The Role of Muhammad (s)

Category: Faith & Spirituality, Life & Society, Nature & Science Views: 42689
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(Excerpted from the book "Islam" - An academic analysis of the life of the Prophet of Islam by Caesar E. Farah. Prof. Farah teaches History at the University of Minnesota and earned his Ph.D from Princeton in 1956.)

HISTORY RELATES OF MEN who distinguished themselves by deeds and left permanent imprints on their societies; of prophets who delivered the message of the true God to their peoples; of statesmen who distinguished themselves in the service of their nations; of authors who left monumental additions to the literary wealth of mankind; of conquerors who led their followers to victories, wealth, and renown; and of those who by force of personality or unusual calling succeeded in transforming values or completely revamping the societies into which they were born.

Muhammad , the prophet of Arabia, has fulfilled for his people a role that combines the functions - of a distinguished prophet, statesman, author, and reformer. He has earned for himself as a consequence the respect and reverence of countless people, Muslim and non-Muslim everywhere.

By vocation Muhammad was a prophet in the true Biblical sense with a message for his people, a message anchored in religious belief but aiming at the realization of fundamental social, economic, and political reform. The religion he founded was hampered by no wrangling creed or barrier to man's relations with God or to his fellow man. He succeeded, both as prophet and as reformer. The fact that Muhammad's mission was accomplished in his lifetime is a living testimony "to his distinctive superiority over the prophets, sages, and philosophers of other times and countries." 1

While our knowledge of men who filled similar roles from Moses to Zoroaster to Jesus is shrouded with legend, often incomplete and frequently colored, and while the accounts of Muhammad's life and deeds contain their share of incompleteness and coloring, the fact remains that he was the first to live and preach in the full light of history. We have more information relating to his career than we have of his predecessors. His life by and large is not wrapped in mystery, and few tales have been woven around his personality.2

For the biography of Muhammad we are dependent on the work of ibn-Ishaq (d. 767) as preserved in the recension of ibn-Hisham (d. 834). Ibn-Sa'd, a historian of the ninth century, compiled an encyclopedic work on the Prophet and his followers which contains valuable information on the life and preachings of Muhammad . But no source or work can yield more dependable information on the genius of Muhammad or provide a greater insight into his personality and accomplishments than the Qur'an, the sacred book of Islam.

While the Qur'an in Islamic theology - conveys strictly the word of God, it remains in respect to the message contained therein a true mirror of Muhammad's character and his accomplishments. Complementary information is obtainable also in the sayings and deeds of the Prophet that have been amassed in voluminous quantities but carefully scrutinized by scholars of the early Islamic centuries. These non-canonical texts, which contain eye-witness accounts of Muhammad , fall under the category of hadith (utterances) and sunnah (observed conduct).

The life and preachings of Muhammad are in marked contrast with what Arabian society had ordained for his fellow Meccans. The established facts of his life have been subjected to much less variance of interpretation than those of preceding prophets. This is due to the circumspection of available sources.

He was born about 571 A.D., the posthumous son of 'Abdullah and Aminah. On his father's side he descended from the impoverished house of Hashim, adjudged by the Quraysh the noblest of the dominant aristocracy; on his mother's, from the Najjar branch of Khazraj, a major tribe of Yathrib, his adoptive city. His grandfather, 'Abd-al-Muttalib, formerly the custodian of the Kacbah and one time the virtual head of the Meccan commonwealth, took charge of his upbringing upon the death of his mother when Muhammad was only six years old. When the grandfather died, the care of the child was entrusted to his paternal uncle Abu-Talib.

Most of his youth was evidently uneventful as the lack of biographical information on Muhammad's early life suggests. The most important landmark in his youth prior to the prophetic call is his marriage to Khadijah, a wealthy Qurayshite widow who was impressed by Muhammad's personality and virtues when he served as a factor in her caravan trade with Syria. He was twenty-five at the time and she fifteen years his senior. The marriage lasted over fifteen years. During this period Muhammad would have no additional woman for a wife, an unusual disposition for the times when polygamy was widely practiced by his fellow Arabs. Yet these were the years that afforded him the happiness which escaped him, as an orphaned youth.

Khadijah bore him two sons, who died in infancy, and four daughters. Two of the daughters married the future third and fourth caliphs of Islam. His daughter Fatimah married his first cousin 'Ali, the son of Abu-Talib, whom he had taken under his wing and raised as an act of gratitude when Abu-Talib, Muhammad's uncle, died.

