Muhammad was still in his mother’s womb when his father, Abdullah, died. After his birth, Amine, his mother, sent the baby to Abdul Mutely, his grandfather, who was in Kabah at that time. The grandfather was overjoyed at the news, for he loved Abdullah, Muhammad’s father, very much. The grandfather gave him the name “Muhammad”, meaning “the praised one.” As was the practice of the Makkah nobility, he was handed over to a wet nurse, Kalimah al-Sadly, who belonged to the Banu Sad tribe. This custom is still practiced among Makkah aristocracy.
Kalimah nursed Muhammad for two years and a few months. She said that when he stayed with them, her family received all kinds of unaccustomed blessings. Having nursed so many children before, she noticed something ‘different’ or ‘extraordinary’ about the infant Muhammad. These observations are recorded in detail by some biographers such as Al-Walid, Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham.
Two years later, after the child had been weaned, Kalimah brought him back to his mother. But Makkah at that time was stricken with an epidemic, so Amine asked her to take him back to live in the pure air of the desert.
Thus Muhammad remained in the charge of Kalimah until the age of five. He learned Arabic in its purest form from this tribe. Muhammad used to tell his companions, “I am the most Arab among you, for I am of the tribe of Quraysh and I have been brought up among the tribe of Banu Sad bin Bakr.
Muhammad returned to his mother after five years of desert life. Then Amine took him to Madinah to meet her uncles, the Banu al-Ajar. She was accompanied by Umm Layman, her servant, on that trip. After a stay of a month in Bathrobe, Amine was on her way back to Makkah, when passing through a village called Abash, she fell ill and died there. She was buried in Abash. It fell to Umm Layman to bring Muhammad back to Makkah.
Therefore, the orphan Muhammad was taken care of by his grandfather Abdul Mutely, chief of the clan of Banu Hashim. He looked after him with great affection. As leader of the Quraysh, he used to sit on a cushion in Kabah, whenever Muhammad joined him, he was allowed to sit on that cushion. If anyone tried to stop him, his grandfather would say, “Leave him alone. By God, he is very important.” (Ibn Hisham) Abdul Mutely died when Muhammad was eight years old.
Now the guardianship of Muhammad passed to Abu Talib, his uncle, who was a merchant. Once when Abu Talib was preparing to go to Syria on a trading journey, Muhammad expressed a keen desire to accompany him. Though he was very young to undertake such a difficult journey, Abu Talib was so full of affection for him that he could not refuse, and agreed to take him on the journey.
Their trade caravan halted in the city of Bursa in Syria. There was a Christian monk by the name of Bah rah living there in a monastery. He had read in the ancient books about the emergence of an Arab prophet. He recognised in Muhammad the signs of prophethood. He knew at once that he was the boy who had been destined to become the last of the prophets.
The monk invited the whole caravan to his monastery and asked Abu Talib, “In what way are you related to this child?” He said, “He is my son.” Bah rah said, “It cannot be. His father should not be alive.” Then Abu Talib informed him that his father was no longer alive. Bah rah advised him to return with his nephew immediately and to protect him from enemies. He said, “By God, if he is recognised, he will surely be harmed.”
Ibn Ishaq writes, “Muhammad entered his adulthood as if God Himself was protecting him from the widespread evils of the period of ignorance.” By this time he was well-known in Makkah for his good morals, gentle disposition and sincerity. In fact, he was called Al-Amin (trustworthy) and As-Sadiq (truthful) by his compatriots.
When Muhammad was twenty-five, a rich 40-year old widow, Khadijah bent Khuwaylid of the Quraysh tribe, entrusted him with the management of her business. She used to employ men to engage in trading on her behalf, and rewarded them with a share of the profits. Muhammad was so honest in all his dealings that she was deeply impressed by his virtues and expressed her desire to marry him. After consultations with his uncle, Muhammad accepted the proposal of marriage. Khadijah became his first wife and during her lifetime he had no other wife. With the exception of Ibrahim, who died in infancy, all his children were born to Khadijah. All his sons died in infancy. Of the daughters, Ruqaiyyah, Zaynab, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah lived long enough to accept Islam and migrate to Madinah with the Prophet.
