0:00:05 > 0:00:111,400 years ago, a man born here in Mecca, in Saudi Arabia,
0:00:11 > 0:00:13changed the course of world history.
0:00:13 > 0:00:19If you had to rate the top people in the history of the world as leaders,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21the name of Muhammad would be in the top three.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26Here we have a man who began a mission. He gave light to the world.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31For one and a half billion Muslims, he is the last and greatest
0:00:31 > 0:00:34of that long line of prophets who've brought the word of God to humanity.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36He was not just a spiritual genius
0:00:36 > 0:00:40but he also had political gifts of a very high order.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44He laid the foundations for a religion, Islam,
0:00:44 > 0:00:48that after his death developed a culture and civilisation that spread
0:00:48 > 0:00:53around the world and inspired some of the most beautiful architecture.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55But today, Islam is at the very heart
0:00:55 > 0:00:58of the conflict that defines our world,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00and Muhammad's name
0:01:00 > 0:01:04is associated with some of the most appalling acts of terrorism
0:01:04 > 0:01:05the world has ever seen.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Osama Bin Laden and others who have committed acts of Jihad terrorism,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13consistently invoke the Qur'an
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and Muhammad's example to justify what they are doing.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Obedience to one true God, Allah, and follow in the footsteps
0:01:19 > 0:01:22of the final Prophet and messenger, Muhammad.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Outside of the Islamic world
0:01:24 > 0:01:26almost nothing is known about Muhammad,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29whereas for Muslims he is the ultimate role model
0:01:29 > 0:01:32and his life is known in every detail.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34So who was he? What was his message?
0:01:34 > 0:01:37And why are so many people, Muslims and non-Muslims,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39divided over his legacy?
0:01:39 > 0:01:42In this groundbreaking series, I will explore
0:01:42 > 0:01:45the many complexities of his life story...
0:01:45 > 0:01:49about the Revelations he is said to have received from God,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52about his many wives, about his relations with
0:01:52 > 0:01:56the Jews of Arabia, about his use of war and peace
0:01:56 > 0:02:01and about the laws that he enacted when he set up his own state.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04I want to examine his life and times and understand
0:02:04 > 0:02:06how they still affect today's world,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and whether they are a force for good or evil.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14I want to uncover the real Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16peace be upon him.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Muhammad was born in Mecca in the year 570
0:02:28 > 0:02:32into the ruling tribe of the city, the Quraysh.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36At the age of 40, according to Muslim tradition,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40he received a blinding revelation from God, the first of many
0:02:40 > 0:02:44that would change not just his life, but the history of the world.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50This is THE defining moment in Muhammad's life.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53And today, for the one and a half billion people
0:02:53 > 0:02:55all around the world who follow him,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58completely accepting his revelation
0:02:58 > 0:03:00defines what it means to be a Muslim.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Muhammad's Revelations would become the Sacred Text of Islam
0:03:08 > 0:03:11the Qur'an literally 'the recitation'.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15The Orthodox Muslim position is that it is God himself
0:03:15 > 0:03:17who was the author of the Qur'an
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and Muhammad was just the person to whom it was first revealed.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27When he started preaching, Muhammad had quickly attracted
0:03:27 > 0:03:31a small band of followers, but they were now under threat of death
0:03:31 > 0:03:34from the rulers of Mecca who controlled the Ka'aba,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37a shrine that housed the many Gods of Arabia.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42They feared that Muhammad's message that there was only one true God,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45would destroy the importance of the Ka'aba
0:03:45 > 0:03:49and in turn lead to Mecca's economic and political ruin.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55By 620, Muhammad had also just lost two of his greatest supporters,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58his loyal wife of 25 years, Khadija,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02and his clan protector, his uncle Abu Talib.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05He had reached one of the lowest points of his life.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08But it was at this moment that he had another extraordinary
0:04:08 > 0:04:12spiritual experience that would transform his life.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15According to Muslim tradition, one night,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18after falling asleep at the Ka'aba in Mecca,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Muhammad was transported on a metaphysical journey to a place
0:04:22 > 0:04:24hundreds of miles north,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29a city that is also holy to Christians and Jews - Jerusalem.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34What would become known as Muhammad's Night Journey
0:04:34 > 0:04:38would establish Jerusalem in Muslim eyes as a sacred city,
0:04:38 > 0:04:43a place of devotion and pilgrimage, second only to Mecca and Medina.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46It's one of the main reasons why today,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Jerusalem is at the heart of the Middle Eastern conflict.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58The conflict between Israeli and the Palestinians is a struggle
0:04:58 > 0:05:02between two peoples over the same piece of land.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04But why is it that this issue
0:05:04 > 0:05:08has become such a defining cause across the Muslim world,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12and why is it that the call for the liberation of Jerusalem,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15a city 800 miles from Muhammad's birth place,
0:05:15 > 0:05:20has become such a rallying cry for so many Muslims?
0:05:21 > 0:05:26- In TRANSLATION:- Jerusalem is very important to Muslims
0:05:26 > 0:05:28because it represents
0:05:28 > 0:05:30a part of our creed and faith.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35The first event was the Night Journey
0:05:35 > 0:05:37and Ascension to Heaven -
0:05:37 > 0:05:40when God sent Muhammad to his night journey
0:05:40 > 0:05:42from Mecca to Jerusalem
0:05:42 > 0:05:47and ascended him from Jerusalem to the heavens.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad is awoken during the night
0:05:52 > 0:05:56by the Angel Gabriel who lifts him up onto a winged horse
0:05:56 > 0:05:59called al-Buraq, and he is then miraculously
0:05:59 > 0:06:03transported across the desert to Jerusalem.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07And it's from this point that Muhammad begins
0:06:07 > 0:06:08one of the most powerful
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and extraordinary experiences of his life.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18He's taken on a journey were he meets all the past prophets
0:06:18 > 0:06:21from Abraham to Moses and even Jesus,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24and he prays with all of the prophets.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27He is then offered water, wine or milk to drink
0:06:27 > 0:06:28and he chooses milk,
0:06:28 > 0:06:33in order to signify the middle path he is trying to steer through life.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37And then, a celestial ladder appears and Muhammad begins
0:06:37 > 0:06:41a mystical ascent through the seven heavens where he is eventually
0:06:41 > 0:06:47taken to the heavenly throne itself and is spoken to by God himself.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59To modern, rational ears, it's an incredible story,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02but for Muslims, it is one of the most important events
0:07:02 > 0:07:04in Muhammad's life. Whether it can be seen
0:07:04 > 0:07:08as a literal physical journey or a spiritual experience,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12has divided believers and non-believers alike.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18- IN TRANSLATION:- This was a miracle.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and the miracle is part of the faith.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24It does not have any scientific explanation
0:07:24 > 0:07:26and it is against what is normal.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30We believe it because it is said in the Qur'an
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and in the honourable quotes of the Prophet.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I think very deeply that it was a spiritual journey
0:07:40 > 0:07:45and the meaning of it is in fact that he went to Jerusalem
0:07:45 > 0:07:49and then he went very close to the one God, the creator.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58This is actually the shrine inside the rock which is covered by
0:07:58 > 0:08:02the famous gold dome Mosque known as the Dome of the Rock.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05And it's exactly from this point where the Prophet Muhammad
0:08:05 > 0:08:08is said to have gone on his night journey.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Now for some people, it was and is, a literal physical journey
0:08:13 > 0:08:15in which the Prophet Muhammad travelled,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17in the blink of an eye, from Mecca,
0:08:17 > 0:08:22800 miles away, all the way here to Jerusalem, but for other people
0:08:22 > 0:08:26the Night Journey is actually symbolic, it's a spiritual journey,
0:08:26 > 0:08:31in which the Prophet's soul enters a new realm of divine revelation.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38It was highly important, symbolically,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42because in this night journey, the Prophet Muhammad leads
0:08:42 > 0:08:47Moses, Abraham, Noah, Jesus, Jacob, all the prophets, he leads them
0:08:47 > 0:08:53in prayer and God speaks with Muhammad. And in this discourse,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56God orders upon the Prophet and upon all the Muslims
0:08:56 > 0:08:59the single most important action
0:08:59 > 0:09:04that a Muslim has to perform - the five daily prayers.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10You look for it in the Qur'an
0:09:10 > 0:09:12and you find three little mentions,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16but the whole story about the Prophet going, flying on al-Buraq,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20going to meet the previous prophets, going to Jerusalem, being given
0:09:20 > 0:09:23instructions about the five daily prayers,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26all of this journey to heaven, journey to the glimpse
0:09:26 > 0:09:28of the edge of the uttermost throne of God
0:09:28 > 0:09:33has all been added on later to build up this sort of wonderful,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36cosmological gift to the Islamic world, but it's not in the Qur'an.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43The history of religion is embellishment and interpretation.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45How many times should it be in the Qur'an?
