This is parts 5-7 of a 7 part series. You may want to begin with Part 1
Biography of Prophet Muhammad by Amr Khaled (عمروخالد), Part 5
I have been learning about prophet Muhammad from Amr Khaled. These are the last three videos on propht Muhammad’s biography.
0:00-2:22
[“Abdul-Muttalib used to take Prophet Muhammad to such sessions and let him sit where no body but Abdul-Muttalib was allowed to sit! So, Abdul-Muttalib would sit with his grandchild on the cloak of the first. Abdul-Muttalib might have wanted him to play then, being just 6,] but he was surprised to find his grandchild not playing! Instead of playing, he used to listen to old people’s discussions! Muhammad did not play then; he would listen to old people’s talk!”
“Abdul-Muttalib was a wise man, so on seeing his grandson doing so, he addressed the notables of Quraish saying his grandson would be a great person one day! He was serious though a little child! Consider what some young men do; they leave old people to go to enjoy playstation games! Some young people know everything about the Arsenal football team, knowing nothing but players’ names; the young must talk and listen to the old because this added much to the Prophet’s experiences later on! So far, we have not come across miracles in the Prophet’s life as he used to gain life experience himself! Young people must listen to old people’s talk; try to learn something from it as life is not about playing only; some care about frivolity till 30! Being 30 then does not mean one is mature and experienced! One may then be still at the tabula rasa stage, with a mind in a blank state! Young people must mingle with old people to listen to them and to learn from their life experiences.”
“So, the Prophet was serious when young; he had lived with Abdul-Muttalib till he became eight years old. For the third time, he (PBUH) lost the one who was to care for him. Seems as if Muhammad had to suffer the loss of his loved ones! What happened was that Abdul-Muttalib passed away! He died suddenly, like Muhammad’s father who died before his birth! The Prophet’s mother died in the desert and he witnessed her death! Having led a stable life for sometime, his grandfather died! Peace be upon Prophet Muhammad! What a difficult situation! Then, he moved to his uncle’s house. Imagine what could have happened to a child’s suffering all these ordeals?! Could not this have negatively affected his personality?! Could not he have turned to a merciless person that would hate all people in his society, suffering a serious complex, or at least, be cruel to others?!”
Amr Khaled says Prophet Muhammad is most merciful ever
2:23-6:23
“Some orientalists made such claims about him (PBUH) saying the many ordeals he had suffered made Muhammad cruel! What a defective argument! Prophet Muhammad was the most merciful ever. To confute them, I will tell you of some events that show how merciful he was!”
Prophet Muhammad’s mercy at Battle of Uhud
“Remember what he (PBUH) did in the Battle of Uhud; he fall in a hole then, and his face was wounded and started bleeding; his incisor was broken causing two rings of it to penetrate the Prophet’s cheeks! Abu Ubaidah managed to remove it with his teeth from the Prophet’ face. Seeing the Prophet’s face bleeding, the Companions asked him to invoke God against disbelievers who caused him to bleed; he (PBUH) said: “I have not been sent as a curser, but I have been sent as mercy.” He raised his hands to invoke God, but not against his enemies as he said: “O God! Forgive my people, for they have no knowledge.” He (PBUH) prayed to God to forgive, not punish them, making excuses on their behalf to save them from punishment! His face was bleeding, yet he forgave them! When the angel of mountains said: “I will let two mountains fall on them” but the Prophet (PBUH) refused, then the angel praised him for his mercy. He was so merciful to the weak people.”
Prophet Muhammad’s mercy to Zahir
“In Medina there was a man known as Zahir; he was an ugly man and people used to avoid talking to him! The Prophet (PBUH), on his way to the market, saw the Companions joking, then the merciful Prophet (PBUH) left them and went to Zahir, he (PBUH) flung his arms round him from the back. Zahir, not expecting anyone to jest with him, asked who was holding him and bid him to let go of him! The Prophet let go of Zahir; to his surprise, Zahir found it was the Prophet. Zahir said he felt supreme happiness for nothing but touching the Prophet! Then the Prophet (PBUH) held Zahir’s hand in the market, then jokingly asked who might buy that slave! Zahir then told the Prophet (PBUH) that none would buy a worthless person! The Prophet (PBUH) told him that God deemed him worthy! He reassured Zahir he was dear to God!”
Prophet Muhammad’s mercy to Abu Umair
“He (PBUH) was merciful to children; Anas said, “I have never seen anyone kinder to one’s family than God’s Messenger…” There was a young child called Abu Umair who was breeding a small bird; the Prophet called the bird An-Nughair (nightingale) and he used to say to him: “O Abu Umair! What did An-Nughair do?” Once, Abu Umair was crying and the Prophet asked him why he was crying. He told the Prophet that An-Nughair, the bird, had died! The Prophet (PBUH) played with Abu Umair in Medina streets. Passing by, the Companions saw the Prophet playing with a child and asked what he was doing! He (PBUH) said that An-Nughair had died; he wanted to console Abu Umair. He played with Abu Umair who was grieiving over his bird’s death! Abu Umair was the brother of Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet’s servant! He (PBUH) went to his servant’ house to console his younger brother! How merciful!”
