Prophet Muhammad - The Life of the Prophet Muhammad

Muhammad grew up in the older man's home and remained under Abu Talib's protection for many years. Chroniclers have underscored Muhammad's disrupted childhood. So does the Qur'an: And He found you wandering, and gave you guidance. And he found you in need, and made you independent" Muhammad's Teens When young boy, Muhammad worked as a shepherd to help pay his keep his uncle was of modest means. In his teens he sometimes traveled with Abu Talib, who was a merchant, accompanying caravans to trade centers.

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On at least one occasion, he is said to have traveled as far north as Syria. The two were distant cousins. Muhammad carried her goods to the north and returned with a profit. Muhammad's Marriage and Family Life Impressed by Muhammad's honesty and character, Khadija eventually proposed marriage. They were wed in about She was nearly forty. Muhammad continued to manage Khadija's business affairs, and their next years were pleasant and prosperous.

Six children were born to them, two sons who both died in infancy, and four daughters. Muhammad Receives First Revelation Mecca's new materialism and its traditional idolatry disturbed Muhammad. He began making long retreats to a mountain cave outside town. There, he fasted and meditated. On one occasion, after a number of indistinct visionary experiences, Muhammad was visited by an overpowering presence and instructed to recite words of such beauty and force that he and others gradually attributed them to God.

Studying the Messenger's mission for its various phases and analyzing its internal dynamics is important as it gives the narrative relevance for today. Since his life is better documented than the lives of other prophets and leaders of major world religions, it is possible to build this analysis on a historical foundation. The Search for Light in a Period of Darkness: The Seeker of Truth As his biography Seera is recorded we find Prophet Muhammad pondering over societal ills for years.

The society he was born in was in a state of moral, religious, economic and social chaos. It is difficult to resist drawing analogies between the seventh century world and the state of the human morality in today's world at the beginning of the new millennium. The nuclear man-woman two-parent family, as a core unit of society has eroded seriously in the West.

Brazen sexual exploitation in the media is commonplace and illicit sex condoned and even accepted.

The Seven Phases of Prophet Muhammad's Life

Violence at home, against women, children, and violence in the streets, is frightfully routine. Substance abuse is widespread, with United States as the largest consumer of drugs in the world. Alcoholism is rampant, especially among college students, with only feeble attempts being made to address the problem. African- Americans have been liberated as slaves for a century and a half, yet many are still trapped in an unending cycle of poverty and discrimination, which is in a way a form of economic slavery.

Because of a system that allows unrestrained growth of wealth without encouraging proper redistribution, economic disparities and injustices continue to grow at an alarming rate. There are many excellent characteristics in Western societies, especially in the US that include the freedom of thought, speech and assembly, a tolerant attitude toward eccentricities in human nature and an ambition to be a just and compassionate society. These qualities of the ordinary American however are not always reflected in the policy makers and political leaders. The unraveling of the moral fabric in today's society must weigh heavily on the minds of individuals with insight.

They can draw personal solace and inspiration from the Prophet's life. The Arab tribal society of the Seventh century, whose structure was based on greed, debauchery, and violence, was changed in a very short time, by the Prophet, into a society with one of the highest moral standards in history. Compassion, humility, devotion to God and egalitarianism replaced the old well-entrenched tribal attitudes of pride in wealth, family and class and self-centered behavior.

Women, for the first time in history, had rights and dignity, and the vulnerable and weak sections of the society were protected. Sexuality was removed from public prurience and became private and wholesome. Wealth was re-circulated so that even the poorest segments of the society were infused with energy and indigence became nearly extinct.

The Warner and Exhorter During one his meditative trips to a cave near Makkah, Prophet Muhammad receives the revelation. Divine revelation is the reaffirmation of the fact that celestial knowledge is essential in guiding the inherently limited human intellect. The profundity of this realization that he is the recipient of this divine revelation and the enormity of the task ahead overawes him. Initially he shares the message only with his closest family and a few loyal supporters. It is both fascinating and revealing that even the individual who would later be rated as the most influential man in human history had these initial periods of doubt and uncertainty about his mission.

