PBS - Islam: Empire of Faith - Profiles - Muhammad Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca around the year 570. Orphaned before he had reached the age of six, he was raised under the protection of his uncle Abu Talib. Muhammad began working as a merchant and became known for his trustworthiness. When he was about twenty-five, he married Khadija, a wealthy widow whose status elevated Muhammad's position in Meccan society. Muhammad and Khadija had four daughters and two sons, both of whom died in infancy. About fifteen or twenty years after his marriage, he began to have visions and hear mysterious voices. He sought solitude in a cave on Mount Hira on the outskirts of Mecca. One night during Ramadan, the traditional month of spiritual retreat, when Muhammad was about forty years old, an angel appeared to him in the form of a man and ordered him to; Recite in the name of thy lord who created, Created man from a clot; Recite in the name of thy lord, Who taught by the pen, Taught man what he knew not. Muhammad, fearing that he was being attacked by an evil spirit, fled down the mountain in terror.

The voice called after him, "O Muhammad, you are the messenger of God, and I am the angel Gabriel." This revelation was soon followed by others about the one true God. Eventually, the angel told Muhammad to begin proclaiming God's message. Muhammad slowly began to attract some followers, most of them young and of modest social standing, including his cousin Ali, the son of his uncle and protector Abu Talib. When Muhammad began to impugn the traditional polytheism of his native town, the rich and powerful merchants of Mecca realized that the religious revolution taking place under their noses might be disastrous for business, which was protected by the Meccan pantheon of gods and goddesses. The ruling elite ganged up against Muhammad and his followers, and began to persecute them. A few Meccans began to accept Muhammad's message, while other members of his clan came to support their kinsman out of family loyalty, even if they did not yet believe in his cause. Muhammad's position in Mecca became hopeless when his wife Khadija and uncle Abu Talib died in quick succession. In 622 the local rulers of Mecca forced Muhammad and his small band of followers to leave the city.

Muhammad accepted an invitation to settle in the oasis of Yathrib, located some eleven days (280 miles) north by camel, for the oasis had been nearly torn apart by wars between the clans, of which many were Jewish. Muhammad's hegira from Mecca marks the beginning of a new polity. For the first time in Arabia members of a community were bound together not by the traditional ties of clan and tribe but by their shared belief in the one true God. Later believers, looking back on this event, recognized its seminal importance by designating it as the first year of their new era. In further recognition of this great event, the oasis of Yathrib came to be called Medina, "the city [of the Prophet]." Muhammad, surrounded by his followers, lived in Medina for ten years, slowly winning over converts. Muhammad made repeated attempts to attract the Jews to his cause, for example, he directed that believers worship like the Jews in the direction of Jerusalem. Ultimately these attempts failed, and henceforth Muslims prayed in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.

Muhammad's native town, which had long been a center of paganism, thereby became the center of the true religion, the focal point of the believers' daily prayer, and eventually the object of their annual pilgrimage. Raiding and warfare were the primary economic activities of the new community in Medina, and the rich caravans organized by the Quraysh of Mecca were particularly attractive targets. In 628, Muhammad finally negotiated a truce with the Meccans and in the following year returned as a pilgrim to the city's holy sites. The murder of one of his followers provoked him to attack the city, which soon surrendered. Muhammad acted generously to the Meccans, demanding only that the pagan idols around the Kaaba be destroyed. Muhammad's prestige grew after the surrender of the Meccans. Embassies from all over Arabia came to Medina to submit to him. Muhammad's extraordinary life and career were cut short by his sudden death on June 8, 632, aged about sixty, less than a decade since he had set off from Mecca with his small band of followers.

Muslims to this day revere Muhammad as the embodiment of the perfect believer and take his actions and sayings as a model of ideal conduct. Unlike Jesus, who Christians believe was God's son, Muhammad was a mortal, albeit with extraordinary qualities. Today many Muslims believe that it is wrong to represent Muhammad, but this was not always the case. At various times and places pious Muslims represented Muhammad although they never worshipped these images. Mohammed or Mahomet Mohammed or Mahomet History: (Western forms of Arabic Muhammad) Life: (c.570-c.632) Founder of Islam, born in Mecca, the son of Abdallah, a poor merchant. Orphaned at six, he was cared for first by his grandfather, then by his uncle, and earned his living by tending sheep. At 25 he led the caravans of a rich widow, whom he later married. He continued as a merchant, but spent much of his time in solitary contemplation. When he was 40, Gabriel appeared to him on Mount Hira, near Mecca, and commanded him in the name of God to preach the true religion. Four years later he was told to come forward publicly as a preacher.

The basis of his teaching was the Koran, which had been revealed to him by God. He attacked superstition, and exhorted people to a pious, moral life, and belief in an all-powerful, all-just, and merciful God, who had chosen him as his prophet. God's mercy was principally to be obtained by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. At first dismissing him as a poet, the Meccans finally rose against him and his followers. He sought refuge at Medina in 622 (the date of the Mohammedan Era, the Hijra), and assumed the position of highest judge and ruler of the city. He then engaged in war against the enemies of Islam. In 630 he took Mecca, where he was recognized as chief and prophet, and thus secured the new religion in Arabia. In 632 he undertook his last pilgrimage to Mecca, and there on Mount Arafat fixed the ceremonies of the pilgrimageï¿½ (Hajj). He fell ill after his return, and died at the house of the favourite of his nine wives, Aï¿½shah, the daughter of Abu Bakr.

