لطفا منتظر باشید ...
of
The Holy
Prophet Muhammad
The Seal of Prophethood and Final Messenger of God ( Peace be upon him and his pure
and cleansed progeny )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 was chosen by God to become a prophet
and was given the mission of propagating 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, 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. According to existing traditions the last words on his lips
were advice concerning slaves and women.
The Prophet
(sawas) and the Qur'an
It was demanded of the Prophet (sawas), as it had been of other prophets, that he produce a
miracle. The Prophet (sawas) himself also confirmed the power of
prophets to produce miracles as has been asserted clearly by the
Qur'an. Many miracles by the Prophet (sawas) have been recounted,
the transmission of some of which is certain and can be accepted
