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Muhammad (Arabic محمد, also transliterated Mohammad, Mohammed, and formerly Mahomet, following Latin spelling) was the founder of Islam, and is revered by Muslims as the final prophet of God.
According to his traditional Muslim biographies (called sirah in Arabic), he was born circa 570 C.E. in Mecca (or "Makkah") and died June 8, 632 C.E. in Medina (Madinah), both cities in northern Arabia.
Summary
He is said to have been a merchant who travelled widely. In 610 C.E., at the age of 40, he claimed to have been visited by the Angel Gabriel, who commanded him to memorize and recite the verses later collected as the Qur'an. He preached a strict monotheism and predicted a Day of Judgement for sinners and idol-worshippers -- such as his tribesmen and neighbors in Mecca. He did not completely reject Judaism and Christianity, two other monotheistic faiths known to the Arabs; he only claimed to complete and perfect their teachings. He soon acquired both a following and the hatred of his neighbors. In 622 C.E. he was forced to flee Mecca and settle in Medina with his followers. War between Mecca and Medina followed, in which Muhammad and his followers were eventually victorious. The military organization honed in this struggle was then set to conquering the other pagan tribes of Arabia. By the time of Muhammad's death, he had unified Arabia and launched a few expeditions to the north, towards Syria and Palestine.
Under Muhammad's immediate successors the Islamic empire expanded into Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, North Africa, and Spain. Later conquests and missionary activity have spread his faith over much of the globe.
How much do we know about Muhammad?
Much of what Muslim scholars say about Muhammad's life is based on histories and oral traditions collected and written down several hundred years after his death, after the Muslim community had fractured into rival sects. Within the largest sect, the Sunni, there were many schools of law and theology. Each sect and each school had its own conflicting traditions of what Muhammad had said or done; traditions which, they argued, validated their own position. Muslim scholars sifted through these traditions, trying to determine which were true and which were false. Each sect ended up with its own canon of "true" stories about Muhammad.
Most Muslim scholars, and many Western scholars, still put their trust in these traditions. However, a substantial group of skeptical scholars says that while some of these traditions may be true, others were created for political or polemical advantage ... and without some kind of outside confirmation, like inscriptions or contemporary manuscripts, we cannot tell which is which.
Skeptics would probably accept the material in the summary as valid. Traditionalists paint a much more detailed picture of Muhammad's life, as described below.
Muhammad's life according to tradition
Childhood
Muhammad was born into a well-to-do family settled in the northern Arabian town of Mecca. Some calculate his birthdate as April 20, 570. Muhammad's father, Abd Allah, had died and the young boy was brought up by his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the tribe of Quraysh. At the age of six Muhammad lost his mother Amina, and at the age of eight his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib. Muhammad now came under care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of the Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe, the most powerful in Mecca.
Mecca was a thriving commercial center, due in great part to a stone temple called the Ka'aba that housed many different idols. Merchants from different tribes would visit Mecca during the pilgramage season, when all inter-tribal warfare was forbidden and they could trade in safety.
As a teenager Muhammad began accompanying his uncle on trading journeys to Syria. He thus became well-travelled and knowledgeable as to foreign ways.
Middle years
One of Muhammad's employer's was Khadijah, a rich widow then 40 years old. The young 25-year old Muhammad so impressed Khadijah that she offered him marriage about 595 C.E. He became a wealthy man by this marriage. By Arab custom minors did not inherit, so Muhammad had received no inheritance from either his father or his grandfather.
The sira records that Khadijah bore Muhammad five children, one son and four daughters. Some historians argue that some of the daughters were by her second husband, whereas others insist that all were her daughters by Muhammad. All five children were born before Muhammad started preaching about Islam. His son Qasim died at the age of two. Muhammad was nicknamed Abul Qasim, meaning the father of Qasim. The four daughters were Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah.
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Important dates and locations
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Founding of Islam
Muhammad had a reflective turn of mind and routinely spent nights in a cave near Mecca in meditation and thought. Around the year 610, while meditating, Muhammad had a vision of the angel Gabriel and heard a voice saying to him in rough translation "Read in the name of your Lord the Creator. He created man from something which clings. Read and your Lord is the Most Honored. He taught man with the pen; taught him all that he knew not."
From this time until his death, Muhammad received frequent revelations.
The first vision of Gabriel disturbed Muhammad, but his wife Khadijah reassured him that it was a true vision and became his first follower. Around 613 C.E. Muhammad began preaching in public. Some mocked, some believed and joined his small flock.
Rejection
As the ranks of Muhammad's followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city. Their wealth, after all, rested on the Ka'aba, the temple of the idols. If they threw out their idols, as Muhammad preached, there would be no more pilgrims, no more trade, and no more wealth. Muhammad's own tribe, the Quraysh, was the most incensed, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba. Muhammad and his followers were persecuted. Some of them fled to Abyssinia and founded a small colony there.
