The significant role played by Prophet Muhammad in the daily lives of Muslims is mainly ignored by Western scholars. Through artistic expressions, texts, and examination of the Muslim religious execution, Schimmel shows the soft side of Islamic religious traditions as practiced and experienced in the Islamic world. She views the adoration of Muhammad as being parallel to other religions. Annemarie Schimmel uses different Islamic languages to enlighten the central role of Prophet Mohammad in Muslims’ existence, poetry, and mystical thoughts.
Schimmel assumes that the pre-Islamic religion participated in the worship of trees, stones, and other objects. She believes the ancient Arabs were content beyond the cult of worshipping things and had a more general belief in an all-pervading destiny. Another argument worthy of mentioning, although predictable from Western academics, is Schimmel’s assertion that various practices and ideas within the Islamic religion only became certified based on the time they were written down or recorded. For instance, a hadith in Bukhari is only deemed valid based on the time Bukhari wrote it, thus either disregarding it or having doubts about the idea of the sincerity of Islamic oral religious traditions.
She introduces a contrast between Sufism and what she terms ‘orthodox’ Islam in her work. Schimmel uses the concept of Sufism as the provision of the primary materials on which the book is based, raising the argument on the definition of ‘orthodoxy’ based on the Islam religion. Still, the same concept in the framework of this book is compatible with the idea of ‘puritan’ or conservative. The reading’s strength is that Schimmel presents a properly examined and exhaustive work. Schimmel’s narrative depicts the importance of the Prophet Mohammad in Muslim traditions. Schimmel also succeeds in explaining the unorthodox and more extreme esoteric sentiments that have been espoused about Prophet Mohammad. She goes to the extent of mentioning a claim that has been in existence for years that the prophet was Allah.
The reading relates to the biblical accounts in the sense that Muhammad’s revelations talk about God. According to Schimmel, the declarations indicate that God is the only one, He is the one who created the world, and it is Him alone who can judge it. In the Genesis book of creation, God sequentially creates the universe. According to Mohammad, it is the role of God to call the human race before His discernment except if they abide by the orders of loving their neighbors and participating in honest deals (Schimmel). These guidelines are also accurate in the bible, where the greatest commandment is to love one another. Muhammad’s teachings were not that convincing based on Meccan’s perceptions, especially the ideology of the resurrection of the dead. In the scriptures, Jesus’ teachings were perceived as a threat to the Roman government, and he was rejected in Nazareth, His hometown.
After the readings, the questions that come into mind are why there exists much hate between Christians and Muslims. Why is it hard for Westerners to accept and acknowledge Muslims’ religious traditions that are passed orally? Schimmel states that the Jews in Medina refused to accept Mohammad’s teachings, and in return, his attitude towards the Jewish community hardened. These questions can only be answered through thorough examinations of the two religions. The issues between Christians and Muslims can be solved by both parties learning each other’s faith. The learning process can aid both beliefs in understanding that their teachings are aligned because both talks about a human race savior sent by God to guide people in living according to His will.
Work Cited
Schimmel, Annemarie. And Muhammad is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety. The University Of North Carolina, 2014.