Muhammad

: "Muhammad" is a common Muslim male name. For other prominent people called Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation)

Muhammad's life according to Sira

Muhammad's genealogy

According to tradition, Muhammad traced his genealogy back as far as Adnan, whom the northern Arabs believed to be their common ancestor. Adnan in turn is said to be a descendant of Ismaeel (Ishmael), son of Ibrahim (Abraham) though the exact genealogy is disputed. Muhammad's genealogy up to Adnan is as follows:

Related Topics:
Genealogy - Adnan - Arab - Ishmael - Abraham

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Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (Shaiba) ibn Hashim (Amr) ibn Abd Manaf (al-Mughira) ibn Qusai (Zaid) ibn Kilab ibn Murra ibn Ka`b ibn Lu'ay ibn Ghalib ibn Fahr (Quraish) ibn Malik ibn an-Nadr (Qais) ibn Kinana ibn Khuzaimah ibn Mudrikah (Amir) ibn Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma`ad ibn Adnan. (ibn = "son of" in Arabic; alternate names of people with two names are given in brackets.)

Related Topics:
Abd Allah - Abd al-Muttalib - Hashim - Quraish - Mudar - Adnan

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His nickname was Abul-Qasim, "father of Qasim", after his short-lived first son.

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Childhood

Muhammad was born into a well-to-do family settled in the northern Arabian town of Mecca. Some calculate his birthdate as April 20, 570 (Shia Muslims believe it to be April 26), and some as 571; tradition places it in the Year of the Elephant. Muhammad's father, Abdullah, had died before he was born and the young boy was brought up by his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the tribe of Quraysh. Tradition says that as an infant, he was placed with a Bedouin wetnurse, Halima, as desert life was believed to be safer and healthier for children. At the age of six, Muhammad lost his mother Amina, and at the age of eight his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib. Muhammad now came under care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of the Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe, the most powerful in Mecca.

Related Topics:
April 20 - 570 - Shia - April 26 - 571 - Year of the Elephant - Abdullah - Abd al-Muttalib - Quraysh - Bedouin - Halima - Desert - Amina - Abu Talib - Hashim

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Mecca was a thriving commercial center, due in great part to a stone temple called the Kaaba that housed many different idols. Merchants from different tribes would visit Mecca during the pilgrimage season, when all inter-tribal warfare was forbidden and they could trade in safety.

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As a teenager Muhammad began accompanying his uncle on trading journeys to Syria. He thus became well-travelled and knowledgeable as to foreign ways.

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Middle years

One of Muhammad's employers was Khadijah, a rich widow then forty years old. The young twenty-five-year old Muhammad so impressed Khadijah that she offered him marriage in the year 595. He became a wealthy man by this marriage. By Arab custom minors did not inherit, so Muhammad had received no inheritance from either his father or his grandfather.

Related Topics:
Khadija - 595 - Arab - Inheritance

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Ibn Ishaq records that Khadijah bore Muhammad five children, one son and four daughters. All of Khadija's children were born before Muhammad started preaching about Islam. His son Qasim died at the age of two. The four daughters are said to be Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah.

Related Topics:
Islam - Zainab - Ruqayyah - Umm Kulthum - Fatimah

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The Shi'a say that Muhammad had only the one daughter, Fatima, and that the other daughters were either children of Khadijah by her previous marriage, or children of her sister.

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The first revelations

Muhammad had a reflective turn of mind and routinely spent nights in a cave (Hira) near Mecca in meditation and thought. Muslims believe that around the year 610, while meditating, Muhammad had a vision of the Angel Gabriel and heard a voice saying to him (in rough translation) "Read in the name of your Lord the Creator. He created man from something which clings. Read, and your Lord is the Most Honored. He taught man with the pen; taught him all that he knew not." (See surat Al-Alaq for a fuller account.)

Related Topics:
Hira - Meditation - 610 - Gabriel - Sura - Al-Alaq

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The first vision of Gabriel disturbed Muhammad, but his wife Khadijah reassured him that it was a true vision and became his first follower. She was soon followed by his ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib and Abu Bakr, whom Sunnis assert to have been Muhammad's closest friend.

Related Topics:
Ali ibn Abi Talib - Abu Bakr

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Until his death, Muhammad reportedly received frequent revelations, although there was a relatively long gap after the first revelation. This silence worried him, until he received surat ad-Dhuha, whose words provided comfort and reassurance.

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Around 613, Muhammad began to spread his message amongst the people. Most of those who heard his message ignored it. A few mocked him. Some, however, believed and joined his small group.

