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Written By Sundus Abdussattar

The Story of the Prophet Muhammad - the final prophet

PART 1: Before Prophethood

KEYWORDS: Arab, idols, tribe, orphan, seal, monk, trade, truthful, trustworthy,
prophethood
Long time ago in Arabia, before Islam came to the people, there was a lot bad things
happening amongst the Arabs. Many of them had forgotten the message sent to them
by the previous prophets who were sent by Allah . A lot of people had forgotten Allah
, they began worshipping idols once again and worshipped more than one God. They
forgot the message of Musa, Ibraheem and Isa (alayhimusalaam). They were doing lots
of bad and evil things which Allah didnt like. They use to do things like get rid of
baby girls because they only liked baby boys, and they also use to have lots of wars
and fights and they didnt remember Allahs rules.
Makkah was where the Kaba was and where Zamzam water flowed. The people
surrounded the Kaba with idols and they put idols even inside the Kabah, the house of
Allah . There were lots of tribes1 in Makkah and the Quraish was one of them.
A man called Muhammad was born and his mothers name was Ameenah. His father
was called Abdullah but he passed away before he was born. His mother looked after
him when he was a little boy, but soon she also died when Muhammad was around 6
years old. He was now an orphan. His grandfather who was called Abdul-Muttalib loved
him very much and treated him specially, he looked after Muhammad as he was still
a little boy. However, when he was 8 years old, his beloved grandfather Abdul-Muttalib
also died.
Muhammad was then looked after by his uncle, Abu Talib. He also loved Muhammad
a lot and treated him specially and he supported and protected him. The uncle of
Muhammad , Abu Talib lived much longer than his parents and his grandfather AbdulMuttalib; Abu-Talib lived for about 40 years so he was able to be with the prophet for a
much longer time.
He belonged to the tribe of Quraish. The Quraish was one of the most powerful tribes in
Makkah because it was in charge of Makkah and the Kaba.
When Muhammad was a little older he was a very good merchant2 because he was
very kind, honest and had very good manners. When Abu-Talib took him on a business
trip to Syria, a Christian monk3 called Buhairah recognised that Muhammad would
become a prophet because he had a sign of being a prophet below his shoulder. It was
the seal of prophethood 4which meant he would be the last prophet sent by Allah .
Muhammads job for some time was a shepherd in Makkah and then he worked as a
merchant for Khadijah (radiallahu anhaa). He was an honest man with kind manners
and this is what made him successful in his business. When he was 25 years old, he got
married to Khadeejah (radiullahu anhaa). All the tribes in Makkah saw Muhammad
called him Al-Ameen (the trustworthy) and As-Saadiq (the truthful). He always helped
the poor and needy, he didnt have a bad temper and he kept away from the bad things
the people of Makkah use to do. They use to worship things they made themselves of
out stone or wood; they use to put these idols in special places in their homes and even
1 Tribe: Groups of people who have something similar. E.g. they could be all related (share the same
blood) like a big family, they might share a language
2 Merchant: a business man; someone who buys and sells things.
3 Monk: a religious person who spends a lot of time in worship and usually learns a lot about religion.
4 Prophethood: being a prophet (e.g. childhood: the time when youre a childhood)

Written By Sundus Abdussattar

made sacrifice5 to them. He was always looking for the truth because he knew
worshipping idols was wrong. He knew that worshipping something made out of stone
or wood could not help him.
What was the name of the last
prophet of Allah ?
What is the name of the father of
the Prophet ?When did he die?
What was the name of the mother
of the Prophet ?When did she
die?
Who were the Quraish?
What was the name of the
grandfather of Muhammad ?
What was the name of the uncle
of Muhammad who looked after
him?
Which tribe did the Prophet
belong to?
Where was the Prophet born?
What did the people of Makkah do
which was wrong?
Who did the Prophet marry
when he was 25 years old?

