Muhammad The Messenger of Allah [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

PART ONE

PROPHET'S LIFE BEFORE
HIS PROPHETHOOD

THE BLESSED BIRTH

Amidst that tumultuous environment of pre-Islamic
Arabia, filled with all manifestations of misguidance,
perversion and oppression, Muhammad bin Abdullah bin
Abdul-Muttalib (s.a.w.) was born.

For some divine purpose, he did not see his father who
had passed away while returning from Syria with a
caravan. Muhammad (s.a.w.) was, at that time, only an
embryo in the womb of his mother Aminah daughter of
Wahab, may Allah be pleased with her.(1)

His blessed birth took place in the month of
Rabi'ul-Awwal(2) one month or more after the annihiation
of the army headed by the elephants which went out to
attack the Holy Ka'ba(3). The story is recorded in one
whole surah (chapter) in the Qur'an called al-Fil.
Thuwaibah, the woman servant of Abu Lahab, suckled him
for a few days with her baby Masrooh before the arrival
of the wet-nurses from the deserts. It was a long-
established habit for the people of Mecca to leave their
babies in the care of the desert's wet-nurses so that
they were brought up brave eloquent and in touch with the
realities of desert life. As was expected, 10 wet-nurses
from the tribe of Sa'd bin Bakr, arrived at Mecca and
everyone of them found a baby to take care of except
Halimah, daughter of Abu Dhu'aib Abdullah. Muhammad
(s.a.w.) was offered to her, but due to his being an
orphan, which meant little profit for her, she was
reluctant to take him.

Being uncertain about what to do, she consulted her
husband, who was with her. I hate to return
empty-handed, she told him, But there is no
baby left to me except this orphan. Her husband
advised her to take him, for Allah may bless him. No
sooner did she place the nipple of her breast into the
baby's mouth, her milk began to flow abundantly. Before
that her own baby was always half-hungry because of the
scarcity of his mother's milk.

The blessedness of the Prophet began to spread all
over the neighborhood. The verdure of the meadows greatly
increased, as before the area was waterless and barren.

Two years later, Halimah had weaned the baby and brought
him back to Mecca to visit his mother and relatives. She
told them bow the baby was blessed, and how her life was
changed after taking him. Then she returned, accompanied
by the baby, to the neighborhood.

DIVINE FOSTERAGE OF THE PROPHET

The interesting point in the early years life of the
Prophet (s.a.w) for whoever wants to study his life, is
the fact that Allah adopted him, not only in maintaining
his health, preparing him for the great role he was to
have later.

The books written about the life of the Prophet (s.a.w.)
are filled with events that corroborate the fact that he
was under the direct care of Allah and this enabled him
to shoulder the future responsibility of prophethood.

Imam Ali bin Abi-Talib (a.s.) refers to this point in
one of his sermons in Nahj al-Balaghah:

From the time of his birth, Allah had
appointed the archangel among all the angels, to always
be with him. And this archangel was leading him towards
exemplary qualities and high moral values by night and
day...(4)

Referring to this fact, Imam Muhammad bin Ali al-Baqir
was related to have said:

Allah had appointed the archangel to be with
Muhammad, since he was weaned, leading him to the way of
graces, the best of morals, and leading him away from
evil and vices.(5)

One major trace of the divine care for the Prophet
(s.a.w.) was that he was, from early age, a monotheist.
He used to unequivocally proclaim his hostility to the
idols(6). He used to perform hajj without eating the meat
which was slaughtered at the feet of the idols. He would
to mention the name of Allah before having his food'(7)
and praise Allah when he finished. Muhammad, He was
widely known among Arabs to be upright and virtuous. He
would keep his word, and for that he was known as
the truthful and the faithful.

UNDER THE GUARDIANSHIP OF HIS GRANDFATHER

The Prophet was five years old when Halimah
al-Sa'diyyah brought him back to his family in Mecca.
Abdul-Muttalib, his grandfather, showered him with care
and fatherly love. He ate with him, spoke with him
kindly, sat on his bed, and provided him with special
attention and warmth.

It was not out of sentiment that Abdul-Muttalib cared so
much for Muhammad (s.a.w) as the son of his deceased son
Abdullah, but because he felt deeply that he would be a
prominently great man in the future. It was for this
reason that he would ask his son Abu-Talib, and Umm-Ayman
to look after him and provide him with whatever he
needed.