0:09:45 > 0:09:48That it is in the Qur'an is what is significant.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Muhammad's Night Journey to Jerusalem
0:09:51 > 0:09:55and his Ascension to Heaven when he meets all the past prophets
0:09:55 > 0:09:58dating back to Abraham, so familiar to Jews and Christians,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01is a crucial moment in his life.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03For Muslims, it is a confirmation,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06an acceptance by these other prophets,
0:10:06 > 0:10:11and even God himself, that Muhammad is the last in the long line of men
0:10:11 > 0:10:14who have brought the word of God to humanity, and that Islam
0:10:14 > 0:10:18and its followers were also a part of the ancient Abrahamic tradition.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It was also an indication that Muhammad was now prepared to leave
0:10:23 > 0:10:28his tribal past behind him and bring his message to the wider world.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33The Prophet's Night Journey goes away from tribalism,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37it finishes not with the tribe but with an embrace of humanity
0:10:37 > 0:10:39and an abandonment
0:10:39 > 0:10:42of the tribal spirit and a reaching out to others.
0:10:42 > 0:10:43That's the theological meaning
0:10:43 > 0:10:46of what's happening.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Because of what happened just behind me,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Jerusalem is considered by Muslims
0:10:51 > 0:10:56to be the third holiest shrine in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01And because this city continues to be under Israeli control,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04that's why Jerusalem continues to be such a potent symbol
0:11:04 > 0:11:08for Muslims around the world.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Muhammad's Night Journey was a seminal moment.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27It marked the ending of one period of his life
0:11:27 > 0:11:29and the beginning of another.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33He was about to begin a new and even more dangerously radical phase
0:11:33 > 0:11:38of his mission in which he would abandon his tribal life completely.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Rather than trying to defeat the Quraysh in Mecca,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47he would leave the city and start again somewhere else.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00One day, in a place here, which used to be a small oasis,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Muhammad met a group of men from the town of Yathrib,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07which is about 15 days' camel ride to the north.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10The men told Muhammad about the warfare and the constant feuding
0:12:10 > 0:12:14that affected their community. Muhammad listened to them
0:12:14 > 0:12:18and for his part, he told them about his mission about the unity of God,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21about the importance of living a virtuous live
0:12:21 > 0:12:22and of the rewards of Heaven.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Now importantly, the men sat
0:12:25 > 0:12:28and were even excited by what Muhammad had to say.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32And this was important, because it was completely different to
0:12:32 > 0:12:36the reaction that Muhammad was used to getting in Mecca.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40The meeting ended with the six men from Yathrib converting to Islam
0:12:40 > 0:12:43and agreeing to meet Muhammad once again.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Conditions had now got so bad in Mecca for Muhammad,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49he felt that he had no choice
0:12:49 > 0:12:52but to get his followers to do the unthinkable,
0:12:52 > 0:12:57to abandon the city of their birth for Yathrib and an uncertain future
0:12:57 > 0:13:01in a place where they would live without any clan protection.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03The community in Yathrib
0:13:03 > 0:13:05was made up of a number of different tribes,
0:13:05 > 0:13:10some of them were pagan, the Aws and Khazraj, some of them were Jewish.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12There were three main Jewish tribes.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15And there was a lot of disagreement in fact
0:13:15 > 0:13:18in Yathrib between the communities about how they wanted to do things,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21there was sort of a lot of jostling for power and prestige
0:13:21 > 0:13:23and they felt that they needed a mediator.
