108 No god but God
leader in Arabia. Ironically, the movement that had begun as an
attempt to reclaim the tribal ethic of Arabia’s nomadic past had, in
many ways, struck the final dagger into the traditional tribal system.
Soon there will be only the Muslim community, the enemies of the
Muslim community (including the Byzantine and Sasanian empires),
the client tribes of the Muslim community, and the dhimmi (Chris-
tians, Jews, and other non-Muslims, protected by the Muslim com-
munity). Yet despite the enormous power that accompanied his defeat
of the Quraysh, Muhammad refused to replace the Meccan aristoc-
racy with a Muslim monarchy; he would be the Keeper of the Keys,
but he would not be the King of Mecca. Thus, once the administrative
affairs had been settled and delegations—both military and diplo-
matic—dispatched to inform the rest of the Arab tribes of the new
political order in the Hijaz, Muhammad did something completely
unexpected: he went back home to Medina.
Muhammad’s return to Medina was meant to acknowledge the
Ansar, who had provided him with refuge and protection when no one
else would. But it was also a statement to the entire community that
while Mecca was now the heart of Islam, Medina would forever be
its soul.
It is in Medina that deputations will gather from all over the
Peninsula with their pledge that “there is no god but God” (though
for many, this oath is addressed not so much to God as to Muham-
mad). It is in Medina that the pillars of the Muslim faith and the foun-
dations of Muslim government will be constructed and debated. And
it is in Medina that the Prophet will breathe his last.
But now, the sight of Muhammad standing at the entrance of the
mosque, a smile wrinkling his bronzed face, dispels all those anxious
rumors about his health. He looks lean, but surprisingly hearty for a
man of his age. The long back hair he keeps twisted into plaits is thin
and silver. His back bows a bit and his shoulders droop. But his face is
as radiant as ever, and his eyes still smolder with the light of God.
When Abu Bakr catches sight of Muhammad shuffling between
the seated bodies, grasping the shoulders of friends for support, he
immediately rises from the minbar—the elevated seat that serves as
the pulpit in mosques—to allow the Prophet to take his rightful place
at the head of the congregation. But Muhammad signals to his old