Saturday, January 30, 2010
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD, peace be upon him
The Messenger of Allah, pbh, was born in 570 A.D in Arabia. There were only three major owns in Arabia in those days. They were Makkah, Taif, and Yethrib. Muhammad, pbh, was born at Makkah. In those days Makkah was an imprtant town because it was at the junction of many trading routs. It was famous as the home of Kabah where people used to come from far off places to worship. The original Kabah was built by Prophet Ibrahim, pbh, and his son, Prophet Ismail, pbh.
His mother's name was Aminah bint Wahb. His father's name was Abdullah who had died two months before his death. Abdullah' father was Abd al-Muthalib. He was the head of the Quraysh tribe, guardian of Kabah and the protector of the pilgrims who visited this holy place. He was respected by all. He was happy at the birth of his grandson and gave the name of Muhammad to the baby. Muhammad in Arabic means 'one who is worthy of praise'.
Jubair bin Mutim, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Messenger of Allah, pbh, said:
"I have five names: I am Muhammad and Ahmad; I am al-Mahi, through whom Allah will eliminate al-kufr; I am al-Hashir, who will be the first to be resurrected, and I am also al-Aqib, (i.e. there will be no Prophet after me). Abu Musa Abdullah bin Qais narrates that the Messenger of Allah, pbh, said, " I am Muhammad; I am Ahmad; I am al-Muqaffi (the last in succession), and I am the Prophet of repentance and the Prophet of mercy."
On another occasion, the Prophet, pbh, said: "And I am the Prophet of al-Malhamah." 'al-Malhamah' means 'fighting' in Arabic. Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Messenger of Allah, pbh, said: "I am Mohammad and Ahmad; I am al-Hashir (first to be resurrected), I am al-Mahi, through whom Allah will eliminate kufr. On the Day of Judgement, the banner of praise will be with me, and I will be the leader of the Messengers, and their intercessors."
Allah says about the Prophet, pbh, in His Book, "Bringer of good news and warning". (al-Baqra 2:119)
Again Allah calls him: " Merciful and full of pity". (al-Tawbah 9:128) And Allah calls him: "A mercy to the world". (al-Anbiya 21:107)
WET NURSING
It was an Arab custom in those days that mothers would give their babies to suckling mothers. These suckiling mothers would carry the babies to their desert home and suckle the babies for a certain amount of money. Aminah gave the little baby Muhammad to a wet-nurse Halimah. The baby grew up well in the desert with Halimah and her family. When the child was three years, Halimah brought him to his mother.
When the child was six, his mother, Aminah took him to Yethrib so that the child could meet his uncles there. The child enjoyed the journey. In Yethrib, he enjoyed his stay there. He learned to swim in the company of his cousins. On the journey back to Makkah, his mother fell ill. Her servant maid, Barakah was with them. She nursed the ailing mother, but after a few days, she died on the way. Now the boy was under the protection of the loving care of his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib. After two years, his grandfather died. After his death, his uncle Abu, Talib adopted his nephew.
As a boy he used to take care of the sheep of Abu Talib. When he was a boy of twlve years, Abu Talib took him on a journey to Busra, in Syria. There a monk, Bahira saw the young Muhammad, pbh, and recognized the signs of Prohethood. The monk asked Abu Talib to return with he boy to al-Aqabah, so that the Jews might not do him any harm. Immediately, Abu Talib made arrangements to send the boy back to Makkah under the protection of his servants.
MARRIAGE TO KHADIJAH
Muhammad's experience of trading and his reputation of excellent manners brought him to the attention of Khadijah. She was a beautiful nd wealthy widow. She belonged to the family of merchants and she herself had her business. Khadihjah offered her goods to Muhammad to take them to Syria for trading. The trade trip to Syria was very successful and he brought good profit to Khadijah. She was very happy about the new business partner. Her servant, Maysarah, who accompanied Muhammad, pbh, to Syria also gave good report of his honesty in trading, and his excellent behaviour towards others. Khadijah was very impressed and she wanted to marry him. She conveyed her intention through her friend, Nufaysah. Muhammad, pbh, consulted his uncle and other family members. All happily agreed to this marriage.
HILF AL-FUDUL
One day a trader brought goods to Makkah to sell. But some wicked people of Makkah stole his goods. The helpless trader called for help, but nobody came forward to help him. He wrote a poem about what the people of Makkah did to him. He recited the poem loudly at the marketplace to attract the attention of the people. One of Muhammad's uncles, Zubayr heard this painful poem and felt ashamed.
Zubayr called a meeting of the elders of the town. This meeting discussed how helpless people face problems in that holy town of Makkah. The people formed an organisation to protect the helpless people. This organization was called 'Hilf al-Fudul'. Muhammad was an enthusiastic member of this organization. The members of Hilf al-Fudul took a pledge that they would come to the protection of all those people who were weak, even if they are from outside of Makkah.
Many years later, Muhammad, pbh, still considered this organization to be an important organization. He said, "I am not prepared to break my pledge, even against a herd of camels. If somebody should come to me even today, I would hurry to help him by virtue of that pledge."
His love for justice, his quick understanding of problems, and his real interest in his fellow beings made him a leader of people. People came to rely on him and his honesty. Often people would come to him with their disputes to settle them. He became famous among the people as 'al-Sadiq' .
BLACK STONE DISPUTE
In 605 A.D the draperies of the Kabah caught fire. In this fire accident the structure of Kabah was also damaged. They decided to reconstruct it. Each person contributed according to his capacity. Muhammad also participated in this reconstruction. He used to carry stones on his shoulder. One day there was a dispute among the people as who should refix the black stone to its place. Somebody suggested that the matter be left to Providence. They all agreed to accept the suggestion of the person who would enter there at that time. It so happened Muhammad just then entered to work there as usual. They all cried in one voice, "al-Sadiq has come". He listened to them and understand their problem. It was the problem of their ego. He asked them to bring a sheet of cloth. He spread the sheet on the ground and placed the black stone on the sheet. He asked all the leaders of the tribes to hold the corners of this sheet and take it to the wall. They brought it to the wall. He took the stone and placed it on its place. Everybody was happy that the problem was solved so easily. At that time,Muhammad, pbh, was thirty-five years old.