0:13:23 > 0:13:29And they had heard about Muhammad who at that time was a preacher in Mecca,
0:13:29 > 0:13:35growing reputation in that part of the peninsula and perceived in him
0:13:35 > 0:13:38someone who could perhaps mediate in their disputes
0:13:38 > 0:13:40and be a sort of neutral arbiter
0:13:40 > 0:13:44and come and help them resolve the problems within Yathrib.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49It wasn't till the following year that an even bigger delegation
0:13:49 > 0:13:51came all the way from Yathrib
0:13:51 > 0:13:54seeking out another meeting with the Prophet Muhammad. And this time
0:13:54 > 0:13:57they held it under cover of darkness and in secret,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59and it led to a unity between the two,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03between the Prophet Muhammad and the community in Yathrib,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07"I am of you and you are of me," Muhammad said.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Now this agreement, it's important to bear in mind,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13was something really new, something that was a radical departure
0:14:13 > 0:14:16because it wasn't based on clan alliances,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19on family or on tribal allegiances.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22It was based on something far more universal
0:14:22 > 0:14:26that went way beyond kinship.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32It is an act of extraordinary daring,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35audacity and genius in a sense.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39In Arabia at this time it was absolutely unheard of
0:14:39 > 0:14:44to leave your tribe, your blood group, permanently,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48and take up permanent residence with another.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53It was blasphemy. The sacred tribe
0:14:53 > 0:14:56was the most, the absolute value in Arabia,
0:14:56 > 0:15:01and for him to leave it like that
0:15:01 > 0:15:05and create a new kind of community, an 'Ummah',
0:15:05 > 0:15:11a community based on ideology rather than relationship, was unheard of.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19If the rulers of Mecca got wind of Muhammad's plans,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21the consequences could be disastrous.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23So Muhammad now had to get his followers out of the city
0:15:23 > 0:15:26without alerting the Quraysh.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Over the next few months,
0:15:28 > 0:15:32a few of Muhammad's companions left the city each night,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34so as not to arouse any suspicions
0:15:34 > 0:15:36until finally only a handful were left,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38including his faithful companion
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Abu Bakr, his young cousin Ali and Muhammad himself.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Meanwhile, the Quraysh themselves had been planning this time
0:15:50 > 0:15:53to assassinate Muhammad himself.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57The idea was that one member of each of Mecca's clans
0:15:57 > 0:15:59would stab Muhammad at the same time,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03making it impossible for Muhammad's own clan to revenge his death
0:16:03 > 0:16:07as too many people would have been involved.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10One night, the group surrounded his house
0:16:10 > 0:16:14and believing they saw someone sleeping in Muhammad's bedroom,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17the assassins with their daggers drawn rushed into his bedroom.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22But instead they found his young cousin Ali asleep in his place.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23Muhammad had fled.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29He's a very canny man.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32They were going to kill him, and this assassination plot
0:16:32 > 0:16:36that he escaped from and goes on a wonderful journey with Abu Bakr.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38The thing I like is that he made certain
0:16:38 > 0:16:41that everybody paid their debts. They were leaving Mecca
0:16:41 > 0:16:44but every debt had to be fulfilled,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48there's an underlying Arabic code of honour feeding the division.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55Along with Abu Bakr, Muhammad had slipped out of Mecca unnoticed.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59He was now en route to his new home in Yathrib.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Even though Muhammad had fled,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06the Meccans were really determined to pursue him
0:17:06 > 0:17:09and within hours they were hot on his trail
0:17:09 > 0:17:13and they chased him all the way through the punishing, steep climb
0:17:13 > 0:17:15on the foothills of Mount Thawr.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18But by the time they reached the top, there was no Muhammad
0:17:18 > 0:17:20and there was none of his footprints.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Eventually the Meccans just had to give up
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and go all the way back down to Mecca.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30But all this while, unknown to them,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Muhammad and his companion, Abu Bakr,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36had been hiding in a cave at the top of Mount Thawr.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38And when the coast was clear,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42they just simply continued on their journey towards Yathrib.
0:17:47 > 0:17:53It was now 622 AD and Muhammad was in his early fifties.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55He had grown up in Mecca as an orphan.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58He had experienced some of the wider world
0:17:58 > 0:18:01with his uncle on many caravan trading trips.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03He been married and had a family.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06He had received a series of divine revelations,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09but had been rejected by his own tribe.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14For over ten years, he and his small band of about 200 followers
0:18:14 > 0:18:18had suffered extreme humiliation and persecution.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Finally, with people plotting to assassinate him,
0:18:21 > 0:18:27he had fled his home, to a place completely unknown to him.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29This event became known as the Hijrah,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32literally a 'cutting off' from the past.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39There was now no way back for Muhammad and his new movement.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48He went as a preacher.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50He didn't go as a conqueror, they said, "Come here
0:18:50 > 0:18:54"and be our judge. We're not going to accept you as prophet of god,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57"we'll accept you as a prophet. A revered man whose word we trust."
0:18:57 > 0:18:59He didn't come with a conquering army,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03he came as a refugee as an exile, as a dignified man of respect.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Muhammad was preaching Islam
0:19:05 > 0:19:09in Mecca for 13 years.
0:19:09 > 0:19:15He only had 150 followers, max.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17He was a very good calculator, he knew
0:19:17 > 0:19:21if he fought them from inside Mecca he was going to lose.
0:19:21 > 0:19:28He left at the right time because he wanted to expand his message
0:19:28 > 0:19:34and he went to the perfect location where he can actually hurt
0:19:34 > 0:19:39the Mecca people and conquer Mecca from outside, not from inside.
0:19:41 > 0:19:47The Hijrah, or migration from Mecca to Yathrib, is the turning point,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49if you like, in Muhammad's life.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53The Hijrah is so important in Muhammad's life
0:19:53 > 0:19:56and the history of Islam itself, that the year in which it took place
0:19:56 > 0:20:00is the starting point for the traditional Islamic calendar.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05All Islamic religious festivals and events are still fixed
0:20:05 > 0:20:06using this calendar,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10dating back to the moment Muhammad left Mecca in 622 AD.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17I think it's of great theological significance that this marks
0:20:17 > 0:20:20the beginning of the Muslim era.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24The Muslim era does not begin as the Christian era with the birth
0:20:24 > 0:20:28of the Prophet but with the date of the Hijrah.
0:20:28 > 0:20:35This break with the tribal spirit is being undertaken.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40When Muhammad and his followers first came here,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44what they found was nothing like the city of Mecca they had left.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Yathrib, as it was then known, was basically a large oasis,
0:20:47 > 0:20:52a series of villages each village dominated by a different tribe.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55It was a situation that inevitably led to
0:20:55 > 0:20:57intense rivalries and conflicts.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Yathrib would later have its name changed in honour of Muhammad.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07It became known as Madinah-tun-Nabi, The City Of The Prophet,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09or Medina for short.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12They arrived with nothing.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And they immediately had to integrate themselves
0:21:15 > 0:21:17from being a great trading Meccan aristocracy,
0:21:17 > 0:21:21to being poor, penniless, wearing the rags of their clothing
0:21:21 > 0:21:25in a very, very wealthy oasis full of its own wealth hierarchies.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29They ground corn, they wove mats and they fitted in.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34When Muhammad came to Medina what kind of a place was Medina?
0:21:34 > 0:21:37OK, Medina at that time was not a complete city,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40it was what you call sub communities...
0:21:40 > 0:21:43A collection of different tribes and communities?
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Yes, the centre of Medina was where the Prophet
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- and the main of al'Ansars. - The followers.- The people of Medina,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52and then you have people in Quba,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56you have people in Al-Qiblatain and then you have the Jew -
0:21:56 > 0:22:00east of Medina - and also in the south of Medina, so you have tribes
0:22:00 > 0:22:02surrounding Medina
0:22:02 > 0:22:04but as a general they call it Medina.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11Muhammad's new-found freedom allowed him to build his own mosque.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16It became almost an extension of his own home.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Tell me about when the Prophet Muhammad
0:22:18 > 0:22:20built his first mosque here in Medina.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24He found the land in the centre of Medina and he built this mosque.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27But this mosque, the model that you have here,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30is very different from the one that is in Medina now
0:22:30 > 0:22:33which is one of the biggest and the grandest mosques in the world,
0:22:33 > 0:22:34this is very simple.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39Yeah, because at that time, try to imagine talking about 14 centuries
0:22:39 > 0:22:44before, the building was very simple, about 55 metre by 35 metre,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48but it was similar to the building around Medina which was built
0:22:48 > 0:22:52by mud and also stones in foundation
0:22:52 > 0:22:55and palm trees so they can cover part of the mosque
0:22:55 > 0:22:58and they make an open area in the back of the mosque.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Now, that same mosque has been transformed into this,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06one of the biggest in the world, able to hold
0:23:06 > 0:23:09up to half a million worshippers at any one time.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Muhammad used his mosque like a community centre.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15He not only preached here,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19but also made it his office where he could settle disputes,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23hold negotiations and have public debates.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Everyone was free to enter and speak with him -
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Jews, Christians, non-believers, even slaves.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Above all, he and his followers could now come to the Mosque
0:23:33 > 0:23:35and worship in relative peace.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38But they faced one practical problem.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44There was no effective means to tell people when it was time to pray.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49According to tradition, one day, the Prophet Muhammad gathered
0:23:49 > 0:23:53everyone here in the courtyard of his mosque where they wanted
0:23:53 > 0:23:56to discuss how the faithful should be called to prayer.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Should it be like the Christians at the time using bells,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03or the Jews who used a horn, or should it be something else
0:24:03 > 0:24:05like using fire beacons?
