Life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Birth of Muhammad (PBUH)

Muhammad (PBUH) was born in the month of Rabi' al-awwal. Tradition places the year of Muhammad's birth as 570, The precise date of Muhammad's birth is considered by Sunni Muslims to have been the 12th day of the month of Rabi'-ul-Awwal.

Muhammad was born into the family of Banu Hashim, one of the prominent families of Mecca, although the family seems to have not been prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime. His parents were Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, from Banu Hashim, and Aminah bint Wahb, the sister of the then-chief of the Banu Zuhrah. According to Ibn Ishaq, the early biographer of Muhammad, Aminah named her child "Muhammad", a name quite unknown at that time in the Arabian Peninsula, after she had a vision while pregnant.

Childhood of Muhammad (PBUH)

Muhammad's father, Abdullah, died almost six months before he was born. According to tradition, soon after his birth Muhammed was sent to live with a Bedouin family in the desert, as the desert life was considered healthier for infants. Because he was fatherless, wetnurses refused to take him, fearing that it would not be profitable to take care of an orphan. However, he was accepted by Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, a wetnurse who had found no child to take care of. Muhammad stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until he was two or three years old. One day, according to his wetnurse Halima, Muhammad was visited by two men, who opened up his chest and washed his heart. Troubled, Halima and her husband returned Muhammad to his mother. He lived with his mother in Mecca for three years until she took him to Yathrib to visit some relatives (uncles from the mother side), and she died on the way back. Now orphaned, Muhammad, aged 6, was passed into the custody of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, who was eighty years old. Muhammad was very close to his grandfather, as had been his father before him. He also accompanied his grandfather, the chief of the clan, to the assembly of the most influential men in Mecca, where important matters were discussed. However, two years later, his grandfather died. Muhammad then came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of the Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe. In 6th-century Arabia, there was general disdain for guardians who took care of the weaker members of the tribes in Mecca. Although Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time.

Having lived closely with destitute people, knowing the impoverished widowhood of his mother, and experiencing his own status as an orphan, Muhammad empathized with the needy. These experiences contributed to a better understanding of the social reform needed and which will be ordered by God (ALLAH) later under his prophet hood. Muhammad learned from his nomadic family the Bedouin oral tradition and he developed mastery over the spoken language. He also came to observe, understand and respect nature, a development that would later be reflected in verses of the Quran.

In his short stay at Yathrib, Muhammad learned more practical skills, like swimming. While living with his uncle, Muhammad began tending flocks on the outskirts of Mecca to earn his living. As a shepherd he learned patience, reflection and a sense of independence in life and work, preparing him for other careers in life. His uncle also took him on many commercial journeys. These journeys exposed Muhammad to cultural diversity and varying religious traditions.

According to tradition, when Muhammad was either nine or twelve years old, he went with his uncle Abu Talib on a business journey to Syria. There he met Bahira in the town of Bosra. When the caravan was passing by his cell, the monk invited the merchants to a feast. They accepted the invitation, leaving the boy to guard the camel. Bahira, however, insisted that everyone in the caravan should come to him. Then a miraculous occurrence indicated to the monk that Muhammad was to become a prophet. According to one version, those were the stigmata that Bahira found on young Muhammad. Other variants of the story say that it was a miraculous movement of a cloud or an unusual behavior of a branch that kept shadowing Muhammad regardless of the time of the day. The monk revealed his visions of Muhammad's future to the boy's companion, warning him to preserve the child from the Jews (in Ibn Sad's version) or from the Byzantines (in al-Tabari's version).

Muhammad (PBUH) as Merchant / Businessman

As an orphan, Muhammad had few options when it came to making a living. He was obliged to help support other members of his family and so after accompanying his uncle on trading journeys to Syria, he became a merchant and was involved in trade between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. By age twenty, Muhammad had built a reputation for honesty and efficiency. He became known as "Al-Amin" meaning "Trustworthy" and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator of disputes.

