Unlike other great religious leaders, like the Buddha, Moses, and Yeshua of
Nazareth (Jesus Christ), Muhammad was born relatively recently, in the late 6th
century CE, about the year 570. Omid Safi, assistant professor of religion and
philosophy at Colgate University, commented that Muhammad was probably the first
religious leader to rise up in the full glare of history.
Many unusual events have been recorded about Muhammad's (pbuh)
birth and childhood:
His mother said "When he was born, there was a light that
issued out of my pudendum and lit the places of Syria."
Also at the time of his birth, "...fourteen galleries of
Kisra's palace cracked and rolled down, the Magians' sacred fire died
down and some churches on Lake Sawa sank down and collapsed."
His foster family had many experiences of amazingly good luck while
he was in their care.
As a young child, the angel Jibril visited the boy, ripped his
chest open, removed his heart, extracted a blood clot from it, and
returned him to normalcy.While still young, he was sent into the desert to be raised by a foster
family. This was a common practice at the time. He was orphaned at the age of 6 and brought
up by his uncle. As a child, he worked as a shepherd. He was taken on a caravan to Syria
by his uncle at the age of 9 (or perhaps 12). Later, as a youth, he was employed as a
camel driver on the trade routes between Syria and Arabia. Muhammad (pbuh) later managed caravans
on behalf of merchants. He met people of different religious beliefs on his travels, and
was able to observe and learn about Judaism, Christianity and the indigenous Pagan
religions.
After marriage, he was able to spend more time in meditation. At the age of 40, (610
CE), he was visited in Mecca by the angel Gabriel. He developed the conviction that he had
been ordained a Prophet and given the task of converting his countrymen from their pagan,
polytheistic beliefs and what he regarded as moral decadence, idolatry, hedonism and
materialism.
He met considerable opposition to his teachings. In 622 CE he moved north to Medina due
to increasing persecution. The trek is known as the hegira. Here he was
disappointed by the rejection of his message by the Jews. Through religious
discussion, persuasion, military activity and
political negotiation, Muhammad (pbuh) became the most powerful leader in Arabia, and Islam was
firmly established throughout the area.
