Islam, Science, Knowledge
Foreign Welcome to the third episode of this series The Golden Age of Islam wherein we will discuss the life and character of our beloved Master the holy prophet Muhammad may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him in the previous episode we discussed about the marriage of the holy prophet
Sallallahu and the Blessed progeny that he was bestowed with through this Noble marriage in today’s episode we will look at the years of the holy prophet sallallahu prior to his prophethood and joining me for today’s episode in the studios is who is a missionary serving in the additional Department here in the UK
And joining me on Skype is Dr Bilal Ahmed who is an assistant professor and Senior research fellow at the University of Sheffield a very warm welcome assalamualaikum to both of you gentlemen referring to the holy prophets education the in terms of worldly or secular education there was no he was he did not
Have any formal you know education that such um but who can deny the fact that he gave us teachings that would um you know launched the basis of civilization absolutely absolutely the Arab Society at that time um was not a very educated society as far as secular education is concerned
Reading and writing and studying books is concerned um that is not to say that they were not intelligent people they were very intelligent people and they were blessed with a gift from God as far as their memories were concerned so most of the history in Arabia was secured and
Preserved through oral Traditions the father would tell his son and he would tell his son and they would tell future generations and this was so accurate that even historians today say that that oral tradition is a very authentic source of History so that old tradition was present but reading and writing was
Not a very widespread at that time about the holy prophet how was his the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam also was not uh literate in in that sense he was not a person who could write or read um and and that that had a Divine wisdom because in reality that shows that it
Seems as if Allah’s hand had a part to play in that because Allah the almighty wanted to show the world that this man who cannot read and write Allah the almighty will give him a a a a a a a word given from God a revelation which
Was the basis of which was the Holy Quran essentially and that Holy Quran as you mentioned was a basis for Civilizations for all the times to come there is no Insight which is not present in the Holy Quran and who brought that Revelation who recited that Revelation
To the rest of the world a man who didn’t know how to read or write so nobody could say that he sat and thought of these words and wrote them and then transferred them to other people this was a the Revel someone else taught him that or that somebody else taught him
Absolutely and as far as the text of that Holy Quran is concerned again people at that time Arabs who were who were I would say known for their eloquence and their poetry they used to say that there is nothing as eloquent as this Holy Quran which Muhammad sallallahu alaihi
Wasallam is reciting to the people so this was a miracle of Allah the almighty and we learned that later on in life he did start to develop a recognition of certain words because treaties and documents used to be presented to him on the occasion of the Treaty of hudebia
When there was an objection against the use of the word rasulullah the messenger of Allah when it was being written down that who this treaty is being settled between um an objection was made and the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam then erase that or remove those words with
His own hand so he had a certain recognition But ultimately he was not a man who was fluent in reading and writing so yes we’re talking about the life of the holy prophet prior to his prophethood as a young man in Makkah he’s known as the trustworthy the truthful everyone knows about his
Virtuous character um as we’ll discuss later that even enemies of the holy prophet will recognize that um his noble character he would never lie he would never um try and cheat anyone um what about his close friends at that time prior to prophethood so the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi
Wasallam was a man who had a deeply reflective nature and he he would remember Allah the almighty and he enjoyed seclusion more than being in the middle of hustle and bustle and the and the The Gatherings and the and the spectacles that used to take place in
Arab Society at the time he was removed from those things so he had a limited circle of friends but he had very good uh Pious friends because of course um as they say birds of the same feather flock together so the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam one of his closest friends
Who was a man who was distinguished in Arab Society for his integrity and for his qualities and for his intelligence and just for his respectable nature and he had a very close relationship with the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam then he was blessed to accept the holy prophet also when he claimed to
Be a prophet of God other than that if I mentioned and also the the father of Saeed man said and yes what about the Holy prophets religion before his prophet so we we cannot say nobody claims that the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam practiced Islamic injunctions before he made his claim to prophethood