At the age of 40 Muhammad fell into a trance in a cave on - HUM - 130 View Full Document At the age of 40, Muhammad fell into a trance in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca where he claimed to have heard the angel Gabriel speak to him. It was reported that he ran out of this cave screaming “I have either become a soothsayer or else I am possessed of the Djin and gone mad.” This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document 3 While Jesus started teaching the word of God around age 30, Mohammed did not recognize his place as a prophet until well after his vision of Gabriel. Jesus taught the word of God, and performed miracles, attracting rather large crowds. He also is credited with turning water into wine, small loaves of bread into enough food to feed many, walking on water, and calming storms at sea. Mohammed on the other hand spent much of his life fighting, conquering those who did not believe in Allah, including Christians and Jews. It was not until after his death that the teachings, sayings, and life of Mohammed were written down into what became the Qur’an.

Muslims accept the Qur’an as being a miracle and being composed with no human error. During his life, Mohammed led multiple military campaigns, and within ten years of his death in 632 Arab Muslims had taken control of Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Persia, and Egypt. In the span of a single generation, Mohammed and those who followed him changed the political and religious landscape of the middle-east. Today, Muslims This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM Muhammad Encyclopedia of the Middle East Muhammad donations Muhammad Muhammad ibn �Abd Allāh ( Arabic : محمد ) (also Mohammed, Mohamed, Muhamad)Muhammed, Mahomet) (circa 570 - June 8th 632 CE) was the founder of Islam . He is regarded by Muslim s as the last messenger (rasool) and prophet (Nabi) According to Muslim belief, Muhammad did not create a new religion. He was rather the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Solomon, Jesus and others. They see him as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets.

Islam thus lays claim to the legitimacy of both Christianity and Judaism. Muhammad�s early life is shrouded in obscurity. Nearly all of his life story is derived from the narrative in the Quran. The first non-Muslim sources attesting to his existence appear about 634, two years following his death. He was born in Mecca, Arabia, about 569 or 570 CE, into the clan of the Banu Hashim of the Quraysh tribe, one of the more prosperous families of Mecca but the family seems to have not been prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime. His father died before he was born apparently and he was brought up by his uncle. He worked as a merchant, and was married by age 26. Muhammad's first wife, Khadijah, bore six children: two sons, Al Qasem and Abdullah (who is also called Abdullah Al Tayeb or Abdullah Al Taher), and four daughters: Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatima. All of Khadija's children were born before Muhammad reported receiving his first revelation. Both of Muhammad's sons died in childhood, with Qasim dying at the age of two.

Mecca was the center for worship of the Kaaba stone, an idolatrous cult. According to Muslim tradition Muhammad got his first revelation from God at age 40. Muhammad often went on retreat in Mount Hira near Mecca. Islamic tradition claims that the angel Gabriel began communicating with him here in 610 CE. The angel commanded Muhammad to recite verses that were later part of the Quran . At first he preached only to his wife and family, but at age 43, Muhammad started preaching the revelations publicly. He proclaimed that there is one God, and that "Islam" - surrender to God-- is the only true religion. He declared himself a prophet and messenger of God, similar to Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets. Monotheism was not popular with the merchants of Mecca, since they would lose the rich trade brought by the cult of the Kaaba stone if the new faith took hold. Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was, not surprisingly, greeted largely with hostility. He and his followers were treated harshly.

As the ranks of his followers grew, Muhammad, became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Kaaba, the focal point of Meccan religious life. Muhammad�s denunciation of the Kaaba religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba. Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment of Muhammad and his followers. Sumayya bint Khubbat, a slave of Abū Jahl and a prominent Meccan leader, is famous as the first martyr of Islam, She was killed by her master when she refused to give up her faith. Bilal, another Muslim slave, suffered torture at the hands of Umayya ibn khalaf by placing a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion. Muhammad himself was under the protection of Abu Talib, the head of the clan of Banu Hashim. Therefore, nobody had attacked him directly. However, the leaders of Makhzum and Abd Shams, two important clans of Quraysh, declared a public boycott against the clan of Banu Hashim, their commercial rival, in order to put pressure on the clan.

The boycott lasted for three years. In 615, some of Muhammad's followers emigrated to the Ethiopian Kingdom, Aksum. They founded a small colony there under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian king. It is not clear if this Hijra was due to persecution, or reflected a split in Islam or a desire to found new colonies. In 619, both Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died. Relations between Muhammad's followers and Muhammad's own Quraysh tribe, worsened. Muhammad then tried to establish himself in Ta'if, but this failed and Muhammad had to return to Mecca. About 620 CE, Muhammad related that he had experienced the Isra and Miraj, a miraculous journey said to have been accomplished in one night along with the angel Gabriel. In the first part of the journey, the Isra, he is said to have travelled from Mecca to "the farthest place of worship" (or most extreme mosque) (in Arabic: masjid al-aqsa), usually identified with the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

In the second part, the Miraj, Muhammad supposedlytoured heaven and hell, and spoken with earlier prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Though earlier Muslim historians considered these to be metaphorical or spiritual journeys, later authorities insisted that they were actual occurrences. To escape growing persecution, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Yathrib (Medina) in the year 622. Muhammad had been invited there by Jewish and other tribes to adjudicate their disputes. This event, the Hijra , marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, and Muslim years are designated A.H. , after the Hijra. In Medina, Muhammad united the warring tribes for a while. From their base in Medina, the Muslims took to raiding Meccan caravans. In 624, they won the battle of Badr and took much booty. Now secure in Medina, Muhammad expelled the Banu Qaynuqa, one of the three main Jewish tribes, and ordered the assassination of the poetess Asma bint Marwan and then the poet Abu Afak, who had been critical of his rule.

Subsequently, after each major battle, Muhammad destroyed a different one of the Jewish tribes that had welcomed him and his followers to Medina. After Uhud, he expelled the Banu Nadir, and following the Battle of the Trench in 627, the Muslims accused the Jews of Banu Qurayza of conspiring with the Meccans. They beheaded the adult male members of the Banu Qurayza, and sole the women and children as slaves. The Muslims and the Meccans continued to do battle over the next few years, concluding a truce in 628, the Hudna of Hudaibiyeh. The Muslims who had gathered for batter then turned on the nearby Jewish town of Khaybar and sacked it. In 630, the Muslims violated the treaty of Hudaibeyeh, claiming that the Meccans had violated it, and invaded and captured Mecca. Returning from his "farewell pilgrimage to Mecca in 632, Muhammad fell ill and died. He was buried in Medina. According to Muslim tradition, his gravesite was originally the home of his wife, Aisha.

