Religion 101 (17 page)

Muslims consider Ghulam Ahmad a false prophet, and all Muslim scholars consider Qadianis to be outside the fold of Islam.

Sects Within Sects

The Ahmadiyya are also called Qadiani because their founder was from the city of Qadian in the Punjab province of India. There is a further break within the group among those who persist in the belief that Ahmad was a prophet, and those who respect him as a spiritual leader but fall short of calling him a prophet.

The Khalifites

This relatively new group believes that the Qur’an is the only source of guidance in Islam, and that the traditions of Muhammad and the other prophets are irrelevant. They reject the entire Sunnah (words and acts of Muhammad), and depend solely on the Qur’an.

The Khalifites claim that there is an intricate mathematical code in the Qur’an, proving that it is indeed the word of God and could not possibly have been written by any man. This mathematical “miracle” is based on the number nineteen. Letters and verses are counted, given numerological values, added and multiplied, and statistically determined to be equivalent to the number nineteen or a multiple of nineteen.

For some time, scholars were intrigued by this claim and investigated it. Over time, however, the methodology used by the Khalifites came under question. It was discovered that they had revised the Qur’an so that words and verses would fit into their formula. The statistics were determined to be false, and the theory, questionable at first, was later determined to be fraudulent.

The Baha’i Faith

The Baha’i faith arose from Islam and has now grown to be a worldwide religion. The Baha’i believe in the unity of God and in the essential message that has been revealed through the prophets over time. They recognize Muhammad as a prophet but also believe that Krishna, Buddha, and others were “Great Manifestations of God,” culminating in the teachings of the founder of their faith, Bahaullah.

In Muslim Persia during the nineteenth century, a young man called the Bab (the Gate) announced the imminent arrival of a messenger of God. Although he was executed as a heretic in 1850, thirteen years later, in 1863, a man named Bahaullah (meaning “the Glory of God” in Arabic) announced that he was the fulfillment of the Bab’s promise. He was first imprisoned, then exiled. From exile he wrote a series of letters and documents outlining his views of universal peace and a united world civilization. He died in 1892, but his writings and teachings, at first obscure, have become the basis for a faith that has sustained millions of Baha’i around the world.

World Peace

The Baha’i believe in the unity of the world’s great religions, that they all came from the same spiritual source. The central theme of their faith is that humans form one single race and are destined to be unified in one world society. Followers of this faith are heavily involved in issues of world peace, world government, freedom, and equality.

MUHAMMAD

The Last Prophet

Muhammad the Prophet is a central figure in the faith of Islam. Raised as an orphan, he grew up to become a respected merchant. He was a spiritual and reflective man who led a faith community that impacted the entire world. Muslims honor and respect the Prophet Muhammad, and look to his life example for inspiration and guidance.

The Path of the Prophets

Muslim tradition holds that there have been more than 124,000 prophets sent to mankind throughout history, beginning with Adam and ending with Muhammad. Only twenty-five are mentioned by name in the Qur’an, and Muslims do not speculate about the identities of others.

Early Life in Mecca

Muhammad was born around 569–570 in Mecca, modern-day Saudi Arabia, into a respected tribe, the Quraish. Orphaned at six years of age, he was cared for by members of his extended family.

As Muhammad grew older, he became known in the community as a person of integrity and honesty. He married a wealthy businesswoman in Mecca, named Khadijah, fifteen years his senior. The couple would remain happily married until Khadijah’s death twenty-five years later. Muhammad and Khadijah had two sons, both of whom died in infancy, and four daughters: Zainab, Ruqaiyah, Um Kulthum, and Fatima.

During the month of Ramadan, Muhammad frequently visited nearby mountains to spend time in quiet solitude and prayer. He would often retire to a particular cave named Hira, located in the hills not far from Mecca, for worship and contemplation. During one of these retreats in the year 610, at the age of forty, Muhammad had an extraordinary experience.