Related Topics:
613 - Group

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Rejection

As the ranks of Muhammad's followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city. Their wealth, after all, rested on the Ka'aba, a sacred house of idols and the focal point of Meccan religious life. If they threw out their idols, as Muhammad preached, there would be no more pilgrims, no more trade, and no more wealth. Muhammad?s denunciation of polytheism was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba. Muhammad and his followers were persecuted. Some of them fled to Abyssinia and founded a small colony there.

Related Topics:
Polytheism - Abyssinia

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Several suras and parts of suras are said to date from this time, and reflect its circumstances: see for example al-Masadd, al-Humaza, parts of Maryam and al-Anbiya, al-Kafirun, and Abasa. It was during this period that the episode known as the Satanic Verses may have occurred. It is said that Muhammad was briefly tempted to relax his condemnation of Meccan polytheism and buy peace with his neighbors, but later recanted his words and repented (see the article on the Satanic Verses). The incident is reported in only a few sources, and Muslims disagree as to its authenticity.

Related Topics:
Al-Masadd - Al-Humaza - Maryam - Al-Anbiya - Al-Kafirun - Abasa - Satanic Verses

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In 619, both Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died; it was known as "the year of mourning." Muhammad's own clan withdrew their protection of him. Muslims patiently endured hunger and persecution. It was a bleak time.

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Isra and Miraj

About 620, Muhammad went on the Isra and Miraj, a two-part journey he took in one night. Isra is the Arabic word referring to what it regarded as Muhammad's miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, specifically, to the site of Masjid al-Aqsa. It is believed to have been followed by the Miraj, his ascension to heaven, where he toured heaven and hell, and spoke with Allah and earlier prophets.

Related Topics:
620 - Isra and Miraj - Mecca - Jerusalem - Masjid al-Aqsa - Heaven - Hell - Allah

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Hijra

By 622, life in the small Muslim community of Mecca was becoming not only difficult, but dangerous. Muslim traditions say that there were several attempts to assassinate Muhammad. Muhammad then resolved to emigrate to Medina, then known as Yathrib, a large agricultural oasis where there were a number of Muslim converts. By breaking the link with his own tribe, Muhammad demonstrated that tribal and family loyalties were insignificant compared to the bonds of Islam, a revolutionary idea in the tribal society of Arabia. This Hijra or emigration (traditionally translated into English as "flight") marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The Muslim calendar counts dates from the Hijra, which is why Muslim dates have the suffix AH (After Hijra).

Related Topics:
622 - Medina - Oasis - Islam - Hijra - Islamic calendar

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Muhammad came to Medina as a mediator, invited to resolve the feud between the Arab factions of Aws and Khazraj. He ultimately did so by absorbing both factions into his Muslim community, and forbidding bloodshed among Muslims. However, Medina was also home to a number of Jewish tribes (whether they were ethnically as well as religiously Jewish is an open question, as is the depth of their "Jewishness"). Muhammad had hoped that they would recognize him as a prophet, but they did not do so. Some academic historians suggest that Muhammad abandoned hope of recruiting Jews as allies or followers at this time, and thus the qibla, the Muslim direction of prayer, was changed from the site of the former Temple in Jerusalem to the Kabaa in Mecca.

Related Topics:
Aws - Khazraj - Qibla - Temple - Jerusalem - Kabaa - Mecca

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Non-Muslim settlements within Muslim territories were taxed rather than expelled. Muhammad drafted a document now known as the Constitution of Medina (ca. 622-623), which laid out the terms on which the different factions, specifically the Jews, could exist within the new Islamic State. In this system, the Jews and other "Peoples of the Book" were allowed to keep their religions as long as they paid tribute. This system would come to typify Muslim relations with their non-believing subjects and that tradition was one reason for the stability of the later Muslim caliphate or Khilafah. In this, the Islamic empire was more tolerant than the other great powers of the area, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires, which were actively hostile to any religions or sects other than the state-sponsored religions (Orthodox Christianity and Zoroastrianism).

Related Topics:
Constitution of Medina - 622 - 623 - Jews - Islamic State - Peoples of the Book - Caliphate - Khilafah - Byzantine - Sassanid - Orthodox Christianity - Zoroastrianism

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War

Relations between Mecca and Medina rapidly worsened (see surat al-Baqara). Meccans confiscated all the property that the Muslims had left in Mecca. In Medina, Muhammad signed treaties of alliance and mutual help with neighboring tribes.

