History of Islam
The Beginning
In this blog I would like to chart the History of Islam
with the history of the world as a back drop. An ambitious goal, and not a
novel one, to be sure. Innumerable efforts have been made to achieve this, nevertheless,
it is lock-down in London… and we are privileged to be having
these lessons with Tahera… it would be shame not to record notes.
Right, so… although we started off with the Prophet's
ancestors, exploring his linage, I am going to start my blog with the his
(pbuh) birth, IA and refer back to his ancestors whenever the need arises.
It was the year 570 CE when Allah’s
Mercy descended in the form of a holy little baby in the home of Hazrat Abdullah
and Bibi Amina. Abdullah, however was destined never to see his son. Returning
from a trading expedition to Syria, he fell sick and died before reaching
Mecca. Abdullah was renowned for being very handsome – in fact the Bani Hashim,
the clan of the Quraysh to which the Prophet (pbuh) belonged, was acknowledged
for their grace and nobility of looks amongst the Bedouins of Arabia. And
Abdullah, Abdul Mutallib’s youngest son outshone the rest of his siblings – 9 brothers
and 6 sisters. The women of Arabia were known to have vied with each other for
his favours. His countenance was radiant setting him apart from the rest,
presaging greatness to come.
Amina
bint al Wahb belonged to the clan of Zuhrah, one of clans of the Quraysh, and
was a distant cousin of Abdullah. Abdul Mutalib chose her for Abdullah. Their
communion was brief as Abdullah was away after the Prophet (as) was conceived.
Amina never saw him again as within a period of three month he succumbed to a
sickness and passed away. In this time of grief her pregnancy was source of
great comfort to her. She heard a voice which told her that her son would be
the ‘lord of the Arabs’ and she experienced the Light of the Prophet emanating
from her womb – the light that would eventually fill the world.
The
exact date of Prophet’s (as) birth is a matter of slight controversy. According
to some traditions it was the 12th Rabi ul Awwal and to some others it
is the 17th of Rabi ul Awaal. (For the Muslims today the whole week –
from the 12 to the 17th is a week of celebration.) Whenever it was
-it definitely was a moment of great joy for Amina and she immediately informed
Abdul Mutalib. In elation and thanksgiving he took Muhammad to the Kaaba. Muhammad’s
(pbuh) birth was the fulfilment of his prophetic dream too. He had had dreams presaging
the birth of a future ruler of the world amongst his off-springs.
It
was traditional for babies born in Mecca to be sent away to be fostered by
women of the desert tribes, away from the bustle and pollution of cities with a
constant flow of traders carrying diseases and infections. In keeping with this,
Muhammad was given to Halima bint Abu Dhuayb. Her fostering of baby Muhammad transformed
the destiny of her family and tribe. Muhammed (as) was a blessed baby and peace
and abundance accompanied him where he went. Halima’s family prospered and she
was loath to return the child.
The
Prophet (as) lived with her till the age of 5 after which he returned to Mecca
to live with his mother, Amina. Her joy of sharing his companionship was short
lived too. When he (as) was 6 years old Amina took him to Yathrib to visit her relatives
and also the grave of his father Hazrat Abdullah. After their visit, on their return
journey, Amina fell ill and died at a village called Abwa, that lies between Mecca
and Yathrib, leaving the 6 year old boy with Um Ayman, their Abyssinian nurse. She
was buried in Abwa. The Muhammad (as) was now truly an orphan with both his
parents dead.
I often
think about the tragic fate of young Muhammad (pbuh) – Allah (swt) must have
had had His purpose. It is almost as if Allah (swt) has taken away from this
child every object of love and devotion; so He could have all of his love for Himself,
Subhanallah! So he may be free to love the Almighty with no holds barred. And love
Him, he did –loved and obeyed Him with no holds barred! Subhanallah again! He devoted
his self to Allah’s (swt) love and service to such an extent that his days and nights were dedicated to Him and Him
alone. To such an extent the Allah (swt) asks him in the Quran in in Surah Muzammil
(1-3)
Stand vigil through the
night, except for a little [of it], (2)
…to
spend ‘some – not all’ the night in
worshipfulness, Allah ho Akbar. It is no wonder that Allah (swt) loved him too.
