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The life and message of Muhammad
Muhammad was born in Makkah in Arabia in 570 as an orphan, for his father Abdullah died several weeks before his birth. When he was six, his mother died, too, and he was looked after for two years
by his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, and then, after his death, by his uncle Abu Talib, whom he helped with his trade caravans. His integrity soon earned him the nickname “al-Amin”, the Trustworthy. At the age of 25 he worked for the trading business of a wealthy widow, Khadijah who, impressed with his character, proposed marriage. In spite of her being 40 at the time, Muhammad accepted, and she remained his life companion for 25 years, and they had six children together. After her death he married a young girl, Aisha, who became an important teacher and narrator of Hadith (sayings of the prophet), as well as several war widows and divorcees, either to provide them with shelter or to forge political alliances between competing tribes. In turn for the kindness shown to him as a youth, he looked after Ali, the son of his uncle Abu Talib, and he freed and adopted a young slave boy, Zayd bin Haritha, into his household. His family’s testimony is that of a caring husband and father who, although busy with the affairs of the community, helped with the household chores wherever he could.
Disliking
the idolatrous and frivolous practices of his compatriots in
Makkah, Muhammad often retreated to a cave in mount Hira
outside the town, and it was there, at the age of 40, that he
received the first revelation. These revelations continued for
23 years until the end of the life of Muhammad, and they are
collected in the Qur’an, the Muslims’ holy book.
Muslims
follow the life example of Muhammad, Allah’s messenger,
because – unlike so many rulers before and after him – he
meticulously observed and followed himself what he preached to
others and demonstrated that Islam, as revealed by Allah, is
not some esoteric, aloof philosophy, but a practical guidance,
applicable to all people, at all times, and in all areas of
life. Amongst the most beautiful aspects of Muhammad’s own
life is how perfectly he managed to balance the various
demands of public and private life, neglecting neither for the
sake of the other. Through his personality and the powerful
guidance contained in the Qur’an he managed to unite the
quarrelling tribes of the Arabian peninsula and lead them to
being a major and flourishing civilisation within his own
lifetime, putting the then dominant Persian and East Roman
empires in the shade. Islam soon spread globally and took the
cultural lead, advancing science and humanity, giving birth to
the European enlightenment, and again, today, providing a much
needed spiritual, social, and philosophical ideology for over
a billion people, counter-balancing the excess materialism of
the prevalent consumerism in the modern world.
[Next: The Qur’an – a living miracle
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