Muhammad

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Muhammad : biography

c. 570 – 8 June 632
  • Holt (1977a), p.57
  • Lapidus (2002), pp 0.31 and 32

The revelations (or Ayah, lit. "Signs [of God]") — which Muhammad reported receiving until his death – form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the "Word of God" and around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims as the sources of sharia law. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.Ann Goldman, Richard Hain, Stephen Liben (2006), p. 212 While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern history have been far less so.Watt (1974) p. 231

Life

Life in Mecca

Muhammad was born in Mecca and lived there for roughly the first 52 years of his life (c. 570–622). This period is generally divided into two phases, before and after declaring the prophecy.

Childhood and early life

Muhammad was born about the year 570 and his birthday is usually celebrated by Muslims in the month of Rabi’ al-awwal. He belonged to the Banu Hashim clan, one of the prominent families of Mecca, although it seems not to have been prosperous during Muhammad’s early lifetime.See also cited in EoI; Muhammad The Banu Hashim clan was part of the Quraysh tribe. Tradition places the year of Muhammad’s birth as corresponding with the Year of the Elephant, which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite king Abraha who had in his army a number of elephants. 20th-century scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as 568 or 569.Watt (1974), p. 7.

His father, Abdullah, died almost six months before Muhammad was born. According to Islamic tradition, soon after Muhammad’s birth he was sent to live with a Bedouin family in the desert, as the desert life was considered healthier for infants. Muhammad stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until he was two years old. Some western scholars of Islam have rejected the historicity of this tradition.Watt, "", Encyclopaedia of Islam. At the age of six, Muhammad lost his biological mother Amina to illness and he became fully orphaned.Watt, Amina, Encyclopaedia of Islam For the next two years, he was under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the Banu Hashim clan, but when Muhammad was eight, his grandfather also died. He then came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of Banu Hashim. According to Islamic historian William Montgomery Watt, because of the general disregard of the guardians in taking care of weak members of the tribes in Mecca in the 6th century, "Muhammad’s guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time."Watt (1974), p. 8.

While still in his teens, Muhammad accompanied his uncle on trading journeys to Syria gaining experience in commercial trade, the only career open to Muhammad as an orphan. Islamic tradition states that when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans’ caravan to Syria, he met a Christian monk or hermit named Bahira who is said to have foreseen Muhammed’s career as a prophet of God.Armand Abel, Bahira, Encyclopaedia of Islam

Little is known of Muhammad during his later youth, and from the fragmentary information that is available, it is difficult to separate history from legend. It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea."Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History (2005), v.3, p. 1025 Due to his upright character he acquired the nickname "al-Amin" (Arabic: الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and "al-Sadiq" meaning "truthful" and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.Esposito (1998), p. 6 His reputation attracted a proposal in 595 from Khadijah, a 40-year-old widow who was 15 years older than he. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one.