Do you think Islam was originally meant by the Rasul to be a free liberating egalitarian religion - kind of like…if we’re all muslim, then society will work out and civilization naturally follow…
Or do you think he saw human nature as brutish and selfish and that he had to design a religion that would curb rights to maintain discipline?
Erm, I hope you guys see the difference between the two scenarios…
In other words, is the political aspect of our religion (i.e. rules upon rules for every little thing, the ethics code, etc) a byproduct of the original movement in Mecca and Medina, or was it one of the original intents (i.e. Spread the Word of God, and also Discipline people into have a proper civilization)?
He did not “design” the religion. Rather it was revealed to him from the Lord of the Worlds.
Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.
It is only an Inspiration that is inspired. (An-Najm 53:3 - 4)
Also, your question does not make much sense to me, sorry.
But the “rules” you mention, which is the Sharee’ah, was revelead by Allaah with His Perfect Knowledge and Wisdom for mankind. The “rules” you mention, are also a means of spreading the word of God, and you cannot sperate that fact.
How were the Shariah rules revealed? I thought they were man-made based upon rules already set forth in the Quran and from the Prophet's own way of dealing with different situations, and then modified over years to adjust for different cases that arose.