of the Holy Prophet, as outlined in well-authenticated Books of the Traditions of the Holy Prophet. The Prophet was neither too tall nor too short; he was of medium stature. The Prophet’s complexion was fair. Parts of his body that were exposed to the air and sun, such as the face, neck, ears and hands, were reddish or tanned, while parts covered by his clothes were white in color.
The Prophet’s hair was curly and did not hang straight down, yet they were not too bushy. They are stated to have reached the lobes of his ears. The Prophet used to comb his hair, parting them in the middle of the head. In his beard and head, there were only seventeen gray hair, and never more than that. His beard was thick and not trimmed, and his mustache he wore clipped.
His face was neither long, nor circular, but slightly rounded. His forehead was wide, and the eyebrows were thin and full. Between the eyebrows there was a silvery luster. The eyes of the Prophet were large and open, deep and dark with a tint of redness. His eyelashes were long and so thick that they looked as if they were about to meet. His nose sloped downward in just proportion; his teeth were white and a little interspersed. His cheeks were firm rather than soft. His neck was neither long nor short. His breast, free from all malice, was broad and no part of it seemed more prominent than the rest. His shoulders were broad and overgrown with hair. Both his hands and arms were fleshy, his wrists long and his palms broad. His feet were wide set. His thighs and calves were fleshy. His body was moderately stout, even in his old age it remained muscular and sinewy. His gait was firm and his step steadfast. In walking he leaned forward and kept his paces close together.
Bismillah
(In the Name of Allah)
Praise be to Thee, my God, Lord of the Worlds;
O Merciful, Compassionate art Thou,
The King of all on the Day of Reckoning,
Thee only do we worship and adore.
To Thee, Most Merciful, we cry for help;
O guide us ever more on the straight path,
The path of those to whom Thou gracious art;
On whom Thine anger falls not then, nor now,
The path of them from Thee that do not stray.
M.B.*
* The above is a free translation in rhyme of the opening chapter of the Holy Qur’an, which is recited repeatedly in all the five prayers of the day and night by a Muslim.
Before The Call
In the year 570 of the Christian era, a son was born to Amina, wife of Abdullah, son of Abdul Muttalib, the head of the powerful and revered tribe of Quraish of Mecca in Arabia. Before the birth of the child, his father, Abdullah, had died. The grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, named the child Muhammad (meaning the praised one), while the child’s mother, Amina, named him Ahmad [meaning one who renders praise (to God)].
According to the custom prevailing amongst the gentry, the child was handed over to a wet-nurse named Halima Sa‘dia, with whom he stayed for a little more than four years at which time his mother took charge of him entirely. The young Muhammad was about six years old when his mother died and he was thus twice orphaned. His grandfather Abdul Muttalib then looked after him till the boy was eight years old, when Abdul Muttalib breathed his last. The upbringing of the boy then became the responsibility of his paternal uncle, Abu Talib, who looked after him till he grew up into manhood. The boy, however, was not taught to read or write and he remained illiterate in this sense for the rest of his life.
When Muhammad was twelve years old, he first accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on a business trip to Syria, via Palestine. It is stated that when they reached Basra, a place located in the south of Syria, a Christian monk, Buhaira by name, happened to see the lad and was struck with wonder. He told Abu Talib that he saw in the lad certain signs which indicated that he would one day be that final and universal Prophet of God whose advent had been foretold both in the Old and the New Testaments. Buhaira also warned Abu Talib to guard Muhammad well, and especially against the Jews. In his youth, Muhammad preferred to indulge in trading and commercial activities, and by his truthfulness and honesty soon earned the titles of “al-Amin” and “al-Sadiq” (i.e., an honest and truthful dealer).
It was due to this good reputation that a rich widow, Khadijah by name, asked for his services in conducting business transactions on her behalf. It was in this connection that he again accompanied a caravan to Syria. On entering that country, the caravan camped near a church. There, another monk, Nastura by name, happened to see Muhammad. Nastura felt so interested in Muhammad that he went and brought some of his sacred documents and started reading them, at the same time looking Muhammad all over. On being questioned, Nastura remarked that the young man seemed to fit in with the signs and descriptions given of that last and greatest of the prophets whose advent had been foretold in their Holy Books. This was the second incident of its kind.
The courtesy and good work shown by Muhammad earned him the admiration of the rich and gentle lady Khadijah. Through proper channels, she proposed marriage to him, and this was duly solemnized. Muhammad was then only twenty-five years old, while Khadijah was forty. From this union, in due course of time, were born three sons and four daughters. All the sons died in infancy while the daughters lived and grew up.
The sacred house of God (Ka‘ba) once caught fire and was burnt to the ground. However, when it came to affixing the sacred Black Stone onto the wall, a quarrel arose amongst the Quraish tribal leaders; they could not agree as to who should have the honor of handling the sacred stone. To avoid serious trouble, they agreed to choose a judge who would decide the issue for them. It is significant that Muhammad was chosen to be that judge, and he successfully resolved the difficulty of the tribal leaders. He spread a white sheet on the ground and put the Black Stone in the middle of it, and then asked all the tribal leaders to catch hold of the corners and edges of the sheet and carry the stone to its site. This being done, Muhammad then picked up the stone and affixed it in its place. Everyone was pleased with this action. This incident indicates the respect and faith which the people reposed in Muhammad when he was only an ordinary citizen of Mecca. Coming events, it is said, cast their shadows before.
The Call
Although the Arabs had a concept of God as such, yet they kept idols and worshipped them. Muhammad, however, refrained from idol worship. Some years after his marriage to Khadijah, and when he was thirty-two or thirty-three years old, he would repair to the cave of Hira, near Mecca. There he would spend hours in meditation and praying to the one and only Allah. This went on till he was forty years of age, when one day an angel appeared and addressing him as follows: “Iqra” (i.e. read). Muhammad replied that he could not read, whereupon the angel pressed him to his bosom and again asked him to read, and again Muhammad replied that he could not read. After this process had been repeated three times, the angel said:
Recite…
“Read in the name of thy Lord Who creates…
Creates man from a clot,
Read and thy Lord is most Generous,
Who taught by the pen,
Taught man what he knew not.” (96:1-5)
The angel then disappeared, and Muhammad came back to his house pale and trembling, and asked his wife to cover him up with a blanket. On her inquiry, he told her about this experience which had filled him with fear. Upon hearing this, Khadijah,
