Life of the Prophet Mohammad (saw) from birth up to his Prophethood

 

                  Prophet's life from birth to Prophethood

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. The holy 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 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. Halima 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. Soon Mohammad (sw) became a rich man. 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. 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.

Q         Despite living through the days of ignorance, the Prophet remained true to his                      mission. What lessons can Muslim learn from this today?  [4-Nov 14-2058/11]

Until the age of forty, the Prophet (sw) was living in a society which was known for their indulgence in sins, exploitation and bad habits. The Prophet (sw) saved himself from the eveils of the society due to his good nature and also because Allah protected him. In the time of ignorance he proved himself as a very confident child who was poor but hard working and independent. He never hurt anyone and always helped needy. He had a high level of modesty (Hiyaa) as he never involved in sins. He was a faithful husband and a good father. In a dishonest society, he was known as truthful and trustworthy for his honesty and respecting commitment. He was known as an intelligent and peace-loving person as we see him in the event of placement of Black Stone. One remarkable thing about his character was never to indulge in Shirk. It was a society that worshipped gods and goddesses but the Prophet (sw) never worshipped them. These qualities of his personality also indicate that Allah was preparing him for the biggest task in the history of mankind.

Keeping these few qualities of his character in mind, Muslims have a lot to learn. From his childhood, we learn that difficult times come in everyone’s life and sometimes we are helpless, yet we should not lose confidence and strive to come out of troubles. We also learn that a good nature and intelligent mind never accepts “shirk”. A Muslim always depends on one Allah and believes that the only Allah is enough to help him having a good life. We are also living in a society which is unfortunately a dishonest society. A good Muslim is always a person with honesty. He keeps his promises and respects his commitments. A good Muslim is also committed with his family. A good Muslim is a faithful husband or a good wife. They are also loving and caring parents. The Prophet (sw) is a role-model for Muslims in all respects.