When Muhammad was twenty-five, the Quraysh decided to rebuild the Kabah after a sudden flood had shaken its foundations and cracked its walls. The old structure was demolished and the new construction began. When the walls rose from the ground and the time came to place the famous Black Stone (Hajr al-Aswad) in its place on the east wall, a dispute arose among the clans as to who would have the honour of laying it in place. Each clan wanted to have the honour of placing the stone for itself. This dispute almost led to a civil war. No peaceful solution seemed possible.
At this critical juncture Abu Umayyah, son of Mughirah alMakhzumi said to the Makkans, “Put it off till tomorrow, the man who enters the Kabah first of all in the morning will be our arbitrator in this dispute.” Everybody liked the idea. Men from different tribes ran to the Kabah before dawn next morning. Each one tried to be the first to enter the House of God. But the first one to pass through the gate was Muhammad. On seeing him they all said, “There goes al-Amin. We shall agree with his verdict.” Then he was asked to give his decision on the matter. He took a sheet of cloth and spread it on the ground, and placed the Black Stone in the middle of it and then he asked the chiefs of all tribes to hold different ends of the sheet and lift it up. They carried the stone to the site of construction. Then Muhammad picked up the stone from the sheet and set it in place. Thus a bloody clash was averted and the dispute resolved to everybody’s satisfaction.
The life of Muhammad, may peace be upon him, before prophethood has been recorded in detail in several books. However, the following events are worth mentioning. A covenant known as the Alliance of Fudul (Hilf al-Fudul) had been entered into by three men, Fadal bin Fadalah, Fadal bin Vida and Fadal bin Harith. This was to ensure that no oppressor ever lived in Makkah. (Sirat ibn Hisham)
This Alliance ceased to exist after the death of its architects. Muhammad was 15 years of age when a civil war broke out involving the tribes of Quraysh and Qais. It is known as the Fijar War. In view of the widespread disturbances some people thought of reviving the Alliance of Fudul, to restore tribal harmony and ensure peaceful co-existence.
It happened that a trader from Yemen sold some of his goods to Aaas bin Wail, but he was not paid in full. He composed couplets narrating his misfortune and pleading for justice. This touched the pride of the Makkans, who gathered at the house of Abdullah bin Jud‘an at the instance of Zubayr ibn Abd al Muttalib.
After consultations, it was decreed that the Alliance of Fudul should be renewed. Everyone agreed to support the cause of the oppressed, whether or not they belonged to Makkah. They also resolved to force the oppressor to give the oppressed their rightful dues.
Twenty years before prophethood, Muhammad, may peace be upon him, participated in the Alliance. Twenty years after the prophethood he said, “I was present at the house of Abdullah bin Jud‘an at the time of the Alliance. I will not go back on it, even if I were to be given hundred red camels. Even after Islam has been established, I shall still be in favour of such treaty.’
During that period, there were other social treaties as well. Banu Abd al-Dar and his colleagues once gathered in the precincts of Kabah and vowed that they would not leave each other in time of need and they would not hand over anyone to other groups. Muhammad, may peace be upon him, did not rescind these treaties. However, he supported them. He even said that such treaties of mutual understanding and reconciliation have been further strengthened after the advent of Islam.
Before the prophethood, Muhammad, may peace be upon him, was engaged in trading. Abdullah bin Abi al-Hamsa said:
“I had transacted some business with Muhammad, may peace be upon him, in those days and owed him money. I asked him to wait till I brought the required sum. When I reached home, I completely forgot about it. I remembered three days later and rushed to the spot where I had left Muhammad, may peace be upon him. He was there waiting for me.”
He did not upbraid me. All he said was ‘You caused me a great deal of inconvenience. I have been waiting for you here for the last three days.’ (Ibn Ishaq)
Abdullah bin Saib said that during the days of Ignorance, he was a partner in trade with Muhammad, may peace be upon him. Much later he went to Madinah and met him. Muhammad, may peace be upon him, said, “Do you recognise me?” He said, “Indeed, you were my partner in trade. And what a wonderful partner you were! You never indulged in deceit or quarrels.”
Even before his prophethood, Muhammad used to shun polytheism, idolatry and rude behaviour. During his second journey to Syria, a dispute arose between Muhammad and a man in the course of a transaction. The man said:
Muhammad replied:
“I will accept your words if you swear in the names of Lat and Uzza. (The two of three main idols worshipped in Makkah, mentioned in the Quran 53:19-20).