“The loss of his father, mother and grandfather did not make him cruel, rather he showed great mercy to others. Muhammad’s losing his father, mother and grandfather made him more merciful; he said: “I and the person who looks after an orphan…will be in Paradise like this.” He was an orphan; he who treats orphans kindly will be granted the company of the orphaned Prophet in Paradise! See how merciful the Prophet (PBUH) was?!”
Prophet Muhammad is cared for by his uncle, Abu Talib
6:24-end
“Then, Prophet Muhammad’s grandfather was dying and in his deathbed, he willed that Muhammad, his dear grandson, would be cared for by his uncle Abu Talib. Why Abu Talib in particular? Because he was Abdullah’s full brother, then Abdul-Muttalib spoke to his son Abu Talib, telling him to take care of his son, referring to Muhammad (PBUH)!”
“Consider how many families the Prophet (PBUH) lived with so far! How many families? Five families! Let’s cound them: First, he lived with his mother, then with Haleema’s family in the desert, then he lived with his mother again, then with his grandfather’s family; his grandfather and his wife, not Muhammad’s grandmother as after her death, his grandfather remarried and he (PBUH) lived with his grandfather and his other wife. Then, he moved to live with his uncle’s family among 10 kids. He lived with 5 different families over 8 years! Now when our young men grow up and travel to study abroad e.g., in Canada, then may call their parents and cry because they feel lonely abroad, but the Prophet (PBUH) lived with 5 families throughout 8 years!”
“So he lived in various environments; he once lived in the desert, then with his old grandfather and his wife, then with Abu Talib who had 10 children; Muhammad lived with them and here we can conclude why the Prophet (PBUH) was unlettered. Nobody there had free time to educate him. Who then educated him (PBUH)? He said God disciplined him best! See how great he was!”
“You know, what I would like to do now? I hope to end this program to visit Prophet Muhammad’s Grave! By God, I wish I could stand now by his Grave to express my love for him! I would then send him the greetings of those watching us! Those not watching us are excluded then! See the series of events in Prophet Muhammad’s life?!
“Guess why he lived with 5 families? There was great wisdom behind that; God willed him (PBUH) to live in various houses to learn self-reliance! Muhammad had to learn the truth of life as well as self-reliance; he had to be responsible, serious, strong, and to have an iron will. He had to learn to be flexible to act under various conditions; that must have benefited him later on! So, Muhammad had to acquire all these skills! Such a Divine preparation for Prophethood that Muhammad got! True, God might deprive one of something to grant him a better thing! So Prophet Muhammad’s suffering was a blessing in disguise! There is also something great about the Prophet Muhammad’s Biography. Notice that amid all this suffering of the Prophet, there was always someone kind to him; his grandfather was kind and merciful to him! Seems God deprived Prophet Muhammad of many crucial things, yet granted him kind people to care for him!
“See the Divine Balance?! See how God manages all affairs?! Muhammad’s mother died, yet his grandfather cared for him! Nothing like a mother’s love, but his grandfather was kind to him!
Biography of Prophet Muhammad by Amr Khaled (عمروخالد), Part 6
Prophet Muhammad always had someone to care for him
0:00-1:41
[“See the Divine Balance?! See how God manages all affairs?!] Muhammad’s mother died, yet his grandfather cared for him! Nothing like a mother’s love, but his grandfather was kind to him! His grandfather’s wife Hala was kind to him, though not his grandmother! Hala was the cousin of Amenah bint Wahb, the Prophet’s mother, and she was kind to Muhammad (PBUH)! Who else was kind to the Prophet (PBUH)? Abu Talib, who did not profess Islam, supported him! Also he enjoyed the kindness of Abu Talib’s wife, Fatimah bint Asad, Ali ibn Abu Talib’s mother, who became the Prophet’s daughter’s mother-in-law. She raised the Prophet and accepted Islam later on. All those were kind to Muhammad and this explains the verse where God says: “Did He not find you an orphan and gave you shelter?” [Quran 93:6] Can you grasp this point? God willed him to be an orphan to be self-reliant and up to Prophethood, but He would always send him (PBUH) kind people to support him! This shows how God perfectly disposes of all affairs. Never ever be contempt for the ordeals befalling you; by now, you should have learnt that lesson from the Prophet’s life! If your life conditions worsened, then God might be preparing you to bear a big responsibility in the future. Young people, if God willed you to suffer, be sure He would be preparing you for something great! If you were affliected with a certai disease or had to leave your country, then be sure that God would be preparing you for something great! Note that God, Glory be to Him, loves all His Prophets; He willed them to face misfortunes, yet honored them at the end!”
