Life of the Prophet

Life of the Prophet:

• Jahiliyyah- 'days of ignorance' from both monotheism and the divine truth.
• Social Background- Arabia was a sattering of oases.
• Makkah was the centre of trade and pilgrimage.
• Based on tribal and clan systems.
• Each clan had a coucil of elders.
• Women had a lower status and girl infanticide was common.
• Slave trading was also a common practice as slave murders were more frequent.
• Disputes were settled once people would go around the Ka'ba.
• Nomads- move place to place depending on the water supplies.
• Religious- Bedouin Polytheism- majority of the population followed this practice.
• Christianity- Orthodox- belief in the Trininity.
• Nestorians- believed that Jesus was the son of God
• Monophysites- Believed that Jesus only appeared to be man byt was God all along.
• Judaism- Jews fmade many convert but found it difficult accepting non-jews as the People of God.
• Hanifs- believed in one God didn't have a set practice.
• Muhammad's early life- his date of birth was prestigious- as this was the year the Abyssinians attacked Mecca with elephants in revenge for the Meccan attack on Christianity and the takeover of the Yemenite tribe.
• He was born into the Hashim tribe- lower clan of the Quraysh tribe.
• His father died before his birth and mother was 2 years later. He was in the care of his grandfather who died two years later.
• He was then taken care of his uncle, Abu Talib who was the leader of the Hashemite tribe.
• "Did we not find thee an orphan and shelter thee".
• Prophethood- He was the only man able to replace the black stone- he was referred to as "al ameen"- trustworthy and "al-sadiq"- truthful.
• He learnt the teachniques of trading, diplomacy and warfare. He was at the age of 21 and was employed as a trading manager by Khadija.
• "Even before his prophethood, Muhammad(PBUH) was the judge and referee of the Quraysh at the time of their disputes and crises. He earned tha names of al-Amin(trustworthy) and as'Sadiq(the truthful)".
• The beginning of Islam- Meccan polytheism was wrong- "There is no God but God"- beginning of tawhid.
• Muhammad wasn't calling a new religion but reiterating the messages that had been passed down to previous prophets.
• Arabs will be judged by God and on their religion and way of life- beginning of the belief od Akhirah.
• Muhammad's ministry in Mecca- "Proclaim what you have been ordered and turn away from the Polytheists".
• Muhammad made many converts but they were "chiefly weak and poor persons"- Montgomery Watt argues that this not mean what it acturally says, as the converts were young members…