Mohammad and Luther: Faulty, but Pointing to the Faultless.

God alone is perfect. This is accepted as truth to many. For those of a religious mindset who adhere to faith and the belief in a supreme being, this creator of the universe and all life is free from guilt, blame and any fault that we associate with being human, or if you prefer, created. Perfection, according to the teachings and scriptures of the world's religions, is to be found in that source of perfection alone called, though by many names, God.

Therefore, nothing in this 'created' world of ours can be quite equal to that divine being of perfection. This is surely the teaching within Islam, that Allah created humans perfectly, granted them the faculties of free will, reason and decision making, and with that ability they would seek the source of all perfection so as to live a good life in this planet and attain to perfection in the next.

Humans are fallible. They can make mistakes because of their limited ability to see and know everything which God, the all knowing and all seeing God, can. So, in seeking God and his perfection and goodness, sometimes we humans make mistakes. We hurt people, sometimes unintentionally. We make decisions that cause friends to leave us, neighbors to mistrust us or nations to call us unpatriotic or unworthy. The reasons and causes are far too numerous to list here, but in short, our lives are dictated by the choices we make and the decisions we choose to follow. Our fate is partially our doing, partially how we are tossed and turned in the sea of events that shape our short stay here on planet Earth. In other words, we can be as honest and discriminating as we wish to, as well intentioned as we want to be, yet at the end of the day we try and do the best we can, even if that best was not the best we could have done or the most we might have tried to rectify any given situation. We try, and that's all we really can do. Trying for 'God's sake' carries more weight, seemingly more responsibility on our selves for the benefit of others, but even performing for 'God's sake' has it's limits and tangles. Plans are foiled and desired outcomes are not what we always expect. All of our efforts can take years to apply, then in one instant our ideas can be smashed like a sailing ship against a rock. Meet the mystery called fate.

On this note, if we all agree that we don't know what the future may hold for us, the future being as little as one minute from the time you are reading this sentence, then we can understand that all human beings are helpless when fate comes knocking at the door. But it takes humans to make a society better and to teach other humans how to achieve and seek this God of mercy and love that is at the very center of all the mysteries confronting us. Those of us who are religious minded and desire to live with the comfort of a faith in this life know this all too well. If we don't set an example for others, there is no example to follow or get inspiration from. We need the inspiration from those who would guide us aright, and we attain courage from their inspiring message. It's a give and take societal relationship.

With this in mind, I would mention two great revolutionaries in history who have inspired masses of humanity in their own times and into the present, in both the religious and political realms. Mohammad and Martin Luther both were very different yet astonishingly similar, somewhat in personality and definitely in legacy. Both men confronted the organized religion of their day, which was at the very center of the social order. The customs and practices of both 7th century Arabian and the 16th century German and European society certainly needed an overhaul, as these practices were focused on bringing in money and revenue for the religious hierarchy. The 'Great Fair' of Mecca and the 'Sale of Indulgences' in Europe were meant to fill the coffers of the rich and the established religious clergy and permeate the myth that this was the best that humans can do while alive in the world and worshipping the God of mercy, love and compassion, while the agreed dogma was to be accepted blindly as faith by the misery stricken multitudes of peasants, shepherds, serfs and craftsmen. Men of powerful personality like Mohammad and Luther sought to change all that they saw as unsatisfactory, and change it they did.

Their ideological teachings and inspiration set in motion tidal waves that can be felt unto the present day. Both were insistent that each human being have a personal relationship with their creator. rather than bow to an organized body of clerics. They encouraged education and the pursuit of knowledge. Mohammad stood firmly against the nobility of Mecca, though many of this lineage were members of his own clan. Luther stood against the Catholic Church he once devoted his life to. In so doing, he challenged the nobility and power of the Holy Roman Empire, supported militarily by the most powerful nation in Europe at the time, the empire of Charles V and the realm of Catholic Spain. 

