Muhammad Topic Focus To understand the early life of Prophet Muhammad. To explain how a Muslim could be influenced by the early life of Prophet Muhammad?

Muhammad-Who was he? Muhammad was born in 570 CE in Mecca in Arabia. Approx. 1,500 Years ago!

Muhammad He was orphaned as a young child and raised by various members of his family At the ages of 25 he married a wealthy widow called Khadija Muhammad was born in about 570CE, in an Arab city called Mecca. His father died before he was born, his mother died when he was six. He was brought up by his grandfather & then his uncle. When he was 25 he married a rich widow called Khadijah. They had seven children.

As a young man, Muhammad was already known for his honesty & goodness As a young man, Muhammad was already known for his honesty & goodness. When he married Khadijah he was rich & respected – his marriage was happy. It seemed that Muhammad had everything which he could possibly want.

The story continues…… The Cave at Mount Hira However, he became more and more worried by the things he saw going on in Mecca. It was a centre of trade with many wealthy people. Muhammad saw rich merchants cheating the poor, and people spending their time gambling, drinking & fighting. Muhammad was sure that these things were wrong. He felt that he needed to be alone to think, and began going outside Mecca to meditate.

There’s more….. Muslims believe that when Muhammad was about 40, he was visited by the Angel Jibril (Gabriel) in a cave on Mount Hira. Jibril revealed a series of verses to Muhammad which Muslims believe are the word of Allah. They make up the Muslim holy book, the Qur’an.

In the cave…… The angel said ‘Recite!’ Muhammad said that he could not read. The angel repeated the command, and Muhammad found that he was able to understand the words and read them aloud. He stood up & walked out of the cave, and heard the angel saying, “Muhammad! You are Allah’s messenger!”

What happened next…. People in Mecca believed in many gods. Some sacrificed animals to idols. Many people, especially merchants, were only interested in money and power. Muhammad taught that there was only one God, Allah, and that people should be charitable, not greedy. Prophet Muhammad gave the message of Allah to the people of Mecca and founded the religion of Islam.

Mohammed’s Life When Mohammed was young both his parents died in an accident He went to go live with his grandfather and had a happy upbringing He grew up and became a camel trader and used to sell things to people. He was very fair and made a lot of money When he was 25 he got married to a beautiful lady. They had 6 children, 2 boys and four girls Mohammed was upset with the way people in Mekkah were treating each other He used to go and meditate in a small cave on the side of a hill to think about how to stop people of Mekkah being so cruel One day an angel appeared to Mohammed Mohammed could not read or write but the angel taught him how to read and write an important document Mohammed wrote the Quran and preached Allah’s message to the people of Mekkah Mohammed lived a very good life and Muslims today follow his example to lead a very good life

He says there’s only one God. He says our idols ought to be destroyed. I’m just a poor widow. I can’t even afford to feed my sick children. Muhammad says that people with money should help people like me. He says that all Muslims are equal in the eyes of God, whatever their colour or background. Muhammad say that people who live good, honest lives go to paradise. Those who get rich by making others suffer burn in hell. He says there’s only one God. He says our idols ought to be destroyed. He wants us to stop having wars and feuds, and to settle our quarrels through the law.