Muhammad[n 1] (Arabic: محمد; c. 570 – 8 June 632[1]) is generally regarded by non-Muslims to have been the the founder of Islam,[2] and almost universally[n 2] considered by Muslims to have been the last prophet sent by God to mankind[3][n 3] to restore Islam, which they believe to be the unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.[4][5][6][7] By the time of his death, he had united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and had ensured that his teachings and practice together with the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed to him by God, formed the basis of Islamic religious belief.
Born approximately in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca,[8][9] Muhammad was orphaned at an early age; he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. After his childhood Muhammad primarily worked as a merchant.[10] Occasionally he would retreat to a cave in the mountains for several nights of seclusion and prayer; later, at age 40, he reported at this spot,[8][11]that he was visited by Gabriel and received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad startedpreaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" (lit. islām) to Him is the only way (dīn)[n 4] acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, similar to the other prophets in Islam.[12][13][14]
Muhammad gained few followers early on, and met hostility from some Meccan tribes. To escape persecution, Muhammad sent some of his followers to Abyssinia before he and his followers in Mecca migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, also known as the Hijri Calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina. After eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 Muslim converts and marched on the city of Mecca. The attack went largely uncontested and Muhammad took over the city with little bloodshed. He destroyed the three-hundred and sixty pagan idols at the Kaaba, in the city.[15] In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. Before his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam, and he had united Arabia into a single Muslim religious polity.[16][17]
The revelations (each known as Ayah, lit. "Sign [of God]"), which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the "Word of God" and around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammad's teachings and practices (sunnah), found in the Hadith and sira literature, are also upheld by Muslims and used assources of Islamic law (see Sharia). While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom were largely negative, appraisals in modern history have been far more favorable.[14][18] Other appraisals of Muhammad throughout history, such as those found inmedieval China, have also been positive.
Childhood and early life
See also: Mawlid and Family tree of Muhammad
Muhammad was born about the year 570[8] and his birthday is believed to be in the month of Rabi' al-awwal.[50] He belonged to theBanu Hashim clan, one of Mecca's prominent families, although it appears less prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime.[14][51] The Banu Hashim clan was part of the Quraysh tribe. Tradition places the year of Muhammad's birth as corresponding with the Year of the Elephant, which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite kingAbraha who supplemented his army with elephants. An outbreak of smallpox among the Aksumites may explain the failure of the invading army.[52] 20th century scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as 568 or 569.[53]
His father, Abdullah, died almost six months before Muhammad was born.[55] According to Islamic tradition, soon after Muhammad's birth he was sent to live with a Bedouin family in the desert, as desert life was considered healthier for infants.[56] Muhammad stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until he was two years old.[10]Some western scholars of Islam have rejected the historicity of this tradition.[56] At the age of six, Muhammad lost his biological mother Amina to illness and he became orphaned.[10][57] For the next two years, he was under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the Banu Hashim clan, but when Muhammad was eight, his grandfather also died. He then came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of Banu Hashim.[10][53] According to Islamic historian William Montgomery Watt there was a general disregard by guardians in taking care of weaker members of the tribes in Mecca during the 6th century, "Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time."[58]
While still in his teens, Muhammad accompanied his uncle on trading journeys to Syria gaining experience in commercial trade.[10][58] Islamic tradition states that when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans' caravan to Syria, he met a Christian monk or hermit named Bahira who is said to have foreseen Muhammad's career as a prophet of God.[59]
Little is known of Muhammad during his later youth, and from the fragmentary information that is available, it is difficult to separate history from legend.[10][58] It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the Indian ocean and theMediterranean Sea."[60] Due to his upright character he acquired the nickname "al-Amin" (Arabic: الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and "al-Sadiq" meaning "truthful"[61] and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.[9][14][62] His reputation attracted a proposal in 595 from Khadijah, a 40-year-old widow. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one.[10][60]
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 605 CE. The Black Stone, a sacred object, had been removed to facilitate renovations to the Kaaba. The leaders of Mecca could not agree on which clan should have the honour of setting the Black Stone back in its place. They agreed to wait for the next man to come through the gate and ask him to choose. That man was the 35-year-old Muhammad, five years before his first revelation. He asked for a cloth and put the Black Stone in its centre. The clan leaders held the corners of the cloth and together carried the Black Stone to the right spot, then Muhammad set the stone in place, satisfying the honour of all.[63]
Beginnings of the Quran
See also: Muhammad's first revelation, History of the Quran and Wahy
