Essay Sample on Early Islam and Prophet Muhammad

Introduction

Islamic religion rise has been naturally linked with Prophet Muhammad, who has been believed by many Muslims as the last prophet from a long line that includes Mosses and Jesus. Muslims think that prophet Muhammad was a messager of the word of god and therefore, they struggle to follow his examples. Apart from the Holy Quran, Prophet Muhammad sayings and his way of life descriptions are other Muslims most essential texts.

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Prophet Muhammad was born on 22 April, 571 AD in Mecca, in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the most powerful tribe of, the Quraish (Rubin & Uri, 5-6). When Muhammad was about 40 years of age, that's when he started hearing strange voices and having several visions. Sometimes, he would go near Mecca at Mt. Hira to search for clarity about his visions. In some of those instances, Archangel Gabriel materialized to him and commanded him to declaim in Lords name and it thereafter formed one among the declarations which formed the Quran basis. Declarations which were made earlier indicated that only one god existed. Due to the visions that were disclosed to Muhammad, the support he acquired from his wife was unconditional and then later, he started attracting followers. However, many of the merchants from Mecca were annoyed by his monotheistic message. This is because they were scared that their trade would suffer after the elimination of the pagan gods, whom they believed protected their trade (Hoyland & Robert, 13-14). Muhammad was excluded from the society in mecca and together with his follower's fled to medina where the freedom to practice their religion was guaranteed. This movement from Mecca to Medina was known as hijra, and it marked the first year of the Islamic calendar.

The knowledge of early Muslims thoughts and views regarding the life of Prophet Muhammad is obtained from traditions of Muslims recorded in numerous complications. These traditions contain stories regarding the acts and sayings of Prophet Muhammad which have been transferred from his companions to the people who have succeeded them. Each of the individual's tradition is known as a hadith, and it is preceded by a list of people who have transmitted that tradition. This list starts with the latest authority and goes back to the earliest authority which is the prophet, Muhammad (Peter & Francis, 7-13). Many hadith are arranged in chapters called a 'kitab' or a 'book' with titles covering a variety of topics, including all what is entailed in Muslim laws. This law strictly signifies aspects which are practical within that law. The word Sanafa is a verb meaning arranging by chapters, and therefore a book which has been arranged by these chapters is called musannaf. In Islam religion, there are several musannaf collections and the most significant of them are called the 'six books' which have got canonical status. The Jami of al-Bukhari and the Muslim are the most authoritative among the six, and each one of them is known as al-Sahih.

Various aspects of Prophet Muhammad in the entire Islam community have been revealed in various topics in the musannaf. Some of the topics reveal to the Islam community how to follow the footsteps of the prophet. The way the prophet conducted himself is called the Sunna. The legal foundation of the Muslim is a combination of the Qurans rulings plus the prophet's sunnan. The prophet is considered as the judge and the actual law giver. One section of ibn Abi shayba known as 'the adjudications of the messager of god' has clearly illustrated the functions of the prophet as a judge.

According to the present Muslim outlook, the emergence of Muhammad marked a goal through which the sacred history of the world was moving. There are several traditions about the virtues of the prophet, the miracles he performed and how he appeared externally. According to Islam, the history of the world only revolves around the lives of twelve imams. The chapter which is about Prophet Muhammad contains a chronology of his whole life, his birth, his pre-existence, his status being the best among the other prophets, his death and so on. Attention was also paid to the musannaf not only regarding Islam universal position but also its status relating to other particular communities, for example, the Christians and the Jews. According to the Islam, these other non-Muslim communities are regarded as the 'people of the book,' and they also belong to a monotheistic religion just like the Muslims. In the musannaf, the historical relations between 'people of the book' and Muslims has been greatly focused on. All collections within the hadith have been greatly focused on Muhammad than any other prophet. in some complications, the 'book' about miracles and eminence of prophet Muhammad compared to other prophets is known as Alamat al-nubuwwa, which means 'signs of prophet hood.' some other sections included biographical details, for example, the chronology of prophet Muhammad careers.

Muslims believed that prophet Muhammad was a God's messager due to the several revelations he received. Some of the achievement of Prophet Muhammad highlighted by the Muslims are defeating polytheism in Saudi Arabia. Traditions regarding Muhammad battles were also recorded as marghazi. According to Islam, the term jihad refers to the holy war and the life of Muhammad was regarded as the source of moral guidance.

Many traditions were not included in the musannaf complications because it only contained the ones who met certain critical standards. The musannaf collections often have a 'book' called Kitab al-tafsir with traditions regarding certain Quranic verses. The presence of such books is an indication that the book of god should be considered as a source of practical guidance and morals.

Works Cited

Rubin, Uri. The eye of the beholder: the life of Muammad as viewed by the early Muslims: a textual analysis. Vol. 5. Darwin Pr, 1995.

Peters, Francis E. "The quest of the historical Muhammad." International Journal of Middle East Studies 23.3 (1991): 291-315.

Hoyland, Robert. "Writing the biography of the Prophet Muhammad: Problems and solutions." History Compass 5.2 (2007): 581-602.