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The Prophet's Unique Birth

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born circumcised and with his umbilical cord already cut off even though all male children in Islam have to be circumscribed after their birth and umbilical cord of all children born is severed after their birth. This is one of the signs of the honor he was given by his Lord as narrated in authentic hadith literature.[1]  He was born in the spring season, in month of April, the most temperate month of the year, the month everyone is looking forward to the flowers and greenery. It is a fact that green is the color that affects us and nourishes the eye and Prophet's favorite color was green. He was born on Monday because according to authentic hadith it was on that day that Allah created vegetation and greenery.[2] It is due to this wisdom why his dome where he rests has been painted green.

Beautiful characteristics surrounding prophet's upbringing

In Islam every name has a relation to its meaning. ‘Muhammad’ means ‘The one in whom are found praiseworthy characteristics’. Beautiful praiseworthy characteristics carried him, conceived him, gave birth to him and nourished him. Such as his father, Abdullah which means 'A True Servant of Allah' carried him in his loins. Amina (r.a) which means ‘Trustworthy, Honest, Safe and Secure’ conceived him and gave birth to him. The wet nurses Halima whose name means ‘Gentleness’ and Thuwayba whose name means ‘Deserving of God’s reward’ fed him and raised him. Amazingly none of the names associated with his conception and upbringing have any influence of paganism, idolatry or ignorance, even though it was quite active in the society and reflected even in some people's names. Moreover, it is a fact that these beautiful characteristics were displayed in his behavior throughout his life.

Married older woman despite being young

His first marriage was to a woman much older than he was. At the time of their marriage, she was 40 years old and he was a young 25 year old. The young men at his time would only marry women who are younger than they are and never an older woman. During his almost 25 years marriage with Khadijah he never married any other woman. It was after he started openly preaching in the society and after Khadijah's death, all later marriages took place, which means it was not him but Allah ﷺ choosing his marriage partners, a fact also confirmed by the Quran: "It is not allowed to you to take women afterwards, nor that you should change them for other wives, though their beauty be pleasing to you.”[3]

He suffered loss of his children

He fathered seven children, which included three boys and four girls. Six of them died during his life. He buried six of them with his own hands except for the youngest daughter Fatimah (alaihi salaam) who passed away after his death.

People called him As Sadiq (The Truthful) & Al Ameen (The Honest)

His prophet hood initiated at 40 years of age and that was when he received his first Quranic revelation yet throughout his 40 years of life the Makkan society called him not by his real name ‘Muhammad’ but by the titles As Sadiq (The Truthful) and Al Ameen (The Honest) as he was known for truthfulness, honesty and piety. Not only did he never commit sins after declaring Prophet hood but he never committed before either and even his enemies bore witness to this fact as narrated in authentic hadith literature. It is also narrated that many times one would find him humorous but he never told a lie even while joking!

His opponents called his miracles 'magic' but never denied them

His opponents witnessed his miracles yet never rejected their happening, but instead called them 'magic' and 'sorcery' which means they did accept their taking place but refused to accept them as miracles from Allah ﷻ. His greatest miracle he said was the Quran which contains a total of six thousand something verses yet the book contains not a single word or sentence that is his! All words of the Quran belong to Allah ﷻ. 

Uniqueness of his prophetic claim

At the time when he claimed Prophet hood there were others claimants to Prophet hood in Arabia as well and for whom he warned that they were false prophets. Interestingly it is recorded that they too made the claim that Prophet Muhammad was false. Today the world does not even know their names while entire world knows Muhammad ﷺ which proves the truth of his claim and falsifies the claims of his contemporaries. The false prophets were Al Aswad Al Ansi in Yemen who died in a battle, Tulayhah ibn Khuwaylid Al-Asadi was defeated and accepted Islam, Musalimah Al Kadhaab (The Liar) was killed in a battle, Sajjah bint Al Harith was a Christian and after her defeat became Muslim.

The hadith collection

All words and actions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ were collected in hadith books and each hadith has a chain of narrators that go directly to him. This process of collection is a science of knowledge regarding his words and actions, which no other nation on earth has of their Prophet or leader. Such as Christians do not have this knowledge of Jesus, Jews do not have of their Prophets; Buddhists do not have such recordings of Buddha and neither does Hindus or anyone else.