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Eventually after much discussion, it was decided that the new religion
0:24:08 > 0:24:13of Islam should be proclaimed with the human voice itself.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16CALL TO PRAYER IN TRANSLATION:
0:24:20 > 0:24:21The man Muhammad picked
0:24:21 > 0:24:25as the first person to announce the call for prayers
0:24:25 > 0:24:29was a very symbolic choice. Bilal, a freed African slave who had endured
0:24:29 > 0:24:32the most brutal persecution in Mecca.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37In Muhammad's time,
0:24:37 > 0:24:42slavery existed all over Arabia and although he never abolished it,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Muhammad and his companions did free slaves like Bilal.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Every day, Bilal would climb to the rooftop of the Mosque
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and in a loud voice he would call the faithful to prayer.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06This call to prayer has since become an integral part of Muslim life.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Although the words used are the same the world over,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18each call has a distinctive sound, characteristic to its place.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49The Mosque and its later distinctive tower or minaret
0:25:49 > 0:25:54would become one of the most identifiable Islamic symbols.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56A mosque is not just
0:25:56 > 0:25:57a place of worship.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01A mosque is a focal point of community,
0:26:01 > 0:26:06it is a place where the transformative mission of Islam
0:26:06 > 0:26:11must be put into practice by services for the needy,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13services for the community,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18services to help people to achieve the objectives of Islam,
0:26:18 > 0:26:24it's a centre for education - that's what a mosque should be,
0:26:24 > 0:26:26it's not what an awful lot of mosques are today,
0:26:26 > 0:26:32and the other thing is that mosques have to be welcoming, open places
0:26:32 > 0:26:35not just for Muslims, because the transformative mission,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37the social objectives of Islam,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40don't belong just to Muslims they are for everybody.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47But Muhammad was now not only the Prophet of a new religion,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50he was also effectively the political leader
0:26:50 > 0:26:52of the community here in Medina,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54and he fused these two roles right here
0:26:54 > 0:26:58in the courtyard of his mosque where he spent most of his days.
0:26:58 > 0:27:03Now, as his role grew, Muhammad decided that what he really needed
0:27:03 > 0:27:06was an agreement that would not only formalise his role in Medina
0:27:06 > 0:27:10but also his relationship with the various tribes.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14It became known as the Constitution of Medina and is thought to be
0:27:14 > 0:27:19one of the earliest written constitutions anywhere in the world.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26This was the first attempt in Arabia to form a state
0:27:26 > 0:27:28based not on tribal ties but mutual interest.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30To do it, Muhammad had to win over
0:27:30 > 0:27:32the trust of both the pagan and Jewish tribes
0:27:32 > 0:27:34and make them work with each other
0:27:34 > 0:27:38and with his newly arrived Muslim community.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42Prince Hassan bin Talal of the Jordanian Royal Family
0:27:42 > 0:27:44is an expert on the Constitution of Medina.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48The constitution was necessary for the establishment
0:27:48 > 0:27:53of a new diversity in Medina, that is to say
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Muslims, Jews, Christians.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01So it organised the relationship between Muslims, Jews and non-Muslims
0:28:01 > 0:28:09on the basis of recognition of the importance of respecting the lives,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12the properties, the places of worship
0:28:12 > 0:28:15and in particular, ultimately,
0:28:15 > 0:28:22respecting the relationship between the descendants of Abraham.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27It regulated rights and obligations - in a sense it was a Magna Carta,
0:28:27 > 0:28:28if you will, of the Muslims.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32In the case of Medina, this was not a religious state.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34On the contrary, it was a civil state
0:28:34 > 0:28:39and the government and the people were subject to the rule of law,
0:28:39 > 0:28:41which recognised their respective rights
0:28:41 > 0:28:43and encouraged them to live together.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47No complete copies of the original document have survived
0:28:47 > 0:28:50and although a number of versions are found in early Muslim sources
0:28:50 > 0:28:55written about a hundred years after Muhammad's death,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58some historians doubt its very existence.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02Was there a treaty of Medina?
0:29:02 > 0:29:06We only know this from one set of sources, which had
0:29:06 > 0:29:09their particular biases, their particular agendas.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12There are some historians who are of the view that there wasn't
0:29:12 > 0:29:15a constitution at all, there wasn't a treaty,
0:29:15 > 0:29:19but this was something made up subsequently.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21The historian's job in those circumstances
0:29:21 > 0:29:23is extremely difficult.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25According to the Muslim chroniclers,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28there certainly was a treaty and there was a constitution.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30Incidentally, if you look at the constitution
0:29:30 > 0:29:33there is nothing in it that would surprise you
0:29:33 > 0:29:37if you immersed yourself in the political sociology of that period.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39It is absolutely unsurprising.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Thank you very much.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46The Arabic used in it is archaic. There is every reason to assume
0:29:46 > 0:29:49that this is a surviving document
0:29:49 > 0:29:52from that period and it deals, essentially,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55with exactly the sort of practical things that you would imagine.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00What is going to be the position of Muhammad with regard to the tribes of Medina,
0:30:00 > 0:30:04with regard to the property of the people of Medina and so on?
0:30:04 > 0:30:07It's a very... it's not a blueprint for an empire.
0:30:07 > 0:30:13'The Constitution of Medina is the earliest known model'
0:30:13 > 0:30:18of governance in Islam and it clearly lays out the duties
0:30:18 > 0:30:20and the rights of citizens,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23as well as responsibilities of those that govern them.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26For example, it clearly does away with
0:30:26 > 0:30:28the whole customary practice of vengeance
0:30:28 > 0:30:32and the practice of private justice, and establishes the rule of law.
0:30:34 > 0:30:39This constitution, all the tribes of Medina they sign it together.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Including the Jews, including the pagans...
0:30:42 > 0:30:44Including everyone, everyone.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46They sign it to call what they call it Ummah...
0:30:46 > 0:30:48The community...
0:30:48 > 0:30:51Yeah, everyone is responsible for the protection of Medina,
0:30:51 > 0:30:53and they are equal against the law.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57They run a complete state with all its law.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00For example, if any two Jews fight each other,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02they will come to the Prophet
0:31:02 > 0:31:07and he will judge them not according to Islamic law, to the Jews' law.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11There is a complete court - everything is there as a state,
0:31:11 > 0:31:16So he built what you call it a complete civilised state in Arabia.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24The interesting thing about the constitution of Medina is that
0:31:24 > 0:31:27it recognised that all these people,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31pagan Arabs as well as the Muslims, the Ansar and the Muhajirun,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34and the Christians in that city
0:31:34 > 0:31:38were part of the same Ummah, of the same nation.
