MUHAMMAD The Last Prophet A Model For All Time Sayed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi Academy of Islamic Research and Publications P.O. Box 119, Tagore Merg Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow (India) Published by Academy Academy of Islamic Research and Publications P.O. Box 119, Tagore Merg Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow (India) 1 EDITION 2008 Printed at Kakori Offset Press Dr. B.N. Verma Road Lucknow-226018 Ph.: 2629616 2 Contents Foreword ......................................................................... 5 The Age of Ignorance ................................................... 11 Before Prophethood ...................................................... 15 After Prophethood ......................................................... 31 In Madinah .................................................................... 75 The Decisive Battle of Badr .......................................... 85 The Battle of Uhud ........................................................ 97 The Battle of the Ditch ................................................ 117 The Expedition Against the Banu Qurayzah ............... 128 The Peace Treaty of Hudaybiyyah .............................. 134 Inviting the Kings and Rulers to Islam ....................... 143 The Expedition to Khaybar ......................................... 148 The Expedition to Mu'tah ............................................ 159 The Conquest of Makkah ............................................ 164 3 The Battle of Hunayn .................................................. 182 The Expedition of Ta'if ............................................... 186 The Tabuk Expedition ................................................. 192 The Year of Delegations ............................................. 198 The Farewell Hajj ....................................................... 200 The Death of the Messenger of Allah ......................... 206 The Prophet's Character and Qualities ........................ 221 WORKBOOK ............................................................. 223 TRANSLITERATION ................................................ 236 Glossary ...................................................................... 237 Names/Kunyahs/Epithets and Titles ........................... 241 Communities, Tribes, Clans and Families .................. 248 Places .......................................................................... 250 4 Foreword All the Prophets were chosen by Allah to guide mankind to the Divine Path. They faced many difficulties and suffered severe hardships in their efforts to call their erring people to obey and worship the One God, Allah. This book is the last in a series of stories About these Prophets. It portrays a vivid picture of the life and times of Muhammad, the last Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It has been written in a style attractive to young people by the renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Sayyed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, one of the greatest living authorities on Islam, whose works provide material for the text books used in schools and colleges throughout the Arab and Muslim world. This translation has been prepared especially for young English-speaking Muslims who wish to benefit from the scholarship usually found in Arabic or Urdu publications. MUHAMMAD, the Last Prophet is based on the Holy Qur'an and contemporary accounts of events taking place during that period. It offers an authentic account of the early call to Islam, the impact of which is still reverberating around world. 5 It is hoped that the reader will appreciate this opportunity to examine Islam from a historical perspective and to understand why it remains so relevant to life today. My thanks are due to Sis. Aisha Bewley, Sis. Umm Ayman, my daughters Su'ad, Shifa' and my other children for their help in producing this book. May Allah accept this effort and make it a source of inspiration and guidance for all. Leicester, England Iqbal Ahmad Azami Rabi' al-Awwal 1414 A.H. August 1993 6 Preface Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds and peace be upon the exalted Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad, and upon all his family and Companions and those who follow them with sincerity until the Day of Judgement. No words can express the praise and gratitude I owe to Allah Almighty or describe my happiness as I write this preface to the last book in the series Stories of the Prophets. Allah has prolonged my life and blessed me with success in completing this book devoted to the life of the last Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). A period of thirty years lapsed between writing the story of the Prophet Musa (peace and blessings be upon him) and the section which begins with the story of the Prophet Shu'ayb and ends with the story of the Prophet 'Isa ibn Maryam (peace and blessings be upon them). No one can be certain of continued life and it wa5 only through Divine kindness and favour that I was able to write About the life of the Prophet specifically for children. Having dedicated myself to the task of writing this book I managed to finish it in a short time. Then I began a definitive work on the life of the Prophet. This small book formed the basis for the larger book, completeO at the beginning of Shawwal 1396 A.H. produced by Dar ash-Shuruq in Jeddah under the title, as-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah and published in Cairo in Rabi'al-Awwal, 1398 A.H. (April 1977 CE.). It has also been translated into English and published by The Academy of Islamic Research & Publications, Lucknow, India, entitled Muhammad, Rasulullah). 7 I have based my work on a summary of as-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisham, one of the oldest books on the life of the Prophet still in existence. It has had a great effect on the hearts and souls of generations of believers. I· have also relied on ancient Sirah sources and the celebrated books of as-Sihah in hadith. As I. did not set out to write an academic treatise I have refrained from constantly specifying my sources. The book has been written for enthusiastic young people, not for university scholarship, so references are confined to texts and variants. My large and compre- hensive book on the Sirah will meet their needs for theological arguments and contemporary studies. By the power of Almighty Allah, this present work comes if! between the Sirah written for adults and the books published for children. It can be studied by adolescents or read by non-academics, in their madrasahs, libraries and homes. It will also be useful to non-Muslims and can be translated into other languages. It contains the core and summary of the Sirah, the wonders and facts of various events, the background to the Islamic call, and the conquests and victories associated with it. Abuve all, this book will provide the student with a welcome environment in which he or she will find guidance to last a lifetime. It provides-the light to illuminate the pathway, the spiritual weapons needed for defence against secularism and satanic influences and the message to carry into the future. Finally, I. praise Allah for the successful conclusion of this work. I thank Him for His gifts and blessings and I ask Him to accept my efforts. 8 I pray that this book will help the Muslim youth of today to overcome the thorny thickets which obstruct their path. Allah is the One who guides to the right path whomever He wants. Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi 9 10 The Age of Ignorance Ancient religions After the Prophet of Allah, 'Isa ibn Maryam, there was a long period without a Prophet. Light and knowledge disappeared. Christianity fell into disrepute and became a matter of sport for the corrupt and the hypocrites. From the very beginning, Christianity had been subjected to alterations by extremists and to interpretations by the ignorant. The simple teaching of the Messiah was buried beneath the transgressors' evil behaviour. The Jews had become a society obsessed with rites and rules lacking all life and spirit. Apart from that, Judaism, a tribal religion, did not carry a message to the world nor a summons to other nations nor, mercy to humanity at large. The Magians were devoted to fire-worship. They built altars and shrines to fire. Outside the shrines they followed their own pursuits. Eventually, no difference whatever could be discerned between the Magians and those with no religion or morality. Buddhism, a religion widespread in India and Central Asia, was transformed into outright paganism. Altars were built and images of the Buddha set up wherever it went. Hinduism, the basic religion of India, is distinguished by its millions of idols and gods, and-by 11 the unjust separation that exists between its castes, discrimination between the castes being a harsh reality of daily life. The Arabs also suffered from a paganism and idol-worship of the most abhorrent kind that had no parallel, even in pagan Hindu India. They were involved shirk and adopted gods other than Allah. Every tribe, region or city had a particular idol. Indeed, every house had a private idol. Inside the Ka'bah, the house which Ibrahim (peace be upon him)1 had built for the worship of Allah alone, and in its courtyard, stood three hundred and sixty idols. The Arabian Peninsula The morals of the Arabs were corrupted and they were obsessed with drinking and gambling. Their cruelty and so-called zeal reached the point where they buried baby girls alive. Raiding was widespread as well as highway robbery against trading caravans. The position of women in society was so low that they could be inherited like property or animals. Children