One night toward the end of the month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad and demanded, “Read!” Muhammad reportedly answered, “I cannot read,” for he was illiterate. The angel repeated the request several times and then relayed the beginnings of a revelation from God.

Following this incredible experience, Muhammad rushed home and told Khadijah what had happened. She covered him with blankets, consoled him, and reminded him that he had always been a man of charity and honesty, and that God would not lead him astray.

Preaching the Message of God

When Muhammad began to preach his mission, he first spoke secretly with members of his own family. Then he shared the message with his closest friends and members of his own tribe. Several years after first receiving revelation, he finally reached the point at which he was proclaiming God’s message publicly in the city.

After this first encounter, Muhammad experienced a brief pause in revelation. During this time of waiting, he devoted himself more to prayers and spiritual devotion. Then the revelations continued, with the command to “arise and warn” (Qur’an 74:2), “rehearse and proclaim … the bounty of God” (Qur’an 93:11), and to “admonish your nearest kinsmen” (Qur’an 26:214).

Preaching and Persecution

The leaders of Mecca were not pleased with Muhammad’s message. He was commanding the people to reject the tribal idols that were the financial mainstay of the city. He encouraged people to be charitable and to free their slaves. He condemned the traditionally held beliefs and practices of the most powerful tribes in the city. He preached the Oneness of God in Mecca, the main center of idolatry.

After months of worsening abuse and murders at the hands of their opponents, the Muslims began to look outside Mecca for refuge. In the fifth year of his mission, Muhammad sent a small group of followers to the safety of Abyssinia.

Those Muslims who did not emigrate faced the increased wrath of the Meccan opposition. At the same time Muhammad suffered two deep personal losses. His protective uncle, Abu Talib, and his devoted wife, Khadijah, both passed away in what became known as the “year of sadness.” However, it was during this time, when Muhammad’s mission seemed to be at its weakest, that he was granted a beautiful sign from God.

Muslim tradition holds that during one night, Muhammad traveled to the far holy city of Jerusalem and from there ascended up to the heavens. During the ascension, Muhammad was welcomed by the previous prophets and was commanded by God to implement the five daily prayers.

The Migration (Hijrah)

Meanwhile, the hostility of the pagan Meccans increased. Muhammad finally found a group of sympathetic people from the city of Yathrib, about 275 miles north of Mecca. They invited Muhammad and his followers to migrate to their city, where the Muslims would be sheltered, protected, and treated as family.

In 622, the entire Muslim community finally succeeded in reaching Yathrib safely. The migration itself is called the
hijrah
, or migration. From that point on, the city of Yathrib became known as Madinah An-Nabi (“The City of the Prophet”) or Madinah Al-Munawwarah (“The Radiant City”).

In Madinah, the new community set about the business of living, farming, and freely practicing their faith. For the first time, the Muslims could organize society the way they believed it should be, in accordance with the guidance that Muhammad continued to receive from God. The community built a mosque for prayer, established societal rules, and set aside old tribal struggles and blood feuds.

Shortly after arriving in Madinah, Muhammad invited representatives from neighboring tribes — Jews, Christians, and others — to discuss the idea of establishing a city-state in Madinah. With their approval, Muhammad established the first written constitution, which defined his role as leader of the community and the rights and duties of all citizens.

Muhammad traveled to other cities and tribes in the area to engage them in treaties of alliance. At the same time, the Meccans continued to threaten and harass them, so the Muslims fortified themselves against possible attack. Following the battles of Badr and Uhud, Muhammad was able to strengthen the alliances he had forged with various tribes.

Conquest of Mecca

Eventually, Muhammad negotiated a return to Mecca, including terms for a ten-year ceasefire, and agreed to remain neutral in conflicts with third parties. The armistice would allow both sides to live in happiness and to conduct their own affairs freely.

