This week is an important week. What is the importance of this week? This week we celebrate the holy birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Who is Prophet Muhammad? What is his message? What did Prophet Muhammad tell mankind? How much do we know about his life and his message.
We have a great respect and love towards Prophet Muhammad. When we mention his name, we always praise him. We believe that Muhammad is the last Messenger. But loving a person is not enough. We must know his life and we must learn about his words and actions. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is a model for all muslims. His life explains Qur’an, the holy book. Prophet Muhammad is a mercy to all mankind. So, who is Prophet Muhammad? Let’s know him more closely.
Muhammad (PBUH) was born in Macca. His father died before he was born. His mother Amina passed away when he was only six years old. His grandfather Abdulmuttalib took a good care of the little orphan. But soon his grandfather also died. Prophet Muhammad was alone in the world. His uncle Ebu Talip looked after him after the death of his grandfather. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was very different from his peers. He never worshipped the idols. He never cheated or told a lie. He had a perfect character.
When he grew up, everybody knew his quality and good manners. Muhammad was an honest person. Everybody trusted him in Macca. The people of Macca called him Muhammad the trustworthy. When Muhammad was 25 years old, he married with a wealthy woman called Hatice. Hatice was forty years old that time. Muhammad was working for Hatice’s trade caravans and Hatice admired Muhammad’s kindness, truthfulness and honesty.
Muhammad (PBUH) was around forty years old. But he was often very thoughtful. His society was in darkness and ignorance. The men hated daughters. Some men burried their baby daughters alive. Because having a daughter was something shameful. The people worshipped the idols. The idols were made of stone and wood. Muhammad was surprised. Why did the people worship stones and woods? These idols coudn’t hear or speak. The rich men oppressed the poor men. The strong crushed the weak. The people were usually rude and cruel. There was a big corruption in the society. At this age, Muhammad wanted to be far away from his people. He didn’t like the actions of his people. He would go to a cave called Hira and he would stay in this cave for days and nights.
One day while he was in the cave on Mount Hira, the Archangel Gabriel appeared in the sky and told him he was a prophet. The Archangel Gabriel asked Muhammad to read the first verses of the holy Qur’an but Muhammad said he was unlettered. Yes, Allah chose him as a prophet when he was 40 years old. Muhammad was shocked. He directly went to his wife Hatice and he told her to cover him with a blanket.
Hatice immediately became a muslim when she listened to his story and the first verses of the Qur’an. Ali, the son of his uncle and some of his friends like Ebubekir became muslims as well. Muhammad told his people about Islam secretly for three years. When Omar became a muslim, they started preaching Islam openly. Thus, the difficult years started.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) called the people to believe in only one God. He told the people not to take any partners unto God. He invited the people to goodness, truthfulness, knowledge, equality and all the good manners. The polytheists of Macca didn’t like his message. Because Macca was a center of pilgrimage and trade. In Ka’ba there were more than 300 idols and every year many associators came to visit Ka’ba from different corners of the world. The outstanding families of Macca were earning money from polytheism, so they didn’t accept Prophet Muhammad’s message. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said all the people were equal, but the rich and noble families of Macca made fun of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Because they didn’t want to lose their priviledges.
More people followed Prophet Muhammad, mostly weak and the poor. The leaders of Macca tortured the new believers. They were afraid of Prophet Muhammad’s message. They applied an embargo against muslims. They wouldn’t do any business with muslims. The new muslims were weak, poor and hungry. Some muslims immigrated to Abyssinia. There was a just king in that country. So, muslims would practice their religion in freedom. In the meantime, Prophet Muhammad first lost his wife Hatice who was his biggest helper and then Ebu Talip, his uncle. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was looking for a way out. He went to Taif to preach Islam, but he was rediculed and stoned. Those days some people came from Madina and they accepted Islam. One year later the number of new muslims has increased in Madina and they invited Prophet Muhammad to Madina. However, the polytheists of Macca were determined to kill Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
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Filed under: Spiritual Stories, Turgay Evren the Storyteller, Turgay Evren's articles | Tagged: Prophet Mohammad, The Life of Prophet Muhammad, The Messenger of Allah | Leave a comment »
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