Prophet Muhammad message. Brief biography of the prophet Muhammad

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was born in 570 according to the Christian calendar in Mecca (modern Saudi Arabia). His father Abdullah was the great-great-great-grandson of Qusay, the founder of Mecca, and belonged to the Hashemite family of the Quraish tribe. Muhammad's mother, Amina, was a descendant of her brother Qusay. One day, returning with a caravan from Syria and Palestine, Abdullah stopped to visit relatives at one of the oases north of Mecca. There he fell ill and died a few months before the birth of his son.

According to custom, the Quraish sent their children to a wet nurse in the desert, where, among the Bedouins, they spent the first years of their lives. This custom included not only concern for the child’s health, but also a return to the roots, the opportunity to feel freedom in the vast expanses of the desert. The Prophet Muhammad was taken by his nurse Halima. He lived in a Bedouin family for 4-5 years: he got used to life in the desert, looked after sheep as soon as he learned to walk.

Muhammad was about six when he and his mother went to Yathrib, where his father died. There Amina suffered from illness. She died on the way home. Now Muhammad’s guardian was his grandfather Abdul Mutalib, the head of the Hashemite clan. Two years later, when Muhammad was 8, he too died. The leadership passed to the prophet's uncle Abu Talib, and he became his new guardian. Muhammad was nine years old when his uncle, gathering a caravan, set off for Syria, and took his nephew with him to teach him the art of trade.

Muhammad succeeded in trade. Among the rich people of Mecca was the twice-widowed Khadija. Having learned of the illustrious reputation of Muhammad, often called Al-Amin (the trustworthy), she hired him to escort her caravan to Syria. Impressed by Muhammad's abilities and his charm, she sends matchmakers to him. At that time, Muhammad was twenty-five years old, Khadija was forty. After the wedding, she gave her husband a young slave named Zeid, to whom Muhammad granted freedom. When Zeid's relatives came to pay the ransom, he loved Muhammad so much that he chose to stay with his benefactor. Khadija bore Muhammad six children, including a son named Qasim, who died before he was two years old.

Muhammad became a wealthy man, a revered member of the community. His generosity and common sense aroused the admiration of people. It seemed that a bright future awaited him: he would achieve prosperity for his clan, become one of the most influential elders of the city, and die, perhaps like his grandfather, in the shadow of the Kaaba, reflecting on his past years. But he was destined for something completely different.

Hanifa

The Meccans were descendants of Abraham through his eldest son Ismail, their temple - the Kaaba - was built by Abraham to worship the One God. The Kaaba was still called the House of God, but numerous idols and deities, who were called daughters of God and considered intermediaries between people and God, became the object of worship. Only a few felt disgust at the widespread idolatry, and tried to adhere to the religion of Abraham. These truth seekers are known as Hanifs, which means “turning away from idolatry.” They did not unite into societies: each individually tried to find the truth. Muhammad, son of Abdullah, was one of them.

He was born half orphan, for his father Abdullah died when his mother was two months pregnant.

When he was six years old, his mother, Amina bint Wahab, also died, leaving Muhammad an orphan. His guardian was Abdul-Muttalib, his paternal grandfather, who had a special position and influence in Mecca. Members of his Quraysh tribe treated him as a respectable sheikh. And in those days, the Quraish tribe occupied a dominant position among all other Arab tribes.

The Prophet Muhammad became the object of his grandfather's care, love and affection, but all this did not last long, for his grandfather passed away when Muhammad was only eight years old. After the death of his grandfather, his uncle Abu Talib became the boy's guardian.
When Muhammad was twelve years old, he and his uncle Abu Talib went on a trading journey to Bilad al-Sham (Syria). This is how Muhammad left his native place for the first time. When he was twenty-five years old, he again went to Bilad al-Sham, this time on the business of Lady Khadija bint Huaylid, a rich and noble woman. Having heard that he was a reliable and honest man, Khadija entrusted him with her money. Upon Muhammad's return from Bilad al-Sham, she invited him to marry her. At that time he was twenty-five years old and she was forty.
Even before Muhammad became a prophet at the age of forty, he was nicknamed “worthy of trust,” for he was the most highly moral and most worthy person in his midst. He was famous for such character traits as tolerance, modesty, justice, patience, chastity, generosity and courage.
Muhammad was known for his hatred of pagan idols even before he began his prophetic mission. This hatred was so great that Muhammad never attended any of the pagan rituals. In addition, the Prophet Muhammad never drank intoxicating drinks in his life.
These character traits are common to all prophets. God endows His prophets with such qualities in preparation for receiving His Revelation. For prophets must always be infallible. This means that they do not commit sins either before entering the path of prophecy or after that.
The Jews and Christians who lived at that time on the Arabian Peninsula and in neighboring lands expected the appearance of the Last of the prophets in this world, as their Holy Books - the Torah and the Gospel - spoke about this.

