Countless millions of people over hundreds of years follow the teachings of Mohammed, the prophet of Islam. So, who is really this man? What was actually his message? And what miracles he had to enhance his message?
Who is Mohammed of Islam?
The prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was born in Makkah in the year 570 BC and was the first man to be given this name. His name and his signs as a messenger are mentioned in the holly books of Torah and Bible.
He lived in the sixteenth century after the prophet Jesus, and his family from the respected Quraishi clan is descendent from the prophet Ibrahim. His farther, Abdullah, died before his birth and his mother died shortly thereafter. He was then raised by his uncle, Abu Talib. He was raised illiterate, unable to read or write.
As he grew up, he became known to be truthful, honest, trustworthy, generous, and sincere. He was so devoted and genuine in his personal qualities to the extent that that they called him “The Truthful and The Trustworthy”. At the age of forty, Mohammed received his first revelation from the Allah through the Angel Gabriel. The revelations continued for twenty-three years, and they are collectively known as the Quran.
What was Mohammed’s Message?
The teachings of the prophet Mohammed (PBUH) stems from the holy book “The Qur’an”, which presents itself as guidance for mankind as a whole, regardless of race, tribe or class of people. Mohammed’s mission was to rescue the mankind (and not only his followers) from the influence of the evil powers through addressing four main disciplines:
1. The discipline of human relation with his creator
2. The discipline of human relation with his fellow human
3. The discipline of human relation with himself
4. The discipline of human relation with the universe
From these four main disciplines, Muslims have developed many branches of knowledge throughout their history. These include different aspects such as:
1. Spiritual practices to regulate human being’s relation to their creator (Allah)
2. Social sciences to regulate human activities in politics, economics, education etc.
3. Psychological orientation to cultivate personal qualities and direct self-control of attitudes.
4. Natural sciences to encourage human mind to exploit natural resources to the benefit of mankind, such as agriculture, astronomy, marine life, mining etc.
In all these branches of knowledge, Mohammed’s teachings directed Muslims to think of one creator as being the most powerful and the ultimate director of events. In general, the teachings of Islam request Muslims to strike a balance between materialistic and spiritual aspects of life at individual, community, national and international levels.
What was Mohammed’s Miracles?
The prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was challenged by his own people about the truthfulness of his message from Allah. His miracles were difficult to deny by those who are very knowledgeable because they could not come with something similar. In addition, since he was illiterate, unable to read or write, the miracles would not have come from him personally. The miracles can be divided into two categories: those which are specific to himself and those which are specific to the content of the Qur’an. Below are some examples.
Examples of miracles specific to himself:
· Allah definite response to his prayers in many life situations, with dreams always come true
· His persistence wisdom, fairness and ingenious leadership in the time of peace and war
· Ability to cure sick or wounded people hurt in war by just rubbing and praying on their wounds
· Dripping water from a small bucket which was enough for many to perform their ablution
Examples of miracles specific to the Quraan:
· The Qur’anic versus are written with very sophisticated Arabic grammar and complex sentence structures that can never be mimicked by any human till today.
· The scientific information mentioned in the Qur’an many centuries ago are being continuously discovered or verified well after the death of Mohammed. These includes:
Ø The element of iron is not a genuine content of the planet Earth but from outer space
Ø The stages of human embryo development are accurately described well before modern medical imaging methods (eg. the bone comes before the flesh)
Ø The oval or round shape of Earth was mentioned well before modern science discoveries
Ø The mentioned health aspect of pure honey was later discovered to have many benefits
Ø The number of words related to Earth to that related to water are in the ratio of land to sea
· The content of the Qur’an contains accurate stories of past and future civilizations which would have never been reported by an illiterate person like Mohammed at his time.
Summing up, it is the integrity of Mohammed’s personal qualities, the practicality of his divine message and the unbeatable miracles that made millions of Muslims throughout the centuries follow his teachings.
