THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD
  
                                                                                                 
The following chronology of events, in the life of Muhammad, is taken from the Muslim propaganda site, slam.com.  There is little disagreement with the information given, only that not given.  Whenever a glaring omission or misrepresentation of facts, concerning an event has been encountered, it has been marked with three asterisks prefacing the event’s description. Preceeding this section, we have attached a glossary of Arabic words which may help in the understanding of Islam.

 
His      Yrs.
Age     A.D                                     Description of Events.
  
0        571      Muhammad ‘bin Abdallah was born to Amina, in Yathrib (Medina) in what is presently Saudi Arabia.  He was born into the Quraysh Clan.  His father, Abdallah, had died a few months previous to his birth. 

6         577     He moved to Mecca with his mother, she soon dies, and he passes to the care of a grandfather, Abdul-Muttalib.

8         579     The grandfather dies, and Muhammad is then sent to an uncle, Abu Talib, a successful merchant operating caravans in the region.

12       583     He begins to accompany his uncle's caravans to other areas.  It is fairly to to certain that, his first journey was to present day Syria. 

 25       595   He made numerous trips, for the uncle, probably touching several areas of the Middle East. During these trips, he acquired a muddled knowledge of Judaism and Christianity.  The concept of one supreme deity impressed him; at the time Arab tribesmen were worshipping over 350 different gods at a shrine
called the Ka’aba, in Mecca, including a moon god with a name quite similar to “Allah”!  It should be noted that several flags of Muslim nations carry a crescent moon, including that of Saudi Arabia.         

25       595     *** A force of Ethiopians invaded the Mecca area, and the uncle led a force to repel the invaders.  Muhammad fled the battlefield.  In disgust, the uncle turned him out.  For a short while he worked as a shepherd, one of the lowliest occupations of his society.  He then traveled briefly as a cloth saleman.  On one of his trips he met a wealthy widow, Khadija, also in the cloth trade, and entered her service as a camel driver.  In less than a year, he became her supervisor, then business partner, and then husband, though she was 15 years his senior.  Upon marriage to Khadija, his financial security was assured.

28       598     *** A son, Qasim, is born.  Question: Was this a son of Khadija, then over 42 years of age, or of a concubine?   

30       600     *** A daughter, Zainab, was born; was Khadija, at 45, still fruitful?        

33       603     *** Ruqayya, another daughter is born; Khadija is now 48.

34       604     *** Still another daughter, Um-e-Kalthum is born; Khadija is now 49.   

35       605     *** And still another daughter, Fatima, is born; Khadija is now 50.             

40       610     Muhammad began withdrawing from his normal life to frequent a cave near his home, on Mount Hira.  There, he experienced his first revelation. He told Khadija that he had been visited by a celestial being, that he identified as the angel "Gabriel", who revealed that he, Muhammad, was the "Messenger of God."  This experience is referred to as the "Night of Power" by Muslims.

43        613    *** Three years passed before Muhammad's second revelation, but then, at decreasing intervals, messages from "God" came to him.  These revelations were eventually recorded, supposedly in about 650 A.D., and form the base of the Koran.  About 613 A.D., after several revelations, Muhammad decided to go public with his message.  Though converts were slow in joining, those that did were strong in their faith.  These included Khadija, Abu Bakr, his best friend, a cousin, Ali, and Zaid, a freed slave and adopted son.  

49        619    *** Muhammad describes his “Journey into Heaven”.  One night, the Angel Gabriel supposedly took him through the heavens, from Mecca to Jerusalem, on the back of a “white mule-like beast with a human head” where he twice prayed, at the Furthest Mosque, before continuing . Heaven!  There, he communed with all the previous prophets, including Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.  The “Furthest Mosque” referred to was the second Jewish Temple, which when Muhammad made his fantastic journey, had been in total ruin for over five centuries!    

49        619    His uncle, Abu Yalib died, and within days was followed by Khadija, his wife. Without the uncle’s protection, Muhammad felt that he had to flee to a neighboring city, but soon returned, upon negotiating protection from the head of another clan.

