Early Life of the Prophet
Muhammad (whose name means "highly praised") was born in Mecca in 570 AD. His father died shortly before
his birth, and he lost his mother at the age of six. The young orphan was
then raised primarily by his uncle, for
whom he worked as a shepherd. At age 9 (some sources say 12), he
joined his uncle on a caravan to
Syria.
As a young man, Muhammad worked as a camel driver between Syria and
Arabia. Soon he established a career managing caravans
on behalf of merchants. Through his travel first with his uncle and later
in his career, Muhammad came into contact with people of many nationalities
and faiths, including Jews, Christians and pagans.
At age 25, Muhammad was employed by Khadija, a wealthy Meccan widow
15 years his senior. The two were married, and by all accounts enjoyed a
loving and happy marriage. Early
records report that "God comforted him through her, for she made his burden
light." Although polygamy was common practice at the time, Muhammad took no
other wife than Khadija until her death 24 years later.
Divine Revelation
In his late 30s Muhammad took to regularly visiting a cave in Mount
Hira, on the outskirts of Mecca, to seek solitude and contemplation. In
610, at the age of 40, Muhammad returned from one such visit telling
his wife he had either gone mad or become a prophet, for he had been visited by
an angel. The initially startled Khadija became his first convert.
Muhammad reported that while in a trance-like state, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him and said "Proclaim!"
But like Moses, Muhammed was a reluctant prophet. He replied, "I am not
a proclaimer." The angel persisted, and the Prophet repeatedly resisted,
until the angel finally overwhelmed Muhammad and commanded him:
Proclaim in the name of your
Lord who created!
Created man from a clot of blood.
Proclaim: Your Lord
is the Most Generous,
Who teaches by the pen;
Teaches man what he knew
not. (Qur'an 96:1-3)
After receiving Khadija's support, and additional angelic visits, Muhammad
became confident he had indeed been chosen as the messenger of God and began to
proclaim as he had been commanded.
Muhammad's message to his countrymen was to convert from pagan polytheism,
immorality and materialism, repent from evil and worship Allah, the only
true God. He was always careful to clarify his role in God's work - he was
only a prophet. He was not an angel, he did not know the mind of God, he did
not work miracles. He simply preached what he had received.
In the first three years of his ministry, Muhammad gained only 40
followers. And as his teachings threatened the Meccan way of life, both
moral and economic, he and his followers experienced heavy persecution. It
first took the form of mockery, but
soon turned into open violence. Members of the small movement were stoned,
covered in dirt as they prayed, beat with sticks, thrown into prison and
refused service by merchants.
Hijira
Persecution continued to increase until Muhammad received some welcome news:
he had gained followers in the city of
Yathrib, 280 miles north of Mecca. The city was in need of a strong
leader, and a delegation from Yathrib proposed that Muhammad take the job.
In return, they pledged to worship Allah only, obey Muhammad and defend
him and his followers to the death. Allah revealed to Muhammed his
approval of this arrangement, and Muhammad made plans to escape to
Yathrib.
The leaders in Mecca heard of the planned escape, and attempted to
prevent it. But Muhammad and his close friend Abu Bakr managed to make a
narrow escape north out of the city, evading a Meccan search party and
arriving safely in Yathrib. This event is celebrated by Muslims as the
Hijira. The year in which it occurred, 622, is the date at which
the Muslim calendar begins. Yathrib was renamed Medinat al-Nabi, "the
City of the Prophet," and is now known simply as Medina,
"the City."
In Medina, Muhammad proved himself an able politician and statesman as well
as a prophet.
Exercising superb statecraft, he welded the five heterogenous and
conflicting tribes of the city, three of which were Jewish, into an orderly
confederation.... His reputation spread and people began to flock from every
part of Arabia to see the man who had wrought this 'miracle.' (Smith,
230).
Battle for Mecca
After establishing himself in Medina and accomplishing the job he had been
invited to do, the people of Medina began several years of battle with
Muhammad's former home city. In 624, the Muslims won their first battle
against the Meccans. As the latter had a much larger army, the former took
the victory as a sign that God was on their side. However, a subsequent
battle was not victorious, and Muhammad himself was wounded. But in 627, the
Meccans attacked Medina, and Medina came out on top. The Prophet was not to
lose again.
