CHAPTER 2: THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET (PBUH)
CHAPTER 2: THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET ﷺ
Key points from this chapter:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ lived a life very different to those around him prior to Prophethood
The Makkan Period, lasting 13 years, was full of hardship and persecution in which very few people accepted Islam
The Madani Period, lasting 10 years, was much more prosperous for the Muslims and wherein the very first Islamic state was established
The second chapter of this books delves into the great life of the noble Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. His blessed life can be split into three sections and so will this chapter. The first section will look at his life before prophethood whilst the second will look at the Makkan Period and the third will look at the Madani Period. It is worth noting that no book, however long and detailed it may be, is capable of doing justice in narrating the life of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. This chapter simply summarises the key sections of his noble life.
The life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ before prophethood differed greatly from those around him. He was born in the year 570 CE in the city of Makkah which was the “trading and religious centre at the heart of the Arabian Peninsula”. He belonged to the Hashimi clan which was a relatively low-ranking clan that was part of the larger tribe of Quraysh. The early life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was marked by great hardship and loss. His father Abdullah passed away before he was born and his mother Aminah passed away when he was only six. He then went to live with his grandfather Abdul Muttalib who passed away two years later. He then went to live with his uncle Abu Talib. Despite suffering such hardships, he quickly became an accomplished merchant and earned himself the title of As-Saadiq and Al-Amin. This caught the attention of his employer Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (RA) who proposed to him. Despite being fifteen years younger than her, The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ accepted the proposal. Khadijah (RA) was his only wife to bear children. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s social life was very different to those around him. He did not engage in drinking, gambling, adultery and the many other ill practices of the Makkans. He instead chose seclusion and decided to spend his time in the cave of Hira where he would ponder upon life. He was also one of the Hunafa which translates to monotheists. These were a handful of people in Makkah who rejected the many idols and instead elected to worship the original monotheistic mission of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) and Isma’il (PBUH). We can see from this that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s early life was marked by extreme hardship and his social life was very different to those around him.
The Makkan period is the period of the Prophet’s ﷺ life from the time of the first revelation to the migration to Madinah. This period lasted a total of 13 years. Around the year 610 CE, the first revelation atop Jabal Al-Noor (Mountain of Light) was given and these were first five verses of Surah ’Alaq (Chapter 96). They revealed that he had been chosen as a Prophet of Allah ﷻ. This left the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ shocked and he immediately ran home to his wife. She consoled him and informed her cousin Waraqah of what had happened. Waraqah, who was well versed in the Gospels, explained that the same angel sent to the Prophet Musa AS was the one who visited the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then began his sacred mission of propagating the oneness of Allah ﷻ. His wife Khadijah (RA) was the first to accept Islam followed by his cousin ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib (RA), his freed slave Zayd Ibn Al Harithah (RA) and his best friend Abu Bakr ibn Abu Quhafah (RA). Abu Bakr (RA) then began to tell more people who slowly began to accept Islam. Islamic teachings began to take shape with further revelations. Ideas of monotheism, life after death, social justice and more shook the city of Makkah. However, The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his followers had to initially keep their religion hidden as “social revolution is rarely welcomed by those in positions of power”. This was because acceptance of Islam would mean that neighbouring Arab tribes, who still worshipped idols, would not come for the pilgrimage to Makkah and so the Quraysh would lose out on the economic benefits of the pilgrimage season. Furthermore, Islam was not strong enough to openly challenge the people in power as its followers were few and were made up mainly of people of the lower classes. The Quraysh initially mocked the followers of Islam until they realised the gravity of the situation. They elected to get rid of the source which was the Prophet ﷺ himself. However, they could not do as he was protected by the Banu Hashim clan and his uncle Abu Talib who was its leader and a respected man amongst the elders of the Quraysh. If they killed the Prophet ﷺ, the Banu Hashim could go after the killers in the name of revenge and civil war would break out. Although this meant that The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was protected, this protection was not extended to his followers who lacked the protection of a clan. As a result, they were persecuted by the elders of the Quraysh. Although the author does not mention any examples here, it is important to briefly mention some to understand the struggles of the earliest followers of Islam. Sumayyah (RA) and her family were slaves from Abyssinia and were severely tortured for accepting Islam. They would be taken and left in the desert under the scorching sun where they would be whipped in order to give up their new-found religion. However, their faith and spirit did not shatter. Finally, Sumayyah was rewarded with the honour of becoming the first martyr in Islam when a Surat was thrust through her private parts. The struggle of Bilal Ibn Rabah (RA) is another story of resilience and unyielding faith in Allah ﷻ. Despite going through a terrible ordeal at the hands of his master Umayyah Ibn Khalaf, he continuously shouted Ahad which means ‘one’. He was affirming his faith in The One True God – Allah ﷻ. Some Muslims then migrated to Abyssinia at the instruction of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ where they were protected by its king. The Quraysh attempted to bring them back but the king refused. The Quraysh then boycotted the Muslims which had devastating impacts on the followers of Islam. Although they did receive assistance from wealthy individuals such as ‘Uthman Ibn Affan (RA) and A’bdurrahman ibn A’wf (RA), it did not stop the small Muslim nation from being greatly weakened. The author even argues that the boycott led to the death of Khadijah (RA) who became extremely weak from it. However, even in the face of this, the Muslims did not give up and the boycott, if nothing else, showed the strength and unwavering spirit of the Muslims. Soon after the boycott, The Prophet ﷺ was struck with 2 great losses. Both his wife Khadijah (RA) and his uncle Abu Talib passed away. They had both been two of his biggest supporters and their loss was devastating for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The death of Abu Talib was also devastating for the Muslim nation as they had lost a great deal of their protection with his passing. Seeing the state of the Quraysh, The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ decided to go to the city of Tāif to propagate Islam but this failed and the people of Ta’if reacted very aggressively against him. Soon after this, a group of people from Madinah arrived and pledged their loyalty to The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and asked him to come and stay in Yathrib with him. This was known as the pledge of ‘Aqabah. As a result, sometime in 622 AD, The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ decided to migrate and so began the Madani Period. It is clear from this that the Makkan period was an extremely difficult one for the Muslims but no doubt, one that built the character of the Companions and began to ready them for the stewardship of the world.