Prophet's physical description 

Last but not least the most important fact that due to this hadith literature Muslims have an exact description of their Prophet which no other nation on the face of this earth has of their Prophet and this fact can easily be realized by reading description of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and comparing it with the description, if available, of Jesus (alaihi salaam), Moses (alaihi salaam), Noah (alaihi salaam), Adam (alaihi salaam) or any other famous historical personality you can think of such as Buddha or Zoroaster or Confucius. That is primarily why we see that the followers of pre-Islamic prophets or personalities resort to images or sculpture depictions to preserve their appearance in the memory of the masses. 


References:
[1] al-Mawahib al-laduniyya bi al-minah al-Muhammadiyya (The Divinely-Granted Gifts in the Form of the Muhammadan Grants), Part One, The Creation of His Sacred Body - Translated by Shaykh Gibril Haddad – As-Sunnah Foundation of America.
[2] Sahih Muslim Book 39, Hadith 6707
[3] Al Quran 33:52

The jahilliya (ignorant) society where he was born and raised

The Prophet ﷺ never committed any sin because he was divinely protected. If we read about his life we would realize that he always had divine protection that kept him from even going near a sin, forget committing them. The society that he was born in was referred to as the jahilliya (ignorant) society. These were ignorant times in which many vices were prevalent, which were in fact accepted as practices and culture. Not much honesty, exploitation of the lower income class by the rich and influential, ill treatment of the slaves, women exploited and abused children especially new born females were buried alive, idol worshiping and businesses associated with their worshiping, wine drinking, adultery, etc. Keeping this in mind, he would always seclude himself in a cave far away from the city in a mountain called Hira and would meditate and remember his Creator and would feel at peace in meditation. The solace that he found was the best way Allah ﷻ chose for him to remain aloof from the ignorance of his people and society and ponder over higher realities. In fact even when he was conducting his daily business among them his attitude was always pure and humble to such an extent that he was always referred to with the title Al Ameen (Trustworthy & Honest) and As Sadiq (Truthful) and was hardly addressed by his actual name ‘Muhammad’.

Instances when the Prophet ﷺ was divinely protected

Ibn Al-Atheer reported Muhammad ﷺ as saying: “I have never tried to do what my people do except for two times. Every time Allah intervened and checked me from doing so and I never did that again. Once I told my fellow-shepherd to take care of my sheep when we were in the upper part of Makkah. I wanted to go down to Makkah and entertain myself as the young men did. I went down to the first house of Makkah where I heard music. I entered and asked, ‘What is this?’ Someone answered: ‘It is a wedding party.’ I sat down and listened but soon went into deep sleep. I was awakened by the heat of the sun. I went back to my fellow-shepherd and told him of what had happened to me. I have never tried it again.” [1]. Thus, this incident shows how Allah ﷻ prevented him from doing something even as simple as an enjoyment around music because Allah ﷻ blocked any path for him that had the possibility of leading towards an evil.
Imam Muslim recorded on the authority of Jabir bin Abdullah (r.a) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was carrying along with them (his people) stones for the Kaabah and there was a waist wrapper around him. His uncle, Abbas, said to him, “0 son of my brother! If you take off the lower garment and place it on the shoulders underneath the stones, it would be better. He (the Holy Prophet) took it off, placed it on his shoulder, and fell down unconscious. He (the narrator) said: Never was he seen naked after that day.”[2] This incident also informs us that Allah ﷻ divinely protected him by making him unconscious so that any wrong act that goes against the nature such as the habit of exposing one’s private parts does not become accepted in his heart. In the days of jahilliya people would allow themselves to take off their waist wrapper and unveil their bottom parts to work. Therefore, this was his only time he did and was the last one.

He never lied in his entire life

In authentic traditions of the Prophet, his enemies including the sworn enemy named Abu Lahab, for whom Surah Lahab (chapter 111) of the Quran was revealed admitted that the Prophet had never lied in his life. In the earliest part of his preaching Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gathered the people of his family and tribe and warned them about Allah’s message. Right at that moment, they all confirmed his truthfulness and trustworthiness before he had even delivered the message:
Narrated Ibn Abbas (r.a) “when the Verse:-- 'And warn your tribe of near kindred.' (Al Quran 26:214) was revealed. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went out, and when he had ascended As-Safa Mountain, he shouted, "O Sabahah!" The people said, "Who is that?" "Then they gathered around him, whereupon he said, "Do you see? If I inform you that cavalrymen are proceeding up the side of this mountain, will you believe me?" They said, "We have never heard you telling a lie." Then he said, "I am a plain warner to you of a coming severe punishment."”[3] When the Prophet publicly declared the message of Allah ﷻ, he was forty years old. The disbelievers confirmed that he had never lied. In fact, he was called As-Sadiq (Truthful One) and Ameen (Trustworthy One). Since he never lied before delivering the message, how could he have done after receiving the message especially when it came to the words of His Creator? The cause of this natural protection that would suddenly become effective whenever he attempted anything different from a pure way of life was due to a special incident that happened in his childhood years.

