Mecca is a city among tall mountains in the land of Hijaz. About 1500 years ago, a baby was born in Mecca who would fill the world with light and kindness. This important event occurred in the Year of the Elephant (ām al-fīl); the same year when Abraha’s army came with their elephants toward Mecca to destroy the Kaaba. He was the king of Abyssinia and wanted to destroy the House of God so that his own temple would prosper, but God destroyed him and his army. That same year, in the dawn of one of the days of Rabi’ al-Awwal, a baby was born who brought light and purity everywhere from his very childhood.
His mother Amina named him “Muhammad,” meaning someone whom everyone praises. His father Abdullah, who was a very pure and good person, had passed away before Muhammad’s (PBUH) birth, and his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib, who was respected by all people of Mecca, took responsibility for his care.
At that time, it was customary to take newborns to the desert to grow up in clean and pure air. Halima Sa’diyah, the kind lady of the desert, when she came to Mecca to take a baby for nursing, saw little Muhammad. As soon as she looked at Muhammad’s (PBUH) radiant face, she felt his love in her heart and was chosen as his wet nurse with Abdul-Muttalib’s approval.
When Halima took Muhammad (PBUH) to the desert, she brought blessing and goodness to that region. Springs became full of water, trees became green, and sheep gave more milk. Halima would say: “Since this child has come to our home, God has given us much blessing.”
Little Muhammad had become friends with the sheep in the desert. When he took them to graze, he was careful that they wouldn’t damage people’s crops. If a sheep got lost, he would search for it until he found it. He was always careful that weaker sheep wouldn’t fall behind the others, and he was kind and well-behaved with everyone.
Muhammad (PBUH) was six years old when his mother Amina passed away. After that, his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib took care of him. Abdul-Muttalib loved him very much and would say: “This grandson of mine has a great future.” But two years later, Abdul-Muttalib also passed away, and his uncle Abu Talib became his guardian.
Abu Talib, Muhammad’s (PBUH) kind uncle, was a merchant and would go on trading journeys. He would take young Muhammad with him. During one of these journeys to Syria, they met a monk named Bahira. When Bahira saw Muhammad (PBUH), he said: “This youth shows the signs of the last prophet.”
Young Muhammad became known in Mecca for his truthfulness and trustworthiness. He never lied, and he took good care of whatever was entrusted to him. The people of Mecca called him “Muhammad Al-Amin,” meaning Muhammad the Trustworthy. When they wanted to entrust their jewelry or valuable things to someone, they would say: “The most reliable person for this is Muhammad.”
Lady Khadija (SA), who was a wealthy and charitable woman, had heard of Muhammad’s trustworthiness and good character. She asked Muhammad to travel with her trading caravan. When Muhammad returned from the journey, Khadija saw how honest and kind he was. After some time, they got married.
One day, an important event happened in Mecca. Heavy rain had damaged the walls of the Kaaba. The elders of Quraysh decided to repair the Kaaba. When they wanted to put the Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad) in its place, a dispute arose between the tribes. Each tribe wanted this honor for themselves. They were about to go to war when one of the elders said: “Wait! Let the first person who enters through this door be the judge.” The first person was Muhammad Al-Amin. Everyone was happy and said: “We accept his judgment.”
Muhammad (PBUH) thought for a moment and said: “Bring a cloak.” He spread the cloak on the ground and placed the Black Stone in its center. Then he asked the leaders of each tribe to hold one corner of the cloak. They all lifted the stone together, and Muhammad (PBUH) placed it in its position with his own hands. Everyone was happy with this solution.
In those days, there were bad people living in Mecca who hurt poor people and oppressed slaves, only thinking about their own power and wealth. They had made idols and asked people to worship them and give them money for the idols. They wanted everyone to listen to and do whatever they said. Superstitions and false beliefs had spread among people, and everyone took pride in their tribe and race. People would fight and go to war over worthless matters. They disrespected women and didn’t like daughters. Some people, when they had a child and saw it was a girl, would feel ashamed in front of others and sometimes even buried their daughters alive.
Muhammad (PBUH) was very sad about these issues and always thought about the weak and oppressed people. He helped the poor and opposed racism, injustice, and disrespect toward girls and women; for this reason, he would sometimes leave the city and distance himself from people. He would occasionally take refuge in the Cave of Hira and engage in prayer and worship there. This cave was on Mount Nur. From up there, one could see all of Mecca, the Masjid al-Haram, and the Kaaba. He would commune with God in the cave and think about people’s problems.
When Muhammad (PBUH) reached forty years of age, the most important event of his life occurred. On the twenty-seventh night of Rajab, while he was in the Cave of Hira, he saw a magnificent angel who had brought him a message from God. This angel’s name was Gabriel. Gabriel informed Muhammad (PBUH) that God had chosen him as His prophet to deliver necessary guidance through him to the people and save humans from their problems.