In 630, Muhammad and his forces marched to Mecca and defeated it. The
Prophet rededicated the Ka'ba temple to Allah, witnessed the conversion to
Islam of nearly the entire Meccan population, then returned to Medina.
Muhammad died in 632, having conquered nearly all of Arabia for Islam.
Spread of Islam
By 634, Islam had taken over the entire Arabian peninsula. Within 100 years
of Muhammad's death, it had reached the Atlantic in one direction and borders of
China in the other. This success was due in large part to the military and
political abilities of Muhammad's successors, the caliphs.
Morality of the Prophet (SAW) Allah Almighty states in the Qur’aan:
“And verily you (Oh Muhammad) are on an exalted character” (68:4)
Allah is specifically
describing the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) regarding his
characteristics and his behaviour towards the people. Allah has not only talked about the Prophet’s
(S.A.W0 characteristics in this verse but other
places in the Holy
Qur’aan.
In order to understand and
take into
consideration the attributes of the Prophet (S.A.W) let us look at a
few incidents and a few other qualities of the Prophet (S.A.W) mentioned in the
Hadith related by the Sahaaba. It is reported by Imam Bukhari (R.A) in his book.
Hazrat Usama bin Zaid relates: “Once the Prophet (S.A.W) rode a donkey which
was
equipped with a thick cloth-covering and I was behind the Prophet
(S.A.W).
Whilst we were going, we past by a gathering in which Abdullah bin
Ubai Salool
(the leader of the hypocrites) was present and in that
gathering there were
people of different religion i.e. Muslims, Idolaters,
Jews and Pagans. When the
cloud of dust raised by the donkey reached the
gathering, Abdullah bin Ubai
covered his nose with his garment and said,
“Do not cover us with dust.” The
Prophet (S.A.W) greeted them, dismounted
his donkey and invited them to Islam so
that they may embrace Islam. Then
the Prophet (S.A.W) recited to them the Holy
Qur’aan. Just then Abdullah
bin Ubai said, “There is nothing better than what
you recite unto us. If it
the truth, then do not give us any trouble with this
and recite it unto
whosoever you see.” (In other words your tales). Then
Abdullah bin Rawaha
(R.A) who was also present in the gathering stood up and
said, “Yes, O
Messenger (S.A.W) recite unto us whatever you have because we love
it.”
Thereupon the Muslims, Jews and Pagans started abusing one another until
they were on the verge of fighting then the Prophet (S.A.W) went up to them and
started quietening them until everything was settled. Then the Prophet
(S.A.W)
mounted his donkey and rode off.”
In another Hadith it is
stated that during the time in Makkah, the beginning of Islam, when the Prophet
(S.A.W) would proceed outside and invite the people towards Allah in order
to
embrace Islam, he would be tortured and persecuted but he always
observed
patience. Once the Prophet (S.A.W) passed by a house of an old
woman. When she
would know that the Prophet (S.A.W) would pass by her
house, she would place
sharp pins on the floor for the Prophet (S.A.W) to
walk over and be hurt and
this happened for several days continuously. When
the Prophet (S.A.W) passed by
her house he customarily expected her to do
her customary job, but she didn’t.
The Prophet (S.A.W) decided to pay her a
visit on hearing that she was ill. When
she saw the Prophet (S.A.W) she was
astonished thinking that how could it be
possible, the same person that I
used to torture now pays a visit to me.
In another Hadith it is
stated
that the Prophet (S.A.W) never used bad language and never raised his
hands
over his wife or slave except in Jihaad. Hazrat Anas (R.A) relates, “for
10
years I used to serve the Prophet (S.A.W) from the time he emigrated to
Madinah till the day he passed away and never did the Prophet (S.A.W) raise his
hands over me nor did he say to me regarding something I had done, “Why did
you
do it like this?”
It is for these reasons that
people started
to embrace Islam and his love increased inside the hearts of the
Sahaaba
each time they would see him. May Allah give us the ability to inculcate
these attributes inside ourselves and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet
(S.A.W), his family, his companions and all of the pious
people.
