The timeless universe of symbols, clues, messages and hints points urgently toward a transcendent reality, the more beautiful world our hearts desire. “[M]yth can be described as an independent, closed, symbolically rich narrative about some archetypal character whose story, which takes place in the primeval time of the beginning, represents some universal aspect of the origins or nature of humanity in its relation to the sacred or the divine...myth, by narrating a ‘sacred history,’ stabilizes and orders, or regenerates and gives meaning to, what is seen as the chaos of human, or secular and profane, existence.” (Moye 578-579) The purpose of this essay, then, is to apply the prevailing methods of analyzing the mythic hero archetype to the life of Muhammad.
The first question is what is a hero? “An individual is named the ‘hero’ of a particular incident, which means that he or she had intervened in some critical situation in an extraordinary fashion, acting outside, above, or in disregard to normal patterns of behavior, especially in putting his or her life at risk.” (Miller 1) This definition most certainly applies to Muhammad, as his egalitarian attitude was at odds with the social stratification dominant in seventh-century Arabia. “The hero is the one who, while still alive, knows and represents the claims of the superconsciousness which throughout creation is more or less unconscious. The adventure of the hero represents the moment in his life when he achieved illumination...” (Campbell 259) The revelation of the Qur’an, God’s final message to the people of the world, is the threshold-crossing moment of Muhammad’s adventure and indicative of his special status. “The hero is unique and isolate.” (Miller, 163) Most certainly, in his estimation by the community, both past and present, Muhammad was a man of extraordinary integrity, a virtue bestowed by a lifetime of meditating alone in the desert. “The hero is the man of self-achieved submission.” (Campbell 16) Islam means “submission to God,” and believers say Muhammad, the prophet who received the text, is God’s messenger, following Moses, Jesus and others.
Having thus established Muhammad as a mythic hero, the next question is what is the pattern of heroic adventure? First, the hero is typically separated from normal patterns of family life. “[T]he makers of legend have seldom rested content to regard the world’s great heroes as mere human beings who broke past the horizons that limited their fellows and returned with such boons as any man with equal faith and courage might have found...the tendency has always been to endow the hero with extraordinary powers from the moment of birth, or even the moment of conception.” (Campbell 319) Muhammad ibn ‘Abdallah was born in the Arab desert city of Mecca around 570 CE. Colorful legends of these early years include a tale of his father’s encounter with a stranger who saw a light shining from his forehead the night Muhammad was conceived. His mother allegedly heard a voice proclaim her pregnancy divine, and she supposedly saw a light shining from her swollen belly that allowed her to view castles in far-away lands. The father died before the boy was born, and following tradition, young Muhammad was sent to a wet nurse in the arid desert. The infant purportedly met two men in white robes who removed the heart from his chest, washed it in a golden bowl of snow and disappeared after replacing it free of black slime.
Muhammad’s mother died when he was six. The orphan lived with his grandfather until the old man’s death two years later; then, aged eight, he joined his uncle, Abu Talib, on caravan expeditions that likely traded with the Christian, Zoroastrian and Jewish tribes of the region. On one legendary mission, a Christian monk named Bahira, who studied a secret book that foretold the coming of a new prophet, observed a cloud shielding Muhammad from the scorching sun and invited the group to a meal at the monastery. The monk questioned the nine-year-old baggage guardian. After intense scrutiny, he declared the boy “the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds” (Aslan 21) and commanded the Uncle to protect him.
“The conclusion of the childhood cycle is the return or recognition of the hero, when, after the long period of obscurity, his true character is revealed.” (Campbell 329) In his twenties, Muhammad’s excellent reputation of integrity and expert negotiation earned him the nickname al-Amin, “The Trustworthy” (Denny 50). A prosperous, highly-regarded widowed female merchant, Khadija, hired him to lead a caravan to Syria. Muhammad returned with more than double the anticipated profit, and Khadija, fifteen years his senior, proposed marriage. They were devoted to each other for over twenty-five years until her death.
After cultivating a reputable character, Muhammad is prepared for the heroic journey: “A hero ventures forth from the world of the common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” (Campbell 30) Miller describes the pattern of separation-initiation-return more simply: “Someone extraordinary/Goes or is sent/To search for and retrieve/Something important.” (Miller 162) According to Campbell, the prize won by the hero unlocks the flow of life in the world and regenerates society.
