The Prophet Mohammed

Mohammed was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 571 CE. He received a revelation from God in 610 and began preaching Islam in public three years later. His message was not well received by the polytheistic Arabs and there was active resistance against the small band of Muslims. Mohammed continued to preach and to receive the revelations of the Holy Qur'an and slowly the number of Muslims grew. In 615 some Muslims were granted protection in Ethiopia by the sympathetic Christian king. In 622 Mohammed organised the emigration to Medina, a town some 400 km north of Mecca. Islam developed here into an organised missionary religion.

The Battle of Bedr in 624 gave a great boost to the young religion,. the Battle of Uhud in 625 nearly saw the end of it ,. while the Battle of the Ditch in 627 proved the turning point and gave the Muslims the confidence to conquer Mecca in 630. Mohammed's Farewell Pilgrimage, which set the traditions for the annual pilgrimages of modern times, took place in 632, the year of his death.

Many prophets taught the message of Islam. The Qur'an names many from the Old and New Testaments as well as some from Arab tradition. Muslims regard Mohammed as the final prophet of God, the culmination of the line of prophets. Mohammed received the complete revelation from God in the form of the Holy Qur'an, the direct word of God to men.

Mohammed leaves Mecca

There were some rich people in Mecca who were getting worried about Mohammed. He seemed to them to be a troublemaker when he talked about One God for all the people, when he talked about freedom for slaves and when he said that the rich must help the poor .
Mohammed was warned to stop preaching. But he could not keep quiet and people still wanted to listen.

Mohammed's enemies began to get nasty. Some of them tortured their slaves who had become Muslims. One man was killed while he was saying his prayers. They shouted rude things and swore at Mohammed as he walked about the town. Mohammed realised that there was not much point in staying in Mecca any longer . He and the Muslims would have to leave.

Plans were made to send the Muslims to Medina. The people there agreed to look after them. In ones and twos and in small groups the Muslims left their homes and friends and families to begin a new life in Medina.

With his friend, Abu Bakr , Mohammed went to stay in a cave outside Mecca. The enemies of Mohammed were furious. Searches were made all around the town. One man even walked right past the cave where they were hiding. But he saw a spider had made its web across the entrance and so he thought that no-one could be in there. The rich men in Mecca offered a reward of a hundred camels if anyone could capture Mohammed But it was no use. The Prophet had escaped.

The Muslims in Medina were very worried about Mohammed They had heard from Mecca that he had disappeared, but there had been no news since. Every day they would set out in the early morning to stand at the edge of the town. Every day they looked out over the rock and sand at the bare hills and the road from Mecca. But the prophet never came. Every day at noon when the heat was too much to endure and the glare of the sun stopped them from seeing anything, they would go back to their homes.

After noon one day the Muslims had all gone back to the cool shade of their homes when two tired travellers came over the hill and down towards Medina. They stopped for a while in the shade of the first palm tree and were recognised by a man who lived at the edge of the town. 'He has come! He has come!' shouted the man. People ran joyfully from house to house shouting the news. And as Mohammed and Abu Bakr rode towards the centre of Medina crowds of cheering Medinans and happy Muslims waved and laughed for joy.

Wherever he went people came out to ask Mohammed to stay with them. But the prophet said he would let his camel decide. The camel went on until it came to the house of a young man called Khalid ibn Zaid who happened to be a distant cousin of Mohammed's Khalid gladly invited him to stay.

Abu Bakr noticed an empty barn next to the house and bought it. After a lot of hard work by Mohammed and the Muslims this was to become Mohammed's house and the first Mosque in Medina.

The next few years were not to be years of peace for the Muslims. They had to work hard to make a living and they had to keep fighting off attacks from Mecca. Mohammed had to suffer a great deal from the people of Mecca but the time would come when he would go back there in triumph.

While Mohammed and Abu Bakr were in the cave, Abu Bakr was afraid. After all there were a great many people out hunting for them. 'And there are only two of us,' said Abu Bakr .But Mohammed answered him, 'Have no fear, for God is with us.'

Muslims believe that God is always with us:

God knows all the secrets of heaven and earth;
He is responsible for everything .
So worship him
and put your trust in Him,
for God knows everything that you do.
(from the Holy Qur'an II: 123)