At the age of six, his mother Aminah, took him with
her, accompanied by Umm-Ayman, to visit his uncles from
the tribe of Uday bin al-Najjar in Madinah. After one
month they decided to return to Mecca. But, en route to
Mecca, his mother, Aminah, passed away. She was laid to
rest at al-Abwa', a village halfway between Mecca and
Madinah. Umm-Ayman resumed the journey alone, and in
Mecca she was devoted to him as his mother was, while his
grandfather looked after him as if he were his son. But,
it was not long before Abdul-Muttalib died. The Prophet
was, at the time, eight years old.

UNDER THE CARE OF ABU TALIB

Abu Talib,(8) his uncle, took him and treated him very
kindly. He even gave him precedence over his sons.
Muhammad (s.a.w.) would sleep in the bed of his uncle,
sit next to him, eat with him, and go out with him.

ADULTHOOD

As soon as he came of age, Muhammad (s.a.w.) began to
work to earn his living. First, he became a shepherd.
Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him,
related that he was with the Prophet (s.a.w.) with other
Muslims, picking al- Kabath (a kind of fruit). The
Prophet (s.a.w.) said:

Pluck the black ones. They are sweetest. I
used to gather it while pasturing my sheep.

You were pasturing the sheep, O Messenger of
Allah?, we asked him.

Yes, he replied, every
prophet was at sometime a shepherd.(9)

Allah, the Most High, was able to spare His Prophet
(s.a.w.) the tiresome task of working. He willed to set
the Prophet (s.a.w.) as an example for the people so that
nobody would rely on anybody else for earning his living.

Islam stressed the importance of work. The Prophet
(s.a.w.) is reported to have said:

Cursed be who throws his burdens on other
people.(10)

Worship is of seventy kinds, the best of
which is earning one's living righteously.

An excellent help to guard against evil is
wealth.(11)

MARRIAGE

At the age of twenty-five he went to Syria on a
mercantile mission on behalf of Khadij ah the daughter of
Khuwailid, may Allah be pleased with her. Khadijah was
the best among the women of Quraish. She was the richest,
the noblest and the most beautiful among them. She was
called the chaste, and the mistress of
Quraish. She would hire men to work in trade for her in
return for a fixed percentage of the profit.

When the Prophet (s.a.w.) became to be widely known for
his faithfulness and the smoothness of his manners, she
offered him money to go to Syria and promised him a good
share in the profits, more than any share given to any
man before him.

He set out for Syria, leading a big caravan. Maisarah,
her slave, went with him. They sold articles and bought
merchandise and returned with profuse sums of money.
Fascinated by the Prophet, Maisarah began to tell
Khadijah of his attributes. She was attracted to him, for
his high-mindedness, righteousness, faithfulness and
kindness and decided that he would be her husband. She
preferred him to the rich dignitaries of the Quraish who
promised her immeasurably great riches. For that purpose,
she sent Nafisah the daughter of Munabbih to talk to him
about it.

What makes you refrain from getting
married?, Nafisah asked him. I have no
money, he replied.

If you were given that, and were asked to marry
a beautiful, rich, honest and noble woman, would you
accept the offer?

What is the name of the woman?
Khadijah!. How could I manage it?

Leave everything to me, she promised him.

The Prophet (s.a.w.) then sent his uncle Abu
Talib(12), to ask Khadijah's hand to marriage. As her
father was dead by then, Abu Talib broached the subject
to her uncle. Both parties agreed, and so the marriage
took place. The Prophet (s.a.w.) was twenty-five years
old, at the time. As for Khadijah, historians have
disagreed about ,her age. But they agreed that they got
married(13) after the Prophet's (s.a.w.) return from
Syria.

The newlyweds moved to the house of Khadijah, and
achieved the most perfect union, perfumed with love,
loyalty and mercy. Amid hardships and troubles, she
helped him, encouraged him and alleviated his worries.

Apart from her love for him, she was a chaste women
with deep insight, she managed their affairs patiently
and skillfully.

She was, furthermore, the first ever to believe in his
message.(14) For the sake of his call, she spent all her
riches. He loved her as she loved him. He did not marry
any other women until after she died.

Whenever he remembered her, he praised her and mentioned
her good deeds to his wives, so much so that 'A'ishah'
said: I never felt envious of any of the Prophet's
wives, except of Khadijah, whom I did not see.

She, further, added: Whenever the Messenger of
Allah slaughtered a sheep, he ordered his attendants to
distribute the meat among the friends of Khadijah. One
day I made him angry by saying mockingly 'Khadijah!', he
said to me: 'I was given her love by Allah'
(15)

A'ishah also reported: The Messenger of Allah
would hardly leave the house without mentioning Khadijah
in good words. One day he mentioning her and so I felt
deeply envious and blurted out; she was nothing but an
old woman. Allah has replaced her with better than her.'