49        619    He marries his second wife, Sau’da.  Muhammad had at least ten wives, some historians say fifteen, but those to Aisha, the next wife, and one of the later wives, both named Zeinab, are especially noteworthy.

49        619    *** He marries his third wife, Aisha, the daughter of his best friend, Abu Bakr. This was a political marriage, and Abu Bakr was to become the first Caliph, or absolute ruler of Muslims, on Muhammad’s death.  Some scholars place her age at six and Muslims say nine, but most agree that the marriage was not consummated until after three years, when she was either nine or twelve. 

  52        622    The Hegira (Hijra) occurs.  Feeling threatened in Mecca, Muhammad, and about 70 followers, The Companions, fled to Medina, some 200 miles to the north. There, he quickly established himself as the de-facto ruler of the city.  Once there, his men were not interested in gainful employment, but the rich caravans of Mecca offered interesting possibilities. 

53        623    *** Muhammad’s followers, with his blessing, started raiding the caravans. The first three raids failed, but the fourth, was a great success, gaining a considerable amount of booty.  This fourth raid’s success was perhaps due to the fact that it occurred during Ramadan, the Holy Month of Peace, which pre-dates Islam.  During this month, even the worst bandits of that time could be counted on to forbear mayhem.  One of the first of Muham-mad’s self-serving prophecies came to bear to justify warfare during Ramadan.  It was: “Warring therein is grievous, but to obstruct the way of Allah and to deny Him, to hinder men from the Holy Temple, and to expel His people thence, that is more grievous than slaughter.”

54        624    *** Two months after the fourth raid, Muhammad lead a force of about 300 men against a caravan from Mecca.  An old foe, Abu Jahl, learned of the plan and surprised the raiders with a much larger force.  However, the battle was a great victory for Muhammad who lost only 14 men!  About 40 Meccans were killed, including Abu Jahl, and around 60 were taken captive.  They were brought to Muhammad, as well as the severed head of Abu Jahl.  Then, Muhammad supervised the beheading of the prisoners, after which they were tumbled into a common grave.  About this time, other revelations were received to justify the raids.  One was: “You desire the lure of this world and Allah desires for you the hereafter and Allah is Mighty, Wise.  Now enjoy what you have won as lawful and good and keep your duty to Allah.”  Another passage of the Koran says: “Allah guarantees that he will admit the Mujahid (Islam’s Holy Warriors) in his cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty.” 

54        624    *** On return to Yathrib (Medina), Muhammad initiated a reign of  terror. Persons who had given even the  slightest offense to the “prophet” were murdered.  After settling several old scores he turned to the general population.  They could flee, convert to Islam, or lose their heads!  With this choice, most decided to become Muslims.  The exception was the majority of the Jewish population, which were spared for the moment, since Muhammad still hoped for their conversion.  About this time, Muhammad received another self-serving revelation, soon to make him wealthy.  It was:“They ask thee concerning the Prey.  Say the Prey is Allah’s and his Prophet’s”,…And know that whatever ye take as spoils of war, lo!  A fifth thereof is for Allah, and for the Messenger (Muhammad) and the kinsman.”

55       625     He marries Hafsa, his fourth wife, and Zeinab bint Khazina, the fifth.

56       626     Drinking is prohibited in Islam.

56       626     Marriage with Um-e-Salma, the sixth wife.

57       627     *** The Meccans decided to rid themselves of Muhammad and his followers, for all times.  They laid siege to Yathrib (Medina) with a force of 10,000 men.  Unable to breach the city’s defenses, which largely depended on ditches dug at strategic locations, the Meccans retired after only two weeks.  This was a great victory for Muhammad, and could be considered pivotal regarding the spread of Islam.  After the victory, Muhammad turned his attention to the last remaining Jewish tribe of the City, the Banu Qurayzah, accusing them of disloyalty!  They were gathered together and offered a last chance to convert.  Most refused, and about 900 of the men were decapitated in front of their wives and children.  The slaughter took so many hours that torches were lighted and the carnage continued throughout the night.  In the morning, an orgy of rape began.  Muhammad selected one woman for his harem, Raihana ‘bint Amir.  Hours earlier, she had seen her father and husband slaughtered, and her children taken into slavery.  A fringe benefit for Muhammad and his men was all the worldly possessions of the Jews, plus of course several hundred slaves.  By the divine revelation of three years previously, the Prophet kept a fifth of the spoils.      

