revelation late-antiquity

Birth of Muhammad

c. 570 CE (scriptural)

The birth of Muhammad ibn Abdullah in Mecca around 570 CE, who would become the final prophet of Islam and receive the Quran. Muslims view his birth as the arrival of the seal of the prophets, completing the line of messengers from Adam through Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and bringing the final revelation to humanity.

Traditional Islamic Accounts

The Family Line

Abrahamic Lineage:

  • Descended from Ishmael, son of Abraham
  • Tribe of Quraysh, clan of Banu Hashim
  • Noble family in Mecca
  • Father: Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib
  • Mother: Aminah bint Wahb
  • Grandfather: Abd al-Muttalib (guardian of Kaaba)

Orphaned Early:

  • Father died before Muhammad’s birth (or when Muhammad was infant)
  • Mother died when he was six
  • Raised by grandfather Abd al-Muttalib
  • Then by uncle Abu Talib after grandfather’s death

The Year of the Elephant

Dating (c. 570 CE):

  • Known as “Year of the Elephant” (Am al-Fil)
  • Ethiopian Christian army attacked Mecca
  • Led by Abraha, Aksumite viceroy of Yemen
  • Came with war elephants to destroy Kaaba
  • Army miraculously defeated before reaching Mecca
  • Quranic reference in Surah 105 (Al-Fil)

Symbolic Significance:

  • Kaaba protected in year of Prophet’s birth
  • Divine providence
  • Sacred house preserved for future Prophet’s mission

Birth Narratives

Traditional Accounts (from Sirah literature):

  • Born Monday, 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal (third Islamic month)
  • Various miraculous signs reported:
    • Light emanating from mother
    • Stars shining more brightly
    • Idols in Kaaba fell down
    • Persian sacred fire extinguished
    • Lake Sawa overflowed

Historical Note:

  • Many supernatural elements from later pious tradition
  • Core historical fact of birth in Mecca well-established
  • Exact date uncertain (modern estimates: April 20-22, 570 CE)

Early Life

Infancy:

  • Given to wet nurse Halima al-Sa’diya (Bedouin custom for noble families)
  • Raised in desert for purification and proper Arabic
  • Returned to mother Aminah around age two

Childhood:

  • Mother died when he was six
  • Grandfather Abd al-Muttalib became guardian
  • Grandfather died when Muhammad was eight
  • Uncle Abu Talib then raised him

Character Traits:

  • Known as “al-Amin” (the trustworthy) even before prophethood
  • “al-Sadiq” (the truthful)
  • Reputation for honesty and integrity
  • Meditated in caves

Adult Life Before Prophethood:

  • Worked as shepherd
  • Later merchant, trading for Khadijah
  • Married Khadijah at age 25 (she was 40)
  • Had children: sons who died young, daughters including Fatimah
  • Rebuilt Kaaba stone when 35, resolved dispute over Black Stone

Theological Significance in Islam

The Seal of the Prophets

Khatam an-Nabiyyin (Seal of Prophets):

  • Quran 33:40: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets”
  • Final prophet in long line
  • No prophet will come after him
  • Completes and perfects revelation

Prophetic Line:

  • Adam (first prophet)
  • Through Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus
  • Muhammad (final prophet)
  • Restores original monotheism
  • Confirms previous revelations, corrects distortions

Universal Messenger

To All Humanity:

  • Unlike earlier prophets sent to specific peoples
  • Quran 34:28: “We have sent you only as a mercy to all the worlds”
  • Message for all times and places
  • Arabic Quran for clarity, but message universal

Mercy to Worlds:

  • Rahmatan lil-Alamin
  • Brings divine mercy
  • Final guidance for humanity
  • Completes God’s favor

The Illiterate Prophet

Ummi (Unlettered):

  • Couldn’t read or write (traditional view)
  • Makes Quran more miraculous
  • Human couldn’t produce such eloquence without divine inspiration
  • Proves revelation divine, not learned

Mawlid: Celebration of the Prophet’s Birth

History of Celebration

Origins:

  • Not celebrated by early Muslims
  • Practice began several centuries after Muhammad
  • Fatimid dynasty (10th-12th century) official celebrations
  • Spread throughout Muslim world

Scholarly Debate:

  • Some Muslims celebrate enthusiastically
  • Others consider innovation (bid’ah) not from Sunnah
  • Debate over permissibility
  • Varies by region and school of thought

Modern Observance

Mawlid al-Nabi (Birthday of Prophet):

