Contents:
The landscape was dotted with towns and cities; two of the most prominent being Mecca and Medina. Medina was a large flourishing agricultural settlement, while Mecca was an important financial center for many surrounding tribes. Tribal affiliation, whether based on kinship or alliances, was an important source of social cohesion.
Nomadic groups constantly traveled seeking water and pasture for their flocks, while the sedentary settled and focused on trade and agriculture. Nomadic survival also depended on raiding caravans or oases; nomads did not view this as a crime. In pre-Islamic Arabia, gods or goddesses were viewed as protectors of individual tribes, their spirits being associated with sacred trees, stones , springs and wells.
As well as being the site of an annual pilgrimage, the Kaaba shrine in Mecca housed idols of tribal patron deities. Three goddesses were associated with Allah as his daughters: Monotheistic communities existed in Arabia, including Christians and Jews. The second half of the sixth century was a period of political disorder in Arabia and communication routes were no longer secure.
During the early years of Muhammad's life, the Quraysh tribe he belonged to became a dominant force in western Arabia. Muhammad's father, Abdullah , died almost six months before he was born. At the age of six, Muhammad lost his biological mother Amina to illness and became an orphan. He then came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib , the new leader of the Banu Hashim.
In his teens, Muhammad accompanied his uncle on Syrian trading journeys to gain experience in commercial trade. Little is known of Muhammad during his later youth, available information is fragmented, making it difficult to separate history from legend. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one. Several years later, according to a narration collected by historian Ibn Ishaq , Muhammad was involved with a well-known story about setting the Black Stone in place in the wall of the Kaaba in CE.
The Black Stone, a sacred object, was removed during renovations to the Kaaba. The Meccan leaders could not agree which clan should return the Black Stone to its place. They decided to ask the next man who comes through the gate to make that decision; that man was the year-old Muhammad.
This event happened five years before the first revelation by Gabriel to him. He asked for a cloth and laid the Black Stone in its center. The clan leaders held the corners of the cloth and together carried the Black Stone to the right spot, then Muhammad laid the stone, satisfying the honour of all. Muhammad began to pray alone in a cave named Hira on Mount Jabal al-Nour , near Mecca for several weeks every year.
After returning home, Muhammad was consoled and reassured by Khadijah and her Christian cousin, Waraka ibn Nawfal. Sahih Bukhari narrates Muhammad describing his revelations as "sometimes it is revealed like the ringing of a bell". Aisha reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead as the Inspiration was over ".
Occasionally the Quran did not explicitly refer to Judgment day but provided examples from the history of extinct communities and warns Muhammad's contemporaries of similar calamities Quran The Quran commands Muhammad to proclaim and praise the name of his Lord and instructs him not to worship idols or associate other deities with God. The key themes of the early Quranic verses included the responsibility of man towards his creator; the resurrection of the dead, God's final judgment followed by vivid descriptions of the tortures in Hell and pleasures in Paradise, and the signs of God in all aspects of life.
Religious duties required of the believers at this time were few: According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife Khadija was the first to believe he was a prophet. There were three main groups of early converts to Islam: According to Ibn Saad, opposition in Mecca started when Muhammad delivered verses that condemned idol worship and the polytheism practiced by the Meccan forefathers. Muhammad's denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh , as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba.
He refused both of these offers. Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment towards Muhammad and his followers. Bilal , another Muslim slave, was tortured by Umayyah ibn Khalaf who placed a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion. According to him, most of the Muslims returned to Mecca prior to Hijra , while a second group rejoined them in Medina. Ibn Hisham and Tabari , however, only talk about one migration to Ethiopia.
However, there is a completely different story on the reason why the Muslims returned from Ethiopia to Mecca. According to this account—initially mentioned by Al-Waqidi then rehashed by Ibn Sa'ad and Tabari , but not by Ibn Hisham and not by Ibn Ishaq [92] —Muhammad, desperately hoping for an accommodation with his tribe, pronounced a verse acknowledging the existence of three Meccan goddesses considered to be the daughters of Allah. Muhammad retracted the verses the next day at the behest of Gabriel, claiming that the verses were whispered by the devil himself.