57       627     *** Marriage with a cousin, Zeinab 'bint Hajash, his seventh wife.  She had previously been the wife of his adopted son, Zayd.  When Muhammad expressed more than the normal interest of a father-in-law in her, Zayd wisely decided to divorce her.  However, before marrying Zeinab, Muhammad received this “divine revelation”:  “Then, when Zayd had dissolved his marriage with her, with the necessary formality, We (Allah) joined her in marriage to thee; in order that in the future there may be no difficulty to the believers in the matter of marriage with the wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have dissolved with the necessary formality their marriage with them.  And, Allah’s command must be fulfilled." Comments of the day suggest that Zeinab was prideful to have wed her ex-father-in-law, since she had been selected for the honor by Allah!     

57       627     The revelation of Hijab, the rules of modesty.

58       628     Marriage with Habiba and with Safiyya, the eighth and ninth wives.              

59       629     Marriage with Maimuna, the tenth wife.

60       630     Muhammad marches on Mecca with 10,000 men, and its leaders open the city gates and capitulate without a fight.  One of his first acts was to throw down the hundreds of idols at the Kaaba, and then proclaim that the shrine belonged only to Allah.  He was soon able to convince the Meccans, and tribesmen of the nearby area, that Islam, not membership of a clan or tribe, was to their benefit. Muhammad had succeeded against tremendous odds and, in over 80 battles during his lifetime, had lost only some 260 men.  Due to his success, the savage tribesmen of the Arabian Peninsula flocked to his banner, with the promise of battle, booty, women, and slaves; all sanctioned by “God’s Prophet”.  Before his death three years later, he saw the first thrusts of the rapid expansion of his new religion, which, eventually expanded from Southern Europe to the Southwest Pacific.

61       631     *** A poll tax is established for non-believers, the Jizyah. It was levied against citizens of conquered societies, which exempted them from military service and gave them protection.        

63       632     Muhammad falls ill, and dies of a raging fever of unknown origin.                  

COMMENTARY:  Was Muhammad a “great man”?  Most certainly, in the same sense, that Hitler and Lenin were “great men!”  Each of these three was responsible for millions of deaths by programs of systematic genocide, accompanied by rape, torture, pillage, and human bondage.  Hitler, over a thirteen year period (1932-1945), was responsible for a paltry 11 to 18 million deaths, not taking into account war casualties.  Lenin’s  legacy, through World Communism, of over seventy-five years, accounted for perhaps 60 million deaths, and still counting.  However, no reliable statistics are available as to the number of deaths attributable to the Muslim religion invented by Muhammad in the 7th Century, but they are numerous.  In India and Persia (Iran) alone, the hundreds of millions of deaths due to the spread of Islam are unique in the annals of genocide!   

In his personal life, Muhammad was a megalomaniac; a self-appointed “prophet”, using his self-serving revelations, supposedly from Allah, for personal gain, and to satisfy his own base nature.  He was personally guilty of murder, including by beheading, crucifixion, pouring boiling water or molten pitch down the throat, boiling his victims  in  water,or ripping off their flesh.  Other crimes were rape, torture, kidnaping, extortion, slavery, mutilations, banditry, theft, adultery, abuse of women, physically and sexually, and sexual abuse of at least one child.  This is all well-recorded history, by his own followers!  He left behind the blueprint of Islam, a dysfunctional society bent on world domination by whatever means necessary!  If alive today, and not resident in a Muslim country, or in a country not permitting the Death Penalty, he would be an inmate in an asylum for the criminally insane, or on Death Row!

Shakespeare said it well, “The evil that men do lives after them……”