Holy Prophet (PBUH)

Birth

“Did He not find thee an orphan and give thee shelter?” (93:7)

Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was born in August 570 AD. at Mecca, the principal town of Arabia. Muhammad was born an orphan, his father Abdullah had died some time before his birth. Muhammad’s grandfather Abdul Muttalib became his guardian and entrusted the young Muhammad to the care of Haleema, a member of a desert dwelling tribe. Muhammad’s mother, Amina, passed away when he was still a young boy. This was followed by the death of his grandfather and Muhammad passed under the care of his uncle, Abu Talib.

The Truthful and Trustworthy

Enough is known of the youth and early adulthood of Muhammad to indicate that he was gentle, patient, and obedient, respectful toward his elders, affectionate with his companions, and full of compassion for those who, on account of age, infirmity, or adversity, stood in need of help. As he grew older, his good qualities were recognized by his contemporaries. They were impressed by his complete integrity, in word and deed, and he became generally known among them as “Sadiq” meaning the truthful and “El Ameen,” meaning “the Trustworthy,” or “the Faithful.”

Placing the Holy Stone

When Muhammad was a young man the structure of the Ka’aba had fallen into disrepair, and it was decided to rebuild it. The famous Black Stone, the cornerstone of the Kaaba, had to be replaced in position in the southeastern angle of the walls. Several leading families of the Qureish coveted the honor of placing the stone in position, and vehemently pressed their claim. It was agreed that the dispute should be referred to Muhammad, and that his decision should be accepted.

Muhammad spread out his cloak on the ground and placed the Black Stone on it. He then invited the leading members of the families to lift the cloak and carry the stone. Muhammad then lifted the stone and placed it in position. This satisfied everybody, and resolved a situation that had threatened to become grave to the point of possible bloodshed.

Hilful-Fudūl

When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was a young man, various noble-hearted individuals of Arabia thought to establish a mutual agreement. This agreement stated that the rights of the oppressed would be protected and that the oppressor would be restrained from injustice. In the Arabic language, the word fadl also refers to one’s ‘right’, which transforms into fudūl when expressed in plural. This is why the agreement was named the Hilful-Fudūl. Holy Prophet Muhammad also joined in this agreement. Holy Prophet Muhammad stayed loyal to this agreement for the rest of his life. On one occasion during the time of his prophethood, the Holy Prophet said:

“In the house of ‘Abdullāh bin Jad‘ān, I once partook in such an oath that even if I was called to it today, in the age of Islam, I would present myself saying, here I am to do thy undertaking”.

The Cave of Hirā

“And He found thee wandering in search for Him and guided thee unto Himself.” (93:8)

Holy Prophet Muhammad never intermingled with the general society of Makkah. For he was one who desired solitude and would remain in seclusion longing for Allāh the Exalted, diligently occupied in his remembrance. At a distance of three miles from Makkah towards Minā, in the left is the mountain of Hirā, wherein is a cave, famously known as the Cave of Hirā. It was the general practice of Holy Prophet Muhammad to retreat to this cave and occupy himself in deep meditation and remembrance of God. He would take sufficient food with him and would not return to Makkah for many days. It is this very time period, which has been referred to in the verse of the Holy Qur’an mentioned above.

In the Holy Qur’an

In the Bible

The Covenant

Messenger of Allah

Farewell Sermon

Views of Non-Muslims

Alphonse de Lamartine

“Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may ask, is there any man greater than he?” (History of Turkey)

“If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad?” (History of Turkey)

Arthur Glyn Leonard

“If ever any man on this earth has found God; if ever any man has devoted his life for the sake of God with a pure and holy zeal then, without doubt, and most certainly that man was the Holy Prophet of Arabia.” (Islam Her Moral and Spiritual Value: a Rational and Pyschological Study)

