ALLEN
T. OLATUNDE
SEPTEMBER
2011
THE BIRTH OF PROPHET
MOHAMMED
The birth of the
renowned religious leader, Mohammed has become a major point to the scholarship
world that he was born on either Monday or Friday. The sources of Mohammed's
biography are numerous, but on the whole untrustworthy, being crowded with
fictitious details, legends, and stories. None of his biographies were compiled
during his lifetime, and the earliest was written a century and a half after
his death. The Koran is perhaps the only reliable source for the leading events
in his career (Oussani). However, the most debatable subject regarding the life
of the Prophet is the biographers' dispute on the exact date of his birth. If
someone were to gather all of the different opinions on this issue, there would
be about twenty options to choose from (Rasuli 107). Of course, the year and
the month of the Prophet's birth is agreed upon by the vast majority of both
Sunni and Shi'i historians and narrators of hadith. It is accepted as a
well-known fact that the Prophet was born in the lunar month Rabi'
al-Awwal of the 'Year of the Elephant', i.e. 570 C. E. (Ibn Hisham
183). The majority of Muslim scholars agree with the consensus on the subject
(Haykal 108).
Some Sunni biographers
refer to the disagreement among historian but conclude: “the majority … agree
that Muhammad was born on the twelfth of Rabi' al-Awwal, the claim
of Ibn Ishaq and other biographers” (Haykal 109). Ibn Ishaq observes that the
Prophet was born on Monday, the twelfth of Rabi' al-Awwal, in
the 'Year of the Elephant' (Ibn Hisham 183). According to the general belief of
Sunnis, Monday was the actual day of the birth of the Prophet, while among the
Shi'a, Friday is determined to have been the day in question. Nowadays, in
Islamic Republic of Iran, there is an anniversary celebration which is held
every year from the 12th to the 17th of Rabi' al-Awwal.
The week during which the ceremony is held, is called the 'Week of Unity'. It
indicates that each sect can respect the other's thought, while still focusing
on what it has received through its own tradition (al-Kulayni 248).
Muhammad was born in
Makkah in the year 570. Since his father died before his birth and his
mother died shortly thereafter, he was raised by his uncle who was from the
respected tribe of Quraysh. He was raised illiterate, unable to read or
write, and remained so till his death. His people, before his mission as
a prophet, were ignorant of science and most of them were illiterate. As
he grew up, he became known to be truthful, honest, trustworthy, generous, and
sincere (http://www.islam-guide.com). He was so trustworthy that they
called him the Trustworthy. Muhammad was very religious, and he had long
detested the decadence and idolatry of his society (Mosnad Ahmad 15078).
THE CALL OF PROPHET
MOHAMMED
Mohammed was now approaching his 40th year and his mind was ever engaged in
profound contemplation and reflection. Before him lay his country, bleeding and
torn by fratricidal wars and intolerable dissensions; his people, sunk in
barbarism, addicted to the observation of rites and superstitions, were, with
all their desert virtues, lawless and cruel (Galwash 33). Sir William Muir, in
his “Life of Mahommed” also remarks that the idolatry and moral
debasement of his people, pressed heavily upon him and the dim arid imperfect
shadows of Judaism and Christianity excited doubts without satisfying then;
arid his mind was perplexed with uncertainty as to what was the true religion.
Galwash further notes that his two visits to Syria had opened to him a scene of
unutterable moral and social desolation, rival creeds and sects tearing each
other to pieces, wrangling over the body of the God they pretended to worship
carrying their hatred to the valleys and deserts of Hidaz and rending the
townships of Arabia with their quarrels and bitterness (33). After the worry
and discomfort of idolatry, Mohammed went into his cave he used to betake himself
for prayer and meditation, sometimes alone arid at others with his family.
There he often spent whole nights in deep thought arid profound communion with
the unseen, yet all—pervading God of Universe. It was during one of those
retirements arid in the still hours of the night, when no human sympathy was
near, that Mohammed believed that an angel came to him, to tell him, that lie
was the Apostle of God, sent to reclaim a fallen people to the knowledge and
service of their God. Renowned compliers of authentic traditions of Islam agree
in the fallowing account of the first revelations received by the Prophet: It
was in true dreams that Mohammed received the first revelations. “He never
dreamt, but it came to pass as regularly as the dawn of the day” (Galwash 30).
From Islamic scholarship site, it is stated that further revelations came to
him intermittently over the remaining years of his life, and these revelations
constitute the text of the Koran. The opening verses of chapters 96 and 74 are
generally recognized as the oldest revelations; Muhammad's vision is mentioned
in 53:1 - 18 and 81:19 - 25, and the night of the first revelation in 97:1 - 5
and 44:3. At first in private and then [613 AD] publicly, Muhammad began to
proclaim his message: that there is but one God and that Muhammad is his
messenger sent to warn people of the Judgment Day and to remind them of God's
goodness (http://www.mb-soft.com).
THE LIFE OF PROPHET
MOHAMMED
There are a lot to
write on the life of Mohammed as a prophet and heroes in the Asia world.