‘I have never sworn in the name of Lat or Uzza till
today. Whenever I come by chance upon Lat or Uzza, I avoid them and carry on.”
With reference to such incidents, Ibn Hisham has rightly concluded that:
“The Messenger of God entered his adulthood as if God was protecting and watching over him. And He kept him safe from the evils of the time because, He wanted to confer on him honour and prophethood. Thus he reached a position of supremacy over all the men of his tribe. Of all of them, he was the best behaved. He was the noblest among them by his lineage and was the best neighbour. He was unparalleled in forbearance. He was honest in what he said, and the most trustworthy. He refrained from misconduct. Ultimately, he began to be called Al-Amin (the trustworthy) in Makkah.” (Sirat Ibn Hisham)
With his marriage with the wealthy Khadijah, Muhammad had access to all her wealth and property, he could expand his business as much as he desired. He had every opportunity to lead a successful and comfortable life. But with the passing of years he became less and less interested in business and devoted more and more of his time to the search of truth by means of reflection and meditation, instead of trying to establish himself in his society he took to the desert. He would often go to mount Hira, three miles from Makkah. He stayed there in the cave lost in thoughts for hours. When his supply of food and water were exhausted, he returned home for provisions and went back to the solitude of nature for prayer and meditations. He sought answers to the mysteries of life. What is man’s true role in life? What does the Lord require of us, as His servants? From where man comes and where will he go after death? It was to find answers to these perplexing questions that he betook himself to the stillness of the desert. With all these questions in mind, worldly gain and loss, comfort and distress did not concern him. He urgently wanted the answer to these important questions of truth. For nothing less than the truth could satisfy his soul. This phase of Muhammad’s life is referred to in the Quran in this verse.
“Did He not find you wandering and guide you?” (93:7).
He spent the whole of the month of Ramadan in the Cave of Hira. Finally after spending six long months in the cave, God turned in mercy to His Prophet, to guide him to the path of truth. At the age of 40, on February 12, 610 A.D., the Prophet was sitting all alone in his Cave. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in human form, bringing the first message from God. These words form part of the beginning of the ninety sixth chapter of the Quran. The Prophet’s quest had finally been rewarded. God granted him guidance and chose him as His Prophet.
The angel said to him “Read.”
The Prophet replied, “I do not know how to read.”
Then Muhammad felt that his body was being squeezed hard. Then the angel released him and repeated the same command. Again Muhammad replied that he did not know how to recite. Then the angel again squeezed him and then released him for the third time and said: Read!”
Then a change came over him and he was able to repeat the divine words. Then Gabriel revealed to him the chapter Al-Alaq.
“Recite in the name of your Lord, who created; who created man from a clot of blood; Recite, and your Lord is the most Gracious. It is He who has taught man by the pen that which he did not know.” (96:1-5)
Muhammad recited these verses repeating them after the angel. Then he found that these words were written on his heart (Ibn Ishaq).
The Prophet trembled in fear of what he had seen and heard in the cave. The revelation was totally a new experience for him. He set off for his house immediately after the disappearance of the angel.
On reaching home the Prophet asked Khadijah to wrap him in blankets. He was shivering from high fever. When he calmed down, he related the whole incident to her.
Khadijah, being very kind and understanding tried her best to assure him.
She said:
“By Him who dominates Khadijah’s soul, I pray and I hope that you will be the Prophet of this nation. By God, He will not let you down. You are kind to your relations. You speak the truth, you help the poor and bear their burden, you honour guests and help those in distress. Surely God will never let you fail.”
Khadijah then suggested that they should go and consult her cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal, who had become a Christian hermit.
Waraqa heard the whole account from Muhammad and said:
“I am sure the angel that descended on Moses has descended on you. You will be abused, and you will be pursued. I wish I could be alive to give you my support when your people will turn you out.”
“Will they turn me out?” The Prophet found this difficult to believe. Waraqa replied that people have always turned against those who are recipients of God’s messages.