The religion preached by the Prophet Muhammad profoundly changed moral principles among the Arabs, for it called for the worship of the only God, Allah, and also instilled in people the concept of life after death. This new religion preached the equality of all people, chastity, respectable family relations, respect for the rights of a neighbor, charity, and also defended the rights of women to inherit and own property.
Most of the pagans of Mecca were dissatisfied with the new way of social life, which was preached by the Prophet Muhammad, and began to fight against it. They subjected him to all kinds of persecution, causing him deep physical and mental wounds. They began calling him a “liar”, “madman”, “sorcerer” and “poet”. The nickname “poetmaker” was intended to humiliate him. Thus, the pagans sought to show that they do not recognize the Koran as a Revelation sent down to Muhammad from above. And if before the prophecy of Muhammad people called him “worthy of trust,” then later they awarded him with many bad and offensive nicknames.

Prophet Muhammad concluded a peace treaty with the people of Mecca for a period of ten years. But the Meccans violated this treaty and united with the Bakr tribe, which killed many members of the Khuzaa tribe (this tribe entered into an alliance with the Prophet Muhammad). At the head of an army of ten thousand, the Prophet set out on a campaign to conquer Mecca. The Meccans realized the futility of resisting the forces of the Prophet and surrendered without a fight.
The conquest of Mecca is considered the greatest triumph among Muslims, since it has the status of a holy city where people make an annual pilgrimage. Mecca is the area where the Kaaba, the Forbidden House of Allah, built by the prophets Abraham and Ismail (peace be upon them) is located. This city was also of great political and commercial importance for all Arab tribes. The Prophet Muhammad himself was a native of Mecca, as were many of his companions. And it was here that all the tribes took up arms against Muhammad. Thus Mecca became a strategic center of resistance to Islam. That is why her conquest was so great importance. The Prophet was well aware that the capture of Mecca was the best way to spread Islam among the Arabs.

For Muslims, the most significant religious figure is the Prophet Muhammad, thanks to whom the world saw and read the Koran. Many facts from his life are known, which gives a chance to understand his personality and significance in history. There is a prayer dedicated to him that can work miracles.

Who is Prophet Muhammad?

Preacher and prophet, messenger of Allah and founder of Islam - Muhammad. His name means "The Praised One." Through him, God transmitted the text of the holy book for Muslims - the Koran. Many people are interested in what the Prophet Muhammad was like in appearance, so, according to the scriptures, he was more different from other Arabs light color skin. He had a thick beard, broad shoulders and big eyes. Between the shoulder blades on the body there is a “seal of prophecy” in the shape of a relief triangle.

When was the prophet Muhammad born?

The birth of the future prophet occurred in 570. His family came from the Quraish tribe, who were the guardians of ancient religious relics. Another important point- where the Prophet Muhammad was born, and so the event took place in the city of Mecca, where modern Saudi Arabia is located. I didn’t know Muhammad’s father at all, and his mother died when he was six years old. He was raised by his uncle and grandfather, who told his grandson about monotheism.

How did the prophet Muhammad get the prophecy?

Information about how the prophet received the revelations to write the Qur'an is minimal. Muhammad never spoke in detail or clearly on this topic.

1. It was established that Allah communicated with the prophet through an angel whom he calls Jibril.
2. Another interesting topic is how old Muhammad became a prophet, so according to legend, an angel appeared to him and said that Allah had chosen him as his messenger when he was 40 years old.
3. Communication with God took place through visions. Some researchers believe that the prophet fell into a trance, while there are scientists who are sure that the reason was the weakness of the body due to prolonged fasting and lack of sleep.
4. One of the proofs that the Prophet Muhammad wrote the Qur'an is believed to be the fragmentary nature of the book and this, according to historians, is due to the inspiration of the preacher.

Parents of the Prophet Muhammad

The mother of the founder of Islam was the beautiful Amina, who was born into a rich family, which gave her the chance to receive good upbringing and education. She got married at the age of 15, and the marriage with the father of the Prophet Muhammad was happy and harmonious. Came down from the sky during childbirth White bird and touched Aminu with her wing, which relieved her of her existing fears. There were angels around who took the child into the world. She died of illness when her son was five years old.

The father of the Prophet Muhammad, Abdullah, was very handsome. One day his father, that is, the grandfather of the future preacher, made a vow before the Lord that he would sacrifice one son if he had ten of them. When the time came to fulfill the promise and the lot fell on Abdullah, he exchanged it for 100 camels. Many ladies were in love with the young guy, and he married the most beautiful girl in the city. When she was two months pregnant, the father of the Prophet Muhammad died. At that time he was 25 years old.

Prophet Muhammad and his wives

There are different information regarding the number of wives, but official sources traditionally present 13 names.

1. The wives of the Prophet Muhammad could no longer marry after the death of their spouse.
2. They must hide their entire body under clothing, while other women can expose their face and hands.
3. It was possible to communicate with the wives of the prophet only through a curtain.
4. They received double reward for everything they did.

