Life of Muhammad free essay sample

Biography of Muhammad O Children of Israel! Surely, I am the messenger of Allah to you, verifying that which is before me of the Torah and giving the good news of a Messenger who will come after me whose name will be Ahmed (Quran, 61:6). This was the prophetic announcement of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad by Jesus Christ. Muhammad was able achieve this status as a prominent leader through his ability to unify the Arab nation while in political power and also as a religious leader, led the nation of Islam to the knowledge of the one true God. Muhammad sallallahu Aalayhi a salam was one of the most prominent leaders in the Islamic nation, not only in a religious aspect but also on a secular one. The Prophet Muhammad was born on August 29, 570 C. E. at Mecca. His birthplace is now designated as the origin of the Islamic religion. We will write a custom essay sample on Life of Muhammad or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Muhammad spent his childhood in an orphanage after the death of his father (Kikim). On the return from a pilgrimage to Medina, Muhammads mother died when he was only six years old. He was then raised by his grandfather Abd al Muttalib. At the age of eight, his grandfather was killed by Muhammads own uncle Abu Talib (Kikim). Muhammad had a very turbulent childhood characterized by living in various homes, which made him the person he became in his later years. During Muhammads adolescent years, there were no laws or order in Arabia. The Arab nation was divided into many different tribes; most people were shepherds and still rooted in old traditions and customs. The predominant religion was the ancient Arab religion, which still consisted of some odd customs and traditions such as animistic practices, female infanticide (the killing of infant girls), and also the worship of undreds of idols (Fiero, 229). Muhammad had 6 children: four girls and two boys. His first son died in childbirth. Muhammad was not thrilled with lifestyle of the Arabians and set out to implement change in the society. This was the mark of his Messianic career. At the age of 25 he married a widow known as Khadija. Khadija, who was a rich widow, proposed marriage to Muhammad and Muhammad accepted the proposal (Fiero, 229). At this point in time Khadija was 40 years old and had been widowed twice. Afterwards he set forth to unite the different Arab tribes and the lasses as an independent nation. In order to achieve this, he spent years on the peak of Mount Hira. At this point Muhammad went through the difficulty of letting go of an old religion, and experienced excitement of discovering a new one in Islam. The Angel Gabriel descended to Muhammad during his meditation and requested of him to recite after him. Read in the name of your Lord who created -created man from a clot. Read: for your Lord is Most Bountiful, who teaches by the pen, teaches man that which he knew not. (Quran 96:1-5). Due to Muhammad being illiterate he was not ble to repeat Gabriel and out of fear and discomfort fled from the angel. During his first interaction with Gabriel, Muhammad was instructed to preach the true religion to the world, and to spread it across the world by writing it down. This writing later became known as the Koran. On his mission to convert the world, the first convert to the new religion was his own wife Khadijah. She accepted the revelation that Muhammad received from Gabriel as the truth and then converted to Islam. Through the hardship that Muhammad endured during his mission, Khadijah supported At the age of sixty-five during Ramadan in 620 CE, she died (ushistory, 41). As Muhammad turned 40 he began to accept that the one true God had chosen him to spread the true faith and over the course of three years Muhammad preached to his closest friends and associates. Then, about 613CE, he began preaching in public. As he began to gain followers, he was considered a nuisance to society, and in 622 C. E, Muhammad fled to Medina in fear of his own safety. While in Medina he was offered a place in political power. This marked the turning point of Muhammads life. People egan to convert to this new religion (ushistory, 41). Muhammad had become the most powerful leader in Arabia. Many tribes began to destroy the idols in Kabah (place of worship) and they began to declare Islam as the true religion. As different tribes Joined Islam, Muhammad sent teachers to go and teach the various tribes about the new religion. Many others wanted to hear from The Prophet himself so they traveled to Medina (Kikim). When the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca came around and people heard that The Prophet would be going to Mecca; they all went to Medina to meet him there. From there, the Prophet led all of the pilgrims in a prayer, and after the prayer, they headed to Mecca following him. This was the first time that pilgrims following Muhammad were all worshipping Allah, The One True God. Throughout the pilgrimage to Mecca, the pilgrims said a prayer taught to them by The Prophet. As they got to Mecca and went towards Mount Mercy, The Prophet led the people in prayer and spoke to them for the last time. In 632 C. E, Muhammad became very ill and could not go to the mosque and pray with the followers that had gathered, but he overheard them praying with passion. This made him happy, and after looking at the people, he laid down in agony and died. (Fiero, 233) Even after his death, Muhammad was held on high esteem due to the fact that he was not only able to start a new religion but also able to unite the Arab nation. He was able to uphold this prominent status as a great leader due to his virtue. Some of Muhammads virtues were that throughout his life he never practiced idol worshipping, committed adultery, drank alcohol or told a lie. The people of Mecca fully trusted Muhammad because of his trustworthiness and truthfulness. Even when he migrated back to Medina from Mecca, he left his cousin behind to give back the belongings of all the pilgrims. Muhammad lived a simple life without any unneeded things. He was very forgiving and never struck anyone. Because of these virtues, Muhammad was known as one of the most influential leaders of all time. All great leaders share similarities, such as how Muhammad is similar to Jesus. They established the worlds two largest religions. Christianity stands at about 2. 1 billion followers, while Islam comes in a close second with 1. 8 billion followers. odresources) They both showed similarities between their teachings, monotheism, the belief that there was only one true God who was is all knowing and all powerful. They also believed in the Old Testament as the word of God and that Abraham was the one through whom God will make a great nation. Neither Jesus nor Muhammad wrote books, but any known information about them were written by their followers. In the aspect of worldwide influence, Muhammad unified Arab people under Islam. Muslim Scholars contributed to literature, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and hemistry. Jesus Christ impacted the western world through his teaching of the love God nas towards us, ne taug nt the world to love each other as the love us; (godresources) (democracy). His teaching are the foundation of many hospitals and charities (godresources). Muhammad was one of the most influential people who ever walked the earth, He influenced the world with his ability to unite a once divided nation and bring them under one rule, and also the formation one of the most worldwide spread religion known today as the Islam.