The Life of Muhammad

The Quarish and Hanifs were two tribes living in and around Mecca. The Quarish were the most important, living in and around the region of Mecca. They were merchants who organised and protected the traders that came to Mecca. The Quarish had control of the Ka’bah and also to the water supply of Mecca. The Ka’bah is a cubed shaped temple, said to be first made by Adam, the first man on Earth, and therefore was the first house of God on Earth. Having made profit from the traders, the Quarish also made profit by supervising provisions for the many thousands of pilgrims that came to see and worship the idols at the Ka’bah.

The Hanifs were honourable tribesmen, who would go off alone to pray in the silence of the mountains or the desert. The Hanifs were not pleased by the way the Quarish became selfish, greedy and corrupted by the vast amounts of money coming to them due to the huge amounts of visitors that came to see the Ka’bah. One famous Hanif was Abd-al-Muttalib, who was respected for his devout fasting and praying. In 570 CE his son, Abdullah, suddenly died, shortly after marrying his young wife Aminah, leaving her pregnant. Her child, who was to change the whole history of the world, was known as Muhammad.  

There were many legends about Muhammad. One was about his mother hearing voices telling here that Muhammad would be a great leader. Another was that there was a heavy rain, which would be a blessing that would end the drought. Another of these legends was that 2 angels removed Muhammad’s heart, washed it, and weighed it against one man, then 10 men, then a hundred, and finally, 1000 men’s hearts, but Muhammad’s heart was heavier than all the hearts put together. Muhammad insisted that these rumours were untrue, and that he did not have miraculous powers, but it was Jesus the prophet that did have miraculous powers. He said that just a simple man, devout to God, and Allah had simply just chosen to speak through him.

When Muhammad was a baby, he was taken into the desert and brought up to the age of 6 by a Bedouin woman, Halimah. This was done because the air in the desert was purer, so he was a lot less likely to get disease at an early age. At 6 years old, Mohammad returned to his mother. His mother, however, died that very year, making Mohammad an orphan. Mohammad was then looked after by his grandfather, Adb-al-Muttalib, who was 80 years old. Two years after this, Mohammad’s grandfather died, and he was left under the care of his uncle, Abu Talib, who was a rich merchant.

Muhammad first worked as a shepherd, and as time passed by, Mohammad’s uncle realised that Mohammad was a trustworthy and hardworking, so Mohammad was taken on business journeys with his uncle. During this time, Mohammad earned the nickname, al-Amin, which mean Trustworthy.

Muhammad was thought of as a fine young man, with dark hair and eyes, with a piercing expression and thoughtful and intelligent face. He was a kind man with a good sense of humour.  

Khadijah was a wealthy widow aged 40. She employed Mohammad to supervise her camel trade. She later gathered the courage to ask Mohammad to marry her, who has only 25 at the time. Mohammad accepted the marriage proposal, and for 25 years he loved her, until her death at the age of 65. She stood by him in all his trials and persecutions. Even after her death, she remained close to her in his mind. In all, they had 6 children. They had 4 daughters- Zainab, Ruqaiyyah, Umm Kulthym and Fatimah. They also had two sons- Quasim and Abdullah, who both died in infancy.

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When Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib, was in hard times, Mohammad repaid the kindness his uncle showed his by looking after his uncle’s son, Ali.  

Zaid ibn Haritha was another child in the house, who was a slave boy given to Khadijah as a present. One day, Zaid’s father, who had been searching for him for years, found him. He offered to buy him back. Zaid was asked what he wished to do, and he chose to stay with Mohammad. Mohammad was very moved my Zaid’s decision, and he freed him instantly, and raised Zaid as his own son. ...

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