Islam for Muslims
- THE FAITH OF MUSLIMS
- GOOD DEEDS IN PERSONAL LIFE
- GOOD DEEDS IN SOCIAL LIFE
Mohammad (pbuh) as the Final Prophet
Introduction: Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was born in about 570 A.D. in the Quraish tribe of Mecca of Saudi Arabia. He lived a relatively short life of 63 years until his death in 632 A.D. However, his life was very eventful and successful that left a lasting mark far beyond his time and society. Now let us have a snapshot of his life.
(1) Early Life: He began his life amidst various trying deprivations and hardships that trained him for dealing with upcoming challenges of his life. His father Abdullah died before his birth. During the first 2 years, he was suckled and cared by foster mother Halima as part of Arab custom. His mother died at six when his guardianship passed on to his grandfather Abdul Muttalib. At eight, when his grandfather also died, he came under care of his uncle Abu Talib. Thus God gave him “shelter” when He “found him an orphan” (93:6).
In this way, he was facing shocks and miseries one after another and thereby he was being prepared for troublesome life of a prophet that was in front of him. In the absence of regular parenting, he lacked any formal education and prematurely got involved in the quest for a living: first in the role of a shepherd and then as a merchant.
(2) Life as a Prophet: Family Life: When he joined his uncle Abu Talib on a business trip to Syria, a Christian scholar named Bahira predicted his prophetic future from what he knew from Bible. At 25, he had his first marriage with his business owner Khadija upon consent from his uncle Abu Talib. God thereafter “made (him) independent” from needs by means of Khadija’s wealth (93:8). He had 3 sons and 4 daughters (including well-known Fatima) and some of them died young.
(3) Revelation: After years of meditation in the cave of Hera, he got his first revelation through Gabriel (Jibrael) marking the beginning of his Prophetic office at 40. First encounter with the Angel brought him both fear and surprise which got cleared off with consolation from wife Khadija. Anyway, such revelations kept coming for 23 years until his death. On top of such indirect communication through Gabriel, God decided to add another layer of his confidence by arranging a visit with Him as a top miracle. About this visit known as ‘miraj’, He cited “while he was on the upper horizon” he “drew nearer” to Him like a “distance between two bows (joined together) or even nearer” (53:7/8/9).
(4) Migration: First few years he kept the basics of his messages private within his circles. Thereafter when he went public with invitation to worship only one God, the Arabian idolaters became determined to stop him through violent and cruel means, if necessary. When their repression and persecution made his life totally unsafe amidst their plot to “kidnap” and “kill” him (8:26; 8:30) and clouded the future of his religious movement, God ordered his migration to “safe asylum” at hospitable Medina in 622 A.D. (8:26). Gradually all believing people from Mecca followed him along with their unqualified support. Their hands were strengthened by the converted Muslims from the host city. Soon both the guests and hosts among the Prophet’s companions became “friends and protectors, one of another” (8:72). That is how Medina became a power house of Islam and the political base of the Prophet.
(5) Challenges at Medina: However, the migration did not end the troubles for the Prophet. Meccan enemies in collaboration with the Medinite conspirators (particularly some Jews tribes) kept on attacking Medina off and on. Under the circumstances, his Muslim forces had to fight scores of defensive wars. A combination of factors including their resolve, solidarity, discipline, faith and most importantly God’s “help in many battle fields” often with “invisible army” of the angels put them well on the path to successive victories in these wars (9:25/26).
(6) Victory: Finally hostile Meccan forces came to their knees and the Prophet entered his homeland Mecca as a victor in 630 A.D. Conquest of Islam became continuous with “people entering God’s religion in droves” (110:2) and ultimately almost the entire Arabian peninsula came under the banner of Islam during his lifetime. Days before his death, he delivered his historic Farewell Address that summarized the fundamentals of Quranic reforms. Upon his mission accomplished, God withdrew him from this world, bringing an end to his most successful life for any Prophet in 632 A.D.
(7) Finality of Prophetic Office: The Prophet marks the ending in the chain of prophets as no other real prophet will ever come after him. The Quran declares him to be “the Last of the Prophets" (33:40) in clear terms, leaving no room for confusion or misunderstanding. Further attesting to this plain truth, the Prophet himself affirmed that there will never be any prophet to succeed him.
Indications: Symptoms have already developed in support of the above reality. Subsequent to the Prophet, some 1500 years have passed without any prophet whereas the time spacing among the earlier prophets was often narrower such as 540 years between Jesus and the Prophet of Islam. Nevertheless, you cannot rule out the possibility that the sweet flavor of prophetic status may inspire some deviated persons to be passed for a prophet in the future. Such a false prophet, however, does not have any lasting place in history. We have seen some examples of false prophets who appeared immediately after death of the Prophet and once again in late 19th century India and all they ended up in the dustbin of history, apparently forever.
(8) Last but the Best: The Prophet is not only the last, but also the best of all prophets. God admired him as a “Lamp spreading Light” in view of his “beautiful pattern” of conduct (33:46; 33:21). His ideals, because of qualitative excellence, are expected to be followed by all people and for all times. God commands people to “Obey God and the Messenger so you may obtain Mercy. If you obey him, you will be on right guidance. If you do love God, follow (the Prophet); then God will love you and forgive you” (3:132; 24:54; 3:31). Obviously, the Prophet is next to God in importance because whatever he says merely represents the indirect speech of God as “he does not say (anything) from (his) desire” (53:3). Therefore “obedience to God" and “loyalty to His Prophet” are on the opposite sides of the same equation (4:80).
(9) Power of Prophetic Loyalty (Sunnah): You should, therefore, devoutly follow his tradition named ‘sunnah’ under command of God. He not only deserves your loyalty but also merits your extraordinary respect. For example, God warned not to consider “the calling of the Prophet among yourselves like your calling of one another”, “you cannot speak loud to him in talk as you do among yourselves which might spoil your good deeds”; (you therefore) “lower (your) voice” (in his presence). “If he were to follow your (wishes) in many matters, you will certainly slide into misfortunes. His abusers will have a grievous penalty” (24:63; 49:2/3; 49:7; 9:61). These rulings not only aimed at his surrounding companions but also throw light on how the later time peoples (both present and future) should treat the Prophet, obviously with outstanding dignity.
Conclusion: The Prophet ended up the chain of prophets that started with Adam. This is because the religious system of God has now entered the matured phase through arrival of Islam and therefore no more new prophets are needed as carrier of any fresh religion.