Instead, a ridicule of these gods was offered. Notable scholars at the time argued against the historic authenticity of these verses and the story itself on various grounds. The objections continued until rejection of these verses and the story itself eventually became the only acceptable orthodox Muslim position. In , the leaders of Makhzum and Banu Abd-Shams , two important Quraysh clans, declared a public boycott against Banu Hashim , their commercial rival, to pressure it into withdrawing its protection of Muhammad. The boycott lasted three years but eventually collapsed as it failed in its objective.
Islamic tradition states that in , Muhammad experienced the Isra and Mi'raj , a miraculous night-long journey said to have occurred with the angel Gabriel. At the journey's beginning, the Isra , he is said to have traveled from Mecca on a winged steed to "the farthest mosque. Some western scholars [ who? Muhammad's wife Khadijah and uncle Abu Talib both died in , the year thus being known as the " Year of Sorrow ".
Soon afterward, Abu Lahab withdrew the clan's protection over Muhammad. This placed Muhammad in danger; the withdrawal of clan protection implied that blood revenge for his killing would not be exacted. Muhammad then visited Ta'if , another important city in Arabia, and tried to find a protector, but his effort failed and further brought him into physical danger. A Meccan man named Mut'im ibn Adi and the protection of the tribe of Banu Nawfal made it possible for him to safely re-enter his native city. Many people visited Mecca on business or as pilgrims to the Kaaba. Muhammad took this opportunity to look for a new home for himself and his followers.
After several unsuccessful negotiations, he found hope with some men from Yathrib later called Medina. Converts to Islam came from nearly all Arab tribes in Medina; by June of the subsequent year, seventy-five Muslims came to Mecca for pilgrimage and to meet Muhammad.
Meeting him secretly by night, the group made what is known as the " Second Pledge of al-'Aqaba ", or, in Orientalists' view, the " Pledge of War ". As with the migration to Abyssinia , the Quraysh attempted to stop the emigration. However, almost all Muslims managed to leave.
In June , warned of a plot to assassinate him, Muhammad secretly slipped out of Mecca and moved his followers to Medina, [] kilometres miles north of Mecca. A delegation, consisting of the representatives of the twelve important clans of Medina, invited Muhammad to serve as chief arbitrator for the entire community; due to his status as a neutral outsider. Muhammad instructed his followers to emigrate to Medina, until nearly all his followers left Mecca. Being alarmed at the departure, according to tradition, the Meccans plotted to assassinate Muhammad. With the help of Ali , Muhammad fooled the Meccans watching him, and secretly slipped away from the town with Abu Bakr.
Those who migrated from Mecca along with Muhammad became known as muhajirun emigrants. Among the first things Muhammad did to ease the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was to draft a document known as the Constitution of Medina , "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca; this specified rights and duties of all citizens, and the relationship of the different communities in Medina including the Muslim community to other communities, specifically the Jews and other " Peoples of the Book ".
The first group of converts to Islam in Medina were the clans without great leaders; these clans had been subjugated by hostile leaders from outside. According to Ibn Ishaq , this was influenced by the conversion of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh a prominent Medinan leader to Islam. Following the emigration, the people of Mecca seized property of Muslim emigrants to Medina. Muhammad adjusted to the new direction, and his companions praying with him followed his lead, beginning the tradition of facing Mecca during prayer. In March , Muhammad led some three hundred warriors in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan.
The Muslims set an ambush for the caravan at Badr. A Meccan force was sent to protect the caravan and went on to confront the Muslims upon receiving word that the caravan was safe. The Battle of Badr commenced. They also succeeded in killing many Meccan leaders, including Abu Jahl. The Quranic verses of this period, unlike the Meccan verses, dealt with practical problems of government and issues like the distribution of spoils.