Prophet Muhammad married the following women:

1. Khadija. The first wife to convert to Islam. She bore the Messenger of Allah six children.
2. Sauda. The prophet married her a few years after the death of his first wife. She was devout and pious.
3. Aisha. She married Muhammad at age 15. The girl told people many of her famous husband’s sayings related to her personal life.
4. Umm Salamah. She married Muhammad after the death of her husband and lived longer than his other wives.
5. Maria. The Egyptian ruler gave the woman to the prophet, and she became a concubine. They legalized the relationship after the birth of their son.
6. Zainab. She was in the status of a wife for only three months, and then she died.
7. Hafsa. The young girl was distinguished from others by her explosive character, which often angered Muhammad.
8. Zainab. The girl was first the wife of the prophet's adopted son. The other wives did not like Zainab and tried to present her in a bad light.
9. Maimuna. She was the sister of the prophet's uncle's wife.
10. Juwayriyah. This is the daughter of the leader of a tribe that opposed the Muslims, but after marriage the conflict was resolved.
11. Safiya. The girl was born into a family that was at enmity with Muhammad, and she was captured. Her future husband freed her.
12. Ramlya. This woman's first husband changed his faith from Islam to Christianity, and after his death she married a second time.
13. Raihana. At first the girl was a slave, and after accepting Islam, Muhammad took her as his wife.

Children of the Prophet Muhammad

Only two wives gave birth to the Messenger of Allah and, interestingly, all his descendants died at an early age. Many people are interested in how many children the Prophet Muhammad had, so there were seven of them.

1. Qasim - died at the age of 17 months.
2. Zainab was married to her father's cousin and gave birth to two children. She died young.
3. Rukia - was married off early and died young, without surviving the illness
4. Fatima - she was given in marriage to the prophet's cousin, and only she left the offspring of Muhammad. She died after the death of her father.
5. Ummu Kulthum - was born after the advent of Islam and died at a young age.
6. Abdullah - was born after the prophecy and died at an early age.
7. Ibrahim - after the birth of his son, the prophet made a sacrifice to Allah, shaved his hair and distributed donations. He died at the age of 18 months.

Prophecies of the Prophet Muhammad

There are about 160 confirmed prophecies that were fulfilled both during his life and after his death. Let's look at a few examples of what the prophet Muhammad said and what came true:

1. He predicted the conquest of Egypt, Persia and confrontation with the Turks.
2. He said that after his death Jerusalem would be conquered.
3. He argued that Allah will not give people a specific date, and they must understand that the Day of Judgment can come at any time.
4. He told his daughter Fatima that she was the only one who would survive him.

Prayer of the Prophet Muhammad

Muslims can turn to the founder of Islam using a special prayer - salavat. It is a manifestation of obedience to Allah. Regularly turning to Muhammad has its advantages:

1. Helps to cleanse yourself of hypocrisy and save yourself from the fire of Hell.
2. The Messenger Prophet Muhammad will intercede on the Day of Judgment for those who pray for him.
3. Prayer requests are a way of cleansing and atonement for sins.
4. Protects from the wrath of Allah and helps not to stumble.
5. You can ask for fulfillment through it.

When did the prophet Muhammad die?

There are a huge number of versions related to the death of the Messenger of Allah. Muslims know that he died in 633 AD. from a sudden illness. At the same time, no one knows what the Prophet Muhammad was sick with, which gives rise to many doubts. There are versions that he was actually killed with poison, and this was done by his wife Aisha. Disputes on this matter continue. The preacher's body was buried in his house, which was located near the Prophet's Mosque, and over time the room was expanded and became part of it.

Facts about the Prophet Muhammad

A huge amount of information is associated with this figure in Islam, while some facts are little known to many.

1. There is an assumption that the Messenger of Allah suffered from epilepsy. In ancient times he was thought to be possessed due to unusual seizures and clouding of consciousness, but these are common symptoms of the epileptic condition.
2. The morals of the Prophet Muhammad are considered an ideal, and every person should strive for them.
3. The first marriage was Great love and the couple lived in happiness for 24 years.
4. Many people are interested in what the prophet Muhammad was doing when he began to prophesy events. According to legend, the first feelings were doubt and despair.
5. He was a reformer because the revelations demanded social and economic justice, which the elite did not agree with.
6. The merits of the Prophet Muhammad are enormous; it is known that throughout his entire life he did not offend or defame anyone, while he avoided dishonest people and gossip.

Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 in Mecca. His family was not rich, but quite noble; it belonged to the Hashim clan of the Quraish tribe. Muhammad's father Abdallah died during a trading trip shortly before his birth, and the boy found himself under the care of his grandfather Shayb ibn Hashim al-Qurashi (also known as Abd al-Mutallib), head of the Hashim clan. The climate of Mecca was considered unfavorable for small children, and at the age of six months, Muhammad was given to be raised by a wet nurse in a nomadic family. Muhammad's mother Amina died when the boy was six years old, and two years later the Prophet Muhammad experienced another major grief - the death of his grandfather and guardian Abd al-Mutallib. The boy's guardian was Abu Talib, the son of Abd al-Mutallib, Muhammad's uncle and the new head of the Hashim clan. Abu Talib was a fairly large merchant of that time, he led caravans and often took Muhammad with him on business trips.