However he was a man of pure and Pious disposition so one thing which we do know for certain is that when somebody asked him he mentioned actually himself to Hazard Aisha once that I have never eaten from the sacrificial offerings of Idols He also mentioned that when somebody asked him
Who narrates that oh messenger of Allah have you ever worshiped idols and he said no and then somebody the and the next question that he asked was O messenger of Allah have you ever consumed alcohol and the pro and alcohol was very heavily consumed in Arab Society at that time there would there
Were times specified during the day when people would get together and drink alcohol and the prophet of Islam said that I have never drunk alcohol I’ve never consumed alcohol and then the messenger of Allah explained that although I did not I have always detested these things naturally but even
Though I was not aware of these Islamic injunctions I did not do these things which were then later prohibited in Islam as well absolutely we were talking about the early life of the holy prophet sallallahu prior to prophethood and as I also just mentioned that he preferred seclusion that was his
Uh innate nature and he’d often go and worship in seclusion tell us about some of um you know where he would go and what would you do in seclusion so the most authentic account of this period and what the holy prophet Muhammad would engage in is found in uh
Bukhari and in his account on the authority of how that eyeshadow she mentions that initially the holy prophet Muhammad would receive Revelation in the form of true dreams which would come true like bright daylight and subsequently the holy prophet Muhammad was made to love seclusion so he would Retreat into
Uh the cave of Chiron now hero is a mountain which is about three miles Northeast of Mecca and it’s uh you know very secluded mountain and there the holy prophet Muhammad would climb near the summit of the mountain to enter into the cave and he would perform what has
Been referred to in the Hadith which is a type of worship we do not know the exact nature of the worship but in his own way he would meditate and perform religious Devotion to remember his creator now it’s pertinent to know is that he loved seclusion so much so that
He would climb this very intimidating Mountain as the promised Messiah Islam said that this is a mountain which is very intimidating that normal people would not climb uh but he would spend several days there uh he would come with Provisions that his wife would provide him with then when his
Provisions would run out he would return back home to see his family and return back to spend more time in seclusion cave hero is actually the the first place where Revelation began tell us about that famous incident so uh the cave of Gerard which is located in Mount Hiro this mountain is
Popularly referred to as Jebel mode the mountain of North because of its high significance so uh During the period of the seclusion of the holy prophet Muhammad in the cave of one day perhaps after six months as some historians have said a mysterious being appeared before him and that was the Archangel Gabriel
And the Archangel uh spoke to him and said which means read or recite and the holy prophet Muhammad said I cannot read which is interpreted to mean I cannot bear this responsibility because he understood that this means you know spiritually understood that there’s a responsibility being bestowed upon him but the angel
Said once more and read and the holy prophet Muhammad replied I cannot read and upon this the the angel grabbed the holy prophet Muhammad and uh squeezed him very tightly until the breath was out of him and said again read again the holy prophet Muhammad sallam uh replied
With the same answer until the third time when the angel uh read uh uh uh revealed the first uh uh verses of the Holy Quran which is in the name of your lord who created created a man from a clot of blood uh and uh these are these are the very
Famous verses so uh upon uh receiving this Revelation the holy prophet Muhammad was frightened and he returned home immediately he came to his wife and informed her of what transpired and upon informing her of these events he said his famous expression I fear for myself that it’s very pertinent to know that
Khadijah being the wife of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam would know him intimately for many years she bore his children she knew the character and what she what her reply is really astonishing uh she said verily Allah would never humiliate you ever you know uh would never ever
Humiliate you and then she cited some reasons for that that the holy prophet Muhammad would always be kind to his kiss and kin he would help destitute he would you know do many acts and for that reason uh Khadijah was convinced that what descended upon the holy prophet
Muhammad was was true and from his creator became the first person to profess the truthfulness of the holy prophet in Islam and who did um uh who else did the holy prophet tell after this so uh Khadijah herself suggested that the holy prophet Muhammad that he sees his cousin
