Muhammad This article is about the Islamic prophet. For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad (name). For other uses, see Muhammad (disambiguation). Islamic Prophet Muhammad Common calligraphic representation of Muhammads name Born Muḥammad ibn `Abd Allāh c. 570 Mecca, Makkah, Arabia (present-day Saudi Arabia) Died 8 June 632 (aged 62 or 63) Medina, Hejaz, Arabia (present-day Saudi Arabia) Resting place Tomb under the Green Dome of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi at Medina, Hejaz, present-day Saudi Arabia Other names Abu al-Qasim (Kunya), Also see Names of Muhammad EthnicityArab,Quraysh Religion Islam Spouse(s) Wives: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (595–619) Sawda bint Zamʿa (619–632) Aisha bint Abi Bakr (619–632) Hafsa bint Umar (624–632) Zaynab bint Khuzayma (625– 627) Hind bint Abi Umayya (629– 632) Zaynab bint Jahsh (627–632) Juwayriya bint al-Harith (628– 632) Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan (628– 632) Rayhana bint Zayd (629–631) Safiyya bint Huyayy (629–632) Maymuna bint al-Harith (630– 632) Maria al-Qibtiyya (630–632) Children Sons: al-Qasim, `Abd-Allah, Ibrahim Daughters: Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthoom, Fatimah Zahra Parents Father: `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al- Muttalib Mother: Aminah Relatives Ahl al-Bayt Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al- Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim (Arabic: ﺐﻠﻄﻤﻟﺍ ﺪﺒﻋ ﻦﺑ ﻪﻠﻟﺍ ﺪﺒﻋ ﻦﺑ ﺪﻤﺤﻣ; c. 570 – c. 8 June 632),[1] also transliterated as Muhammad (Arabic: ﺪﻤﺤﻣ), was a religious, political, and military leader[2] [3][4] from Mecca who unified Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Baháís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muhammad is almost universally considered by Muslims as the last prophet sent by God for mankind.[5][n 1] While non-Muslims regard Muhammad to have been the founder of Islam,[6] Muslims consider him to have been the restorer of an unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.[7][8][9][10] Born in about 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca,[11][12] Muhammad was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. [13] Being in the habit of periodically retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for several nights of seclusion and prayer, he later reported that it was there, at age 40,[11] [14] that he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that God is One, that complete surrender to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn)[n 2] acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.[15][16][17] Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes . To escape persecution, Muhammad sent some of his followers to Abyssinia before he and his followers in Mecca migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, which is also known as the Hijri Calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina. After eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to 10,000, took control of Mecca in the largely peaceful Conquest of Mecca. He destroyed the pagan idols in the city[18] and then sent his followers out to destroy all of the remaining pagan temples in Eastern Arabia.[19][20] In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from The Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam, and he had united Arabia into a single Muslim religious polity.[21][22] The revelations (or Ayah, lit. Signs [of God]) — which Muhammad reported receiving until his death – form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the Word of God and around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammads life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims as the sources of sharia law. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.[23] While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern history have been far less so.[17][24] Names and appellations in the Quran The name Muhammad written in Thuluth, a script variety of Islamic calligraphy. The name Muhammad means Praiseworthy and occurs four times in the Quran.[25] The Quran addresses Muhammad in the second person not by his name but by the appellations prophet, messenger, servant of God (abd), announcer (bashir) [Quran 2:119], witness (shahid), [Quran 33:45] bearer of good tidings (mubashshir), warner (nathir),[Quran 11:2] reminder (mudhakkir),[Quran 88:21] one who calls [unto God] (dā‘ī), [Quran 12:108] light personified (noor)[Quran 05:15], and the light-giving lamp (siraj munir) [Quran 73:1]. Muhammad is sometimes addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address: thus he is referred to as the enwrapped (al-muzzammil) in Quran 73:1 and the shrouded (al-muddaththir) in Quran 74:1. [26] In the Quran, believers are not to distinguish between the messengers of God and are to believe in all of them (Sura Al- Baqara 2:285). God has caused some messengers to excel above others 2:253 and in Sura Al-Ahzab 33:40 He singles out Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets.[27] The Quran also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad more praiseworthy (Arabic: ﺪﻤﺣﺃ, Sura As-Saff 61:6). Sources for Muhammads life Main articles: Historiography of early Islam and Historicity of Muhammad Quran A folio from an early Quran, written in Kufic script (Abbasid period, 8th–9th century). The Quran is the central religious text of Islam and Muslims believe that it represents the words of God revealed to Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel.[28][29] [30] Although it mentions Muhammad directly only four times,[31] there are verses which can be interpreted as allusions to Muhammads life. [17][n 3] The Quran however provides little assistance for a chronological biography of Muhammad, and many of the utterances recorded in it lack historical context.[32][33] Early biographies Main article: Prophetic biography Next in importance are historical works by writers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Muslim era (AH – 8th and 9th century CE).[34] These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad (the sira literature), which provide further information on Muhammads life.