Muhammad:

Up to Prophethood

Muhammad (pbuh)

HERE COMES AL-AMIN

    It rained hard and persistently and the water poured consistently toward the Ka'ba.  The Ka'ba is not in the hilly section of Mecca and if it rains hard, the water tends to pour toward it.  The Ka'ba had already become old and in need of rebuilding.  The heavy rains made it even more urgent to rebuild.

      Rebuilding the Ka'ba was undertaken by the various clans of Quraish, which was the predominant power in Mecca.  It progressed well until it reached a level where the black stone was to be put in place.

      Since the black stone (which originally was put there by Prophet Ibrahim) was revered, the clans of Quraish began to compete for the privilege and honor of putting it in its designated spot.  As a matter of fact, each clan of Quraish felt the honor of placing the black stone belonged to it and no one else.  This meant trouble, possibly war.

      The disagreement became deeper and louder and it led to a lot of argument, shouting, and insisting.  The mood became ugly and emotions were high.  The members of each clan were thinking that a war was going to break out anytime.  Not a single clan of Quraish was willing to change its position, since they regarded it as a big insult if the honor was not theirs to put the black stone in its place.

      At a critical moment the oldest member stood up and said, "I have a suggestion, let us wait and see who enters the Ka'ba first, then let him decide and be the judge, and all of us will accept his decision, whatever his decision would be."  Everyone agreed to the suggestion since it made good sense.

1. The place became dead silent in anticipation, everyone squatting on the floor, listening anxiously for some footsteps.  Suddenly footsteps interrupted the silence, they were heading toward them.  They were anxious to see who that man was going to be.  Their hearts beat violently—they were full of expectations.  They were pleasantly surprised when they saw Muhammad, he was the man!

2. Everyone, of course, knew, loved, and admired Muhammad.  So, with a loud voice everyone said, "Here comes Al Amin," and the voice echoed through the place over and over again.

3. Muhammad was taken by surprise, since he heard them mention­ing his nick‑name suddenly and loudly.  He was told about what was going on, and Muhammad listened carefully.  This was followed by a period of silence for a good many seconds.  Everyone thought his own clan would be favored by Muhammad, to be the choice.  Their hearts beat hard, they were anxious and impatient.

4. "Give me a robe!" said Muhammad.  The people looked at each other in puzzlement.  "What does he want to do with a robe?" they thought, "How odd!"

5. He was handed a robe which he put on the floor.  He took the sacred black stone and put it in the center of the robe.  Muhammad then directed:  "The head of each clan will take one corner of the robe and lift it up together."  With that, every person understood, they saw a marvelous example of justice demonstrated—how to equally share in the great honor.

6. They appreciated the brilliant solution, the one which gave equality and prevented bloodshed.  What Muhammad wanted was fair and equal representation, to give equal sharing in prestige.  He thought of a solution both brilliant and just, giving each clan its equal share in justice!  It shows how Muhammad's maturity of mind had far exceeded that of anyone, and it also shows how remarkable his capacity was to solve difficult problems so brilliantly.  Would you have thought of such a solution in such a short time!?

7. When the robe was lifted to a reasonable height, Muhammad picked up the black stone from the center of the rope and put it in its rightful place in the wall of the Ka'ba, where it belonged.

It was an excellent solution, the best.  Everybody was satisfied, none felt insulted, and each had his share of the privilege and honor of participating in the act.  This brilliant solution prevented certain war among the clans of Quraish, and brought forth satisfaction and equity.

MUHAMMAD (pbuh) IN MARRIED LIFE 

      Muhammad and Khadija were well suited to each other.  Muhammad, being very mature, noble in character and straightforward, was the perfect husband.  He also found in his wife Khadija, a shining example of what a woman could be.  She was the Tahira, or the Pure, as he called her.  It was a marriage of faith and purity.

      It is said that in all the twenty‑five years of their married life their companionship was so perfect that not a single fight took place!  How marvelous!  He never shouted at her, never lost his temper with her, and never seemed to become disgusted with any irritating situation in the family.  He seemed to have no worries.  He said little, but listened a lot.  Never did he put too many demands upon her, be it work or otherwise.

      Muhammad (pbuh) showered Khadija with true affection and love, and the fortunate woman deserved every bit of it.  It was an exchange of warm, kindly, positive feeling of affection, and this exchange made life sweeter than honey.  Khadija had the chance to compare Muhammad with two previous husbands, and the Muhammad (pbuh) was in every way the best.