When advised to stand down from the criticisms and complaints that were unraveling due to their activism both men rather defiantly stood firm. Mohammad responded to offers of riches and wealth, if he would only step down from his cause by responding with the well known statement "If they offered me the Sun in one hand, and the Moon in the other, I would not abandon my mission." Similarly,  after nailing his controversial 95 theses on the door of the church, Martin Luther stood before the envoys of the Church and Charles V himself, Europe's most powerful ruler, and demonstrated for all time that an individual must and should be true to their own conscience. Accused of heresy and dubious theology found in his many written and published works he was called to account. Asked to explain and then recant his writings, he asked to pray on the matter, then he would give and answer. The next day he shocked the court by declaring "Here I stand, I can do no other. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Unless I am proved wrong by scripture, I cannot, and will not, recant." 

So powerful and serious were these personalities that the mighty had to take them seriously, however much they wished that they would simply go away. These rulers knew that the sincerity and will of men like Mohammad and Luther would cause the very Earth to shake under their very feet and shake it did. Mohammad, a man of generosity and compassion, known for his mild demeanor and caring for those around him- one who was known as Al Amin, the 'trustworthy', Al Karim the 'generous', a man who's reputation preceded him, was forced by the norms of the time to become a warrior, political leader, diplomat and judge as his life took a turn that even he would or would not have expected. Luther, the one time celibate monk who fasted and prayed on his knees in devotional one on one conversations with his loving but terrifying God translated the Bible into common German so the masses could understand the words of God, abandoned celibacy and married a former nun and freely threw insults at what he saw as a corrupted church headed by greedy officials who knew nothing of the nature of this God. While he did not become a political leader or warrior like Mohammad did, he nonetheless set political events in motion that changed the face of Europe and eventually the world. Luther's defiance of authority, his standing up for one's conscience is viewed as the background and inspiration for what would later become an 'Age of Revolution' that would topple kings and their dominions and usher in an era of rule by the people, of the people, centered around the enlightened individual rather than the right of rule by divinely ordained monarchs.

In the course of performing such mighty tasks that boggle the minds of historians to this day, no human being can be infallible in the midst of their short but powerful and revolutionizing careers. Their accomplishments are great and important. But when these accomplishments are carried out in such a short span of time affected as they are by the course of human events, making decisions that would have an effect on later generations must yield mistakes that are committed and wrongs wrought. There will be those who would be hurt or effected negatively, regardless as to whether this was the revolutionary's intention or not. Historical figures of the past were human and made mistakes, uttered words or made needed decisions that perhaps in a different light or time they might regret. But haven't we all done that?

Both Mohammad and Luther taught that only God is perfect. They were honest, and that is why we choose to remember them and regard their thoughts and ideas. Both men pointed to a greater power than they or us, and claimed no divinity themselves. Divinity was to Mohammad 'Allah' or God, the God of Abraham, and to Luther divinity was a mystery to be found in the person of Christ, who was of and yet is separate, all at once, from this God of Abraham, his beloved son sent to Earth to redeem the world. There are differences between the two men's theology to be sure. But they both agreed that we humans are imperfect, and are completed through love and faith in God to whom we pray for his mercy, the very manifestation of all perfection, who's mercy may yet redeem us of the suffering of our earthly, daily life in the hope of attaining to that perfection of the hereafter.

Luther's printed attacks on the church, rather vicious in their tone, are well known. Gutenberg's printing press produced not only the first printed Bible written in Saxon German, but Luther's tracts were printed as pamphlets that could be read by any noble or clergyman lucky enough to be literate in an age when literacy was still limited. The words of these tracts are harsh words indeed. Woodcut artists were employed to create visual propaganda that displayed, among other subjects, the evil Pope sitting upon a throne like a devil, with two hands protruding from his anus playing a harp. Luther was an angry man, and he got his message across in an angry fashion to both the literate gentry and illiterate commoners. He preached at a time when northern Europe was seeking independence from a southern Mediterranean based cultural rule and religious rite, and his voice became the call of not only a spiritual revolution but a political one. He was a man coming out of the mindset of the middle ages, inspired by the struggles of the ancient God fearing Hebrews of old, battling against evil like Saul or David battling the Philistines, filled with anger and warning towards the enemies of his God. When asked by Erasmus if he would tone down his attacks, Luther looked at the great scholar squarely in the face and said bluntly "this is war". To Luther, there was no compromise with God's word. Not only did he condemn the Popes and the church, but his writings about the Jews are the very foundation and cornerstones of European anti Semitism. Like Mohammad, Luther would release a tidal wave. Like Mohammad he was complex and, above all, very human. Full of grace and extremely likable, loved by those who knew and sacrificed for him, but a human being full of contradictions and faults nonetheless. Again, through his negative actions and words that have come down through history and his own writings, accepted as authentic and factual, Luther has demonstrated that by being human and fallible, which he certainly was, only God is capable of perfection.

