Prophet Muhammad

Abstract
scope, purpose, results, and contents of the work
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Nearly four thousand years ago, in the Sumerian town of Ur in the valley of the river
Euphrates, lived a young man lived Abraham. The people of Ur had once worshipped Allah, but
as time passed they forgot the true religion and started praying idols, statues made of wool or
clay and sometimes even precious stones. Even as small child Abraham could not understand
how his people and especially his father, could make these images with their own hands, call
them Gods and then worship them. He had always refused to join his people when they paid
respect to these statues. Instead he would leave the town and sit alone, thinking about the heavens
and the world about him. He was sure his people were doing wrong and so alone he searched for
the right way. He searched Allah in stars, moon and the Sun, but realized that they would either
fade or set. It was then he realized that Allah is the Most Powerful, the Creator of the stars, the
moon, the sun, the earth and all the living things. Suddenly he felt himself totally at peace,
because he knew that he had found the Truth.

He tried to convince his people but was unfortunate in convincing them. Therefore one
day when all the townspeople were out, Abraham angrily smashed all the idols with is hand
except for one which was very large. When people returned they were furious and remembered
all the things that Abraham told them to convince them. Even then he tried to convince the
people for not worshipping the statues and serving only Allah but instead people of Ur decided to
give Abraham the worst punishment they could find i.e. he was to be burnt to death. So on
chosen day all the people gathered and Abraham was then placed inside a special building filled
with woods and was set on fire. All the people waited until the fire had completely died down
and it was then they saw Abraham still sitting there as though nothing had happened. At that
moment they were utterly confused. They were not, however, moved by the miracle that had just
happened before their very eyes.

Still Abraham tried to persuade his own father for not to worship powerless, unseeing,
unhearing statues but in turn his father told him to leave the city. Abraham left his home and
traveled. At last, after a long hard journey, he arrived at a place by the Mediterranean Sea, not
very far from Egypt. There he married a noble woman by the name of Sarah and settled in the
land of Palestine.

Many years passed but Abraham and his wife were not blessed with any children. In hope
that there would be a child, and in keeping with the tradition, Sarah suggested the Abraham
should marry Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid. Soon after this took place, Hagar had a little boy
named Ishmael. After some time Abraham was blessed with another son, but this time was from
his first wife Sarah and named him Isaac. But Allah this time told Abraham that he should the
Hagar and Ishmael away from Palestine to a new land. These events were important part of
Allah’s plan, for the descendents of Ishmael would form a nation from which come a great
Prophet, who would guide people in the way of Allah. This was to be Muhammad, the
Messenger of Allah. So it was that Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael left Palestine. They traveled for
many days until finally they reached the arid valley of Bacca later to be called Mecca), which
was on one of the great caravan routes. Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael and left for Palestine.
From time to time Abraham traveled from Palestine to visit his family and he saw Ishmael grow
into a strong young man. It was during one of these visits that Allah commanded them to rebuild
the Ka'bah-the very first place where people had worshipped Allah. They were told exactly
where and how to build it. Abraham and Ishmael worked hard to rebuild the Ka'bah and as they
did so they prayed to Allah to send a Prophet from among their descendants.
 After many years and generations in 570 CE in Makkah Prophet Muhammad was born.
His father, Abdullah, dies several weeks before his birth in Yathrib (Medinah) where he went to
visit his father’s maternal relatives. His mother died while on the return journey from Medinah at
a place called ‘Abwa’ when he was six years old. He was raised by his paternal grandfather ‘Abd
al Muttalib’ (Shaybah) until the age of eight and after his grandfather’s death by Abu Talib, his
paternal uncle. ‘Abd al Muttalib’s ‘ mother, Salma, was a native of Medinah and he was born and
raised as a young boy in Medinah before his uncle Muttalib brought him to Mekka to succeed
him. Many years before Muhammad’s birth, ‘Abd al Muttalib’ had established himself as an
influential leader of the Arab tribe ‘Quraish’ in Makkah and took care of the holy sanctuary
Ka'bah. Makkah was a city well connected to the caravan routes to Syria and Egypt in the north
and northwest and Yemen in the south. Muhammad was descendant of Prophet Ismail through
the lineage of his second son Kedar.

Under the guardianship of Abu Talib, Muhammad began to earn living as a businessman
and a trader. At the age of twelve, he accompanied Abu Talib with a merchant caravan as far as
Bostra in Syria. Muhammad was popularly known as ‘al-Ameen’ for his unimpeachable
character by the Makkans and visitors alike. The title ‘Al-ameen’ was the Honest, the Reliable
and the Trustworthy and it signified the highest standard of moral and public life.