      Along with nobility of character, Muhammad was completely dependable.  He never drank any alcohol, while almost everyone around took to drinking, and very much so.  He was strictly faithful to his wife, while many men around had evil relationship with women.  Muhammad's company at home was very sweet with Khadija and so was Khadija's in return.  Knowing that she was fifteen years older than he, Khadija appreciated that companionship even more.

      Muhammad also helped with the chores at home.  This was something unheard of in those days, if not a taboo.  He even used to sweep the floor and mend his own sandals!  He was the least demanding, and preferred to live in a very simple way.

MUHAMMAD AS A FATHER 

      The years passed by quickly, and Muhammad was blessed with seven children.  He had three boys named: 1.  Qasim, 2.  Tahir, 3.  Tayyib, and four daughters named: 1.  Zainab, 2.  Ruqayya, 3.  Umm Kalthum, 4.  Fatima.  The youngest was Fatima.

      The children brought a lot of happiness to the home of Muhammad and Khadija.  They were good looking children, quite obedient and listened to their parents be it telling them stories or teaching them good manners.  They were in gentle hands, and they were loved very much.  Muhammad, as tenderhearted as he was, was most tender when it came to the children.  He never spoiled them, but instinctively knew their demands and he met those demands in gentle ways.  No wonder his children loved him very much and they appreci­ated the affection given to them without taking advantage of it.

      Alas, sometimes happiness does not last long.  In those days, doctors and medicines were not available as we have them now.  So when some of the children got sick, certain sicknesses were too much for them, and that unfortunately led to their death.  That was the case with all three sons of Muhammad.  They died while they were quite young, one after another.  It just about cut both Muhammad and Khadija to pieces inside.  They had to bury them with hearts full of sorrow, and both were sad for sometime afterwards.

      The four girls however grew up to become charming young ladies, and they got married, but only of them had children, and that was Fatima.  The girls grew to be of the noblest character.  They had an upbringing that was the best anybody can have and they followed the example of the way of living in that house, which certainly was the best ever.

ALI IS WITH HIM 

      Ali was a few years old (some say 3, others 5), full of vitality, active, and handsome.  He was charming, with signs of great potential.  He was the son of Abu Talib, the uncle of Muhammad and his guardian.

      During his married years, Muhammad, of course, continued to visit his uncle Abu Talib, his family and his relatives.  Abu Talib was not a wealthy man and he had difficulties in financially supporting his family.  Muhammad never forgot the many years he lived in his uncle's house, and the privilege of being protect­ed, cared for, and brought up in that house.  He always wanted to help his uncle.  Muhammad thought it would be a good idea if he asked his uncle Abu Talib for a favor.  The favor was to allow his cousin Ali, the son of Abu Talib, to live with Muhammad's family.

      Abu Talib agreed to the suggestion with pleasure, since he knew that Ali was going to be in good hands.  Muhammad was about thirty‑three years old when the young boy, Ali, joined the new family.  Ali filled the house with vigor and vitality, and he grew up to be of the noblest character.  No wonder, since he had the best of teachers at hand, and the best example of a family in manners and conduct of living: that special family, the family of Muhammad.

MUHAMMAD IN DAY-TO-DAY LIVING 

      Khadija's house was on the hilly side of Mecca, where the wealthy people lived.  She was wealthy, so her house was fairly large and it had a good many things for material comfort.  Her house reflected her wealth.

      Muhammad, however, did not like to see himself living in such comfort.  He was also aware that most people in the area were very poor and his heart felt for them.  He used to love to visit the section of Mecca where the poor lived.  Down the hill, where the houses were crowded and in wretched condition, and the people were in rags; so many having very little to eat, and so many living in miserable conditions, it was there that Muhammad used to go and visit regularly, to comfort and to help the unfortunate.

      Muhammad gave sympathy, understanding and love to those people.  He listened to the stories of many families in difficulties, and his heart bled for the wretched way they lived, the problems they had, and the tough times they passed through.  Muhammad also kept visiting the sick, and it seemed that there were so many of them.  They didn't have any hospitals then, the sick stayed home with no medicine or with medicine of little value.  Some people died, others recovered, but the unhappiness, poverty, disease, and ignorance, were everywhere.  Most people lived in miserable conditions, with no obvious way out of the situation. 