Reformation woodcut, the Pope as the anti Christ

Historians still debate as to whether Luther realized what he was unleashing. The peasants of Germany, inspired by Luther's writings and preaching that told them the realm of God was their realm as equally as it was any clergyman or noble's, and by his defiance of church authority and Holy Roman power when he refused to recant his writings, rose in a revolt that became known as the Peasant Wars. The common serfs and farmers of Germany destroyed churches and palaces, looted and robbed, smashed paintings and statuary, killed priests and barons, then redistributed land and formed farming communities. They were defying the rule and power of the nobles, who they saw as one with the church, a scenario to be repeated in the French revolution and Spanish Civil War centuries later. Surprisingly, Luther condemned this revolt, claiming that  reformation must be of the spirit, not of the political or social realms. He called upon the nobles to put the revolt down, and that the mobs should be scattered: "kill them, stab them, burn them"...hardly the words one would expect from a man of God. This decision on his part to oppose those who loved him is baffling and puzzling, but Luther was a baffling and puzzling man. When the revolt was finally put down, nearly 100,000 people had died. Many cities in Germany lay in shambles. This saddened Luther but he felt the need to maintain order and stop anarchy he saw as evil, though clearly unleashed by his words and actions, a torch to a haystack as it were. But there was no turning back. Cities all over Germany then northern Europe would adopt the message of what would be known as the Reformation. Calvin, Knox and others would call for a re-evaluating of Christian scripture and practice. And like it or not, while this Reformation would be a reform of the spirit for the reformed clergymen of the era, the wars of the Reformation, firmly in the hands of the common folk, would yield a bloodshed and violence that would tear Europe apart and kill scores before the spirit was settled and pacified in Christ. There was nothing Luther or anyone else could have done. Perhaps it was Europe's fate. Not to sound un-empathetic though, it is history, and the reform and revolution of 16th century Christian life and society was obviously something in it's time sorely needed.

Mohammad likewise has been the source of complaints and attacks on his life's biography as well as the faith called Islam which he founded, or shall we say for the sake of historians and their research, inspired. The 'trustworthy' Mustafa al Amin is sometimes remembered for his decisions to massacre a tribe of Jews, marry a younger bride named Aisha, and also hypocritically marry a good number of wives while he told everyone else to keep it down to the limit of four. Some of the very words of the Quran, if they be the words of Muhammed's God, are rather harsh and straight forward when dealing with the kafirun, the unbelieving pagans of Mecca with whom Mohammed was engaged in a life and death struggle. He, like Luther, could invoke his God to strike fear into the hearts of those who opposed him. The flames of hell could 'boil the brains' of the enemies of God or they could roast in Hell fire whilst his wife with a rope of fire round her neck supplies the firewood, as explained in the surah named for the condemned uncle of Mohammed, Abu Lahab, the 'Father of the Flame'. Many of these examples could be found in the Quran and in the later compiled hadith, the collections of Mohammed's words and deeds which have bend used and indeed are used to create the man who is loved, indeed deified, by hundreds of millions across the globe. We don't know which of these hadith are true accounts or mythology. True, Mohammad lived in a cruel time that demanded cruel choices. It does become a confusing endeavor when asking devout Muslims about some of these questionable actions though, as the explanations provided defend his actions, but attempt to rectify Mohammad's faults as well. In fact, try and say something criticizing this beloved man and one may be threatened with death in a number of Muslim communities. However, no explanation of Mohammad's actions whether good or nasty can alter the truth that he was anything but human. We could say in Mohammad's defense that he wouldn't want it any other way if he was, as many historians have described him, as a very down to earth kind of guy. He did what he did at the time and in the style of his tribal society. Compared to his contemporaries, he was perhaps better. That doesn't mean he was ideal, just better. He had a mission and did what he had to do to bring the word of the God of Abraham to his people. Before taking on the responsibility of being a messenger of divinity, he was quite comfortable as a merchant. We know in his youth that he didn't care or desire desert tribal Arab politics to turn him into a hated person, scorned by his own clan as he was. But he chose this mission for a reason after a supposed experience, inspired by his then older wife and employer, the wise Khadija. It was probably his conscience that called out to him, day after day, to bring justice to an unjust, cruel and chaotic society.