Around the age of twenty, the Prophet Muhammad began to lead an independent life, without formal guardianship from his uncle. By that time, he was already quite knowledgeable in trade, knew how to drive caravans, but did not have enough funds to conduct business on his own. Therefore, the young man was forced to hire out to more prosperous merchants. In 595, Muhammad began to manage the affairs of the wealthy Meccan widow Khadija bint Khuwaylid, who was so captivated by his character, intelligence and honesty that he offered to marry her. Khadija was 40 years old at that time, Muhammad was 25. Khadija gave birth to Muhammad several sons, who died in infancy, and four daughters: Ruqayu, Umm Kulthum, Zainab and Fatima. While Khadija was alive (she died in 619), Muhammad had no other wives.

The Prophet Muhammad was prone to solitary, pious reflections and often spent several days alone, and once a year, a whole month, in a cave on the slope of Mount Hira, at the foot of which Mecca lies. According to legend, in 610, when Muhammad was about 40 years old, he had a vision in a dream, and he heard a call addressed to him: “Read! In the name of your Lord, who created - created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord, the most generous, who taught with kalam, taught man what he did not know” (96:1-5). This marked the beginning of a series of revelations that continued until Muhammad's death in 632. Around 650, these revelations were written down and compiled into the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

Initially, the Prophet Muhammad was frightened by the revelations that had begun and doubted their origin, thinking that he was possessed by jinn (evil spirits), but Muhammad’s wife Khadija helped her husband cope with his doubts and convinced him that the nameless ghost was the angel Jibrael (Gabriel), and his visions came from from God. Muhammad became convinced that he was chosen by God as a messenger (rasul Allah) and prophet (nabi) to bring his word to people. The first revelations proclaimed the greatness of the one and only god Allah, rejected the polytheism widespread in Arabia, and convinced of the inevitability doomsday, warned about the future resurrection of the dead and punishment in hell for all who do not believe in Allah.

At first, his fellow tribesmen perceived the preaching of the Prophet Muhammad with ridicule, but gradually a permanent group of supporters formed around him, recognizing him as a prophet and listening attentively to his revelations. The Meccan elite felt the danger of these sermons, which threatened to destroy one of the foundations of Meccan trade - the cult of Arabian deities, and began to oppress the followers of the Prophet Muhammad - Muslims. Muhammad himself was under the protection of his clan and its head, his uncle Abu Talib, who, although he did not convert to Islam, considered it his duty to protect a member of his clan. Around 619, Muhammad's wife Khadija and Abu Talib died, and Abu Lahab became the head of the Khashim clan, who refused Muhammad protection.

The Prophet Muhammad began to look for supporters outside of Mecca. He preached to merchants who came to the city on business, tried to preach in other cities and became more and more famous. Around 621, a group of residents of the large oasis of Yathrib, located about 400 km north of Mecca, invited Muhammad to act as an arbitrator in their protracted and complicated inter-clan conflict. They agreed to call Muhammad as the prophet of Allah and transfer control of their city into his hands. First, most Meccan Muslims moved to Yathrib, and Muhammad himself arrived there in 622. From the first month (Muharram) of this year according to the lunar calendar, Muslims began to count the years of the new era according to the hijri (migration), that is, according to the year of the migration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Yathrib, which became known as Madinat an-nabi (City of the Prophet), or simply al -Madina (Medina) - City.

The Prophet Muhammad gradually transformed from a simple preacher into a political leader of the community (ummah). His main support was the Muslims who came with him from Mecca - the Muhajirs and the Medina Muslims - the Ansars. In Medina, the house of Muhammad was built, the first mosque was erected near it, the foundations of Muslim ritual were established - the rules of prayer, ablution, fasting, etc. In the revelations that visited the Prophet Muhammad, the rules of community life were explained in detail: the principles of inheritance, division of property, marriage , prohibitions were proclaimed on usury, gambling, wine, and eating pork.

The Prophet Muhammad initially hoped to find support from the Jews of Medina and even pointedly chose Jerusalem as the qiblah (the direction to be followed when praying), but they refused to recognize Muhammad as a prophet and even came into contact with the Meccans - the enemies of Muhammad. The response to this was a gradual break. The Prophet Muhammad began to speak more and more clearly about the special role of Islam and its independence as a separate religion. Jews and Christians are condemned as bad believers, Islam is declared to be the correction of their distortions of the will of Allah. In contrast to Saturday, a special Muslim day for general prayer is established - Friday; the Meccan Kaaba is proclaimed the main shrine of Islam, which becomes the qibla. The Kaaba is a stone building 15 m high. A “black stone” (melted meteorite) is embedded in the eastern corner of the building - the main object of worship in al-Kaaba. According to Muslim legends, the “black stone” is a white yacht from paradise, given by Allah to Adam when he, dropped on, reached Mecca. The stone later became black because of the sins and depravity of people, so that they would not see paradise, which could be seen in the depths of the stone (whoever sees paradise must go there after death).

One of the main religious and political tasks of Muhammad was the liberation of Mecca from the rule of polytheists and the cleansing of the Kaaba from pagan idols and rituals. The Prophet Muhammad began to prepare for the fight against the unbelieving Meccans from the very beginning of his life in Medina. In 623, Muslim attacks began on Meccan trade caravans (gazavat - mi. ch. from ghazwa - raid). In 624, at Badr, a small Muslim detachment led by Muhammad defeated the Meccan militia, despite the numerical superiority of the Meccans. This victory was taken as proof that Allah was on the side of the Muslims. In response, the Meccans approached Medina in 625, and a battle took place near Mount Uhud, in which the Muslims suffered big losses, however, the Meccans did not develop their success and retreated. The military defeat was also associated with internal difficulties in the Muslim camp. Some of the people of Medina, who initially willingly converted to Islam, were dissatisfied with the autocracy of the Prophet Muhammad and maintained close ties with the Meccans. This internal Medina opposition is repeatedly condemned in the Qur'an under the name of "hypocrites" (munafikun).

