The Islamic Prophet Muhammad

THE RISE OF ISLAM AND CALIPHATES HIST 1301 | History The Islamic Prophet Muhammad Muhammad was a trader from a well-known Arab tribe in the Hijaz region by the name of Quraysh, according to Muslim history. He was born in Mecca and spent his early years working in the trade that travelled through the city, which was a centre that had developed into a waystation and a favourable location for conducting business. Because its members were guardians of the holy Kaaba, which by this time, we are informed, had turned into a place of idol worship and a hub for Arab polytheism, the tribe of Quraysh dominated leadership and commerce in the area. Luxury commodities were vulnerable to raids along trade routes, so trading over long distances may be dangerous. However, the Kaaba had developed into a sanctuary where fighting was forbidden, giving it a secure location to do business. Being the custodians of this significant sanctuary, the Quraysh felt a great deal of responsibility to preserve its social function. Muslims believe that in 610, after travelling to a cave in Mecca for reflection, Muhammad, who was middle-aged, had a divine encounter with God via the angel Gabriel, also known as Jabrīl in Arabic. Muhammad was given the task of reciting the initial revelations from a text that would later become the Quran, the sacred book of Muslims. He was astounded and taken aback by what he had encountered when he got home. Being a prosperous and well-traveled trader in the area, he stood to lose a great deal by joining a religious mission with an unusual message. One reason was that a new faith would upset the power dynamics within his Arab clan since it would outwardly reject the financial rewards associated with the Kaaba and the polytheism many in the society practiced. But Muhammad effectively gave up a prosperous and happy life as a trader to follow his conviction that God had commanded him to become a preacher and strive towards sparing his family's and friends' souls from an impending day of judgement. The question of who became a Muslim after hearing Muhammad's teaching has been hotly debated throughout history, although among Muslim sources, there is unanimity over who became the first Muslim convert—that being Muhammad's first wife Khadija. Khadija, a prosperous trader in her own right who had improved Muhammad's status in her community by marrying him and integrating him into her caravan enterprise, would have lost a great deal by endorsing the new faith. “Khadija believed in him and accepted as true what he brought from God, helping him in his work,” said Ibn Ishaq, the oldest biographer of Muhammad, citing the essential support she gave him. “Through her, God lightened the burden of his prophet.” Even though many of Muhammad's close friends and family members converted to Islam soon after the revelations started and persisted, his prophetic career—particularly the first twelve years— was difficult. His proclamation of monotheism provoked opposition and disturbed the political balance of power. His success as a preacher was largely due to the support of his family, particularly his wives, with Khadija's leadership being especially important. She is credited for persuading Muhammad to trust and accept his new calling at a time when he was beginning to doubt that the revelations were real and that he could be insane. Muhammad's followers escaped oppression and growing hostilities by the polytheist Meccans in 622, the twelfth year of his prophecy. They received an invitation to join another Arab settlement in Yathrib, which subsequently became known as Medina, also referred to as "the city" or more precisely as "the prophet's city." They were welcomed there together with other Arab tribes, some of which were Jewish. This "emigration," or hijra, was a turning point in Muhammad's early society. Islam now transformed from a little faith mostly restricted to Mecca to a bigger community unified by Muhammad that cemented its position in world history, even though it was at a low point and had no guarantee of survival. The Islamic lunar calendar considers 622 CE to be the first year of the hijra because of its significance in Islamic history. (Dates in the Muslim calendar, which is still widely used today, are frequently denoted in English by the acronym AH, which stands for "After the Hijra.").