0:31:38 > 0:31:44Nowadays, of course, Muslims often use the term Ummah to mean
0:31:44 > 0:31:47the Muslim community, but that is not how it was used
0:31:47 > 0:31:52in that very first constitution of an Islamic state.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55So when people today say to me, "We would like to create
0:31:55 > 0:31:58"an Islamic state here or there," I say to them,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01"Will it be like the first one in Medina or not?
0:32:01 > 0:32:04"And if not, why not?"
0:32:04 > 0:32:08Although it survived throughout his lifetime,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11after his death, Muhammad's Constitution of Medina
0:32:11 > 0:32:12was first changed and, later,
0:32:12 > 0:32:16completely discarded by later Muslim leaders.
0:32:16 > 0:32:21This is one of the worst problems that we have today.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25To me, the most important part of the example of the Prophet
0:32:25 > 0:32:31and the message of the Qur'an is the acceptance of plurality,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35the need for and the realisation that there are many faiths,
0:32:35 > 0:32:43many ways and all capable of being a community, an Ummah, together.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48I think Muslims marginalise this message.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53I think they fail to hold it as the central principle of social existence
0:32:53 > 0:33:00and by doing that, they actually defy the example of the Prophet.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Muhammad and his followers had arrived in Medina penniless.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12And although they were now free of the daily persecution
0:33:12 > 0:33:16they faced in Mecca, their enemies still sought to destroy them.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20In tribal Arabia, vengeance was a very powerful motive.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31The Muslims in Medina now faced a threat to their very existence.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35The much more powerful Meccans, who had driven Muhammad out,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38persecuted his followers by taking their property
0:33:38 > 0:33:42and their very means of survival, were still plotting to destroy them.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Muhammad had to find a way over their enmity and fast.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Then, according to Muslim tradition,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Muhammad received a series of revelations
0:33:51 > 0:33:54urging him and his followers to fight back
0:33:54 > 0:33:58against those who had expelled them from their homes.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01The exact interpretation of these verses
0:34:01 > 0:34:03has remained highly controversial ever since.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Some have seen them as the validation for a "just war",
0:34:07 > 0:34:10the occasional necessity to fight in self-defence,
0:34:10 > 0:34:14whereas others have seen them as a justification for the killing
0:34:14 > 0:34:17of anyone who doesn't accept Muhammad's message.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24The revelation that is in the Qur'an in chapter 2, verse 191,
0:34:24 > 0:34:28and again at 218, that persecution is worse than slaughter...
0:34:28 > 0:34:31In other words, if the Quraysh are persecuting you, it's all right
0:34:31 > 0:34:32for you to slaughter them,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36which leads to a kind of elasticity of Islamic morality
0:34:36 > 0:34:41without any absolute other than what is good for Islam is good
0:34:41 > 0:34:45and any kind of moral principle otherwise can be set aside.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47And so that as the basis of warfare
0:34:47 > 0:34:51and also Muhammad's oft-repeated dictum, "war is deceit"
0:34:51 > 0:34:53which is found in numerous Hadith,
0:34:53 > 0:34:59it unfortunately lays the groundwork for a culture
0:34:59 > 0:35:01that is often quite martial and belligerent
0:35:01 > 0:35:04toward its neighbours and others.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08The permission is only this, in the Qur'an -
0:35:08 > 0:35:10you are under oppression,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13the people are attacking you, you have the right to resist,
0:35:13 > 0:35:17so this is why from the mainstream classical legal Islamic tradition,
0:35:17 > 0:35:22it's the, you know, the defensive, what we call the defensive jihad,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24which is - you are oppressed,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27you can resist this oppression in the name of your rights.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30So all the people and some of the Muslim groups
0:35:30 > 0:35:32who are using these verse to say
0:35:32 > 0:35:36"We can kill and this is a carte blanche for war," are wrong,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39this is not what is said in the verse, the verse here
0:35:39 > 0:35:41is they are attacking you, you have the right to resist
0:35:41 > 0:35:45because at the end of the day, it's a question of survival.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58Muhammad and his followers were engaged in a battle for survival.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03He saw these revelations as justification to attack the Quraysh
0:36:03 > 0:36:04where it hurt most -
0:36:04 > 0:36:07their caravan trade with the outside world.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13During March 624, the Prophet heard about an exceptionally large
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Quraysh caravan returning from Syria back to Mecca.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19He decided to capture the caravan in the desert.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23For their part, the Quraysh had anticipated Muhammad might do this
0:36:23 > 0:36:26and so diverted the caravan away from Medina
0:36:26 > 0:36:30and instead, sent an army to intercept him.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33The two sides met here, at a remote watering hole in the desert
0:36:33 > 0:36:34called Badr.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37And the two forces,
0:36:37 > 0:36:41the force coming from Mecca and Muhammad's force coming from Medina,
0:36:41 > 0:36:42meet up at the well of Badr.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46There is a confrontation that probably only lasts a few hours,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49between certainly less than 1,000 people,
0:36:49 > 0:36:53probably 300 or 400 on Muhammad's side.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Possibly up to 900 on the Meccan side.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59We're always told that the Meccans are more numerous than the Muslims,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01but we've no real method of knowing
0:37:01 > 0:37:05whether that's historical reality or not.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07What was actually happening in the battle between
0:37:07 > 0:37:09Mecca and Medina
0:37:09 > 0:37:13in a sense, the Prophet in exile at Medina, was an ideological battle.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16We think - we don't know for certain because it didn't happen -
0:37:16 > 0:37:19we suspect that if the Meccans had won they would have
0:37:19 > 0:37:23exterminated the heretics, as they saw them, the Muslims,
0:37:23 > 0:37:25because they were too much of a threat.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28The Meccans were defeated
0:37:28 > 0:37:32and the threat to Medina was temporarily lifted.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Round one in this struggle for dominance
0:37:34 > 0:37:36between Mecca and Medina went to Muhammad.
0:37:37 > 0:37:42By modern standards, this was hardly a battle, more a skirmish.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44But its significance was massive.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46It was the first time that Muhammad
0:37:46 > 0:37:49and his followers had gone to war in the name of God
0:37:49 > 0:37:52and they were jubilant at this extraordinary victory
0:37:52 > 0:37:53over the Quraysh.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57Muhammad's reputation throughout Arabia was hugely improved.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00But for the Quraysh, it spelt shame,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03which could not be forgotten or forgiven.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07This humiliation would have to be avenged.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09It meant that Muhammad's prestige in Medina,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12where he had just recently arrived, of course, shot up.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14And also the booty
0:38:14 > 0:38:18was extremely useful for rewarding his followers in Medina.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Having gifts to give and so on
0:38:20 > 0:38:22made his position much, much stronger.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28For Muhammad and his followers,
0:38:28 > 0:38:32the victory at Badr had a deep religious meaning.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35It was a vindication of the faith that had sustained him
0:38:35 > 0:38:38and his followers for now nearly 14 years.
