The Encyclopedia of World Religions

music and religion S 305

As the culmination of prophetic tradition or, as Muslims say, the seal of the prophets, Muhammad represents more than the vehicle for God’s revela tion. He also exemplifies the ideal way of respond ing to it. This conviction gave rise to the practice of collecting accounts of his sayings and deeds, known as H ADITH . The Hadith provide guidance on religious matters, but they also establish the way one should go about many daily activities. Islam does not separate religion from other areas of life but sees every facet of human exis tence as subject to God’s commands. It is appropri ate, then, that Muhammad’s significance extends far beyond the narrowly religious. For example, the Qur’an is the highest standard in Arabic poetry. Of even broader significance, the community estab lished through Muhammad united the various peoples of the Arabian Peninsula for the very first time. In doing so it changed the face of the world’s political, cultural, and military history. Further reading: Martin Forward, Muhammad: A Short Biography (Rockport, Mass.: Oneworld, 1997); Maxime Rodinson, Muhammad: Prophet of Islam (New York: I. B. Tauris, 2002); Ibn Warraq, ed., The Quest for the Historical Muhammad (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2000). THE VALUE OF MUSIC Music plays a major role in most religions, but not in all. Some religions have rejected it, at least in part. Some orthodox Muslims forbid the religious use of music, although for others it has played an important role in cultivating the spiritual life. Tra ditional J AINISM rejects religious music, too. Jains consider it too sensual for religious purposes. The B IBLE refers to instruments used in the J ERUSALEM Temple, but for centuries it has been traditional for Jews not to use instruments in SYNAGOGUE services. In the ancient and early medieval periods, Chris tians also allowed vocal music but rejected the music and religion The attitudes to and use of patterned, humanly created sounds in the various religions.

that God could neither beget nor be begotten, he rejected any claim that J ESUS was the son of God. Indeed, he insisted on keeping God and human beings in their respective places: God is the cre ator upon whom the entire universe depends; it is the duty of human beings to submit to God’s will (Arabic, islam ). Given this relationship, it follows that every human being must avoid two sins above all: the denial of the truth (Arabic, kufr ) and mistaking the created for the creator ( shirk ). The latter is best seen in a very broad sense. It refers to let ting anything, such as money or clan loyalty or tradition, guide one’s life in violation of God’s will. In this context Muhammad emphasized concern for the less advantaged as well as the avoidance of destructive social practices, such as drinking, gambling, prostitution, and usury, that is, charging exorbitant interest on loans. The RES URRECTION of the dead and a final judgment ( see JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD ) also played a great role in Muhammad’s ethical outlook. These notions had not been prevalent earlier in the indigenous religions of Arabia. SIGNIFICANCE For Muslims, Muhammad was only a human being chosen by God to be a messenger. Muslims teach that Muhammad was born like every other person, that he died, and that he is buried in Medina. At the same time, Muhammad is supremely important as the last of a long line of prophets to whom God has revealed his truth. That line begins with A DAM , the ancestor of all people, and includes many figures familiar to Jews and Christians, such as N OAH , D AVID , S OLOMON , E LIJAH , and Jesus, as well as figures from other traditions. Muslims hold that while all previous revelations were distorted or changed by various communities, the revela tion to Muhammad preserved its purity. Thus, with Muhammad God’s revelation of divine truth became full and complete. Initially the community preserved these revelations orally along with some written fragments, but within 25 years of Muham mad’s death an authoritative compilation of the Qur’an had come into existence.