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Biography: MuhammadMuhammad was born in Mecca about
A.D. 570 into the Quraish tribe. Because his father died
before he was born and his mother passed away when he was
six, the lad was raised by a grandmother and then by an
uncle. As a young man he worked in the caravans of
Khadija, a rich widow whom he later married, though she
was twenty years his senior. Although Muslims may be
married only to four wives, Muhammad himself did not
abide by this limit, having ten wives and additional
concubines. One of his favorites was A'isha, who came to
Muhammad when she was but nine, bringing her toys with
her. Muhammad received a special revelation (Qur'an
33:37) to justify his marriage to the beautiful Zainab,
the wife of his adopted son Zaid. In spite of these many
unions, the prophet never had a full-grown son, a fact
which affected the struggles for the caliphate (or
succession).
After Muhammad received his initial
revelation when he was about forty years old, he began
preaching an uncompromising monotheism, which so
infuriated the pagan Meccans that they made him flee to
Medina in the famous Hijra of A.D. 622. After the Jews of
Medina rejected his overtures, he changed the qibla,
or direction of prayer, to face Mecca rather than
Jerusalem. Muhammad's forces battled various opponents
and killed many, including hundreds of Jews. The Prophet,
who did not fight in person, showed mercy to captives
after the capture of Mecca.
The Qur'an does not claim that Muhammad performed any
miracles. But traditions ascribe numerous wonders to him:
"Butter, a part of which Muhammad had eaten,
increased continually." "A tree moved from its
place of its own accord and shaded Muhammad while he
slept." "A wolf spoke and converted a
Jew." According to Francesco Gabrielli, "His
character appeared to later tradition and piety as the
sum of all the moral virtues…by dint of adding to
the genuine testimonies of the Prophet's life and
character the fantansies [sic] of apologetics."(13)
The five pillars of Islam are (1) the Shahada,
or creed, which affirms, "There is no god but Allah,
and Muhammad is his prophet," (2) Salat,
prayer, five times a day facing Mecca, (3) Zakat,
or alms, (4) fasting during Ramadhan, the ninth
lunar month, which involves a strict abstinence from both
food and drink during daylight, and (5) for those who can
perform it, the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. When
in Mecca the pilgrim must make a circuit around the Kaaba
building and kiss the black meteorite stone enclosed in
its walls.
Since the followers of Muhammad do not worship him,
they should not be called "Mohammadens." They
should be called "Muslims," from the word
"Islam," which connotes their submission to
Allah.
In 632 Muhammad became ill with
violent headaches and a fever. Before he died the prophet
exhorted the Arabs to remain united, proclaimed the
duties of married couples and abolished usury and the
blood feud. When he announced that if he owed anything to
anyone that person could claim it, a hush fell on the
crowd. One man came forward to claim a few coins.
Muhammad finally succumbed and was buried in the house of
his wife A'isha, who had nursed him during his last days.
The prophet's tomb at Medina is, after Mecca, the site
most venerated by Muslims.
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