Following this pattern, Muhammad entered his forties around 610 CE, increasingly upset by the immoral exploitation of the orphans, widows, outcasts and poor by the ruling wealthy elite of Mecca. He regularly retreated from the city to Mount Hira, where he would quietly reflect at the desert, a key feature of the heroic biography, where a hero visits “a transitional or liminal topos between the human, profane world and a supernatural zone or Otherworld... [an] obsession of the hero, to find and penetrate into threatening or unknown places and terrains, with the near certainty of encountering alterity in the form either of hostile human, animal or supernatural forces....” (Miller 147-48)
Leading up to the winning of the boon—the revelation of the Qur’an which will purify society according to God’s will—Muhammad’s dreams turned increasingly vivid; he heard the trees and stones wish him peace. Then, one night as he meditated alone in a cave, he experienced the first revelation, here imagined by the scholar Reza Aslan (34):
Suddenly an invisible presence crushed him in its embrace. He struggled to break free but could not move. He was overwhelmed by darkness. The pressure in his chest increased until he could no longer breathe. He felt he was dying. As he surrendered his final breath, light and a terrifying voice washed over him...
“Recite!” the voice commanded.
“What shall I recite?” Muhammad gasped.
The invisible presence tightened its embrace. “Recite!”
What shall I recite?” Muhammad asked again, his chest caving in.
Once more the presence tightened its grip and once more the voice repeated its command. Finally, at the moment when he could bear no more, the pressure in his chest stopped, and in the silence that engulfed the cave, Muhammad felt these words stamped upon his heart:
“For those who have not refused the call, the first encounter of the hero-journey is with a protective figure...who provides the adventurer with amulets against the dragon forces he is about to pass.” (Campbell 69) Terrified from the experience, Muhammad ran to Khadija, who wrapped him in a blanket and held him until he stopped trembling. She sent for her cousin who encouraged Muhammad to embrace his calling to prophecy. Muhammad feared himself insane, especially after an extended period of no further revelations. Muhammad was anxious and uncertain. Then, in disturbing fits, the messages returned to reassure him:Recite in the name of your Lord who created,
Created humanity from a clot of blood.
Recite, for your Lord is the Most Generous One
Who has taught by the pen;
Taught humanity that which it did not know. (96:1-5)
Your Lord’s grace does not make you [Prophet] a madman:“The first problem of the returning hero is to accept as real, after an experience of the soul-satisfying vision of fulfillment, the passing joys and sorrows, banalities and noisy obscenities of life.” (Campbell 218) Muhammad reluctantly shared the earliest revelations with Khadija, his slave and his cousin Abu Bakr. The first messages concentrated on the power, glory and oneness of God; the signs of God; Muhammad’s role as prophet; and the Resurrection and Final Judgment. The initial revelations emphasized the relationship between “the People of the Book”, which extended from Judaism and Christianity to Zoroastrianism and Hinduism.
You will have a never-ending reward--
Truly you have a strong character. (68:2-4)
[Y]our Lord has not forsaken you [Prophet], nor does He hate you, and the future will be better for you than the past; your Lord is sure to give you so much that you will be well satisfied. (93:2-5)
“From obscurity the hero emerges, but the enemy is the great and conspicuous seat of power.” (Campbell 337) The symbolic king is damned in the eyes of hero, the man who misuses the seat of power and “directs or manages a social order from which the hero is self-excluded or which he follows only on his own terms.” (Miller 181) Muhammad’s revelations increasingly stressed general principles of justice, compassion and charity—a call to socio-economic justice that threatened the ruling elite. Muhammad’s growing multitude of companions were abused. In a short period, both Abu Talib and Khadija died, and suddenly lacking protection, Muhammad was stoned in the streets of Mecca.
“Freedom to pass back and forth across the world division, from the perspective of the apparitions of time to that of the causal deep and back—not contaminating the principles of the one with those of the other, yet permitting the mind to know the one by virtue of the other—is the talent of the master.” (Campbell 229) Muhammad achieved mastery in what has become known as “the Night of Ascension”, when the angel Gabriel approached Muhammad as he slept. The angel sliced open the Prophet’s chest; removed his innards, which he washed in a basin of faith; next, after replacing his bowels and sealing the wound, Gabriel led Muhammad in one night from Mecca to Jerusalem, then through the seven heavens into the presence of God, where he met Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the preceding prophets. The Divine Presence revealed paradise and hell, then blessed Muhammad. He returned to Mecca and an much-needed invitation to act as arbitrator in a feud between Arab tribes in nearby Yathrib (Medina). Muhammad and his companions secretly left Mecca in 622 CE shortly before a planned murder attempt.
“Precisely because the hero is easily detached from the societal matrix, he is often as dangerous to the social fabric as he is useful in defending it.” (Miller 164) In Yathrib, Muhammad implemented the “Constitution of Medina”, which served as an administrative framework for ensuring a stable community acting together for mutual benefit and defense. Accordingly, the revelations during this period introduce laws for marriage, commerce, international relations, war and peace.
