Prophet
Muhammed (PBUH)
The last
prophet of God is Hadrat-i-Muhammad upon whom be blessings and peace,
who possesses a book and a Shari'ah and in whom Muslims have placed
their faith. The Prophet (sawas) was born fifty-three years before the
beginning of the hijra calendar in Mecca in the Hijaz amidst the family
of Banu Hashim of the Tribe of Quraysh, who were considered the most
honoured of the Arab families.
His father was called 'Abdallah
and his mother, Aminah. He lost both parents at the beginning of
childhood and was placed under the care of his paternal grandfather, 'Abd
al-Mutalib, who also soon passed away. At this time the Prophet (sawas)'s
uncle, Abu Talib, took charge of him and became his guardian, taking him
into his own house. The Prophet (sawas) grew up in his uncle's house and
even before reaching the age of adolescence used to accompany his uncle
on journeys by caravan.
The Prophet (sawas) had
not received any schooling and therefore did not know how to read and
write. Yet, after reaching the age of maturity he became famous for his
wisdom, courtesy, and trust- worthiness. As a result of his sagacity and
trustworthiness, one of the women of the tribe of Quraysh, well-known
for her wealth, appointed him as the custodian of her possessions and
left in his hands the task of conducting her commercial affairs.
The Prophet (sawas) once
journeyed to Damascus with her merchandise and as a result of the
ability he displayed was able to make an outstanding profit. Before long
she asked to become his wife and the Prophet (sawas) accepted her
proposal. After the marriage, which occurred when he was. twenty-five
years old, the Prophet (sawas) began the life of a manager of his wife's
fortunes, until the age of forty, gaining meanwhile a widespread
reputation for wisdom and trust- worthiness. He refused, however, to
worship idols, as was the common religious practice of the Arabs of the
Hijaz. And oc- occasionally he would make spiritual retreats (khalwah)/))
in which he prayed and discoursed secretly with God.
At the age of forty, in
the cave of Hira', in the mountains of the Tihamah region near Mecca,
when he was in spiritual retreat, he recived the first message from GOD
and the permission to start the mission of spreading the new religion.
At that moment the first chapter of the Qur'an ("The Blood-Clot" [Surah-i
'alaq]) was revealed to him. That very day he returned to his house and
on the way met his cousin, Ali ibn Abl Talib, who after hearing the
account of what had occurred declared his acceptance of the faith. After
the Prophet entered the house and told his wife of the revelation, she
likewise accepted Islam.
The first time the Prophet
(sawas) invited people to accept his message he was faced with a
distressing and painful reaction. Of necessity he was forced henceforth
to propagate his message in secret for some time until he was ordered
again by God to invite his very close relatives to accept his message.
But this call was also fruit- less and no one heeded it except Ali ibn
Abi Talib, who in any case had already accepted the faith. (But in
accordance with documents- transmitted from the Household of the Prophet
(sawas) and extant poems composed by Abu Talib, the Followers of Ahlul
Bayt believe that Abu Talib had also embraced Islam; however, because he
was the sole protector of the Prophet (sawas), he hid his faith from the
people in order to preserve the outward power he had with the Quraysh.)
After this period,
according to Divine instruction, the Prophet (sawas) began to propagate
his mission openly. With the beginning of open propagation the people of
Mecca reacted most severely and inflicted the most painful afflictions
and tortures upon the Prophet (sawas) and the people who had become
newly converted to Islam. The severe treatment dealt out by the Quraysh
reached such a degree that a group of Muslims left their homes. and
belongings and migrated to Abyssinia.