Related Topics:
Mecca - Medina - Al-Baqara

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Muhammad turned to raiding caravans bound for Mecca. Caravan raiding was an old Arabian tradition; later Muslim apologists justified the raids by the state of war deemed to exist between the Meccans and the Muslims. Secular scholars will add that this was a matter of survival for the Muslims as well. They owned no land in Medina and if they did not raid, they would have to live on charity and whatever wage labor they could find.

Related Topics:
Caravan - Charity

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In March of 624, Muhammad led some 300 warriors in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan. The Meccans successfully defended the caravan and then decided to teach the Medinans a lesson. They sent a small army against Medina. On March 15, 624 near a place called Badr, the Meccans and the Muslims clashed. Though outnumbered 800 to 300 in the battle, the Muslims met with success, killing at least forty-five Meccans and taking seventy prisoners for ransom; only fourteen Muslims died. This marked the real beginning of Muslim military achievement.

Related Topics:
624 - Raid - March 15 - Badr

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Muhammad's rule consolidated

To the Muslims, the victory in Badr appeared as a divine vindication of Muhammad's prophethood, and he and all the Muslims rejoiced greatly. Following this victory, after minor skirmishes, and the breaking of a treaty that risked the security of the city state, the victors expelled a local Jewish clan, the Banu Qainuqa. Virtually all the remaining Medinans converted, and Muhammad became de facto ruler of the city.

Related Topics:
Banu Qainuqa - De facto

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After Khadija's death, Muhammad married again, to Aisha daughter of his friend Abu Bakr (who would later emerge as the first leader of the Muslims after Muhammad's death). In Medina, he married Hafsah, daughter of Umar (who would eventually become Abu Bakr's successor). These marriages sealed relations between Muhammad and his top-ranking followers.

Related Topics:
Aisha - Abu Bakr - Hafsah - Umar

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Muhammad's daughter Fatima married , Muhammad's cousin. According to the Sunni, another daughter, Umm Kulthum, married Uthman ibn Affan|Uthman. Each of these men, in later years, would emerge as successors to Muhammad and political leaders of the Muslims. Thus all four of the first four caliphs were linked to Muhammad by blood, marriage, or both. Sunni Muslims regard these caliphs as the Rashidun, or Rightly Guided. (See Succession to Muhammad for more information on the controversy regarding the question of who the first caliph should have been).

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Continued warfare

In 625 the Meccan general Abu Sufyan marched on Medina with 3,000 men. The ensuing Battle of Uhud took place on March 23, ending in a stalemate. The Meccans claimed victory, but they had lost too many men to pursue the Muslims into Medina.

Related Topics:
625 - Mecca - Abu Sufyan - Medina - Battle of Uhud - March 23

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In April 627 Abu Sufyan led another strong force against Medina. But Muhammad had dug a trench around Medina and successfully defended the city in the Battle of the Trench.

Related Topics:
April - 627 - Battle of the Trench

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Many of the Muslims believed that Abu Sufyan had been aided by sympathizers among the Medinans, the Jewish tribe of the Banu Qurayza. As soon as the battle was over, the Muslims turned upon the Banu Qurayza. After the Banu Qurayza were defeated, all the adult men as well as one woman, were beheaded by the order of Saad ibn Muadh, an arbiter chosen by the Banu Qurayza. The remaining women and children were taken as slaves or for ransom. Some critics of Islam feel that this was unjust; Muslims believe that this was necessary. The matter is discussed at greater length in the article on the Banu Qurayza.

Related Topics:
Banu Qurayza - Beheaded - Saad ibn Muadh - Slaves

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Following the Battle of the Trench, the Muslims were able, through conversion and conquest, to extend their rule to many of the neighboring cities and tribes.

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The conquest of Mecca

By 628, the Muslim position was strong enough that Muhammad decided to return to Mecca, this time as a pilgrim. In March of that year, he set out for Mecca, followed by 1,600 men. After some negotiation, a treaty was signed at the border town of al-Hudaybiyah. While Muhammad would not be allowed to finish his pilgrimage that year, hostilities would cease and the Muslims would have permission to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in the following year.

Related Topics:
628 - Mecca - Pilgrim - Al-Hudaybiyah

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The agreement lasted only two years, however, as war broke out again in 630. Muhammad marched on Mecca with an enormous force, said to number 10,000 men. Eager to placate the powerful Muslims and anxious to regain their lucrative tribal alliances, the Meccans submitted without a fight. Muhammad in turn promised a general amnesty (from which some people were specifically excluded). Most Meccans converted to Islam and Muhammad destroyed the idols in the Kaaba. Henceforth the pilgrimage would be a Muslim pilgrimage and the shrine a Muslim shrine.

