‘Kun’,
the Creator said, and there emerged the greatest blessing to the
universe as well to mankind in the form of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The
mystery of the existence unfolds through his persona as he himself was a
mystery personified. Islam takes the complete form through him upon the
wish of Allah, our creator, who declared Muhammad (PBUH) to be last
prophet to mankind. Here we take a stand as an observer, a traveler
through time and space through his lifetime and try to perceive our
purpose on earth. Among
the greatest leaders that mankind has ever witnessed, Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) is acknowledged to create the greatest impact through the very
simple life of his. He was an illustration of a great leader, a ruler, a judge and most of all, a great person. Though unschooled, he proved to
be the greatest visionary for his time and all times to come.
In
the year 570 Muhammad (PBUH) was born in Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia.
He was born in the BanuHashim Clan in the tribe of Quraysh. His father,
Abdullah died 6 months before his birth. As the desert environment was
considered better for the health of an infant, Muhammad was sent to live
with a Bedouin family, with his foster mother Halimah and her husband
until he was 2 years old. He was returned to his mother Aminah at the
age of 2. When he was 5 or 6 years old, his mother took him to visit his
father’s grave and some relatives. On the journey back, she fell
terribly ill and took her last breaths leaving Muhammad fully orphaned.
Then he was brought up by his paternal grandfather Abdul Muttalib. After
living with his grandfather for two years before he died, Muhammad was
taken in the custody of his uncle Abu Talib who took care of him for a
long period of time.
This
disrupted childhood was a significant part of the history of Islam as
it was also cited in Al Qur’an (93:6-8) “Did God not find you an orphan
and give you shelter and care? And He found you wandering, and gave you
guidance. And he found you in need, and made you independent”. In his
teens, Muhammad (PBUH) worked as a shepherd and often accompanied his
uncle and his caravans to distant Arabian trade centers. During one of
these journeys in his early teen-age, Muhammad met a Christian monk
called Bahira who claimed to have foreseen Muhammad as a messenger of
Allah. For his significant traits of truthfulness and dutifulness he was
nicknamed as Al-Amin, the trustworthy by the older merchants. And he
was renowned as an impartial arbitrator by all.
In
his early twenties, Muhammad entered the services of a rich Meccan
merchant Khadija BintKhawalayd. He used to carry her goods to distant
north and returned with the profit. By the virtue of his character,
Muhammad was proposed marriage by Khadija and they were married in the
year of 595 at the age of twenty-five. The couple, as the history says,
was by all accounts happily married until the death of Khadija.
There
was a renowned story of Muhammad settling the disputes regarding
setting the Black Stone in the Kaa’ba during the year 605. During the
renovation, the Black Stone, a sacred object was removed which was to be
reset in a place in the walls of Kaa’ba. The Meccan tribe leaders could
not agree upon which tribe would have the honor to hold the Black stone
and set in its rightful place. Incidentally Muhammad was entrusted to
settle the dispute, which he did by making all the tribe leaders hold
the corners of a cloth carrying the Black Stone and set it to the right
place.
Muhammad
was born in one of the darkest hours of humanity, which utterly
disturbed his pure soul, making him wonder about his purpose and role.
He often retreated to the silent cave of the mountain Hira and prayed
for several weeks alone. It was one of these times when he received his
first revelation. The Angel Gabriel appeared to him with the verses of
Qur’an, Sura Al-Alaq, ayat 1-5. He was greatly shaken to his very core
and further gave himself in prayers and meditations. It took three years
for the next revelations to appear with the message “Thy Guardian-Lord
hath not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased”.
Khadija
was the first to believe Muhammad to be a prophet, followed by
Muhammad’s cousin Ali ibnAbiTalib, close friend Abu Bakr and adopted son Zaid. As Muhammad took his preaching public in the year 613 he was
mostly mocked and ignored while a very few became his followers, who
were mostly the weak or the unprotected foreigners. When he delivered
verses from Qur’an reprobating idol worship and polytheism, he was
greatly opposed, even by his own tribe Quraysh. The history records the
incredible torture and ill-treatment of his followers and insults to him
afterwards, but he and his followers never stopped preaching publicly.