The victory strengthened Muhammad's position in Medina and dispelled earlier doubts among his followers. Pagans who had not yet converted were very bitter about the advance of Islam. Muhammad expelled from Medina the Banu Qaynuqa , one of three main Jewish tribes, [16] but some historians contend that the expulsion happened after Muhammad's death. The Meccans were eager to avenge their defeat. To maintain economic prosperity, the Meccans needed to restore their prestige, which had been reduced at Badr. A scout alerted Muhammad of the Meccan army's presence and numbers a day later.
The next morning, at the Muslim conference of war, a dispute arose over how best to repel the Meccans. Muhammad and many senior figures suggested it would be safer to fight within Medina and take advantage of the heavily fortified strongholds. Younger Muslims argued that the Meccans were destroying crops, and huddling in the strongholds would destroy Muslim prestige. Muhammad eventually conceded to the younger Muslims and readied the Muslim force for battle. Muhammad led his force outside to the mountain of Uhud the location of the Meccan camp and fought the Battle of Uhud on 23 March The Meccans did not pursue the Muslims, instead, they marched back to Mecca declaring victory.
The announcement is probably because Muhammad was wounded and thought dead. When they discovered that Muhammad lived, the Meccans did not return due to false information about new forces coming to his aid. The attack had failed to achieve their aim of completely destroying the Muslims. Questions accumulated about the reasons for the loss; Muhammad delivered Quranic verses 3: Abu Sufyan directed his effort towards another attack on Medina. He gained support from the nomadic tribes to the north and east of Medina; using propaganda about Muhammad's weakness, promises of booty, memories of Quraysh prestige and through bribery.
Whenever alliances against Medina were formed, he sent out expeditions to break them up. Al-Ashraf went to Mecca and wrote poems that roused the Meccans' grief, anger and desire for revenge after the Battle of Badr. The rest of their property was claimed by Muhammad in the name of God as it was not gained with bloodshed.
Muhammad surprised various Arab tribes, individually, with overwhelming force, causing his enemies to unite to annihilate him. Muhammad's attempts to prevent a confederation against him were unsuccessful, though he was able to increase his own forces and stopped many potential tribes from joining his enemies.
Visit www.farmersmarketmusic.com and study the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam. Muhammad was the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet, sent to present and confirm the.
With the help of the exiled Banu Nadir , the Quraysh military leader Abu Sufyan mustered a force of 10, men. Muhammad prepared a force of about 3, men and adopted a form of defense unknown in Arabia at that time; the Muslims dug a trench wherever Medina lay open to cavalry attack. The idea is credited to a Persian convert to Islam, Salman the Persian. The siege of Medina began on 31 March and lasted two weeks. Although the Meccan forces were swayed by suggestions that Muhammad was sure to be overwhelmed, they desired reassurance in case the confederacy was unable to destroy him.
No agreement was reached after prolonged negotiations, partly due to sabotage attempts by Muhammad's scouts. The Banu Qurayza eventually surrendered; according to Ibn Ishaq , all the men apart from a few converts to Islam were beheaded, while the women and children were enslaved. Arafat and Barakat Ahmad have disputed the accuracy of Ibn Ishaq's narrative.
Kister has contradicted [ clarification needed ] the arguments of Arafat and Ahmad. In the siege of Medina, the Meccans exerted the available strength to destroy the Muslim community. The failure resulted in a significant loss of prestige; their trade with Syria vanished. Aisha was exonerated from accusations when Muhammad announced he had received a revelation confirming Aisha's innocence and directing that charges of adultery be supported by four eyewitnesses sura 24, An-Nur.
Although Muhammad had delivered Quranic verses commanding the Hajj , [] the Muslims had not performed it due to Quraysh enmity. In the month of Shawwal , Muhammad ordered his followers to obtain sacrificial animals and to prepare for a pilgrimage umrah to Mecca, saying that God had promised him the fulfillment of this goal in a vision when he was shaving his head after completion of the Hajj. Muhammad evaded them by taking a more difficult route, enabling his followers to reach al-Hudaybiyya just outside Mecca.