Approximate timeline of Muhammad's life 569 Death of Muhammad's father, `Abdallah 570 Birth of Muhammad in April 576 Death of Muhammad's mother 578 Death of Muhammad's grandfather 595 Muhammad's marries Khadijah 610 First reports of Qur'anic revelation 613 Begins spreading message of Islam publicly 614 Begins to gather following in Mecca 615 Emigration of Muslims to Ethiopia 616 Start of Banu Hashim clan boycott 618 Civil war in Medina 619 End of Banu Hashim clan boycott 619 Death of Khadijah, Muhamad's wife.

620 Isra and Miraj journeys 622 The Hijra: Muhammad and his followers emigrate to Medina 624 The battle of Badr: Muslims defeat Meccans; expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa Jews 625 Battle of Uhud: Meccans defeat Muslims; expulsion of Banu Nadir Jews 626 Attack on Dumat al-Jandal (Syria) 627 Battle of the Trench; destruction of Banu Qurayza Hews 627 Subjugation of Dumat al-Jandal 628 Treaty of Hudaybiyya; Muhammad and the Muslims are permitted to visit Mecca and the Kaaba shrine 628 Capture of the Jewish town of Khaybar 629 First hajj pilgrimage to Mecca 629 Attack on Byzantine empire fails: Battle of Mu'tah 630 Muslims attack and capture Mecca 630 Battle of Hunayn 632 Muslims attack the Ghassanids: Tabuk 632 Muhammad dies about June 8 in Medina Synonyms and alternate spellings: Mohamed, Mohammed, Mahomet, Muhamad.

Famous Men of the Middle Ages: Mohammed. Lived from 570-632 A.D. I A GREAT number of people in Asia and Africa and much of those in Turkey in Europe profess the Mohammedan religion. They are called Mohammedans, Mussulmans or Moslems; and the proper name for their religion is "Islam," which means obedience, or submission. The founder of this religion was a man named Mohammed, or Mahomet. He was born in the year 570, in Mecca, a city of Arabia. His parents were poor people, though, it is said, they were descended from Arabian princes. They died when Mohammed was a child, and his uncle, a kind-hearted man named Abutalib, took him home and brought him up. When the boy grew old enough he took care of his uncle's sheep and camels. Sometimes he went on journeys with his uncle to different parts of Arabia, to help him in his business as a trader. On these journeys Mohammed used to ride on a camel, and he soon became a skillful camel-driver. Mohammed was very faithful and honest in all his work. He always spoke the truth and never broke a promise.

"I have given my promise," he would say, "and I must keep it." He became so well known in Mecca for being truthful and trustworthy that people gave him the name of El Amin, which means "the truthful." At this time he was only sixteen years of age; but the rich traders had so much confidence in him that they gave him important business to attend to, and trusted him with large sums of money. He often went with caravans to a port on the shore of the Red Sea, sixty-five miles from Mecca, and sold there the goods carried by the camels. Then he guided the long line of camels back to Mecca, and faithfully paid over to the owners of the goods the money he had received. Mohammed had no school education. He could neither read nor write. But he was not ignorant. He knew well how to do the work intrusted to him, and was a first-rate man of business. II ONE day, when Mohammed was about twenty-five years old, he was walking through the bazaar or market-place, of Mecca when he met the chief camel-driver of a wealthy woman named Khadijah. This woman was a widow, who was carrying on the business left her by her husband.

As soon as the camel-driver saw Mohammed he stopped him and said: "My mistress wishes to see you before noon. I think she intends to engage you to take charge of her caravans." Mohammed waited to hear no more. As quickly as possible he went to the house of Khadijah; for he was well pleased at the thought of being employed in so important a service. The widow received him in a very friendly way. She said: "I have heard much of you among the traders. They say that though you are so young you are a good caravan manager and can be trusted. Are you willing to take charge of my caravans and give your whole time and service to me?" Mohammed was delighted. "I accept your offer," said he, "and I shall do all I can to serve and please you." Khadijah then engaged him as the manager of her business; and he served her well and faithfully. She thought a great deal of him, and he was much attracted to her, and soon they came to love one another and were married. As he was now the husband of a rich woman he did not need to work very hard.

He still continued to attend to his wife's business; but he did not make so many journeys as before. He spent much of his time in thinking about religion. He learned all that he could about Judaism and Christianity; but he was not satisfied with either of them. At that time most of the people of Arabia worshiped idols. Very few of them were Christians. Mohammed was very earnest and serious. In a cave on Mount Hira, near Mecca, he spent several weeks every year in prayer and religious meditation. He declared that, while praying in his cave, he often had visions of God and heaven. He said that many times the angel Gabriel appeared to him and revealed to him the religion which he afterwards taught his followers. As he himself could not write, he committed to memory all that the angel told him, and had it written in a book. This book is called the "Koran," which means, like our own word Bible, the "Book." The Koran is the Bible of Mohammedans. III WHEN Mohammed returned home after the angel had first spoken to him, he told his wife of what he had seen and heard. She at once believed and so became a convert to the new religion.

She fell upon her knees at the feet of her husband and cried out: "There is but one God. Mohammed is God's prophet." Mohammed then told the story to other members of his family. Some of them believed and became his first followers. Soon afterwards he began to preach to the people. He spoke in the market and other public places. Most of those who heard him laughed at what he told them; but some poor people and a few slaves believed him and adopted the new religion. Others said he was a dreamer and a fool. Mohammed, however, paid no heed to the insults he received. He went on telling about the appearance of Gabriel and preaching the doctrines which he said the angel had ordered him to teach the people. Often while speaking in public Mohammed had what he called a "vision of heavenly things." At such times his face grew pale as death, his eyes became red and staring, he spoke in a loud voice, and his body trembled violently. Then he would tell what he had seen in his vision. After a time the number of his followers began to increase. People came from distant parts of Arabia and from neighboring countries to hear him.

