Muhammad ibn Abdullah: Difference between revisions

Alford T. Welch, Ahmad S. Moussalli, Gordon D. Newby (2009). "Muḥammad". In John L. Esposito. </ref> According to [[Islam and Scripture|Islamic scripture]], he was a [[Prophecies|prophe]]<nowiki/>t and [[God]]'s messenger, sent to present and confirm the monotheistic teachings preached previous Abrahamic religions. He is viewed as the final prophet of God in the main branches of Islam.

Many claim that in his youth, Muhammad was called by the nickname ''Al-Amin'' (الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.<ref>Esposito(1998), p.6 </ref> However, historian Alford Welch holds that "Al-Amin" was a common Arab name and further suggest that al-Amin might have been Muhammad's given name, a masculine form <ref>Alford Welch - cf. "Muhammad","Encyclopedia of Islam"</ref> from the same root as his mother's name, ''Āmina'' (أمينة).  

Muhammad was born to villagers of the Banu Hashim clan, a branch of the Qurayshi tribe, and one of Mecca's prominent families. He was reported to have been born in "the year of the Elephant." Although some scholars disagree by one or two years.<ref name=":0">Watt (1974), p. 7.</ref> Muhammad's father died before he was born and was given away by his mother after birth to be raised among Bedouin Arabs (allegedly a common practice at the time).<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC Medieval Islamic civilization]''. '''1'''. Routledge. p. 525. <nowiki>ISBN 978-0-415-96690-0</nowiki>. Archivedfrom the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.

Meri, Josef W. (2004). </ref> He was given to Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb and her husband until he reached 2 years old. At six his mother also passed away, leading Muhammad into orphanage.<ref>Watt, "Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb Archived 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine.",  

In 595 AD, aged twenty-five, Muhammad married his first wife and employer [[Khadijah]]. She was a wealthy women, [[Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage|some years older than him]], who had three children from two previous marriages. She would eventually bear him two sons (both died in childhood) and four daughters.<ref>"15 Important Muslim Women in History"  

Ta-Ha Publishers. p. 9.</ref> According to some sources, Khadijah's father, Khuwaylid bin Asad, whose sister was Muhammad's great grandmother,<ref>Muhammad ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' vol. 1. Translated by Haq, S. M. ''Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'', p. 54. Delhi: Kitab Bhavan.</ref> was opposed to the idea of his affluent daughter marrying such an "insignificant youth." Thus, Khadijah executed a plan to get her father drunk enough to accept the marriage.<ref>LIFE OF MAHOMET. Volume II. Chapter 2,WIlliam Muir, [Smith, Elder, & Co., London, 1861], pg. 24</ref>

The begginings of the Qur'an were conceived as Muhammad began to leave his wife and children to pray alone in a cave several weeks each year.<ref>Emory C. Bogle (1998), p. 6</ref><ref>John Henry Haaren, Addison B. Poland (1904), p. 83</ref> According to Islamic belief, when he was about forty years old (610 AD) he was visited by the Angel [[Gabriel]] (جبريل ''Jibreel'') and commanded to recite verses sent by Allah.<ref>Brown (2003), pp. 72–73</ref> These verses would later become what is believed to be the first part of Sura 96.<ref>Wensinck, A.J.; Rippen, A. (2002). "Waḥy". ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''. '''11''' (2nd ed.). Brill Academic Publishers. p. 54. <nowiki>ISBN 90-04-12756-9</nowiki>.</ref> This experience frightened him, and originally thinking he was possessed by a demon, he became suicidal and repeatedly attempted to jump off of a cliff. According to [[Sahih Bukhari]]<ref>...But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while and the Prophet (Mohammad) became so sad as we have heard that he intended several times to throw himself from the tops of high mountains and every time he went up the top of a mountain in order to throw himself down, Gabriel would appear before him and say, "O Muhammad! You are indeed Allah's Apostle in truth" whereupon his heart would become quiet and he would calm down and would return home. And whenever the period of the coming of the inspiration used to become long, he would do as before, but when he used to reach the top of a mountain, Gabriel would appear before him and say to him what he had said before.

Read in [[Chronological Order of the Qur'an|chronological order]] some scholars note over time the revelations change in style from a poetic to a more straight forward and aggressive form in the later years.<ref name=":1">Voices of Islam: Voices of tradition (2007)  

Vincent J. Cornell Page 77</ref> The messages of the later revelations also changed and [[Abrogation (Naskh)|abrogated]] the earlier ones. Typically from the place of the now famous '[[Forced Conversion|no compulsion verse]]' to direction of the 'verse of the sword'. These alterations followed Muhammad's place in society. What are known as the "early revelation" were recorded in Mecca while Muhammad had only a few followers. The later "Medinan verses" were revealed once Muhammad had gained more followers and became the head of the first Islamic state in [[Medina]].<ref name=":1" />  

These revelations continued until his death twenty-three years later. According to Sahih Bukhari, these divine revelations would sometimes come to him while he was having sex with his child bride, [[Aisha]].<ref>"...''He [Muhammad]went around to her and she spoke to him. He said to her, “'''Do not injure me regarding 'A'isha. The revelation does not come to me when I am in the garment of any woman except 'A'isha'''.” She said, "I repent to Allah from injuring you, Messenger of Allah.”''..." - [http://bewley.virtualave.net/bukhari20.html#gifts Sahih Bukhari 2442]</ref> Sahih Bukhari also describes how the revelations appear, describing them sometimes as the "ringing of a bell" and "sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man".<ref>Narrated 'Aisha:  