The mission of Muhammad began after a careful period of soul-searching and spiritual reassessment lasting over fifteen years. When the call to prophecy came at last, there was no turning back. He hesitated but he did not fail to respond.

Muhammad was a mature man of forty when he received the first revelation. It came to him as he was contemplating in a cave on Mt. Hira', above Mecca, to which he habitually withdrew. The injustices permeating all levels of Meccan society in his days undoubtedly weighed heavily on his mind and caused him much anguish. The wealthy lorded it over the poor; the helpless were at the mercy of the strong; greed and selfishness ruled the day; infanticide was widely practiced by Bedouins who lacked adequate means of sustenance, and there were numerous other evils prevailing on all levels of Arabian society that had the effect of widening the gulf between the privileged aristocracy and the deprived multitudes of Mecca. With such considerations preying on his mind, Muhammad found himself confronted by a twofold crisis: spiritual and social.

In his early life he had understood only too well what poverty accompanied by orphanage meant. Now he had time to do something about both. It is important to note here that Muhammad's preaching of monotheism and of social reform went hand in hand. Indeed, no other message is so thoroughly underscored in the revelations received from Allah with so much stress on equal treatment and social justice. To Muhammad these constituted a vital concomitant of worship. The revelations of the one and only God enjoin consistently the exercise of mercy and benevolence as the necessary adjuncts of belief in Him.

This dual role of Muhammad as preacher and reformer is largely evident in his life and career. What he sought was the cohesion of Arabian society through uniform beliefs and a unified faith. He knew this could be accomplished only through the worship of the one God alone and through laws authorized by the sanctity of divine command. With such laws Muhammad would bind the hitherto scattered ends of Arabia.

He preached belief in the one God, God of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and the brotherhood of all Arabs in Islam, or "submission" to God.

To preach such a radical message in Arabia at this time was to be truly daring and, judging by the standards of the day, it was an undertaking fraught with risks and formidable obstacles. Muhammad himself was overwhelmed when he awakened to the awesome realities of the task he was being charged with. "No incipient prophet," said Edward Gibbon, "ever passed through so severe an ordeal as Muhammad." Indeed, as the commandments of Allah became increasingly manifest in the revelations that were descending upon him, Muhammad undertook to show that the whole organization and institutional beliefs of pagan Arabia were not in conformity with the divine will. The voice of Muhammad amidst the strong chorus of opposition was indeed a lone voice. Yet he persistently challenged the moral and social norms governing Arabia, and particularly the values and institutional practices of Mecca, the hub of Arabia, under the powerful leadership of the Qurayshite oligarchy.


1. Frants Buhl, op. cit.

2. For a detailed account based on original sources of the known facts of his life consult Sir Wm. Muir, The Life of Mohammad ( Edinburgh: John Grant, 1923), pp. 13 seq.


 
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Older Comments:
KHAN FROM US said:
Allah-swt is known as "RabbulAalameen"Lord of ALL WORLDS.

Prophet Muhammad is Known as "RahmatulAalameen"i.e., Mercy to all
WOrlds i.e.,. sent for ALL HUMANITY.

Prophet Muhammad reinforced Islam just like Moses and Jesus. Islam
was there since Adam.

Islam is Total Submission to the Will of One God (All Prophets did this
and Preached)
2014-12-01

TALHA FROM INDIA said:
salamalaikum,
Why do you recommend William Muir's Biography on Prophet SAWS for
further reading at the end of the article. These orientalists were
biased and are the reason for negative western attitude towards Islam
and gave birth to Salman Rushdies of today. Alhamdulillah so many
Seerat Book are now available by acclaimed Muslim authors in English
that provide all the information that one needs.
2014-11-27

BABANDI A. GUMEL FROM U.K. said:
My Dear Kris Macpherson there is nothing more honourable than knowledge.It is said the Kings are rulers over the masses while the true Ulama knowlegeable people are rulers over the Kings.The
Prophet although he was like a King but had no concern whatsover with this Duniya his Fikr was about the Hereafter attracting people like you and me and all others who have desire to learn as his brothers saying I wished to see my brothers.
Who are your brothers asked the Companions are we not your brothers they asked? No you are my companions,My brothers are those who were yet to come but loved me and wished to see me at all cost. It is said an Alim and Woshipper would be resurrected.It will be said to the woshipper Enter Paradise and would be said to the Alim wait so that you may intercede for the people.They wish to extinguish the light of Allah but Allah by His Grace and Might would go with His Light.Such was the Prophet and the true Deen which he brought which has overtaken all other Adiniyah as prophesised and confirmed by the leaders of Catholics.May Allah give us taufiq to continue to cling to this True Deen until we breath our last and meet our Creator Allah and His Prophet and all the other Prophets and their Companions which is the object of our lives.One of our Great Scholars Hassan Basri said a true jurist is he who abstains from this world who is desirous of the Hereafter who is insightful in matters of Deen who is constant in the worship of his Sustainer,who is pious who abstains from dishouring others and shuns their wealth and advises them sincerely. SO Deen is Nasisah which we continue to do.Those whom Allah wishes to give guidance would give them and would never go astray.Others who desire misguidance would go the wrong direction.So we should pray Allah to give us istiqamah which is better than Karamah.Once more jazakallah May Allah continue to elevate us and the entire Ummah in this Duniyah and the Hereafter which is our quest Amen.
2008-04-01

