1. Birth to Bi‘that
The last prophet of God is Muhammad al-Mustafa—upon whom be
blessingsandpeace.He wasborn on17thRabi’u‘l-Awwal,1stYearof
‘ĀmulFil in Mecca amidst the family ofBanu Hashim (of the tribeof
Quraysh)whowereconsideredthemosthonouredoftheArabfamilies.
Banu Hashim were descendants of Ismā’il, the son of Prophet Ibrahim.
The Prophet’s grandfather, ‘Abdu‘l-Muttalib, wasthe chiefof Banu
Hashim and also the guardian of the Ka’bah. His father was called
‘Abdullahandhismother,AminahbintWahab.Hisfatherpassedaway
a few months before his birth. At the age of six, the Prophet lost his
motheraswellandwasplacedunderthecareofhispaternalgrandfath-
er, ‘Abdul Muttalib. But his grandfather also passed away after four
years;andatthistimetheProphet’suncle,AbuTālib,tookchargeofhim
andbecamehisguardian,takinghimtohisownhouse.ThustheProphet
grewupinhisuncle’shouseandevenbeforereachingtheageofadoles-
cence used to accompany his uncle on business journeys by caravan.
TheProphethadnotreceivedanyschooling;yet,afterreachingtheage
of maturity he became famous forhis wisdom,courtesy, trust-worthi-
ness and truthfulness. He soon became famous as “as-sādiq al-amīn”
(thetruthful, thetrustworthy).AbuTālib usedto say:“Wehavenever
heard anylies from Muhammad, nor seen himmisconduct himself or
make mischief. He never laughs unduly nor talks untimely.”
As a result of his sagacity and trustworthiness, Khadija bint
Khuwaylid,aQurayshilady wellknownforherwealth,appointedhim
asthecustodianofherpossessionsandleftinhishandsthetaskofcon-
ductinghercommercial affairs.The Prophetoncejourneyedto Damas-
cus with Khadija’s merchandise and as a result of the ability he dis-
playedwasabletomakeanoutstandingprofit.Beforelongsheaskedto
becomehiswifeandtheProphet acceptedherproposal.After themar-
riage,which occurredwhen he wastwentyfive years old, the Prophet
beganthelifeofamanagerofhiswife’sfortunes,untiltheageofforty,
gaining meanwhile a widespread reputation for wisdom and
trustworthiness.
Herefusedtoworshipidols,aswasthecommonreligiouspracticeof
the Arabs of the Hijaz. And occasionally he would make spiritual