He began preaching as a prophet in Mecca, warning of a day of judgement when all humans who have rejected his claims of prophethood would burn for eternity in Hell (جهنم ''[[Jahannam (Hell)|Jahannam]]'').<ref name="EncWorldHistory">''Encyclopedia of World History'' (1998), p. 452</ref> Even during the early days of his self-proclaimed prophethood he was often accused by the Meccans of imperfectly [[Parallelism Between the Qur'an and Judeo-Christian Scriptures|plagiarising]] the "ancients' fictitious tales."<ref>"''Such things have been promised to us and to our fathers before! they are nothing but tales of the ancients!''" - {{Quran|23|83}}</ref> This accusation was often coupled with remarks stemming from Muhammad's background as an illiterate man who had come into contact with followers of the Abrahamic faiths before his proclamation of prophethood (e.g. Zaid bin 'Amr bin Nufail).<ref>"''....Allah's Apostle said that he met Zaid bin 'Amr Nufail at a place near Baldah and this had happened before Allah's Apostle received the Divine Inspiration....''" - {{Bukhari|7|67|407}}</ref> The elites in Mecca were left unimpressed by what was preached. Eventually, Muhammad delivered verses that condemned idol worship and the Meccan forefathers who engaged in polytheism.<ref>F. E. Peters (1994), p.169</ref> Muhammad's opposition in Mecca came as a reaction to his antagonism of 'idolaters'. As Muhammad's followers remained few in numbers, he revealed verses that pleased his pagan contemporaries.<ref name=":2">Then God sent down the revelation. 'By the star when it sets! Your companion has not erred or gone astray, and does not speak from mere fancy…' [Q.53:1] When he reached God's words, "Have you seen al-Lāt and al-'Uzzā and Manāt, the third, the other?' [Q.53:19-20] Satan cast upon his tongue, because of what he had pondered in himself and longed to bring to his people, 'These are the high-flying cranes and their intercession is to be hoped for.'

The Verses in the Quran 53:19-23 read:

Following the death of his (at that time) only wife Khadijah, Muhammad began to practice [[Polygamy in Islamic Law|polygamy]] and became known as a womanizer.<ref>"''....Layla’s people said, "’What a bad thing you have done! You are a self-respecting woman, but the Prophet is a womanizer. Seek an annulment from him.’ She went back to the Prophet and asked him to revoke the marriage and he complied with [her request]....''" - al Tabari vol.9 p.139</ref> After an initial protest from Aisha's father, Muhammad's best friend and companion Abu Baker,<ref>"''....The Prophet asked Abu Bakr for 'Aisha's hand in marriage. Abu Bakr said "But I am your brother."....''" - {{Bukhari|7|62|18}}</ref>  Muhammad, then in his 50s, married her at 6 years old. In Medina, he married Hafsah, daughter of Umar (who would eventually become Abu Bakr's successor). Eventually he would go on to marry (and house independently) [[List of Muhammads Wives and Concubines|a total of fifteen women]],<ref>al-Tabari vol.9 p.126-127</ref> and according to Sunni scholar Ibn al-Qayyim, [[List of Muhammads Wives and Concubines|owned numerous concubines]], including his Coptic [[Slavery|slave]], Mariyah.<ref>Mohammed had many male and female slaves. He used to buy and sell them, but he purchased more slaves than he sold, '''especially after God empowered him by His message''', as well as after his immigration from Mecca. '''He once sold one black slave for two'''. His name was Jacob al-Mudbir. His purchases of slaves were more than he sold. He was used to renting out and hiring many slaves, but he hired more slaves than he rented out.

|Due to growing animosity between the pagan and Muslim Meccans, Muhammad and his followers flee to Medina, marking the beginning of the Hijra era of the Islamic lunar calender, and also paving the way for Muhammad's metamorphosis from a preacher to a political and military leader.

|Muhammad and the Muslims besiege the Khaybar oasis. The combatants killed, and the women and children allotted as booty. The Jewish leader, Kinana, is tortured and beheaded, and his young widow, Safiyah, is taken by Muhammad for himself. ([[Safiyah|''read more'']])

|Muhammad's last days are spent with Aisha in her house, where he continues to issue orders and curse the Christians and Jews.<ref>"''....Then he [Muhammad] ordered them to do three things. He said, "Turn the pagans out of the 'Arabian Peninsula; respect and give gifts to the foreign delegations as you have seen me dealing with them." (Said bin Jubair, the sub-narrator said that Ibn Abbas kept quiet as rewards the third order, or he said, "I forgot it.")''" - {{Bukhari|5|59|716}}</ref><ref>"''Narrated 'Aisha and Ibn 'Abbas: On his death-bed Allah's Apostle put a sheet over his-face and when he felt hot, he would remove it from his face. When in that state (of putting and removing the sheet) he said, "May Allah's Curse be on the Jews and the Christians for they build places of worship at the graves of their prophets." (By that) he intended to warn (the Muslim) from what they (i.e. Jews and Christians) had done.''" - {{Bukhari|4|56|660}}</ref> Slumped against her bosom,<ref>"...'''Aisha added: He died on the day of my usual turn at my house. Allah took him unto Him while his head was between my chest and my neck and his saliva was mixed with my saliva''..." - {{Bukhari|7|62|144}}</ref> he finally dies on the 8^th of July. Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin) reports that Muhammad's penis was erect after his death.<ref>"''....Abulfeda mentions the exclamation of Ali, who washed his body after his death, "O prophet, thy penis is erect unto the sky!" (in Vit. Mohammed. p. 140).....''" - Edward Gibbon, [{{Reference archive|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20070417133412/http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/HTML.php?recordID=0214.09|2=2012-12-10}} "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"], Vol. 9  Footnote 175</ref> ([[Muhammad's Death|''read more'']])