Mohammed had relationship with different people in his life, marriage, slavery,
orphanage, war, dispute settlement etc. Part of his lifetimes was spent with
Khadijah. Now, Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) was old enough to go with the trade
caravans. But Abu Talib's financial position had become very weak because of
the expenses of Rifadah and Siqayah, and it
was no longer possible for him to equip Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) with the
merchandise on his own. He, therefore, advised him to act as agent for a noble
lady, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, who was the wealthiest person in Quraish. It is
written that in the trade caravans, her merchandise usually equaled the
merchandise of the whole tribe put together. Her genealogy joins with that of
the Holy Prophet at Qusayi. She was Khadijah daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad ibn
'Abdul-'Uzza ibn Qusayi. The reputation which Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) enjoyed for
his honesty and integrity, led Khadijah to willingly entrust her goods to him
for sale in Syria. He traded in such a way that the goods earned more profit
than expected, and yet he was praised for his integrity, honesty and
generosity. Khadijah was very much impressed. Only two months after his return
to Mecca, he was married to Khadijah. He was twenty-five years of age and
Khadijah was forty and a widow (http://www.al-islam.org/lifeprophet).
In about 605 A.D.,
when the Holy Prophet was 35 years old, a flood swept Mecca and the building of
the Ka'bah was badly damaged. The Quraish decided to rebuild it. When the walls
reached a certain height, a dispute arose between various clans as to whom
should the honor of placing the Black Stone (Hajar Aswad) in its place go. This
dispute threatened to assume serious proportions but, at last, it was agreed
upon that the first person to enter the precincts of the Ka'bah the next
morning should arbitrate this issue. It so happened, that first person was none
other than Muhammad (s.a.w.a.). The Quraish were pleased with the turn of the
events because Muhammad was well recognized as the Truthful and Trust-worthy
personality. Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) put his own robe on the ground and put the
Black Stone on it. He told the disputing clans to send one representative each
to hold the corners of the robe and to raise it. When the robe was raised to
the required level, he took hold of the Stone and put it in its place. This was
a judgment, which settled the dispute to the satisfaction of all the parties.
People were so impressed by his uprightness and integrity, by the purity of his
life, his unflinching fidelity, and his strict sense of duty that they called
him "al-Amin," the trusted one (http://www.al-islam.org/lifeprophet).
THE MISSION OF PROPHET
MOHAMMED
Mohammed proclaimed
Allah as the one true god and rejected the idol worship of Mecca. Khadijah, his
wife, was Mohammed first convert to Islam. Few listened to Mohammed’s message
and animosity grew against him as he confronted the idol worshippers and
preached his religion to Mecca (http://www.truthnet.org/islam).
During this time,
Muhammad preached to the people of Mecca, imploring them to abandon polytheism.
Although some converted to Islam, Muhammad and his followers were persecuted by
the leading Meccan authorities. After 12 years of preaching, Muhammad and the
Muslims performed the Hijra ("emigration") to the
city of Medina (formerly
known as Yathrib) in 622. There, with the Medinan converts (Ansar)
and the Meccan migrants (Muhajirun), Muhammad established his political and religious
authority. Within years, two battles had been fought against Meccan
forces: the Battle of Badr in 624, which was a Muslim
victory, and the Battle of Uhud in 625, which ended inconclusively.
Conflict with Medinan Jewish clans who opposed the Muslims led to their exile,
enslavement, or death, and the Jewish enclave of Khaybar was
subdued. At the same time, Meccan trade routes were cut off as Muhammad brought
surrounding desert tribes under his control. By 629 Muhammad was victorious in
the nearly bloodless Conquest of Mecca, and by the time of his death in 632 (at the
age of 62) he united the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity (Buhl).
WORKS
CITED
Al-Kulayni, al-Kafi. Al-Usul
val-Rawda, Eds, Ghaffari. Tehran: al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya, 1962.
F. Buhl; A. T.
Welch. Muhammad. Encyclopaedia of Islam Online.
Galwash, Ahmed
A. The Religion of Islam: A standard book. Volume One. Conveying
Islamic Message Society, Alexandria, nd.
Haykal,
Hayat. Murtada, Al-Sahih , Vol. 1, p. 78.
http://www. islamicmessage.net/ accessed on 19th September
2011 by 3.49pm.
http://www.al-islam.org/lifeprophet/ accessed on 19th
September 2011 by 3.55pm.
http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-8.htm accessed on 19th
September 2011 by 3.45pm.
http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/txo/islam.htm accessed on 19th
September 2011 by 2.15pm.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/historyofislam.pdf accessed on
19th September 2011 by 3.50pm.
Ibn Hisham. Al-Sira
al-Nabawiya. 1st edition, Eds ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Salam Tadmuri. Beirut: Dar
al-Kitab al-‘Arabi, 1987.
Oussani,
Gabriel. Mohammed and Mohammedanism. The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10424a.htm accessed on 19th
September 2011 by 2.34pm.
Rasuli, Tarikh,
Vol. 1, p. 107.
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