The Life of the Prophet ﷺ: Early Life 🙍‍♂️

Muhammad ﷺ’s early life was marked by hardship and loss. His father, ‘Abdullah, died before his birth while on a trading mission in the town of Yathrib, north of Makkah. His mother, Aminah, passed away when he was six, leaving his respected grandfather, ‘Abd al-Muttalib to care for him. Two years later, his grandfather also died and Muhammad [ﷺ] came to live with his paternal uncle, Abu Talib.

Despite belonging to the wealthy tribe of Quraysh, Muhammad [ﷺ] did not grow up amid riches. His status as an orphan and his belonging to the clan of Banu Hashim - considered and inferior branch of Quraysh - meant he was not a part of the ruling class. He did, however, accompany his uncle on numerous trading missions to Syria in his childhood, inaugurating him into the age-old nomadic tradition of the Arabs. His reputation as an honest trader led to him being known by two nicknames: as-Sadiq and al-Amin, meaning the truthful and the trustworthy. He was thus respected by the Quraysh, and he was regularly trusted with money and business transactions, acting as an arbiter in many cases. By his twenties, Muhammad [ﷺ] was an accomplished merchant, working as an agent for a wealthty widow named Khadijah. Eventually, his reputation as an honest and reliable man caught the attention of his employer, and when he was twenty-five, Khadijah propose to Muhammad [ﷺ], who accepted, despite being several years her junior.

Although being surrounded by a polytheistic idol-worshipping society, the young Muhammad [ﷺ] did not get involved in the religion of the Quraysh. The original monotheistic message of Ibrahim and Isma’il was a faint memory to most Arabs, but it still held weight for a few, known as the hunafa’, meaning ‘monotheists’, who refused to accept the hundreds of stone and wood gods. Muhammad [ﷺ] was one of them. Instead of engaging in the idol worship so rampant in society, Muhammad [ﷺ] chose seclusion. He made a habit of retreating to a cave atop a mountain about five kilometers from the centre of Makkah, where he would sit in silence and reflect on the society and religion that surrounded in Makkah.