The Emergence and Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad

THE EMERGENCE AND LEGACY OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD Poised between Africa, Asia and Europe, the Arabian Peninsula lay at the heart of the ancient world. Yet no ambitious conqueror had invaded the territory; no ruler had sought to bring it under his domain. All military campaigns had been limited to the area bordering Arabia—Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. As for the Arabian Peninsula, no one had considered it worth fighting for. True, its shores were lapped by three seas, but its interior offered little beyond the inhospitable desert and barren mountains. Makkah was the central township of this land; it was in this “uncultivable valley” in which it lay, that the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, on whom be peace, was born. His father, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib, died a few months before the birth of the Prophet. He was only six when his mother, Aminah, also passed away. For two years, he was cared for by his grandfather, ‘Abdul Muttalib, and when he too died, the Prophet’s uncle, Abu Talib, became his guardian. Abu Talib’s demise occurred three years before the emigration of the Prophet to Madinah. At the most difficult stage of his life, the Prophet was left without a protector. But nature had endowed the Prophet with a remarkable personality. Those who saw him in his youth said: “This boy has a great