PART 2: The Revelation

KEYWORDS: cave, meditate, creation, creator, blessing, desert, universe, task,
revelation, angel, bible, Hebrew,
When the Muhammad was nearly 40
years old, he use to go to the hills near
Makkah and he use to meditate6 all by
himself. He use to take food and drink with
him. He wasnt happy about the evil
happening around him. One of his favourite
places was a cave called Hiraa which was
on a mountain. He use to think about the
wonderful creations around him. He noticed
the creations and blessings of Allah
around him like the rain wetting the dry
earth and making things grow, he saw how
the sheep ate and how it gave milk to the people, and he saw the wide open desert. He
wondered Who made all of this happen? When he saw the stars, moons and sun he
wondered Who created all of this? He knew there had to someone who made the
universe, there has to be a creator. He waited a long time for the answer to come to
him. This time of thinking and waiting was important for Muhammad because Allah
would was going to give him a big task as his last messenger. He was going to be a
great prophet like Nuh, Musa, Isa and Ibraaheem (alayhimusalaam) but he didnt know
what Allah wanted for him yet.

5 Sacrifice: when you slaughter an animal as an act of worship to become closer to Allah. The meat
is sometimes given to the poor or sometimes we eat it.
6 Meditate: to think deeply about things. We think about Allah when we pray.

Written By Sundus Abdussattar

When he was 40 years old the revelation from Allah finally came to him. It was the
month of Ramadhaan and he was in the cave Hiraa meditating as usual when suddenly
something appeared before him. He was very scared because he had not seen this
being before. The figure was an angel but he didnt know this. The angel ordered him to
him Read!.
I cannot read. Muhammad replied. The angel squeezed him and then let him go.
He ordered him again Read!.
I cannot read. Muhammad replied again. The angel squeezed him again and let him
go.
The angel again ordered him: Read!
I cannot read. Muhammad replied once again. The angel squeezed him for the third
time and then let him go but this time recited the first revelation from the Quran.
The angel recited:
Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), has
created man from a clot7 (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Read! and
your Lord is the Most Generous.
[Al-Alaq:1 -3]
Muhammad repeated after the angel. He was trembling with fear so he went to
Khadijah (radiallahu anha) saying cover me...cover me. She covered him with a
blanket and calmed him down because he was very scared and confused. He told her
what happened in the cave and she comforted him. She was a very noble and wise
woman and she knew her husband was a very good man. She told him that Allah
would never shame him because he was a very good person who helped the poor, fed
his guests, helped people, was good to his family and did what was right. Everyone in
Makkah knew this too even though they worshipped idols.

Khadijah took Muhammad to her cousin who was an old blind man. His name was
Waraqah bin Nawfal who knew a lot about the bible because he use to write it in
Hebrew and he knew a lot about the prophets whom Allah sent before. Muhammad
told him what happened. Waraqa recognised the things that happened and told
Muhammad that nearly the same thing happened to the Prophet Musa (alahissalaam). Waraqa told Muhammad that he was a prophet of Allah and that the people
will try to get rid of him because he would be calling people to leave their idols and to
worship one God. This happened to the other prophets sent by Allah when they tried
to give their people the message of God in worshipping God alone. Waraqa wanted to
support him that day when people would try to get rid of him but he died some time
later. Khadijah (radiallahu-anhaa) knew this was right because she knew how good
Muhammad was.
The revelations from Allah
7 Clot: a little bit of blood

didnt come to him again for some time. The last Prophet

Written By Sundus Abdussattar

of Allah waited nervously.

