Who is Muhammad ﷺ ?

The Last and Final Prophet whom God sent to humanity was the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him. At the age of forty, he received the revelation from God. He then spent the remaining portion of his life explaining, and living the teachings of Islam, the religion that God revealed to him. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), however, was sent as the final Messenger to all of humanity.

Even though other religious communities have claimed to believe in One God, over time, some corrupted ideas entered into their beliefs and practices leading them away from the pure sincere monotheism of the prophets. Some took their prophets and saints as intercessors with Almighty God. Some even believed that their prophets were the manifestations of God, or “God Incarnate” or the “Son of God”. All of these misconceptions lead to the worship of created beings instead of the Creator and contributed to the idolatrous practice of believing that Almighty God may be approached through intermediaries.

In order to guard against these falsehoods, the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) always emphasized that he was only a human being with the mission of preaching and obeying God’s message. He taught Muslims to refer to him as “the Messenger of God and His Slave”. Through his life and teachings, God made Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) the perfect example for all people - he was the exemplary prophet, statesman, leader, ruler, teacher, neighbour, husband, father and friend. Unlike other prophets and messengers, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) lived in the full light of history, and all his sayings and acts were meticulously recorded and collected. Muslims don’t need to have mere ‘faith’ that he existed, or that his teachings are preserved - they know it to be a historical fact.

He was an exemplary prophet, statesman, leader, ruler, teacher, neighbour, husband, father and Friend.

Prophet Muhammad's Legacy

The life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a great example that all humanity can learn and bene t from. His social, political, religious and economic success was not because of extraordinary miracles that made his life easy, on the contrary, he experienced fear, hunger and oppression at various times in his life. He achieved genuine success based on hard work, struggle, commitment, love and sincere faith in Allah.

He always encouraged people to meet each other warmly with a smile and exchange greetings of peace. He emphasised good conduct and the kind treatment of parents, neighbours and friends. He was a great upholder of the rights of women, orphans and the poor. He abolished bad social manners, and condemned lying, cheating, backbiting, and spying on one another.

He promoted sport, healthy living and hygiene, and was against extremism and hardship. He stressed the importance of literacy and gaining knowledge through learning. And throughout his life, he encouraged his companions to be warm and friendly and respect people of other faiths.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not just call for faith in One God but he brought a message for every individual to add value to his or her life and a message for every family to be united and happy and a message for every society to reinforce unity and a message to every nation to emphasize solidarity and development and a message for humanity to strengthen knowledge, love and mutual collaboration.

Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad:

“None but a noble man treats women in an honourable manner. And none but an ignoble treats women disgracefully”. (Tirmidhi)

“Women are the twin halves of men.” (Tirmidhi)

“Cleanliness is half of the faith.” (Tirmidhi)

“I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him will be in Paradise like this,” putting his index and middle fingers together. (Sahih Bukhari)

‘If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise...” (Tirmidhi)