Miscellaneous - Religion   

Prophet of Islam

CHENNAI: Islam revolves around the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was born in the city of Mecca in 570 A.D., his migration termed Hijra (which marks the start of the Muslim calendar) to city of Madina, and his subsequent death in the same city in 632 AD. The Hashimite clan in which he was born belonged to the tribe Quraysh and they were the custodians of the Kaba which even then was a major shrine.

Muhammad (PBUH) was an orphan. He was brought up by his grandfather Abdal Muttablib. Very little is known about his early childhood except that Halima was his foster mother. As an adult Muhammad (PBUH) developed the habit of retiring to a cave on Mount Hira just outside the city of Mecca and spent his time meditating in private. Once during meditation he fell asleep only to be awakened by an angel who commanded him to “recite”. This event marked the beginning of revelations, which he continued to receive throughout his life through the angel identified as Gabriel, and thus started the life of Muhammad (PBUH) as the messenger and Prophet of Islam.

“Hijra”, the great migration marks the beginning of Islam as a religion, for during his life in Mecca the message preached by the Prophet was of monotheism (belief in one God), and during the rest of his life in Yathrib, which was later renamed as “Medinat-un-nabi” (city of Prophet), Islam the religion began to evolve into a social phenomenon developing a history of its own with a set of laws which were revealed to him by Allah.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was not only a reformer but a social, religious and a political leader of the entire community of Muslims. After performing a pilgrimage to the Kaba, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) returned to Madina. He made one more pilgrimage to Mecca which is also known as his farewell pilgrimage and to this day Muslims all over the world follow this ritual which is popularly know as “Haj”. Muslims throughout the world celebrate his birth as a day of reaffirming the faith in their religion and also remembering, restating and recalling the life and teachings of their great and beloved Prophet.

T. Kamal Sheriff,

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