Upon hearing of Muhammad’s impressive credentials, Khadijah, a rich merchant widow,

proposed marriage to Muhammad. Muhammad accepted the proposal. Khadijah and Muhammad
were then parents of six children- four daughters and two sons.

Once when Muhammad was forty, during his one of many retreats to Mount Hira for
meditation during the month of Ramadan, he received the first revelation from Angel Gabriel.
Muhammad was terrified by the whole experience of revelation and fled to the cave of Mount
Hira. When he reached home tired and frightened his wife Khadijah asked him about the reason
of his anxiety and fear. Muhammad explained all that happened during the revelation. To this
Khadijah consulted with her cousin Waraqa who was an old, saintly man possessing knowledge
of previous revelations and scriptures. Waraqa confirmed to her that the visitor was none other
than Angel Gabriel. He then added that Muhammad is the expected Prophet.

2.0 Contribution of Prophet Muhammad

Through this section we intend to shed some light on the contribution made by Prophet
Muhammad to the society at large.

The Quran
The most prominent contribution of Prophet Mohammad is undoubtedly the compilation of
Quran. In his youth, Muhammad used to often visit Mount Hira for meditation. During one such
retreat to Mount Hira in the month of Ramadan, Muhammad received his first revelation from
Archangel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad was forty years old then and the year was 610 CE when
the revelations began. It is believed that over the period of next twenty- five years, Gabriel
visited Prophet as ordered by Allah and revealed Ayat (which means signs, also loosely referred
to as verses) in Arabic. Sometimes only a few verses were received while sometimes a part of the
chapter or a complete chapter was received. As paper was not available during those times, these
revelations were written down on leather, palm leaves, bark and even shoulder bones of animals.
These revelations were also memorized immediately and were recited in daily prayers by
Muslims so that the verses were not forgotten or lost. Angel Gabriel also narrated to the Prophet,
the order in which these verses were to be documented. The Prophet in turn instructed his scribes
to record the verses in the same order. In order to authenticate the accuracy of the order of verses,
the Prophet used to again recite the verses reveled to him in front of Angel Gabriel. The
revelations ended in the year 632CE and were finally compiled in the book known as Quran. The
name Quran is itself mentioned in the revealed verses.

It is important to note that the Quran does not contain even a single word from the
Prophet but speaks in the first person as Allah's commandments to his creation. However it
wouldn’t have reached the masses if had not been for the pure soul of Muhammad, in whom the
Allah believed. Besides the purpose of revealing the verses Angel Gabriel also visited the
Prophet to inform and teach him about the events and strategies as required for the completion of
the prophetic mission. The Prophet’s sayings, actions, and approvals have been separately
documented in collections known as Hadith, which is also one of Prophet Muhammad’s
important contributions to mankind.

Religious Tolerance
Since the revelations of the verses began, the mission of Prophet Muhammad was to restore the
worship of the One True God, who is considered as the creator and sustainer of the universe. The
Prophet’s family and few followers were the first one to accept Islam and they did so by
testifying that: "There is no Deity (worthy of worship) except Allah (The One True God) and
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Forty people from different economic and social
background accepted Islam in the first three years. Later a revelation directed the Prophet to
preach Islam to everyone. The Prophet therefore began reciting the revelations in public and
started inviting more and more people to join Islam. However, the Quraish leaders of Makkah
who believed in idol worship strongly opposed the preaching of Prophet Muhammad. They
initially tried to bribe Prophet Muhammad and when that did not work they ridiculed the Prophet
and also tortured his followers by beating them and boycotting their business. In the fifth year of
his mission i.e 615CE, the Prophet asked his followers to immigrate to Abyssinia (modern day
Ethiopia) which was ruled by a Christian ruler Negus at that time. Negus allowed the Muslims to
follow their religion in Abyssinia as he discovered about the revelations about Jesus and Mary.
 The Quarish leaders had discovered the emigration by then and tried to harass the Prophet
further by preventing him from keeping any sort of contact with his family for three years. When
this did not work either, they asked the prophet to agree to a compromise under which everyone
will practice both the religions. Upon hearing this, the Prophet recited a revelation he had just
received and which ends with the words: "... For you your religion and for me mine." The
Prophet thus played a vital role in spreading the message of religious tolerance. This revelation is
especially significant in today’s times as it shows that the true followers of Islam have no
objection or hatred against the people of other religions but instead have great respect for the
traditions and beliefs that they follow.