ON THE HILLY SIDE 

      On the contrary, in the hilly part of Mecca, where the wealthy lived, Muhammad saw how greedy those people were.  They made their living off the poor—often in a cruel manner.  Those rich people didn't work hard, they were merchants and many used to lend money to the poor with a very high interest rate.  The high interest gradually eroded and hurt the finances of the poor, families who could hardly afford to live to begin with.

      The wealthy people on the hills used to give big parties, noisy and boisterous, where everyone used to get drunk and wild.  Shouting, bragging and fighting were not unusual, but they were especially notice­able at the parties, and a good many evil things happened then.

      It was easy for Muhammad to see how the wealthy were with greed, and how they took to drinking, evil doing and corruption.  It was a nasty atmosphere, very unfair, and very wrong, the very few rich versus the masses of the poor, the very corrupt versus the wretched!  What a contrast he saw between the rich uphill and the downtrodden and poor downhill.

Muhammad wondered as to what kind of justice that was!  The whole society seemed to be sick, sick, sick and it needed help desperately, no question about that.

     In his visits to the sick and to listen to the poor and downtrodden, Muhammad (pbuh) usually took young Ali with him.  It was a tremendous practical education and this behavior of concern for the needy would be reflected in the adult Ali's personal living and activities among the poor. (See book Life of Ahlul Bayt Vol. I of the Series of Islamic Books for Beginners.)

AT HOME 

      Muhammad gathered tremendous experience this way, but he was very much pained and felt ill at ease by what he saw.  His conscience hurt him very much, and his heart bled for the conditions of the people.  Of course he told his wife Khadija about what he saw, but alas there seemed to be no solution.  He could find some comfort in being at home and away from the Meccans, but that was not a solution.  Going to the yearly gatherings of Ukadh Fair, added nothing new either, neither was it a solution.  People coming to Ukadh Fair from other parts of Arabia were just as vicious and bad, if not worse, than the Meccans of the time.  As a matter of fact, some were downright beastly!

      As the years passed, Muhammad started to go to a place called Hiraa, some distance from Mecca.

AT HIRAA, CONTEMPLATION WAS HIS AIM 

      Since his experience with people, rich or poor, stranger or familiar, old or young, seemed to repeat itself, Muhammad started to ask himself questions.  He was anxious and determined to find an answer.

1. To have a clear mind, a person should be away from distractions.  For that purpose, a person has to be away from family and town, at least temporarily, be it regularly or occasionally.  This was necessary, very necessary for Muhammad.

2. So to reflect and think clearly and without interrup­tion, Muhammad took it on himself to go to Hiraa Cave.  It was a small cave down from the top of the Mountain of Noor (Light).  The mountain is very rugged, quite high, one of the highest mountains surrounding Mecca, if not the highest.  To go to the top, it takes about one and a half hours of climbing, at times climbing with difficulty.

3. As you climb, the pure air, cool breeze, and complete silence will overpower you.  Haze will be on the horizon alright, but when you sit in the small cave of Hiraa you will clearly see the Ka'ba and the surrounding area.  It is surprising to see how Muhammad discovered this unusual spot, a spot that is not only high and silent but also facing the Ka'ba.  The cave is at the opposite side of the Mountain of Noor from where you climb it, in other words, you have to climb the mountain to the top then come down the other side before seeing the cave.  Not only that, but the Mountain of Noor is one of many mountains surrounding Mecca, and finding such a spot would make you admire him who chose it very much.

4. The cave is not big, it can hold only two people, and it is more like a space between big boulders than a dark musty area.

5. It was particularly during the month of Ramadhan that Muhammad liked to leave the hustle and bustle of Mecca to go to Hiraa Cave.  He wanted to be alone in that quiet serene cave.  At first, he found comfort in simply being there, and his mind reviewed and studied the thousands and thousands of problems of the Meccans past and present.  He would review their living conditions, their many problems, and would become sad and unhappy.  Things were quite discouraging.

WHAT HE THOUGHT OF  

      One basic problem stood out which seemed to affect him most.  The most crucial and important item and the one that distressed him most was concern for what he saw at the Ka'ba, day in, day out.