No by Allah, he said indignantly; Allah
did not replace her with those who better than her, she
had faith in me when the people rejected my call. She
believed me when the people charged me with falsehood.
She consoled me with her wealth when the people deprived
me theirs, and Allah gave me, by her sons and
daughters.(16)

Diligence and toil were characteristics of his life
from an early age. His marriage with Khadijah, may Allah
be pleased with her, gave his life some rest and comfort.
The kindness and true love Khadijah showered on the
Prophet (s.a.w.) compensated him for the fatherly love
and motherly kindness which he was deprived of, during
childhood.

During that phase of his blessed life, the first signs of
prophethood began to surface. It was for this reason that
he was preparing himself by restoring to the cave of Hira
during certain days. He would remain there, worshipping
and mediating for a whole month every year. He would
remain there far away from the pre-Islamic perversions
and the corrupt city atmosphere. Muhammad was on the
threshold of bearing the divine message.

He went on with his meditations and worship till he
became 40 years old. Then, the holy revelation shone on
his soul and heart delivering the first statement of the
seal of divine messages:

Read in the name of your Lord Who
created...

Holy Qur'an (96:1)

It is worth mentioning here that the divine books
announced the good news of the advent of the message of
Allah (s.a.w.). The Jewish Christian scholars were aware
of this fact, but they were swept with the fanaticism of
jealousy and prejudice when the truth arrived, but no one
could have any doubts about this new reality.

The Qur'an mentions what they would tell the tribes of
al-Aws and al-Khazraj in this respect:

And when there came to them a Book,
confirming what was with them, and aforetimes they used
to pray for victory against those who disbelieved, but
when there came to them (Prophet) that which they did not
recognize, they disbelieved in him; so Allah's curse is
on the unbelievers.

Holy Qur'an (2:89)

And so good news of the coming of the Prophet (s.a.w.)
became widespread. The main topic of popular discussion
was this. The Christian monks and Jewish rabbis were
already reading in their divine books of the coming of a
new Prophet who would fill the world with light, guidance
and bless.

SOCIAL STATUS

Prior to his rise to prophethood, during the previous
1520 years, his social status was high. He was known to
be well-mannered, high-minded, truthful and trustworthy.

The power was clearly mainfested during the rebuilding of
the Holy Ka'ba. After it caught fire, the Ka'ba was
flooded with sweeping torrents. Great damage was done and
the tribe of Quraish made their minds to rebuild it,
al-Walid bin al-Mughirah, accompanied by a number of the
Quraishis, went to Jidda and bought the timber of a ship
that had wrecked on its shore. The wood was bought to
make the roof of the Ka'ba. A carpenter, Baqum by name
and a slave of Sa'id bin al-Aws, was charged with
rebuilding the Ka'ba.

All the clans of the Quraish took part in the process.
But, finally, when the time came to put the black stone
in its place a difference arose among them over who
should win the honour of putting it in its place. Every
clan of the Quraish eagerly wanted to do that.

The difference grew to a .quarrel and had not Abu
Umayyah bin al- Mughirah, the eldest among them,
suggested the first one to enter the Ka'ba from the door
of Bani Shaibah arbitute on the matter the situation
would have gotten out of hands.

They imptiently awaited the man. Before long Muhammad
(s.a.w.) came into the Ka'ba. Upon seeing him, they
unanimously agreed, This is the trustworthy. We
accept him as the arbitrator. This is Muhammad.
When they told him of the problem he ordered them to
bring him a piece of cloth. He spread it on their ground,
then placed the Black stone on it. Let every group
hold the cloth then carry it up, lie told them. He,
then, carried it, with his blessed, and restored the
stone to its place.

PACT OF AL-FUDUL

Shortly after the tragical war of al-Fujjar a pact was
signed between the warring Arab tribes.(17) The agreement
did achieve a victory for the wronged parties. All the
sides agreed on the principle of warding off wrongs, and
cooperating to back what was right and defend the
oppressed The Prophet (s.a.w.) praised the pact in these
words:

If I were given red camels, I would not have
been more pleased than to be a participant in their pact
at the house of ibn Jada'an.(18) The tribes of
Hushim, Zahrah and Taym agreed forever to be on the side
of the oppressed. If I were invited now, I would respond
affirmatively. It was the pact of al-Fudul.(19)