The story of shepherd bringing peace into Arabian Peninsula
or The Rise of Islam
Being the part of an honored family, Muhammad is still working as an ordinary shepherd person in the Mecca of 600s A.D. The prevalence of the bad mores, lust and squander, inequality of women and slaves, and avarice have been contradicting his view on how the life should be. Especially, the existence of paganism (believe in many gods) had been bothering him the most. Regardless of his age (40 years) Muhammad frequently climbs on mountains for a few days to give the ideas about a "true life" thought, demonstrating the similarity of a widespread practice of the modern world religions - asceticism. In both cases, the purpose of the solitude life far away from the urban area is to the reorganization of mind in terms of psychology and focus solely on one idea. In the film named "The Message", directed by Mustapha Akkad in 1976, the rise of Islam begins from the message of God through his angel, Gabriel, to Muhammad. This puts him into a great shock since now he is considered as a Prophet of religion according to the words from the angel. In the following movie review, the analysis will be made by taking into consideration the context of the period (600s). In addition, the attempt to find the features of the movie character that enabled the rise of a religion based on the provided information is going to be evaluated and the corresponding conclusion with a personal opinion will be reached.
As it was a case in other world religions, followers of the early Islamic period had suffered from local people, especially the state leaders. Rejection of polytheism by Muslims threatened local leaders since the uncontrolled civilians affected their economic profits from the annual pilgrimage of 360 gods by distant travelers. Even though, the issues of the following ancestor believe considered important, the main emphasis was the financial part as the growth of Muslims increased rapidly. Muhammad was known for his humanistic features, making the teachings and values widely accepted by relatives and close friends. Believe in true mores of life such as equal rights of women and men (the story of first women martyr), independence of sole (Bilal's disobedience), generosity (Abu Bakr's payments for releasing tortured slaves), and ethical behavior (rules restricting hurting children/women/elderly as a purpose of minimizing violence).
Another character that enabled to the Prophet to be the Top 1 among the most influential persons in a history was the wisdom. According to the Michael H. Hart "he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels", 3-5 being Jesus, Buddha, and Confucius (Hart, M. 2001). The movie shows that before "The Message" from God, Muhammad was an illiterate person, thus he didn't learn special classes about politics, leadership, and war strategy. Nevertheless, he wisely allocates the soldiers during Badr conflicts and finds advantages of Peace Treaty which eventually leads to the conquest of Mecca. The mercy on atrocities of some characters after Mecca Conquest could be noted as a part of the wise decision as well, since the further spread of Islam to Vyzantium, Egypt, Persia, Abyssinia, and other strongest powers at the time. For instance, the acceptance of the most violent enemy in Badr conflict, Salah ad-Din, results in future conquests of Egypt and Syria.
Before Hegira to Medina the movie demonstrates kindness and sacrifice of Prophet to the followers. During years of great suffer after forced exile from Mecca Muhammad, being relatively wealthy person after marriage with Hatidja (she was one of the most richest person in the city), gives all savings to people, hides in caves during Hegira (letting Muslims escape victimization by enemies), and actively involves in the construction of first mosque. This feature of the character proves his sincere intention to the people, rejecting any suggestions about money/comfort/rest regardless of his age at the time (he was about 60 years old). The strength of the first followers' faith after Muhammad death, demonstrated that the teachings about one God have completely replaced previous polytheism.
Collectively, the above discussions of Muhammad character bring an idea of what enabled him to be successful in a dramatic change of Arabian Peninsula from "dark period" to "golden years of advancement" and eventually spread of Islam to the world. Noteworthy to mention that the movie was the only representation of the history rather than the demonstration of all facts. Even though the content has been approved by Al-Azhar University, the most authoritative institute in Islamic studies, more data from historic studies are needed for the proper conclusion. The movie clearly shows the tight connection of the local culture to the beliefs of people, once more emphasizing the importance of context study approach. Overall, The Message movie is a good source to learn about the rise of Islam in the 7th century and further comparison with the other Abrahamic religions.
Reference
1. Hart, M. (2001). The 100: A Ranking of The Most Influential Persons In History. New York, NY: Citadel Press/Kensington Pub.