Divinely purified from his childhood

During his child hood days when living with his wet nurse, Sahih Muslim reported on the authority of Anas (r.a) that Gabriel came down and ripped Prophet Muhammad’s chest open and took out the heart. He then extracted a blood-clot out of it and said: “That was the part of Satan in you.” Then he washed it with the water of Zamzam in a gold basin. After that, the heart was joined together and restored to its place. The boys and playmates came running to his mother, i.e. his wet nurse, and said, “Verily, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has been murdered.” They all rushed towards him and found him all right only his face was white. (Al Raheeq Al Maktum) It is due to the removal this one dot of satan’s trace that purified his heart and Allah ﷻ through His divine assistance always kept him on the path of righteousness till Allah ﷻ decided to send revelations to him. Therefore, Prophet Muhammad’s life was always sinless even before he was chosen as the final Messenger of Allah ﷻ. In fact even his lineage, birth and conception was something that Allah ﷻ kept it pure and there is much reported about his life that tells us this.

His miraculous conception

The following is an account of the conception of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after the marriage of his honored parents that informs us how Allah ﷻ destined to make the birth of prophet happen only through a pious and a faithful channel. The famous Shafi Imam and Hadith expert Imam Al Qastallani mentions this event in his work al-Mawahib al-laduniyya bi al-minah al-Muhammadiyya[4]:
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Prophet Muhammad's father Abdullah (r.a) and his grandfather Abdul Mutallib passed by a Jewish soothsayer named Fatima. When she looked at the face of Abdullah (r), who was then the most handsome man in Quraish, she said, “I will give you the same number of camels which were sacrificed for you if you have intercourse with me now.” She said this because of the light of prophethood that she saw in his face, and she was hoping that she would conceive this honorable prophet. Abdullah (r) replied, “Regarding haram, death is better, And I don’t see any halal in sight, And about what you are asking for, An honorable one must protect his honor and religion.” The next day, Abdul Muttalib brought him to meet Wahab ibn Abd Manaaf, who was the chief of Bani Zuhra, their master in lineage and origin. Abdul Muttalib married Abdullah (r) to Wahab’s daughter, Aamina (r), who was then the best woman in Quraish, both in lineage and birth. They became husband and wife on Monday, one of the days of Mina, at the mountain pass of Abu Talib, and she conceived the Prophet. The next day, Abdullah (r) went out and passed by the (same soothsayer) woman who proposed to him earlier. He asked her, “Why don’t you offer me what you offered me yesterday?” She replied, “The light that you were carrying yesterday has left you; therefore I have no need for you today. I was hoping to have that light in me, but Allah willed it to be put elsewhere.”[4] The above event recorded by Al-Qastallani informs us that had Allah not decided to protect the purity of his Prophet’s birth, the Jewish soothsayer would have conceived him through an immoral act with his father Abdullah (r.a). However, Allah willed him to be conceived in the womb of a pious woman, Amina bint Wahab (r.a) and kept Abdullah, his father, also protected through light of faith. Therefore, there is evidence from Islamic traditions that parents of the Prophet were blessed in this world and will be in the hereafter inshA’Allah[5]

References:
[1] Al-Raheeq Al-Maktum – By Safiur Rahman Al Mubarakpuri - Biography on Prophet Muhammad 
[2] Sahih Muslims - Book 3, Hadith 671
[3] Sahih Al Bukhari - Vol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 495
[4] al-Mawahib al-laduniyya bi al-minah al-Muhammadiyya (The Divinely-Granted Gifts in the Form of the Muhammadan Grants) - ), Part Two, The Conception of the Beloved Prophet- Translated by Shaykh Gibril Haddad – As-Sunnah Foundation of America
[5] InshA’Allah means If Allah (swt) wills

