24 DESTINY DISRUPTED
means "severing of ties." People who joined the community in Medina re-
nounced tribal bonds and accepted this new group as their transcendent
affiliation, and since this community was all about building an alternative
to the Mecca of Mohammed's childhood, it was an epic, devotional social
project.
This social project, which became fully evident in Medina after the
Hijra, is a core element oflslam. Quite definitely, Islam is a religion, but
right from the start (if "the start" is taken as the Hijra) it was also a po-
litical entity. Yes, Islam prescribes a way to be good, and yes, every de-
voted Muslim hopes to get into heaven by following that way, but
instead of focusing on isolated individual salvation, Islam presents a plan
for building a righteous community. Individuals earn their place in
heaven by participating as members of that community and engaging in
the Islamic social project, which is to build a world in which orphans
won't feel abandoned and in which widows won't ever be homeless, hun-
gry, or afraid.
Once Mohammed became the leader of Medina, people came to him
for guidance and judgments about every sort of life question, big or little:
how to discipline children ... how to wash one's hands ... what to con-
sider fair in a contract ... what should be done with a thief ... the list
goes on. Questions that in many other communities would be decided by
a phalanx of separate specialists, such as judges, legislators, political lead-
ers, doctors, teachers, generals, and others, were all in the Prophet's baili-
wick here.
Portions of the Qur'an recited in Mecca consist entirely of language
like this:
When earth is shaken with a mighty shaking
and earth brings forth her burdens,
and Man says, "what ails her?"
upon that day she shall tell her tidings
for that her Lord has inspired her.Upon that day men shall issue in scatterings to see their works
and whoso has done an atom's weight of good shall see it
and whoso has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it.