It was the reassurance from the Quran and the confidence and support of his wife Khadijah may Allah be pleased with her , and his close companions which provided him the support he needs-surely a lesson for us lesser mortals! The Stoic Optimist The next facet of his life is of bringing about proactive change by inviting people Dawa to Islam. With it comes the inevitable hostility of the entrenched powers in the society. Change is always threatening, and the greater the change, the more threatening it is.

This would be true of the change against any established system of practices, whether it be economic, social or behavioral. It would also be true for change in personal behavior like wearing immodest clothing, promiscuity, and consumption of intoxicants. Changing attitudes that valued pride in wealth and country or class and color of the skin over all else would also be difficult.

Not surprisingly the struggle for change becomes life threatening. Muhammad Peace be upon him had to lay his life on the line and on several occasions the nascent Muslim community faced the possibility of total extinction. Fortitude in the face of adversity is the salient feature of this phase. The patience and stoicism Muhammad displays during this phase has been a source of strength to many a Muslim who has found himself beleaguered by apparently hopeless circumstances.

The Pluralistic Leader The Migration, which marks the beginning of the next phase, involves careful planning and meticulous execution. He demonstrates that self-help and reliance on Allah go together and are both essential for success. With his nomination by the community in Madinah to a position of leadership, he shows another facet of his personality: In a very short period after the Migration to Madinah, Muhammad proves he is capable of uniting various factions and setting exemplary standards of cooperation between them.

He makes a seamless switch from being a person under constant persecution to a leader with a large administrative and judicial responsibility. The "Covenant Constitution of Madinah" that lays out the rules of living in a pluralistic society is a document that needs to be studied carefully and implemented to the fullest extent in today's inescapably multi-religious and multi-cultural world.

The Courageous Yet Reluctant Warrior After a brief respite, his mission is consumed by the need to fight wars of survival. These three wars in four years, Badr, Uhad and Ahzab, besides posing a physical threat, must have been extremely distracting and demanding of his time and energy. Yet the work of building the community goes on. It is important to remember that even though faced with very aggressive proponents the Prophet and his followers never initiated or instigated any wars. Muhammad and the Muslims engaged in these battles with great discipline, avoiding injury to the innocent and using only the minimum force needed.

Women, children and non-combatants were not to be harmed. When the enemy stopped fighting, he was to be given immediate sanctuary. Striking a blow in anger, even in battle, was prohibited. He uses innovative strategies in the battles, which include the use of the trench as a defense. During the digging of the trench he is an active participant. He consults frequently Shura with his companions and follows the majority opinion Ijma' , even when it sometimes goes against his own judgment.

The Statesman Par Excellence and Teacher During the next phase, he shows the capacity to compromise and demonstrates the foresight and wisdom to realize that peace, even at seemingly unfavorable terms, is better than hostility. The "Treaty of Hudaybia" also needs to be studied and emulated by all who negotiate with their opponents. The peace dividend, following this treaty with the Quraysh, is huge and results in an exponential increase in the number of Muslims. This also allows the building of a model and just society that functions in a coherent manner.

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Wealth is allowed to be accumulated but has to be circulated fairly into even the tiniest capillaries of the community's economic system. It is an egalitarian society with equity and justice for all, governed by mutual consultation, equality before the law and protection of its most vulnerable members, women, children, orphans, indigents and slaves. As illustrated by many incidents from this phase of his life, the Prophet proves to be an exemplary statesman. He mediates disputes, defuses potentially explosive situations with ease, allowing the parties to the conflict to walk away as friends and allies.

He is unafraid to take risks but is never reckless and compromises for the sake of peace. His emissaries to other nations bring with them a message of cooperation seeking common ground. When he gives a pledge, he always keeps it.

