It has not been recorded how first he began to yield to the impulses
that eventually led him to assume the role of reformer, but it is
certain that at the age of forty he was the leader of a secret
society, which had for its object the political and religious unity of
the Arab people. He knew that far-reaching changes were necessary in
every department of national policy before his ideal could be
realised. Unity was the secret of power and prosperity. This he had
learned through contact with other nations. His dealing with Jews and
Christians had given rise to a deep appreciation of the value of a
monotheistic faith in the consolidation of a people, and he was
convinced that political unity would be achieved only where there was
religious unity. With masterly insight he laid his plans accordingly,
and because of the extreme conservatism was obliged to formulate them
in strict secrecy. Unfortunately, owing to his untrustworthy sources
of information, his policy was founded upon false bases. His distorted
conception of truth led him to establish a system of false philosophy
and theology so framed as to allow of no alteration or adaptation. In
his elaboration of the system, he depended much upon his own
meditative habits, and no doubt thought it all out in the loneliness
of the mountains, to which he frequently retired for the observance of
certain ascetic customs of the Pagans. Thus his scheme of reform
crystallised into definite shape, and his call to the prophetic office
became a fixed idea.
He felt certain that success lay in the determined proclamation of one
god as opposed to the many of the Arab pantheon, and the more he
pondered over this Being, of whom he had heard from the Jews and
Christians, the greater became his certainty. God was supreme and
omnipotent; of that there could be no doubt. But how to convince the
people was a difficulty that needed much careful thought and cautious
propagation. Jews and Christians could boast of prophets--of men
inspired to speak with the voice of God--but the Arabs had had no one
who had spoken with such authority. Why had they been so neglected?
Surely they needed to hear the Divine voice, and that need was never
greater than now, when all was unrest and dissention. Where was the
man who would fill the office? Who would be willing to face the odds,
and declare against evil by proclaiming the good and the true? Such
must have been the questions that exercised Mohammed's mind. Then came
the thought--"Why should not I be the messenger?" And this so grew
upon him that he was convinced of his "call." The possession of this
idea made him sincere in his purpose at first, but after the tide had
turned in his favour, that sincerity was marred--nay, eclipsed--by an
inflated notion of self-importance, and a consuming ambition to which
every virtue and good feeling was subordinated, until at last he was
able, with superb arrogance, to bracket his name with Deity, making
the confession of his claim as important as the confession of the
Unity of God. Wherein his inconsistency and falsity is chiefly
apparent, for confession of Unity is insufficient without recognition
of Mohammed's apostleship!
Ascetic practices tend to lead to physical disorders, which generally
upset the mind and lead to mental and moral distemper. Judgment is
warped because the functions of the mind are thrown out of gear. The
varied departments of consciousness act with ungoverned caprice, with
the result that fantastical fancies and visions are interpreted to be
realties, which become misleading and deceptive. Thus may be explained
the visit of the Archangel Gabriel to Mohammed, but it can hardly be
conceived that it will account for the ingenious method of revelation
which he received. Some people believe it to have been inspired by
Satan; it must ever remain a matter of speculation.
The necessity of a _piecemeal_ revelation could not at this time have
been apparent to the prophet. But we may give him the credit of the
policy of abrogation which he afterwards adopted, for such a policy
was necessary to enable him to cover or justify his actions which,
like those of even the best of men, were marked by inconsistency.