“It was the genius of Muhammad, the spirit that he breathed into the Arabs through the soul of Islam that exalted them. That raised them out of the lethargy and low level of tribal stagnation up to the high watermark of national unity and empire. It was in the sublimity of Muhammad’s deism, the simplicity, the sobriety and purity it inculcated the fidelity of its founder to his own tenets, that acted on their moral and intellectual fiber with all the magnetism of true inspiration.” (Islam Her Moral and Spiritual Value: a Rational and Pyschological Study)

Pringle Kennedy

“Muhammad was, to use a striking expression, the man of the hour…

When Christianity conquered Caesarism at the commencement of the fourth century, it, in its turn, became Caesarised. No longer was it the pure creed which had been taught some three centuries before. It had become largely de-spiritualised, ritualised, materialised …….

How, in a few years, all this was changed, how, by 650 AD a great part of this world became a different world from what it had been before, is one of the most remarkable chapters in human history …. This wonderful change followed, if it was not mainly caused by, the life of one man, the Prophet of Mecca ….

Whatever the opinion one may have of this extraordinary man, … there can be no difference as to the immensity of the effect which his life has had on the history of the world.” (Arabian Society at the Time of Muhammad)

S.P. Scott

“If the object of religion be the inculcation of morals, the diminution of evil, the promotion of human happiness, the expansion of the human intellect, if the performance of good works will avail in the great day when mankind shall be summoned to its final reckoning it is neither irreverent nor unreasonable to admit that Muhammad was indeed an Apostle of God.”
(History of the Moorish Empire in Europe)

Michael H. Hart

“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.”

“Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world’s great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive.”

(In his book “The 100”, Michael Hart ranks Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as the most influential person in human history)

Karen Armstrong

“Muhammad had to start virtually from scratch and work his way towards the radical monotheistic spirituality of his own. When he began his mission, a dispassionate observer would not have given him a chance. The Arabs, he might have objected, were just not ready for monotheism: they were not sufficiently developed for this sophisticated vision. In fact, to attempt to introduce it on a large scale in this violent, terrifying society could be extremely dangerous and Muhammad would be lucky to escape with his life.

Indeed, Muhammad was frequently in deadly peril and his survival was a near-miracle. But he did succeed. By the end of his life he had laid an axe to the root of the chronic cycle tribal violence that afflicted the region and paganism was no longer a going concern. The Arabs were ready to embark on a new phase of their history.” (Muhammad – A Biography of the Prophet)

Sir William Muir

“It is strongly corroborative of Mohammad’s sincerity that the earliest converts to Islam were not only of upright character, but his own bosom friends and people of his own household who, intimately acquainted with his private life could not fail otherwise to have detected those discrepancies which even more or less exist between the profession of the hypocritical deceiver abroad and his actions at home.” (The Life of Mohammad)

Rev. Bosworth Smith

“Head of the state as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one, but he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a body guard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue. If ever a man had the right to rule by a right divine, it was Muhammad for he had all the power without the instruments and without its supports.” (Muhammad and Muhammadanism)

The First Revelation

“Recite in the name of thy Lord…”

Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was forty years old – in the year 610 AD when the Divine Call came to him in his retreat in Hira, the cave to which he was in the habit of retreating to for prayer and contemplation. He beheld a gracious Presence, the Angel Gabriel, who asked him to recite. Holy Prophet answered that he knew not how to recite. The Angel took hold of Holy Prophet, squeezed him firmly against his body and insisted:

“Recite in the name of thy Lord Who created: Created man from a clot of blood. Recite! Thy Lord is the Most Beneficent, Who taught man by the pen, taught him what he knew not” (96:2-6)

Holy Prophet Muhammad repeated the words as commanded. The Angel then vanished.

The Wife Testifies

After this dialogue the Holy Prophet Muhammad was left in a state of deep anxiety and restlessness and his heart was panting, for only God knew what this matter was and what was about to take place. In this state, the Holy Prophet hurriedly left the Cave of Hira, returned home, and said to his wife Khadeeja, “Cover me with a mantle! Cover me with a mantle!”. The Holy Prophet related the entire event and in the end said, “I have begun to fear for my life”, but Khadeeja said:

“God is witness, He has not sent you this Word that you should fail and prove unworthy, that He should then give you up. How can God do such a thing, while you are kind and considerate to your relations, help the poor and the forlorn and bear their burdens? You are restoring the virtues which had disappeared from our country. You treat guests with honour and help those who are in distress. Can you be subjected by God to any trial?” (Bukhari).