[35] The earliest surviving written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Ibn Ishaqs Life of Gods Messenger written c. 767 CE (150 AH). The work is lost, but was used verbatim at great length by Ibn Hisham and Al- Tabari.[36][37] Another early source is the history of Muhammads campaigns by al-Waqidi (death 207 of Muslim era), and the work of his secretary Ibn Sad al-Baghdadi (death 230 of Muslim era).[34] Many scholars accept the accuracy of the earliest biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable.[36] Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. In the former sphere, traditions could have been subject to invention while in the latter sphere, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been only subject to tendential shaping.[38] Hadith Main article: Hadith In addition, the hadith collections are accounts of the verbal and physical traditions of Muhammad that date from several generations after his death.[39] Western academics view the hadith collections with caution as accurate historical sources. [39] Scholars such as Madelung do not reject the narrations which have been compiled in later periods, but judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.[40] Pre-Islamic Arabia Main tribes and settlements of Arabia in Muhammads lifetime Main articles: Pre-Islamic Arabia, Jahiliyyah, and Arabian mythology The Arabian Peninsula was largely arid and volcanic, making agriculture difficult except near oases or springs. The landscape was thus dotted with towns and cities, two prominent ones being Mecca and Medina. Medina was a large flourishing agricultural settlement, while Mecca was an important financial center for many surrounding tribes.[41] Communal life was essential for survival in the desert conditions, as people needed support against the harsh environment and lifestyle. Tribal grouping was encouraged by the need to act as a unit, this unity being based on the bond of kinship by blood.[42] Indigenous Arabs were either nomadic or sedentary, the former constantly travelling from one place to another seeking water and pasture for their flocks, while the latter settled and focused on trade and agriculture. Nomadic survival was also dependent on raiding caravans or oases, the nomads not viewing this as a crime.[43] [44] Politically Arabia at the time was divided between two tribal confederations, the Banu Qais, loosely allied with Byzantium and who were originally powerful in Northern and Western Arabia, and the Banu Kalb, who had originally come from Yemen, and were loosely allied with Sassanid Persia. These rivalries were suppressed by Islam but continued to influence events in the Middle East and North Africa in post- Islamic times. In pre-Islamic Arabia, gods or goddesses were viewed as protectors of individual tribes, their spirits being associated with sacred trees, stones, springs and wells. As well as being the site of an annual pilgrimage, the Kaaba shrine in Mecca housed 360 idol statues of tribal patron deities. Three goddesses were associated with Allah as his daughters: Allāt, Manāt and al-‘Uzzá. Monotheistic communities existed in Arabia, including Christians and Jews.[45] Hanifs – native pre-Islamic Arabs who professed a rigid monotheism[46] – are also sometimes listed alongside Jews and Christians in pre- Islamic Arabia, although their historicity is disputed amongst scholars.[47][48] According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself was a Hanif and one of the descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham.[49] Life Life in Mecca Timeli ne of Muha mmad in Mecca Impor tant dates and locati ons in the life of Muha mmad c. 569 Death of his father , Abdull ah c. 570 Possib le date of birth: April 19 570 dC, 12 Rabi al Awal: in Mecca Saudi Arabia 576 Death of his moth er, Amina h 578 Death of his grand father Abdul Muttal ib c. 583 Takes tradin g journe ys to Syria c. 595 Meets and marri es Khadij ah 597 Birth of Zaina b, his first daugh ter, follow ed by: Ruqay yah, Umm Khulto om, and Fatim a Zahra 610 Qur anic revela tion begin s in the Cave of Hira on the Jabaal an Nur the Mount ain of Light near Mecca 610 Proph ethoo d begin s at 40 years old: Angel Jebree l ( Gabri el) appea rs to him on the moun tain and calls him: The Proph et of Allah 610 Begin s in secret to gathe r follow ers in Mecca c. 613 Begin s sprea ding messa ge of Islam publicl y to all Mecca ns c. 614 Heavy persec ution of musli ms begin s c. 615 Emigr ation of a group of Musli ms to Ethiop ia 616 Banu Hashi m clan boyco tt begin s 619 The year of sorro ws: Khadij a (his wife) and Abu Talib (his uncle) die 619 Banu Hashi m clan boyco tt ends c. 620 Isra and Miraj (the ascent ion to heave n to meet God) 622 Emigr ates to Medin a (called Yathri b): Emigr ation know n as Hijra 624 Battle of Badr 625 Battle of Uhud 627 Battle of the Trenc h (also know n as the siege of Medin a) 628 The Mecca n tribe of Quray sh and the Musli m comm unity in Medin a signe d a 10 year truce called the Treaty of Huday biyya h 629 Conqu est of Mecca 632 Farew ell pilgri mage and the death of the Proph et Muha mmad This box: vie w tal k ed it Main article: Muhammad in Mecca Muhammad was born in Mecca and lived there for roughly the first 52 years of his life (c. 570– 622). This period is generally divided into two phases, before and after declaring the prophecy. Childhood and early life See also: Mawlid and Family tree of Muhammad Muhammad was born about the year 570[11] and his birthday is believed to be in the month of Rabi al-awwal.[50] He belonged to the Banu Hashim clan, one of the prominent families of Mecca, although it seems not to have been prosperous during Muhammads early lifetime.[17] [51] The Banu Hashim clan was part of the Quraysh tribe. Tradition places the year of Muhammads birth as corresponding with the Year of the Elephant, which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite king Abraha who had in his army a number of elephants. 20th-century scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as 568 or 569. [52]
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