Province
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The Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h)
Mohammed ibn Abdullah (pbuh) was a righteous man, devout and faithful. He never imagined before the Angel Jibreel came to him that he would be the last of the Prophets to reveal the will of Allah |
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The Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) was born Mohammed ibn Abdullah in Makkah in Saudi Arabia in 55BH (570) into the Banu Hashim of the Quraysh tribe - the ruling family of Makkah. At that time Makkah was the most important town in western Arabia. The people of this town were descendants of the Prophet Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him) through his son Ismail.
Makkah at this time was an extremely rich city. The Qurayshi had laid the foundations of great wealth for their native city by charging for the safe passage of camel caravans on the trade routes through Makkah to the Mediterranean.
The two feuding superpowers of the time, Christian Byzantium and Zoroastrian Persia, did their best to establish spheres of influence in Makkah, but the Quraysh shrewdly maintained a policy of neutrality.
Despite, or perhaps because of, its prosperity, Makkah at this time was experiencing a breakdown of social bonds; the erosion of moral values; overweening arrogance of the rich; and the oppression of women, slaves and the dispossessed.
This was the world into which Mohammed the Prophet (pbuh) was born. His father, Abdullah, died on a trading mission before Mohammed's birth; his mother, Aminah, died when he was six; his grandfather and guardian, 'Abd al-Muttalib, died when he was eight. His uncle Abu Talib, now head of the Banu Hashim, became his protector and took the boy on his trading expeditions to Syria. As he grew in maturity and wisdom, the citizens of Makkah, impressed by his character, gave him the nickname al-Amin - the trustworthy.
As a young man, Mohammed also traveled on business on behalf of the widow Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. They married when he was 25, and even though she was 15 years older, their marriage was happy and lasted 25 years.
Mohammed was devoutly monotheistic. He retreated for solitude and meditation each year to a cave in Mount Hira, which lies within the city limits of modern Makkah. It was there during the month of Ramadan 13 BH (610), when he was 40 years old, that he was visited by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) and commanded to, "Recite!" (96:1 -5)
Mohammed was at first distraught by this encounter with the divine, but the support, faith and farsightedness of his wife, and the continuation of the revelations convinced him that his call was genuine and his responsibilities unique. The revelations continued over a period of 23 years and were collated in a book, the Quran.
The first people persuaded of the genuineness and rightness of Mohammed's revelations were those closest to him: his wife Khadijah; Abu Bakr ibn Abu Quhafah; his cousin 'Ali ibn Abu Talib; and his freed slave Zavd ibn Hari-thah.
During the rest of his life Mohammad (pbuh) continued to receive these revelations. In 9BH (613) Mohammed was commanded by God (26: 214-216) to proclaim Islam's message publicly.
The simple and clear-cut message of Islam, that there is no God but Allah, and that life should be lived in complete submission to the will of Allah, was attractive to many people, and they flocked to hear it.
This growing popularity threatening enough to the people in power in Makkah that they in turn threatened Mohammed (pbuh). He and his followers fled for their lives from Makkah to Medina in 1H (622). This journey is called the Hijrah (migration) and the event was seen as so important for Islam that 622 is the year in which the Islamic calendar begins (the Hejira).
In Madinah, the Prophet (pbuh) established the first model Islamic community. Under divine guidance from Allah he organized the Muslims (the believers) into a unified dynamic community with a system of law (sharia) and with institutions built on justice and high moral principles.
He drew up a charter, the Constitution of Madinah, for the coexistence of the city's hitherto warring factions that guaranteed freedom of religion for everyone - perhaps the first constitution in history to enshrine this principle.
He changed the name of the city from Yathrib to Al-Madinah Al-Monawarah - The City of Light in honor of the coming of Allah's wisdom.
Along with the companions he built several mosques in Madinah, and dedicated them to the worship of Allah. The most important of these is The Prophet's Mosque which still stands, in much grander style than it's humble original, to this day.
In this time, the Prophet (pbuh) led his followers into several battles with the Quaraysh from Makkah. The first battle near the city of Badr was so decisive a victory for the Muslims that it changed the course of Islam. The second battle at Uhud, wasn't so successful but within 10 years the Prophet (pbuh) returned to Makkah leading 10,000 men and conquered the city which had expelled him. He immediately rededicated the House of Ibrahim for the worship of Allah alone. It still stands to-day as The Holy Mosque, the most sacred place in all of Islam.
Mohammed (pbuh) continued to lead his community both spiritually and in earthly matters until his death in Maddinah in 10H (632). |
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