42 • 3 THE PROPHET OF MECCAobservant Jews and sincere Christians do not believe, as Muslims must,
that Muhammad was obeying God's commands as revealed to him by the
Angel Gabriel.
The life of any famous person becomes a lens or mirror by which other
people, individually or in groups, view themselves and the world. The
biographer or the historian stresses some facts and omits or downplays
others. The reader seizes upon a few points and expands them to fit a pre¬
conceived image. How, then, to judge Muhammad? Surely he was a kind
and sincere man, more urban than urbane (he could not tolerate poets'
mockery, for instance), who came to have an overwhelming faith in God
and in himself as God's final messenger. As such, he had to warn the Arabs
and other people about the impending Judgment Day and to form the
umma, a religious community, within which Muslim believers could best
prepare themselves for that dread occasion. Yet he had a sense of humor,
saying, "Let a man answer to me for what waggeth between his jaws, and
what between his legs, and I'll answer to him for Paradise." He let his
grandsons climb on his back even while prostrating himself in worship. He
must have been a skilled political and military tactician, for who else has
ever managed to unite the Arabs? He took terrible chances when he ac¬
cepted his prophetic mission and forsook his home city for an unknown
future. The power that he gained came later, and the fame that he earned
would not be evident until after his death. But what you conclude about
Muhammad's life will depend on how well you understand Islam, the reli¬
gion to which he devoted his life. We provide the basic points in Chapter 4.