Khadeeja’s observations on this occasion throw a flood of light on the Holy Prophet’s character as observed by his closest and most intimate companion – his wife for fourteen years at that time. The honest testimony of husband or wife with regard to the character and disposition of the other is of the utmost value, for no other person has the opportunity to make so accurate an estimate based upon close observation and personal experience.

Seal of the Prophets

The Seal of Approval is granted

In 1891 Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, claimed on the basis of Divine revelation, that he was the Promised Messiah and Mahdi whose advent had been foretold by Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and by the scriptures of other faiths. He claimed to be a true Prophet of God, a prophet that did not bring any new law but was a follower and subservient to Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, wrote more than 80 books. He consistently attributed his status of Prophethood as a manifestation of the attribute of the “Seal of the Prophet” that was bestowed upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Following are some excerpts from the writings of the Promised Messiah that shed light on the attribute of the “Seal of the Prophets”.

Only one door to Prophethood

“This status and title has been bestowed on me only because I am a true follower and servant of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). If I had not been from his Ummah and if I had not been his follower, then even if my services and talents had been as massive and tall as the mountains of this world, I would not have acquired or been bestowed the title and honor of direct communication with God. This is true because all doors to prophethood are now closed, except the portal and the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). After him, there can be no independent prophet with a new law or code. Now, the only type of prophethood that remains is that which is without any new shariah other than of Islam and which is bestowed on a true follower or servant of the Holy Prophet of Islam.” (Tajalliyat-i-illahiya pg. 24-25)

“It is no longer necessary to follow separately each previous prophet and his teachings, since the message brought by Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) encompasses and surpasses all previous teachings. All other paths leading to God are now closed. All verities leading to God are contained in this teaching. There is no other truth after this. All true prior teachings are contained in these teachings. His prophethood is the culmination of all prophets and rightly so.” (Al-Wassiyyat, pg. 17-18)

The Seal of Approval

“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah has full knowledge of all things.” (33:41)

There are many manifestations of the Holy Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) attribute of the “Seal of the Prophets”. The most striking one is the “seal of approval” that the Holy Prophet was granted for the continuation of prophethood from within his followers.

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

“And whoso obeys Allah and this Messenger of His shall be among those on whom Allah has bestowed His blessings, namely, the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous. And excellent companions are these.” (4:70)

The followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad have been given the glad tiding that they can even attain the status of Prophethood by obeying Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. This is a distinguishing characteristic of Prophet Muhammad as no other prophet before him has been given this seal of approval. Before Prophet Muhammad it was not necessary to follow the preceding prophet to attain the status of Prophetohood.

In relation to following the other prophets Allah says:

“And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers and they are the Truthful and the Witnesses in the sight of their Lord, they will have their reward and their light…” (57:20)

Of course the followers of other prophets will be rewarded by Allah in this world and the hereafter but there rewards fall short of attaining the status of Prophethood – a blessing that only the followers of Muhammad, the seal of Prophets, are bestowed with.

Other Manifestations of the Seal

Apart from the most distinguishing status of the seal of approval there are many other manifestations of the attribute of seal of the prophets, including but not limited to:

Prophet Muhammad’s message was for all people and all times in contrast to the message of other prophets that was for a specific audience and for a limited time.

Prophet Muhammad was granted the Qur’an – God’s final book which is protected by God Himself till the end of the time.

Prophet Muhammad, through the Holy Qur’an, made it obligatory to all Muslims to believe in all Prophets and not to distinguish between prophet in their belief.

Prophet Muhammad declared all Prophets to be innocent servants of God thus absolving them of any and all false allegations.