Title:
Who is Muhammad?
Article:
Muhammad was born in the city of Makkah in 570 A.D.
His father, Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, died two months before he was
born. His mother named him “Ahmad”, and his grandfather, who loved him
very much, gave him the appellation “Muhammad” which means “Praised
One.” However, because of the Arab tradition, he was called more often by his
appellation, which, as a result, became more popular. By the time he reached the
age of six his mother Aminah died, due to an illness. From then onwards his
grandfather Abd al-Muttalib reared him. Tragically, however, his grandfather
also died two years later. Muhammad’s
Uncle Abu Talib, who was a merchant, began caring for him and taught him to be a
merchant while allowing Muhammad to journey with him on his business travels.
Muhammad was a very likeable person in his community and was
known for his honesty and fairness. He earned himself the nicknames “Al-Sadiq”,
which means ‘the Truthful” and “Al Ameen,” which means “the
trustworthy”, because he was considered to be very just and truthful in his
interactions with people. He was kind hearted and because of that many of his
people asked him for his advice and opinions on various issues. When some of the
tribes would quarrel with one another they sometimes would ask Muhammad to be a
judge between them. They knew he would be fair, truthful and would show no bias
towards anyone regardless of status, age or sex.
Muhammad was so compassionate towards life that people even noticed how
kind he was to animals, which was strange in his day and age. He was a
thoughtful man, with an instinct that made him ponder about life and the
universe that surrounded him. This instinct enchanted his soul and sparked in
him the conviction that something existed beyond himself, his community and the
mere physical world. He knew this
“thing” was far greater than him or anything he had ever known.
A rich widow, named Khadijah, came to know of him and gave
him work as a merchant for her caravans. At the age of twenty-five, Muhammad
married Khadijah who gave birth to four girls and two boys. Together, Muhammad
and his family lived happily and were well off but he had many worries about his
people. He was concerned that no one cared for one another, that they lacked
morals and that his people’s lives were meaningless due to their devotion to
wealth. They were addicted to materialism and their greed overpowered their
sense of humanity. So corrupt was their civilization that they considered
helping a fallen person to be against their society’s norms. Meanwhile, they
created 360 gods with their own hands yet they worshipped and cherished every
one of them.
Muhammad saw this and was saddened by the problems of his
community. He would venture out to a place called Mount Hira, in seclusion, to
free his mind and get away from the poisonous ways of his society. There, he
would stay for long periods of time thinking and hoping that life in his
community would change for the better.
One day, at the age of forty, an angel appeared to him and
gave him the first words of revelation. His emotions were shaken to his very
spirit. He encountered something beyond himself, a magnificence he could not
explain nor understand. Muhammad
was an ordinary man face to face with what was to become his destiny. He was to
bring the very word of God to humanity as did the previous prophets before him,
such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus. His
spirit was filled with revelation and from that moment he was endowed with
becoming the Messenger of God and the Seal of the prophets.
His destiny had begun; as God’s Mercy to mankind.