Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/582

Rh 554 MOHAMMEDANISM [MOHAMMED. fenders. attached to them, but meritorious also, even in a merely external observance, they were an excellent instrumentality for producing that esprit de corps, that obedience to Allah and his messenger, which constituted the strength of the Moslem system. Up till that time blood-relationship had been the foundation of all political and social relations in Arabia ; upon such a foundation it was impossible to raise any enduring edifice, for blood dissociates as much as it unite*. But now, religion entered upon the scene as a much more energetic agent in building the social structure ; it ruthlessly broke up the old associations, in order to cement the thus disintegrated elements into a new and much more stable system. The very hearts of men were changed ; the sanctity of the old relationships faded away in the presence of Allah ; brother would have slain brother, had Mohammed willed it. The best Moslem was he who was the most remorseless in separating from the old and attaching himself to the new ; Mohammed gave preference to active natures, even if they occasionally kicked over the traces ; contemplative piety received from him only the praise of words. Over the anarchical rule of a multi tude of families the sole sovereignty of God came forth triumphant ; its subjects were united by the firmest of all bonds. Every Moslem was every Moslem s brother, and, as matter of course, took his part as against every non- Moslem. Outside of Islam there was neither law nor safety; Allah alone was powerful, and he protected those only who acknowledged his sole sovereignty. Emi- The Emigrants (Mohajira), who along with the Prophet grants had fled from Mecca, were the kernel and the cement of the community. It was made all the easier for them to give effect to the fundamental principle, that citizenship in Medina depended not on family but on faith, because the natives themselves (Ansar, &quot;the Defenders&quot;), consisting of Aus and Khazraj, neutralized one another by their mutual enmity. Mohammed seems at first to have cherished the design not only of entirely disowning relationship with non-Moslems, but also of obliterating as much as possible, within Islam, the distinctions of blood, by means of the common faith. He established between emigrants and individual citizens of Medina relationships of brotherhood, which also involved heirship. But he soon abandoned this line, and expressly recognized the validity and sacredness, within Islam, of the old rights of family and inheritance (sur. viii. 76). Thus he refrained from carrying out to its full logical consequence the theoretical principle of equalization, but on practical grounds permitted the old order of society to continue. At a subsequent period, he even conceded to relationship and the ties of blood far larger rights than were compatible with Islam, and thus himself laid the foundations of the violent quarrel which rent the community, more particularly in the time of the Omayyads. Similarly it might be said that communism was originally involved in the principles of Islam ; but it is characteristic that from the first the alms were less em ployed for the equalization of society, than for strengthening the hands of the ruling power. It frequently happens that a religious revolution finds expression also in the region of social polity ; but it is remarkable to observe how Islam utilized the religious leaven from the first for a positive re organization of society, and neutralized the destructive tendency which that leaven is wont to show in political affairs. It did not indeed succeed in totally destroying the radical tendency, as the history of the caliphate shows. But, on the whole, the equality before God which Islam teaches interfered hardly at all with the subordination of men to their human leaders ; both were demanded by religion, both were taken sincerely, and each was found, in practice, reconcilable with the other. That this new and drastic principle, thrown into the chaos of existing relations, must have exercised a mighty power both of attraction and repulsion is obvious. More than one naive expression bears Avitness to the astonish ment with which the Arabs regarded the strange spirit which animated the community of the Moslems the firm ness with which they held together, the absolute and will ing obedience which they gave to their leaders, the reck lessness with which they disregarded everything that before Islam, or outside of it, was looked upon as holy. Some natures felt themselves attracted by these peculiarities, especially if on other grounds they felt little difficulty in severing themselves from their old connexions ; but, on the whole, feelings of antipathy prevailed. Even in Medina The itself this antipathy was widespread. The so-called hypo- hypo crites (mondfikun) were either only half -attached to the cntes - Prophet or in their inmost hearts unfavourably disposed ; they were kept from overt action partly by the absence of a decided opinion, partly by the terrorism which the con vinced Moslems exercised. The reproach of hypocrisy brought against them means chiefly that they did not manifest a full acceptance of the new political relations. They could not reconcile themselves to the position of having never a word to say in their own town, and of being compelled to obey the Prophet from Mecca and those who had come with him. For a time the danger was imminent that all Medina (the Emigrants of course ex- cepted) might be infected with hypocrisy, if one may call it hypocrisy when for a moment nature and blood asserted themselves against religious discipline and burst its bonds. The younger portion of the community, however, was on the whole enthusiastic for Mohammed ; the hypocrites were for the most part older men, especially heads of families, who found it difficult to put up with the loss of political influence which they were suffering. As chief of their number Ibn Obay is always named, the foremost man of Medina, whom the Khazraj had thought of crown ing as king, before matters were so fundamentally changed by Islam. Mohammed s attitude towards him and the hypocrites in general was that of connivance, thoroughly appropriate here, where political rather than religious affairs were involved, and the question was one less of principle than of power. The founding of the state upon the feeling of fellowship generated by religion, was without question the Prophet s greatest achievement : the community of Medina was the tool, its heroic faith the force, by means of which Islam attained the results which figure so largely in the history of the world. 1 Moslem tradition, however, does not stop to inquire what it was that constituted the inward strength of Islam, but goes on at once to relate what were its outward manifestations. Its information on the subject of the period of Mohammed s sojourn in Medina is given under the title of &quot; the campaigns (maghazi) of the apostle of God.&quot; With a few of the smaller tribes in the neighbourhood of Medina (Johaina, Mozaina, GhiMr, Aslam), and with the Khoza a, Mohammed maintained relations of peace and amity ; benevolent neutrality gradually grew into alliance, and finally union with the commonwealth of Medina. But towards all the rest of Arabia his very principles placed him in an attitude of war. Ever since Islam from being a religion had become a kingdom, he was compelled to vindicate, by means of war against unbelievers, its claims to supremacy ; the conflict of principles had to be settled by the sword, the sole sovereignty of Allah demonstrated 1 The credit of being the founder of the Moslem state cannot be transferred to Omar, but must be left with Mohammed. It was not Omar who created that feeling of oneness which enabled him, for ex ample, suddenly to recall a general like Khalid from his career of victory without eliciting a murmur. The miracle is the &quot; primitive cell &quot; of Medina, not the fact that in course of time success gave it the force of an avalanche.