For several years, the Prophet Muhammad gathered forces for a decisive struggle against Mecca, strengthening his position in Medina and securing the support of many nomadic tribes. In 628, a large army moved towards Mecca and stopped nearby - in a place called Hudaibiya. Negotiations between Meccans and Muslims ended with the conclusion of a truce agreement, according to which Muhammad pledged to stop the offensive and abandon hostilities against Mecca. For this, the Meccans gave Muslims the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to the Kaaba. Exactly one year later, Muhammad and his companions performed the minor pilgrimage (umrah) in accordance with the agreement.

Meanwhile, the strength of the Medina community grew stronger. Rich oases lying north of Medina were conquered, and more and more nomadic tribes became allies of the Prophet Muhammad. Under these conditions, secret negotiations between Muhammad and the Meccans continued, many of whom openly or secretly accepted Islam. At the beginning of 630, the Muslim army entered Mecca unhindered. Muhammad granted forgiveness to many former enemies, worshiped the Kaaba and cleansed it of pagan idols.

However, the Prophet Muhammad did not return to live in Mecca and only once, in 632, made one pilgrimage to Mecca. The victory over Mecca further strengthened Muhammad's self-confidence and raised his religious and political authority in Arabia. The leaders of various clans and petty rulers came to Mecca to negotiate an alliance; many of them expressed their readiness to convert to Islam. In 631-632 a significant part of the Arabian Peninsula is more or less included in the political entity headed by Muhammad.

IN last years life, the Prophet Muhammad was preparing a military expedition against Syria with the aim of spreading the power of Islam to the north. In 632, Muhammad died unexpectedly after a short illness (there is a legend that he was poisoned). He was buried in the main mosque of Medina (the Prophet's Mosque).

Muhammad ibn Abd Allah, a Quraysh from the Hashim clan, was born in the Arabian city of Mecca around 570 AD. He was orphaned early, tended sheep, accompanied caravans, and took part in inter-tribal battles. At the age of 25, Muhammad went to work for his distant relative, the wealthy widow Khadija, whom he later married. After his marriage, he took up the leather trade, but was not very successful at it. In marriage he gave birth to four daughters; his sons died in infancy.

Until the age of forty, he led the life of an ordinary Meccan merchant, until in 610 he had his first experience of encountering the spiritual world. One night, which he spent in a cave on Mount Hira, a ghost appeared to him and forced Muhammad to read the verses that became the first lines of the “revelation” (Koran 96 1-15). This is how this event is described in the biography of the founder of Islam, Ibn Hisham:

“When this month came... the Messenger of Allah went to Mount Hira... When night fell... Jibril brought him the command of Allah. The Messenger of Allah said: “Jibril appeared to me while I was sleeping, with a brocade blanket in which some kind of book was wrapped and said: “Read!” I replied, “I can’t read.” Then he began to choke me with this blanket, so that I thought that death had come. Then he let me go and said: “Read!” I replied, “I can’t read.” He started choking me with it again, and I thought I was dying. Then he let me go and said: “Read!” I answered: “What should I read?”, wanting only to get rid of him so that he would not again do to me the same thing as before. Then he said: “Read! In the name of your Lord, who created man from a clot. Read! Indeed, your Lord is the most generous, who taught a man with a writing reed what he did not know (Quran 96.1-5)".

After this, the strangler disappeared, and Muhammad was overcome with such despair that he decided to commit suicide. But when he was about to jump off the mountain, he saw the same spirit again, got scared and ran home in fear, where he told his wife Khadija about the vision, saying:

“O Khadija! In the name of Allah, I have never hated anything so much as idols and soothsayers, and I am afraid that I myself must become a soothsayer... O Khadija! I heard a sound and saw a light and I'm afraid I've gone crazy."(Ibn Saad, Tabaqat, vol. 1, p. 225).

She went to her Christian cousin Waraqa, and he interpreted the vision to mean that it was the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel, who supposedly appeared to all the prophets, and that Muhammad was also, therefore, a prophet of the one God. Khadija tried to convince the frightened Muhammad of this, to whom the same spiritual being continued to appear at night. For quite a long time he was suspicious that it was the devil, but later Khadija managed to convince her husband that it was an angel who appeared to him.

Having accepted the mission imposed on him, Muhammad began to receive new revelations, but for another three whole years he told about them only to his family and close friends. The first few followers appeared - Muslims (“submissive”). The very name of the religion “Islam” is translated by Muslims as “submission”, in the sense of submission to Allah.