One day when the Prophet was walking up a mountain, he heard a voice say to him
O Muhammad! You are the Messenger of Allh and I am Jibraeel. The Prophet looked
up and saw the angel in the shape of a man, wherever he looked up and saw the angel
Jibraeel. He was so surprised he couldnt move. Now the angel himself told Muhammad
that he was Allahs messenger. This wasnt a revelation; it was just a reminder from
the angel that he was the messenger of Allah. The reminders came more than once so
the prophet slowly started accepting he was the Allahs messenger. The Prophet was
quite nervous because Allah had given him a big task to do; he had to call the people
who loved to worship their idols to worship only Allah .
The revelation of the Quran still hadnt returned to him.
Question time:
Where did the Prophet go to think?
Who were the two people who helped explain to the Prophet that he was
the messenger of Allah? And when was he told these?
- Buhaira told him he would be a prophet of Allah because he had the seal of
prophet hood on his shoulder. This happened before he revealed his first
revelation and before he was 25.
- Waraqa bin Nawful helped Muhammad understand what happened to him in
the cave. This happened after the angel came to the Prophet with the first
revelation.
What is a revelation?
What was the first revelation? Some verses/ayaat from the Quran.
ART 3: The Revelation returns
KEYWORDS: Tawheed, Islam
The Prophet waited a long time for the next revelation to come to him. One day when
he was walking, he heard a voice from the sky. He looked up
and he saw the same angel who visited him in the cave. The
Prophet went home and told his wife Khadijah again
Cover me...cover me. This is when Allah revealed the next
verses of the Quran:
O you [Muhammad ]wrapped (in garments)!
Arise and warn! And your Lord (Allh) magnify!
And your garments purify! And keep away from
Ar-Rujz (the idols)! [Al-Muddathir:1-5]
These verses meant to the Prophet that the time of rest
had come to an end; it was time to start warning the people
to stop worshipping idols and more than one God; he had to
start telling them to worship Allah alone. The revelations from Allah had finally started
and they started happening more often.
The mission of the Prophet Muhammad had begun, it was the mission of Islam. He
had to begin calling people to the truth, to the same message of Tawheed 8 that all the
other Prophets of Allah had come with. After the second revelation from Allah, the
revelations came more often.
8 TAWHEED: the oneness of Allah. To single out Allah in all acts of worship (e.g. to believe in only
Allah, praying only to Him, sacrificing only to Him, fasting, giving charity etc). Believing in the
oneness of God. Believing Allah has no one equal to Him. Acts of worships cannot be done for anyone
else, only for Allah alone. (*learn and understand this term)

Written By Sundus Abdussattar

What was the reaction of the Prophet when the angel came with a
revelation to him for the second time?
What was the message of the second revelation?
Why did the second message take long to come? It was giving the prophet time
to accept he was the messenger of Allah and giving him time to get ready to spread
the message of Islam.
How did Allah tell the Muhammad that he was a prophet? He sent the angel
Jibrail to remind him a few times.
What was the mission of the Prophet and what was his message?
PART 4: The Secret stage of the message (3 yrs)
KEYWORDS: companion, convert, wealth, ancestor, accept, Islam
In Makkah lived the people who looked after and
protected the kaba and the idols which they out in it
and around it. This is why the Prophet had to give
message to the people secretly. He gave the message
the people who he knew would believe him and was
close to him. Khadijah
was the first woman to
become Muslim. Close friends of the Prophet also
accepted Islam. There was Ali and Abu Bakr and Zaid
bin Haarith (radiallahuanhum). Ali
was also
the Prophets cousin and Abu Bakr
was
his very close friend.

his
to

More than forty people accepted the message of Islam from the Prophet and the
numbers kept on growing. He told them to spread the message quietly because he
knew the people of Makkah loved to worship their idols and would be angry if they were
told to leave them. They were very proud of worshipping their idols because their
ancestors9 worshipped them and it was the religion of their ancestors. There were also
lots of people who came to worship the idols from other places outside of Makkah and
this use to give the tribe of Quraysh a lot of money and wealth. So if they stopped
worshipping the idols then that would mean a stop to their wealth as well. The Quraysh
had a special position in Makkah from other tribes because they controlled Makkah and
the Kaba. Even though the Prophet spread his message secretly the message still
got to the Quraish. The Quraish werent too worried at the beginning because it wasnt
affecting their business. For three year the Prophet spread his message quietly.
What was the message of the Prophet ?
Who was the first woman to become a Muslim?
What was the name of the Prophets cousin who became Muslim?
Who was a very close friend of the Prophet ?
Why would the people not want to stop worshipping the idols?
Why were the Quraish special in Makkah?
PART 5: The Message to the Family
KEYWORDS: family, judgement, gathering, protect
The angel Jibrail
came down with a revelation for the Prophet . The Prophet
was told by Allah , through the revelation, to start telling his family and relatives to
worship Allah alone. This was because if his family said yes then they would help him
and it would be easier for him. He gathered his family and gave a little speech telling
them that he was a messenger sent by Allah to remind the people of tawheed, the
9 A relative from a very long time ago. E.g. your great great great great grandfather or grandmother

Written By Sundus Abdussattar

day of judgment and heaven and hell.