“The hero is devoted to combat and confrontation: he must be prepared to seek out, or at least never avoid, those aspects of the quest involving ‘blocking’ strategies, threats and finally violence.” (Miller 163) The leaders of Mecca saw the growing Muslim community in Yathrib as a threat, and violence escalated between the two cities. Muhammad led three-hundred men to victory against a large Meccan force in the Battle of Badr, but his over-confident army lost the Battle of Uhud three years later. For two years, skirmishes heightened tension until Mecca sent a force of ten-thousand men to a stalemate that emboldened Muhammad to return to Mecca in 630 CE and purge the 360 idols from the Ka’ba. Muhammad and his Muslim companions emerged as the undeniable power on the Arabian peninsula.
In the first two centuries after Muhammad’s death, several different groups competed for the hearts and minds of the growing Muslim community. The Hadith is a collected body of traditions and reports about the sayings and activities of the Prophet Muhammad to guide Muslims in both individual and collective religious, social, civil and legal life. In the next two centuries, a group of collectors traveled among towns to collect the opinions and deeds of the Prophet that guided the decision-making of the early Muslim community. The Hadith began to be systematically verified for authenticity, using a “science of biography” that traced the chain of transmitters and rejecting questionable reports. It was essential that the transmitter be a moral character of the highest quality before being deemed trustworthy. The Hadith is used to confirm, extend, elaborate, explain and supplement the Qur’an, and the acts of the Prophet are regarded as an inspiration of imitation. Eventually, the Prophet came to be seen as an ideal and perfect human, and by better understanding their Prophet, Muslims can view space, time and the human condition better, perhaps even by creating a paradise on earth in the present age.
Muhammad died without leaving clear instructions on who should follow him as leader of the growing Muslim religion. His cousin Abu Bakr was chosen as the first caliph, the successor to Muhammad. In the decades immediately following the death of the Prophet, leadership passed from Abu to Umar then Uthman, who was murdered during prayer. Finally, Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law, ascended to power. Shi’a believe the caliphate should pass only to direct descendants of Mohammad and refer to themselves as “People of the Prophet.” Ali was not unopposed. Abu’s daughter criticized Ali’s laziness in pursuing Uthman’s killers, and Uthman’s cousin declared himself caliph. Ali’s elder son accepted payment for renouncing the caliphate and was poisoned. The younger son Hussayn died in a battle against Ali’s son Yazid, who claimed the caliphate, but Hussayn’s son survived and continued the Sunni line. Aside from difference in who is the rightful heir to Muhammad, Shi’a are committed to a strict interpretation of the Qur’an and feature a different call to prayer. The basic beliefs are the same: Muslims testify that none has the right to be worshipped but God; Muslims are obligated to pray five times a day, the salat; pay charity, the zakat; make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the hajj; and fast during the month of Ramadan. This is called the five pillars of Islam, the essential practices of a Muslim. Muslims are expected to believe in God, the angels, the revealed books, the prophets, the resurrection and the predestination of all things and events. This is called the six pillars of faith.
The Sufi tradition emerged in the 8th century A.D. and does not require conformity or submission to an uniform outward expression. Sufis encouraged diversity and easily incorporated other religious traditions. Essentially, Sufis cultivate intuitive and emotional faculties considered dormant until activated by guided training. Sufis aim at dispersing the illusion of separation in favor of an undifferentiated unity with God through a renunciation of the world and abandonment of the transient pleasures of life. The word sufi strictly applies to advanced mystics, those qualified to be teachers to beginners, a relationship . Mutasawwif means “novice,” one who is learning. A mustawif is one who seeks admiration as a seeker of spiritual truth but is actually a poser or a phony. In its original form, Sufism was an elite spiritual quest concerned with following God in a sincere manner, living a simple, unadorned life without ostentation, self-righteousness or excessive piety. Sufis claim there is nothing but God and that nothing exists apart from God, the only reality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abdel Haleem, M.A.S. The Qur’an. Oxford University Press; Oxford, 2005.
Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Qur’an: Text, Translation and Commentary. Elmhurst: Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an Inc, 2005.
Aslan, Reza. No god but God. New York: Random House, 2006.
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With A Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1949.
Carlson, Peter. "History 007: World Religions – Lecture Notes." Los Angeles Valley College. Valley Glen, California. Spring 2006.
Denny, Frederick Mathewson. An Introduction to Islam, Third Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc, 2006.
Ernst, Carl W. Following Muhammad. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions – Sixth Edition. Prentice-Hall; Upper Saddle River, 2005.
Miller, Dean A., The Epic Hero. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2000.
Moye, Richard H., “In The Beginning: Myth And History In Genesis And Exodus.” Journal of Biblical Literature; Winter90, Vol. 109 Issue 4, p577, 22pp.
Saeed, Abdullah. Islamic Thought. New York: Routledge, 2006.