Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam
I cannot even begin to do justice by talking about Muhammad on one short page.
So I will limit myself to giving just a brief overview of the Messenger of Allah.
A prophet is a person who receives divine guidance or revelation by Allah.
This revelation is brought down to the prophets through the Angel Gibraeel (Gabriel).
There were approximately 124,000 prophets sent to this world by Allah to give guidance and teach people the rules of Islam.
Adam was the first human as well as the first prophet to be sent to us.
Note: when I say “Sent”, it means they were born in this world and were then given the mantle of prophet-hood at some point in their life.
Muhammad was the last in the line of prophets and is classed as the “Seal of Prophets”. This means, he was the last person sent by Allah to give guidance to humanity.
He is also a leader of all the prophets who came before him.
When the name of Muhammad is mentioned, we always follow up by sending peace to him by saying “Peace Be Upon Him” (PBUH).
Some prophets were also given books or scriptures as a written guide for the people.
Those that came with the scripture, were “Messengers” in addition to being Prophets.
Muhammad (pbuh), is also a Messenger of Allah.
He brought us the Holy Quran, which we read to this day as was revealed to him approximately 1450 years ago.
We receive guidance from the Quran and from the sayings and traditions of the holy prophet, Muhammad (pbuh).
To you, right now, reading this text, Muhammad is just a name of a man who existed many years ago, who was possibly a good leader.
There is so much more to Muhammad (pbuh) than one can ever study in a lifetime.
He was a perfect example of what a person should endeavor to be like. He was a perfect example sent by Allah as a guidance for humanity.
Muhammad (pbuh) was sent as a leader of this world and the leader of the hereafter.
He is a mercy to mankind and there will be no one like him – ever.
Just reading the life story of the holy prophet, one cannot help feeling over-awed at the magnanimity of his teachings.
Muhammad became a prophet and messenger at the age of 40. He died at the age of 63. In 23 short years, he changed the world for the better, not politically, but spiritually and religiously.
Everything he taught was directly from Allah (through the angel Gibraeel) and that is why we believe so strongly in the teachings of Islam.
We have the source and the messenger for guidance. We hold on tight so we don’t lose our way (in this temporary world).
A true Muslim loves the prophet of Allah more than his own parents and more than him/herself. This is how much we love and respect the leader of the two worlds.
Every Muslim should aspire to imitate his way of life. There is great reward in simply copying the way of the prophet. His life was a perfect example to guide us.
A person can see Muhammad (pbuh) through different angles and each angle is perfect in its own right.
For example, if a person wanted to know about Muhammad as a family man, he would find the best qualities and dealings as a family man.
If a person wanted to learn about Muhammad as a political man, he would find the greatest justice and rules as a political man (even though he was not a politician).
If a person wanted to learn about Muhammad as a military leader, he would find the way Muhammad commanded an army of believers in fighting those that tried to crush them.
If a person wanted to learn about Muhammad as a social man, he would find the the ideal manners and methods of dealing within the example of the holy prophet.
If a person wanted to learn about Muhammad as a religious man, he would find the greatest devotee and worshiper in the example of Muhammad (pbuh).
Whichever aspect of his life you investigate, you will find nothing but good.
To this day, true Muslims aspire to follow in the footsteps of Muhammad (pbuh) and his companions, who were rightly guided by the prophet himself.
We, as Muslims, have an extremely high regard for the prophet of Islam. We aim to love him more than anything or anyone else.
This is why, you will find that Muslims become easily offended if a word is said out of place with regards to the prophet.
Muhammad was sent as Mercy to this world and it is our duty to read about his life and implement his ways into our own life.
May Allah send his blessings upon the holy Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh).
To learn more about Muhammad, pick up a book of his life story and be prepared to read about someone like you’ve never experienced before.
Since Muhammad had the Holy Quran Revealed to him, we shall talk about the Quran in the next section.