CHRIS FROM US said:
Salaaam, thank you, Islamicity, for publishing this article as well as the others over the past few days about the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him). It has increased my faith and I will try very hard to live my life according to our Holy Prophet's (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) teaching.
2008-03-30

IMRAN FROM US said:
Re: While our knowledge of men who filled similar roles from Moses to Zoroaster to Jesus is shrouded with legend

I was trying to read and understand the article and then came across the above sentence.......

Can you imagine putting Zoroaster in the company of ALLAH's Prophet's Moses and Jesus?

I'm not sure why we need to draw such comparisons. As Muslims have we not been told to avoid getting too much into micro analysis of our religion?

2008-03-29

KRIS MACPHERSON FROM MALAYSIA said:
Assalamualaikum,

Brother Babandi A.Gumel, There were times when I read some of your post, I couldn't help but be touched by the manner in which you write. As well as knowledgable, your have a flair of putting words which makes the readers imagine the times that you were referring to. Anyway Brother, I sometimes told my kids, hey ! When when you visit IslamiCity, look for our Brother from Nigeria, and tell me what you have learnt from him today.

Your recent post about our beloved Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w ) is also very enlightening.

Look at today's world Brother. Despite attempts to incite " fitnah " to our Prophet ( pbuh ) Muslims continue to adore , love him and to zealously protect his name and image as the Beloved Messenger of Allah. The latest futile attempt is, as we know, the Danish film entitled " Fitna ".

We loved our last Prophet ( pbuh ) and we hope for his " syafaat " in the Day of Judgment. And for those who smeared him, let ALLAH accordingly deal with them either in this world or the Here after. Let us continue to try to emulate the ways of the Prophet ( pbuh ) in it's principles, in any way we can, may that by doing so, we bring ourselves closer to ALLAH.

Keep writing Brother. May ALLAH Bless you always.

Jazakullah khaira'n kathira.

2008-03-29

BABANDI A, GUMEL FROM U.K said:
The Prophet fulfilled the role expected of him as the Universal role model for the whole humanity.In brief he was stateman as Head of State,Commander in Chief as Army General,Chief Justice,the Imam, Scholar teacher,role model scientist,astraunaut Student, Dai (Preacher) husband, neighbour,Muttaqi Doctor spiritual as well as physical living as ordinary citizen without necessarily showing off as Head of State,the brave,best character,the patient and tolerent,forgiving like Joseph,rich without necessary material wealth or support at the same time poor as he exhibited practically,servant of Allah without exaggeration.He was best Abid who used to worship Allah and best of Ummah who used to enjoin good and forbid evil.He forbade immorality and never engaged in immoral things he was so shy at the same time did not fear anybody except Allah the Creator.He was and is the leader of the entire humanity in both worlds his name is the commonest name found on the surface of the earth.
He is one of the best human beings if not even the most respected ever created by Allah whose name is being mentioned adored and celebrated by millions of people throughout the World all the time.He is the Universal Prophet Role Model whose character cannot be tainted despite the hatred by the his enemies.He is well respected whether you like him or not it does not make any difference or matters.His Sunnah is being obeyed and followed as well as respected by over one billion people throughout this small earth created by HIs Lord Allah,He is Muhammadur Rasulullah the Prophet of Allah who is loved and respected by all Muslims and all the objective non Muslims.The more they hate him the more he is liked by all of us and we are proud of him irrespective which ever language creed or colour we are all united in extolling his praise.May Allah continue to shower His Permanent Bliss on this Unlettered Prophet sent and all the Prophets before him and all those pius muttaqis till the Day of Resurrection.
2008-03-28

IDRIS BANKSTON FROM USA said:
As salaamu alaikum!
We as muslims should try to be muhammad-like.
Peace and Blessings,
Idris
2007-03-30