      You see, his people knew about Allah (God), but they made idols and worshipped them.  A big number of idols were there, as many as 360, no less!  The idols were put around the Ka'ba, some made of stone, others carved out of wood and some made of other material.  Some idols looked like men, others looked like women, yet others looked like animals.  Some looked very ugly indeed.  Each tribe preferred to worship one of those idols, which to them was their god, or the means to Allah (God), just imagine!

      The people prayed to their favorite idol asking for favors, and they would beg the stones repeatedly.  They offered them sacrifices, and stood in reverence worshiping them, deeply believing that the stones were their gods!

      Muhammad felt that worshiping idols was a waste of time and energy, something absurd and ridiculous to believe in. "How could the people or anyone at all," Muhammad thought, "worship stones or wood objects which they themselves had made!"  It was down right insulting to the intelli­gence and dignity of man, wasn't it?  That way of worship was absolutely wrong, simply did not make sense."

      Worshiping nothing but the Creator of everything seemed to be the sensible way.  After all, we owe Him our being here, we owe Him our very existence, and we also owe Him everything in us and around us.  The whole universe is nothing but a creation of this Great Being.

      Then Muhammad would think and ask himself:  "Who is the Creator of everything?"

That was a big problem in itself.  How could you discover the Creator?  There seemed to be no way but to go through a process of deduction, and that consumed a great deal of Muhammad's thought.

MORE AT HIRAA 

      As time passed Muhammad became a more frequent visitor to his place, the place of solace, Mount Noor.  He became used to seclusion at this special place, and that was for a period of time.  His wife accompanied him several times too, and she used to sit aside and admire the nature around her, and contemplate herself.  At times, she even had to urge him to eat, because he often forgot himself and his meals, so deep were his contemplations!  At times, he didn't even take notice of his surroundings, because of the fact he was so deep in contemplation!  He did not know how to worship the Creator, but he wanted to find a way.

      Before becoming forty years old, Muhammad seemed to become more and more absorbed in that contemplation, and his visits to the Cave of Hiraa, at the Mount of Noor, became particularly frequent, and that became obvious to just about everyone.

QUESTIONS  

1. How was the married life of Khadija and Muhammad (pbuh)?

2. It is said, never in 25 years of married life did Muhammad (pbuh) have a single fight with Khadija.  How come?

3. How old was Muhammad (pbuh) when he married Khadija?

4. How old was Khadija when she married Muhammad?

5. The Ka'ba was being rebuilt.  The elders were in disagreement about who was to have the honor to put the black stone in its place.  How was the problem solved?

6. When Muhammad (pbuh) passed through the entrance of the Ka'ba, everyone said a certain phrase.  What is that phrase?

7. Muhammad (pbuh) came out with a creative solution about the Ka'ba dispute (black stone). What was the solution?

8. Muhammad did not give a suggestion for the black stone, instead he executed his idea himself.  Why?

9. What does the phrase "Al-Saadiq Al-Amin" mean?

10. By placing the black stone in such an imaginative manner, Muhammad (pbuh) demonstrated a certain genius.  How is that?

11. Was Muhammad (pbuh) helpful to his wife?

12. Arabian society before Islam was morally very low.  How was the moral fiber of the house of Muhammad?

13. Muhammad (pbuh) had three boys and four girls.  Will you name them?

14. Did any of Muhammad's boys live to an old age?

15. Of Muhammad's girls, who was the youngest?

16. Muhammad asked uncle Abu Talib to allow his son, Ali, to live with him and Khadija.  How old was Ali at the time?

17. How old was Muhammad (pbuh) when Ali came to live with him?

18. How was the relationship between Muhammad and young Ali?

19. What did Muhammad and young Ali do in their day to day living?

20. When Muhammad and young Ali visited the poor and sick, what did Ali learn first hand?

21. When a child, Ali learned about people during his visitations with Muhammad.  How did people appear to him?

22. The rich in Mecca lived in the hilly part of town.  What used to go on in their parties at night?

23. How did the rich live in Mecca compared to the poor?

24. In his late thirties Muhammad (pbuh) began to go to Hiraa cave.  What were the reasons?

25. Hiraa cave lies near the top of Mountain of Noor, facing the Ka'ba.  Why was it Muhammad's favorite spot?

26. Before becoming a Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh) became deeply absorbed in contemplation.  What was he thinking about?

27. Khadija was a comforting factor for Muhammad.  Why was she that way?