The Prophet who taught to care and share

Mosque in Al Madina- external view

Mohammed was the Last Messenger of God, sent to complete the religion of Abraham.

He was born in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in 570 CE, during a period which the Europeans call the ‘Middle Ages.’

Makkah is an important city for Muslims.

About 4000 years ago, God asked Abraham and his son Ishmael to construct a building for worshipping Him in Makkah. This building is called the Kaaba.

As time passed, people forgot the teachings of Abraham and other prophets.

They started worshipping idols and some even made statues and pictures of prophets and worshipped them as God.

The Birth of Mohammed

They filled the Kaaba with idols and images. The Kaaba became the centre of idol worshipping for Arabs who came from all over Arabia.

They also forgot the good teachings of Abraham and mistreated their slaves, widows, and orphans. Women did not have any rights and respect.

They cheated each other in business, fought and killed each other.

God then raised Mohammed, a direct descendant of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, as His Last Messenger to teach the religion of Abraham again.

His father, Abdullah died before he was born. His mother Aminah had a dream.

An angel told her, “Aminah! Your baby will be a great man. You will name him Mohammed.”

She died when Mohammed was very young, so he was an orphan. He was raised by his uncle, Abu Talib.

He never had a chance to go to school to learn to read and write.

Mohammed became a merchant like his uncle. He was honest and hard working and hence was called, ‘Al Amin,’ meaning trustworthy.

A rich widow named Khadija heard about Mohammed’s honesty and hired him.

He took a caravan of goods to Syria on her behalf along with Maisarah, a slave.

Unlike others, Mohammed treated Maisarah as if he was his own brother.

He returned to Makkah with a huge profit.

Maisarah told Khadija that Mohammed was kind and gentle and impressed, Khadija married him.

Mohammed was not interested in making money.

He was concerned with other matters.

He loved to do good and to help other people.

For example, Khadija had given him a slave named Zaid but he freed and adopted him as his son.

Mohammed hated idol worship and was unhappy over the evil ways of the Arabs.

He wondered a lot about God and the meaning of life.

Days in the cave

He used to go to a cave called Hira near Makkah to be alone to think and pray, on occasions, for several days in succession.

He often thought about the religious ideas he had heard from the Christian and Jewish merchants, and the Arabs from the desert.

It was in the cave that he had an experience, at the age of 45 that changed his life forever.

Once during the Holy Month of Ramadan, Mohammed was praying in the cave when Angel Gabriel appeared, saying, “Read!”

“I cannot read,” he replied.

The Angel squeezed his arm and embraced him tightly and commanded again, “Read!”

The Angel recited the first verses of the Holy Quran and Mohammed repeated after him,

Read! In the name of your Lord

Who created; Created mankind out of a leech-like clot of blood;

Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.

The one who taught with the pen

He taught man what he did not know

This was the beginning of the revelations of the Quran from God to His Last Prophet.

This was the start of Prophet Mohammed’s mission as a Messenger of God.

Gradually, over the next 23 years, God completed the revelation of His Last Book, the Holy Quran, to teach humanity His religion, Islam. The year was 610 CE.

Since the Prophet did not know how to read or write, whenever Angel Gabriel brought the messages, the Prophet memorised them, then dictated to his companions, which were written down by scribes.

Initial Apprehension

Not one word of the Quran has been changed over the centuries.

Mohammed was frightened in the beginning.

He thought he was going crazy. His wife Khadija had faith that he really had been chosen by God to preach what He wanted people to know, and hence encouraged him.

The Prophet began to preach the message of Islam that there is only One God, whom he called Allah, the Arabic word for God.

He told people that Allah had no son, no partners, and no parents.

Allah is the Ruler and Master, and people must obey Him.

The leading men of Makkah did not like this, because they loved their idols and made money from the Arabs who visited the Kaaba for worship.

They became his enemy.

As the Prophet invited everyone to accept Islam, the non-believers began opposing him more vigorously.

The message of Islam was simple and the Prophet did not show any miracles on demand.

But God had given him the miracle of the Holy Quran.

The Arabs were very proud of their language. Poets and speakers were held in high honour. The Quran is unique and has no equal in perfection and purity of message.

The personality of the Prophet also made a deep impression upon people.

Anyone who met him recognised that he was not an ordinary man and many listened to the Quran and converted to Islam.

The Prophet suffered all kinds of insults. Thorns were placed on his way. Garbage, dirt, and smelly intestines of camels were thrown at him.

People laughed and mocked at him.

The Prophet and his fellow Muslims remained patient and prayed to God for help.

The non-believers thought that the best way to stop the progress of Islam was to kill the Prophet.

God commanded Prophet Mohammed to leave Makkah and go to Madinah, about 220 miles away. There he built a place of worship, called ‘Masjid’, and taught about Allah.

The year was 622 CE. This is an important date for Muslims, because it marked the beginning of the New Islamic Era.

The Islamic calendar starts with this event of migration and Madinah became the first Islamic State and Community.

The Prophet was not only the preacher but also head of State.

Muslims were fortunate to have the Prophet as their leader.

He taught them to share and care for each other by example.

Courtesy: The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, Wellington. The above article, by Mr and Mrs Abidullah Ghazi, first appeared under the title, The Messenger of Allah, Makkah and Madinah Period, by Mr. & Mrs. Abidullah Ghazi in a publication of the The Islamic Center of Boston.