THE LIFE OF HAZRAT MUHAMMAD

Peace be upon him)

Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) is the last prophet of Allah and the leader of all prophets. He is the
greatest of men and teachers ever born on earth. There is none like him. He is the embodiment of
all that is good, pure and noble. Before his birth, Arabians were steeped in darkness, ignorance
and superstition. The Arabs were ignorant and wicked and they led beastly lives. They were
worshipers of many gods and goddesses and were given to all kinds of vices. The people of other
countries of the world also had fallen on evil ways of life by that time. Hazrat Muhammad
(PBUH) was, therefore, sent by Allah to correct the Arabs and to show the people of the world
the right path. Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) was born in the famous Quraish tribe of Mecca in
570 A. D. His father Abdullah died before his birth, and his mother Amena died when he was
only six. So he became an orphan when he was still an infant. He was brought up by a nurse
named Halima.
His grandfather, Hazrat Abdul Muttalib and his uncle Abu Taleb took care of the boy. Early in
life, Hazrat Muhammad passed through many trials and sufferings. He got no opportunity for
learning. However, he was taught much higher things than bookish-knowledge by nature and the
unseen hand of Allah.
He was sent by Allah for the good of mankind. From his boyhood, he was thoughtful, honest
and truthful. He was called Al-Amin or the trusted one. He always thought about the evils of
Arab life and how to save the Arabs from those evils. He was a man of word also and knew how
to manage business and other affairs. He carried on trade under his uncle and went to Syria
several times on commercial visits.
Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) served for some time under a beautiful rich and accomplished
widow named khadija. He managed her large business and won her confidence. At last, at the age
of 25, he married her and became the master of her vast wealth. But wife and riches had no effect
on his character. He retired to the cave of mount Hira and meditated on the problems of life and
death. At the age of forty, light dawned upon him and he got the new truth. He preached: There
is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah to preach this great religion to the
world. This is the religion of Islam. The new faith was first accepted by his wife khadija. A few
others also accepted it and became his disciples. Still a great many of the fierce Arabs were
furious when they heard of the new religion of Islam. They at first tried to persuade him to
refrain from preaching it and promised to give him whatever he wanted.
Then they put every difficulty in his path, subjected his followers to severe tortures and tried to
kill him. So for the sake of religion, he sent many of his followers to Medina and then in 622
A.D. , he himself went there. This is called the Hijrat from this date the Islamic era Hijri began.
The people of Medina warmly welcomed him. Many of them accepted his faith. Meanwhile, the
infidels of Mecca attacked Medina several times to kill the Prophet and to wipe out Islam. Thus
the Prophet and his followers were forced to fight a number of battles like Badar, Ohud and
khandak. Every time the evil designs of the oppressors of Mecca failed badly by the grace of
God. At last, the Prophet conquered Mecca in 630 A. D. and succeeded in bringing all Arabs to
his faith. The Prophet did not take any revenge from his worst enemies in retaliation.

He taught the people the virtue of forgiveness. He asked them to do well to others and worship
Allah. The Quran was revealed to him by Allah and the hadith which contains his sayings taught
the Muslims many noble virtues to make them a great world force later on. This greatest and
noblest soul passed away in 632 A.D. at the age of 63. His work and teachings remain and will
be followed as long as the world lasts. He made Muslims brothers of one another, built a great
nation and powerful state. At present one fifth of the people of the world are the followers of
Islam.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) was an embodiment of kindness, love and affection. He was sent to
mankind as a token of clemency and mercy. He himself practiced whatever he preached.
Therefore, he explained the Divine message of God through his practical examples. He brought
the message of equality and brotherhood for all mankind.

Saleem Raza
Assistant Professor
Deptt. Of English