One day six of the chief men of Medina, one of the largest cities of Arabia, listened earnestly to his preaching and were converted. When they returned home they talked of the new religion to their fellow-citizens, and a great many of them became believers. But the people of Mecca, Mohammed's own home, were nearly all opposed to him. They would not believe what he preached, and they called him an impostor. The people of the tribe to which he himself belonged were the most bitter against him. They even threatened to put him to death as an enemy of the gods. About this time Mohammed's uncle and wife died, and he had then hardly any friends in Mecca. He therefore resolved to leave that city and go to Medina. Numbers of the people there believed his doctrines and wished him to come and live among them. So he secretly left his native town and fled from his enemies. With a few faithful companions he made his escape to Medina. It was in the year of our Lord 622 that Mohammed fled from Mecca. This event is very important in Mohammedan history. It is called "the flight of the prophet," or "the Hejira," a word which means flight.

The Hejira is the beginning of the Mohammedan era; and so in all countries where the rulers and people are Mohammedans, the years are counted from the Hejira instead of from the birth of Christ. On his arrival in Medina the people received Mohammed with great rejoicing. He lived there the remainder of his life. A splendid church was built for him in Medina. It was called a mosque, and all Mohammedan churches, or places of worship, are called by this name. It means a place for prostration or prayer. IV MOHAMMED thought that it was right to spread his religion by force, and to make war on "unbelievers", as he called all people who did not accept his teaching. He therefore got together an army and fought battles and unbelievers. He gained many victories. He marched against Mecca with an army of ten thousand men, and the city surrendered with little resistance. The people then joined his religion and destroyed their idols. Before very long all the inhabitants of Arabia and many of the people of the neighboring countries became Mohammedans. Mohammed died in Medina in the year of our Lord 632, or year 11 of the Hejira.

He was buried in the mosque in which he had held religious services for so many years; and Medina has ever since been honored, because it contains the tomb of the Prophet. It is believed by his followers that the body still lies in the coffin in the same state as when it was first buried. There is also a story that the coffin of Mohammed rests somewhere between heaven and earth, suspended in the air. But this fable was invented by enemies to bring ridicule on the prophet and his religion. The tomb of Mohammed is visited every year by people from all Mohammedan countries. Mecca, the birthplace of the prophet, is also visited by vast numbers of pilgrims. Every Mussulman is bound by his religion to make a visit or pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his life. Whenever a Mussulman prays, no matter in what part of the world he may be, he turns his face towards Mecca, as if he were always thinking of going there. Good Mohammedans pray five times every day, and there is a church officer called a muezzin, who gives them notice of the hour for prayer.

This he does by going on the platform, or balcony, of the minaret, or tower, of the mosque and chanting in a loud voice such words as these: "Come to prayer, come to prayer. There is no god but God. He giveth life, and he dieth not. I praise his perfection. God is great." In Mecca there is a mosque called the Great Mosque. It is a large enclosure in the form of a quadrangle, or square, which can hold 35,000 persons. It is enclosed by arcades with pillars of marble and granite, and has nineteen gates, each with a minaret or pointed tower above it. Within this enclosure is a famous building called the "Kaaba," or cube. It is nearly a cube in shape. It its wall, at one corner, is the celebrated "Black Stone." Moslems regard this stone with the greatest reverence. They say that it came down from heaven. It is said to have been once white, but has become dark from being wept upon and touched by so many millions of pilgrims. It really is reddish-brown in color.

Before the time of Mohammed the Kaaba was a pagan temple; but when he took possession of Mecca he made the old temple the centre of worship for his own religion. After Mohammed died a person was appointed to be his successor as head of the Moslem church. He was called the caliph, a word which means successor; and this title has been borne ever since by the religious chief of the Mohammedans. In modern times the sultans or rulers of Turkey have been commonly regarded as the caliphs. Arab scholars, however, say that really the sherif, i.e., the governor of Mecca, is entitled by the Koran to hold this position. Mohammed: Biography of Mohammed Biography of Mohammed MOHAMMED (Arab. "the Praised"), the name taken at a later period by the founder of Islam. He was originally called Halabi. He was born about the year 570, A.D., at Mecca, and was the son of Abdallah, of the family of Hashini; and of Amina, of the family of Zuhra, both of the powerful tribe of Koreish, but of a side branch only, and therefore of little or no importance.

His father, a poor merchant, died either before or shortly after Mohammed's birth. When six years old he also lost his mother. His grandfather, Abd-Al-Mutallib, adopted the boy; and when, two years later, he too died, Mohammed's uncle, Abu Talib, though poor himself, took him into his house, and remained his best friend and protector throughout his whole life. The accounts which have survived of the time of his youth are of too legendary a nature to deserve credit; certain, however, it seems to be, that he at first gained a scanty livelihood by tending the flocks of the Meccans, and that he once or twice accompanied his uncle on his journeys to Southern Arabia and Syria. In his 25th year he entered the service of a rich widow named Chadidja, likewise descended from the Koreish, and accompanied her caravans to the fairs. Up to that time his circumstances were poor. Suddenly his fortune changed. The wealthy, but much older and twice widowed Chadidja offered him her hand which he accepted. Mohammed continued his merchant trade at Mecca, but without much energy, spending most of his time in solitary contemplation.

