Seerah of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W by a grade 5 student
Seerah of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W
By: Sayf, Grade 5
Shalimar Islamic Summer School July 2017
Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. was born in 570 A.D in the city of Makkah. Back then, there were no countries but today, Makkah is in Saudi Arabia. The Prophet’s father’s name was Abdullah and his mother’s name was Aminah.
Prophet Muhammad’s father passed away two months before his birth. Little Muhammed was sent to spend his first years of his life with his foster mother Halimah. When Muhammad S.A.W. was six years old, his mother took him to visit his uncle’s and cousin’s in Madinah. A place known as Yathrib back then. On the way back from Yathrib, Muhammad’s mother Aminah fell ill and sadly passed away.
Muhammed S.A.W. had a few caregivers in his life. Initially, he was looked after by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib until he was eight years old. After, he was cared for by his uncle, Abu Talib. When Muhammad S.A.W. was twelve years old, his uncle took him to Syria on a trade visit. It was full of adventures.
By the time he was twenty five years old, Prophet Muhammad S.A.W developed into a fine young man. His quality of honesty stood out by far. People used to call him Al-Amin meaning the ‘Honest One.’
Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. was never idle and found employment with a wealthy widow, Khadijah. Muhammed S.A.W. managed her business very well and visited Syria to trade her goods. Later he married Khadijah. Allah blessed them with six children, two were boys and four were girls. Sadly both sons died at a young age.
Muhammed S.A.W. would think about life and who created life very much. He would often stay alone for days in the cave of Hira (near Makkah) to pray and meditate. One night in Ramadan when the prophet was sitting all alone in the cave, the angel Jibreel appeared. It took Prophet Muhammad by complete surprise and it even scared him. Jibreel told Prophet Muhammad he had been commanded by Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to teach Prophet Muhammad. Jibreel taught Prophet Muhammad the first verses of the Qur’an. “Read in the name of your lord who created you.” This way, Allah taught the Prophet the entire Quran through Jibrael.
It took twenty three years to complete the revelation of the Qur’an. In this way, Allah chose Prophet Muhammad S.A.W as his last Prophet and Messanger for all Humanity. Angel Jibreel would come to the prophet in different forms, sometimes as a man, sometimes like a huge bird filling the whole sky and spreading its wings from east to west.
As soon as Allah finished revealing the Qur’an to our Prophet, he would instruct his companions to write it down. In this way the Qur’an was written from day one and compiled from beginning to end during the Prophet’s lifetime.
When our Prophet gave the message of Islam to the Makkans, most of them were against him. The people of Makkah largely worshipped idols and they were not ready to accept the message of the oneness of God and the other good values of Islam. They brought hardship to the Prophet and the Sahaba. Some of the companions and Sahabas had to migrate to Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
One night when Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. was sleeping next to the Kabah, the angel Jibreel woke him up and took him on a strange white winged animal called Burraq. First, from Makkah to Al Aqsa Masjid in Jerusalem and then up and through the seven heavens. The Prophet saw what the eyes can not see and people can not imagine. This experience that took place is called The night journey and the Ascension (Al Isra and Al Miraj).
Meanwhile in Makkah, the vast amount of people were still not happy with Islam. Ultimately, to stamp out Islam, the Makkans made an evil plot to kill the Prophet. At the divine command, the Prophet left for Madinah with Abu Bakr. The Makkans searched all over including the desert to capture the Prophet. The Prophet and AbuBakr took shelter in the cave of Thawr outside Makkah. The enemies came very close to the Prophet but never entered the cave because a spider spun a web across its opening and a Dove had made a nest just to one side of the cave. The Prophet reached Madinah safely and his journey is called ‘Hijra’ or migration.
In Madinah, he was welcomed by the Ansar or the helpers, the people of Madinah. The Prophet’s migration left the Makkans feeling cheated of their prey therefore they fought with the Prophet at places like Badr, Uhad etc.
Ultimately, the Prophet entered a peace agreement with the Makkans at Hudaybiyyah, after which peace prevailed in the region. The Prophet’s mosque in Madinah became the middle of his activities. He would sit there for hours and hours to give people the message to understand and also to spread far and wide. He also sent letters to neighboring kings.
Slowly, tribe after tribe began to come into the fold of Islam. The Prophet taught us that prayer is a way of thanking Allah and saying we need Allah’s grace for everything we have. He urged his followers to remember the day of Judgement, when Allah will reward the people who followed his path and wickedly punish those who disobeyed Allah.
He also told his followers to spend time in prayer in the remembrance of Allah, live kindly and humbly, giving charity to the poor, help the orphans and needy.
Prophet Muhammed S.A.W. was a model human being. At all times and right till the end of his lifetime, he remained patient and a grateful servant of the Almighty, bringing his message of peace and tolerance to all mankind.
Prophet S.A.W. passed away in 633 A.D. at the age of sixty three. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this.