Muhammad (pbuh) was born
around 570 CE to Abdullah and Aminah. He was a posthumous child. He lost his
mother also before he was six. When he was a young boy, he was a cowherd. When
he was 10, he was involved in his paternal uncle’s business and visited Syria
as a part of the trade delegation. In his 25th year, he became well
known in Mecca for his qualities of integrity, honesty and discipline. He came
to be called AL-Amin (the trustworthy) and AS-Sadiq (the truthful) by the
people. People entrusted their valuables to him for safe keeping. In case of
any disputes, people accepted him as their arbiter.
Impressed with Muhammad’s
(pbuh) integrity, Khadija one of Arabia’s distinguished and well known baroness,
entrusted her business to him as a caretaker. Later, attracted by his
personality and charisma, she married him. Khadija was already twice widowed at
that time and she was 40 while Muhammad (pbuh) was only 25.
Around his 35th
year Muhammad (pbuh) spent lot of his time in a cave known as mount Hira near
Mecca. In solitude, he spent his time on contemplation. He reflected upon the
evils, injustices and false beliefs prevailing in Mecca then. In the year 610
CE, in his 40th year, during one such contemplation, the holy
scriptures were revealed to him.
“Proclaim! In the name of
thy Lord and cherisher, who created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed
blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is most bountiful, HE who taught (the use of) the
pen, taught man that which he knew not.” (Holy Quran 96:1-5)
When Muhammad (pbuh) heard
these dialogues, he was shivering with fear. He became confused. He was
overcome with fright as to whether he was possessed by some evil spirit. Again
he heard the words “Muhammad, you are a messenger of God. I am angel Gabriel.
Therefore Proclaim.” Muhammad (pbuh) responded “I do not know how to proclaim!”
Again the voice reiterated “Proclaim!” He returned home perturbed. However, his
wife assuaged him with the words “Do not worry. I shall be by your side always
as a source of strength. No harm will come upon you. You are giving plenty as
alms to the poor. You are supporting the orphans, widows and the destitute. God
will not abandon you”.
She then took her husband
to her relative Waraqah bin Nawfal, a Christian scholar. After hearing out
Muhammad (pbuh), Waraqah responded “Muhammad, it was indeed the angel Gabriel
that commanded you. He was the angel that commanded Moses as well. Your people
will criticize you as a liar. They may persecute you. They may even banish you
from your city”.
After this event, Muhammad
(pbuh) gained the status of a Prophet. Just like the earlier prophets, the holy
scriptures were revealed to him in stages. It started in 610 CE and continued
for 23 years till 632 CE. He started disseminating this in secret initially but
later did it openly. His teachings primarily focused on telling people to
discard false beliefs handed down by their ancestors, worship the only God, do
away with social inequalities, and not earn wealth through inappropriate means.
He was against drinking, gambling and usury. He also spoke about giving rights
to women, abolishing slavery, not exploiting the poor and treat orphans with
dignity. He also proclaimed that the poor had a right to the wealth of the
rich.
These teachings were not
well received by the influential and the wealthy leaders of the time. They
believed that these teachings would put an end to their political, social and
economic well being. They were disturbed that they would lose the wealth that
they were earning by administering the Kaaba. They feared that Muhammad (pbuh)
may even assume leadership of Arabia. Hence they fiercely opposed Muhammad
(pbuh) and his followers. They tortured them to the extent it became
unbearable.
Seeing the cruelty being
inflicted on his followers, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) sent a group of his
followers to nearby Abyssinia (in Ethiopia). He also told them that the
Christian King who was ruling that country, Najashi, was a good man and would
protect them. The Christian king also gave them refuge.
In the year 620 CE, 13
years after he had started his preaching, he could see light at the end of the
tunnel. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) got an invitation from the people of a city
called Yathrib (presently Medina) which was about 200 miles away from Mecca.
They declared that they would follow his teachings, provide him with security
and accept him as their leader. Accepting this offer, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
migrated permanently to Medina along with his followers. This incident is
referred to as ‘Hijra’. This event also marks the beginning of the Islamic year
and calendar. This also turned out be a turning point in his life. The people
of Medina accepted Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) as their political and religious
leader. Those days, there were people who did not accept Islam as also Jews.
The Prophet created a common political manifesto for all concerned. The Jews
were given full freedom to pursue their religion and culture.
The people of Mecca, who
could not bear the growth and popularity of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), started wars
on Medina many times and failed. Finally a truce treaty was signed between both
parties in the year 628 CE. This was called ‘The treaty of Hudaybiyyah’. After
this event, Islam spread fast to various parts of the Arab peninsula. The
people of Mecca, at times, violated the peace treaty. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
marched towards Mecca with about 10,000 soldiers and instead of retaliating,
granted them amnesty. He assured them that there would not be any retribution. Realizing
Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) magnanimity, the people of Mecca also embraced Islam.
In the year 632 CE, in his
last year of earthly sojourn, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) came to Mecca along with
his followers and completed his Hajj duties and released a ‘Declaration of
Human Rights’ (which would be discussed in detail later). Later that year, at
63, he passed away. During his time, Islam spread to about 10 lakh
square miles and about 5 lakh people embraced Islam.
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