0:38:38 > 0:38:43They saw it as God's approval for their new movement.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Ever since, Muslims have seen this early victory
0:38:46 > 0:38:49as a divine deliverance, comparable to the Israelites' deliverance
0:38:49 > 0:38:51from Egypt at the Red Sea.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58One day, while he was praying, following this victory,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01Muhammad received another revelation that would give him
0:39:01 > 0:39:04and his followers a more distinct identity.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10The revelation instructed him
0:39:10 > 0:39:13to change the direction in which Muslims pray,
0:39:13 > 0:39:15known as the Qibla.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18Now, originally Muhammad and his followers,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22just like the Jews and the Christians at that time,
0:39:22 > 0:39:23prayed towards Jerusalem,
0:39:23 > 0:39:28so that Qibla in this mosque here faces north towards Jerusalem.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30But then according to tradition,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32Muhammad turned the whole congregation around
0:39:32 > 0:39:36and made them pray in that direction towards the Qibla facing Mecca.
0:39:36 > 0:39:37And for that reason,
0:39:37 > 0:39:43this mosque is known as the Mosque of the Two Qiblas.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Now this seemingly simple change was actually really quite profound
0:39:47 > 0:39:51because it marked, first of all, the emergence of a new
0:39:51 > 0:39:53and proud identity, that of the Muslims,
0:39:53 > 0:39:55which was different, in how they prayed,
0:39:55 > 0:39:57towards the Jews and the Christians.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00It also means to this day that Muslims,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02wherever they are in the world,
0:40:02 > 0:40:06five times a day all pray in the same direction,
0:40:06 > 0:40:07towards Mecca.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13This change of the direction of prayer,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15from Jerusalem to Mecca, is a curious moment
0:40:15 > 0:40:20and some hostile commentators have seen the early element of Islam
0:40:20 > 0:40:22as being too Judeaising
0:40:22 > 0:40:26and, you know, drawn to the Holy Land, and Christianising about Islam
0:40:26 > 0:40:28as being a revival movement that's going to purge
0:40:28 > 0:40:30the Holy Land of all its problems
0:40:30 > 0:40:33and create this sort of one unified faith,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37but leaning very strongly on these previous traditions.
0:40:37 > 0:40:38One could imagine
0:40:38 > 0:40:44a process where as Islam wants to build
0:40:44 > 0:40:47its distinct institutions, one of the other things it develops is,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50of course, its own spiritual centre, Mecca.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55And so one could imagine Mecca being consciously chosen as a way
0:40:55 > 0:41:00of distinguishing this new faith from the ones that had gone before.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04But not all the people of Medina welcomed this move
0:41:04 > 0:41:06to create a more Muslim identity.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10In particular, some of the more prominent Jewish tribes.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12I can certainly envisage that the idea
0:41:12 > 0:41:16that one should pray to anywhere other than Jerusalem
0:41:16 > 0:41:18would have aroused enormous suspicion
0:41:18 > 0:41:24amongst the Jewish tribes of the peninsula at that time.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28The members of the Jewish tribes saw the new direction of prayer
0:41:28 > 0:41:29as an act of defiance,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33symbolic of their deteriorating relationship with Muhammad.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38There is, as it were, a religious aspect to it and an economic aspect
0:41:38 > 0:41:41that made relationships between the two very difficult.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46The Jewish tribes were unable to accept Muhammad as the apostle of God
0:41:46 > 0:41:48because that went against their scripture
0:41:48 > 0:41:49and their tradition and so on.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52So, there was a fundamental problem there.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55But the other thing was just control of trade and resources.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59There is a lot of struggle for the control of the economy,
0:41:59 > 0:42:03if you like, the silver market and metalwork and things like that.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07The newly arrived followers of Muhammad from Mecca were keen
0:42:07 > 0:42:10to dominate the local economy.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16The more powerful and successful Muhammad became,
0:42:16 > 0:42:21the more his relations with the Jewish tribes worsened.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24He expected their support in his conflict with Mecca
0:42:24 > 0:42:28but they had lucrative commercial ties with the Quraysh in Mecca
0:42:28 > 0:42:30which they were not about to give up
0:42:30 > 0:42:33and so, according to Muslim tradition,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36the Jewish tribes began to have secret meetings
0:42:36 > 0:42:37with Muhammad's enemies.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42Some of the pagan tribes that had converted to Islam also started
0:42:42 > 0:42:47to resent Muhammad's success, and they too began to turn against him.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51Muhammad now faced a dual threat from both inside
0:42:51 > 0:42:54and outside his own ranks.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59It wasn't long after the battle of Badr
0:42:59 > 0:43:01that Muhammad began to encounter
0:43:01 > 0:43:04his first serious problems with the Jewish tribes from Medina.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08He learned of a series of secret meetings between the Jewish tribes
0:43:08 > 0:43:11and his Quraysh enemies from Mecca.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Muhammad's fear was that if the Quraysh attacked,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17the Jewish tribes may well swap sides wholesale
0:43:17 > 0:43:19and help to crush him.
0:43:19 > 0:43:20And thus he felt he had to act.
0:43:20 > 0:43:26He surrounded one of the villages of the Jewish tribe south of Medina.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28After a two week siege, they surrendered
0:43:28 > 0:43:31and then they were banished en masse from Medina.
0:43:31 > 0:43:37Part of the constitution that Medina had been a compact in which
0:43:37 > 0:43:41people of different tribes and faiths could live together,
0:43:41 > 0:43:44that the Jews had a right to live and function
0:43:44 > 0:43:46within the society commercially,
0:43:46 > 0:43:51to practise their faith, but what they owed the state was loyalty.
0:43:51 > 0:43:56And what happens at a certain point is that the Jews,
0:43:56 > 0:44:00not all of the Jews, but particular groups of Jews,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04are seen as in effect committing treason, as aligning themselves
0:44:04 > 0:44:07and making vulnerable the Medinan community,
0:44:07 > 0:44:09allying themselves with the enemy.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13The exact nature of the relationship between Muhammad
0:44:13 > 0:44:17and the Jewish tribes is another controversial aspect of his life.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21Most Muslim scholars regard the Constitution of Medina
0:44:21 > 0:44:23as a formal treaty between the two
0:44:23 > 0:44:27and that when some of the Jewish tribes met with Muhammad's enemies,
0:44:27 > 0:44:32they broke that treaty. Others dispute this interpretation.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36You speak about controversies or differences of opinion
0:44:36 > 0:44:39about the treaty of Medina. Spell it out.