Without him there is no Islam

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ importance can be given in an example of a messenger sent by a great emperor, whose fame covers the entire globe, to a people for delivering a very important message, a piece of declaration which is going to affect their lives, lives of their families and generations to come. If the people received the emperor's great declaration and claim to love him and believe in his word but show no respect to his messenger, even though his declaration clearly mentions the importance and honor they need to display to him, then it is simple to understand that the emperor will not be so pleased from those people after all. Such is the example of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

In the case of Allah ﷻ and His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ  we need to be even more careful, in fact we need to be extremely careful as all our efforts done in this world will come to nothing especially when the authority given to our blessed Prophet in Islam is enormous. After Allah ﷻ comes him, and that is expressed throughout message of the Quran, such as: “O you who believe! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and do not speak loud to him as you speak loud to one another, lest your deeds became null while you do not perceive.”[1] In Islam, raising your voice against any one is sinful and considered bad manners, raising your voice against your parents is considered disrespectful and very sinful, while raising your voice against the Prophet can put you in a complete loss in the hereafter even though one might be deceivingly enjoying pleasures of this worldly life. After the passing away of the Prophet, our raising against his voice symbolizes our challenge to his commandments typically found in the authenticated hadith literature. 

Allah ﷻ has created humans and provided the faculties of five senses and intelligence to discern meanings of things that lie within the capacity of our understanding. As for hidden matters that belong to the world of al-ghayb (unseen), Allah ﷻ sent Prophets to reveal those matters because their access lies beyond our external perceptions. Thus, prophethood is means of information about the unseen. There is no source available for us to know the personality and attributes of Allah, angels, paradise, hell and the hereafter and many matters of the unseen except through the guidance of the prophets. Therefore, in Islam the knowledge of revelation has come down to us through two sources: Quran and the prophetic sunnah (actions) as well as hadith (words). Leaving one of the two will deprive us of the light required to guide ourselves through the darkness of ignorance, disbelief, superstitions, misguidance, which depletes this world.

Additionally, man is made of body and soul, animal and angelic tendencies, both are combined within him. He needs to make use of these inherent qualities within him in a way that he can keep a balance and be able to communicate with the upper world. This is, part of spirituality, which is the heart of Islam and faith is cannot be perfected without it. In order to achieve perfection in this, one needs an example, a guide, an exemplary character that we can follow in every day of our lives to properly achieve this height as that is purpose of humankind’s existence. We are encouraged by the Quran to follow the one who balances these qualities within his body and soul and made best use of them in the most perfect manner, and to whom belongs the best and beautiful character that we need to look up to: “and you (O Muhammad) are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence.”[2] Hence the importance of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ​as a messenger. 

References:
[1] Al Quran 49:02
[2] Al Quran 68:4

The most influential person in humankind history

A renowned Christian writer named Michael H. Hart wrote book called “100 Most Influential People” in which he, to the shock of the many Christians, designated Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to be number one out of the list of hundred most influential persons throughout the history of humankind. He explained his primary reason for doing that:

“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive. The majority of the persons in this book had the advantage of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Muhammad, however, was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time a backward area of the world, far from the centers of trade, art, and learning.” [1]

Hart mentions that each influential personality listed in his book were nurtured in culturally and socially developed environments unlike Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who even though hailed from a background which was deprived of such a developed setting yet he was able to bring one of the greatest and most influential revolutions of modern history. Truly unbelievable phenomena. The convincing argument given by Michael Hart confirms for us as to why Allah ﷻ  has said in the Quran, “VERILY, in the Messenger of God you have a good example for everyone who looks forward (with hope and awe] to God and the Last Day, and remembers God unceasingly.”[2] In the Prophet’s life, truly there is an example for everyone regardless of whichever class of society they belong to and whatever role they may be playing in it. Whether a judge, soldier, father, neighbor, political ruler or social worker, there is good example for everyone. A confirmation of this fact can be realized by comparing Prophet Muhammad’s life with some famous prophets who have lived before him. Mufti Munibur Rehman, a famous scholar and jurist of Pakistan mentioned a brief comparative analysis that teaches us Prophet Muhammad’s example has been unique:

Comparison with Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus son of Mary) (alaihi Salaam)

Jesus never married in his life therefore there is no example for all married men as how to treat their wives. Jesus (a.s) never fought battles therefore there is no example in his life of fighting battles while keeping ethics of conflict in mind. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ raised children which Jesus (a.s) never did. In many ways Prophet Muhammad ﷺ excels Jesus (a.s).

