The Prophet Muhammad
With Dr. Nafez Nazzal - February 24, 2006
The name "Muhammad" means "highly praised." It was and still is a name widely used in pre and post Islam. Muhammad was born in Mecca in the year 570AD. He belonged to the tribe of Quraysh, and the clan of Hashim. It was a reputable but impoverished family. Muhammad was orphaned when his father died before he was born and by his mother’s death when he was six years of age. He developed into a capable and honest merchant in Mecca but remained illiterate.
He worked for a business woman called "Khadija" and she liked him and trusted him. She proposed to him and they married when he was 25 and she was 40. They bored six children, all of whom died but one daughter.Khadji was his boss before and after marriage, even after he became the Prophet. Their marriage was comfortable and convenient for Muhammad as it brought to him wealth and the luxury of enjoying the wealth and travel and time to meditate and ponder.
It was later revealed by the Prophet Muhammad that it was the angel Gabriel who appeared to him and provided the revelations on behalf of Akllah. At first Muhammad kept his revelations private sharing them only with his wife. In.613 AD he was instructed to share the revelations publicly. They were not well received as Mecca was a centre of commerce for gods and goddesses. The people did not want all this upset or hindered by revelations that might change everything. By 615 AD, opposition to his teachings was so fierce that his few followers could not survive and Muhammad encouraged them to leave Mecca for safer territory in Ethiopia.
The poor and dispossessed were attracted to his teachings as Mecca was intensely capitalistic and experienced a widening gap between the powerful and the dispossessed, the rich and the poor, the have’s and the have not’s. The purpose of life had become to get rich which was against the tribal values. Muhammad’s message was attractive to the poor of the time as it was a moral message. It proclaimed that there is ONE God, and also this ONE God demands justice and mercy of his creatures – for the poor and the disadvantaged. It was a message that gave hope to the poor. It resonated with the tribal ethics which held strong outside of Mecca. The message of the revelation demanded responsible use of wealth for the good of the community, the responsibility of each individual toward each other at a time that individualistic pursuits were on the rise, and on "that day" each man would be judged based on his deeds in this life.
Muhammad stayed in Mecca and was protected by his wife and uncle. When they died in 619AD Muhammad was insecure without their protection. In 622AD, Muhammad left Mecca and went to Medina where the locals liked his ability to arbitrate. In 624AD Muhammad and his followers carried out their first successful raid upon a caravan of Mecca. The next year the Meccans sought revenge and went to Medina where they successfully attacked Muhammad’s converts and even wounding Muhammad in the process and reclaimed their goods and property.
It is interesting to note that the Islamic calendar begins with its first year in the year we refer to as 622AD, the year Muhammad established an Islamic "state" or community at Medina.
The name "Muhammad" means "highly praised." It was and still is a name widely used in pre and post Islam. Muhammad was born in Mecca in the year 570AD. He belonged to the tribe of Quraysh, and the clan of Hashim. It was a reputable but impoverished family. Muhammad was orphaned when his father died before he was born and by his mother’s death when he was six years of age. He developed into a capable and honest merchant in Mecca but remained illiterate.
He worked for a business woman called "Khadija" and she liked him and trusted him. She proposed to him and they married when he was 25 and she was 40. They bored six children, all of whom died but one daughter.Khadji was his boss before and after marriage, even after he became the Prophet. Their marriage was comfortable and convenient for Muhammad as it brought to him wealth and the luxury of enjoying the wealth and travel and time to meditate and ponder.
It was later revealed by the Prophet Muhammad that it was the angel Gabriel who appeared to him and provided the revelations on behalf of Akllah. At first Muhammad kept his revelations private sharing them only with his wife. In.613 AD he was instructed to share the revelations publicly. They were not well received as Mecca was a centre of commerce for gods and goddesses. The people did not want all this upset or hindered by revelations that might change everything. By 615 AD, opposition to his teachings was so fierce that his few followers could not survive and Muhammad encouraged them to leave Mecca for safer territory in Ethiopia.
The poor and dispossessed were attracted to his teachings as Mecca was intensely capitalistic and experienced a widening gap between the powerful and the dispossessed, the rich and the poor, the have’s and the have not’s. The purpose of life had become to get rich which was against the tribal values. Muhammad’s message was attractive to the poor of the time as it was a moral message. It proclaimed that there is ONE God, and also this ONE God demands justice and mercy of his creatures – for the poor and the disadvantaged. It was a message that gave hope to the poor. It resonated with the tribal ethics which held strong outside of Mecca. The message of the revelation demanded responsible use of wealth for the good of the community, the responsibility of each individual toward each other at a time that individualistic pursuits were on the rise, and on "that day" each man would be judged based on his deeds in this life.
Muhammad stayed in Mecca and was protected by his wife and uncle. When they died in 619AD Muhammad was insecure without their protection. In 622AD, Muhammad left Mecca and went to Medina where the locals liked his ability to arbitrate. In 624AD Muhammad and his followers carried out their first successful raid upon a caravan of Mecca. The next year the Meccans sought revenge and went to Medina where they successfully attacked Muhammad’s converts and even wounding Muhammad in the process and reclaimed their goods and property.
It is interesting to note that the Islamic calendar begins with its first year in the year we refer to as 622AD, the year Muhammad established an Islamic "state" or community at Medina.
posted by Philip | 6:22 a.m.
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