The Prophet Mohammed

Prophet Mohammed, known as the prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca on the 20th of April in 570. He is originally from a recognized Arab tribe known as (Qoreish). Mohammed's father was Abdullah. He died before the birth of the prophet Mohammed. Moreover, the prophet's mother was called Amna and she died while Mohammed was only six years old. Due to the death of his parents Mohammed became an orphan and went to a Village were he was Breast-fed by his foster mother Haliema Al-Sa'deya. Mohammed was raised by his grandfather Abd Al-Mutalib, yet after the death of Abd Al-Mutalib he was raised by his uncle Abo Talib. Abo Talib taught Mohammed to be a responsible child and took him to trade journeys. Mohammed started working at a very young age and he used to take care of sheep. When Mohammed was a young child, a very remarkable incident happened while he was on a trade journey with his uncle to Syria. On that journey he met a Christian monk called Bahera. Bahera was able to immediately recognize that Mohammed is the future prophet.

Even before becoming a prophet Mohammed believed that there is a greater power. He never drank alcohol, gambled or had any affairs with women. He was a peaceful man and was known for his the honesty, integrity and trustworthiness. This is why the people of his tribe called him (Al-Sadiq Al-Amein). Furthermore, at the age of 25, Mohammed married a rich widow from Mecca called Khadijah. She was 40 years old at that time. Kahdijah was a very gentle woman and held and amazing personality. Mohammed was not fond of the lifestyle of his society or of their religion. That is why he frequently went to Al-Nour Mountain and stayed alone to warship Allah, pray and meditate inside a cave called Hira'. One night in the cave, the angel Gabriel came to him and Mohammed was afraid and didn't know what to do. Gabriel asked him to read three times; Mohammed told him that he doesn't know how to read. Gabriel then told him: "Read in the name of your lord, who created man from a clot, read in the name of your god, the most bountiful, who taught by means of the pen, and taught man what he did not know." These were the first words in the Holy Qur'an. Gabriel kept coming to Mohammed for 23 years to give him words of the Qur'an. Later on, the Qur'an was collected and was put together in one holy book. When Mohammed went back home, he told his wife Kahdijah what had happened. He was very scared and his body kept shaking. Kahdijah then told him to follow the voice and she became the first believer of the prophet's new religion.

After the incident that happened in the cave, Mohammed went to his people and told them about what he saw. He started to tell them about Allah. Unfortunately, not many people listened to him. They tried to threaten him and stood up together to defense their old religion. They were trying so hard to fight the new religion, Islam. Only few people embraced Islam at the beginning. People of Makkah started to torture Muslims; Mohammed was patient and was trying to protect them. Mohammed had to take an action. He asked the King of Ethiopia to allow Muslims to stay in his country, and the King welcomed them.
Not so many years later, two very sad incidents occurred at the same year. Both Khadijah and Abo Talib passed away. Mohammed was affected so much by their death and that year was called the year of sadness. People of Qoriesh respected Abo Talib and feared him; therefore, they were never able to harm Mohammed because Abo Talib always protected him. After Abo Talib's death, the people of Mecca were now free to impose Prophet Mohammed and his followers. Mohammed needed someone to support him, so he went to Al-Tief (50 miles away from Makkah) and asked for their protection. They refused and the children started to through stones at the Prophet and he was badly injured.

The prophet Mohammed then experienced the Israa and Miraaj journey, were the Prophet was taken from Makkah to Jerusalem in a short time and he prayed with previous Prophets. After that he was taken to heaven to see Allah. At that journey the five prayers were assigned to every Muslim. That experience only took few hours, but few very important hours. People of Makkah mocked him when they heard the story. That event was mentioned in the Holy Qur'an in Chapter 17. Some people from Yathrib, now known by Al-Madinah Al-Monawarah came to the Prophet and invited Muslims to emigrate from Makkah to Yathrib. The prophet agreed. Makkha's unbelievers tried to stop Muslim from emigrating to Yathrib, but within two months almost all Muslims in Makkah were in Yathrib except the Prophet and Abu Bakr (First Khalifa after Mohammed). At that time, Unbelievers decided to kill Mohammed but their plan failed with the help of Allah. The prophet finally arrived to Yathrib, and the people of Yathrib were so happy and welcomed the prophet. That event was knows as Al-Hijrah.