He was 40 years of age when he is said to have received the first divine communication in the solitude of the mountain Hira, near Mecca. He said that Gabriel appeared to him, and in the name of God commanded him to "read" - that is, to preach the true religion, and to spread it abroad by committing it to writing. The writings are contained in the "Koran." Waraka, one of his wife's relatives, who had embraced Judaism, spoke to him of the Jewish doctrine, and told him the story of the patriarchs of Israel. The fundamental doctrine of the Koran is contained in the two articles of belief: "There is no God but Allah; and Mohammed is his prophet." The Islamic doctrine of God's nature and attributes coincides with the Christian, insofar as he is by both taught to be the Creator of all things in heaven and earth, who rules and preserves all things, without beginning, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and full of mercy. But it differs in that Jesus is only a prophet and apostle, although his birth is said to be due to a miraculous, divine operation.

His first revelation he communicated to no one it would appear, except to Chadidja, his daughters, his stepson Ali, his favorite slave Zaid, and to his friend, the prudent and honest Abu Beker. In the fourth year of his mission, however, he made forty proselytes, chiefly slaves and people from the lower ranks; and now first some verses were revealed to him, commanding him to come forward publicly as a preacher, and to defy the scorn of the unbelievers. The Meccans did not object to his doings; they considered him a common "poet" or "soothsayer," who, moreover, was not in his right senses, or simply a liar.

Gradually, however, as the number of his converts increased, they began to pay more and more attention to his proceedings; and finally, fearing mostly for the sacredness of Mecca, which the new doctrine might abolish, thus depriving them of their chief glory, and the ample revenues of the pilgrimages, they rose in fierce opposition against the new prophet and his adherents who dared "to call their ancient gods idols, and their ancestors fools." At last it became necessary that he should be put beyond the reach of his persecutors, and Abu Talib hid him in a fortified castle of his own in the country. Mohammed now conceived the plan to seek refuge in the friendly city of Medina, and about 622 (ten, thirteen or fifteen years - according to the different traditions - after his first assuming the sacred office) he fled thither, about one hundred families of his faithfull having preceeded him some time before, accompanied by Abu Bekr, and reached, not without danger, the town, called thence "City of the Prophet" by way of eminence; and from this flight or rather from the next month of the Arabic year, dates the Muslim Era (Hegira).

Now everything was changed to the advantage of the prophet and his religion; and if formerly the incidents of his life are shrouded in comparative obscurity, they are from this date, known often to their most insignificant details. Formerly a despised "madman or imposter," he now assumed at once the position of highest judge, law-giver, and ruler of the city and two most powerful tribes. The most important act in the first year of the Hegira, was his permission to go to war with the enemies of Islam in the name of God - a kind of manifesto chiefly directed against the Meccans. A battle, the first, between 314 Muslims and about 600 Meccans, was fought at Badr, in the second year of the Hegira; the former gained the victory and made many prisoners. A large number of adventurers now flocked to Mohammed's colors, and his power increased so rapidly that in the sixth year of the Hegira he was able to proclaim a public pilgrimage to Mecca.

His missionaries at this time began to carry his doctrines abroad, to Chosroes, to Heraclius, to the King of Abyssinia, the Viceroy of Egypt, and the chiefs of several Arabic provinces. Some received the new gospel; but Chosru Parvis, the King of Persia, and Amru, the Ghassanide, rejected his proposals with scorn, and the latter had the messenger executed. This was the cause of the first war between the Christians and the Moslems, in which the latter were beaten with great loss by Amru. The Meccans, now thought the long desired moment of revenge at hand, and broke the peace by committing several acts of violence against the Chuzaites, the allies of Mohammed. The latter, however, marched at the head of 10,000 men against Mecca, before its inhabitants had had time to prepare for the siege, took it, and was publicly recognized by them as chief and prophet. With this the victory of the new religion was secured in Arabia.

Towards the close of the 10th year of the Hegira he undertook, at the head of at least 40,000 Muslims, his last solemn pilgrimage to Mecca, and there (on the Mount Arafat) instructed them in all the important laws and ordinances, chiefly of the pilgrimage; and the ceremonies observed by him on that occasion were fixed for all time. He again solemnly exhorted his believers to righteousness and piety, and chiefly recommended them to protect the weak, the poor, and the women, and to abstain from usury. Returned from Mecca, he occupied himself again with the carrying out of his expedition against Syria, but fell dangerously ill very soon after his return, and died about noon of Monday the 12th of the third month, in the year 11 of the Hegira (8th of June 632). Click for more about Mohammed The Quran Vs. The Bible Vs. The Bible The advertised story behind the writing of the Qurï¿½an is as follows. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was born in 570AD in Mecca, Islamï¿½s holiest city, of the tribe Quraysh.

He began having visions at the age of 40. According to Islamic tradition, the angel Gabriel appeared to him on Mt. Hira, near Mecca, and had him memorize the contents of a scroll. This scroll contained the beginning of Sura 96 of the Qurï¿½an (Koran), entitled ï¿½Clots of Bloodï¿½ because man is supposedly created from this substance. Gabriel ordered Mohammed to ï¿½Recite!ï¿½ The Qurï¿½an refers to the 114 revelations, each containing one ï¿½suraï¿½ or chapter (Schoeps, Hans Joachim, The Relligions of Mankind, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.. 1968, pp. 242-45). N.J. Dawood, whose translation of the Qurï¿½an was published as a Penguin Classic in 1956, explains the development of this ï¿½revealed bookï¿½: The Quranic revelations followed each other at brief intervals and were at first committed to memory by professional remembrancers.

During Mohammedï¿½s lifetime verses were written on palm-leaves, stones, and any other material that came to hand. Their collection was completed during the caliphate of Umar. the second Caliph, and an authorized version was established during the caliphate of Uthman, his successor. To this day this version is regarded by believers as the authentic word of God (Dawood,, N.J., The Koran (New York: Penguin Books, 1596), p.3. All references to the Koran are from this version). According to Sura II, vs.98, ï¿½Gabriel has revealed the Qurï¿½an as a guide confirming previous scriptures [the Old and New Testaments of the Bible].ï¿½ Even more: ï¿½God has now revealed the best of scriptures, a Book... free from any flawï¿½ (Sura XXXIX. vs.23). God tells Mohammed: ï¿½Nothing is said to you that has not been said to other apostles before youï¿½ (Sura XLI, vs.42.