It
is worth mentioning here that both Hazrat Abdullah and Amina were of the same
tribe – Quraysh, who were the descendants of Prophet Ismail (as). Amina’s ancestor
Zuhrah was the elder brother of Qusay, who was an ancestor of Abdullah
ibn Abdul Mutalib. As such, the families followed the deen of Prophet Ismail
(as) – the Deen e Hanif. Although there are varying opinions about their
religion, some saying that might have practised pagan forms of worship, reason
affirms that they would have had monotheistic beliefs, whereas many of the
Arabs had taken on the religious practices of ancient neighbouring cultures, bring
idolatry into their midst.
As
an aside - it stands to reason that Muhammad (as) would have had to have the
genetic perfection needed to be able to accomplish all he did during the course
of his life, and to bear the ‘weighty discourse’ (73:5 Holy Quran)l - Allah (swt) gave him in the
form of the Holy Quran. For this, the purity of his linage had to be
maintained. If we look at the Quran for evidence, it is clear that the prophets
were born descendant of previous prophets maintaining the purity of genealogy. For
example, Yousuf(as) was the son of Yaqoob(as) was the son of Ishaq(as) was the son of Ibrahim(as).
Continuing
on from where we left off – on his return to Mecca he was taken under the wing
of his grandfather Hazrat Abdul Mutalib who took on the responsibility of
nurturing him. He went where his grandfather went – observing and learning from
what happened around him.
As a
child, Prophet Muhammad (as) would have been quite and thoughtful, generous and
giving. He had no wealth of his own, and being an orphan would have been a
hardship. But his personality was such that he was dearly loved by his
grandfather and all those he interacted with. He spent his time in the companionship
his youngest uncles, Abbas and Hamza, who were about his own age. With Hamza, he
practised how to wield a sword becoming a competent swordsman and archer. And with
Abbas he worked on trading and finance joining caravans travelling towards the
north.
When,
Mohammad (as) was 8 years old, Hazrat Abdul Mutalib died. And once again his
guardianship changed. He came under the protection of Hazrat Abu Talib, who now
became the head of the Clan of Bani Hashim and highly respected for his wisdom
in Mecca. Hazrat Abu Talib, continued to be his guardian and supporter for many
years to come.
An
interesting incident occurred on one of his merchant journeys up north with Abu
Talib. When travelling through Basra he came in contact with a Christian monk,
Bahira. It is said that Bahira rushed out of his cell when he saw this caravan
coming. He immediately invited all the people in for a meal. He had seen a bright
cloud shadowing the caravan as it traversed the desert, which told him that the
long awaited prophet had arrived. His eyes searched the faces of his guests till
they settled on Muhammad (as). He took him aside and asked him questions about
his life. Bahira was convinced. He spoke to Hazrat Abu Talib, cautioning him to
take care of Muhammad (as) for if the Jews saw in him what he himself had, they
would harm him. He also prophesied that a great future lay ahead of him.
True
enough, Muhammad (as) grew up to be a very able young man. All his life he had
the ability to inspire confidence in those around him. He was honest in all his
dealings and acquired the title of Al Sadiq – the Truthful One. He had a
special soft spot for orphans and remained concerned about their plight and
treatment by others.
I was
reading Karen Armstrong’s: Muhammad - Prophet for our time and I
found a beautiful description of the Prophet (as) as a young man which I would
like to share here.
Young Muhammad was well liked in Mecca. He was
handsome with a compact solid body of average height. His hair and beard were
thick and curly and he had a strikingly luminous expression and a smile of
enormous charm, which is mentioned in all sources. He was decisive and whole
hearted in everything he did, so intent on the task that he never looked over
his shoulder even if his cloak got caught in a thorny bush. When he did turn to
speak to someone he used to swing his entire body and address him full face.
When he shook hands he was never the first to withdraw his own. He inspired
such confidence that he was known as Al Amin, the Reliable One.’
Muhammad(as) seemed to have taken all hardship on
board and made the best of his experiences perfecting himself for the
challenging task ahead of him.
Note:
I was meant to have explored a parallel history of the world – which I have not
done … got so carried away with reading up the history of this most Amazing
Man! Subhanallah!
Can we please recite a sura e fatiha for the
maghfirat of all our marhoomeen.
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