Comparison with Musa (Moses) (alaihi Salaam)

Musa (a.s) was raised by his mother and she lived a long life to live with him in her old age as well. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ lost his parents at an early part of his life and he was an orphan. There is an example in his life for an orphan. Even though he was raised parentless yet he taught all rights due on children towards their parents. Prophet Musa (a.s) could not succeed in the environment where he was sent. Allah ﷻ advised him to leave Egypt with Children of Israel. However, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ struggled and succeeded in overcoming his adversaries. There is plenty to learn from Prophet Muhammad's life in regards to struggle (jihad) in the way of Allah ﷻ against the enemies of truth and righteousness. 

Comparison with Prophet Daud (David) and Suleiman (Solomon) (alaihi salaam)

Prophet Suleiman (a.s) was a kingly prophet. He had all benefits that a King could enjoy. On the other hand, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was a poor man; he lived a very simple life as compared to the Kingly Prophet. There is an example of a poor man in his life. It is recorded in authentic narrations that Prophet ﷺ went hungry for days and at times tied rocks to his stomach to prevent the pangs of hunger. Even though Prophet Muhammad ﷺ became a leader yet his lifestyle had no pomp and grandeur, in fact he never inherited rulership like Prophets David and Solomon, he only gained leadership by earning people’s respect and honor after struggling for 23 years.

Comparison with Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael) and Ishaac (Isaac) (alaihi salaam)

Abraham, Ismail and Ishaac (alaihi Salaam) were never leaders and judges, they never ruled people neither did they manage governmental affairs. In fact, by the time Prophet Muhammad’s was approaching death, his followers numbered more than 124000. An incomparable figure at that time with followers of all previous Prophets. Hence his responsibilities in managing affairs as a political and social figure exceeded those of the previous prophets and so there is much to learn from his life as compared to others.

Comparison with Nuh (Noah), Yusha (Joshua), Ayyub (Job) and others

In their lives we don’t have details of giving rights to people of other religions, rules of conducting trade and business, rights of neighbors and relatives, delivering justice in disputes etc. In the life of Prophet Muhammad, we even have been taught how to treat animals and their rights over us. Rules of hygiene, giving charity, marriage process and property rights etc.

Last but not least, in fact the most important aspect of Prophet Muhammad’s living legacy that continues to guide Muslims even after passage of fifteen centuries, is his words and actions called hadith and Sunnah. This is a branch of knowledge which followers of Prophet Muhammad collected in a meticulous fashion through a a careful process that involves a science called ilm al-hadith (sciences of hadith collection), the example of which is not found in the traditions of any other great religions. The like of hadith literature and its collection process cannot be found even in Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism etc. 

References:
[1] Hart, Michael H. n.d. The 100 A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History [Excerpt about the person ranked at no. 1]. Carol Publishing Group Edition 1993.
[2] Al Quran 33:21 – Assad Translation

Did Prophet Muhammad ﷺ practice taqiyyah during the first three years of his mission while preaching secretly? 

Taqiyya means denial of religious belief in the face of persecution. There is a difference between observance of taqiyya and the Prophet’s attitude while preaching in the early years of Makkah period. The Muslims are allowed to observe taqiyya at a moment where is an existential threat of persecution if they were to reveal their faith and identity, a threat to their life, families and/or property. However, openly expressing one’s belief in Allah ﷻ and being patient at the persecution experienced as a result of it, is highly honored in the sight of Allah ﷻ, as He said: “And most certainly shall We try you by means of danger, and hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of lives and of [labor’s] fruits. But give glad tidings to those who are patient in adversity - who, when calamity befalls them, say, "Verily, to God do we belong and, verily, to Him we shall return." It is they upon whom their Sustainer's blessings and grace are bestowed, and it is they, they who are on the right path!”[1]
Please note that taqiyyah is in no way a license for Muslims to cheat and deceive others especially non-Muslims. If someone does make such a claim about Muslims, then onus is on them to produce proof of such acts from authentic teachings of Quran and Hadith. Unfortunately, in Islamic medieval times some deviant groups such as Ismaili (shias) Hashashins (assassins) have acted deceptively by adopting taqiyya for the establishment of their influence in Muslim world. They spread terror and justified their acts due to a misinterpretation of this concept. Such groups do not represent the majority Muslims and their understanding of Islamic teachings.