Negotiations commenced with emissaries traveling to and from Mecca. While these continued, rumors spread that one of the Muslim negotiators, Uthman bin al-Affan , had been killed by the Quraysh. Muhammad called upon the pilgrims to make a pledge not to flee or to stick with Muhammad, whatever decision he made if the situation descended into war with Mecca.
This pledge became known as the "Pledge of Acceptance" or the " Pledge under the Tree ". News of Uthman's safety allowed for negotiations to continue, and a treaty scheduled to last ten years was eventually signed between the Muslims and Quraysh. Many Muslims were not satisfied with the treaty. These benefits included the requirement of the Meccans to identify Muhammad as an equal, cessation of military activity allowing Medina to gain strength, and the admiration of Meccans who were impressed by the pilgrimage rituals.
After signing the truce, Muhammad assembled an expedition against the Jewish oasis of Khaybar , known as the Battle of Khaybar. This was possibly due to housing the Banu Nadir who were inciting hostilities against Muhammad, or to regain prestige from what appeared as the inconclusive result of the truce of Hudaybiyya. The truce of Hudaybiyyah was enforced for two years. The Meccans replied that they accepted the last condition. Muhammad began to prepare for a campaign.
With minimal casualties, Muhammad seized control of Mecca. Following the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad was alarmed by a military threat from the confederate tribes of Hawazin who were raising an army double the size of Muhammad's. The Banu Hawazin were old enemies of the Meccans. They were joined by the Banu Thaqif inhabiting the city of Ta'if who adopted an anti-Meccan policy due to the decline of the prestige of Meccans. In the same year, Muhammad organized an attack against northern Arabia because of their previous defeat at the Battle of Mu'tah and reports of hostility adopted against Muslims.
With great difficulty he assembled 30, men; half of whom on the second day returned with Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy , untroubled by the damning verses which Muhammad hurled at them. Although Muhammad did not engage with hostile forces at Tabuk, he received the submission of some local chiefs of the region. He also ordered the destruction of any remaining pagan idols in Eastern Arabia. The last city to hold out against the Muslims in Western Arabia was Taif. Muhammad refused to accept the city's surrender until they agreed to convert to Islam and allowed men to destroy the statue of their goddess Al-Lat.
Many bedouins submitted to Muhammad to safeguard against his attacks and to benefit from the spoils of war. Muhammad required a military and political agreement according to which they "acknowledge the suzerainty of Medina, to refrain from attack on the Muslims and their allies, and to pay the Zakat , the Muslim religious levy.
In , at the end of the tenth year after migration to Medina, Muhammad completed his first true Islamic pilgrimage, setting precedence for the annual Great Pilgrimage, known as Hajj. In this sermon, Muhammad advised his followers not to follow certain pre-Islamic customs. For instance, he said a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white except by piety and good action. Commenting on the vulnerability of women in his society, Muhammad asked his male followers to "be good to women, for they are powerless captives awan in your households.
You took them in God's trust, and legitimated your sexual relations with the Word of God, so come to your senses people, and hear my words He addressed the issue of inheritance by forbidding false claims of paternity or of a client relationship to the deceased and forbade his followers to leave their wealth to a testamentary heir.
He also upheld the sacredness of four lunar months in each year. A few months after the farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and suffered for several days with fever, head pain, and weakness. He died on Monday, 8 June , in Medina, at the age of 62 or 63, in the house of his wife Aisha. According to Encyclopaedia of Islam , Muhammad's death may be presumed to have been caused by Medinan fever exacerbated by physical and mental fatigue.
The succession to Muhammad is the central issue that divided the Muslim community into several divisions in the first century of Muslim history. A few months prior to his death, Muhammad delivered a sermon at Ghadir Khumm where he announced that Ali ibn Abi Talib would be his successor. Abu Bakr then assumed political power, and his supporters became known as the Sunnis. Despite that, a group of Muslims kept their allegiance to Ali. These people, who became known as Shias, held that while Ali's right to be the political leader may have been taken, he was still the religious and spiritual leader after Muhammad.
After Ali died, his son Hasan ibn Ali succeeded him, both politically and, according to Shias, religiously.