Muhammad continued to receive what he called “revelations from Allah.” Visions like the original were very rare. Revelations mostly came in a different form. Hadiths describe it this way:

“Verily, al-Harith ibn Hisham said:

“O Messenger of Allah! How do revelations come to you?” The Messenger of Allah told him: “Sometimes they come to me in the form of a ringing bell, and it is very difficult for me; (eventually) it stops ringing and I remember everything I was told. Sometimes an angel appears in front of me and speaks, and I remember everything he said.” Aisha said: “I witnessed when the revelation came to him on a very cold day; when it stopped, his entire forehead was covered in sweat" (Ibn Saad, Tabaqat, vol. 1, p. 228).

“Ubayd b. Samit says that when the revelation came to the Messenger of Allah, he felt heaviness, and his complexion underwent a change.”(Muslim, 17.4192).

Another hadith talks about the following signs: “ The messenger's face was red and he was breathing heavily for a while, and then he freed himself from it” (Bukhari, 6.61.508). And other legends report that when Muhammad received “revelations,” he fell into painful states: he thrashed around convulsively, felt a blow that shook his entire being, it seemed as if his soul was leaving his body, foam came out of his mouth, his face turned pale or purple, he even sweated on a cold day.

Over the course of several years, Muhammad converted just over two dozen people to his faith. Three years after the first revelation, he begins public preaching at the bazaar. Already known to the Arabs, the god Allah, who was part of the pre-Islamic pagan pantheon, Muhammad declared the only one, and himself a prophet, proclaimed the resurrection, the Last Judgment and retribution. The sermon was generally met with indifference and was not widely successful.

This was explained by the fact that Muhammad was not original in his ideas - at the same time in Arabia there were people who taught that God is one and proclaimed themselves his prophets. An early predecessor and competitor of Muhammad was the “prophet” Maslama from the city of Yemama. It is known that the Meccans reproached their “prophet” for simply copying the “man from Yemama,” i.e. Maslamu. Early sources indicate that Muhammad studied with a certain Nestorian monk...

Over time, when attacks against the goddesses revered by the Meccans began to appear in his sermons, and clashes began between Muslims and pagans, this led to a strong deterioration in relations towards Muhammad on the part of most of the townspeople. His Hashim clan was boycotted by other clans.

As relations grew tense, Muhammad decided to send those Muslims who caused the most irritation to Christian Abyssinia. This first hijra (migration) took place in 615. At the same time, some of the companions of Muhammad who moved to Abyssinia, having learned Christianity, were baptized (for example, UbaydAllah ibn Jahiz). Later, one of Muhammad’s scribes also converted to Orthodoxy.

The position of the “prophet” worsened in 620, when Abu Talib and Khadija died. Desperate to convert the Meccans, Muhammad tries to preach outside of Mecca - in the neighboring city of Taif, but this attempt was unsuccessful, and the herald of the new religion was stoned and expelled in disgrace. The next month, Muhammad began to preach among pilgrims from other tribes who came to worship the gods of the Kaaba, but again failed.

But a year later he was finally lucky - his speeches attracted the attention of pilgrims from Yathrib (which was also called Medina), where Muhammad’s maternal relatives lived. He sent his supporter Musaba there, who managed to convert many Yathribs to Islam.

Having learned about this, Muhammad decides to move the community to Medina. In the summer of 622, the second, or great Hijra, took place - about 70 Muslims rushed to Yathrib. The first mosque was built here.

Most of the settlers' property remained in Mecca. The Muslims of Yathrib helped them, but they themselves were not rich. The community found itself in miserable conditions. Then Muhammad, not seeing a way to feed the community with honest labor, decides to engage in robbery.

He tried to rob the caravans, but the first six attempts were unsuccessful, since in normal months the caravans were well guarded. Then Muhammad decided to make a treacherous raid. The Arabs revered four sacred months of the year, during which it was forbidden to carry out any military actions. In one of these months, the month of Rajab, at the beginning of 624, Muhammad ordered a small detachment of Muslims to attack a caravan carrying a load of raisins from Taif to Mecca.

The caravan was practically unguarded, and the attack was crowned with success: the sent detachment of Muslims returned with booty, one of the drivers was killed, the other managed to escape, two more were captured, one of whom was later sold.

The first successful raid brought the first loot. A few months later, the “Battle of Badr” took place:

“The Prophet heard that Abu Sufyan ibn Harb was returning from Syria with a large caravan of Quraysh, carrying money and goods... Hearing about this... The Prophet called on the Muslims to attack them, saying: “Here is the caravan of Quraysh. It contains their wealth. Attack them, and maybe with the help of Allah you will get them!”(Ibn Hisham. Biography... pp. 278–279).

So, intending to capture a rich Meccan caravan returning from Palestine under the supervision of his uncle Abu Sufian, Muhammad encountered superior forces of pagans who were rushing to help the caravan's escorts. But the Muslims managed to win. This had a significant strengthening of Muhammad's position in Medina; many pagans began to actively accept Islam. Muslims were convinced that the victory was a confirmation of the truth of Islam.

If previously the “prophet” was content with a share of one fifteenth of the loot, then during the division of trophies after Badr, Muhammad received a revelation that he now needed to separate a fifth of all the booty (Koran 8:41).

