Prophet Muhammad ﷺ – The Seal of the Prophets حضرت محمد ﷺ – خاتم النبیین

Muhammad ﷺ, son of Abdullah, son of Abdul-Muttalib, of the tribe of Quraysh and descended from Ismail (AS), was born in Makkah around 570 CE, in the Year of the Elephant – the year Abrahah's army marched on the Ka'bah and was destroyed (Quran 105:1-5). His father died before his birth and his mother Aminah when he was a small child; he was raised by his grandfather and then by his uncle Abu Talib. Allah reminds him of this: did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter? (Quran 93:6). In his youth he worked as a shepherd and a trader, and the people of Makkah knew him as al-Amin, the trustworthy. At twenty-five he married Khadijah (RA).

At forty, while in seclusion in the cave of Hira, the angel Jibril came to him with the first revelation: Read in the name of your Lord who created (Quran 96:1-5; Sahih al-Bukhari 3). Khadijah comforted him and was the first to believe. For about three years he called people privately; then Allah commanded him to warn his nearest relatives and to proclaim the message openly (Quran 26:214; 15:94).

The Quraysh responded with mockery and then persecution. Weak believers such as Bilal and the family of Yasir were tortured. Some Muslims emigrated to Abyssinia, and the Prophet's clan was boycotted for years. In what came to be called the Year of Sorrow, he lost both Khadijah and Abu Talib. Allah then honoured him with the Night Journey from Makkah to Jerusalem (Quran 17:1) and the Ascension through the heavens, when the five daily prayers were prescribed (Sahih al-Bukhari 3207).

When the Quraysh plotted to kill him (Quran 8:30), Allah permitted him to emigrate. In 622 CE he left with Abu Bakr (RA), hiding in the cave of Thawr while the enemy searched nearby; he reassured his companion not to grieve, for Allah was with them (Quran 9:40). This Hijrah to Madinah marks the start of the Islamic calendar.

In Madinah he built the mosque, joined the emigrants (Muhajirun) and the helpers (Ansar) in brotherhood, and established a community based on faith and justice. The Muslims faced the Quraysh at Badr, where Allah gave them victory though they were few (Quran 3:123), and later at Uhud and the Trench (al-Khandaq). In 6 AH the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was agreed, which Allah described as a clear victory (Quran 48:1).

When the Quraysh broke the treaty, the Prophet ﷺ marched on Makkah in Ramadan 8 AH with about ten thousand Muslims. The city was taken with very little fighting. He entered in humility, removed the idols around the Ka'bah while reciting that truth has come and falsehood has vanished (Quran 17:81; Sahih al-Bukhari 4287), and pardoned his former persecutors. After this, people entered Allah's religion in multitudes (Quran 110:1-3).

In 10 AH he performed his only Hajj, the Farewell Pilgrimage. In his sermon at 'Arafah he declared the sanctity of the believers' lives and property, abolished the blood feuds and usury of the age of ignorance, urged the people to fear Allah regarding women, and left them the Book of Allah, which would keep them from going astray if they held fast to it (Sahih Muslim 1218). During that Hajj the verse was revealed that Allah had perfected the religion and completed His favour (Quran 5:3; Sahih al-Bukhari 45).

In Rabi' al-Awwal 11 AH (632 CE) he fell ill and passed away in Madinah, in the room of Aisha (RA), at the age of sixty-three (Sahih al-Bukhari 3536). Abu Bakr (RA) steadied the grieving Muslims by reciting the verse that Muhammad is only a messenger, and messengers have passed away before him (Quran 3:144). He ﷺ is the Seal of the Prophets (Quran 33:40), sent as a mercy to the worlds (Quran 21:107), and the best example for everyone who hopes in Allah and the Last Day (Quran 33:21).