Before Muhammad (PBUH), there had been other great prophets who received God’s messages as revelation. Abraham (AS), Noah (AS), Moses (AS), and Jesus (AS) were among God’s greatest prophets, and Muhammad (PBUH) believed in all of them and followed their common religion. But now he himself had reached the position of prophethood and was receiving revelation through Gabriel. Revelation means special messages that God sends to His prophets.
From that night, important messages were sent to Muhammad (PBUH) from God. He had to tell people that there is only one God, and no one should worship idols; he had to tell them to be kind to each other, respect their parents, and help the poor. He had to invite people to truthfulness, trustworthiness, and justice, and tell them to always keep their promises, not to touch others’ belongings without permission, and not to hurt anyone. He had to teach people the best way to connect with God and thank Him for His blessings and tell them not to listen to anyone except God.
The first people to believe in the Prophet (PBUH) were his kind wife Khadija (SA) and his cousin Ali (AS). They knew that the Prophet always spoke the truth and wanted to guide people to the right path. Imam Ali (AS), who was then a ten-year-old youth, stood by the Prophet (PBUH) in all conditions, helped him, and learned everything well from him.
But the bad people who oppressed others and wanted everyone to only listen to them did not believe in the Prophet (PBUH) and wouldn’t allow others to freely choose their religion. When people heard the verses of the Quran from the Prophet (PBUH), they were very moved and understood that these beautiful words were God’s speech and wanted to believe in this religion. But the oppressors persecuted the Prophet (PBUH) and his followers and wanted to stop the spread of God’s religion through threats and torture.
The Prophet (PBUH) invited the people of Mecca to his religion for 13 years, but only a few people dared to support him. The difficult conditions in Mecca caused the Prophet (PBUH) and those who had believed in him to migrate to the city of Yathrib. The people of Yathrib welcomed the immigrants with kindness and gave them shelter, putting their homes and belongings at their disposal. For this reason, the believers who came from Mecca were called “Muhajirun” (immigrants), and the believers in Yathrib who helped them were called “Ansar” (helpers). The people of Yathrib loved the Prophet (PBUH) so much that they changed their city’s name and called it “Madinat an-Nabi” meaning the City of the Prophet.
The people of Medina chose the Prophet (PBUH) as their leader and ruler and listened to his words because they knew everything he said was from God. But the Prophet’s (PBUH) enemies in Mecca and other regions wouldn’t leave them in peace and wanted to stop the progress and success of the Muslims. For this reason, they would frequently attack Medina and kill the Prophet’s (PBUH) followers. The Prophet (PBUH) would tell his companions that we must defend ourselves, and whoever is martyred in this path will go to heaven and God will reward them.
Many battles took place between the Prophet (PBUH) and the enemies of Islam. The name of the first battle was “Badr.” Although the polytheists had much more equipment and forces, the Muslims fought bravely because of their faith in God and won. After that, the battle of “Uhud” happened. In this battle, although the Muslims were initially victorious, because of the mistake of those who didn’t listen to the Prophet’s advice and went after collecting spoils, the Muslims were defeated and many people were martyred, including “Hamza,” the Prophet’s uncle. The Prophet (PBUH) himself was almost martyred, but through the sacrifice and bravery of people like Imam Ali (AS), his life was saved. Fatima (SA), the Prophet’s daughter, nursed him until he got better.
The Prophet (PBUH) and his companions continued their path with hardship and perseverance and were victorious in other battles like “Khandaq,” “Khaybar,” and “Hunayn.” Gradually, the power of the Muslims increased more and more. The leaders of Mecca, who had previously oppressed the Muslims and driven them out of their homes and city, in the eighth year after the migration, when they saw the Muslims coming toward Mecca, were frightened by their large numbers and surrendered. The Prophet (PBUH), who had conquered Mecca without bloodshed, forgave his enemies and invited everyone to peace, friendship, and kindness.
God’s kind Prophet (PBUH) strived for 23 years to fulfill his prophetic responsibility and passed away in the eleventh year after migration. During this time, he received the most important heavenly book, the “Quran,” through revelation and gave it to us. The Prophet (PBUH) in his final advice to people said: I am leaving from among you, but I leave two remembrances for you: one is the Quran, which is God’s book, and the other is my household. As long as you listen to the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), you will always be successful and never go astray.
The Prophet’s (PBUH) body was buried in Masjid al-Nabawi. Every year, millions of Muslims who go to Mecca for Hajj rituals visit his grave in Medina and seek help from his pure soul for greater success.
Our Prophet is the best role model for life. He was always kind and wanted all people to be happy. If we are like him too, everyone will love us, and God will be pleased with us.
The above content was published on 20/3/2025 on Imam Ali (AS) Foundation Library