Abu Talib told the Prophet that he believes that he is telling the truth and that he
would protect him, and support him in his message. However, he said that he could not
leave the religion of his father which was to worship idols.
Abu Lahab was also in the family gathering. He was another uncle of the Prophet . He
was not happy about this message. He told Abu Talib that this is a bad thing and he
should stop doing it before all the others stop him,
Abu Talib replied: I swear by Allah that I will protect him as long as I am alive.
What was the name of the uncle that loved Muhammad a lot?
What was the name of the uncle of the Prophet who did not like him
because of his message?
Did Abu Talib or Abu Lahab accept the message of the Prophet ?
Which uncle said he would support and protect the prophet ?
PART 6: Message is out to All
KEYWORDS: message, liar, useless,
The Prophet had to keep the message quiet until Allah told him to tell everyone
openly. One day when the Prophet was on a mountain called Mount-Safa. There were
some groups of people there and his uncle Abu Lahab was there as well.
The Prophet asked them: If I told you there were some people on the other side of
this valley ready to attack you, would you believe me?
They replied: Yes because you have not lied to us before.
The Prophet said then I have come to warn you about a strong torment10
Abu Lahab replied: Perish11 you all day! Is this why you called us here?!
Then Allah revealed the verses from Surah Masad:
May the hands of Abu Lahab be ruined, and ruined is he Al-Masad:1

The Prophet called some tribes and told them to save themselves from the fire. He
told them that he cannot save them from it. He also told his daughter, Fatimah to
believe in Allah. Fatimah
became a Muslim; she was a very good person and the
Prophet loved her very much.
The Prophet now openly started telling everyone why worshipping idols was bad and
useless. A lot of the people were angry. They went to the uncle of the Prophet , Abu
Talib, and told him to tell Muhammad to stop his spreading his message. Abu Talib
tried to be polite to them, he didnt accept Islam but he didnt want to give up on
Muhammad either.
How did the people of Makkah see Muhammad normally? As truthful and
trustworthy
Why did the people not want to give up worshipping idols?
Who was Fatimah
?
Did Abu Talib become Muslim? No, but he carried on supporting and protecting the
Prophet
Part 7: Pilgrimage Season
KEYWORDS: pilgrimage, pilgrim, fortune-teller, poet, magician
10 Torment: pain, suffering, hurting
11 Die