Captured Meccans formed the most important part of the booty. The ransom for the captive was the price of several camels, and representatives of all the rich families of Mecca were captured here. And Muhammad raised the price of their ransom, and ordered the death of some prisoners of war, namely an-Nadr ibn al-Harith and Uqba ibn Abu Muayt. The fault of the first was that he considered his poems to be of better quality than the Quranic revelations of Muhammad, and the second composed mocking poems about the “prophet”.

All of Muhammad's sermons, which later became the Koran, were in poetic form, and although Muhammad himself claimed that no one would ever be able to write such wonderful poetry, nevertheless, Arab poets were skeptical about his poetry and the level of his poetry. And he could not tolerate this.

After Badr, Muhammad began to crack down on the Medina poets. One of the first to die was Ka'b ibn Ashraf, who annoyed Muhammad by writing satirical poems about him. Here's how Muslim sources describe it:

“The Messenger of Allah said: “Who is ready to kill Ka’b ibn Ashraf?” Muhammad ibn Maslama replied: “Do you want me to kill him?” The Messenger replied in the affirmative.”(Bukhari, 4037).

The Messenger said: “Whatever is entrusted to you, you must do.” He asked: “O Messenger of Allah, we will have to lie.” He replied: “Say whatever you want, since you are free in your business” (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat rasul Allah, p. 367).

Muhammad ibn Maslama came to Ka'b and spoke to him, recalling the old friendship between them, and persuaded Ka'b to leave the house, convincing him that a group of Muslims had become disillusioned with the “prophet.” Kaab believed him, especially since Kaab’s foster brother, Abu Naila, was with him, who said: “I am Abu Naila, and I came to tell you that the coming of this man (“messenger”) is a great misfortune for us. We want to get away from him” (Ibn Saad, Tabaqat, vol. 2, p. 36).

When Ka'b was drawn into conversation and began to talk to them freely and was "pleased with them and became close to them" (ibid., p. 37), they moved closer to him under the pretext of examining the aroma of his perfume. They then drew their swords and stabbed him to death. Having killed the Kaaba, they immediately returned to Muhammad, saying takbir (Allahu akbar - “Allah is great”). And when they approached the Messenger of Allah, he said: “ (Your) faces are happy.” They said: “Yours too, O Messenger of Allah!” They bowed their heads before him. The Messenger thanked Allah that the Ka'b was dead."(Ibn Saad, Tabaqat, vol. 2, p. 37).

In the same way, through assassins sent, the poetess Asma bint Marwan was killed in her home, and a little later, the poet Abu Afak, one of the elders of the Amr b. Auf, then it was the turn of Al-Harith ibn Suwayd. On another occasion, Muhammad personally ordered his adopted son Zeid to kill the poetess Umm Qirfa, who ridiculed the “prophet,” and Zeid killed her by tying a rope to her legs, at the other end tied to two camels, and leading them in opposite directions until the woman was not torn into two halves (Al 'saba – Ibn Hagar – vol. 4, page 231).

The repressions also took on a group character - at least fifty families of pagans from the Aus tribe who did not convert to Islam had to move to Mecca. Thus Muhammad strengthened his position inside Medina. Most of the pagans became Muslims. The other opposition in the city was the Jewish tribes, of which there were three. Some of the Jews also converted to Islam, but their number was insignificant. Most Jews ridiculed his prophetic claims. And Muhammad began a systematic war against the Jewish tribes. First, he initiated hostility with the Jewish tribe Banu Qaynuqa, forcing them to move out of the city to the oasis of Khaybar.

It is worth noting that in Medina, Muhammad's family increased significantly. After the death of Khadija, he married Sauda in Mecca, and in Medina acquired a harem: he married Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, Hafsa, the daughter of Omar, Zainab bint Khuzaim, Umm Habibu, the daughter of Abu Sufian, Hind Umm Salama, Zainab bint Jahsh, Safiya and Maimun. For Muslims, Muhammad set a restriction not to take more than four wives at a time (Koran 4.3), but when he himself exhausted this “quota,” the “prophet” immediately received a “revelation” that he himself, as an exception, could take an unlimited number of wives. In addition to his wives, he had a number of concubines.

A year after Badr, the next battle between the Muslims and the Quraish took place, called the “Battle of Uhud.” This time the Muslims suffered a significant defeat, although Muhammad had predicted victory the day before; nevertheless, his camel was killed under him, and two of his teeth were knocked out. It was not the best of times for the Muslim community, but it did not collapse. A “revelation” came down to Muhammad, explaining that the Muslims themselves were to blame for everything, but not the “prophet.” If, they say, they had obeyed him, they would have won (Koran 3.152). In addition, he constantly tried to strengthen his supporters by intensifying the image of the enemy who surrounded them everywhere. Muhammad continued the systematic extermination of non-Muslims in Medina and expanded beyond its borders, attacking the surrounding, weaker tribes.

The Bani Mustaliq tribe was attacked, and then Muhammad began a siege of the second Jewish tribe of Medina, the Bani Nadir. As a result, the Jews were forced to leave their homes and lands and also move to Khaybar.
After the expulsion of Banu Nadir, Muslims for the first time got the richest as booty, well irrigated lands with palm groves. They hoped to divide them according to the accepted rules, but then Muhammad received a revelation, which explained that since this booty was not obtained in battle, but by agreement, it should all go to the complete disposal of the “messenger of Allah” and be distributed at his discretion (Koran 59.7 ).

