Muhammad

0Born in Mecca around 570 C.E.

0He was orphaned when he was young and his uncle’s family looked after him.

0When people speak his name they say “Muhammad – peace be upon him”

0No image of him may be drawn, painted or represented in dance

Growing Up

0Muhammad started work in his uncles business – driving camels and trading across the deserts of Arabia

0Honest & Trustworthy – people called him Al-Almin (‘The Trustworthy One’)

0During his travels he met Jews & Christians and they discussed their beliefs & customs

Life in Mecca

0 At 25, Muhammad married Khadijad, a rich widow and they had 6 children

0 He became a successful business man as Mecca was a busy trading city and there were lots of pilgrims crowded around the Ka’ba

0 However he didn’t agree with everything that went on in Mecca

Things that troubled Muhammad:

0 Traders were greedy and dishonest and

cheated the poor

0People spent too much time drinking and fighting

0 Women and children were badly treated

His Beliefs

0 He often spent time in the hills (Mount Hira)

outside the city thinking about life and praying

0 He was a religious man – but he did not agree with worshiping the idols and gods on the Ka’ba – he believed that type of worship was the root of many problems in Mecca

0 He came to believe that there was only one God, called Allah (the same God Christians and Jews worship)

Vision/Dream

0 One night on Mount Hira, when he was about 40, Muhammad was praying alone in the cave

0 Muslims believe an angel appeared to him in a dream.

0 He was told he was chosen to be a prophet – God’s messenger on earth

0 Muslims call this night – The Night of Power and Excellence

0 Muhammad was really worried and rushed home to speak to his wife

0 She convinced him that he had received a message from God

0 Khadijah had great faith and was the first convert to the Islam religion

0Muhammad continued to receive messages throughout his life

0Khadijah and some other converts learned them off by heart until they were written down

0These messages later became the

Qur’an – sacred text of Islam

Prophet

0Muhammad became a prophet

0His role was to let everyone know the will of God

0He began preaching in Mecca

His Message:

1. Must worship one God – Allah – not the

360 idols in the Ka’ba

1. Must listen to Muhammad because he is

the prophet of Allah

1. People should live good lives, be honest, share with the poor and look after women and children

2. Any wrongdoing in this life would be punished by God in the next life