The Madani period was the last period of The Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ life and lasted 10 years. It began around 622 AD when he migrated to the city of Yathrib and renamed it Madīnat al-Munawwarah meaning The Radiant City. The city is commonly referred to as Madinah. The first Muslim state was established there and the constitution of Madinah was drawn up. This constitution would serve as the model for centuries of Islamic governance. The nature of revelations also changed and had more to do with topics such as taxation, inheritance and other Islamic laws. Stories of past Prophets () were also revealed at this time. There were several different groups who inhabited Madinah. The Aws and Khazraj were the two tribes who formed the Ansaar which translates to ‘The Helpers’. This title was given to them after the Muslims from Makkah came to Madinah with no wealth or assets. Many from the Ansaar gave half of all their wealth, assets and property to them. Madinah also had a number of Jews from the Banu Qurayzhah tribe. Some of these Jews accepted Islam as they saw The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as the Messiah promised to them in their holy texts. However, many Jews rejected him because he was not from their own people. Finally, after many years of patiently enduring the persecution of the non-Muslims, the Muslims had been given permission to fight against those who had driven them out of their own homes. As a result, the laws of war were laid down. The Muslims eagerly answered the call as they did with every command. The first battle occurred upon the plains of Badr in 2 AH where an outnumbered and ill-equipped Muslim army scored a resounding victory over the Makkans. Many Qurayshi nobles such as Abu Jahl, Umayyah Ibn Khalaf were killed on that day. The Quraysh could not take this humiliation and so a year later marched out to fight the Muslims and scored a victory over them at Uhud. Another year later, a larger coalition army of 10,000 non-Muslims marched upon Madinah. This was orchestrated by Jewish tribes in Arabia. The Banu Qurayzah also broke their treaty with the Muslims and did not come to the defence of Madinah. The Muslims, following the advice of Salman al-Farsi (RA), dug a trench around one side of Madinah to protect themselves. When the Quraysh arrived, they struggled to break through and although some of the Qurayshi cavalry managed to go over the trench, they were pushed back. After realising they could not break through, the non-Muslim army gave up the siege and returned home. The Battle of the Confederates was another great victory for the Muslims.The Muslims then dealt with the Banu Qurayzah who broke their treaty. In 628 AD, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ led a group of 1,500 unarmed men to Makkah to perform Umrah. The Quraysh could not allow this and so the treaty of Hudaybiyyah was drawn up. The two parties agreed that the Muslims would not perform Umrah this year but could come back next year and the following 9 years to perform it in peace. They also agreed that those who allied with either party were under the protection of that party and could not be harmed. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used these years of peace to propagate Islam to the rest of the Arabian Peninsula and people accepted Islam in large groups. Many notable Makkans also accepted Islam during this period. This included great Qurayshi commanders such as Khalid Bin Waleed (RA) and Amr Ibn Al-Aas (RA). In the year 8AH, the treaty of Hudaybiyyah was broken by the Quraysh when one of their allied tribes attacked a Muslim tribe. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ retaliated by raising an army of 10,000 men to march on Makkah. They conquered the city with little bloodshed and in an act of mercy unparalleled in history, The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ granted clemency to its inhabitants. The Makkans realised that Islam was indeed the true religion and their idols were false gods and so accepted Islam. The rapid rise of Islam was seen as a sign by its followers that it was God’s chosen religion and protected by Him. This strengthened their faith and this mindset would play a major role in the way Muslims viewed themselves on the world stage throughout their history. In a very short time, all of Arabia had now accepted Islam. The acceptance of Islam by the masses meant the sacred mission of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was reaching its end. The author says that “in the eyes of his followers, a new order was dawning upon the world, one that would be based upon God’s law and inspired by the example of Muhammad ﷺ”. The foundations for further Muslim expansion were laid down. Learned men were sent to the far edges of the Arabian Peninsula to educate the new Muslims and a military expedition against the Romans was prepared. In the year 632 AD, The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ fell ill and passed away shortly after with his head on the lap of his wife ‘Aisha (RA). The author closes the chapter by saying “the first era of Islamic History, spanning the twenty-three years of Prophethood, ended as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ breathed his last. It is clear that the Madani Period was marked with more success than that of the Makkan period and it was during this period that the foundations for the rapid rise and spread of Islam to all the corners of the world were laid down.
The life of The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was one of incredible success but not something the ordinary man could achieve. As Shaykh Abul Hassan Ali Nadwi points out in his book Islam and The World that any ordinary reformer would have focused on one or two defects in society but The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was no ordinary man; He was chosen by God to undertake a sacred task and it was through the characters that he built, that Islam became the driving force and the leading authority in the world for many centuries to come.