Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, one of the world’s prominent religions, was born to a family that belonged to the Quraysh clan, in Mecca. This city was in the Hejaz region of Northern Arabia. After the decline of southern Arabia, which comprised of large powers such as the Sassanians, Ethiopians and Byzantines, Mecca had become a hubbub of sixth century trade. The city of Mecca is also the original site of Ka’bah, and because of its importance in the trade aspect it was dominated by powerful merchant clans among whom Quraysh was the most prominent one.
Muhammad’s father, Abdul Muttalib had died before he was born and Muhammad’s mother, Aminah, passed away when he was only six. After the death of his mother, he was given to his grandfather. But his grandfather also passed away soon after, and Muhammad’s uncle Abu Talib continued raising him afterwards. The child became educated despite the hardships of desert life, managed his patience, and became well known for his sweet and rich way of speaking. These qualities of Muhammad made him popular in the region.
In his twenties, around the year 590, Muhammad began to serve Khadija as a merchant to conduct trade of caravans to the north. Khadija was impressed with his qualities and they married, giving birth to four daughters and two sons, the sons passing away shortly.
While working with Khadija as a trade merchant, Mohammad traveled a lot. He gained much experience and knowledge. He retired in his forties and went to the cave on Mount Hira for meditation. The first shine of Islam fell upon the world, when Mohammad heard a voice of an angle while meditating in the cave. The Angel identified himself as Gabriel and said to Mohammad:
“Recite in the name of thy Lord who created, created man from a clot of blood.”
For a while, Mohammad stood in shock and then pleaded that he was unable to do so after every time the Angel asked him to recite. Then Mohammad recited the words dictated by Angel Gabriel. These words are now the first five verses of the 96th Surah in the Quran. These words indicate the importance that God is the creator of man and only He has all the knowledge.
Mohammad shared this experience with his wife and his closest friends initially. But soon, the message the oneness of God all surroundings started to gain the support from slaves and the poor. All the revelations from that time and onwards were later combined as Islam’s scripture, known as Quran.
While Mohammad was preaching about Islam, people who did not agree with him started opposing him greatly. His fellow merchants also turned against him, but this turned out in Mohammad’s favor as he became more alert of his mission and began spreading the teachings of Islam with greater energy and devotion. The teachings taught that God is one and those who accept it will be gifted with blessings while those who disagreed and opposed were warned of punishment. He triumphed through his struggles, and it proved to be a great reward.
View the Original article
0 comments:
Post a Comment