Not very long after signing the treaty, a tribe that had allied with the Meccans attacked a tribe that had allied with the Muslims. Muhammad responded by leading an army of 10,000 into Mecca. The Meccans were so surprised by the size of the Muslim army that they surrendered without a single person being hurt.

Death of the Prophet

Muhammad returned to live in Madinah, where he led the community both materially and spiritually. In the tenth year after
hijrah
, he fell ill within months of his final pilgrimage to Mecca. After the illness had lasted about two weeks, Muhammad died at the age of sixty-three. By that time, all of Arabia had been united under Islam, and the faith was gaining footholds in other regions.

CHAPTER 6
HINDUISM

Hinduism is a many-faceted faith. For those who enjoy the subtle pleasures of metaphysics, there is the philosophy of monism — that all things, however varied, are Brahman. (Brahman is a complicated concept that we’ll discuss in more detail shortly; for now, think of it as “oneness.”) Those drawn to lasting moral and political ideas can trace a continuous thread from the nonviolence that runs from the fifth-century
B.C.
Jains — who believed that no living thing should be harmed — all the way to Mohandas K. Gandhi — who was inspired by the Jains and embraced a philosophy of
ahimsa
, or nonviolence.

For more than 2,000 years, Yoga has taught concentration and meditation techniques as a means to know God. Hinduism created offshoots such as Jainism and Buddhism, which prescribed their own
dharma
, or set of duties, for living a proper life.

In all of the ages of Hindu thought there are kernels of insight. Consider this one: The great king Yudhishthira once said that the most wonderful and truly startling thing in life is that every moment we see people dying around us, and yet we think we shall never die.

For those seeking common ground between Eastern and Western thought, you need only look at the Hindu emphasis on a reality beyond the world of our senses. The following passage is from the ancient Katha Upanishad (3.3–7, 10–14). The metaphor of the chariot here also makes an appearance in Plato as he discusses the virtue of self-control.

Think of the soul as the master of a chariot. The body is the chariot itself, the faculty of reason is the rider, and the mind is the reins. The senses are the horses, and desires are the roads on which they travel.

When the master of a chariot has full control of the chariot, the rider, the reins, and the horses, then the chariot moves swiftly and smoothly. In the same way when the soul controls the body, the mind and the senses, life is joyful and happy. But when the master lacks control, the horses run wild. In the same way when the body, the mind and the senses are not controlled by the soul, there is misery and pain.

The objects of desire guide the senses. The senses supply information to the mind, and so influence what the mind thinks. The thoughts of the mind are ordered by the faculty of reason. And reason only operates successfully when it is guided by the soul. Reason and the mind can be trained to hear the guidance of the soul, and obey it. The training takes the form of meditation, by which the reason and the mind rise to a higher level of consciousness.

So wake up, rise to your feet, and seek a teacher who can train you.

Plato and the Upanishads started in two different places but arrived at the same truth: Genuine happiness can only be attained when reason steers the desires, not the other way around. The idea is more than 2,500 years old.

THE FOUR AIMS OF LIFE

Atha, Moksha, Kama, and Dharma

Hinduism is a most practical religion, complete with purposes for living. What are these goals? They are presented in a doctrine called the Four Ends of Life. Each of these aims prescribes a value or manner of conduct that is a piece of a larger moral view. Each is therefore appropriate for a proper Hindu upbringing. While the four are emphasized at different stages of life, one reigns above the rest:
dharma
.

Hindu for Life

Recent evidence shows that followers of Hinduism are more likely to stay with their religion than followers of any other major religion. According to a Pew forum poll, 90 percent of all people who are raised Hindu remain Hindu. This ranks first among the major religions, with Catholics (89 percent) and Jewish people (85 percent) running second and third.

At times, Hindu texts reduce our aspirations to three:
dharma
(virtue), material gain, and love or pleasure. Dharma provides the underpinning for the others, for the concept of dharma establishes an ideal of behavior, religion, and ethics. If we are living appropriately at the various stages of life, we are always doing our dharma.