Author: Will Durant
Excerpt from The Age of Faith (1950, pp. 239-245)
Muhammad’s final two years, primarily spent in Medina, were marked by growing success. After minor rebellions, all of Arabia acknowledged his authority and embraced his faith. Kab ibn Zuhair, a renowned Arabian poet who had once criticized him, traveled to Medina, surrendered, converted to Islam, and received a pardon. He then composed a poem so eloquent in Muhammad’s honor that the Prophet gifted him his mantle. In exchange for a modest tribute, Muhammad granted protection to Arabia’s Christians, ensuring their freedom of worship while prohibiting them from charging interest on loans.
Reports suggest Muhammad sent envoys to the Greek emperor, the Persian king, and the rulers of Himyar and Ghassan, inviting them to accept Islam, though no responses are recorded. He observed the ongoing conflict between Persia and Byzantium with a resigned perspective, showing no apparent ambition to expand his influence beyond Arabia during his lifetime.
Muhammad devoted himself to governance, addressing legislation, judgment, and the organization of civil, religious, and military affairs. One notable decision was his reform of the Islamic calendar. Previously, like the Jewish calendar, it included twelve lunar months with an intercalary month every three years to align with the solar year. Muhammad decreed that the Islamic year would consist solely of twelve lunar months, alternating between 30 and 29 days, causing it to diverge from the seasons and advance relative to the Gregorian calendar by a year every 32.5 years. This reflected his focus on religious rather than scientific precision.
His legislative approach was practical rather than systematic, issuing edicts as needed and resolving contradictions with new revelations that superseded earlier ones. Even mundane directives were often presented as divine messages, a method that lent authority but sometimes diminished the poetic eloquence of his earlier revelations. Despite this, Muhammad remained humble, admitting his ignorance on occasion, rejecting claims of infallibility or miraculous powers, and denying the ability to predict the future. However, he did invoke revelations for personal matters, such as when a divine message permitted his marriage to Zaynab, the wife of his adopted son Zaid, a decision that addressed community tensions.
Muhammad accepted polygamy as a norm of his time, entering multiple marriages with a clear conscience. Some were acts of compassion, such as marrying Hafsa, the widowed daughter of Omar, while others were strategic, like his marriage to the daughter of Abu Sufyan to secure alliances. He also hoped for a male heir, but after Khadija, his wives bore no children. Of Khadija’s children, only Fatima survived him. In his final year, a Coptic slave named Mary, gifted by the Negus of Abyssinia, gave him a son, Ibrahim, who tragically died at fifteen months.
His household was lively but often contentious, with his wives competing for attention and resources. Aisha, spirited and youthful, received more of his time, prompting the others to protest until a revelation addressed their concerns: “Thou canst defer whom thou wilt of them, and receive of them whom thou wilt… that they may be comforted and not grieve, and may all be pleased with what thou givest them” (Koran 33:51). Despite their demands, Muhammad lived simply, refusing extravagance but promising them paradise.
Muhammad’s living conditions remained modest. His homes were small, made of unburnt brick with palm-thatched roofs, furnished with a mattress and pillows on the floor. He performed household tasks himself—mending clothes, sweeping, or milking goats—and ate simply, favoring dates, barley bread, milk, and honey, while adhering to his prohibition on wine. He used his fingers to eat, licking them clean afterward.
Friends described him as courteous to the powerful, kind to the humble, dignified yet approachable. He visited the sick, joined funeral processions, accepted a slave’s dinner invitation, and performed tasks for himself when possible. Despite receiving significant revenue, he spent little on himself, prioritizing charity. However, he was attentive to his appearance, using perfume, painting his eyes, dyeing his hair, and wearing a ring inscribed “Muhammad the Messenger of Allah.” His voice was notably captivating, though he was sensitive to harsh sounds, advising modesty in speech: “Be modest in thy bearing, and subdue thy voice. Lo, the harshest of all voices is that of the ass” (Koran 31:19).
Muhammad’s personality blended complexity and warmth. He was restless, prone to melancholy, yet could be lively and humorous, once playfully advising a frequent visitor, Abu Hurairah, to visit less often to maintain their affection. As a leader, he was a resolute warrior and a fair judge, capable of severity but also countless acts of mercy, abolishing cruel practices like animal sacrifices at graves. His followers revered him deeply, preserving his spittle, hair, and washing water for their perceived healing properties.
At fifty-nine, Muhammad’s health began to falter. He believed the Khaibar Jews had poisoned him a year earlier, leading to recurring fevers. Aisha reported that he would visit a graveyard at night, praying for the dead and seeking their forgiveness. In his sixty-third year, these fevers worsened. During one episode, as Aisha complained of a headache, he responded with a jest about her dying first, to which she retorted that he would likely remarry soon after her burial. For fourteen days, the fever persisted. Three days before his death, he attended the mosque, saw Abu Bakr leading prayers in his place, and sat beside him in humility. On June 7, 632 CE, after a prolonged struggle, Muhammad passed away, his head resting on Aisha’s chest.
Excerpts from Will Durant's The Age of Faith Pages 162-186 Pub. 1950
