Muhammad, better known in Portuguese as Mohammed, it was the prophet who received the message of Allah, starting the preaching that resulted in the emergence of Islam, in the seventh century. Muhammad received the first revelation in 610, when the angel Gabriel supposedly brought him God's message.
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First years
Mohammed, more commonly called Muhammad by Muslims, was born in Mecca, today Saudi Arabia, in the year 570. Muslims claim that he was born in the month of Rabbi al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar, and this is believed to have been the month of april of the year 570. Muhammad belonged to the clan of hashemites, who were part of the tribe of Quraysh.
The tribe of which Muhammad was a part was predominant in the city of mecca, playing a very important role in the conservation of Kaaba, a sacred place in Pre-Islamic Arabia (Muslims also consider it sacred). The Quraysh also played an important role in ensuring the safety of pilgrims visiting the city.
Muhammad's father, Abd-Allah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, she died before seeing her child born. his mother was called Amine bint Wahab, and died around 576, when Muhammad was just six years old. He was then raised by his paternal grandfather, Abdul Mutalib, who, however, died when he was eight years old.
craft and marriage
After his grandfather's death, Muhammad passed into his uncle's care. Abu Talib. The uncle was a strong influence in young Muhammad's life, teaching him the craft through which the prophet of Islam survived for a long time. Muhammad was a merchant and had a reputation for being one of the most honest from Mecca, participating in caravans that went to Syria.
Muhammad's reputation was such that he received nicknames like Al-Amin, which means "trustworthy". This image made his services attract the interest of Khadija, a widow who had prosperous businesses. After working for Khadija and proving to be a man of trust, Muhammad received a proposalinwedding.
Khadija proposed marriage to Muhammad when he was around 25 years old. Muhammad accepted and married her, 15 years his senior. from marriage were born sixsons, two men and four women. Both sons died in infancy, and their four daughters died in adolescence or youth.
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Prophet of Islam
![Hira, the cave where the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, bringing him the revelation of Allah.[1]](/f/2b95c018eb06a86eff1a9104b842a18b.jpg)
Muhammad is known to have been the prophet of Islam, one of the greatest religions today. Muslims believe he was the chosen to receive and preach the message of Allah. This made Muhammad one of the most powerful men in the entire Arabian Peninsula.
His trajectory as a prophet of Islam began in 610, when he was withdrawn from Mecca. At the time, Muhammad was in a cave, on Mount Jabl al-Mour, when he had a eyesightsupernatural. At that time, he was asked to recite a sacred text, and so he did|1|:
In the name of God, Very Good and Merciful:
Recite in the name of your Lord who created:
Who created man from a lump of congealed blood.
Recite: Your Lord is Very Generous
who taught thanks to the reed to write,
that he taught man what he did not know.
Islamic tradition holds that the event left Muhammad astonished and fearful. He shared the event with his wife, which brought him to the presence of Waraqah ibn Nawfal, considered a Christian priest. Nawfal reportedly told Muhammad that he had seen a vision of an angel sent by God. The angel who appeared to Muhammad would have been Gabriel, and in that revelation, what was being revealed to the prophet was the Quran.
Muhammad went on for a period with no further episodes of the sort having taken place, but eventually the visions returned. This happened in 613, and from there, Muhammad started the preaching of the message of Allah. Those closest to him, such as his wife and cousin Ali (son of Abu Talib), were converted.
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Escape to Medina
However, Muhammad found a lotresistance during his sermons. The city of Mecca was a pilgrimage center that profited considerably from the influx of people attracted by the pagan and polytheistic faith that existed in that city. Thus, the emergence of a new faith, which would harm this flow of pilgrims, was not well accepted by local merchants.
Gradually, Muhammad won some supporters in the city of Mecca, and this, added to his criticisms of the idols worshiped in the city, began to irritate the merchants. They then decided to convince the prophet to apostatize, but Muhammad rejected everything offered to him. So your followers started to be persecuted.
In 615, some adherents of Islam decided to flee Mecca due to persecution and went to Aksum, a Christian kingdom that had established itself in the territory of present-day Ethiopia. Persecution turned against Muhammad as his clan was boycotted by other clans in Mecca. The aim of the boycott was to force the Hashemites to expel Muhammad.
However, this only happened after 619, when Abu Talib died, and the clan was taken over by Abu Lahab, a strong opponent of the prophet. Thereby, Muhammad was expelled from the clan of the Hashemites, finding himself in a very delicate situation. So he was exposed and anyone could murder him without anyone claiming revenge for him. Another hard blow that the prophet suffered during this period was the death of his wife.
This forced him to look for protection in other Arab cities. Eventually, the city of Yathrib (future known as Medina) became the prophet's new home. There was a large community of Jews in it, and it was believed that the support for Muhammad would contribute to the weakening of Mecca, rival city of Yathrib.
Muhammad's flight to Medina took place in 622 and became known as hegira, event that inaugurates the count of the Islamic calendar. Thus, year 622 in the Gregorian calendar corresponds to year 1 in the Islamic calendar. The escape also took place because he knew that a plan to murder him was ongoing.
peak of power
In Medina, Muhammad found people willing to listen and convert to the new faith he brought. soon he if became a great authority in the city of Medina, and used his power to launch himself into war against mecca. The prophet's going to Medina also caused a number of his followers to move there.
In Medina, Muhammad instructed his followers about the need for ritual prayer. This was taught to the prophet in 620, when the angel Gabriel supposedly appeared to him and transported him to Jerusalem. After that, Muhammad was transported to heaven, where he met other prophets such as Moses and Jesus.
Furthermore, Muhammad took advantage of his position to promote reforms in Medina laws and to mobilize city forces for war. Medina began attacking caravans leaving Mecca. Merchants from Mecca joined forces to resist the siege of Medina, which resulted in a great battle in the year 624.
This was the Battle of Badr, when 1000 warriors from Mecca were defeated by about 300 Muslim soldiers sent by Medina. This clash enhanced Muhammad's reputation and, to this day, is well remembered by Muslims. A victory celebration takes place on the 17th of the month of Ramadan, when the fighting took place in the Islamic calendar.
In 627, the city of Mecca joined forces with other Arab tribes and the Jews expelled from Medina to fight Muhammad. This resulted in the formation of an army of around 10,000 soldiers, who were sent to fight the 3,000 soldiers who guarded Medina. This fight was called Battleofditch or BattlegivesTrench.
The forces surrounding Medina were defeated, and Muhammad took revenge on the Jews who had turned against him. Jews who converted to Islam were spared, but all the men who took part in the struggle were executed, and the women and children sold into slavery.
In 629, Muhammad signed a peace agreement with Mecca, but the agreement was broken when Mecca supported an attack against Medina's allies. In 630, Muhammad raised an army of thousands of soldiers and marched towards Mecca. The city offered no resistance, and Muhammad entered it, offering amnesty to anyone who converted to Islam. Mecca had been conquered.
After that, Muhammad proceeded with the destruction of the idols of Mecca, consolidating the city as a supporter of Islam. Kaaba remained a center of pilgrimage, but was converted to the Islamic faith.
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Death
Thereafter, Muhammad sought to expand his power to other regions of the Arabian Peninsula. He was at the peak of his performance when he contracted a disease that resulted in his death, on June 8, 632. After the death of the prophet, the power was transmitted to AbuBakr, friend of Muhammad, making him the first caliph. From there, Islam would be expanded by Asia, Africa and Europe.
Note
|1| JOMIER, Jacques. Islam: history and doctrine. Rio de Janeiro: Voices, 1992. P. 19.
Image credits
[1] nikjuzaili and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
