بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
A Glimpse into the Life of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
The Greatest Man to Walk This Earth
By Aa'isha
Since I was a little girl, writing has been my way of expressing what I felt. I've re-written many stories, but this time I am writing about someone who is very close to my heart, because as Muslims, we are taught to live the Quran and the Sunnah.
"And you (stand) on an exalted standard of character."
— Surah Al-Qalam 68:4
I have decided to begin with these words from the Quran, because they symbolize the height of perfection of the character of the last and final Messenger of Allah: Muhammad ﷺ.
A man whose religion now claims 2.04 billion followers around the world. The most diverse and fastest growing religion.
So why, you ask? Let's take a peek into why this Great man continues to capture the lives of millions and will always be the greatest man to walk this earth.
🌅 The Birth of a Beacon of Light
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born in the year 570 CE in the city of Makkah, to a society wherein people were killing one another, violence was rife, women had no rights, and it was considered honorable to bury baby girls alive.
Having lost his parents at a young age, he was taken into care by his relative. Being an orphan, he would contemplate his life and surroundings. As he grew up, the city served as a commercial trade center, and he would act as an agent for wealthy merchants, taking their goods on caravans throughout Arabia.
✨ Description of Muhammad ﷺ
He was not tall and lanky, neither short and heavy. He was the most mild-tempered, most generous-hearted, most truthful in speech. No one has ever come across someone like him before his arrival, neither after his departure.
His face has been described as not narrow, nor fully rounded. When he looked at someone, he would turn his face fully toward them. Whoever saw him unexpectedly was in awe of him, and whoever associated with him, loved him.
📖 The Life of a Sincere Man
Muhammad ﷺ led a serene life, but the state of the Makkans disturbed him. He would often go to the mountains outside Makkah to reflect upon the situation. It was during one of his retreats to the Cave of Hira that his life changed forever.
The Angel Jibraa'il (AS) enveloped him in a tight embrace, asking him to read! To which he responded that he could not.
"Recite in the name of your Lord who created..."
— Surah Al-Alaq 96:1
And he, Muhammad ﷺ, had received the Divine word. Islam had come into being.
The divine message he brought carried with it a warning: unless the people created a more just society, there would be chaos. He explained how they would be accountable for their good and bad deeds. This revelation did not come all at once — as events unfolded, it came down in stages.
💎 A Soul Echoing Piety
🤲 Modesty
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ always insisted that he was not a divine figure. Such was his modesty.
✨ Simplicity
He was not rich and portrayed the essence of simplicity in all aspects of his life.
🛡️ Honesty
His character displayed absolute honesty, earning him the title "Al-Amin" — the trustworthy.
Muhammad ﷺ had such an honest reputation that when he gathered the tribes to warn them, and asked them to believe him, their response was: "We have never heard you lie."
💚 Sincere Love and Affection
He had the most sincere love that anyone could ever harbor. His love was so free from pretense that years after his first wife Khadijah (RA) had passed away, he would still send food to her friends and always held a special place in his heart for her.
So true was his affection that Zaid bin Harith, a child who had no family association to our Beloved Prophet ﷺ, pleaded to stay with him. His heart could not endure separation from this fatherly bond, despite having a father of his own.
🕊️ A Temperament Tranquil and Serene
The final Messenger of Allah ﷺ had such a calm temper, SubhanAllah, that once a wife of his brought a dish for him to eat, even though it was not her turn. When it arrived at the house of the wife whose turn it was to have meals with, in rage she threw it to the ground.
When the Prophet ﷺ witnessed this, he was so patient that he slowly began picking up the pieces, and did not say anything to her, neither did he chide her.
A brick thrown at him by an enemy of Islam, Abu Jahl, made his head bleed with pain, but even this did not anger our Beloved Rasul ﷺ.
💪 A Rock of Perseverance
Upon reaching the city of Taa'if, the Chiefs of the clans refused to accept the message of Allah. When Muhammad ﷺ realized they were stubborn in their rude ways, he decided to leave.
But they did not make his departure easy. Instead, they set their street hooligans after him, mocking and stoning him until blood oozed out of his feet and body.
🤲 His Du'a in Pain:
"O my Allah, to Thee I complain of the feebleness of my strength, of my lack of resources and my being unimportant in the eyes of people. O Most Merciful of all those capable of showing Mercy! Thou art the Lord of the weak, and Thou art my own Lord... I seek shelter in Your Light which illuminates the Heavens and dispels all sorts of darkness... There is no strength nor power but through Thee."
When the Heavens were so moved, SubhanAllah, the Angel Jibraa'il (AS) came with an angel who offered to crush the people of Taa'if between two mountains.
So merciful was his heart, being beaten and bruised, barely able to walk, that he told the Angel: even if they do not accept Islam, perhaps one day, believers in the message of Allah would surface from among them.
SubhanAllah! Even after so much persecution and hurt, he did not curse them, nor did he want them to be hurt in return.
🌟 More Qualities of Perfection
⚖️ A Liberator of Rights
He lived in a society that downgraded women, yet he gave them rights for marriage and divorce, protecting them and bringing equality amongst nations. He taught us to stand up for the oppressed.
💝 Affection of Sincerity
He displayed immense love to his wives, children, and humanity. He would hug and kiss his grandsons, smile with kids in the street, and even sewed his own clothes to assist with domestic chores.
🌿 Kindness to Nature
He was gentle toward nature, so much so that a tree wept in despair once Muhammad ﷺ no longer needed it for his Friday sermon. He would never allow people to overload their camels or ill-treat any living creature.
🙏 A Devotion So Steadfast
He led a life of deep-rooted devotion to Allah. Whenever alone, he would constantly pray for forgiveness, at times weeping through the night in prayer — not just for himself, but for the entire Ummah.
The Legacy That Shapes Our Lives Forever
We are living in a time when so-called "advanced society" depicts morals toward women and children which are quite deplorable. Millions of men and women are aimlessly roaming the streets, lost without purpose.
If this is to be reversed to save civilization, we need to turn to the best example left to us.
We ought to learn to inculcate the values of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his conduct into our own lives. He is a clear example for us on how to behave, how to seek truth, how to treat humanity, and how to seek knowledge.
He was a trader, a husband, a father, a statesman, a warrior, but most importantly — a man whose legacy will continue to shape our lives forever.
May Allah guide us toward emulating the qualities of this Great man, so that we will be reunited with him in Paradise.
Ameen 🤲
Archive Article • Seerah • Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Written by Aa'isha • Islamic Messages