At Yathrib, the Prophet was able to work freely in spreading Islam; the mission was to restore the worship of the one true Allah, the creator of the universe. He succeeded in establishing Islam as a way of Life in its true meaning. He gave guidance on religious matters such as, prayers, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage. He also provided Muslims with rules and laws in social, economic, and political fields. The followers of Islam increased, but many people were still threatening Islam. Muslims had many battles against enemies of Islam. Some battles were won by Muslims while others were won by the enemies of Islam. The first battle that ever occurred between Muslims and their enemies was called the battle of Badr. The Battle of Badr happened in 624 when Makkah's Chiefs launched a well trained army of 1,000 men including 200 cavalry to capture Yathrib. Muslims were only 313 men. With the help of Allah and their courage they won the battle and the enemy ran away leaving behind many of their weapons and dead bodies. That battle was considered one of history's most important battles. The second battle was the Battle of Ohoud that accrued in 627 with over 20,000 men from Makkah who won the Muslims. Lots of Muslims died defending Islam in the battles. This led to having many Muslim widows and orphan children. Due to these circumstances, Muslim men were allowed to marry several women following the limit of the number of wives which is Four. But only the prophet Mohammed had the right of marrying nine wives at once. Some of his wives were prisoners of war who accepted Islam. Mohammed's wives were called the Mothers of the Believers, and they showed an excellent example of proper Muslim womanhood.

A few years later, an agreement has been made between Muslims and Makkah's people. This agreement stated that Muslims can come to Makkah to see the Ka'ba. One of Makkah's chiefs violated that treaty. Therefore, the Prophet marched to Makkah with an army of 3,000 Muslims to liberate it. The army entered without fighting. Makkah's people gave no resistance and they surrendered to the Prophet. The prophet quickly went to the Ka'ba and thanked Allah for the liberation of Makkah and broke all of the 360 Idols. The prophet then treated everyone there with generosity. People of Makkah accepted Islam and people who did not believe in Islam left after the entry. After the liberation of Makkah, all the Arab tribes began to realize the reality of the Islamic faith. Within a year, the whole Arabian Peninsula had become the land of Islam.
It is a miracle that one man can change and affect so many people in such a short time, but this man was not just any man. Prophet Mohammed was gentle and kind hearted. He used to respect older people. He was always the first to greet another and wouldn't remove his had from a handshake till the other man withdrew his hand. Furthermore, when he visited someone, he greeted him first then took the permission to enter his house. He also liked children and used to pick them up in his arms, play with them and kiss them. Prophet Mohammed was a faithful friend, he loved his companions, he extended greetings to those he knew and to he didn't know. He treated all people around him with kindness and affection. He regarded the neighbors as brothers and sisters. He once told one of his wives that it is not acceptable for a Muslim to sleep with a full stomach after having a good meal and let his neighbor starve. The Prophet said in

regard of the rights of a neighbor: "Gabriel used to advise me to take good care of the neighbor until I thought he would make him inherit my wealth". The Prophet also brought changes for women. A woman in Islam is an equal partner of man in the procreation of humankind. She is equal to men in carrying responsibilities and in receiving rewards for her deeds. She is equal to men in getting education and knowledge. Islam gave women the right to contract, enterprise, earn, and possess independently; everything she owns are as scared as of man.
When it comes to describing the prophet's lifestyle, Prophet Mohammed lived a very simple life. His house was built with walls of unbaked clay and a roof of palm leaves covered by camel skin. He had separate rooms for his wives, a small room for each one covered with the same material. Prophet Mohammed only had a pillow stuffed with palm leaves, the skin of some animal on the floor, some weapons and a water bag in his room. He also had a camel, a horse, and some land as his belongings. He advised people to live simple lives. He and his family used to eat only dates, bread and water for several days. When is comes to describing the prophet's physical appearance, Prophet Mohammed's height was little above average, his hair was long and thick, his forehead was large, his eyes were large and Black, his eyelashes were long, his cheeks were spare and he had a pleasant smile. He walked so fast that others found it difficult to keep pace with him.

As years passed by, the Prophet became ill after his first pilgrimage. He went back to Al-Madeina and was still able to perform his prayers in the mosque and give directions to Muslims. His health was weakening day by day. At the last day he asked Abu Bakr to lead the prayers, every one was really worried about his health. It was a Monday in the 11th year after Hijrah when the Prophet Mohammed passed away at the age of sixty three. Everyone was very sad when the news was out. Some people did not believe the news because the simply thought that Prophet never dies and that he would live forever. After the Prophet's death, Abu Bakr told Muslims that if they were worshipping Mohammed, Mohammed has died, and if they worshipping Allah, Allah lives forever. Muslims were affected so much with the prophet's death, but many of them had strong faith in God that they would meet him again someday in heaven. Till Today people should follow every word that the Prophet Mohammed has said. He left behind him a legacy in the form of Qur'an and Sunnah.

Works cited

Deshapande, Shahnaaz. Dialogues with the Prophet Mohammed. March 2004.
Maqsood, Ruquayyah. The Life of the Prophet Mohammed. Able Publishing, July 1999.
Pike, K. Daine. Mohammed: Prophet of Religion of Islam. . International Thomason Publishing, January 2000.
Sivananda, Sri Swami. "Prophet Mohammed". Saints. 27 Nov. 2004 .
"The Life of the Prophet Muhammad". North Park University. 27 Nov. 2004 .