Abu l-Qasim Muhammad ibn
‘Abd Allāh al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
: Muḥammad; (Mohammed, Muhammed, Mahomet) (c. 570 Mecca – June 8, 632 Medina) was the founder of the world religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the last messenger and prophet of God Muslims consider him the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Abraham and others. They see him as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets of Islam.[8][9][10] Muhammad is also regarded as a prophet by the Druze and as a manifestation of God by the Bahá'í Faith. He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, general and reformer.]
The principal and most credible source of information for the life of Muhammad is the Qur'an Next in importance are the historical works by writers of third and fourth century of the Muslim era Sources on Muhammad’s life concur that he was born ca. 570 CE in the city of Mecca in Arabia He was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle, later worked mostly as a merchant, and was married by age 26. At some point, dis*******ed with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic tradition, it was here at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event, Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām)[16] is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets.
Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was largely met with hostility from the tribes of Mecca; he was treated harshly and so were his followers. To escape persecution, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina. in the year 622. This historic event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca. In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from his 'Farewell pilgrimage', Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of Arabia had converted to Islam.
The revelations (or Ayats, lit. Signs of God), which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Qur'an. regarded by Muslims as the “word of God”, around which the religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims.
Figurative depictions of Muhammad were a significant part of late medieval Islamic art; however, such depictions were generally limited to secular contexts and to the elite classes who could afford fine art. The taboo on depictions of Muhammad was less stringent during the Ottoman Empire,
although his face was often left blank
[center]
Main articles: Historiography of early Islam and Historicity of Muhammad From a scholarly point of view, the most credible source providing information on events in Muhammad's life is the Qur'an. The Qur'an has some, though very few, casual allusions to Muhammad's life. The Qur'an, however, responds "constantly and often candidly to Muhammad's changing historical circumstances and contains a wealth of hidden data that are relevant to the task of the quest for the historical Muhammad. All or most of the Qur'an was apparently written down by Muhammad's followers while he was alive, but it was, then as now, primarily an orally related document, and the written compilation of the whole Qur'an in its definite form was completed early after the death of Muhammad. The Qur'an in its actual form is generally considered by academic scholars to record the words spoken by Muhammad because the search for variants in Western academia has not yielded any differences of great significance.]
Next in importance are the historical works by writers of third and fourth century of the Muslim era. These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him (the sira and hadith literature), which provide further information on Muhammad's life. The earliest surviving written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Ibn Ishaq's Sirah Rasul Allah (Life of God's Messenger). Although the original work is lost, portions of it survive in the recensions of Ibn Hisham (Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, Life of the prophet) and Al-Tabari. According to Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaq wrote his biography some 120 to 130 years after Muhammad's death.[29] Another early source is the history of Muhammad's campaigns by al-Waqidi (death 207 of Muslim era), Maghazi al-Waqidi, and the work of his secretary Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi (death 230 of Muslim era) Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd The biographical dictionaries of Ali ibn al-Athir and Ibn Hajar provide much detail about the contemporaries of Muhammad but add little to our information about Muhammad himself. Lastly, the hadith collections, accounts of the verbal and physical traditions of Muhammad, date from several generations after the death of Muhammad. Western academics view the hadith collections with caution as accurate historical sources
Many, but not all, scholars accept the accuracy of these biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable. Studies by J. Schacht and Goldziher has led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. According to William Montgomery Watt, in the legal sphere it would seem that sheer invention could have very well happened. In the historical sphere however, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been subject to "tendential shaping" rather than being made out of whole cloth.
There are a few non-Muslim sources which, according to S. A. Nigosian, confirm the existence of Muhammad. The earliest of these sources date to shortly after 634, and the most interesting of them date to some decades later. These sources are valuable for corroboration of the Qur'anic and Muslim tradition statements]
‘Abd Allāh al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
: Muḥammad; (Mohammed, Muhammed, Mahomet) (c. 570 Mecca – June 8, 632 Medina) was the founder of the world religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the last messenger and prophet of God Muslims consider him the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Abraham and others. They see him as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets of Islam.[8][9][10] Muhammad is also regarded as a prophet by the Druze and as a manifestation of God by the Bahá'í Faith. He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, general and reformer.]
The principal and most credible source of information for the life of Muhammad is the Qur'an Next in importance are the historical works by writers of third and fourth century of the Muslim era Sources on Muhammad’s life concur that he was born ca. 570 CE in the city of Mecca in Arabia He was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle, later worked mostly as a merchant, and was married by age 26. At some point, dis*******ed with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic tradition, it was here at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event, Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām)[16] is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets.
Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was largely met with hostility from the tribes of Mecca; he was treated harshly and so were his followers. To escape persecution, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina. in the year 622. This historic event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca. In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from his 'Farewell pilgrimage', Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of Arabia had converted to Islam.
The revelations (or Ayats, lit. Signs of God), which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Qur'an. regarded by Muslims as the “word of God”, around which the religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims.
Figurative depictions of Muhammad were a significant part of late medieval Islamic art; however, such depictions were generally limited to secular contexts and to the elite classes who could afford fine art. The taboo on depictions of Muhammad was less stringent during the Ottoman Empire,
although his face was often left blank
[center]
Main articles: Historiography of early Islam and Historicity of Muhammad From a scholarly point of view, the most credible source providing information on events in Muhammad's life is the Qur'an. The Qur'an has some, though very few, casual allusions to Muhammad's life. The Qur'an, however, responds "constantly and often candidly to Muhammad's changing historical circumstances and contains a wealth of hidden data that are relevant to the task of the quest for the historical Muhammad. All or most of the Qur'an was apparently written down by Muhammad's followers while he was alive, but it was, then as now, primarily an orally related document, and the written compilation of the whole Qur'an in its definite form was completed early after the death of Muhammad. The Qur'an in its actual form is generally considered by academic scholars to record the words spoken by Muhammad because the search for variants in Western academia has not yielded any differences of great significance.]
Next in importance are the historical works by writers of third and fourth century of the Muslim era. These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him (the sira and hadith literature), which provide further information on Muhammad's life. The earliest surviving written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Ibn Ishaq's Sirah Rasul Allah (Life of God's Messenger). Although the original work is lost, portions of it survive in the recensions of Ibn Hisham (Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, Life of the prophet) and Al-Tabari. According to Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaq wrote his biography some 120 to 130 years after Muhammad's death.[29] Another early source is the history of Muhammad's campaigns by al-Waqidi (death 207 of Muslim era), Maghazi al-Waqidi, and the work of his secretary Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi (death 230 of Muslim era) Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd The biographical dictionaries of Ali ibn al-Athir and Ibn Hajar provide much detail about the contemporaries of Muhammad but add little to our information about Muhammad himself. Lastly, the hadith collections, accounts of the verbal and physical traditions of Muhammad, date from several generations after the death of Muhammad. Western academics view the hadith collections with caution as accurate historical sources
Many, but not all, scholars accept the accuracy of these biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable. Studies by J. Schacht and Goldziher has led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. According to William Montgomery Watt, in the legal sphere it would seem that sheer invention could have very well happened. In the historical sphere however, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been subject to "tendential shaping" rather than being made out of whole cloth.
There are a few non-Muslim sources which, according to S. A. Nigosian, confirm the existence of Muhammad. The earliest of these sources date to shortly after 634, and the most interesting of them date to some decades later. These sources are valuable for corroboration of the Qur'anic and Muslim tradition statements]