Being the part of an honored family, Muhammad is still working as an ordinary shepherd person in the Mecca of 600s A.D. The prevalence of the bad mores, lust and squander, inequality of women and slaves, and avarice have been contradicting his view on how the life should be. Especially, the existence of paganism (believe in many gods) had been bothering him the most. Regardless of his age (40 years) Muhammad frequently climbs on mountains for a few days to give the ideas about a "true life" thought, demonstrating the similarity of a widespread practice of the modern world religions - asceticism. In both cases, the purpose of the solitude life far away from the urban area is to the reorganization of mind in terms of psychology and focus solely on one idea. In the film named "The Message", directed by Mustapha Akkad in 1976, the rise of Islam begins from the message of God through his angel, Gabriel, to Muhammad. This puts him into a great shock since now he is considered as a Prophet of religion according to the words from the angel. In the following movie review, the analysis will be made by taking into consideration the context of the period (600s). In addition, the attempt to find the features of the movie character that enabled the rise of a religion based on the provided information is going to be evaluated and the corresponding conclusion with a personal opinion will be reached.
As it was a case in other world religions, followers of the early Islamic period had suffered from local people, especially the state leaders. Rejection of polytheism by Muslims threatened local leaders since the uncontrolled civilians affected their economic profits from the annual pilgrimage of 360 gods by distant travelers. Even though, the issues of the following ancestor believe considered important, the main emphasis was the financial part as the growth of Muslims increased rapidly. Muhammad was known for his humanistic features, making the teachings and values widely accepted by relatives and close friends. Believe in true mores of life such as equal rights of women and men (the story of first women martyr), independence of sole (Bilal's disobedience), generosity (Abu Bakr's payments for releasing tortured slaves), and ethical behavior (rules restricting hurting children/women/elderly as a purpose of minimizing violence).
Another character that enabled to the Prophet to be the Top 1 among the most influential persons in a history was the wisdom. According to the Michael H. Hart "he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels", 3-5 being Jesus, Buddha, and Confucius (Hart, M. 2001). The movie shows that before "The Message" from God, Muhammad was an illiterate person, thus he didn't learn special classes about politics, leadership, and war strategy. Nevertheless, he wisely allocates the soldiers during Badr conflicts and finds advantages of Peace Treaty which eventually leads to the conquest of Mecca. The mercy on atrocities of some characters after Mecca Conquest could be noted as a part of the wise decision as well, since the further spread of Islam to Vyzantium, Egypt, Persia, Abyssinia, and other strongest powers at the time. For instance, the acceptance of the most violent enemy in Badr conflict, Salah ad-Din, results in future conquests of Egypt and Syria.
Before Hegira to Medina the movie demonstrates kindness and sacrifice of Prophet to the followers. During years of great suffer after forced exile from Mecca Muhammad, being relatively wealthy person after marriage with Hatidja (she was one of the most richest person in the city), gives all savings to people, hides in caves during Hegira (letting Muslims escape victimization by enemies), and actively involves in the construction of first mosque. This feature of the character proves his sincere intention to the people, rejecting any suggestions about money/comfort/rest regardless of his age at the time (he was about 60 years old). The strength of the first followers' faith after Muhammad death, demonstrated that the teachings about one God have completely replaced previous polytheism.
Collectively, the above discussions of Muhammad character bring an idea of what enabled him to be successful in a dramatic change of Arabian Peninsula from "dark period" to "golden years of advancement" and eventually spread of Islam to the world. Noteworthy to mention that the movie was the only representation of the history rather than the demonstration of all facts. Even though the content has been approved by Al-Azhar University, the most authoritative institute in Islamic studies, more data from historic studies are needed for the proper conclusion. The movie clearly shows the tight connection of the local culture to the beliefs of people, once more emphasizing the importance of context study approach. Overall, The Message movie is a good source to learn about the rise of Islam in the 7th century and further comparison with the other Abrahamic religions.
Reference
1. Hart, M. (2001). The 100: A Ranking of The Most Influential Persons In History. New York, NY: Citadel Press/Kensington Pub.