Sumayyah-bint-Khabbab is considered as the first martyr of Islam who was
killed by a spear of his master as she refused to give up her faith.
Muhammad (PBUH) was protected from any physical harm by his clan
BanuHashim which was led by his uncle Abu Talib.
Muhammad
(PBUH) experienced the Isra and Miraj afterwards with the angel Gabriel
who travelled together to heaven and hell and talked with the earlier
prophets upon the will of Allah. As Abu Talib and Khadija died in the
year 619, the protection of his clan was withdrawn and it turned into a
threat by Abu Lahab. As Muhammad (PBUH) visited Taif with hope, it
brought him into physical danger and was forced to return to Mecca. He
finally had to migrate to Madina in 622 with his followers, which is
referred to the term Hijra, as he was warned of a plot to assassinate
him.
In
Medina Muhammad (PBUH) gathered more followers; he united the tribes
under the constitution of Medina as he stopped the century old blood
feuds between Jews and Arabs. As his followers grew, the oppressions
grew unbearable from Meccan tribes, who ultimately seized the properties
of all Muslims, leaving them uprooted and workless. As Muhammad (PBUH)
gained verses from Qur’an permitting armed retaliation, he and his
followers initiated armed conflict with Mecca. It was followed by
several armed battles, such as Al Kudr Invasion, Battle of Badr, Battle of Sawiq, Invasion of ThiAmr, Battle of Uhud, and Battle of the Trench
etc, which ultimately resulted in achieving the ruling power of Mecca
after eight years of constant war. He
was a just ruler, a superb diplomat, and above all an honest lawgiver
who assembled all the Arab tribes as a single nation. Most of the people
in Arab at that time were the Prophet Muhammad's (Peace Be upon Him)
followers, but though being the most powerful ruler of Arabia at his
time, Prophet (PBUH) was equally kind to those who denied to be
converted into Muslims. He (PBUH) won several wars, but credible
evidences are there to prove that he was merciful to the defeated army,
and never killed the prisoners of war. Being greatly influenced by his
(PBUH) noble deeds and ways, most of the warriors in every defeated army
and locality then spontaneously converted themselves to the religion
preached by the world's best Lawgiver.
As
Muhammad (PBUH) conquered Mecca, he destroyed all pagan idols from the
city and sent his followers to destroy all pagan temples in 632. During
this time, Islam flourished drastically and most of the people in the
Arabian Peninsula were converted into Muslims. His followers circulated
all around the world to spread the message of Islam.
After
a few months of conducting the farewell pilgrimage with the most of his
followers, Muhammad (PBUH) fell ill and took his last breath in Mecca
on the 8’Th of June 632. He was known as ‘Muhammad Ibn Abdallah.
Completely orphaned at an early age, the Prophet was raised by his uncle
named Abu-Talib, and his grandfather Abdul Muttalib. In his early
youth, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was known to be an honest shepherd
and then as a trusted merchant afterwards. By that early time of his
life, he was well known among the tribe as ‘Al-Amin’, or ‘The
trustworthy’. After he started to receive Almighty Allah’s messages that
have been unquestionably preserved in the Holy verses of Al-Quran, the
Arabian Peninsula was enchanted with his words, enlightened with the
humanity he taught, and reformed with the culture and society he
established according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) had brought enormous changes in the life, society,
economics, and He (PBUH) established a crime free Arab, united against
unholy means of life, he banished hundreds of unjust traditions such as
forced slavery, killing of newborn girls, abusive drinking and
production of alcoholic wine, mass murder and robbery among tribes,
along with countless other social-humanitarian reforms. With the
preaching excellence of Muhammad (PBUH), Islam was proved the religion
that could bring peace throughout Arabia, and so many years after His
(PBUH) death, Islam still is the best way to live our lives in peace.