Story No. 150 – Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (saw) at the age of forty

We have so far taken a glance at the earlier part of the blessed life of Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (saw). Now we must talk about some of the most momentous phases of his life. By the age of 40 he was still living among an extremely backward people who were devoid of any traces of civilization and humanity. These hard conditions severely tormented his pure soul. Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (saw) observed nothing in that society but the darkness of ignorance. He would go to the Kaaba, but instead of witnessing the worship of God, he witnessed, idolatry. He would then leave the Kaaba and go among the people. But there, too, he was troubled by what he saw. He was pained by the ugly customs and false thoughts of his people. The pitiable condition of the poor and the destitute caused him great anguish. The deplorable situation of women, who were treated worse than animals, as well as the prevalence of gambling, wine drinking and murder tortured his blessed heart.

When he dealt with people as a merchant, their immoral behaviour gave so severe an emotional shock to him that he had to go to a lonely place where he would not be tormented by people’s inhuman behaviour. For these reasons and to find peace of mind, he would go to cave of Hira (Ghare Hira), in the al-Noor mountain near the city of Makkah and there think deeply about the amazing phenomena of nature and the vestiges of God’s All-Embracing Compassion. Initially he used to remain in the cave of Hira for a day or two and sometimes even 10 nights or more but the next few years saw him spending a whole month in that cave, praying to Allah (SWT) and contemplating guidance for the deviated people.

In short, Prophet of Islam, Muhammad’s (saw) forty year life period before the appointment was associated with chastity and honesty, trustworthiness and rightness, doing good with the poor and the lower, hatred towards the immoralities within the society along with its custom of idol worshiping. His high moralities and generosity in his behaviors gained the praise of all, to the extent that Allah (SWT) praised him in the Noble Qur’an for his high moralities. Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (saw) was nicknamed as “Al-Amin, the trustworthy” from the beginning of his youth, thus people trusted him to watch over their properties.

Mostly everyone was against his mission as the Prophet, but no one doubted in his trustworthiness and thus he continued to secure their properties. Despite the enmity that existed toward him in the city, no one doubted his honesty.

Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (saw) always named Allah (SWT) before eating, and never ate meat that was not properly slaughtered. Like other prophets, he spent part of his youth as a shepherd. Being a shepherd had great impact on the prophets. It allowed them to separate themselves from the bad deeds of the society; it taught them to endure the difficulties, and it increased their faith in Allah (SWT) as they saw the power of Allah (SWT) and the order.