0:44:39 > 0:44:44This is a dispute that I don't think historians can solve.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47It's interesting that we don't really have
0:44:47 > 0:44:51any reliable independent contemporary Jewish sources for this
0:44:51 > 0:44:55so you can take the view that they entered into a treaty and broke it,
0:44:55 > 0:44:57or you can take the view
0:44:57 > 0:45:01that the treaty was a Muslim chronicler's invention,
0:45:01 > 0:45:06in order to justify ex post facto what had happened.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09There's a spark of realpolitik, of power politics,
0:45:09 > 0:45:14by expelling these very wealthy communities
0:45:14 > 0:45:18who had put themselves in each case in a treasonable situation.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20On one level, the Prophet came with
0:45:20 > 0:45:22a whole lot of penniless, migrant refugees
0:45:22 > 0:45:26and certainly when the first Jewish clan who owned all this property,
0:45:26 > 0:45:28owned all the valleys, when they had broken the pact
0:45:28 > 0:45:32and negotiated outside, they made the whole point of him coming
0:45:32 > 0:45:35to Medina was that he was going to be the chair
0:45:35 > 0:45:37and stop all of this schism.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41At that time, the acceptable punishment for treason was death.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42So the fact that Muhammad
0:45:42 > 0:45:45only banished this Jewish tribe from Medina
0:45:45 > 0:45:47might suggest he was still hoping for
0:45:47 > 0:45:50some kind of reconciliation with the others.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54But relations between the two sides remained fraught.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59Another event was to increase the tension even more.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Almost exactly a year after the Battle of Badr,
0:46:02 > 0:46:05the Quraysh returned to Medina looking for vengeance
0:46:05 > 0:46:08with a new army three times larger than Muhammad's.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11This was no longer a tribal squabble,
0:46:11 > 0:46:13but an all-out war of extermination.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20Once again Muhammad decided to meet the Meccan forces outside the oasis
0:46:20 > 0:46:21here at Mount Uhud.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24But his forces were greatly depleted.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27For one thing, the Jewish tribes decided not to fight
0:46:27 > 0:46:29because it was the Sabbath.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32And one of Muhammad's commanders deserted him,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34taking 300 soldiers with him.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36The Meccans, on the other hand,
0:46:36 > 0:46:39were motivated by the desire for vengeance.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45This time neither side was able to deliver a crushing blow
0:46:45 > 0:46:47and the battle ended in a stalemate.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52It was a hard-fought battle.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55It was a draw, if you like, but the important thing
0:46:55 > 0:47:00was that the Muslim community of Muhammad in Medina survived.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03The crucial difference was that this time the Meccans
0:47:03 > 0:47:05had some inside help. According to Muslim tradition,
0:47:05 > 0:47:08some of the Jewish tribes in Medina
0:47:08 > 0:47:11were now actively helping Muhammad's enemies.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21The third and final battle took place in 627 AD,
0:47:21 > 0:47:23five years after Muhammad had moved to Medina,
0:47:23 > 0:47:25when the Quraysh returned
0:47:25 > 0:47:28with a massive army of 10,000 warriors.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33Muhammad could only muster a force of 3,000 and so this time
0:47:33 > 0:47:36there was no question of him facing the Quraysh in open battle.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41So he decided to fortify Medina against a siege.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46Medina was relatively easy to defend
0:47:46 > 0:47:49because it's surrounded by volcanic hills.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52But its most vulnerable point was to the north
0:47:52 > 0:47:56and so Muhammad adopted a very simple tactic -
0:47:56 > 0:48:01he dug a huge trench and its effect on the Quraysh advance was dramatic.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08This area of present-day modern Medina is where the so-called
0:48:08 > 0:48:10Battle of the Trench took place. Over there
0:48:10 > 0:48:13was the Meccan army and over there was the Muslim army
0:48:13 > 0:48:15and the trench dividing the two forces.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19The Meccan army was said to be so large that it covered an area
0:48:19 > 0:48:20as far as the eye could see.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24Thus began what must have been an incredibly strange standoff.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28The Meccan army was absolutely unable to do anything.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32They didn't have siege equipment in which to get over this trench
0:48:32 > 0:48:34that Muhammad and his forces had built.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38For his part, Muhammad was quite prepared to sit and wait
0:48:38 > 0:48:40and allow the Meccans to get frustrated and leave.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43Digging a trench meant that
0:48:43 > 0:48:47the horses of the Meccans couldn't enter the city.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51And it's been taken by Muslims through the centuries,
0:48:51 > 0:48:58as a sign of Muhammad's astuteness in ordering, commanding
0:48:58 > 0:49:02this different sort of defence which caught the Meccans off-guard,
0:49:02 > 0:49:06it meant the strategies or tactics they were pursuing didn't work.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10According to Muslim tradition,
0:49:10 > 0:49:14after two weeks, the Meccans' supplies were starting to run out
0:49:14 > 0:49:18so they asked their new secret ally, one of the Jewish tribes,
0:49:18 > 0:49:23the Banu Quraiza, to attack the Muslim forces from within the city.
0:49:23 > 0:49:28Whereas before, Jewish tribes had only traded with Muhammad's enemies
0:49:28 > 0:49:31or refused to take up arms in support of Muhammad,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34this time they were now on the verge of actually attacking him.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41The Quraiza were inside Medina with Muhammad and the Muslims
0:49:41 > 0:49:42and they had an accord
0:49:42 > 0:49:44with Muhammad and the Muslims,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47but after they had seen what had happened to the other two
0:49:47 > 0:49:49Jewish tribes of Medina, the Nadir
0:49:49 > 0:49:53and the Qaynuqa, they, understandably I think, reached out
0:49:53 > 0:49:57to the Quraysh and offered to make an accord with them against Muhammad.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00So you have these people,
0:50:00 > 0:50:03part of the alliance of Medina,
0:50:03 > 0:50:08siding with their most bitter enemy to finish off the Muslim community.
0:50:08 > 0:50:13That was high treason because the Muslims, as the Qur'an tells us,
0:50:13 > 0:50:16were shaken to the foundation
0:50:16 > 0:50:20and thinking it was a loss - the end is nigh.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25Muslim scholars claim that at the very least, the Banu Quraiza
0:50:25 > 0:50:27betrayed Muhammad by negotiating with the Quraysh
0:50:27 > 0:50:31and being on the brink of attacking the Muslim forces, even though
0:50:31 > 0:50:33the Quraysh and their allies withdrew
0:50:33 > 0:50:36before this attack could take place.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41That's the traditional explanation. He was betrayed.
0:50:41 > 0:50:48There is, by the way, no record of any actual attack of the Jews
0:50:48 > 0:50:51against the Prophet or anything like that.
0:50:51 > 0:50:57Now during this siege, the Quraiza lent weapons to the Prophet.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01On the other hand, they probably also traded with the besiegers
0:51:01 > 0:51:03because they were traders.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07I think the Banu Quraiza probably did side with the Quraysh.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11I think this would have been a natural thing for them to have done.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14Jews are always looking for allies.
0:51:14 > 0:51:20In the diaspora, a cornerstone of Jewish political theory
0:51:20 > 0:51:22has been you meet and make friends with everyone
0:51:22 > 0:51:24that you can meet and make friends with
0:51:24 > 0:51:27and I think this would have been absolutely natural
0:51:27 > 0:51:28for them to have done this.