Now Muhammad began to send his killers even beyond Medina. For example, he “ordered” the murder of one of the leaders of the Banu Nadir, Abu Rafi, who, after being expelled from Medina, went north to Khaybar. On the way, Muslims killed him (Bukhari, 4039).

After this, Muhammad turned his arms against the last Jewish tribe in Medina, the Bani Qurayza, who remained neutral during the siege. In Muslim traditions this is presented as a consequence of a divine command:

“At noon Jibril appeared to the Prophet... [and said]: “Almighty and all-glorious Allah orders you, O Muhammad, to go to Bani Qurayza. I will go to them and shake them.” The Messenger of Allah besieged them for twenty-five days until the siege became unbearable for them... Then they surrendered, and the Prophet locked them in Medina in the house of Bint al-Harith, a woman from the Banu al-Najjar. Then the Prophet went to the market of Medina and dug several ditches there. Then he ordered them to be brought, and cut off their heads in these ditches. They say there were between eight and nine hundred of them.” (Ibn Hisham. Biography... p. 400).

As a result of such activities, Muhammad had an entire city at his disposal with a strong and obedient community. The confiscation of the property of the expelled and exterminated Jewish tribes, as well as predatory raids on surrounding tribes and caravans brought rich booty to the Muslims. The Meccans once again tried to attack the Muslims, but they surrounded the city with a siege ditch, which the pagans did not dare to storm and the battle never took place.

Muhammad then organized an attack on the Jewish fortress of Khaybar.

The superior Muslim forces managed to capture it. After the victory, the “prophet” not only sold and killed prisoners, as before, but also tortured some. One of the local leaders named Kinana did not have as much money as Muhammad expected to see. He ordered al-Zubair to torture Kinana in order to find out where the rest was hidden. The torture with two hot charred pieces of wood pressed to Kinana's chest was so severe that he lost consciousness. However, the torture did not produce results, and the location of the money was still unknown. Then the “prophet” handed Kinana over to his supporters for execution, and took his wife into his harem.

In 629, Muhammad gathered and sent against the Ghassanid Arabs, who were in the service of the Byzantine emperor, a large army of three thousand people. Here the Muslims first encountered Byzantine forces and were defeated, three of the four military leaders died in the battle, including their adopted one Muhammad's son Zeid.

The following year, Muhammad marched against Mecca with an army of thousands. The Quraysh did not dare to resist; the vast majority of them sat in their houses. The city capitulated. Muhammad defiantly forgave the Quraish - with the exception of some sworn enemies, some of whom the Muslims managed to capture and execute. However, he did not forgive for nothing - but on the condition that the Quraish convert to Islam. Which they hastened to do.

Approaching the Kaaba (pagan sanctuary), Muhammad ordered to remove all the idols from it, except for the black stone, and also ordered to erase all the paintings, except for the iconographic image of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus (Azraki, p. 111).

After the Hajj in Mecca, Muhammad, through Ali, as usual, citing revelation (Koran 9.5), declared war on paganism after the end of the holy months. Until now, he considered Islam a matter of conscience for everyone, he persuaded people to accept Islam, bribed them, but did not force them. Now Muhammad felt able to force him to accept Islam under threat of death. In 630, campaigns continued against the surrounding tribes in order to force them to convert to Islam. Often weak tribes submitted to these demands, but not always.

In the year of his death, Muhammad performed the ritual of hajj to the Kaaba and performed the ritual of worship of the black stone. Everything that the “prophet” did during his hajj became the basis of rituals observed to this day by Muslim pilgrims.

Representatives of Arab tribes flocked to Mecca from all sides, hurrying to enter into an alliance with a formidable force. However, not everything was smooth sailing. A number of regions of Arabia (East and South) drove out his emissaries in disgrace, rallying around their own prophets - Aswad and Maslama.

A serious illness found Muhammad preparing a great campaign against Byzantium. Death prevented the plan from being realized. Before his death, he was seriously ill, the ghosts of the dead bothered him. He died in Medina in 632. According to legend, last words Muhammad said: “May Allah curse the Jews and Christians who turned the graves of their prophets into places for prayer!” (Bukhari, 436) .

During his life he made nineteen military campaigns. Left nine widows and three daughters, he had eight swords, four spears, four coats of mail, four bows, a shield and a fringed banner.

With the death of Muhammad, the politic system staggered everywhere. Many of the most important tribes considered themselves free from treaty obligations, expelled the tax collectors and returned to their former lives. There was a riddah - a mass apostasy from Islam. It was Abu Bakr, his successor, the first caliph, who had to make enormous efforts to save Islam from defeat and schism. As before, the main means to achieve this was seen as continuous Muslim expansion. Having dealt with their opponents on the Arabian Peninsula, they poured further into the territories of Persia and Byzantium, devastated and weakened by twenty-five years of war, plague and internal turmoil.

from the book of priest Georgy Maximov “Orthodoxy and Islam”