Muhammad (PBUH) Alliance of the virtuous to provide Justice

A merchant from Yemen came to Mecca, and became the victim of a fraud by a Meccan who knew that the merchant had no relatives, hence no support, in the city. Instead of letting it pass, the Yemeni merchant made his case public, appealing the people for justice. In response a meeting was hosted in which various chiefs and members of tribes pledged to respect the principles of justice, and collectively intervene in conflicts to establish justice.

Among the members who agreed to the terms of the pact was Muhammad. Later on, after proclaiming Islam, Muhammad still acknowledged the validity of the pact, ignoring the fact that most of the signatories were non-Muslim. That pact also purportedly marked the beginning of formalized justice in Mecca, which would be later repeated by Muhammad when he would preach Islam.

Muhammads (PBUH) Marriage with Hazrat Khadijah

After a successful assignment, word about Muhammad being an "honest, fair and efficient" merchant became more widespread. Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, a widow merchant at Mecca, heard about Muhammad, and asked him to manage her commercial operations in Syria. When Muhammad returned from an extraordinarily successful commercial trip, Khadija proposed to him through one of her friends. Tradition reports that Khadija was forty years old.

Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one. Khadija was not only Muhammad's wife, but also his friend and confidante and later his moral support. On his wedding day, Muhammad freed a slave-girl he had inherited, while Khadija, in return, gave Muhammad the slave boy Zayd ibn Harithah, whom Muhammad also freed. Ibn Ishaq records that Khadijah bore Muhammad six children: a boy named Qasim who lived only two years, then four girls Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Um Kulthum, Fatimah and finally a boy named Abdullah who also died at two. The combination of the death of Abdullah, and his desire to relieve his uncle Abu Talib of the burden of a large family, as Abu Talib was already in great financial difficulty, led Muhammad to take his uncle's son Ali into his own home. Muhammad also adopted Zayd, giving him the name "Zayd ibn Muhammad" (meaning Zayd son of Muhammad). However, owing to the adoption revelation from Allah, later verses were revealed stating clearly that a child, especially after adoption, could not be treated as a natural son by marriage or inheritance. Consequently, the adopted child had to retain the name of their biological father. Therefore, Zayd could not be known as the son of Muhammad, but the son of his father, Haritha, and be known as Zayd ibn Haritha.

In Quran : 33:40 40. Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allâh and the last of the Prophets. And Allâh is Ever All-­Aware of everything.

Muhammads (PBUH) Role in Restoration of Kaaba

According to tradition, Muhammad played a role in the restoration of the Kaaba, after parts of it had been destroyed by one of Mecca's frequent flash floods. When the reconstruction was almost done, disagreements arose among the clan leaders as to who would have the honor of lifting / placing the sacred Black Stone into place. The disagreements increased to the point where the clans were about to take up arm against each other, when one of the elders suggested they take the advice of the next person who enters the gates of the Haram. This happened to be Muhammad. He spread out his cloak, put the stone in the middle and had members of the four major clans raise it to its destined position.

The Beginnings of the Quran/ Muhammad's first revelation

Muhammad adopted the practice of meditating alone for several weeks every year in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca. In one of his visits to the Mount Hira, the angel Gabriel (Jibrail) began communicating with him in the year 610 and commanded Muhammad to recite some verses; this was the Beginning of Quran. (Complete First Verses mentioned below in the Narration of the events of First revelation) Around the time when Muhammad was staying in cave on Mount Hira (during Ramadan), the Quraan was revealed to him in several parts.

The initial revelation was followed by a pause of three years during which Muhammad gave himself up further to prayers and spiritual practices. When the revelations resumed he was reassured and commanded to begin preaching:

Your lord has not forsaken you nor does he hate [you] (Quran 93:1-11).