Written By Sundus Abdussattar

It was soon to be pilgrimage season. This was a time when Arab pilgrims from outside
came to Makkah to worship the idols. The Quraish began worrying about the Prophet
spreading his message of Islam to them. They began planning on how to stop the
visitors to the idols from listening to the Prophets message. They thought of telling
everyone that he was a fortune teller or a poet because he use to recite verses of the
Quran which were very beautiful. They even though of telling everyone that he was a
mad man. But they all knew that he was none of these. They knew he was calling to the
truth but they just didnt want to accept it. They planned on telling everyone he was a
powerful magician who could make people not like each other. They warned everyone
to stay away from the Prophet so they wouldnt accept his message. The nonMuslims laughed at the Muslims and made fun of them. But they were not successful in
turning people away because lots of people started accepted the truth.
The Quraish started planning another way they could stop the Prophet from
spreading his message. They invited the Prophet to worship their idols for one year
and in return they would worship Allah for one year. Allah sent a revelation through the
Prophet replying to this:
Say, Oh disbeliever, I do not worship what you worship.. Surah Kaafiroon 1-2
The Prophet did not accept this plan.
Why were the Quraish worried about Pilgrimage season?
What were the Quraish planning on telling the pilgrims?
What did they promise the Prophet that they would do if he worshipped
their gods for one year?
Persecution begins
KEYWORDS: persecution, torture, public, private, non-Muslim, disbeliever, slave, equal
The Prophet Muhammad and Khadijah
had 4 girls. Their names were Zeinab, Ruqayyah,
Umm Kalthum and Fatimah. They also had 2 sons named Qasim and Abdullah but they died when
they were young.
After 3 years of telling everyone about Islam openly, the non-Muslims of Makkah were not able to
stop the message of Islam from their city. The Muslims were becoming more and more. The Quraish
were thinking of doing even more bad things to the Muslims. They planned on torturing and hurting
the Muslims.
The Quraish couldnt hurt the Prophet too much because his uncle, Abu Talib was looking after
him. However, they did still do lots of bad things to him. Abu Lahab and his wife threw stones at the
Prophet and Abu Lahab was rude to him when his son Qasim died. Muhammads neighbours
were bad to him too, they threw disgusting things at him when he was praying.
Many of the people who became Muslim were poor, weak slaves. They became Muslim because
Islam was fair and it said that everyone was equal. The Quraish were thinking of torturing and
hurting the poor, weak Muslim slaves because it was easy for them.
Bilal
was a slave who became Muslim. The disbelievers did very bad things to him. They
dragged him throught the streets of Makkah, starved him, made him lie under the very very hot
desert sun and rolled a huge rock on to his chest. They wanted him to stop being a Muslim and to
leave Islam, but Bilaal
never stopped believing in tawheed. Abu Bakr
saw these bad things
happen to the slave Bilaal so he freed him by paying some money.
There was another man named Ammaar bin Yaasir
. He also became a Muslim with his mum
and dad. The Quraish tortured them too. The Quraish made them also lie under the sun wearing
armour which made them even more hot. The Quraish beat them up and even put them on burning
hot wood.
Even Muslims who were rich and not slaves were tortured. Some Muslims were even hurt by their
own family for being Muslim and believing in Allah alone like Uthmaan
. Soumayya
was the
first woman to be killed because she would not leave Islam.

Written By Sundus Abdussattar

The Prophet comforted them and told them not to worry because they would have to reward of
Jannah. Many bad things were being done to the Muslims but the Muslims never stopped believing in
tawheed.
How many daughters did the Prophet and Khadijah
have? What were their names?
Muhammad and Khadijah
had two sons, what were their names? What happened
to them?
Name some people who became Muslim.
Who was Bilal
?
How were some of the Muslims persecuted?
Who was looking after Muhammad ?
What is Jannah?
Who goes to Jannah?
What is Tawheed?
What did the Muslims believe in?
What was the message of Islam?
Daar Al-Arqam
KEYWORDS: convert, believer, disbeliever
The new Muslims in Makkah were being persecuted and tortured a lot. ThThe Messenger of Allah
still called to Islam openly an =d publically but he also began to meet the people who became
Muslim (converts) secretly in a place called Al-Arqam. They had to meet there secretly so the
disbelievers wouldnt hurt the people who were becoming Muslim. Al-Arqam was safe because it was
high up in the mountain called mount As-Safa. In Daar Al-Arqam the Prophet taught the Muslims
about Islam.
What is Daar Al-Arqam?
Where is Daar Al-Arqam?
Why did the Muslims gather in Daar Al-Arqam?
Abysinnia (Ethiopia)
KEYWORDS: migrate, oppress, verse, Abysinnia
The Muslims were still being tortured and it
was becoming worse and worse. Allah sent out
another revelation to the Muslims. These
verses of the Quran told the believers to
migrate so they wouldnt be oppressed by the
disbelievers and so they would stop getting
hurt.
Muhammad knew a Christian king, his name
was Al-Ashamah and he was the King if
Abysinnia. Negus Al-Ashamah was a good
king. One dark night 12 men and 4 women
sneaked out of Makkah so they could go to the
land of Abysinnia. Uthmaan bin Affan
married Ruqayyah
(who was the
Prophets daughter). They were some of the
people who went sneaked out of Makkah that
night. These Muslims left their homes and their
families to go to another country so they could
be good Muslims in peace.
The Quraish heard about their escape and they went to capture them but the boats with the Mulims
had already left for the new land of Abysinnia.
What is Abysinnia?
Who was Negus Al-Ashamah?
Why did Muslims leave Makkah?
Why was Abysinnia a good place for the Muslims?
Who were among the people who sneaked out of Makkah?

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Written By Sundus Abdussattar
Who was Uthmaan bin Affaan?
Who was Ruqayyah?