However, after six months, he made a peace treaty with Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan , which stipulated that, among other conditions, Muawiya would have political power as long as he did not choose who would succeed him. Muawiya broke the treaty and made his son Yazid his successor, thus forming the Umayyad dynasty. While this was going on, Hasan and, after his death, his brother Husain ibn Ali , remained the religious leaders, at least according to the Shia. Thus, according to the Sunnis, whoever held political power was considered the successor to Muhammad, while the Shias held the twelve Imams Ali, Hasan, Husain, and Husain's descendants were the successors to Muhammad, even if they did not hold political power.
In addition to these two main branches, many other opinions also formed regarding succession to Muhammad. According to William Montgomery Watt , religion for Muhammad was not a private and individual matter but "the total response of his personality to the total situation in which he found himself.
He was responding [not only] In his view, Islam is a great change, akin to a revolution, when introduced to new societies. Historians generally agree that Islamic social changes in areas such as social security , family structure, slavery and the rights of women and children improved on the status quo of Arab society.
Allah's Messenger was neither very tall nor short, neither absolutely white nor deep brown. His hair was neither curly nor lank. Allah sent him as an Apostle when he was forty years old. Afterwards he resided in Mecca for ten years and in Medina for ten more years. When Allah took him unto Him, there was scarcely twenty white hairs in his head and beard.
The Prophet was of moderate height having broad shoulders long hair reaching his ear-lobes. Once I saw him in a red cloak and I had never seen anyone more handsome than him. Muhammad was middle-sized, did not have lank or crisp hair, was not fat, had a white circular face, wide black eyes, and long eye-lashes. When he walked, he walked as though he went down a declivity.
He had the "seal of prophecy" between his shoulder blades His face shone like the moon. He was taller than middling stature but shorter than conspicuous tallness. He had thick, curly hair. The plaits of his hair were parted. His hair reached beyond the lobe of his ear. His complexion was azhar [bright, luminous]. Muhammad had a wide forehead, and fine, long, arched eyebrows which did not meet.
Between his eyebrows there was a vein which distended when he was angry. The upper part of his nose was hooked; he was thick bearded, had smooth cheeks, a strong mouth, and his teeth were set apart. He had thin hair on his chest. His neck was like the neck of an ivory statue, with the purity of silver. Muhammad was proportionate, stout, firm-gripped, even of belly and chest, broad-chested and broad-shouldered. The "seal of prophecy" between Muhammad's shoulders is generally described as having been a type of raised mole the size of a pigeon's egg.
I saw a man, pure and clean, with a handsome face and a fine figure. He was not marred by a skinny body, nor was he overly small in the head and neck. He was graceful and elegant, with intensely black eyes and thick eyelashes. There was a huskiness in his voice, and his neck was long. His beard was thick, and his eyebrows were finely arched and joined together. When silent, he was grave and dignified, and when he spoke, glory rose up and overcame him.
He was from afar the most beautiful of men and the most glorious, and close up he was the sweetest and the loveliest. He was sweet of speech and articulate, but not petty or trifling. His speech was a string of cascading pearls, measured so that none despaired of its length, and no eye challenged him because of brevity. In company he is like a branch between two other branches, but he is the most flourishing of the three in appearance, and the loveliest in power. He has friends surrounding him, who listen to his words.
If he commands, they obey implicitly, with eagerness and haste, without frown or complaint. Descriptions like these were often reproduced in calligraphic panels hilya or, in Turkish, hilye , which in the 17th century developed into an art form of their own in the Ottoman Empire. Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two periods: Muhammad is said to have had thirteen wives in total although two have ambiguous accounts, Rayhana bint Zayd and Maria al-Qibtiyya , as wife or concubine.
At the age of 25, Muhammad married the wealthy Khadijah bint Khuwaylid who was 40 years old. Muhammad is said to have asked for arrangements to marry both. The women were either widows of Muslims killed in battle and had been left without a protector, or belonged to important families or clans whom it was necessary to honor and strengthen alliances with. According to traditional sources Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad, [] [] [] with the marriage not being consummated until she had reached puberty at the age of nine or ten years old.
