Portrait of Prophet Muhammad, Imam ‘Ali and His Sons and His Closest Companions. image by Rahim Kashani-Wikimedia
Top 10 Facts about Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ibn Abdullah was a prophet and founder of Islam. He was also an Arab religious, social, and political leader. According to Islamic doctrine, he was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.
He was born approximately 570 CE in Mecca. Most of his early life was spent as a merchant. It was in 610 AD when the Angel Jibreel appeared to him in the Cave of Hira and shared the first revelations of the Qur’an. At age 40, he began to have revelations from Allah that became the basis for the Koran and the foundation of Islam.
It was at this point that Muhammad became a prophet of Allah and began to gather followers in secret in Mecca. He would start spreading the message of Islam publicly three years later in 613 AD. By 630 he had unified most of Arabia under a single religion.
For Muslims, Muhammad is Allah’s final prophet, the last and best in a chain of thousands of prophets. Muslims view him as the only perfect man who ever lived.
1. Prophet Muhammad was an orphan
He was the son of Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahb. His father Abdullah died a few months before Muhammad’s birth. His mother Amina died when he was six, leaving Muhammad an orphan.
He was sent to live with a milk mother in the desert as a baby, as was the tradition at the time. He was nursed by Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb of the Banu Sa’ad tribe. He reunited with his mother at the age of six, but she would die just a year later.
Abd al-Muttalib, his paternal grandfather took in the young Muhammad. He was later taken in by his paternal uncle, Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib. Arabia at the time was a very tribal society. Orphans were the lowest class in society because they lacked protection. This left him feeling vulnerable at such a young age.
2. Muhammad was proposed to by a 40-year-old woman when aged 25
Image by Elisha Mgandy from Pixabay
At age 25, he was proposed to by Sayyida Khadijah, aged 40 at the time, and accepted her hand in marriage. She would be his only wife for 25 years before her death in 619 AD, the same year as his uncle died.
They had between six and eight children but all their children died in childhood.
Despite living in an era where men were considered superior, he was an ideal husband. He took on chores that were not deemed manly. These included sweeping the floor, repairing old clothes and sandals, and milking the goats. He used to keep himself busy serving his family and when it was time for prayer he would go for it.
3. He Never Ate Alone
Image by Mehr News Agency-Wikimedia
Muhammad would never eat alone and would always go out of his way to invite others to dine with him. Eating together in Islam is regarded as sunnah. Sunnah is the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow.
He advised others against eating alone when there is an opportunity to eat with another. He said that for food to be perfect, it possess four qualities; being halal, eating it with other people, having started with the name of God, and having ended with the praise of God.
4. He would pray privately so much so that his legs would become swollen
Photo by Adli Wahid on Unsplash
Mohammad knew that too much of anything is poisonous. This also applied to his preaching. He would share the message of Allah far and wide. However, he would not do so in excess to the point that people would become annoyed with him.
With this said, he, however, did not think there was too much praying. He would pray privately so much so that his legs would become swollen. He often said that he would always be thankful to Allah.
5. Non-believers think he was likely influenced by Christians
When he was between 9 and 12, he met a Christian monk in Syria. The monk told him Christian tales. Additionally, when received his first divine revelation, he went to his wife’s cousin who was also a Christian and an expert in the Hebrew Bible.
Muslims insist Muhammad had no influence whatsoever from Christians. They believe Muhammad received his revelation directly from Allah through the Angel Jibreel and became a prophet at the age of 40. They insist there was no human intervention in the process.
6. He launched raids against many non-Muslims
Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash
Muhammad lived in Mecca for 53 years. After he became a prophet, he lived there for about 13 years, trying to preach his religious message. But it failed. People mocked and persecuted him and his handful of followers.
After years of failure and intense pressure, he took his few followers and immigrated to Medina where he lived the last decade of his life. At Medina, he was able to consolidate his power and accumulate resources. There, he became a commander and statesman.
He became a strong military leader in Medina. He launched dozens of military raids against various groups, including polytheists, Jews, and Christians. Through these raids, he became so powerful that many tribes submitted to him and thus declared their conversion to Islam. The word Islam itself means “submission” and “surrender.”
7. Muhammad had multiple wives and concubines
He was monogamously married to his first wife, Khadijah, until her death after about 25 years of marriage. She was the most beloved and favored wife.
Polygamy was common in Arabic society. After Khadijah’s death, he married many wives. The exact number is disputed, but he had somewhere between 9 and 12. He also had many concubines and female slaves. Muslims say he married these women to take care of them after they lost their husbands. Others believe these marriages were for economic and political reasons.
8. He was said to have died of poisoning
Muslim sources reveal that Muhammad did not die naturally; he was poisoned. Sunni Muslims accuse a Jewish woman of poisoning Muhammad.
Meanwhile, some Shiites argue that two of Muhammad’s wives conspired to kill him and prepare the way for their fathers to succeed him in ruling over the Arabs.
Since the story of poisoning a prophet sheds doubts on divine protection, many Muslims claim the stories in the Muslim sources are forgeries and that Muhammad died of natural causes.
9. Prophet Muhammad’s favorite foods were liver from sheep and camel
Prophet Muhammad stressed the practice of eating less to prevent sickness and diseases, which is supported by doctors today. He talked about meat as a precious metal in both this world and after death.
The liver from sheep and camel was one of the favorites. He ate the liver of a slaughtered sheep with bread. Other favorites were dates. He would eat dates whenever he could. He said that a house without dates is no house and dates are also essential during childbirth.
10. Muhammad married a six years old girl
Image by Ratna Fitry from Pixabay
He married Sayyida Aisha when she was 6 years old. When she was nine, they consummated the marriage. She became the youngest and most favorite of his many wives.
It was not uncommon to marry young girls. They were not considered young girls, and rather they were considered young women at the time.
Among the wives, a few are notable: Khadijah was the wealthiest. Sawada was the oldest. Aisha was the youngest. Zaynab was his adopted son’s wife, but Allah later revoked that adoption, allowing Muhammad to marry her. Safiyya was a Jewish woman who married Muhammad after he raided her tribe and killed her husband.
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