Spreading Literacy
The very first revelation that was narrated to Prophet Muhammad, who was himself an illiterate
man was a command to read and write. The revelation also mentioned that the pen is
praiseworthy as it is the only means or custodian of human knowledge. Also when the Prophet
began an independent life, settling down in Madinah, his first act was the construction of a
mosque with a portion reserved for the purpose of a school also known as the Suffah which was
used as a lecture hall during the day and as a dormitory for students during the night.

The five fundamental beliefs of Islam

According to Prophet Muhammad the five fundamental beliefs of Islam are the following:

Belief in God

Service of worship

Fasting

Pilgrimage of the House of the One God

The Zakat-tax.

Although these are seem to be just plain religious beliefs they have deep scientific undertones. To
understand the first belief ie Belief in God itself requires the cultivation of the theological
sciences. In case of service of worship, a Muslim has faces towards Mecca and performs the
service at the occurrence of particular predetermined natural phenomena. This requires
knowledge of the elements of geography and astronomy. The third belief of Fasting requires the
understanding and knowledge of natural phenomena, like occurrence of dawn, and the setting of
the sun. Going on a pilgrimage requires the knowledge of the roads and the means of transport to
reach Mecca. Payment of the Zakat or tax requires knowledge of mathematics.
 Besides this the understanding of the Quran also requires the in-depth knowledge of
historical facts and allusions. In fact, Quran cannot be understood without the knowledge of the
language in which it is compiled which brings us to linguistic science. Also the reference of
various people at different times and locations in the book again emphasizes the need of being
aware of history and geography.

Thus, by preaching these five beliefs itself Prophet Muhammad has contributed a great
deal to the field of science and development of mankind.

The Islamic Calendar

Last but not the least; Prophet Muhammad was also responsible for giving birth to the Islamic
calendar. The following narration describes the events that gave rise to the calendar.

In the year 622 CE, the leaders of the Quraish developed a plan to kill the Prophet who
was then located in Makkah. According to the plan one man from each of the Quraish tribes was
chosen to attack the Prophet simultaneously. However, Angel Gabriel informed the Prophet of
the plan and instructed him to leave Makkah immediately. The Prophet along with his friend Abu
Bakr left Makkah on the night he was to be assassinated. They further travelled south of Makkah
to a mountain cave of Thawr and after staying there for three nights traveled north to Yathrib
(Medinah) which is about two hundred fifty miles from Makkah. When the leaders of Quraish
became aware of this, they announced a reward of one hundred camels on him, dead or alive. In
spite of all their efforts using their best scouts and search parties they were unable to trace him. It
is believed that Allah protected the Prophet and helped him to arrived safely in Quba, a suburb of
Medinah. This event is known as the ‘Hijra’ (migration) and the Islamic calendar begins with this
event.

The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months which comprise of
either 354 or 355 days that are used to date events in many Muslim countries. Muslims all over
the world use this calendar to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holy days
and festivals. The first year of this calendar is the year in which the Prophet Muhammad
emigrated from Mecca to Medina. Each numbered year is designated either H for Hijra or AH for
the Latin anno Hegirae (in the year of the Hijra). Few years before the Hijra (BH) have also been
mentioned to date events related to Islam, such as the birth of Muhammad in 53 BH. According
to this calendar the current Islamic year is 1430 AH.

Reference

http://muslim-canada.org/ch13hamid.html
4. Prophet Muhammad as compared to other spiritual leaders

4.1. The concept of prophethood in Islam

For a Muslim, a Prophet does not primarily imply someone able to foretell the future -
although most of Muhammad's predictions have already been fulfilled in astonishing ways - but a
man sent by God to call people to repent, have faith, and dedicate their lives to doing good,
thereby helping them rediscover the purpose for which they were created. Prophets are not
considered to be Divine, and are not prayed to or worshipped - though they were men of
outstanding character and spirituality who were protected from committing sins, performed
miracles, received revelation and communed with God.

Prophethood is Allah's blessing and favor that He may bestow on whom He wills.
However, from surveying the various messengers throughout history, two features of a prophet
may be recognized:

• He is the best in his community morally and intellectually. This is necessary because a
prophet's life serves as a model for his followers. His personality should attract people to
accept his message rather than drive them away by his imperfect character
• He is supported by miracles to prove that he is not an impostor. Those miracles are
granted by the power and permission of God and are usually in the field in which his
people excel and are recognized as superiors.

4.2. Do You Know This Man?

There is one leader, still largely unknown to the West, who is an extraordinary role model
that people of all backgrounds can relate to: THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD.

The details of Muhammad's remarkable life have been carefully preserved and have been
subjected to the scrutiny of historians, east and west. In contrast to others who have achieved
renown for their accomplishments in a limited sphere of activity, Muhammad's achievements
span all major areas of life.

The historian Michael H. Hart wrote:

”He was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular
levels.”

We might illustrate this by quoting the major miracles of the three prophets of the major
world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Moses' contemporaries were excellent in magic.
So his major miracle was to defeat the best magicians of Egypt of his days. Jesus contemporaries
were recognized as skillful physicians. Therefore, his miracles were to raise the dead and cure the
incurable diseases. The Arabs, the contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad, were known for
their eloquence and magnificent poetry. So Prophet Muhammad's major miracle was the Quran,
the equivalent of which the whole legion of the Arab poets and orators could not produce despite
the repeated challenge from the Quran itself. Again Muhammad's miracle has something special
about it. All previous miracles were limited by time and place, i.e., they were shown to specific
people at a specific time. Not so the miracle of Muhammad, the Quran. It is a universal and
everlasting miracle. Previous generations witnessed it and future generations will witness its
miraculous nature in terms of its style, content and spiritual uplifting. These still can be tested
and will thereby prove the divine origin of the Quran.

The Prophet accomplished all this through the strength of his character and personal
example; he inspired in his followers a love, devotion and sense of awe that was unparalleled.
While other men would have been corrupted by the absolute power that he wielded in his later
years, Muhammad remained humble, ever aware of the Source of his blessings. 'I am just God's
servant,' he said, and 'I have only been sent as a teacher.' Although he spent his days in serving
people and his nights in prayer, he preached religious moderation and balance; he forbade his
followers to adopt a monastic lifestyle and preferred that they establish strong families and
engage themselves in bettering the world around them, while remaining deeply conscious of
God.

Edward Gibbon and Simon Ockley, speaking on the profession of Islam wrote: "I believe
in one God, and Muhammad, an Apostle of God" is the simple and invariable profession of
Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the
honour of the Prophet has never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his living
precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds or reason and religion."

Diwan Chand Sharma wrote: "Muhammad was the soul of kindness and his influence was
felt and never forgotten by those around him.”
4.3. Muhammad, the Prophet:

Muhammad received his first revelation from God at 40, through the Angel Gabriel. He
continued to receive revelations for 23 years, on topics ranging from the Oneness of God and His
wondrous handiwork, to stories of earlier prophets, morality and ethics, and life after death.
These revelations became collectively known as the Qur'an, and are considered by Muslims to be
the literal word of God; the Prophet's own words were collected separately. Muhammad's call to
monotheism and social reform was heavily opposed by the Makkan elite; after enduring thirteen
years of intense persecution, he and his followers were invited to relocate to Madinah, a town to
the north that had been torn apart by generations of intertribal warfare. Muhammad successfully
settled their differences and forged a bond of brotherhood between the two warring factions, as
well as between the locals and the new emigrants. For Arab tribal society, this was an amazing
accomplishment. The early Muslims learned to implement the golden rule under the Prophet's
tutelage: 'No one truly believes until he desires for his brother what he desires for himself.'

4.4. Prophet Muhammad Leadership

Prophet Muhammad’s unique communication and leadership style led to the spread of
Islam, not only within Arabia but also outside to the north, south, east, west and southwest of
Arabia. The findings on the Prophet's values of moderation revealed that he placed a lot of
weight on mannerism. The Prophet Muhammad was supremely successful on both the religious
and secular level. The Prophet’s demonstration of extreme self-control made his followers to love
him and his enemies either to give up and join his religion or to fear him and stay away. There
was no human being who had his life more scrutinized and documented than the Prophet
Muhammad. He was a farsighted visionary leader. The results and discussion of analyses showed
that the Prophet Muhammad possessed not only transformational leadership values but that he
also possessed extraordinary values which made him a unique leader in the history of
humankind. His public communication also demonstrated the values he espoused.

Following is a comparison between a few crucial characteristics of Moses, Muhammad

and Jesus which may clarify the identity of “that prophet” who was to come after Moses:
Area of Comparison Moses Muhammad Jesus

Birth Usual Usual Unusual

Family Life Married, Children Married, Children No Marriage, or
children
Death Usual Usual Unusual
Career Prophet/Statesman Prophet/Statesman Prophet
Forced Emigration (in To Median To Medinah None
adulthood)
Encounter with enemies Hot pursuit Hot pursuit/Battles No Similar
Encounter
Results of encounter Moral physical Moral physical victory Moral victory
victory
Writing dawn of In his life time In his life time (Al- After him
Revelation (Torah) Qur'an)
Nature of Teachings Spiritual/ Legal Spiritual/ Legal Mainly Spiritual

Acceptance of leadership Rejected Rejected then Rejected (by most

(by his people) accepted Israelites)

This table is self-evident. It shows that not only were Moses and Muhammad very much
alike in many respects, but it shows also that Jesus does not fit this particular prophecy.

Reference

1. http://Mohammed vs Christ - A Spiritual and Factual Comparison_ GospelWeb_net.htm

2. Hart, Michael, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History
3. History of the Saracen Empires, London, 1870, p. 54
4. D. C. Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, pp. 12
5. http://www.4newmuslims.org/e/prophet.htm
6. http://www.islam101.com/dawah/prophethood_test2.html

6.0 Society before Prophet Mohammad

Ka'bah located near Mecca is also considered to be the first house of worship that was built on
earth for the worship of Allah. Prophets Ibrahim (Abraham) and Ismail (Ishmael) rebuild Kabah
and were responsible for spreading the message that Allah is the proper name of the one true
God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, who does not have a partner or associate, and he
does not beget nor can he begotten. It must be also noted that unlike the word god, the word
Allah does not have a plural or gender.

Muhammad is a descendant of Prophet Ismail through the lineage of his second

son Kedar. During Muhammad’s time before the revelations began, the Holy
sanctuary Ka’bah was filled with three hundred and sixty idols and the original pristine message
of Prophet Ibrahim had been lost. Superstitious beliefs had become rampant as and traditions of
pilgrims and people at large had started believing in idol worship and myths. However, in spite of
the majority of non believers, a small group of men and women in every generation detested the
pollution of Kabah and continued their practice of the religion taught by Prophets Ibrahim and
Ismail. They used to spend some of their time away from this polluted environment in retreats to
nearby hills.

Prophet Mohammad’s mission was to restore the worship of the One True God, the
creator & sustainer of the universe, as taught by Prophet Ibrahim & all Prophets of God, and to
demonstrate and complete the laws of moral, ethical, legal, and social conduct and all other
matters of significance for the humanity at large. With this mission in mind the Prophet was able
to achieve significant social transformation in the society.

Social transformation done by Prophet Muhammad

During the initial stage, when Prophet Mohammad started his mission, only few people accepted
Islam. Prophet Muhammad therefore began spreading awareness about ISLAM through his
preaching. However, few other tribes in the society took his preaching with hostility & started
persecuting and harassing Muslims. All these events led to the following social transformations
in the society.

People became more patient

The Quareshi tribe which believed in idol worship had started to persecute Muslims by
performing various atrocities on followers of Muhammad & boycotting their business. Many
Muslims lost their lives due to this torture but they remains patient and did not to retaliate against
their persecutors. However when the persecution became unbearable they changed their location
instead of opposing their perpetrators. The Muslims thus sought to follow peace over violence
and battle.

Fighting against injustice

When all things became intolerable Muslim with Prophet Mohammed left for Makkah to perform
the annual pilgrimage. However the Quareshi leaders tried to follow him everywhere in order to
stop him from spreading the message of Islam. The Prophet who had not taken to the battle field
for fighting till now received a revelation from Angel Gabriel to fight against the injustice caused
to the innocent Muslims. Only then did he decide to fight against the non-believers, not because
they were not following Islam but because they were not allowing the Muslims to follow the
religion of their choice. It is therefore important to note that the Prophet took to the battlefield
only as an act of self-defense.

Increased believers of Islam

The first few people to follow Islam were Prophet Muhammad’s cousin Ali, his servant Zayd ibn
Harithah, his friend Abu Bakr and his wife and daughters. In the next three years after the
revelations began only forty people accepted Islam but after that as days passed, Islam &
principle of Islam started spreading even among non-believers from different sections of society.
Prophet Mohammad’s preaching helped the society to become more courageous, turned they
away from believing in myths & superstitious beliefs. His teachings indeed changed the way
people think which eventually helped them to improve themselves as human beings and live
peacefully with people of different religious backgrounds and ethnicity.