Understanding Eid-El-Maulud

Tuesday,November 20, 2018 12.00PM / Bukola Akinyele, Proshare WebTV

Who Was Muhammad?

Muhammad is the prophet and founderof Islam. Born in Mecca in 570, most of his early life was spent as a merchant.At age 40, he began to have revelations from Allah that became the basis forthe Koran and the foundation of Islam. By 630 he had unified most of Arabia undera single religion. As of 2015, there are over 1.8 billion Muslims in the worldwho profess, “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.”

The Life of Muhammad

Muhammad was born around 570, AD in Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia). Hisfather died before he was born and he was raised first by his grandfather AbdulMutalib and then his uncle Abu Talib. He belonged to a poor but respectablefamily of the Quraysh tribe. The family was active in Meccan politics andtrade.

Many of the tribes living in the ArabianPeninsula at the time were nomadic, trading goods as they crisscrossed thedessert. Most tribes were polytheistic, worshipping their own set of gods. Thetown of Mecca was an important trading and religious center, home to manytemples and worship sites where the devoted prayed to the idols of these gods.The most famous site was the Kaaba (meaning cube in Arabic). It is believed tohave been built by Abraham (Ibrahim to Muslims) and his son Ismail. Graduallythe people of Mecca turned to polytheism and idolatry. Of all the godsworshipped, it is believed that Allah was considered the greatest and the onlyone without an idol.

The Prophet Muhammad

Muhammad was also very religious,occasionally taking journeys of devotion to sacred sites near Mecca. On one ofhis pilgrimages in 610, he was meditating in a cave on Mount Jabal aI-Nour. TheAngel Gabriel appeared and relayed the word of God: “Recite in the name of yourLord who creates, creates man from a clot! Recite for your lord is mostgenerous….” These words became the opening verses of sūrah (chapter) 96 of theQur'an. Most Islamic historians believe Muhammad was initially disturbed by therevelations and that he didn’t reveal them publicly for several years. However,Shi’a tradition states he welcomed the message from the Angel Gabriel and wasdeeply inspired to share his experience with other in his early teens.

Muhammad worked in a camel caravan,following in the footsteps of many people his age, born of meager wealth.Working for his uncle, he gained experience in commercial trade traveling toSyria and eventually from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. In time,Muhammad earned a reputation as honest and sincere, acquiring the nickname“al-Amin” meaning faithful or trustworthy.

In his early 20s, Muhammad began working for a wealthy merchant womannamed Khadija, 15 years his senior. She soonbecame attracted to this young, accomplished man and proposed marriage. Heaccepted and over the years the happy union brought several children. Not alllived to childhood, but one, Fatima, would marry Muhammad’s cousin, Ali ibn AbiTalib, whom Shi’ite Muslims regard as Muhammed’s successor.

Islamic tradition holds that the first persons to believe were his wife,Khadija and his close friend Abu Bakr (regarded as the successor to Muhammad bySunni Muslims). Soon, Muhammad began to gather a small following, initiallyencountering no opposition. Most people in Mecca either ignored him or mockedhim as just another prophet. However, when his message condemned idol worshipand polytheism, many of Mecca’s tribal leaders began to see Muhammad and hismessage as a threat. Besides going against long standing beliefs, thecondemnation of idol worship had economic consequences for merchants whocatered to the thousands of pilgrims who came to Mecca every year. This wasespecially true for members of Muhammad’s own tribe, the Quraysh, who were theguardians of the Kaaba. Sensing a threat, Mecca’s merchants and leaders offeredMuhammad incentives to abandon his preaching, but he refused.

Increasingly, the resistance to Muhammed and his followers grew and theywere eventually forced to emigrate from Mecca to Medina, a city 260 miles tothe north in 622. This event marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. ThereMuhammad was instrumental in bringing an end to a civil war raging amongstseveral of the city’s tribes. Muhammad settled in Medina, building his Muslimcommunity and gradually gathering acceptance and more followers.

Between 624 and 628, the Muslims were involved in a series of battlesfor their survival. In the final major confrontation, The Battle of the Trenchand Siege of Medina, Muhammad and his followers prevailed and a treaty wassigned. The treaty was broken by the Meccan allies a year later. Muhammad hadplenty of forces and the balance of power had shifted away from the Meccanleaders to him. In 630, the Muslim army marched into Mecca, taking the city withminimum casualties. Muhammad gave amnesty to many of the Meccan leaders who hadopposed him and pardoned many others. Most of the Meccan population convertedto Islam. Muhammad and his followers then proceeded to destroy all of thestatues of pagan gods in and around the Kaaba.

The Death of Muhammad

After the conflict with Mecca was finally settled, Muhammad took hisfirst true Islamic pilgrimage to that city and in March, 632, he delivered hislast sermon at Mount Arafat. Upon his return to Medina to his wife’s home, hefell ill for several days. He died on June 8, 632, at the age of 62, and wasburied at al-Masjid an-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) one of the firstmosques built by Muhammad in Medina.

Eid-El-MauludCelebration

The word Maulud which has its root in the Arabic word,is the observance of the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. This is regarded asan historic one because he is the last prophet.

In the early days, songs and poems were composed tohonour Prophet Mohammed and thereafter recited and sung to the crowd.

Some of the most common methods of celebration arehowever seen to be decoration of mosques and houses, also some celebrate bydonating to charity.

While several others see this day as a time ofreflection and meditation and further spend the free time in reading theirQuran or fasting in daylight, as they believe it helps strengthen their faith.

This is a constant reminder to all practising Islam tobe steadfast and dedicated in the religion while being charitable, tolerant andensuring peaceful co-existence.

Message From PresidentBuhari

In his 2018 Eid-El Maulud greetingsPresident Muhammadu Buhari believed the Islamic ceremony will help to promotemutual harmony and tolerance amongst Nigerians.