Now according to the sources that we know was a man that had entered into the Christian faith uh we do not know exactly what type of Christianity he has but many of the medieval Scholars such as IBN hajar has opined that he entered into a form of monotheistic Christianity
Regardless he had knowledge of scriptures and so when he heard his message he was convinced and he said that the angel that descended upon you o Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam was the same angel that descended upon Prophet Moses as well and then he also said something which is remarkable he
Had remarkable Insight because of his knowledge of the scriptures he said that you know because at that point he was blind he was an elderly man close to death and he said that would that I was given a long life so that I could be there when your your people would turn
You away and show hostility towards you and the holy prophet Muhammad said something very really remarkable it shows his innocence the fact that he didn’t know what events would transpire he said are they going to Exile me my own people that love me and that I and I also love
Will they excite me he didn’t have he had no idea what events would transpire but what I couldn’t know for indicated that yes this is the case no Prophet that has come before you hasn’t you know been the subject of hostility exactly for that um dear viewers we are coming to that
Part of the show where we will go to an external panelist and get them involved in this conversation we are talking about the early period of Revelation and God forbid there is one um allegation that is also raised and it is based on the authentic Traditions that um the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi
Wasallam God forbid had Suicidal Thoughts after he received this first revelation um let us go to nurul Muhammad from Mauritius and see what he has to say about this well this question begins with the time when the holy prophet sallallahu started to receive divine revelation that is the
Revelation of the Holy Quran in the cave of Hira the holy prophet sallam was very surprised that the angel were little it was known to be an angel but at that time he was very surprised that someone came to him he started experiencing this absolutely new thing
That a being came to him and started telling him to recite and recite so after the first revelation of the Holy Quran came the holy prophet saws as we all know went to his wife and then they went to warakabi novel who consoled them and explained to them that
The angel who came to the prophets before him came to the holy prophet saws to bring the message from God from Allah the Almighty so this experience of the highest degree of relation of connection with the Divine with Allah this was the revelation of the Holy Quran then after this period of the
Experiencing tasting this absolute love of Allah came the period of fertility the period of pose of halt in The Descent of revelation of the Holy Quran so the holy prophet saws in that state was a kind was kind of restless so normally he became anxious that is this truly the experience the
Ultimate experience that he felt with Allah and since there has been a pose so he started questioning himself what has happened actually why has this being this Angel stopped coming to him again So In This Moment it’s absolutely normal for the holy prophet saws a human being
To start questioning himself so in this question whether he became suicidal it’s based on a Hadith mentioned in sahih bukhari that during this period the holy prophet saws would climb even climb up to mountains to some Heights and contemplate on you know putting an end to his physical life but that’s the
Narration the tradition that was reported but if we look at this incident itself it’s absolutely normal when we take it as a metaphor this incident in the spiritual world in the spiritual realm is absolutely true that when the holy prophet saws started questioning himself why has this stop
Why has the Revelation stopped why has this experience stopped is it because of my own physical human weakness so yes if that’s the case then I should get rid of all the human weaknesses of all the possible mistakes weaknesses that a human can possess so as a metaphor climbing to the mountain and
Getting rid of all the human weakness makes sense and in this way in the spiritual world the holy prophet saws trying to better himself so that he might taste again from The Descent of Revelation is absolutely true but in this case that has nothing to do of becoming suicidal
In the physical world trying to put an end to his physical life and in this same incident it narrated that when the holy prophet saws was coming back he saw the angel again that came to him that means he was successful in trying to get rid of any kind of human
Aspects maybe weaknesses or his own self but he did not kill himself because the angel came to him and when he went to his wife and he said cover me cover me so then the revelation of the uh Holy Quran came again so the revelation of the Holy Quran
Continued from that instant and the period of fertility where he came to an end so the holy prophet saws no point in his life became suicidal in the physical sense and he answered a very important allegation they also so how did the holy prophet go about preaching his word