Amr Khaled says God’s Prophets have often suffered misfortunes
1:42-2:52
“This is life; for example, Noah, peace be upon him, suffered much at the hands of his people! Later on, he was saved on his Ark and his enemies perished!”
“Abraham, peace be upon him, was cast into fire, then was saved from it and became known as the Closest Person to God! Jacob (PBUH) lost his eyesight, crying over losing his son Joseph, then later on, they were reunited and he regained his eyesight! Moses, peace be upon him, escaped from Egypt for fear of being killed, then he returned to it, conquered his enemies & became God’s Addressee!”
“Mary was accused of having Jesus through fornication, yet God willed him to be a miracle and to work miracles!”
“Also, Muhammad, peace be upon him, lived as an orphan in Mecca, then he was expelled from it, on conquering it, he said to its people: “…go your way…you are free…” God works in mysterious ways; He prepared him (PBUH) for Prophethood!”
Prophet Muhammad lived at his uncle’s, Abu Talib, house till he was 25
2:53-5:52
“Anyway, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) lived at Abu Talib’s house; he stayed at Abu Talib’s house till he became 25 years old. So he (PBUH) stayed there all that time and Abu Talib had 10 sons; they were Aqeel ibn Abu Talib, Ja’far ibn Abu Talib. Was Ali ibn Abu Talib among them at that time? No! Ali ibn Abu Talib was born later on and was raised by Prophet Muhammad. Mind you Abu Talib was a poor man; how could he provide for his family?”
“Was there enough food? Did Muhammad just dig in, or did he fell alienated in that family? Did he feel home? A member of that family became his foe and another became his Companion; Aqeel became one of Prophet Muhammad arch enemies and Ja’far became one of his beloved Companions!”
“Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) lived with Abu Talib at the age of 8; later on he (PBUH) took Ali ibn Abu Talib to care for him at the age of 8, out of dutifulness to Abu Talib!”
“Here we speak about dutifulness again! Remember Fatimah bint Asad, Abu Talib’s wife who raised Muhammad? The Prophet (PBUH) did her much good 30 or 50 years later! Fatimah bint Asad is buried in Al-Baqi’ in Medina. Being Ali’s mother, she was the Prophet’s daughter’s mother-in-law. He (PBUH) took off his cloak, having no other one then, and it was a bitter cold winter night, then he swore that he would shroud her in his cloak. He (PBUH) went down to her grave and lay there! Why did he (PBUH) do so? That was for God to have Mercy on her. How lucky she is! The Prophet wanted God to have Mercy on her! He shrouded her in his cloak and buried her; he wept bitterly by her grave, more bitterly than Ali, her very son! Asked why he wept that bitterly, Muhammad said he was grieving over the woman who had raised him. So he (PBUH) was dutiful to her!”
“Here we are talking about dutifulness again! Amenah bint Wahb was dutiful to her husband, the Prophet’s father, also Abu Talib was dutiful to his father Abdul-Muttalib who had entrusted Muhammad to him! Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was dutiful to his wet nurse, too! Seems that the lesson to learn today is dutifulness. After watching this program, all should go to all those who helped them, thank them, show them you are grateful to them and do them much good to show your gratitude!”
“How old was Muhammad at that point? Some complained that they did not know the order of events; here I am citing these events in order! Muhammad lived for two years with his wet nurse, then with his mother, then with his grandfather. When his mother and grandfather died, he lived with his uncle.”
Prophet Muhammad tended sheep from the age of 8-15
5:53-8:19
“When 8, he (PBUH) told his uncle something amazing; he went to his uncle and told him he wanted to work! Why? He wanted to help Abu Talib who was poor and who had a big family. That eight-year-old child had a sense of responsibility! He wanted to work; he did not want to be a burden to his uncle. Another child could have just lazed about finding his uncle caring for him accepting his uncle’s help passively, eating and drinking carelessly; he (PBUH) was not like that! Passive people are not to claim they love Prophet Muhammad as his followers must be self-reliant and work hard to earn their living! Do not think Muhammad was just a religious bookish man who thought Islam was about just reciting the Qur’an! Consider the beginning of the Prophet’s life!”
“Muhammad told his uncle he wanted to work and when his uncle refused, he insisted on working; he did not want to be a burden to his uncle! There was no work befitting the 8-year-old noble Muhammad. He worked as a shepherd tending the sheep i.e., a modest kind of work! He decided to work and chose to tend the sheep. The Prophet did not find it shameful to graze the sheep; he said: “God did not send any Prophet but he shepherd sheep.” His Companions asked: “Did you do the same?” He said, “Yes, I used to shepherd the sheep…of Mecca for some Qirat.” He (PBUH) used to receive little money for tending Mecca’s people’s sheep. Peace be upon him; he was aware of the importance of work. Why tending sheep? “God did not send any Prophet but he shepherd sheep.” Tending sheep teaches forebearance and how to keep them together which in turn qualified Muhammad (PBUH) to unite Muslims!”