Muhammad (whose name means "highly praised") was born in Mecca in 570 AD. His father died shortly before
his birth, and he lost his mother at the age of six. The young orphan was
then raised primarily by his uncle, for
whom he worked as a shepherd. At age 9 (some sources say 12), he
joined his uncle on a caravan to
Syria.
As a young man, Muhammad worked as a camel driver between Syria and
Arabia. Soon he established a career managing caravans
on behalf of merchants. Through his travel first with his uncle and later
in his career, Muhammad came into contact with people of many nationalities
and faiths, including Jews, Christians and pagans.
At age 25, Muhammad was employed by Khadija, a wealthy Meccan widow
15 years his senior. The two were married, and by all accounts enjoyed a
loving and happy marriage. Early
records report that "God comforted him through her, for she made his burden
light." Although polygamy was common practice at the time, Muhammad took no
other wife than Khadija until her death 24 years later.
Divine Revelation
In his late 30s Muhammad took to regularly visiting a cave in Mount
Hira, on the outskirts of Mecca, to seek solitude and contemplation. In
610, at the age of 40, Muhammad returned from one such visit telling
his wife he had either gone mad or become a prophet, for he had been visited by
an angel. The initially startled Khadija became his first convert.
Muhammad reported that while in a trance-like state, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him and said "Proclaim!"
But like Moses, Muhammed was a reluctant prophet. He replied, "I am not
a proclaimer." The angel persisted, and the Prophet repeatedly resisted,
until the angel finally overwhelmed Muhammad and commanded him:
Proclaim in the name of your
Lord who created!
Created man from a clot of blood.
Proclaim: Your Lord
is the Most Generous,
Who teaches by the pen;
Teaches man what he knew
not. (Qur'an 96:1-3)
After receiving Khadija's support, and additional angelic visits, Muhammad
became confident he had indeed been chosen as the messenger of God and began to
proclaim as he had been commanded.
Muhammad's message to his countrymen was to convert from pagan polytheism,
immorality and materialism, repent from evil and worship Allah, the only
true God. He was always careful to clarify his role in God's work - he was
only a prophet. He was not an angel, he did not know the mind of God, he did
not work miracles. He simply preached what he had received.
In the first three years of his ministry, Muhammad gained only 40
followers. And as his teachings threatened the Meccan way of life, both
moral and economic, he and his followers experienced heavy persecution. It
first took the form of mockery, but
soon turned into open violence. Members of the small movement were stoned,
covered in dirt as they prayed, beat with sticks, thrown into prison and
refused service by merchants.
Hijira
Persecution continued to increase until Muhammad received some welcome news:
he had gained followers in the city of
Yathrib, 280 miles north of Mecca. The city was in need of a strong
leader, and a delegation from Yathrib proposed that Muhammad take the job.
In return, they pledged to worship Allah only, obey Muhammad and defend
him and his followers to the death. Allah revealed to Muhammed his
approval of this arrangement, and Muhammad made plans to escape to
Yathrib.
The leaders in Mecca heard of the planned escape, and attempted to
prevent it. But Muhammad and his close friend Abu Bakr managed to make a
narrow escape north out of the city, evading a Meccan search party and
arriving safely in Yathrib. This event is celebrated by Muslims as the
Hijira. The year in which it occurred, 622, is the date at which
the Muslim calendar begins. Yathrib was renamed Medinat al-Nabi, "the
City of the Prophet," and is now known simply as Medina,
"the City."
In Medina, Muhammad proved himself an able politician and statesman as well
as a prophet.
Exercising superb statecraft, he welded the five heterogenous and
conflicting tribes of the city, three of which were Jewish, into an orderly
confederation.... His reputation spread and people began to flock from every
part of Arabia to see the man who had wrought this 'miracle.' (Smith,
230).
Battle for Mecca
After establishing himself in Medina and accomplishing the job he had been
invited to do, the people of Medina began several years of battle with
Muhammad's former home city. In 624, the Muslims won their first battle
against the Meccans. As the latter had a much larger army, the former took
the victory as a sign that God was on their side. However, a subsequent
battle was not victorious, and Muhammad himself was wounded. But in 627, the
Meccans attacked Medina, and Medina came out on top. The Prophet was not to
lose again.
