madinah. Since Muhammad was a religious leader, but was also a religious leader, he formed a theocracy. He also created the Five Pillars of Islam.
The Five Pillars are “five essential duties that all Muslims are to fulfill. ” (pg 273). The first pillar was faith. “All Muslims are required to submit to God’s will… ” (pg 273). To be a Muslim, you could only believe in one god instead of multiple different deities. The second pillar was prayer. “… prayers offered five times each day… ” (pg 273) All Muslims are expected to pray five times every day. Once at sunrise, once at noon, once in the afternoon, once at sunset, and once at night. “The third pillar of Islam is the giving of alms, or charity. (pg 273).
Almsgiving helps poor Muslims because wealthy Muslims assisted them and helped them with financial issues. The fourth pillar is fasting. “From sunrise to sunset Muslims neither eat nor drink… ” (pg 273). During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to abstain from food and water just as Muhammad did before he had his revelation. The fifth and final pillar is pilgrimage. “… annual pilgrimage, or hajj, to Makkah. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford the trip is expected to make the pilgrimage at least once… ” (pg 273).
After Ramadan, Muslims take a hajj to the city of Makkah and stay for three days to participates in religious ceremonies, prayers, and sacrifices. The Five Pillars of Islam were very important to the Muslim religion. Muhammad’s attitude changed greatly over the course of his career. At first, he was spreading messages of equality, but as soon as he became a totalitarian he was greedy, and he no longer cared about equality. Overall, Muhammad is extremely important and historically significant because he formed a monotheistic religion with traditions that are still practiced to this day.
