God not only created man,
but also bestowed him with means of livelihood and guidance in the form of
rules of conduct. Without this clear guidance mankind cannot lead a peaceful
and virtuous life in this world. Hence God chose a few sacred persons as his
messengers and imparted these guidelines through them. They were called
“Messengers of God” or Prophets. They were humans. They never claimed to be an
incarnation of God or to possess any divine features, qualities or attributes.
Adam was the first man. He
was also the first prophet. Even the first man needs divine guidance! After
Adam, different prophets preached the religion of God in different eras in
different countries. Nuh, Ibrahim, Yacoob, Moses, Jesus were the prophets who
were pre-eminent among them. In the Holy Quran names of twenty five prophets
have been mentioned. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mentions that 1,24,000 prophets
have been engaged in spreading this message of God over the years. In that list
of prophets, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the last prophet.
‘God is one. Worship the
creator. Being obedient to HIS commandments is the purpose of man’s creation.
Even after death, we will be resurrected and will be rewarded or punished based
on our actions’ was the message of all the prophets. (Like
Christianity, Islam also talks about ‘The Judgment Day’. ‘On a mighty day, a
day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds’ – Holy Quran
83:4-6).
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
was born in Arabia which consisted of 10 lakh square miles of deserts. The
people were mostly nomadic tribes. They lived their life traveling in search of
water and agricultural lands. Mecca and Medina were the two most important
cities of the Arabian desert. Mecca was a commercial centre while Medina was an
agrarian settlement. They lived as different groups of tribes. They frequently
engaged in wars amongst themselves. Their focus was mainly on the security and
welfare of their tribes.
The Arabs did not have a
leadership during those days. They possessed admirable qualities like valour,
trustworthiness and hospitality. They were very much interested in poetry and
literature. However, at the same time, they were also engaged in activities
like drinking, gambling, usury and robbery. Women were treated as slaves.
Bonded labour was also in vogue. Social inequalities and social class feelings
were widely prevalent. They were also polytheists. But they believed that the
one who created and sustained them was Allah. Kaaba, in Mecca, was considered
to be an important place of worship. There were 360 idols in that place of
worship.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
was born in Mecca around 570 CE in such circumstances.
Notes:
1 pbuh
– stands for ‘peace be upon him’. The Arabic phrase ‘alayhi as-salām’ which
translates as ‘peace be upon him’ is a conventionally complimentary phrase
attached to the names of prophets in Islam. This is an expression of reverence
and respect for them. Hence this abbreviation is used in English.
2 English
translation of the Holy Quran by Yusuf Ali is being used to quote verses from
the Holy book.
3 Words
in Italics, in a different font and within brackets are my own additions, for
the sake of clarity.
