Chapter Two: The Prophet
The history of Allah's prophet is shrouded in mystery. Much of what is presented today as historical fact concerning the founder if Islam is the fanciful yearnings of fanatical followers. Muslims consider Mohammed to be the perfect man. He had a superb personality. His life is the perfect example of total obedience to Allah's commands. Mohammed's life is a shining example for us to follow. His life is the complete embodiment of Islam. Mohammed was sent as a prophet to show mankind the best way to worship Allah. During his twenty-three years as Allah's messenger he fulfilled this duty perfectly and meticulously.1 He is worshipfully described by Islamic adherents as a handsome man of medium build, neither very tall nor short. He had a large head, thick black hair, a wide forehead, heavy eyebrows and large dark eyes with long eyelashes. He had a fine nose, well-placed teeth, a thick beard, a long handsome neck and a wide chest and shoulders. His skin was light colored and he had thick palms and feet. He walked steadily with firm steps. His appearance had the mark of deep thought and contemplation. His eyes gave the feeling of the authority of a commander and a natural leader.2
We do know that Mohammed was an illiterate merchant living in Arabia in the late sixth century and early seventh century of the common era. It is reported that he was born into a noble tribe called the Quraish but that didn't mean things were easy for the young Mohammed. His father died before he was born and his mother when he was six years old. After losing his father and mother, it fell to Mohammed's grandfather to look after him, but Mohammed found himself without that protector by age eight as well. Finally, it was his uncle Abu Talib, a leader in the tribe and a merchant, who took custody of the future prophet of Allah.
It was from his uncle that Mohammed found his calling as a merchant. He also worked as a shepherd, but it was his skill as a businessman that attracted the eye of his future wife, Khadija bint Khuwaylid. Khadija was a wealthy widow who was looking for someone to help manage her business affairs. Based upon his reputation for honesty, she hired the twenty something Mohammed on something like a trial basis. It is reported that the young man began to turn a tidy profit for her almost immediately. This so impressed Khadija that she proposed marriage to him. Following the advice of his uncle, Mohammed accepted the proposal and at age twenty five, married the forty year old widow. They went on to have six children and were married for about twenty-five years until the death of Khadija.
Like other Arabic tribesmen of his time, Mohammed originally worshiped a pantheon of 360 gods3, of whom Allah was but one.4 Then, one day, according to the Koran and the other primary religious documents of Islam, the Hadith, Mohammed was visited by the angel Gabriel and given the first of many messages concerning the one true religion.
Mohammed was frightened and confused by this spiritual messenger. He confided in his (then only) wife Khadija and she encouraged her trembling husband to embrace this call to life as an ideological celebrity.
As time went by the spiritual revelations continued and even increased. Also, as time went by, Mohammed began to preach this new-found ideology and slowly gained converts. As we will see, one of the characteristics of Islam that emerged after the migration to Medina is its tendency towards violence.
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1. Ghulam Sarwar, Islam Beliefs And Teachings, (1980, London: The Muslim Educational Trust, 2003), 118.
2. Ghulam Sarwar, Islam Beliefs And Teachings, 82.
3. Suzanne Haneef, What Everyone Should Know about Islam and Muslims, (Chicago: Library of Islam, 1996), 27.
4. Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1991), 16.
The Truth About Islam
Chapter One: A Politically Incorrect IntroductionChapter Two: The Prophet
Chapter Three: The Koran
Chapter Four: The Plagiarist
Chapter Five: The Example
Chapter Six: The Leftism
Chapter Seven: The Deception
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