“Shepherding sheep teaches vigilance, lest wolves should attack them; he learnt how to protect Muslims that way! Why did he tend sheep and not cows or camels?! Sheep, unlike cows and camels, do not stay together all the time; that way, he was prepared to unite Muslims!”
“God prepared Muhammad for a very great Mission then! The Prophet (PBUH) kept on tending sheep from the age of 8 to 15.”
Prophet Muhammad worked in the field of trade the age of 15-35
8:20-end
“When Muhammad (PBUH) became 15 years old, he went again to Abu Talib to tell him he wanted to work in another field. The Prophet (PBUH) wanted to try another field of work; he wanted to travel to the Levant on trade journeys! He was keen to work; see how work is crucial, young people? That is how the Prophet was! Young people should consider how Muhammad was eager to work hard. He worked in the field of trad from the age of 15 to the age of 35. So he worked for 20 years in the field of trade.”
“Why trade in particular? A trader knows how to deal with people best as he sells and buys, he gets to understand people best; trade helps know the true nature of a wide range of people! Had not Muhammad interacted with people in such a trade environment, he could not have handled different people, but he worked as a trader for 20 years and so he could deal with all people. A trader knows much about human psyche.”
“See how God prepared him for his Mission?! Mind you Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had not worked miracles so far! God’s preparing him for the Mission was through his gaining life experience.”
Conclusion of Prophet Muhammad’s Biography, Part 7
0:00-2:31 (end)
“A trader knows much about human psyche. See how God prepared him for his Mission?! Mind you Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had not worked miracles so far! God’s preparing him for the Mission was through his gaining life experience; but Muhammad would always take the initiative. Thus, young people should learn to take the initiative like Muhammad (PBUH) and should be keen to work in many fields and listen to older people’s talk!”
“Remember how Joseph (PBUH) learnt to manage trade affairs? He learnt how to handle trade matters when at the ruler’s house! That is how people succeed; the life of Joseph and that of Muhammad were about 2 men who exerted much effort and did their best and only then did God grant them good chances to achieve success!”
“I dare say this is the tip of the day! The success that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) achieved was due to his self-reliance and being keen to work! He was not passive surrendering to unemployment or illiteracy! That is how the Prophet (PBUH) achieved success.”
“So, he worked as a shepherd which really benefitted him much, then workd as a trader and gained much experience. At the age of 15, a great event took place; the people of Quraish partook in Al-Fujar (Sacrilegious) War which broke out in the four inviolable months when war is forbidden! Quraish was attacked and the Prophet fought and gained military experience!”
“So he worked as a trader, lost both his parents and lived with many families. She how God prepared him for his great Mission?! The Prophet was treated very kindly by some of his relatives and learnt the art of negotiations; trade journeys helped acquaint him with other societies. His tending sheep qualified him to unite people! He (PBUH) also gained military experience; when 15, he fought in Al-Fugar war in which Mecca partook till he became 18; he would help his uncles throw arrows at the enemies; so he learnt the art of war!”
“After the war had ended, Quraish entered into Al-Fudoul Confederacy insuring peace, thus, Muhammad (PBUH) learnt how to make peace. God willed him (PBUH) to learn how to master the arts of war and peace. He learnt to conclude treaties; he said he witnessed Al-Fudoul Confederacy. He learnt to trade and to tend sheep; be keen to gain experience!”
“Think we should stop here!”
The Historicity of Muhammad’s Biography
According to Fred Donner, sketches of Muhammad’s life are
drawn not from documents or even stories dating from Muhammad’s time, but from literary sources that were compiled many years—sometimes centuries—later. The fact, that these sources are so much later, and shaped with very specific objectives in mind, means that they often do not tell us many things about which we would like to know more…There is also reason to suspect that some—perhaps many—of the incidents related in these sources are not reliable accounts of things that actually happened but rather are legends created by later generations of Muslims to affirm Muhammad’s status as prophet, to help establish precedents shaping the later Muslim community’s ritual, social, or legal practices, or simply to fill out poorly known chapters in the life of their founder, about whom, understandably, later Muslims increasingly wished to know everything.
The vast oceans of traditional accounts…contains so many contradictions and so much dubious storytelling that many historians have become reluctant to accept any of it at face value (Muhammad and the Believers, 50-51).
Previous Posts about Prophet Muhammad’s biography:
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Biography of Prophet Muhammad Part 1
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Biography of Prophet Muhammad Part 2
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Biography of Prophet Muhammad Parts3-4
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