Muhammad performed household chores such as preparing food, sewing clothes, and repairing shoes. He is also said to have had accustomed his wives to dialogue; he listened to their advice, and the wives debated and even argued with him. All but one of his daughters, Fatimah, died before him. Nine of Muhammad's wives survived him. Muhammad's descendants through Fatimah are known as sharifs , syeds or sayyids. These are honorific titles in Arabic , sharif meaning 'noble' and sayed or sayyid meaning 'lord' or 'sir'. As Muhammad's only descendants, they are respected by both Sunni and Shi'a, though the Shi'a place much more emphasis and value on their distinction.
Zayd ibn Haritha was a slave that Muhammad bought, freed, and then adopted as his son. He also had a wetnurse. But he insisted that slave owners treat their slaves well and stressed the virtue of freeing slaves. Muhammad treated slaves as human beings and clearly held some in the highest esteem". Following the attestation to the oneness of God , the belief in Muhammad's prophethood is the main aspect of the Islamic faith. Every Muslim proclaims in Shahadah: Islamic belief is that ideally the Shahadah is the first words a newborn will hear; children are taught it immediately and it will be recited upon death.
Muslims repeat the shahadah in the call to prayer adhan and the prayer itself. Non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the creed. In Islamic belief, Muhammad is regarded as the last prophet sent by God. And before this was the book of Moses, as a guide and a mercy. And this Book confirms it We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered.
Muslim tradition credits Muhammad with several miracles or supernatural events. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was attacked by the people of Ta'if and was badly injured. The tradition also describes an angel appearing to him and offering retribution against the assailants. It is said that Muhammad rejected the offer and prayed for the guidance of the people of Ta'if.
The Sunnah represents actions and sayings of Muhammad preserved in reports known as Hadith , and covers a broad array of activities and beliefs ranging from religious rituals, personal hygiene, burial of the dead to the mystical questions involving the love between humans and God. The Sunnah is considered a model of emulation for pious Muslims and has to a great degree influenced the Muslim culture.
The greeting that Muhammad taught Muslims to offer each other, "may peace be upon you" Arabic: Many details of major Islamic rituals such as daily prayers, the fasting and the annual pilgrimage are only found in the Sunnah and not the Quran. The Sunnah contributed much to the development of Islamic law, particularly from the end of the first Islamic century. All Sufi orders trace their chain of spiritual descent back to Muhammad. Muslims have traditionally expressed love and veneration for Muhammad.
Stories of Muhammad's life, his intercession and of his miracles particularly " Splitting of the moon " have permeated popular Muslim thought and poetry. Among Arabic odes to Muhammad, Qasidat al-Burda "Poem of the Mantle" by the Egyptian Sufi al-Busiri — is particularly well known, and widely held to possess a healing, spiritual power. In line with the hadith's prohibition against creating images of sentient living beings , which is particularly strictly observed with respect to God and Muhammad, Islamic religious art is focused on the word.
The earliest extant depictions come from 13th century Anatolian Seljuk and Ilkhanid Persian miniatures , typically in literary genres describing the life and deeds of Muhammad. Reproduced through lithography , these were essentially "printed manuscripts". The earliest documented Christian knowledge of Muhammad stems from Byzantine sources. They indicate that both Jews and Christians saw Muhammad as a false prophet.
The earliest Syriac source is the 7th-century writer John bar Penkaye. According to Hossein Nasr , the earliest European literature often refers to Muhammad unfavorably. They interpreted the biography through a Christian religious filter; one that viewed Muhammad as a person who seduced the Saracens into his submission under religious guise. In later ages, Muhammad came to be seen as a schismatic: Brunetto Latini 's 13th century Li livres dou tresor represents him as a former monk and cardinal, [16] and Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno , Canto 28 , written in the early s, puts Muhammad and his son-in-law, Ali, in Hell "among the sowers of discord and the schismatics, being lacerated by devils again and again.
