Early life of Prophet (sw) until first revelation

Life in Makkah-570-622 AD - his early life

Q         Write about the life of the Prophet (saw) up until the first Revelation.

[10-J-10]

Q         Give an account of the Prophet’s life up to the time the revelations began.

[10-Nov 14-2058/11]

Mohammad (saw) was born in 571 AD in Makkah in the family of Banu Hashim of the tribe of Quresh. This year was also known as the year of elephants because in this year the king of Yemen, Abraha, attacked Makkah with the intention to destroy the holy Kaaba along with an army of elephants. He failed because Allah sent small birds with stones in their feet and beaks which destroyed the army. It was a very historic event in the history of Arabs. Quran reminds this event in Sura Al Feel (elephants).

His father’s name was Abdullah and his mother was Amina. His grand-father was Abdul Muttalib who was a highly respected person of makkah. He had ten sons. Abdullah was the youngest son and a very handsome man. He married to Amina who was from Yathrib, later known as Madina. Like other Makkans, Abdullah was also a merchant. Two months before the birth of the Prophet (sw), he went to a trade journey to Syria. When he was coming back from there and he was close to Yathrib, he got ill and died. He was buried there.

According to the tradition of Makkah, Mohammad (saw) was given to a lady Halima in order to learn language skills and living in a natural atmosphere of villages in order to get strong body and good health. He lived with her for four years. He was taken for two years only but as soon as Halima took him, a continuous flow of good started coming to the family. Hamima was so happy with the child that she extended two more years and kept him until he was four. These were the days when two angels came to him, opened his chest and washed his chest with some blessed water.  

When he was six years old, his mother took him to the grave of the father but on her way back to Makkah, she died. She was also buried near Madina. Now the grandfather Abdul Mutallib took his care. He was an old man of about ninety and after two years, he also died. Now, his uncle, Abu Talib took his responsibility.

Abu Talib had a large family with twelve children but he loved his nephew very much. Mohammad (sw) used to sleep in his bed. In the age of twelve, he went to a trade jorney with Abu Talib. It was the journey when a monk saw Mohammad (sw) and felt some strange events and asked Abu Talib not to take the child on journeys as his life could be in danger.

He also took part in battles between tribes. One battle which took place between the Quresh and Banu Qais is known as battle of Fujjar. He took part in the battle but he did not kill anyone. His duty was to pick up arrows for his people. He started taking more interest in business and soon he was known as an honest businessman but due to lack of investment, he could not develop himself as a rich merchant though he was a very skilled merchant. Until the age of twenty-five, he spent a life of extreme poverty. Only for a few coins, he used to graze the animals of the people of Makkah. Sura Al duha says:

                        “And we found you poor and made you rich”.

In the age of twenty-five, he married to Khadija (ra). Khadija was a rich widow of forty years. She was known in Makkah for her wealth, beauty and good character. Her title was “Tahira”. She sent Mohammad (saw) to a trade journey and sent her slave Maisara along with him. Mohammad (saw) came back with a good profit and the slave also gave a positive report about his character. She sent her proposal of marriage to Mohammad (sw). After taking consent from his family, he married Khadija(ra). The marriage was a success. The Prophet (saw) had six children. Four daughters survived but both the sons died in infancy.

Investing the finance from khadija (ra), Mohammad (sw) became a rich and a very respectable person of makkah. He was known for his good nature and honest personality and Makkans called him “sadiq and ameen”, truthful and trustworthy.

He also took part in a peace agreement known as “Hlf –ul-Fuzul” which took place in Makkah between the tribes in which they decided to have peace among themselves and also to help the poor and needy. The Prophet (saw) says that he was so happy when the agreement took place that if he gets other chances to take part in such agreements, he would take part. This shows his peace-loving nature.

When he was about thirty-five years old, he took part in another event. Due to a flood, the building of the holy Kaaba fell down. The building was constructed but the placement of the black stone became a point of conflict. Every family of Quresh wanted to take the honour. Mohammad (saw) solved this problem. He placed the stone on a sheet of cloth and every tribe took the stone to the right place and finally, Mohammad (saw) placed it in the right place. This event shows that by nature Mohammad (saw) loved peace.

When he was forty years old, he developed the tendency to seclude himself and stay in a cave called “Hira” for sdome days. Soon he received his first revelation there.