The Life Of The Prophet Muhammad
The Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 AD in Mecca in the house of his grandfather Abdul Muttalib. His father, Abdullah, had died during one of his trading missions to Palestine shortly before Muhammad's birth . His grandfather named him Muhammad to be praised in the heavens and the earth.
Following the death of his grandfather, Muhammad was raised by his uncle Abu Talib. Muhammad accompanied his uncle on a trading mission to Syria when he was only 12 years old. Muhammad was unlettered, because of his uncle's limited means, but he was known for his good character and was nicknamed "The Honest".
His uncle's advancing age made it difficult to undertake long distance trading missions to Syria, Palestine, or Yemen so he confined himself to nearby markets. This led Muhammad to undertake trading missions to Syria for one of the richest women in Mecca - Khadidjah.
This business relationship led to mutual respect and admiration which in turn led to marriage between the then 25 years old Muhammad and the 40 years old Khadidjah. This marriage produced two sons, who died in early childhood, and four daughters who survived Muhammad.
In 610 AD he received the first revelation of the Qur'an. He continued to receive the revelations until his death.
Muhammad's call to Islam met with stiff resistance from most of the people of Mecca. They were afraid to lose Mecca's advantage, as a trading and religious center for Arabia, if Arabs abandon the idols in Mecca and embrace Islam. The Arabs had abandoned the religion of Abraham and Ishmael and used idols as intermediaries between them and God the way many Christians used saints and angels.
Muhammad persisted in his call to Islam refusing offers of wealth and power in return for abandoning his mission. Consequently, the Muslims began to experience persecution which ranged from boycott to physical torture. In spite of all the persecution, the number of Muslims grew steadily. Converts to Islam included Jews and Christian as well as idol-worshipping Arabs.
Muslims began to emigrate from Mecca to Ethiopia to escape persecution. The ruler of Ethiopia protected them from their enemies after he and his church patriarchs heard the chapter of the Qur'an about the Virgin Mary.
The death of his uncle, followed by the death of his wife, affected Muhammad deeply and exposed him to more aggressive persecution. Following the end of the mourning period, Muhammad married Sawdah the widow of one of the early converts to Islam. She was the first of several wives that he married following the death of his first wife.
In 621 AD, Muhammad achieved full spiritual enlightenment. He left Mecca for Medina in 622 AD to join the increasing number of Muslims who immigrated to Medina to escape persecution in Mecca. In Medina, he established a nation of equals based on the brotherhood between the Muslims in Medina and those from Mecca regardless of wealth or social status.
Muhammad invited the Jews to join the new society as an independent nation, governed by Rabbinical court, within the Muslim Nation. The Jews accepted and an agreement known as The Covenant of Medina was signed. This gave birth to the world's first written constitution.
The spread of Islam in Arabia and the growing strength of the Muslims threatened the leadership position of Mecca and its trading missions. The leaders of Mecca and their allies resorted to force in an attempt to eliminate Islam before the Muslims become too strong. Several battles followed but Mecca's hopes were shattered.
The Muslims won or held their own against superior forces in all the battles. This led to the spread of Islam at a more rapid pace. The conflicts with Mecca ended when Muhammad entered the city at the head of 4 armies. The city offered practically no resistance after Muhammad gave his word that everyone who remained at home or in the mosque would be safe.
The idols in Mecca were destroyed and Arabia was united under the banner of Islam before the Prophet's death in 632 AD.
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Revised on 10/3/99
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