The assumed history of this man tells us that he demanded rights and respect for women, putting an end to the evil practice of burying infant girls. Women were granted inheritance and the right to own property in a society that thought of women as inferior to men, themselves bought and sold like camels or donkeys. There were wealthy widows such as the aforementioned named Khadija who was his senior yet married and guided him, though most women were forced to exist as no better than a man's property, servant or play thing. Mohammed controlled the greed of the nobility and the rich by the forced sharing of wealth, as well as suggesting rights for slaves. In an ancient society, slavery was a norm. The members of this caste comprised a percentage of any society, but had no rights applied to them. As property, a slave belonged to his or her master who could do with that slave as he wished. While slavery was not abolished in Mohammed's time, as such an act would tear apart the social stability, he did encourage and insist upon rights for the lives of those possessed human beings. Racial equality on Mohammed's part was demonstrated after he victoriously entered Mecca. He destroyed the idols in the Kaaba then sent his companion Bilal, a former African slave to the roof of the edifice to voice the call to prayer. Imagine the feelings of the once proud pagan Meccans especially those of the Qureish clan, when then saw this- a black African slave once despised for his race and origin elevated to a position atop the house that their legendary ancestor named Abraham built. In the eyes of Muhammad's God, all people were of his creation and were deserving of the same love and compassion. All humans who followed various faiths which held to a tradition of a scripture were considered believers who would be judged. In Arabia at the time these religious groups included various types of Christian sects, Jews, Sabians and a host of other religions now extinct. These religions and sects also might experience God's mercy and forgiveness, as stated in the Quran in surah Baqarah, 2:62. These people to whom the scriptures came afore time were on a par with those who followed this new religion called Islam. It was a one to one relationship that no man shall put asunder, and no one had the right to even try. To those who might doubt this, Muhammad would recite the words of God, among many verses one which rings in the Quran: "Let there be no compulsion in religion, unto you your religion and unto me my religion".

After a series of terrible events and a civil war which nearly always plague humanity after the passing of great minds and brilliant leadership, the defeated yet inspired former Meccan enemies of Mohammad the Sufyan family, who would become known as the Umayyads, would utilize that message of unity of his to build an empire and civilization that stretched from Spain to China, a civilization that would enable enlightenment, education, trade and the sharing of ideas. However, in their endeavor, they sought to emulate the man who they opposed, the man who was so loved by his followers, the man who toppled their ancestor's rule. They would create stories, mostly false, about him that would allow the Umayyad lords to act as they wished, take as they wanted, an do as they pleased. The man who came about to challenge nobility was now used as an example to reaffirm nobility and it's misuse of power. Mohammad was turned into a God himself who could marry a child and call for the immediate death of apostates. Non Muslims, once respected and protected, kept themselves safe by paying a small tax for the service of their protection, but were now exploited by the misuse of that hated jizya tax, which forced the dhimmis into a second class status. Islam began to fail because of Muslims, not necessarily because of Mohammad or God. All collected historical evidence shows that he would likely not approve of neither the acts or the modern clerics who quote them as truth, since his mission was to abolish organized religion, not create it.  We cannot be certain, as most of the records we have are from Muslim sources but there are non Muslim sources which have been studied for their versions of Mohammad's life. Historians conclude that he was a revolutionary if not loved then by all, perhaps except his enemies who vehemently hated him. Was their side of the story destroyed? We can never know, since what has come down to us as history may have been compiled by his enemies who were politically minded to build an empire that dwarfed Mohammed's Hejaz world. Certainly, the collections of Hadith and Sunnah have plenty of negativity associated with one whom is held in high regard as a messenger and a prophet. Mohammed nonetheless is certainly remembered as a great social mover by historians, and as a neo deity by believers. There is much work left to do to try and unravel the truth. 