The apostles themselves admit that they brought a more enlightened faithï¿½and so it is with Mohammed, the greatest of all apostles (Sura XLI, vs.20). We accept the following challenge in the Qurï¿½an: ï¿½Will they not ponder on the Qurï¿½an? If it had not come from God, they could have surely found in it many contradictions.ï¿½ (Sura IV, vs.82). We have read the Qurï¿½an, and we have found many teachings that contradict the doctrines of the Catholic Church, the only organization on earth that has the God-given mandate to teach (Mt. 28:19), govern (Mt. 18:18), and sanctify (Lk. 22:19) mankind. The whole body of revealed truth, that is, whatsoever Christ has taught (Mt. 28:19-20), has been committed to Her for the enlightenment of nations. It is Her duty, then, to preserve, interpret, and proclaim these truths of revelation. No other organization or person has been so commissioned. The first contradiction concerns creation.

Holy Scripture asserts, ï¿½In the beginning God created heaven and earthï¿½ (Gen. 1:1). That is to say, in the beginning of time, when only God existed. ï¿½Createï¿½ means to bring forth from nothing (no-thing): ex nihilo. In other words, only God creates. Only He can bridge the infinite distance or gulf between being and non-being. In contrast, man makes things out of pre-existing materials. He cannot create. He is a creature; that which is made out of nothing, or anything that exists outside of God. But the Qurï¿½an states that God created man from pre-existing matter: Men, if you doubt the Resurrection remember that we first created you from dust, then from a living germ, then from a clot of blood, then from a half-formed lump of flesh....(Sura XXII, vs.5).

As we pointed out above, Sura XCVI, vs.1 asserts: ï¿½Recite in the name of your Lord who createdï¿½created man from clots of blood.ï¿½ Here is a somewhat different account: ï¿½I am creating man from dry clay, from black moulded loam (Sura XV, vs.19). Before God created man, He created ï¿½Satan from smokeless fireï¿½ Sura XV, vs.19) and this Satan boasts: ï¿½I am nobler than he. You created me from fire, but him from clayï¿½ ï¿½Sura XXXVIII, vs.76). We believe that Satan sinned through pride. He desired to be like God, and refused to submit to His will, and therefore he was cast down into Hell forever. The Qurï¿½an maintains that Satan was thrown out of Heaven because he refused to worship man.When I have fashioned him [man] and breathed of My spirit into him, kneel down and prostrate yourselves before him. The angels, one and all, prostrated themselves, except Satan.

He refused to prostrate himself with the others... ï¿½Begone,ï¿½ said God. ï¿½you are accursed. My curse shall be with you till Judgment dayï¿½ (Sura XV, vss.19­32). The Qurï¿½an denies another fundamental truth of Catholicism: the divinity of Jesus Christ. The Psalmist depicts the Messiah saving: "The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten theeï¿½ (Ps. 2:7). Moreover, the Messiah shares the throne of Yahweh: ï¿½The Lord Yahweh, said to my Lord Jesus Christ): Sit thou at my right handï¿½ (Ps. 109:1) He is Emmanuel, God-with-us (Is. 7:14), and is called El Gibbor (Mighty God), a title Christ the Messiah shares with Yahweh (Is. 9:6; l0:20ff.). At least five times in the Synoptics Jesus explicitly declares Himself to be the Son of God (Mt.

11:25-27; 16:16-17; Mk.12:1-9; 13:32; 14:61-62), and implicitly much more often. TheJews understood fully our Lordï¿½s divine claims, and they murdered Him for it: ï¿½He made himself to be the Son of Godï¿½ (Jn. 19:7). Similarly, after Christ affirmed His divinityï¿½ï¿½I and the Father are oneï¿½ (Jn. 10:30)ï¿½the Jews desired to stone Him ï¿½...for blasphemy; and because that thou [Our Lord being a man, makest thyself Godï¿½ (Jn. 10:33). One of the most striking proofs of our Lordï¿½s pre­ existence as the divine Son of God is found in the prologue of St. Johnï¿½s Gospel: In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing that has been made (Jn. 1:1-3). Despite all the evidence in the Old and New Testaments that Jesus Christ is ï¿½the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made,... (Nicene Creed), the Qurï¿½an insists that our Lord is simply a creature: ï¿½Jesus is like Adam in the sight of God. He created him of dust and then said to him: ï¿½Be,ï¿½ and he wasï¿½ (Sura III, vss.51­59). ï¿½God forbid,ï¿½ exclaims the Qurï¿½an, ï¿½that He Himself (God) should beget a sonï¿½ (Sura XIX, vs.29). Those who believe that God has begotten a Son, ï¿½preach a monstrous falsehoodï¿½ (Sura XIX, vs.88).

for ï¿½God is One..., he begot noneï¿½ (Sura CXII, vs.1). The Qurï¿½an concludes: ï¿½So believe in God and His apostles and do not say: ï¿½Threeï¿½ï¿½ (Sura IV, vs.174). It follows that Mary is not the Mother of God: ï¿½The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was no more than Godï¿½s apostle and His word which He cast to Mary: a spirit from Himï¿½ (Sura XL, vs.171). ï¿½Unbelievers are those who say: ï¿½God is the Messiah, the son of Maryï¿½ï¿½ (Sura V. vs.70). That the Blessed Virgin Mary is truly the Mother of God was defined by the Council of Ephesus in 431. This does not mean that Mary, who was herself a creature of God, in any way produced or pre-existed the Divinity.