Both Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died in 619; it was known as "the year of mourning." Muhammad's own clan withdrew their protection of him.
Hijrah
In 622, facing renewed persecution and death threats, Muhammad and his Meccan followers left Mecca for Medina, where he had gained many converts. By breaking the link with his own tribe Muhammad demonstrated that tribal and family loyalties were insignificant compared to the bonds of Islam. This Hijrah or emigration (traditionally translated into English as "flight") marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The Muslim calendar counts dates from the Hijra, which is why Muslim dates have the suffix A.H. (After Hijra).
People in Medina hoped that Muhammad would unite their faction-ridden city. Muhammad is said to have drafted a document now known as the Constitution of Medina (circa 622-623), which laid out the terms on which the different factions could co-exist. This early tradition of toleration was one reason for the stability of the later Muslim empire.
War
Relations between Mecca and Medina rapidly worsened. Meccans confiscated all the property that the Muslims had left in Mecca. In Medina, Muhammad signed treaties of alliance and mutual help with neighboring tribes.
In March of 624, Muhammad led some 300 men in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan. The Meccans successfully defended the caravan and then decided to teach the Medinans a lesson. They sent a small army against Medina.
On March 15, 624 near a place called Badr, the Meccans and the Muslims clashed. Though outnumbered 800 to 300 in the battle, the Muslims met with success, killing at least 45 Meccans and taking 70 prisoners for ransom; only 14 Muslims died.
Muhammad's rule consolidated
To the Muslims, the victory in Badr appeared as a divine vindication of Muhammad's prophethood, and he and all the Muslims rejoiced greatly. Following this victory, the victors expelled a local Jewish clan, the Banu Qainuqa. Virtually all the remaining Medinans converted and Muhammad became de facto ruler of the city.
After Khadija's death, Muhammad had married again, to Aisha daughter of his uncle Abu Bakr (later the first caliph, or leader of the Muslims after Muhammad's death). In Medina, he married Hafsah, daughter of Umar (later the second caliph). These marriages sealed relations between the prophet and his top-ranking followers.
Muhammad's two surviving daughters also married: Fatima married Ali (later fourth caliph) and Umm Kulthum married Uthman (the third caliph). Thus all four of the first caliphs were linked to Muhammad by blood, marriage, or both.
Continued warfare
In 625 the Meccan general Abu Sufyan marched on Medina with 3,000 men. The ensuing Battle of Uhud took place on March 23, ending in a stalemate. The Meccans claimed victory, but they had lost too many men to pursue the Muslims into Medina.
In April 627 Abu Sufyan led another strong force against Medina. He was aided by traitors among the Medinans, the Jewish tribe of the Banu Qurayza. But Muhammad had dug a trench around Medina and successfully defended the city. This was the Battle of the Trench. Aferwards, all the adult males of the Banu Qurayza were killed and their women and children enslaved.
Following the Battle of the Trench, the Muslims were able, through conquest and conversion, to extend their rule to many of the neighboring cities and tribes.
The conquest of Mecca
By 628 C.E., the Muslim position was strong enough that Muhammad dared to return to Mecca, this time as a peaceful pilgrim. In March 628 he set out for Mecca, followed by 1,600 men. After some negotiation, a treaty was signed at the border town of al-Hudaybiyah. Muhammad would be allowed to finish his pilgrimage. Hostilities would cease and the Muslims would have permission to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in the following year. Muhammad married Habiba, daughter of Abu Sufyan (the Meccan general) to cement the treaty.
The agreement broke down; war broke out again. In 630, Muhammad marched on Mecca with an enormous force, said to number 10,000 men. Faced with inevitable disaster, the Meccans submitted without a fight. Muhammad in turn promised a general amnesty (from which some people were specifically excluded). Most Meccans converted to Islam and Muhammad destroyed the idols in the Kaaba. Henceforth the pilgrimage would be a Muslim pilgrimage and the shrine a Muslim shrine.
Thus eight years after he had fled Mecca, Muhammad entered the city as a conqueror.
Unification of Arabia
After the return to Mecca, Muhammad defeated an alliance of enemy tribes at Hunayn. The Muslims were clearly the dominant force in Arabia, and the remaining tribes and states hastened to submit to Muhammad.
The prophet passes
After a short illness, Muhammad died at around noon of 8 June, 632 C.E., in the city of Medina. He was 63 years old.
Who was now to lead the community? to head the new state?
According to the Shia sect, the prophet had introduced his son-in-law Ali as his successor, in a public sermon at Ghadir Khom. But Abu Bakr and Umar intrigued to oust Ali and make Abu Bakr the leader or caliph.
The majority Sunni sect dispute this, and say that the leaders of the community conferred and freely chose Abu Bakr, who was pre-eminent among the followers of Muhammad.
