Feb 11, 2011

Life of muhammad (saw)

Life in Mecca:

Muhammad was born and lived in Mecca for the first 52 years of his life (570–622) which was divided into two phases, that is before and after declaring the prophecy.

Childhood and early life:

Muhammad(saw) was born in the month of Rabi' al-awwal in 570. He belonged to the Banu Hashim, one of the prominent families of Mecca, although it seems not to have been prosperous during Muhammad(saw)'s early lifetime.[10][39] Tradition places the year of Muhammad(saw)'s birth as corresponding with the Year of the Elephant, which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite king Abraha who had in his army a number of elephants. Recent scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as 568 or 569.[40]
Muhammad(saw)'s father, Abdullah, died almost six months before he was born.[41] According to the tradition, soon after birth of Muhammad'(saw) he was sent to live with a Bedouin family in the desert, as the desert-life was considered healthier for infants. Muhammad(saw) stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until he was two years old. Some western scholars of Islam have rejected the historicity of this tradition.[42] At the age of six Muhammad(saw) lost his mother Amina to illness and he became fully orphaned.[43] He was subsequently brought up for two years under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe. When Muhammad(saw) was eight, his grandfather also died. He now came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of Banu Hashim.[40] According to Watt, because of the general disregard of the guardians in taking care of weak members of the tribes in Mecca in the 6th century, "Muhammad(saw) of guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time."[44]
While still in his teens, Muhammad(saw) accompanied his uncle on trading journeys to Syria gaining experience in the commercial trade, the only career open to Muhammad(saw) as an orphan.[44] According to tradition, when Muhammad(saw) was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans' caravan to Syria, he met a Christian monk or hermit named Bahira who is said to have foreseen Muhammed(saw) of career as a prophet of Allah.[45]
Little is known of Muhammad(saw) during his later youth, and from the fragmentary information that is available, it is hard to separate history from legend.[44] It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea."[46] Due to his upright character he acquired the nickname "al-Amin" (Arabic: الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.[8][10][47] His reputation attracted a proposal from Khadijah, a forty-year-old widow in 595. Muhammad(saw) consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one.[46]

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