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Muhammad (pbuh) was an illiterate but wise and
well-respected man who was born in Makkah in the year 570 C.E., at a time when
Christianity was not yet fully established in Europe. His first years were
marked by the deaths of his parents. Since his father died before his birth, his
uncle, Abu Talib, from the respected tribe of Quraysh, raised him. As Muhammad (pbuh)
grew up, he became known for his truthfulness, generosity and sincerity, so that
he was sought after for his ability to arbitrate in disputes. His reputation and
personal qualities also led to his marriage, at the age of twenty-five, to
Khadijah, a widow whom he had assisted in business. Thenceforth, he became an
important and trusted citizen of Makkah. Historians describe him as calm and
meditative.
Muhammad (pbuh) never felt fully content to be
part of a society whose values he considered to be devoid of true religious
significance. It became his habit to retreat from time to time to the cave of
Hira', to meditate near the summit of Jabal al-Nur, the "Mountain of Light",
near Makkah.
At the age of 40, while engaged in one such
meditative retreat, Muhammad (pbuh) received his first revelation from God
through the Angel Gabriel. This revelation, which continued for twenty-three
years, is known as the Qur'an, the faithful recording of the entire revelation
of God. The first revelation read: "Recite: In the name of your Lord Who created man from a clot (of blood). Recite: Your Lord is Most Noble, Who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know."[Holy Quran 96:1-5]
It was this reality that he gradually and steadily
came to learn and believe, until he fully realized that it is the truth.
His first convert was Khadijah, whose support and
companionship provided necessary reassurance and strength. He also won the
support of some of his relatives and friends. Three basic themes of the early
message were the majesty of the one, unique God, the futility of idol worship,
the threat of judgment, and the necessity of faith, compassion and morality in
human affairs. All these themes represented an attack on the crass materialism
and idolatry prevalent in Makkah at the time. So when he began to proclaim the
message to others the Makkans rejected him. He and his small group of followers
suffered bitter persecution, which grew so fierce that in the year 622 C.E., God
gave them the command to emigrate. This event, the Hijrah (migration), in which
they left Makkah for the city of Madinah, some 260 miles to the north, marked
the beginning of a new era and thus the beginning of the Muslim calendar. During
his suffering, Muhammad (pbuh) drew comfort from the knowledge revealed to him
about other prophets, such as Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, each of whom had also
been persecuted and tested. After several years and some significant battles, the Prophet and his followers were able to return to Makkah, where they forgave their enemies and established Islam definitively. By the time the Prophet died, at the age of 63, the greater part of Arabia had accepted Islam, and within a century of his death, Islam had spread as far west as Spain and as far east as China. It was clear that the message was not limited to Arabs; it was for the whole of humanity. |
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