In 630, Muhammad and his forces marched to Mecca and defeated it. The
Prophet rededicated the Ka'ba temple to Allah, witnessed the conversion to
Islam of nearly the entire Meccan population, then returned to Medina.
Muhammad died in 632, having conquered nearly all of Arabia for Islam.
Spread of Islam
By 634, Islam had taken over the entire Arabian peninsula. Within 100 years
of Muhammad's death, it had reached the Atlantic in one direction and borders of
China in the other. This success was due in large part to the military and
political abilities of Muhammad's successors, the caliphs.
Morality of the Prophet (SAW) Allah Almighty states in the Qur’aan:
“And verily you (Oh Muhammad) are on an exalted character” (68:4)
Allah is specifically
describing the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) regarding his
characteristics and his behaviour towards the people. Allah has not only talked about the Prophet’s
(S.A.W0 characteristics in this verse but other
places in the Holy
Qur’aan.
In order to understand and
take into
consideration the attributes of the Prophet (S.A.W) let us look at a
few incidents and a few other qualities of the Prophet (S.A.W) mentioned in the
Hadith related by the Sahaaba. It is reported by Imam Bukhari (R.A) in his book.
Hazrat Usama bin Zaid relates: “Once the Prophet (S.A.W) rode a donkey which
was
equipped with a thick cloth-covering and I was behind the Prophet
(S.A.W).
Whilst we were going, we past by a gathering in which Abdullah bin
Ubai Salool
(the leader of the hypocrites) was present and in that
gathering there were
people of different religion i.e. Muslims, Idolaters,
Jews and Pagans. When the
cloud of dust raised by the donkey reached the
gathering, Abdullah bin Ubai
covered his nose with his garment and said,
“Do not cover us with dust.” The
Prophet (S.A.W) greeted them, dismounted
his donkey and invited them to Islam so
that they may embrace Islam. Then
the Prophet (S.A.W) recited to them the Holy
Qur’aan. Just then Abdullah
bin Ubai said, “There is nothing better than what
you recite unto us. If it
the truth, then do not give us any trouble with this
and recite it unto
whosoever you see.” (In other words your tales). Then
Abdullah bin Rawaha
(R.A) who was also present in the gathering stood up and
said, “Yes, O
Messenger (S.A.W) recite unto us whatever you have because we love
it.”
Thereupon the Muslims, Jews and Pagans started abusing one another until
they were on the verge of fighting then the Prophet (S.A.W) went up to them and
started quietening them until everything was settled. Then the Prophet
(S.A.W)
mounted his donkey and rode off.”
In another Hadith it is
stated that during the time in Makkah, the beginning of Islam, when the Prophet
(S.A.W) would proceed outside and invite the people towards Allah in order
to
embrace Islam, he would be tortured and persecuted but he always
observed
patience. Once the Prophet (S.A.W) passed by a house of an old
woman. When she
would know that the Prophet (S.A.W) would pass by her
house, she would place
sharp pins on the floor for the Prophet (S.A.W) to
walk over and be hurt and
this happened for several days continuously. When
the Prophet (S.A.W) passed by
her house he customarily expected her to do
her customary job, but she didn’t.
The Prophet (S.A.W) decided to pay her a
visit on hearing that she was ill. When
she saw the Prophet (S.A.W) she was
astonished thinking that how could it be
possible, the same person that I
used to torture now pays a visit to me.
In another Hadith it is
stated
that the Prophet (S.A.W) never used bad language and never raised his
hands
over his wife or slave except in Jihaad. Hazrat Anas (R.A) relates, “for
10
years I used to serve the Prophet (S.A.W) from the time he emigrated to
Madinah till the day he passed away and never did the Prophet (S.A.W) raise his
hands over me nor did he say to me regarding something I had done, “Why did
you
do it like this?”
It is for these reasons that
people started
to embrace Islam and his love increased inside the hearts of the
Sahaaba
each time they would see him. May Allah give us the ability to inculcate
these attributes inside ourselves and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet
(S.A.W), his family, his companions and all of the pious
people.