However it happened, Abu Bakr became the new leader. He spent much of his short reign suppressing rebellious tribes, who believed that the death of the prophet had broken the bonds of alliance. With unity restored in Arabia, the Muslims looked outward and commenced the conquests that would eventually unite the Middle East under the caliphs.
Muhammad's genealogy
According to tradition, Muhammad traced his genealogy back as far as Adnan, the traditional ancestor of the northern Arabs, as follows:
Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (Shaiba) ibn Hashim (Amr) ibn Abd Munaf (al-Mughira) ibn Qusai (Zaid) ibn Kilab ibn Murra ibn Ka`b ibn Lu'ay ibn Ghalib ibn Fahr (Quraish) ibn Malik ibn an-Nadr (Qais) ibn Kinana ibn Khuzaiman ibn Mudrikah (Amir) ibn Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma'ad ibn Adnan. (ibn = "son of" in Arabic; alternate names of people with two names are given in brackets.)
Later Arab genealogists attempted to extend this further, tracing Adnan's descent back to Ishmael through his son Kedar (arabic Qidar), and Ishmael's back all the way to Adam; however, that is usually considered unconvincing.
Muhammad's family and descendants
Before Khadija's death, Muhammad had only the one wife. After her death he married Aisha, then Hafsa. Later he was to marry yet more wives, for a total of ten.
- Khadija
- Aisha
- Hafsa bint Umar
- Sawada bint Zama
- Zaynab bint Khuzayma
- Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya
- Zaynab bint Jahsh
- Juwayriya bint al-Harith
- Umm Habibah Ramla
- Safiyya bint Huyayy
- Maymuna bint al-Harith
- Maria al-Qibtiyya
Some marriages were made to seal treaties; others were to Muslim widows. Only one of these later marriages resulted in a child, a son, who died when he was but ten months old. Muhammad was survived only by his daughter Fatima and her children. (Some say that his daughter Zainab had a daughter, Amma or Umama, who survived him as well.)
The Shia sect believes that Fatima's husband 'Ali and their descendents are the rightful leaders of the faithful. The Sunni do not accept this view, but they still honor the descendents of the prophet.
Descendents of Muhammad are known by many names, such as sayyids, syeds سيد, and sharifs شريف (plural: ِأشراف Ashraaf). Many rulers and notables in Muslim countries, past and present, claim such descent, with various degrees of credibility, such as the Fatimid dynasty of North Africa, the Idrisis, the current royal families of Jordan and Morocco, and the Agha Khan Imams of the Ismaili sect. In various Muslim countries, there are societies that authenticate claims of descent, some more credible than others.
Muhammad Con and Pro
Many Muslims believe that the prophet, for all that he was only a man, was yet divinely inspired in his actions. His life is a shining example to which all Muslims should aspire.
Non-Muslims then point to some of his actions, as recorded by tradition, and question their divine inspiration. They point to Muhammad's marriage to Aisha when she was only nine years old, his bloody career of conquest, the massacre of the Banu Qurayza, his many marriages, and other matters. Muslims generally explain such matters by an appeal to the customs of the time: that is how things were done in the seventh century.
For further detail, see Muhammad Con and Pro.
Muhammad's historical significance
Before his death in 632 C.E., Muhammad had unified Arabia and established a new religion, Islam. If, soon after death, his kingdom had fallen and his religion died, he would only be a footnote to the history of the Middle East. It is the enormous achievements of his successors that make him a figure of intense interest even to non-Muslims. His kingdom split, but it did not fall; his religion did not die, but grew until it is one of the major faiths of the present day. Was this a historical accident? or can we credit Muhammad with a special wisdom and insight that ensured the success of his followers?
Reference:
See also
- for Muhammad as viewed by the Muslims - see Islam especially sira
- for Muhammad's teachings - see Islam especially hadith
- list of Islamic terms in Arabic reflects Muhammad's overall influence
External links
- Al-Haramain Foundation, Biography of the Prophet Muhammad, Riyadh.
- University of Southern California's About the Prophet Muhammad
- Life of prophet Muhammad : The story of the Prophet Muhammad from his birth to his death
- Swords of the Prophet Muhammad
- [http://www.answering-islam.org.uk Critical Review of Muhammad and Islam from a Christianity Point of View
References
- Ibn Warraq, The Quest for the Historical Muhammad, Prometheus Books, March 2000, hardback, 554 pages, ISBN 1573927872
- Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on Earliest Sources, Inner Traditions International, Limited, 1987, paperback, 368 pages, ISBN 0892811706
- Karen Armstrong, Muhammad, ISBN 1842126083
- Muhammad Husayn Haykal, The Life of Muhammad, Islamic Book Service, 1995, paperback, ISBN 1577311957, translation of an Arabic original