The Prophet's Life (PBUH)
There are already hundreds of thousands of books dedicated to describing the life of the Prophet Mohammed, down to even the tiniest details but in this article we will focus on two major themes, knowledge and work while also giving a short summary of his life.
(Pic by Mustafa Kasmi) Birth
The Holy Prophet was born on the eve of Monday the 9th of Rabi Al Awwal (the third month in the Islamic calendar), 571 AC in Mecca. His parents were Abdulla ibn Abdul-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahab, both from Quraish.
Tragically, the Holy Prophet was orphaned before he was even born. His father died at the age of 24 on a trade trip to Levant in Syria, while his mother Amina was still pregnant. He was buried in Yathrib Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was then raised by his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib, then by his uncle Abu Talib after his grandfather passed away. His mother died when he was six.
Prophet’s personality
Like many other young Arabs, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) learned horse riding and martial arts however the nature of his life meant he did not learn to read and write. He was a decent young man who didn’t drink or gamble and became known for his excellent manners. The honesty with which he conducted himself caused him to be known as al-Saadiq (The Truthful One) and al-Amin (The Trustworthy One).
(Pic by Mustafa Kasmi) The incident of the sacred Black Stone (Al-Hajar Al-Aswad) clearly showed the Prophet’s influence on the people of Mecca. According to Islamic tradition, the Black Stone fell from Heaven to show Adam and Eve where to build an altar and offer a sacrifice to God. This altar, called Kaaba today, became the first temple on Earth. Muslims believe that the stone was originally pure and dazzling white, but has since turned black because of the sins it has absorbed over the years.
In the Prophet’s time, the Kaaba required maintenance meaning the Black Stone had to be placed in the East wall of the Kaaba while the work was carried out. A dispute arose as to who would have the honour of placing the sacred Black Stone. Little by little, the dispute turned into a bitter argument and the various tribes prepared for a bloody war.
This fighting went on for four or five days until Abu Umayyah, who was the oldest of the Quraish, used his influence and said to the Makkans, ‘Let the first person to pass through the gate of the Haram (precincts of the Holy Kaaba) be our arbitrator and that all of us accept his view on the problem so it will be solved.’
The Quraish accepted his proposal and waited to see who would pass through the gate first. Suddenly they heard footsteps heading towards them. It was Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), the son of Abdullah. Everyone, of course, knew, loved, admired and respected him. So with a loud voice, everyone said, "Here comes Al-Ameen (The Trustworthy)" and the joyous voices echoed through the place over and over again. “We will accept his verdict!”
Work is worshiping
As the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) grew into a young man, he earned his living raising sheep for his uncles and he travelled with his uncle Abi Taleb on his caravan trading trips to Syria as well as to souks in Mecca, Okadh, Majna and Thi al Majaz. Upon hearing of Mohammed’s impressive credentials, a rich merchant widow named Khadijah asked Mohammed to manage her caravan to Syria and offered him double payment. Mohammed accepted the offer and travelled to Syria with Khadijah’s trusted slave boy Maysara, he was her eye on whoever leads her caravans, and Maysara reported back on Mohammed’s conduct and ethics.
So impressed was she with the reports that came back to her about Mohammed, both from the people of Mecca from her slave Maysara, that Khadijah proposed marriage and became his first wife.
The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and learning
The Holy Qu’ran Revelation:
When the Holy Qu’ran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), he was aged 40 years old and illiterate. He received the first revelation in the year 610 CE, while engaging in a contemplative retreat in the Cave of Hira located on the Mountain of Light (Jabal al-nur also known as Mt. Hira), on the outskirts of Mecca. (Some information for this article taken from www.uga.edu/islam/quran.html. Our thanks to Dr. 'Abd al-Haqq Alan Godlas.)
On that day Mohammed heard a loud voice asking him to “Read”. The Prophet replied, “I can’t read” but the voice again repeated “read”. “I cannot,” replied Mohammed (PBUH), at which the Archangel embraced him again. For the third time the Archangel commanded Mohammed (PBUH) to read but still he said he could not and was again embraced. On releasing him this time, however, the Archangel said:
“Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most generous, Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know." (Iqra 96: 1-5)
Mohammed (PBUH) repeated these verses, just as the Archangel had said them. Once Mohammed (PBUH) left the cave the voiced called him saying, “Oh Mohammed you are the messenger of Allah, and I am his Archangel Gabriel.”
The message of Allah started with inciting people to learn, so the Prophet began urging his people to learn, saying that, “seeking knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim." He also said, "Whoever goes out in search of knowledge is on the Path of God until returning." (Sahih Bukhari).
The Prophet said: "If a human dies, then his good deeds stop except for three: Continuous charity, beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who prays for him."
Following the Prophet’s lead, his companions took it upon themselves to urge Muslims to learn. Imam Ali the cousin of the Prophet said to his companion Al Kamil ibn Ziyad: "Knowledge is better than wealth because it protects you while you have to guard wealth. It decreases if you keep on spending it but the more you make use of knowledge, the more it increases. What you get through wealth disappears as soon as wealth disappears, but what you achieve through knowledge will remain even after you.”
Imam Al Shafi'y toured the whole world to learn. He memorized the Noble Qu’ran at seven years of age and memorized ten thousand lines of poetry at thirteen. Imam Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal said that his care for knowledge is like that of a mother who searches passionately for her lost child. Averroes (Ibn-Rushd) mentioned that he never left reading except on two days: the day his father died and the day of his marriage.
In the Qu’ran, there are several verses urging about knowledge: “God showed great kindness to the believers when He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His Signs to them, purify them, and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided.” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 164)
“For this, we sent a Messenger to you from among yourselves to recite Our Signs to you, purify you, teach you the Book and Wisdom, and teach you things you did not know before.” (Surat al-Baqara, 151)
“It is He Who sent among the unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His signs and purifies them and bestows them the knowledge of the Book and wisdom, although they had been necessarily in manifest error before that.” (Surat Al Jumua 2)
The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) stressed the importance of knowledge in many situations. He told his companions that the angels and all creatures pray for the scholars; God helps the one who seeks knowledge; the scholar is better than the worshipper as the moon is better than the other planets; and that the scholars are the inheritors of Allah’s prophets.
Our history and culture are fraught with examples that urge us to learn and read. Allah created Adam (AS) and He taught him all the names. At the end of the battle of Badr, Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) asked each one of Quraysh’s war prisoners to teach ten Muslims for their ransom. At that time Muslims were in dire need of money; however, the Prophet (PBUH) opted for knowledge rather than wealth.
Before finishing, let us quote what some great people have said about the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and his influence on Muslims in particular and the world in general.
Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the struggle for Indian independence said:
"I wanted to know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind. I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life."
Alphonse de Lamartaine wrote in ‘Historie de la Turquie’:
"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws, and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples, dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls. Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Conqueror of Ideas, Restorer of Rational beliefs... The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire -- that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?”
George Bernard Shaw, the British playwright said:
“The world is in dire need of a man with the mind of Muhammad; religious people in the Middle Ages, due to their ignorance and prejudice, had pictured him in a very dark way as they used to consider him the enemy of Christianity. But after looking into the story of this man I found it to be an amazing and a miraculous one and I came to the conclusion that he was never an enemy of Christianity, and must be called instead the saviour of humanity. In my opinion, if he was to be given control over the world today, he would solve our problems and secure the peace and happiness for which the world is longing.”
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