Ali Sina - Understanding Muhammad

Understanding Muhammad
in his face and kill the man. This story also reveals the hypocrisy of the
messenger of Allâh who while trying to please Othman, wanted others to kill
Abi Sarh, so Othman would not blame him.
Ibn Ishaq explains: “The reason he ordered him to be killed was that he
had been a Muslim and used to write down revelation for Muhammad; then he
apostatized and returned to Quraish [Mecca]… He was to be killed for apostasy
but was saved through Othman’s intercession.” 346
The atmosphere in Medina was very tense. Islam and Jihad had become
the focus of the lives of its citizens. Muhammad had ordered them to go to the
mosque, pray five times per day and their men were often out raiding,
plundering, pillaging caravans, destroying villages, killing men and raping
women.
There is a hadith reported by both Imams Bukhari and Muslim which
shows the level of coercion that Muhammad exerted to make people comply
with his commands. He is reported to have said:
I thought that I should order the prayer to be commenced and command a person to
lead people in prayer, and I should then go along with some persons having a fagot
of fuel with them to the people who have not attended the prayer (in congregation)
and would burn their houses with fire. 347
In this hadith Muhammad threatens to burn with fire, those who refrained
from attending the congregational prayer in the mosque.
Life in Medina had completely changed. Prior to the arrival of
Muhammad, the people of Yathrib were farmers, artisans and tradesmen. The
bulk of the industry was in the hands of the Jews, who were hardworking,
literate and prosperous. The Arabs were illiterate, lazy and indolent. They had
few skills and worked for the Jews. When the Jews were exterminated, the city
changed drastically. There were no more businesses where the Arabs could work
and earn their livelihood. The economy of the township had collapsed
altogether. The citizens relied entirely on booty and spoils of war Muhammad
provided for their sustenance. For them, there was no going back. They had
become dependant on Muhammad and the spoils of his wars. Even those who
did not believe in him, like Abdullah ibn Ubbay and his followers, used to take
part in his raids. This is not because they wanted to support Islam but because
these spoils become the only source of income for the inhabitants of Medina. If
346 Sirat, p. 550
347 Muslim Book 004, Number 1370; and Bukhari Volume 1, Book 11, Number 626
216