Luther and Mohammad's accomplishments and the great events they unknowingly set in motion are all part of our history now. They are gone from this Earth, but their legacy remains, and there can be no argument about the importance of that legacy. Both men saw the fulfillment of their dreams and the results of their life work, a rarity in history. They were both aggressive and prone to work hard, merciful and tolerant, but  also cunning and cruel when they felt they needed to be. Their reason for being such was for a higher power, and for the service of humanity, though there were those who were affected by their decisions in a rather negative manner. They were far from perfect, and neither of these great men would have expected to be considered perfect. Far from it, in fact. It's not what they taught, it's not what the record shows us. The records show that glorifying them or claiming their infallibility totally contradicts their very human message.

Martin Luther is remembered in the Lutheran and Protestant churches as the great reformer he was. He hammered his 95 thesis on the door of the church and thereby hammered the fate of Europe, and ultimately America, forever. While the Protestant reformation yielded a variety of churches and experiences, from staunch Calvinist and stolid Lutheran remembrance to Anabaptist neo communism and simplicity, to ecstatic African American Gospel and Evangelical religious 'revivals' that claim miracles and cures, using the medium of music and the word, never once does one hear the calls for prayers and blessings upon the soul of Martin Luther. Not once do we hear worshippers asking for his intercession when the day of judgement becomes a reality for their them. His wife, the former nun Kathryn Bora, is not blessed by the congregation, nor are the offspring of their union. This is to the credit of the continued and dedicated spirit of the message of Protestantism, which points to all glory belonging to God and to his Christ. When Luther called for the end of certain practices such as the intercession of others on our behalf he knew that this intercession would contradict the one to one relationship between Man and God that he preached about, that one-on-one intimacy between a believer and his creator. In Protestantism Luther remains a man, a key player in the faith he inspired for sure, one who acted on his convictions, but a man and only a man.

Mohammad was a flesh and blood man as well. Though he may have claimed to be God's messenger, he never claimed divinity. He always taught his people to turn to God, as described in the verse of the opening Surah of the Quran, Al Fatiha- 'Maliki yaumid din', Lord of all the Worlds. He never taught people to honor himself as an incarnation of that God or that he was beyond other humans. Mohammad called himself a messenger, not a prophet since he performed no miracles. He never called upon the community to honor his family or his relations, or ask Muslims to invoke the memory of any of his wives. Yet Muslims do ask God for Mohammad's intercession on the day of judgement, and invoke prayers for his wives and his companions, known as the Sabahin. All indications show that he would prefer the Protestant manner of worshipping God alone rather than he or his friends. In that, he is much like Luther. In fact, Mohammad's humbleness and simplicity is legendary. What Muhammed became as a legend in the years after he died or centuries later as defined and created by an organized, clerical Islam is most likely a Mohammad that neither he nor the people of his time would recognize. 

Indeed when he died, his friend Abu Bakr delivered a famous eulogy: "Know that Mohammad is dead. But God lives forever". This was the essence of Mohammad's teaching, and we can say the same for Luther as well. These men were faulty to be sure, as they were only men. But they attempted to show us the path to the faultless, the God of perfection and the source of ultimate beauty. It would be wrong of us to make gods of men who taught us that common human beings could not or should not be gods. In fact, historically speaking it does them a disservice. Mohammad was, as self described,  God's messenger. The Supreme Being is his god as much as Martin Luther's god, yours or mine, or the deity of the house cat and the watch dog, the birds and the bees. We too are with fault, all of us, as we are not perfect. But God remains for us, faultless and perfect.