By her complete acceptance of Godï¿½s plans for her at the Annunciation, Mary became mother in time of the God who existed before time was. Christ took His human body, His human nature, from His mother Mary; He was truly the ï¿½son of Maryï¿½ (Mk. 6:3). Muslims, following the Qurï¿½an, reject this article of faith because they are convinced that it entails Mary producing the divine nature of Jesus. The divine maternity is the root of all of Maryï¿½s privileges. One is the Immaculate Conception: the unique privilege by which she, in view of the future merits of her divine Son, was conceived free from original sin in the womb of her mother, St. Anne (defined as an article of faith on Dec. 8,1854, by Pope Pius IX, in the Bull Ineffabilis). Another privilege of Mary is her perpetual virginity: she remained a virgin throughout her lifeï¿½ before, during, and after the birth of Christ. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is yet another privilege: at the end of her earthly life she was assumed into Heaven, glorified in both body and soul.

This doctrine was solemnly defined by Pope Pius XII on Nov. 1, 1950 (Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus). Because the Qurï¿½an lambastes belief in Maryï¿½s divine motherhood, it ipso facto disbelieves in all her privileges which stem from it, including the fact that she did not undergo the pains of childbirth. If Mary is free from the stain of original sin, and if the pains of childbirth are due to original sin, then the Blessed Virgin conceived Our Lord without experiencing the sorrows associated with bringing forth children (cf. Gen. 3:16). The following description in the Qur'an of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus is obviously at odds with Scripture and the official teaching of the Catholic Church: Thereupon she conceived him, and retired to a far-off place. And when she felt the throes of childbirth she lay down by the trunk of a palm tree, crying: ï¿½Oh, would that I had died and passed into oblivion.ï¿½ But a voice from below cried out to her: Do not despair.

Your Lord has provided a brook that runs at your feet, and if you shake the trunk of this palm tree it will drop fresh ripe dates in your lap. Therefore eat and drink and rejoice; and should you meet any mortal say to him: ï¿½I have vowed a fast to the Merciful and will not speak with any man todayï¿½ (Sura XIX. vs.22). Where is the angel Gabriel. who saluted Mary: ï¿½Hail, thou who art full of grace?ï¿½ No mention of St. Josephï¿½neither here nor in the rest of the bookï¿½but a whole sura of nine pages is devoted to Joseph, son of Jacob.

The miraculous nature of Maryï¿½s conception is rejected: ï¿½The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee and therefore the Holy one to be born shall be called the Son of God.ï¿½ Elizabeth, Maryï¿½s cousin, proclaims that Mary is the mother of God: ï¿½And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me?ï¿½ Moreover, the Blessed Virgin conceived our Lord in a manger, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes. She was not under a palm tree. Imagine the absurdity of Our Lady being in so much pain that she would rather ï¿½pass into oblivion.ï¿½ Yet the Qurï¿½an asserts: ï¿½Such was Jesus, the son of Mary. That is the whole truth, which they still doubtï¿½ (Sura XIX, vs.29) (cf Lk., chapters 1;2). The Blessed Virgin Mary, furthermore, seems to be confused with Miriam, the daughter of Jachabed and sister of Moses and Aaron: "Carrying the child, she came to her people.

who said to her: ï¿½Mary, this is indeed a strange thing! Sister of Aaron...ï¿½ï¿½ (Sura XIX, vs.28). In a footnote, Dawood essays to protect the integrity of the text: Muslim commentators deny the charge that there is confusion here between Miriam, Aaronï¿½s sister, and Maryam (Mary), mother of Jesus. ï¿½Sister of Aaron,ï¿½ they argue, simply means ï¿½virtuous womanï¿½ in this context. In any case, there is no such reference in Scripture concerning Our Lady, although in the New Testament, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and therefore Maryï¿½s cousin, ï¿½was of the daughters of Aaronï¿½ (Lk. 1:5). The word is often used in its literal sense (Mt. 9:18; Mk. 5:35), but it was also used frequently for a woman of a certain race or religion as a daughter of the Hebrews (Jud. 10:12), or as a term of familiar endearment (Mt. 9:22).

The prophets for example often speak of Jerusalem as the ï¿½daughter of Sionï¿½ (Is. 37:22; Jer. 4:31; Mich. 4:10). But again, ï¿½Maryï¿½ and ï¿½daughter of Sionï¿½ are never found together in the Scriptures. The Qurï¿½an charges that Catholics worship Mary as a god (Sura V, vs.114), which is patently false. No person or thing should take the place of God, or be honored in a manner due to God alone, for this is idolatry, which God forbade. All worship not directed to God Himself must be subordinate to Him (Ex. 20:3-5; Duet. 5:9;Jn. 4:22). Hyperdulia is the special honor or veneration paid to the Blessed Virgin because of the supreme dignity as the Mother of God and her consequent unique holiness: ï¿½full of grace.ï¿½ It is quite different from the adoration due to God alone (latria), for it recognizes that Mary is a creature.

Since she is a holier and nobler creature than all the angels and saints, the honor that she deserves is greater than that paid to them (dulia). Hyperdulia implies the loving reverence of a child for Godï¿½s mother and ours, and confidence in her intercessory power with her divine Son (Jn 2:5). Similarly, the Qurï¿½an insists that Catholics deify the saints (Sura XVII, vs.52). Veneration of the saints, however, is indirectly worship of God, who made and sanctified them and whose friends they are. Their holiness, their triumph, and glory are but a reflection of those of Christ, their Mediator and Model. A classic response to the charge that Catholics deify the saints is given in the Martyrdom of Polycarp. When the Jews pleaded with the magistrate not to give up St.

