Life of Muhammad

"The life begins with a tale of Muhammad's miraculous birth, reminiscent of the story of the birth of Jesus in the Gospel." (Muhammad Ibn Ishaq 130)

On the other hand, the heroic ideal of Islam, Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca in the year 570 C.E., at the time when teachings of Jesus Christ were not yet fully established in Europe. The birth of Muhammad was different when compared to that of Jesus. Jesus was born to a virgin, and he was known to be a son of God even before he was born, while Muhammad's birth was not a big deal, but he was recognized as a prophet after he started getting the visions from Angel Gabriel in his forties. Muhammad was a member of the Hashim clan of the powerful Qurayshi tribe. Because Muhammad's father, Abd Allah, died before he was born and his mother, Amina, when he was 6 years old, his uncle, Abu Talib, raised him. In his childhood, he was a shepherd, just as all the Prophets of God once were. As Muhammad grew up, he became a merchant, and was called as the 'Amin'. The word Amin means honest, generous, sincere, reliable, and trustworthy. His reputation and personal qualities also led to his marriage, at the age of twenty-five, to Khadijah, a widow whom he had assisted in business. Thenceforth, he became an important and trusted citizen of Mecca. Historians say though he was an illiterate he was wise and well-respected person and describes him as calm and meditative

"About 595 he married Khadijah, a rich widow who tested him by having him lead her trading caravan to Syria before proposing marriage to him." (Muhammad Ibn Ishaq 98)

Muhammad was so lonely that he never felt fully content to be a part of the society. He felt that these society values to be devoid of true religions significance. Having feeling so lonely it became his habit to meditate in the cave of Hira', near Mecca. One day, at the age of forty, while he was engaged in one such meditative retreat, Muhammad received his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel. This revelation then continued for twenty-three years and in this twenty-three years he was described the whole Qur'an, the faithful recording of the entire revelation of God, by the Angel. The most shocking think was Muhammad was able to write the whole Qur'an even though he was illiterate. The first revelation read:

"Recite in the name of your Lord who created - created man from

clots of blood.

Recite! Your Lord is the Most Beautiful One, Who by the pen

taught man what he did not know." (Sura 96:1-5)

His first follower was his wife