0:51:31 > 0:51:32If this plot had succeeded,
0:51:32 > 0:51:35the Quraysh would have been able to enter Medina,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38they would have slaughtered Muhammad and all of his followers
0:51:38 > 0:51:42and his attempts to start this new religion would have come to a halt.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46His reaction to this latest act of treachery would lead to
0:51:46 > 0:51:50one of the most controversial incidents in his entire life.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52Muhammad ordered his army
0:51:52 > 0:51:55to surround the village of the Jewish tribe.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58They held out for 25 days before surrendering.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00He now faced a dilemma.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04If he allowed them to go free, they could join the Quraysh in Mecca
0:52:04 > 0:52:06and help them to crush him.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Rather than make the decision himself,
0:52:08 > 0:52:11Muhammad agreed that an independent arbiter be appointed.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15He allowed the Jewish tribal leaders to choose a respected local leader
0:52:15 > 0:52:18to arbitrate and pronounce judgment.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23It was the third time he was meeting some of the people
0:52:23 > 0:52:26and saying, "I am now going to ask someone to judge you.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28"Are you happy with this?"
0:52:28 > 0:52:32And he asked Sa'd ibn Mu'adh to come and to decide.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35He decided that the men should be killed and before this,
0:52:35 > 0:52:39the Prophet said, "I am not going to judge. I am going to ask someone."
0:52:39 > 0:52:42The point for us here is to acknowledge two things.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45First, it happened that men were killed
0:52:45 > 0:52:48but in a situation where he spared the life of the people
0:52:48 > 0:52:51two times before and this was the last time
0:52:51 > 0:52:54and say, "This is enough because you are continuing,
0:52:54 > 0:52:55"even though we are sparing your life,
0:52:55 > 0:52:59"to attack us, which was betraying us."
0:52:59 > 0:53:01He said
0:53:01 > 0:53:05all the fighters amongst Banu Quraiza should be put to the sword
0:53:05 > 0:53:09and the women and children should be taken as captives.
0:53:09 > 0:53:10This is what happened.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13They were executed.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17This is the first holocaust against the Jews.
0:53:17 > 0:53:23How can a prophet order a massacre of 800 men,
0:53:23 > 0:53:25even if they tried to kill him?
0:53:25 > 0:53:29He could have banished them or he could have moved.
0:53:29 > 0:53:34It had nothing to do with the fact that they were Jews.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37They could have been a Christian tribe or any other tribe.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39It wasn't a holocaust,
0:53:39 > 0:53:44it wasn't directed at the Jews because of their religion.
0:53:44 > 0:53:50If that was the case, it would have set a precedent in Muslim history
0:53:50 > 0:53:53and we would not have found the golden age of Jewish Enlightenment
0:53:53 > 0:53:55taking place under the Muslims in Spain.
0:53:55 > 0:54:00If this claim was true, then we would have found the position of Jews
0:54:00 > 0:54:04throughout Islamic history would have been very, very different.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09It's this incident, perhaps more than any other,
0:54:09 > 0:54:13that has led many critics to brand Muhammad as a bloodthirsty tyrant
0:54:13 > 0:54:17willing to use all violent means in order to maintain his rule.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21And it's also seen as the origins for much of the hostility
0:54:21 > 0:54:24in the Islamic world today towards Jews,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27and certainly, judging by our own standards today,
0:54:27 > 0:54:30it was an appalling act of brutality,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34but we have to see it within the context of the time.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38The fact that very few people were shocked by this act
0:54:38 > 0:54:42is a stark reminder of the brutality of the age and society
0:54:42 > 0:54:44in which Muhammad grew up.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49I think that the massacre at that time
0:54:49 > 0:54:56had an impact on the outlook of Islam towards the Jewish world.
0:54:56 > 0:55:01I think over the centuries since then,
0:55:01 > 0:55:04the Islamic world has, in a sense,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07bought into a particular view of Jews.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11Now having said that, I think there are other factors
0:55:11 > 0:55:15that have influenced Islamic attitudes towards Jews
0:55:15 > 0:55:18but I think that was certainly one of them.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22I think it seared itself into the Muslim historical memory
0:55:22 > 0:55:25and to that extent it has had an impact
0:55:25 > 0:55:27that we feel down to this day.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29In some parts of the Muslim world,
0:55:29 > 0:55:33and Muslim communities in the West, a new anti-Semitism
0:55:33 > 0:55:37has appeared that claims legitimacy from the Qur'an.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39Its offensive rants are to most
0:55:39 > 0:55:43Muslim and non-Muslim ears, completely abhorrent.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46SPOKEN IN ARABIC:
0:55:59 > 0:56:02All the people who are confusing
0:56:02 > 0:56:07some of the historical events with taking a position against the Jews,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10only because they are Jews, are not respecting the Islamic tradition.
0:56:10 > 0:56:15This is unacceptable, this is racist this is anti-Semitism,
0:56:15 > 0:56:16this is against our religion.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19We can't at the same time say "ummah ahl al-Kitab"
0:56:19 > 0:56:21that they are people of the book
0:56:21 > 0:56:25and they are following the monotheistic tradition,
0:56:25 > 0:56:28and at the same time have racist statements
0:56:28 > 0:56:32just targeting the Jews while the Prophet when he arrived in Medina -
0:56:32 > 0:56:35this is something which is very important for us -
0:56:35 > 0:56:39when he started this Islamic society with the rules -
0:56:39 > 0:56:43he spoke about "al-ummah al-islamia", the community,
0:56:43 > 0:56:49and he said... (IN ARABIC) ..they are members of our Ummah.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54Who? The Jews and the Christians. So how come he is saying this
0:56:54 > 0:56:58and now we come with these statements that are completely unacceptable
0:56:58 > 0:57:03from an Islamic viewpoint and we are confusing what a state
0:57:03 > 0:57:06a government can do, for example in the Middle East,
0:57:06 > 0:57:08with what the Jews are.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12The Jews are our brothers and sisters in faith and humanity.
0:57:12 > 0:57:17The legacy of Muhammad's treatment of the Jewish tribes in Medina
0:57:17 > 0:57:19is still with us today.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21But at the time, it saw him emerge
0:57:21 > 0:57:23as the leader of a powerful new movement in Arabia
0:57:23 > 0:57:29that was gaining in confidence. But would this be his only legacy?
0:57:29 > 0:57:32He was now in his late fifties and for most of his life,
0:57:32 > 0:57:34had had to face brutal persecution.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36He'd been forced out of his home town
0:57:36 > 0:57:40and was engaged in almost continual bloody conflict.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43In particular, Muhammad had to resolve
0:57:43 > 0:57:46this struggle for supremacy with the Meccans.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48Would that end in yet more violence
0:57:48 > 0:57:52or could he find a safer future for his followers?
0:57:52 > 0:57:55In essence, would Muhammad be remembered as a leader
0:57:55 > 0:57:57and warrior who conquered Arabia,
0:57:57 > 0:58:02or as a Prophet with a wider message for the entire world?
0:58:02 > 0:58:05In the next and final part,
0:58:05 > 0:58:10Muhammad faces his enemies one more time and wins, but through peace.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14And he outlines his legacy in a final sermon in Mecca.
0:58:14 > 0:58:18The Prophet's final sermon sets the agenda for modern contemporary
0:58:18 > 0:58:20Muslim society.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24It shows where we failed and it shows where we have to try to get to.
0:58:24 > 0:58:30It sums up the transformative mission that was the life of the Prophet.
0:58:45 > 0:58:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.
0:58:48 > 0:58:51E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk