Prophet Muhammad story: wha was?

Conscious TV

January 05, 2022

Muhammad is the founder and chief prophet of Islam, as well as the source of the Quran. "Muhammad" - which means "highly praised".

He was born in Mecca in 570 to a poor family of the noble Quraish tribe. His father died shortly after his birth and his mother at the age of six, being raised mainly by his uncle Abu Talib, whom he accompanied on his trading trips, coming into contact with people of different nationalities and faiths, such as Jews, Christians and pagans.

At the age of 25, Muhammad began working for Khadijah, a wealthy widow from Mecca 15 years his senior. They later married and, by all accounts, enjoyed a happy marriage. Early records indicate that "Allah comforted him through her, for she lightened his burden." Although polygamy was a common practice at the time, Muhammad did not remarry until his death 24 years later.

Why is Muhammad important to Muslims?

In his late thirties, Muhammad began going around to a cave on Mount Hira, outside Mecca, to seek solitude and contemplation.

In 610, at the age of forty, Muhammad returned from one of his visits and told his wife that he had gone mad or had become a prophet, because he had received a visit from an angel.

Khadija, who was at first surprised, became his first devotee.

Muhammad said that while he was in a trance the angel Gabriel appeared and said to him, "Proclaim him!". But, like Moses, Muhammad had doubts. He replied, "I am not a proclaimer." The angel insisted: Proclaim in the name of the Creator God! Man was created from a blood clot. Proclaim: Your Lord is the Most Generous, who has taught by means of the calamus; and teach man what he did not know (Qur'an 96: 1-5: sutra of the clot).

Muhammad truly felt that he had been chosen as Allah's messenger and began to proclaim the messages he had received.

What was Muhammad's message?

Muhammad's message to his countrymen was to abandon pagan polytheism, immorality and materialism, repent of evil and worship Allah, the one true God. He always made clear his role in God's work; he was only a prophet. He was not an angel, he did not know God's thoughts and he did not perform miracles. He simply announced the teachings he had received.

In the first three years of his ministry, Muhammad gained only 40 followers. Because his teachings threatened the Meccan way of life economically and morally,

Muhammad and his followers were viciously persecuted. At first they were mocked, but later they acted violently. Members of this small group were stoned, covered with garbage while praying, beaten, imprisoned.

What was Muhammad's profession?

Persecutions continued to intensify until Muhammad received good news: he had gained new followers in the city of Yathrib, 450 km north of Mecca. The city needed a strong leader and a delegation from Yathrib proposed Muhammad for the post. In return, they promised to praise Allah alone, obey Muhammad and defend him and his followers to the death.

The Meccan leaders discovered the escape plan and tried to prevent it but Muhammad and his faithful friend Abu Bakr managed to escape through the north of the city and arrived safely in Yathrib. This event is celebrated by Muslims as the Hegira. The year in which it occurred, 622, is the starting year of the Muslim calendar. Yathrib was renamed Medinat al-Nabi or "City of the Prophet" and is now known as Medina, "the city".

In Medina, Muhammad proved himself to be a skilled politician and statesman as well as a prophet. With great skill, he succeeded in uniting the five warring tribes of the city into a well-organized confederation. Three of these tribes were Jewish. His fame spread and people began to flock from all over Arabia to meet the man who had worked the "miracle".

The Battle of Mecca

After settling in Medina and carrying out the task at hand, he began a multi-year battle against his city. In 624, the Muslims won their first battle against the Meccans. As the Meccans had a much larger army, the Muslims took the victory as a sign that God was on their side. However, in the next battle they were not victorious and Muhammad himself was wounded. In 627 Mecca attacked Medina and Medina won the battle. The prophet would never again lose a battle. In 630, Muhammad and his army invaded Mecca and defeated it.

The Prophet dedicated the kaaba temple to Allah, witnessed the conversion of almost the entire population of Mecca to Islam, and then returned to Medina. Muhammad died in 632, having conquered almost all of Arabia for Islam.

Expansion of Islam

By 634, Islam had spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula. One hundred years after Muhammad's death it had reached as far west as the Atlantic and as far east as the borders of China. This success was largely due to the military and political capabilities of the caliphs, Muhammad's successors.