After the Reformation , Muhammad was often portrayed in a similar way. He rejects the common view that Muhammad is an impostor and argues that the Quran proffers "the most sublime truths of cult and morals"; it defines the unity of God with an "admirable concision. Ian Almond says that German Romantic writers generally held positive views of Muhammad: Recent writers such as William Montgomery Watt and Richard Bell dismiss the idea that Muhammad deliberately deceived his followers, arguing that Muhammad "was absolutely sincere and acted in complete good faith" [] and Muhammad's readiness to endure hardship for his cause, with what seemed to be no rational basis for hope, shows his sincerity.
In contemporary terms, Muhammad might have mistaken his subconscious for divine revelation. Welch holds that Muhammad was able to be so influential and successful because of his firm belief in his vocation. Criticism of Muhammad has existed since the 7th century, when Muhammad was decried by his non-Muslim Arab contemporaries for preaching monotheism , and by the Jewish tribes of Arabia for his unwarranted appropriation of Biblical narratives and figures , [] vituperation of the Jewish faith , [] and proclaiming himself as " the last prophet " without performing any miracle nor showing any personal requirement demanded in the Hebrew Bible to distinguish a true prophet chosen by the God of Israel from a false claimant ; for these reasons, they gave him the derogatory nickname ha-Meshuggah Hebrew: Modern religious [] [] and secular [] [] [] [] criticism of Islam [] [] [] [] [] [] has concerned Muhammad's sincerity in claiming to be a prophet, his morality, his ownership of slaves , [] [] [] his treatment of enemies, his marriages , [] his treatment of doctrinal matters, and his psychological condition.
Muhammad has been accused of sadism and mercilessness —including the invasion of the Banu Qurayza tribe in Medina [] [] [] [] [] [] —sexual relationships with slaves, [] and his marriage to Aisha [] when she was six years old, [] which according to most estimates was consummated when she was nine. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Islamic prophet. For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad name. For other uses, see Muhammad disambiguation. Mecca , Hejaz , Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia. Medina , Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia. Names and titles of Muhammad. Historiography of early Islam and Historicity of Muhammad. Mawlid , Family tree of Muhammad , and Muhammad in Mecca.
Muhammad's first revelation , History of the Quran , and Wahy. Recite in the name of your Lord who created—Created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous—Who taught by the pen—Taught man that which he knew not. Persecution of Muslims by Meccans and Migration to Abyssinia. Have We not made for him two eyes? And a tongue and two lips? And have shown him the two ways? But he has not broken through the difficult pass.
And what can make you know what is the difficult pass? It is the freeing of a slave. Or feeding on a day of severe hunger; an orphan of near relationship, or a needy person in misery. And then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to mercy. List of expeditions of Muhammad and Battle of Badr. Permission has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory. Those who have been evicted from their homes without right—only because they say, "Our Lord is Allah.
And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might. Battle of the Trench. They have agreed to allow their arms to rest for ten years. During this time each party shall be secure, and neither shall injure the other; no secret damage shall be inflicted, but honesty and honour shall prevail between them.
Whoever in Arabia wishes to enter into a treaty or covenant with Muhammad can do so, and whoever wishes to enter into a treaty or covenant with the Quraysh can do so. And if a Qurayshite comes without the permission of his guardian to Muhammad, he shall be delivered up to the Quraysh; but if, on the other hand, one of Muhammad's people comes to the Quraysh, he shall not be delivered up to Muhammad. This year, Muhammad, with his companions, must withdraw from Mecca, but next year, he may come to Mecca and remain for three days, yet without their weapons except those of a traveller; the swords remaining in their sheaths.
Conquest of Mecca and Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca. Battle of Hunayn and Expedition to Tabouk. The event of Ghadir Khumm. Succession to Muhammad , Rashidun , and Muslim conquests. Early social changes under Islam. Muhammad's wives and Ahl al-Bayt. Mosque of the prophet Possessions Relics. Medieval Christian views on Muhammad. Biography portal Islam portal Middle East portal Muhammad portal.