The Prophet’s wife Khadijah was the first convert to Islam. When the news of Muhammad’s prophethood reached a freed slave, Zayd who was 30 years of age, and his cousin Ali, who was about eleven, both declared their faith in Islam. Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s friend from childhood, was out of town. On his return he heard of the new experience of the Prophet. People said to him that his friend had taken leave of his senses, believing that angels brought him messages from God. But Abu Bakr trusted the Prophet completely. Not for one moment did he doubt his veracity. He immediately went to meet the Prophet to find out the truth for himself. Abu Bakr asked the Prophet whether an angel had really descended upon him from God and had given him a message. The Prophet said “Yes,” and without a moment’s hesitation Abu Bakr professed his faith. He did not require any arguments to be convinced that he was telling the truth.
This small group of the Faithful were the first believers of Islam. In the first stage, the Prophet was asked to spread the message of Islam quietly to avoid arousing any hostility. Abu Bakr, being an influential merchant, was able to bring some of his friends, also rich merchants, into the fold of Islam. But the majority of the conversions took place among the weak and the poor.
In the second stage the Prophet received the command from God to spread the message publicly, but first to his own kin.
According to Arab custom, people used to ascend a hill when they had to announce some important news. So the Prophet, with his all-important tidings, climbed up on a hillock called Safa, situated near the Kabah. He then called out to the people, who all gathered around him. Then he addressed them thus: “If I tell you that a big army is hiding behind that mountain and is ready to attack you, will you believe me?” They all chorused, “Of course, we will, for we trust you. We know you always tell the truth.” Then the Prophet said:
“God has commanded me to warn you, my kinsmen, that you should worship none but the one and only God. If you fail to do so, you will invite God’s wrath. And I will not be able to do anything to help you, even though you are my kinsmen.”
Abu Lahab, the Prophet’s uncle, became very angry and said:
“Woe to you on this day! Did you assemble us for this?”
Some remarked that he had gone mad. Soon they all dispersed without caring to give any thought to the words of the Prophet.
There was one main reason for the Quraysh to oppose the Prophet, and to keep him from spreading his message. Makkah was a centre of pilgrimage because of the Kabah, which housed 360 idols of the neighbouring tribes and nations. Since Islam believed in only one God, the Quraysh feared that once the concept of one God became popular, the tribes would stop visiting the Kabah to pay homage to the idols. This would deprive them of the respect they commanded as guardians of the Kabah. Besides, the prosperity of Makkah depended mainly on these idols. People in great numbers from the neighbouring tribes used to visit Makkah all the year round to make offerings to the idols. This brought prosperity to Makkah, for trade flourished side by side with the pilgrimage. Makkah being a desert, no agriculture or economic resources existed there. The Kabah was their only asset. But, all
the Makkans were not hostile. There were people who gave serious thought to the message of the Quran and gradually began to accept Islam. About 200 people from Makkah as well as the neighbouring settlements entered the fold of Islam.
The Quraysh who enjoyed the Makkan leadership considered the teachings of the new religion an insult to the religion of their forefathers. In Islam they saw a danger to their own leadership. Such leaders as Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab were the most hostile to the Prophet. They began to give serious thought to the matter. Islam was fast gaining ground, so they thought that they could not afford to postpone taking action. This menace, they had to nip in the bud.
The chiefs of different clans gathered to discuss this matter. They all felt that if Abu Talib did not come in their way, they would have no difficulty in finding a solution to this problem. So they all came to Abu Talib to tell him to stop Muhammad from spreading his message.
They warned him, “Tell Muhammad to stop spreading his message, or you will abandon him. If you fail to do so, you should be ready to suffer for the deeds of your nephew.”
Abu Talib, an old man, felt that he would not be able to resist their wrath. So he told Muhammad what the Quraysh chiefs had said to him and then added, “My dearest nephew, look to your own safety, and to the safety of your uncle, and do not cause me to carry a burden I cannot bear.”
For a while the Prophet stood motionless. On the one hand, there was his old uncle weakened by the people’s opposition, and on the other hand, there was the responsibility to proclaim the truth till his last breath. And the only source of strength was his faith and his conviction in the truth. So he decided to discharge his duty whatever the cost. In a firm and calm voice, and with tears in his eyes, he said:
“O uncle! By God Almighty, I swear that even if they were to place the sun on my right and the moon on my left, I would not give up my mission. I must go on carrying it out until I die.”Abu Talib, touched by the sincerity and force of the words uttered by his nephew, remained motionless for a while. Then he turned to the Prophet and said:
“My nephew, go your way. Do your duty. Let my people turn against me. I am with you. No one shall harm you as long as I live.”
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