If the other party breaks the pledge, he does not flinch from measures that are appropriate to maintain the sanctity of the pledge. The Compassionate Ruler and Spiritual Leader. The final phase begins with the conquest of Makkah, which is a demonstration of meticulous planning and the use of overwhelming force to achieve a victory with practically no loss of life on either side of the battle front. The stunning magnanimity and humility shown during victory by Muhammad and his companions is unmatched in history. He is humble in victory, compassionate, and forgiving to even his most intractable opponents.

The final sermon consolidates the social, economic, and moral changes that have been brought about in the society.

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It is time to prepare for the end. The anatomy of the mission, its growth and evolution in some ways parallels the various stages of human life itself.

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Leone Caetani considered the attribution of historical reports to Ibn Abbas and Aysha as mostly fictitious while proffering accounts reported without isnad by the early compilers of history like Ibn Ishaq. Wilferd Madelung has rejected the stance of indiscriminately dismissing everything not included in "early sources" and in this approach tendentiousness alone is no evidence for late origin.

Madelung and some later historians do not reject the narrations which have been compiled in later periods and try to judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures. For Sunnis, after the Qur'an the most widely accepted and famous collection of traditions is Sahih al-Bukhari. Imam Bukhari , the author of the book is said to have spent over 16 years gathering over 1,, traditions and finding the best 7, of them. Most of these traditions deal with the life of Muhammad.

For Shi'is, the words and deeds of their Imams, who are also progeny of Muhammad, is authoritative. These were originally oral but were written down after several generations. Some of these sayings, according to their chain of transmission, are sayings of Muhammad as transmitted through the Shi'i' Imams. The Arabian Peninsula was largely arid and volcanic, making agriculture difficult except near oases or springs. Thus the Arabian landscape was dotted with towns and cities near those oases, two prominent of which were Mecca and Medina then known as Yathrib.

The tribal grouping was thus encouraged by the need to act as a unit. This unity was based on the bond of kinship by blood. The survival of nomads or bedouins was also partially dependent on raiding caravans or oases; thus they saw this as no crime. In pre-Islamic Arabia gods or goddesses were viewed as protectors of individual tribes and their spirits were associated with sacred trees, stones, springs and wells.

There was an important shrine in Mecca called the Kaaba that housed statues of idols of tribal patron deities and was the site of an annual pilgrimage. Aside from these tribal gods, Arabs shared a common belief in a supreme deity Allah akin to "God" in English, as opposed to "god" who was however remote from their everyday concerns and thus not the object of cult or ritual. Three goddesses were associated with Allah as his daughters: Some monotheistic communities also existed in Arabia, including Christians and Jews. Muhammad was born in the month of Rabi' al-awwal. Tradition places the year of Muhammad's birth as , corresponding with the Year of the Elephant , which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite king Abraha who had in his army a number of elephants.

Recent scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as or Muhammad was born into the family of Banu Hashim , one of the prominent families of Mecca, although the family seems to have not been prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime. Muhammad's father, Abdullah , died almost six months before he was born. However, he was accepted by Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb , a wetnurse who had found no child to take care of.

Troubled, Halima and her husband returned Muhammad to his mother. Now orphaned, Muhammad, aged 6, was passed into the custody of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib , who was eighty years old. According to traditional accounts, Muhammad was very close to his grandfather, as had been his father before him. However, two years later, his grandfather died. Although Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time.

While living with his uncle, Muhammad began tending flocks on the outskirts of Mecca to earn his living. His uncle also took him on many commercial journeys. These journeys exposed Muhammad to cultural diversity and varying religious traditions. According to tradition, when Muhammad was either nine or twelve years old, he went with his uncle Abu Talib on a business journey to Syria. There he met Bahira in the town of Bosra. They accepted the invitation, leaving the boy to guard the camel. Bahira, however, insisted that everyone in the caravan should come to him. According to one version, those were the stigmata that Bahira found on young Muhammad.