Simon Ross Valentine Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama'at: Archived from the original on 24 July There are also smaller sects which believe Muhammad to be not the last Prophet: The Nation of Islam considers Elijah Muhammad to be a prophet source: United Submitters International consider Rashad Khalifa to be a prophet. Views of Islamic and Middle Eastern Politics , p.
Sura LIII, 1—20 and the end of the sura are not a unity, as is claimed by the story, XXII, 52 is later than LIII, and is almost certainly Medinan; and several details of the story—the mosque, the sadjda, and others not mentioned in the short summary above do not belong to Meccan setting. Burton have argued against the historicity of the story on other grounds, Caetani on the basis of week isnads, Burton concluded that the story was invented by jurists so that XXII 52 could serve as a Kuranic proof-text for their abrogation theories. Many earlier primarily non-Islamic traditions refer to him as still alive at the time of the invasion of Palestine.
Shoemaker, The Death of a Prophet: The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Archived from the original on 11 February The Prophet of Islam was a religious, political, and social reformer who gave rise to one of the great civilizations of the world. A Guide for Jews and Christians. The Straight Path 3rd ed. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. Archived from the original on 21 January Sherrard Beaumont Burnaby Elements of the Jewish and Muhammadan calendars: Hamidullah, Muhammad February Archived from the original PDF on 5 November From Revelation to Compilation: Archived from the original on 5 December A second important aspect of the meaning of the term emerges in Meccan revelations concerning the practice of the Prophet Abraham.
Peters , p. Holt a , p. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qur'an. Center for Islamic Sciences. Archived from the original on 5 May Retrieved 24 September In search of Muhammad. Continuum International Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 30 September Muhammad and the origins of Islam. Archived from the original on 24 September Nigosian , p.
In the Shadow of the Sword. Archived from the original on 18 October History of Philosophy, Vol. From Thales to the Present Time. His name derives from the Arabic verb hamada, meaning "to praise, to glorify. Abd Allah died before Muhammad's birth and Muhammad was raised by his mother Amina, who in keeping with Meccan tradition entrusted her son at an early age to a wet nurse named Halima from the nomadic tribe of the Sa'd ibn Bakr. He grew up in the hill country, learning their pure Arabic. Muhammad Becomes an Orphan When Muhammad was five or six his mother took him to Yathrib, an oasis town a few hundred miles north of Mecca, to stay with relatives and visit his father's grave there.
On the return journey, Amina took ill and died. She was buried in the village of Abwa on the Mecca-Medina Road. Halima, his nurse, returned to Mecca with the orphaned boy and placed him in the protection of his paternal grandfather, Abdul Al-Muttalib. In this man's care, Muhammad learned the rudiments of statecraft. Mecca was Arabia's most important pilgrimage center and Abdul Al-Muttalib its most respected leader.
He controlled important pilgrimage concessions and frequently presided over Mecca's Council of Elders. Muhammad in Mecca in Care of an Uncle Upon his grandfather's death in , Muhammad, aged about eight, passed into the care of a paternal uncle, Abu Talib. Muhammad grew up in the older man's home and remained under Abu Talib's protection for many years. Chroniclers have underscored Muhammad's disrupted childhood. So does the Qur'an: And He found you wandering, and gave you guidance. And he found you in need, and made you independent" Muhammad's Teens When young boy, Muhammad worked as a shepherd to help pay his keep his uncle was of modest means.
In his teens he sometimes traveled with Abu Talib, who was a merchant, accompanying caravans to trade centers. On at least one occasion, he is said to have traveled as far north as Syria. The two were distant cousins. Muhammad carried her goods to the north and returned with a profit. Muhammad's Marriage and Family Life Impressed by Muhammad's honesty and character, Khadija eventually proposed marriage. They were wed in about She was nearly forty. Muhammad continued to manage Khadija's business affairs, and their next years were pleasant and prosperous.
Six children were born to them, two sons who both died in infancy, and four daughters. Muhammad Receives First Revelation Mecca's new materialism and its traditional idolatry disturbed Muhammad. He began making long retreats to a mountain cave outside town.