The Prophet (sawas) and
his uncle, Abu Talib, along with their relatives from the Banu Hashim,
took refuge for three years in the "mountain pass of Abu Talib," a fort
in one of the valleys of Mecca. No one had any dealings or transactions
with them and they did not dare to leave their place of refuge. The
idol-worshipers of Mecca, although at the beginning they considered
inflicting all kinds of pressures and tortures such as striking and
beating, insult, ridicule and defamation on the Prophet, occasionally
would also show kindness and courtesy toward him in order to have him
turn away from his mission. They would promise him great sums of money
or leadership and the rule of the tribe. But for the Prophet (sawas)
their promises and their threats only resulted in the intensification of
his will and determination to carry out his mission. Once, when they
came to the Prophet (sawas) promising him wealth and power, the Prophet
(sawas) told them, using metaphorical language, that if they were to put
the sun in the palm of his right hand and the moon in the palm of his
left hand he would not turn away from obeying the unique God or refrain
from performing his mission.
About the tenth year of
his prophecy, when the Prophet (sawas) left the "mountain pass of Abu
Talib," his uncle Abu Talib, who was also his sole protector, died, as
did also his devoted wife. Henceforth there was no protection for his
life nor any place of refuge. Finally the idol-worshipers of Mecca
devised a secret plan to kill him. At night they surrounded his house
from all sides with the aim of forcing themselves in at the end of the
night and cutting him to pieces while he was in bed. But God, the
Exalted, informed him of the plan and commanded him to leave for Yathrib.
The Prophet (sawas) placed
Ali in place of himself in his bed and at night left the house under
Divine protection, passing amidst his enemies, and taking refuge in a
cave near Mecca. After three days when his enemies, having looked
everywhere, gave up hope of capturing him and returned to Mecca, he left
the cave and set out for Yathrib. The people of Yathrib, whose leaders
had already accepted the message of the Prophet (sawas) and sworn
allegiance to him, accepted him with open arms and placed their lives
and property at his disposal. In Yathrib for the first time the Prophet
(sawas) formed a small Islamic community and signed treaties with the
Jewish tribes in and around the city as well as with the powerful Arab
tribes of the region. He undertook the task of propagating the Islamic
message and Yathrib became famous as "Madinat al-rasul" (the city of the
Prophet).
Islam began to grow and
expand from day to day. The Muslims, who in Mecca were caught in the
mesh of the injustice and inequity of the Quraysh, gradually left their
homes and property and migrated to Medina, revolving around the Prophet
(sawas) like moths around a candle. This group became known as the
"immigrants" (muhajirun) in the same way that those who aided the
Prophet (sawas) in Yathrib gained the name of "helpers" -ansar).
Islam was advancing
rapidly but at the same time the idol- worshipers of Quraysh, as well as
the Jewish tribes of the Hejaz, were unrestrained in their harassment of
the Muslims. With the help of the "hypocrites" (munafiqun) of Medina,
who were amidst the community of Muslims and who were not known for
their holding any particular positions, they created new misfortunes for
the Muslims every day until finally the matter led to war.
Many battles took place
between the Muslims and the Arab polytheists and Jews, in most of which
the Muslims were victorious- . There were altogether over eighty major
and minor battles. In all the major conflicts such as the battles of
Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, Khaybar, Hunayn, etc., the Prophet (sawas) was
personally present on the battle scene. Also in all the major battles
and many minor ones, victory was gained especially through the efforts
of Ali. He was the only person who never turned away from any of these
battles. In all the wars that occurred during the ten years after the
migration from Mecca to Medina less than two hundred Muslims and less
than a thousand infidels were killed.
As a result of the
activity of the Prophet (sawas) and the selfless effort of the muhajirun
and ansar during this ten-year period, Islam spread through the Arabian
peninsula. There were also letters written to kings of other countries
such as Persia, Byzantine and Abyssinia inviting them to accept Islam.
During this time the Prophet lived in poverty and was proud of it. He
never spent a moment of his time in vain. Rather, his time was divided
into three parts: one spent for God, in worshipping and remembering Him;
a part for himself and his household and domestic needs; and a part for
the people. During this part of his time he was engaged in spreading and
teaching Islam and its sciences, administrating to the needs of Islamic
society and removing whatever evils existed, providing for the needs of
the Muslims, strengthening domestic and foreign bonds, and similar
matters.
After ten
years of stay in Medina the Prophet (sawas) fell ill and died after a
few days of illness. |