Other variants of the story say that it was a miraculous movement of a cloud or an unusual behavior of a branch that kept shadowing Muhammad regardless of the time of the day. The monk revealed his visions of Muhammad's future to the boy's companion, warning him to preserve the child from the Jews in Ibn Sa'd's version or from the Byzantines in al-Tabari's version. As an orphan, Muhammed had few options when it came to making a living. He was obliged to help support other members of his family and so after accompanying his uncle on trading journeys to Syria , he became a merchant and was involved in trade between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid , a widow merchant at Mecca, heard about Muhammad, and asked him to manage her commercial operations in Syria. When Muhammad returned from an extraordinarily successful commercial trip, Khadija proposed to him through her friend Nafisa. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one. Khadija was not only Muhammad's wife, but also his friend and confidante and later his moral support. After his wedding, Khadija gave Muhammad the slave boy Zayd ibn Harithah. However, owing to the adoption revelation from Allah, later verses were revealed stating clearly that a child, especially after adoption, could not be treated as a natural son by marriage or inheritance.

Consequently, the adopted child had to retain the name of his or her biological father. Therefore, Zayd could not be known as the son of Muhammad, but the son of his father, Haritha, and be known as Zayd ibn Haritha. According to tradition, Muhammad played a role in the restoration of the Kaaba , after parts of it had been destroyed by one of Mecca's frequent flash floods. The disagreements increased to the point where the clans were about to take up arm against each other, when one of the elders suggested they take the advice of the next person who entered the gates of the Haram.

This happened to be Muhammad. He spread out his cloak, put the stone in the middle and had members of the four major clans raise it to its destined position. Then he took it in his own hands and fitted it in its place. The cloak became an important symbol for later poets and writers [48] because of this event and what happened later as described in the Hadith of the Cloak.

At some point Muhammad adopted the practice of meditating alone for several weeks every year in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca. According to some traditions, upon receiving his first revelations Muhammad was deeply distressed, but the spirit moved closer and told him that he had been chosen as a messenger of God. Muhammad returned home and was consoled and reassured by his wife Khadijah and her Christian cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal. Shia tradition, on the other hand, maintains that Muhammad was neither surprised nor frightened at the appearance of Gabriel but rather welcomed him as if he had been expecting him.

When the revelations resumed he was reassured and commanded to begin preaching: Your lord has not forsaken you nor does he hate [you] Qur'an According to Welch these revelations were accompanied by mysterious seizures, and the reports are unlikely to have been forged by later Muslims. Muhammad's mission involves preaching monotheism: The Qur'an demands Muhammad to proclaim and praise the name of his Lord and instructs him not to worship idols apart from God or associate other deities with God.

Sometimes the Qur'an does not explicitly refer to the Judgment day but also provides examples from the history of some extinct communities and warns Muhammad's contemporaries of similar calamities Qur'an Muhammad first told about his message to his wife, his cousin Ali, his adopted son Zayd, his nursemaid Um Ayman and his friend Abu Bakr , all of whom accepted it.

Abu Bakr, who used to purchase slaves to set them free in accordance with Muhammad's principle of equality, attracted a large number of converts. Nevertheless, the converts remained small, and Muhammad concentrated on quietly building a small, but spiritually strong, community.

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One day he climbed Mount as-Safa , and called out the tribal chiefs. After receiving assurances that the chiefs, who reportedly never heard Muhammad tell lies, would believe him, he declared the Oneness of God. Later Muhammad organized dinners in which he conveyed and advocated the substance of his message. At these events, Muhammad met fierce opposition from one of his uncles, Abu Lahab.

Most Meccans ignored it and a few mocked him, while some others became his followers. When he passed by them as they sat in groups, they would point out to him and say "There is the youth of the clan of Abd al-Muttalib who speaks things from heaven. Its key themes include the moral responsibility of man towards his creator: There were three main groups of early converts to Islam: