英语听力：Prophet Muhammad 先知穆罕默德 - 16

 This is not something that is fly-by-night. This is something big and important. Islam has come to stay.

 

In just a hundred years, Muhammad’s vision had transformed the spiritual and political map of the world. And his followers¹ had established an empire larger than Rome. But Muhammad never lived to see it. In the 11th year of the Islamic calendar, 632 AD, only two years after the taking of Mecca, Muhammad died. Medina fell into despair. For days, the city was consumed with sorrow and ceremony.

 

He’s known to have said that he wanted to be buried very simply, with no marker over his grave. He didn’t want people to worship his grave. That would interfere² with their worship of god.

 

God had spoken to them only through Muhammad. Now that the prophet had left them, perhaps god would as well.

 

Muhammad’s death set up a crisis in the young Islamic community. The question of succession was the first thing that really occupied people’s concerns. At this point, there was a divergence³ of opinion as to how the community should go about choosing a new leader. According to the Shiites faction⁴, the Shia of Ali, Muhammad had indeed designated Ali his son-in-law and cousin as his successor.

 

The opinion that came to be the majority opinion or the Sunni opinion held that Muhammad had not appointed a successor during his life, but had said “After I'm gone, choose one from among your peers, from among the elders.” And from the house there came out a man who’d be his successor, Abu Bakr, and he addressed people and said “If you worship Muhammad, know that he is dead; if you worship god, know that he lives forever.”

 

Here was the secret to Islam's strength and profound influence, the unifying⁵ power of one god, merciful and compassionate⁶, the power of one people bound by a common faith. Muhammad did not lead the conquest or create the empire to come. The transforming power of his message did.

 

Out of that message would spring a fount of knowledge that would transform humanity, as Islam continued to spread its reach, far and wide. Awaiting the Muslims would be a new age. They would be destined⁷ for enlightenment, for new horizons and a clash of great powers the lack of which the world have never seen.

1 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

2 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

3 divergence   

n.分歧，岔开

参考例句：

• There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
• In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。

4 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

5 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

6 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

7 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。