  • 12 Rabi’ al-Awwal (Islamic calendar)
  • Public holiday in many Muslim countries
  • Religious lectures about Prophet’s life
  • Poetry and songs (nasheed) praising Muhammad
  • Processions and gatherings
  • Charitable acts

Regional Variations:

  • Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey: Major celebrations
  • Saudi Arabia, some conservative Muslims: Don’t celebrate
  • Indonesia, Malaysia: Festive with cultural elements
  • North Africa: Sufi traditions prominent

Activities:

  • Reciting Quran
  • Reading Sirah (Prophet’s biography)
  • Salawat (blessings on Prophet)
  • Storytelling for children
  • Community meals
  • Decorations and lights

Historical Context

Arabia in 570 CE

Political Situation:

  • Byzantine Empire to north
  • Sassanian Persian Empire to east
  • Arabia between two empires
  • Tribal society, no central authority
  • Mecca: Important trade center and pilgrimage site

Religious Landscape:

  • Polytheism dominant in Arabia
  • Kaaba housed 360 idols
  • Jewish tribes in Medina and elsewhere
  • Christian communities in Yemen, Syria
  • Hanifs (monotheists) seeking true religion
  • Mix of traditions and practices

Social Conditions:

  • Tribal loyalty paramount
  • Blood feuds and revenge
  • Women had limited rights
  • Slavery common
  • Poetry highly valued
  • Oral culture

The Meccan Context

Quraysh Tribe:

  • Controlled Mecca
  • Guardians of Kaaba
  • Wealthy from trade and pilgrimage
  • Muhammad from noble clan within Quraysh
  • This background would later be significant in his mission

Muhammad in Islamic Thought

Exemplar for Believers

Uswa Hasana (Excellent Example):

  • Quran 33:21: “Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example”
  • Life is model to emulate
  • Sunnah (his practice) is Islamic law source
  • Hadith preserves his sayings and actions

Perfect Human:

  • Balance of spiritual and worldly
  • Prophet, leader, husband, father, judge
  • Compassionate yet strong
  • Humble yet dignified

Love for the Prophet

Islamic Devotion:

  • Muslims invoke blessings on him (Salawat)
  • “Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam” (peace and blessings upon him) said after his name
  • Deep love and reverence
  • Poetry celebrating him (Qasida Burda, etc.)
  • Desire to follow his example

Not Worship:

  • Emphasized: Prophet is human, not divine
  • No worship of Muhammad
  • Worship only for Allah
  • Muhammad is servant and messenger

Christian and Jewish Perspectives

Christian View**:

  • Muhammad not recognized as prophet
  • Seen as founder of different religion
  • Some respect as historical figure
  • Theological disagreements on Jesus’s nature

Jewish View**:

  • Not a prophet in Jewish tradition
  • Respected by some as ethical leader
  • Historical interaction complex
  • Theological differences on revelation

Historical Evidence

Non-Muslim Sources:

  • Byzantine and Persian references to Arabian prophet
  • Early Syriac Christian sources
  • Archaeological evidence of early Islamic period

Muslim Sources:

  • Quran (during his lifetime)
  • Hadith collections
  • Early biographies (Sirah)
  • Historical chronicles

Scholarly Consensus:

  • Muhammad’s existence well-established historically
  • General outline of life accepted by historians
  • Details debated, some miraculous elements seen as later additions

Significance

The birth of Muhammad ibn Abdullah in Mecca inaugurated a transformation that would reshape the world. This orphan from Arabia, born into a society of idol-worship and tribalism, would receive a revelation that would spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific within a century of his death.

Muslims see his birth as the fulfillment of ancient promises—the descendant of Ishmael who would be blessed, the prophet like Moses foretold in Deuteronomy, the coming Paraclete mentioned by Jesus. The Year of the Elephant, when divine intervention protected the Kaaba, foreshadowed the divine protection of the one who would purify that house and restore it to monotheism.

Born into a world of competing empires, conflicting religions, and crushing social hierarchies, Muhammad would proclaim a message that challenged all of it: There is no god but God, and all humans are equal before Him. From obscure birth to Prophet whose message reached the world, from orphan to founder of a civilization, his life exemplifies the Islamic principle that God raises whom He wills.

For 1.8 billion Muslims today, the birth of Muhammad is the arrival of God’s mercy to humanity, the beginning of the final chapter of revelation, the coming of the one who would recite the words “Read, in the name of your Lord who created.”

The baby born in Mecca in 570 CE would become Muhammad the Prophet, and the world would never be the same.

“Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal. He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none comparable to Him.” Through this orphan from Arabia, this message would reach the world. And it began with a birth in the Year of the Elephant.