Related Topics:
630 - Islam - Kaaba

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Unification of Arabia

The capitulation of Mecca and the defeat of an alliance of enemy tribes at Hunayn effectively brought the greater part of the Arabian world under Muhammad's authority. This authority was not enforced by any formal governments, however, as he chose instead to rule through personal relationships and tribal treaties.

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The Muslims were clearly the dominant force in Arabia, and most of the remaining tribes and states hastened to submit to Muhammad.

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Muhammad as a warrior

For most of the sixty-three years of his life, Muhammad was a merchant, then a prophet. He took up the sword late in his life. He was a warrior for only ten years.

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Much criticism has been leveled at Muhammad for engaging in caravan raids and wars of conquest. Critics say that his wars went well beyond self-defense. Muslim commentators, however, argue that he fought only to defend his community against the Meccans, and that he insisted on humane rules of warfare.

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Muhammad's family life

From 595 to 619, Muhammad had only one wife, Khadijah. After her death he married Aisha, then Hafsa. Later he was to marry more wives, for a total of eleven (nine or ten living at the time of his death). Some say that he also married his slave girl Maria al-Qibtiyya, but other sources speak to the contrary.

Related Topics:
595 - 619 - Khadijah - Maria al-Qibtiyya

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Khadija was Muhammad's first wife and the mother of the only child to survive him, his daughter Fatima. He married his other wives after the death of Khadija. Some of these women were recent widows of warriors in battle. Others were daughters of his close allies or tribal leaders. One of the later unions resulted in a son, but the child died when he was ten months old.

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His marriage to Aisha is often criticized today citing traditional sources that state she was only nine years old when he consummated the marriage. (See Aisha for a discussion of other, conflicting, traditions). Critics also question his marriage to his adopted son's ex-wife, Zaynab bint Jahsh, and his alleged violation of the Qur'anic injunction against marrying more than four wives. For further information on Muhammad's family life and consideration of these criticisms, see Muhammad's marriages.

Related Topics:
Aisha - Zaynab bint Jahsh - Muhammad's marriages

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Companions of Muhammad

The term companions refers to anyone who met three criteria. First, he must have been a contemporary of Muhammad. Second, he must have seen or heard Muhammad speak on at least one occasion. Third, he must have converted to Islam. Companions are responsible for the transmission of hadith, as each hadith must have as its first transmitter a companion. There were many other companions in addition to the ones listed here.

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List in alphabetic order:

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• Aamir
• Abdullah ibn Abbas
• Abdulrahman
• Abu Bakr
• Ali
• Hamza
• Sa'd
• Sa'eed
• Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas
• Salman the Persian
• Talha
• Umar
• Uthman
• Zubair

The death of Muhammad

After a short illness, Muhammad died around noon on Monday 8 June 632, in the city of Medina at the age of sixty-three.

Related Topics:
8 June - 632

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According to Shi'a Islam, Muhammad had appointed his son-in-law Ali as his successor, in a public sermon at Ghadir Khom. But Abu Bakr and Umar intrigued to oust Ali and make Abu Bakr the leader or caliph. The majority Sunni sect dispute this, and say that the leaders of the community conferred and freely chose Abu Bakr, who was pre-eminent among the followers of Muhammad. However it happened, Abu Bakr became the new leader. He spent much of his short reign suppressing rebellious tribes in the Ridda Wars.

Related Topics:
Shi'a Islam - Ghadir Khom - Caliph - Sunni - Ridda Wars

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With unity restored in Arabia, the Muslims looked outward and commenced the conquests that would eventually unite the Middle East under the caliphs.

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Muhammad's descendants

Muhammad was survived only by his daughter Fatima and her children. (Some say that he had a daughter Zainab, who had borne a daughter, Amma or Umama, who survived him as well.)

Related Topics:
Fatima - Zainab - Amma

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In Shi'a Islam, it is believed that Fatima's husband 'Ali and his descendants are the rightful leaders of the faithful. The Sunni do not accept this view, but they still honor Muhammad's descendents.

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Descendents of Muhammad are known by many names, such as sayyids, syeds سيد, and sharifs شريف (plural: ِأشراف Ashraaf). Many rulers and notables in Muslim countries, past and present, claim such descent, with various degrees of credibility, such as the Fatimid dynasty of North Africa, the Idrisis, the current royal families of Jordan and Morocco, and the Agha Khan Imams of the Ismaili branch of Islam. In various Muslim countries, there are societies that authenticate claims of descent; some societies are more credible than others.

Related Topics:
Sayyid - Syed - Sharif - Fatimid - North Africa - Idrisi - Jordan - Morocco - Agha Khan - Imam - Ismaili

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