Well as recorded in the Holy Quran Allah the almighty this Revelation is present that that tell people about what Allah the almighty has commanded you and that was the beginning of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi sallam then sharing this message to the people who were closest to him that’s how the holy
Prophet began he did not initially in the first three to four years very publicly share this message but rather in that first three four year period he began with people who were around him in Mecca and even before that he started with his closest tribesmen and the people who were part
Of the Banu ashram and there there is an incident in which the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam arranged for a feast and invited his close relatives and after the dinner or the feast was over the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam stood up to speak about Abdullah who was a major proponent and
An opponent at that time he said something and then everybody dispersed but the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was so cognizant of this responsibility that Allah had given him that he arranged for another feast and he invited them again and at that time then he shared his message and he told his closest
Relatives these people what message Allah the almighty had given him and then we have that incident in which stood up it was a very young child at the time and said I would I will support you o Muhammad but eventually ultimately Abu lahab then said something in a way by way of
Mockery and then everybody dispersed and this opposition continued from abulab and ultimately that opposition of Abu lahab it weakened the the inter-tribal relations between the various tribes as well he was one he was the weakest link if you will his own tribe’s men wanted to protect him and they did protect the
Holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam after God of course but that individual him he did not support the prophet of Islam and encouraged other people to oppose him as well we had that time of History where the holy prophet had just started his mission and he’s inviting his close
Relatives to join the call towards Allah how did he invite his Kinsmen towards this this fold of Islam so ayas I have has very eloquently described several incidents in which the holy prophet Muhammad invited his very close members of his tribe the Abdullah however the holy prophet Muhammad also
Invited the whole of the quraish and that was after receiving uh the famous Revelation in the Holy Quran which means and warn your tribe of Nair Kindred after receiving his Revelation which was during the fourth year of the prophetic Mission the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam went on top
Of Mount Safa and then called the various factions and uh and branches of the of the quraish so he said yeah benefit all these different tribes he would call them and then if some of them couldn’t attend they would invite a representative to see what this commotion is all about when they all
Gathered the holy prophet Muhammad posed a very important question to them he said which means suppose I was to tell you that’s an anime an enemy Cavalry was in the valley ready to attack you would you believe me and so just just a note that this is very unlikely and improbable
They would have known this information before the holy prophet Muhammad would have told him that but despite this they said of course we do not know you except to be truthful and the holy prophet Muhammad presented this very uh implicit evidence there of his truthfulness uh so
After that the holy prophet Muhammad has narrated in a famous Hadith told them about his message and the fact that he’s a Warner to them and when he said that uh the same individual that uh ayasaheb referred to which is called Abdullah he was referred to as
In some narrations on account of the redness of his cheeks when he became angry abula have said to him and you heard may you perish for the rest of the day is this is this the reason why you called us again ridiculing the holy prophet Muhammad so
From the very early beginning of the preaching of Islam was indeed a a staunch opponent of the holy prophet Muhammad even though he was from the same time it’s another very famous incident that we find in the life of the holy prophet salallahu sallam viewers in case you are wondering where
We are getting our information from we are covering the life of the holy prophet salallahu from the very famous book by hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmed who life and character of the Seal of the prophets and also the book by Hazard the second caliph of the Ahmadi Muslim Community Life of Muhammad
So viewers we will go to your question as you know this is your program in an interactive program and if you would like to send us questions do send us your messages or emails and the information will be displayed on your screen let’s look at today’s question
Assalamu alaikum my name is Ibrahim I am from rozil Mauritius can you please tell us who are the first Believers of the holy prophet sallallahu a for that question ayaz very important question who were the first Muslims and again there’s a big debate among Scholars as well as to
Was it Hazard Abu Bakr first was it Ali was it absolutely um who has mentioned in his books that as far as I’m concerned this is a useless discussion a debate rather because as far as concerned as far as who are concerned as far as concerned these were all people who were
