At age 40, Prophet Muhammad was an established trader and
family man given to periods of contemplation and reflection. He was a
well-respected citizen of Mecca
and the people were accustomed to coming to him to settle disputes, for advice
and to look after their valuables. All this however was about to change
because during one of his periods of isolation and contemplation he was visited
by the angel Gabriel and the verses of Quran began to be revealed to him.
His mission had begun; his life was no longer his own - it was now devoted to
spreading the word of Islam.
Perhaps now some of the events in his life began to make
sense. Perhaps he could see that God had planned things for him, for in
retrospect we can see that the signs of Prophethood had been visible in many
aspects and scenarios throughout Prophet Muhammad’s life. Before his
mission Muhammad’s life was relatively easy. He had a good and happy
marriage, children, no financial worries and no doubt was surrounded by friends
and family who loved and respected him.
Declaring his Prophethood soon made him poor, a social
outcast and his life was threatened on more than one occasion. Greatness,
power, wealth and glory were the furthest thing from his mind. In fact he
already had these things, albeit on a small scale. He had nothing to gain
from declaring a Prophethood and mission that were not true. Prophet
Muhammad, his family and his followers were ridiculed, derided and physically
beaten, his lifestyle drastically changed for the worst.
One of Muhammad’s companions, said, “The Prophet of God
did not see bread made from fine flour from the time God sent him (as a
Prophet) until he died.”[1] Another declared that “When
the Prophet died, he did not leave either money or anything else except his
white riding mule, his arms, and a piece of land which he left to charity”[2].
Before he died Prophet Muhammad was the leader of an empire,
with access to a national treasury but he lived simply, concerned only with
completing his mission and worshipping God. Despite his responsibilities
as a Prophet, teacher, statesman, general, judge and mediator, Muhammad
used to milk his own goats, mend his clothes and shoes, as well as help with
the general household work.[3] Prophet Muhammad’s life was an
outstanding example of humility and simplicity. His dress and lifestyle
did not differentiate him from his followers. When someone walked into a
gathering there was nothing about Prophet Muhammad that distinguished him from
the other men in the gathering.
In the early years of his mission, long before there was
even a remote possibility of success, Muhammad received an interesting offer
from the leaders of Mecca .
Thinking that Muhammad must be making these claims of Prophethood for personal
gain an envoy came to him and said “...If you want money, we will collect
enough money for you so that you will be the richest one of us. If you
want leadership, we will take you as our leader and never decide on any matter
without your approval. If you want a kingdom, we will crown you king over
us...”. For any human being, in any historical period this would be a
very hard offer to turn down; however Muhammad had no wish for personal gain or
recognition. Although there was only one condition to this generous offer
it was one that went against everything that Muhammad now stood for. The
Meccan leaders expected him to give up his call to Islam and to cease
worshipping God alone, without any partner.[4]
Prophet Muhammad flatly refused the offer.
On another occasion Muhammad’s uncle Abu Talib feared for
his nephew’s life and begged him to stop calling people to Islam. Again Muhammad’s
answer was as decisive and sincere, he said, “I swear by the name of God, O
Uncle!, that if they place the sun in my right-hand and the moon in my
left-hand in return for giving up this matter (calling people to Islam), I will
never desist until either God makes it triumph or I perish defending it.”[5]
Many means were taken by the disbelieving people of Mecca to tarnish
Muhammad’s character and to belittle the message he was trying to spread.
They were particularly merciless when disparaging the Quran itself. They
asserted vehemently that the Quran was not divinely revealed and that Mohammad
wrote it himself. This was done to discourage people from following Muhammad
or believing his claim to be a Prophet of God. Prophet Muhammad did not
write the Quran. He was an unlettered man, completely unable to read or
write. He was unable to know or even guess some of the scientific facts
that Quran mentions easily and often.
In addition to this it makes sense to say that if the Quran
had been written by Muhammad he would have praised and mentioned himself a
great deal more. The Quran in fact mentions both Prophet Jesus and Moses
many more times by name than it mentions Prophet Muhammad. The Quran also
reprimands and corrects Prophet Muhammad. Would an imposter prophet run
the risk of making himself look like a person that can make mistakes?
Prophet Muhammad was an unlettered Arab trader. His
life might have been unremarkable except that from the beginning of his
existence God was with him, preparing him for Prophethood and preparing him to
guide the whole of humanity into a new era of religious growth. As
Muhammad grew up, he became known to be truthful, honest, trustworthy,
generous, and sincere. He was also known to be very spiritual and had
long detested the overt decadence and idolatry of his society.
When we look at the life of Prophet Muhammad from the
distance of time we can see clearly that his life was one of service to God,
his sole purpose was to deliver the message. The weight of the message
weighed heavily on his shoulders and even at his final sermon he was concerned
and asked the people to testify that he had delivered God’s message. If
Muhammad had wanted power or fame he would have accepted the offer to be the
leader of Mecca .
If he had been looking for riches he would not have lived a simple life, dying
with barely any possessions, unlike any other powerful leader of an
empire. The simplicity of Prophet Muhammad’s life and his unwavering
desire to spread the message of Islam are strong signs of the validity of his
claim to Prophethood.
Footnotes:
[1] Saheeh Al-Bukhari
[2] Ibid
[3] Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Imam Ahmad.
[4] Al-Serah Al-Nabaweyyah, Ibn
Hisham, vol. 1.
[5] Ibid.
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