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After Muhammad died, the people who
lived with him and knew his religion best immediately fell into
war with each other.
Fatima, Muhammad's favorite
daughter, survived the early years among the unbelievers at
Mecca safe and sound, yet died of stress from the persecution of fellow
Muslims only six months after her father died. She even
miscarried Muhammad's grandchild after having her ribs broken by the
man who became the second caliph.
Fatima's husband Ali, who was the
second convert to Islam and was
raised like a son to Muhammad, fought a civil war against an army raised
by Aisha, Muhammad's favorite wife - and one whom he had said was
a "perfect
woman."
10,000 Muslims were killed in a single battle waged less than 25
years after Muhammad's death.
Three of the first four Muslim
rulers (caliphs) were murdered. All of them were among
Muhammad's closest companions. The third caliph was killed by
allies of the son of the first (who was murdered by the fifth caliph
a few years later, then wrapped in the skin of a dead donkey and
burned). The fourth caliph (Ali) was stabbed to death after a
bitter dispute with the
fifth. The fifth caliph went on to poison one of Muhammad's two favorite
grandsons. The other grandson was later beheaded by the
sixth caliph.
The infighting and power struggles
between Muhammad's family members, closest companions and their
children only intensified with time. Within 50 short years of Muhammad's death,
even the Kaaba, which
had stood for centuries under pagan religion, lay in ruins from
internal Muslim war...
And that's just the fate of those
within the house of Islam!
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