Short Biography of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)

Life in Makkah

Ancestors:

The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) was a direct descendant of Hazrat Ismail, the eldest son of Hazrat Ibrahim. Hazrat Ismail had twelve sons. One of them had settled permanently in Hejaz-Arabia. One of the descendants, Fihr , known by his title of Quraish , was a famous personality of his time. His descendant, Qussai , had the custody of the key of Kaabah. Qussai’s grandson, Hashim, from whome the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) traces his descent, was the richest and the most important of Qussai’s descendants.

With the passage of time Holy Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, became very prominent among the Quraish. Three incidents of his life are very important. The restoration of the fountain of Zamzam ; the dialogue with Abrahah, the Christian Viceroy of Yemen who had come with a large army to destroy the Kaabah in 571 A.D. ; and the bringing up of his orphan grandson Muhammad (Peace be Upon him) , the last prophet of Allah.

His son, Abdullah, who was the father of Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) , was married to Aminah, daughter of Wahab, who belonged to a noble and illustrious family.  On his return journey from a business tour to Syria, he stopped at Yasrib, where he fell ill and died. By way of inheritance he left a few camels, goats and a slave girl named Umm e Aiman.

After the death of Abdullah, Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was born to Aminah at Makkah on 12^th of Rabi ul Awwal  571 A.D. He was named Muhammad (Peace be upon him) by Abdul Muttalib.

Conditions of Arabia at the time of birth of Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him)

At the time of Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) birth, the world had completely forgotten the message of the Creator and was lost in the wilderness of polytheism. Arabia was steeped in the worst form of idolatry. The Ka’abah was full of idols and every household had its own idol. Stones and trees were also worshipped. There was no belief in life after death and no feeling of responsibility for one’s actions. Drinking, gambling and other vices were common. Widows and orphans were quite helpless and slaves were treated most cruelly. Women were looked upon as property without having any right to inheritance. They were treated as articles of trade. They could be bought or sold at will.  When a man died, his son inherited his wives. Step mothers could be made legal wives.  There was no settled government and no law in the land. The affairs of each tribe were governed by its own chief. There were rivalries among them and people would fight for generations on the slightest excuse.

Side by side, Arabs had the qualities of heroism, love for liberty, hospitality and eloquence.

The period is known as the Age of Ignorance in the Arab history.

Birth and Upbringing

Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was born among these people. In those days there was a custom among the Arabs to give their sucking infants in charge of Bedouin women who would take them into the desert, and return them to the parents after a few years. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) was given in charge of Halima Saadia. She loved Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) very much and Prophet (Peace be upon him) always had the highest regard for her.

At the age of six, Halima Saadia brought him back to his mother who took him to Yasrib to visit the grave of his father Abdullah and also to meet her relatives. During the return journey from Yasrib, Aminah died and was buried at Abwa. Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was brought back to Makkah by Umm e Aiman.

Abdul Muttalib then took over the charge of his grandson. He showered on him all his love and affection. Unfortunately, this also could not last for a long time as Abdul Muttalib died when Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) was only eight years old. Then Abu Talib, an uncle of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) took over the responsibility of bringing him up as his son.

In those days , reading and writing was not common , therefore , Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did not get any formal education. When he was nine years old, Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) began to show signs of intelligent and inquisitive mind. He loved solitude and would not indulge in playful activities with children of his own age. He was loved by the people because of his sweet and peaceful nature. From his childhood he disliked polytheism and never worshipped idols. During his youth, he worked as a shepherd which gave him an opportunity for though and meditation.

Al-Sadiq and Al-Amin:

In his early life, the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) worked as a shepherd and took care of the family's and neighbour's herds. When he grew up, he started to trade. Unlike other businessmen of the time, he was extremely honest and fair in his dealings. His honesty and truthfulness impressed the people to such an extent that they gave him the titles of Al-Sadiq (The Truthful) and Al-Amin (The Trustworthy). They would also entrust their valuables to him for safekeeping.

Marriage to Khadija: 

At that time there lived in Makkah, a wealthy and respectable widow, Khadija , daughter of Khuwalid. She was very impressed by the honesty and goodness of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him). She was forty years old and twice widowed. On account of her exceptional character, she was known as "Tahira". the pious one.
She requested Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) to take her merchandise to Syria against a share in the profits. She also sent her slave Maisara with him. He returned from Syria with good profits. Maisara also spoke of his fair dealings to Hazrat Khadija. She was so pleased that she herself made an offer of marraige to him.
Abu Talib accepted the proposal on behalf of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) and shortly, thereafter, he married Hazrat Khadija. At that time he was twenty-five and she was forty. They had two sons and four daughters. Both sons died in infancy.
Hazrat Khadija was the Prophet's (peace be upon him) only wife till her death at the age of 65 in the 10th year of prophethood. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) always retained his love for her. She was buried in Makkah.

Call to Prophethood:

With age and growing understanding Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) became more aware of the corrupt society around him and disturbed him greatly. He could not believe the polytheistic ideas of the pagans of Makkah and often thought of God of his forefathers, Ibrahim and Ismail. He didn’t follow any particular method of worship, because he was not aware of any; but he realized that there is a force of truth beyond this world which must have power and control over the whole universe.

A few years before the conferment of Prophethood, he became more and more fond of solitude. He started retiring for days with a supply of dates, oatmeal and water into a cave in a nearby mountain, known as Hira. There he pondered and meditated over the condition of his people.  These spells of loneliness and meditation became more frequent as he approached the age of forty.

One day towards end of Ramazan, he was at the mount of Hira when angels Jibrael appeared before him and ask him to read. This was so sudden and unexpected that startled by the strange noise, he answered: “I cannot read”. Then he felt that he was being hugged and squeezed so hard that he thought that he would die of suffocation. He was then released and the request to read was repeated. “I cannot read”, said Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) again. The angel again hugged him and asked him to read> Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) was afraid of being squeezed a third time, so he asked: “What shall I read?” The angel then recited the following verses:

“Proclaim (or read) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher,

Who created.

Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood.

Proclaim!  And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,

He who taught (the use of) the pen.

Taught man that which he knew not” (96: 1-5)

Muhammad (Peace be upon him) recited these verses after the angel and the words were imprinted on his mind. This was the first revelation and the beginning of Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him). He was then forty years old.