Polycarpï¿½s body to the Catholics ï¿½else they will abandon the crucified One and begin worshipping this one,ï¿½ Marcion replied: This was done at the instigation and insistence of the Jews, who also watched when we were going to take him from the fire, being ignorant that we can never forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvation of the whole world of those who are saved, the faultless for the sinners, nor can we ever worship any other. For we love the martyrs as disciples and imitators of the Lord, deservedly so, because of their unsurpassable devotion to their sworn King and Teacher. May it be also our lot to be their companions and fellow disciples! (17:1-3). Divorce is yet another subject on which the Qurï¿½an overturns the teaching of the Catholic Church. Our Lord restored to marriage its primitive dignity by insisting upon the indissolubility of the marriage bond, promulgated by the Triune God in the beginnings of human history: ï¿½What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunderï¿½(Mt. 9:4-8).

Compare our Lordï¿½s statement with those found in the Qurï¿½an: And when Zayd [so-called adopted son of Mohammed] divorced his wife, We gave her to you [Muhammad] in marriage, so that it should become legitimate for true believers to wed the wives of their adopted sons if they divorced them (Sura XXXIII, vs.37). ï¿½It shall be no offense for you to divorce your wives before the marriage is consummated or the dowry settledï¿½ (Sura II, vs.236). A clear case of polygamy is asserted in Sura IV, vs. 126: ï¿½Try as you may, you cannot treat all your wives impartially.ï¿½ Again: Lawful to you [Mohammed] are the believing women and the freewomen from among those who were given the Book before you, provided that you give them their dowries and live in honor with them, neither committing fornication nor taking them as mistresses (Sura V. vs.5).

Believers, do not approach your prayers when you are drunk, but wait till you can grasp the meaning of your words; nor when you are polluted: if you have relieved yourselves or had intercourse with women whilst travelling and can find no water, take some clean sand and rub your faces and your hands with it (Sura IV, vs.43). The adulterer may marry only an adulteress or an idolatress; and the adulteress may marry only an adulterer or an idolater. True believers are forbidden such marriages (Sura XXIV, vs. 1). Believers, if you marry believing women and divorce them before the marriage is consummated, you are not required to observe a waiting period (Sura XXXIII, vs.43). According to the Qurï¿½an, these orgies continue in Heaven where concupiscence knows no bounds: ï¿½They [true believers] will sit with bashful, dark-eyed virgins, as chaste as the sheltered eggs of ostrichesï¿½ (Sura XXXVII, vs.48).

Reclining there upon soft couches, they shall feel neither the scorching heat nor the biting cold. Trees will spread their shade around them, and fruits will hang in clusters over them. They shall be served with silver dishes, and beakers as large as goblets. ...They shall be attended by boys graced with eternal youth, who to the beholderï¿½s eyes will seem like sprinkled pearls. When you gaze upon that scene, you will behold a kingdom blissful and glorious (Sura LXXVI, vss. 13-20). In conclusion we agree with the Qurï¿½an: ï¿½Who is more wicked than the man who invents a falsehood about God or denies His revelationsï¿½ (Sura VI, vs.21)? And we concur with the judgment: ï¿½He [Mohammed?] has invented it [the Qurï¿½an] himselfï¿½ (Sura XLVI, vs.7).

Let us pray for the conversion of the Muslims in the words of the Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Pope Pius XI): Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy toward the children of that race once Thy chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may It now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life. By Catholic European scholar, who wishes to remain anonymous for personal reasons. Muhammah receives first vision in Hira cave near Mecca | World History Project 610 AD Muhammah receives first vision in Hira cave near Mecca For years after his marriage, Muhammad would frequently take a provision of dates and oatmeal for food and retire for days into a cave he had found at the top of a cone-shaped mountain, called Hira, some three miles from Mecca. He used to spend night after night in that solitary cave far away from all the worldly turmoils. Here he eagerly pondered and contemplated in long and lonely vigils to search after One and Only God.

His periods of loneliness became more frequent and his vigils lengthened. He prayed ardently, opening his whole heart to his Creator Whom his soul longed to meet. He became so fully absorbed in the ecstacy of his devotions that he would remain for days in the mountain cavern. Often his beloved wife brought him food. This went on for a considerable length of time, till at last, in his fortieth year, a great unseen was revealed to him. The light of God was fully reflected in Muhammad. He had reached the stage of self-elevation when duality becomes non-existent and only One remains. The earliest sources relate that the moon on that day of the eve of Ramdan enwrapped Hira. The birds were still in their nests and not a sound or movement disturbed this heavy quiet. It was though as everything were pegged to its place and nothing existed save the heavens and the earth. Tonight, a few roaming shepherds had seen Muhammad go there. Now there was no one else, only the sky and the earth and the crescent moon between them, rising sometimes aloft and sinking to the edge of the horizon.

Stricken with panic Muhammad came home from Hira on that morning, strangely troubled, his great eyes dilated in wonder. "Cover me up, Khadija, cover me up!" he said in feverish agitation. After a while, he became calmer and spoke thus, "A strange vision appeared to me in the cave of Hira tonight. The vision said, `I am the angel Gabriel, sent by God.' Then he asked me to read. `I am unlettered', I said. Upon this he clasped me to his bosom and held me firmly. Then he let me go and asked me to read. I gave the same answer. He clasped me once again, and asked once again to read. And embracing me the third time, he chanted, `Read! in the name of thy Lord, Who created; He created man from a clot. Read! full of magnificence is thy Lord Who made the pen the vehicle of knowledge and taught man what he knew not.' Suddenly the words came alive to me; my limbs were all atremble." Khadija was sorely worried at first, but soon regained her composure and comforted him.

"Fear not, my noble one", she said, "but rejoice. God will not forsake you in this affair nor expose you to shame. For you are good and kind and truthful. You are hospitable to the passing stranger, you aid and comfort the poor and the lowly, and support the virtuous in righteous deeds."

Question: Who first appeared to Mohammed when he was 40 on Mount Hira near Mecca?
Answer: ARCHANGEL GABRIEL