Muhammad adopted the practice of praying alone for several weeks every year in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca.[64][65] Islamic tradition holds that during one of his visits to Mount Hira, the angel Gabriel appeared to him in the year 610 and commanded Muhammad to recite verses which would later be included in the Quran.[66] There is a consensus that the first words of the Quran to be revealed were the beginning of Surah96:1.[67] Upon receiving his first revelations, he was deeply distressed. After returning home, Muhammad was consoled and reassured by Khadijah and her Christian cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal.[68] Waraqah is variously described as an Ebionite priest (possibly of Mecca) or Nestorian. He also feared that others would dismiss his claims as being possessed.[44] Shi'a tradition maintains that Muhammad was neither surprised nor frightened at the appearance of Gabriel but rather Muhammad welcomed him as if he was expecting.[69] The initial revelation was followed by a pause of three years (a period known as fatra) during which Muhammad felt depressed and further gave himself to prayers and spiritual practices.[67] When the revelations resumed he was reassured and commanded to begin preaching: "Thy Guardian-Lord hath not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased."[70][71][72]
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)".[73] According to Welch these descriptions may be considered genuine, since they are unlikely to have been forged by later Muslims.[14]Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages.[74] According to the Quran, one of the main roles of Muhammad is to warn the unbelievers of their eschatological punishment (Quran 38:70, Quran6:19). 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 41:13–16).[26] Muhammad did not only warn those who rejected God's revelation, but also dispensed good news for those who abandoned evil, listening to the divine words and serving God.[75] Muhammad's mission also involves preaching monotheism: 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.[26][76]
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: belief in God, asking for forgiveness of sins, offering frequent prayers, assisting others particularly those in need, rejecting cheating and the love of wealth (considered to be significant in the commercial life of Mecca), being chaste and not to kill newborn girls.[14]
Opposition
See also: Persecution of Muslims by the Meccans and Migration to Abyssinia
According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife Khadija was the first to believe he was a prophet.[77] She was followed by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, close friend Abu Bakr, and adopted son Zaid.[11][77] Around 613, Muhammad began to preach to the public (Quran.[78] Most Meccans ignored him and mocked him,[76]though a few became his followers. There were three main groups of early converts to Islam: younger brothers and sons of great merchants; people who had fallen out of the first rank in their tribe or failed to attain it; and the weak, mostly unprotected foreigners.[79]
According to Ibn Sad, the opposition in Mecca started when Muhammad delivered verses that condemned idol worship and the Meccan forefathers who engaged in polytheism.[76][80] However, the Quranic exegesis maintains that it began as Muhammad started public preaching.[81] As the number of followers increased, he became a threat to the local tribes and rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Ka'aba, the focal point of Meccan religious life that Muhammad threatened to overthrow. 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.[79] The powerful merchants attempted to convince Muhammad to abandon his preaching by offering him admission into the inner circle of merchants, and establishing his position therein by an advantageous marriage. However, he refused both.[79]
Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment towards Muhammad and his followers.[14][76] Sumayyah bint Khabbab, a slave of a prominent Meccan leader Abu Jahl, is famous as the first martyr of Islam; killed with a spear by her master when she refused to give up her faith. Bilal, another Muslim slave, was tortured by Umayyah ibn Khalaf who used to place a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion.[82][83] Apart from insults, Muhammad was protected from physical harm as he belonged to the Banu Hashim clan.[76][84][85]
In 615, some of Muhammad's followers emigrated to the Ethiopian Aksumite Empire and founded a small colony under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Aṣḥama ibn Abjar.[14][76] Ibn Sa'ad mentions two separate migrations. According to him, most of the Muslims returned to Mecca prior to Hijra, while there was a second group that rejoined them in Medina. Ibn Hisham and Tabari, however, only talk about one migration to Ethiopia. These accounts agree that persecution in Mecca played a major role in Muḥammad's decision to suggest that a number of his followers seek refuge among the Christians in Abyssinia. According to the famous letter of ʿUrwa preserved in al-Tabari, the majority of Muslims returned to their native town after Islam had become strengthened when high rank people in Mecca, such as Umar and Hamzah converted. However, there is a completely different story on the reason why the Muslims returned from Ethiopia to Mecca. According to this account -that was initially mentioned by Al-Waqidi then rehashed by Ibn Sa'ad and Tabari, but not by Ibn Hisham and not by Ibn Ishaq-[86] 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.[87][n 6][n 7] This episode known as "The Story of the Cranes" (translation: قصة الغرانيق, transliteration: Qissat al Gharaneeq) is also known as "Satanic Verses". According to the story this led to a general reconciliation between Muḥammad and the Meccans, and the Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia began to return home. By the time they arrived, however, the archangel Gabriel had informed Muḥammad that the two g̲h̲arānīḳ verses were not part of the revelation, but had been inserted by Satan. Notable scholars at the time argued against the historic authenticity of these verses and the story itself on various grounds.[88][89][n 8] Later, the incident received some acceptance, however, strong objections to it bolstered from the 10th century onwards, on theological grounds. The objections continued on this point until rejection of these verses and of the story itself eventually became the only acceptable orthodox Muslim position.[90]
In 617, 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.[91][92] During this, Muhammad was only able to preach during the holy pilgrimage months in which all hostilities between Arabs was suspended.[93]
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