Part of the household of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi so a formal declaration wasn’t even needed on there in their respect it is assumed that they supported the prophet of Islam and of course they were Muslims other than that then everybody understands and accepts for the most part that it was
Who was the first man to accept the prophet of Islam and the manner in which he accepted him is so beautiful and so inspirational that when he heard he was not in Mecca at the time he came and he asked the prophet of Islam his closest
Friend that had have you made this claim in the prophet of Islam wanted to explain but he said no don’t just tell me have you made this claim and the prophet of Islam again tried to explain because he was he was somewhat apprehensive worried in case that Mike
There’s a friend may have not got the right message about it but he said messenger of Allah he said I do not ask you o Muhammad just tell me yes or no and he said yes and he said then I accept you because I know you are a truthful man and this was
The level of the Allah and whose spirituality and his narration it says that I don’t want to um I didn’t want to ask for a proof so that my my Iman was was that was at my level of your mind so that my reward and my Iman would not be
Diminished my faith would not be I don’t know a few other notable yes absolutely other than that then from we he preached as well and through Allah who accepted Islam who became the third Khalifa and who was the son-in-law also of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and even
These were all people who then these were all people who were part of the ashara mubashara the ten people who had been promised Paradise in this very world through the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi waslam because of their high level of faith and Iman and of course then there were other people
As well slowly and gradually this message grew and other people accepted as well in this early period of Islam the holy prophet salallahu would spend most of his time in a very famous place called and um what was that the first mission or the first uh preaching House of Islam yes of course
We’ll leave the details to Bilal side we will speak about this but just briefly this had a very deep spiritual uh Center as far this had a very uh fundamental role to play in Islam from a spiritual standpoint because cause this was the first place in the history of
Islam where the companions of the holy prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam gathered Islam is a is not a religion of just man and God of course Islam teaches a relationship between man and God but it is a religion which teaches congregation that people come together they worship collectively
They spend time to collectively and so this was that Center where for the first time in history those blessed Souls flocked around the messenger of Allah to listen to his words and so it has because of the opposition you they were unable to of course of course they
Weren’t able to go out in the open but this is where they congregated and this is where they heard the Blessed words of the holy prophet sallallahu absolutely we’re discussing the first center or the first preaching mission for Islam if I was to go to Makkah I have a
Question for you where would I find where would it have been previously just before we close for today’s program that’s a very interesting question so unfortunately you cannot see darling now and that is because uh it’s been demolished however historically we can trace where it should have been so we know that
Was located at the uh base of Mount Safa and uh Donald outcome for many centuries after the death of the holy prophet Muhammad was belonging to the descendants of the person who originally owned the house however during the reign of uh the abbaside emperor El mehdi he purchased it from the descendants of
And then subsequently bequeathed it to his wife the famous wife of uh who was also the mother of Haruna Rasheed throughout the centuries different Kings owned it until it was transferred to the ottoman Sultan Murad Khan and during the onset of the 18th century Ibrahim Beek and ottoman who was granted permission
To renovate the mosque uh convert renovate the house converted it into a mosque and it was in a very elaborate mosque with a dome and it remained like that until the Saudi conquest of the hijaz and the establishment of the modern state of Saudi Arabia in which it
Was initially converted into a daru Hadith into a a place and school of teaching Hadith to students however in 1955 during the reign of King abdelaziz uh they expect the famous Expansion Project commenced and that was to expand the Mitchell Haram to anau to allow more people to visit it and during that
Expansion Project project uh unfortunately this property and many other historical sites were destroyed however if you were to see where it would have been located then you would go to uh babul Arkham the Saudis have called this uh gate of Al Arkham to refer to the the house of Arkham
For that very in-depth answer and viewers unfortunately that’s all we have time for in this episode and Dr Bilal sub for joining me today viewers join us again same time next week where we will continue this journey on the Golden Age of Islam until then