Narration of the events of First revelation by Aisha bint Abu Bakr

Detailed first revelation narration of the events by Muhammad’s wife (Aisha bint Abu Bakr) and other companions (At-Tabari and Ibn Hisham)

One of Muhammad's wives Aisha bint Abu Bakr gave the following narration of the event:

Forerunners of the Revelation assumed the form of true visions that would strikingly come true all the time. After that, solitude became dear to him and he would go to the cave, Hira, to engage in devotion there for a certain number of nights before returning to his family, and then he would return for provisions for a similar stay. Unexpectedly, the angel Jibrail came to Muhammad and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, "I do not know how to read". The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, "I do not know how to read." Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, "I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?" Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said:

Arabic Text:

Translation:  In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Arabic Text: 

Translation:  Read: In the name of your Lord who created. Quran: 96:1

Arabic Text: 

Translation:  Created man from a clot of blood. Quran: 96:2

Arabic Text: 

Translation: Read: And your Lord is the Most generous, Quran: 96:3

Arabic Text: 

Translation:  Who taught [man the use of] the pen, Quran: 96:4

Arabic Text: 

Translation:  and taught man that which he did not know. Quran: 96:5

Cave Mount Hira

Then Muhammad returned with the inspiration and with his heart beating severely. Then he went to Khadija bint Khuwailid and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear was over and after that he told her everything that had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to me." Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your Kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones.

Khadijah then reportedly went with Muhammad to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who had embraced Christianity in the pre-Islamic period and used to read the Bible in Hebrew. Khadijah said: "My cousin! Listen to your nephew!" Waraqah said: "O my nephew! What did you see?" When Muhammad told him what had happened to him, Waraqah replied: "This is Namus (the angel who is entrusted with divine secrets) that Allah sent to Moses. I wish I were younger. I wish I could live up to the time when your people would turn you out." Muhammad asked: "Will they drive me out?" Waraqah answered in the affirmative and said: "Anyone who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should be alive until that day, then I would support you strongly.

Narration of the events of First revelation by Ibn Hisham and al-Tabari

Ibn Hisham edited the biography of Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq.  Ibn Ishaq's work is lost and is now only known in the recensions of Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari.

At-Tabari reported this incident, saying:

After mentioning the coming of the revelation, the messenger of Allah said: I have never abhorred anyone more than a poet or a mad man. I will never tell anyone of Quraysh of my Revelation. I will climb a mountain and throw myself down and die. That will relieve me. I went to do that but halfway up the mountain; I heard a voice from the sky saying "O Muhammad! You are the messenger of Allah and I am Gabriel." I looked upwards and saw Gabriel in the form of a man putting his legs on the horizon. He said: "O Muhammad you are the messenger of Allah and I am Gabriel." I stopped and looked at him. His sight distracted my attention from what I had intended to do. I stood in my place transfixed. I tried to shift my eyes away from him. He was in every direction I looked at. I stopped in my place without any movement until Khadijah sent someone to look for me. He went down to Mecca and came back while I was standing in the same place. Gabriel then left, and I went back home. I found Khadijah at home, so I sat very close to her. She asked: ‘Father of Al-Qasim! Where have you been? I sent someone to look for you. He went to Mecca and returned to me.’ I told her of what I had seen. She replied: ‘It is an auspicious sign, O my husband. Pull yourself together; I swear by Allah that you are a Messenger for this nation.’ Then she stood up and went to Waraqa and informed him. Waraqa said: ‘I swear by Allah that he has received the same Namus, the angel that was sent to Moses. He is the Prophet of this nation. Tell him to be patient.’ She came back to him and told him of Waraqa’s words. When the messenger of Allah finished his solitary stay and went down to Makkah, he went to Waraqa, who told him: ‘You are the prophet of this nation. I swear by Allah that you have received the same angel that was sent to Moses.

“Wahi” the Revelation

Wahi is the Arabic word for revelation. In Islamic context, it refers to the revelations of God (Allah) to his prophets, for all humankind. In Islam, the Quraan is delivered through wahi to Muhammad (PBUH).