As far as claims that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ observed this practice while preaching is also not correct. Such as in the case of Prophet’s early stage of preaching in Makkah i.e. the first three years, there was hardly any threat that the pagans/disbelievers of Makkah had about Islam because the Prophet ﷺ had not yet reached out to them and the mainstream society. The pagans had heard of Prophet’s teachings but they had not considered it as a threat influential enough to damage the status quo which maintained their power and influence over politics and trade. This was because in the very beginning the Prophet ﷺ only focused on preaching those who were very close to him and the reaction was very positive such as his dear friend Abu Bakr (r.a), his freed slave Zaid in Haritha (r.a), his first and only wife Khadija (r.a) and his little cousin Ali (r.a). Additionally, there were others he preached whose response was also very positive such as Uthman bin Affan (r.a), Az-Zubair bin Awwam (r.a), Abdur Rahman bin Awf (r.a), Saad bin Abi Waqqas (r.a), Talhah bin Ubaidullah (r.a) etc. The positive reaction and acceptance of these among a total of early forty converts gave him the strength and courage to preach those whom it was going to be challenging, from whom he and his followers were going to face extreme persecution and hardships.

Keeping this in mind taqiyya is a concept in which faith and identity is kept hidden due to fear of persecution. The persecution Prophet ﷺ and his early followers experienced at the hands of their opponents in the 13 years of Makkan period itself is the biggest evidence that it happened due to open expression of their faith. For instance, the boycott of Muslims in Makkah, which was one of their biggest tests in which they were tested with danger, hunger, loss of wealth and lives. As for his followers, there are instances we find in which some were forced to observe taqiyya to avoid persecution especially those who were left behind in Makkah after emigration of majority Muslims to Madinah. There is ayah in the Quran in support of this act: “As for anyone who denies God after having once attained to faith - and this, to be sure, does not apply to one who does it under duress, the while his heart remains true to his faith, but [only, to] him who willingly opens up his heart to a denial of the truth: upon all such [falls] God's condemnation, and tremendous suffering awaits them.”[2] Therefore, the Prophet’s secret preaching to his close family and friends circle was not done because he was observing taqiyya, in fact it was done quietly as a prophet first begins his mission from his own family and near relatives before garnering enough support and extending scope of his mission to the mainstream society. Hence the Prophet never applied taqiyya and the ones who are allowed to do are only those whose lives, and the lives of their families, are under threat of severe persecution. In no way does it give a permit to any Muslim to practice this act for the sake of deceiving non-Muslims for the sake of harming them in any way whatsoever, a false claim made against Islam due to Islamophobia. 

References:
[1] Al Quran 2:155–157
[2] Al Quran 16:106
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The importance of emigrating to Yathrib (old name for Madinah)

Allah ﷻ had chosen Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to deliver His message and guidance for humankind on earth. When he started preaching in Makkah, he was able to win many hearts to accept this guidance but at the same time, he and his followers faced much persecution from those who opposed the message of Islam. The opposition was much stronger and influential therefore a different place was required where hostility towards Islam was significantly less and where people welcomed Prophet and his followers to settle so that the mission of Islam could move further. Such place was none other than city of Yathrib, a month's journey from Makkah (at that time), which we know today as Madinah which means ‘city’ or Madinatun Nabi i.e. City of the Prophet. The warring tribes, mainly Aws and Khazraj, of this city were struggling for a long time to have peace amongst themselves. Having heard of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his mission of Islam, a delegation comprising members from tribes of Yathrib visited the city of Makkah to meet the Prophet in the pilgrimage year i.e. Hajj - a ritual of Ibraheem (Abraham) (a.s) that existed even before Islam, during the jahilliya (ignorant) times. Makkah was a central point for all trade caravans where tribes from all over the Arabian peninsula gathered during the yearly pilgrimage gathering. Once in Makkah, the Yathrib delegation also heard the message of Islam and met the Prophet ﷺ in whom they saw the leadership to bring about needed peace. Due to the hostility of his opponents in Makkah, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saw this as the best opportunity and decided to emigrate.

At this point, it is necessary to mention that Prophet ﷺ already knew about his future journey to this city. Archangel Jibraeel (Gabriel) (a.s) informed him on the night of Isra Wa’al Miraj (Night Journey and Ascension) that this was going to be place of his emigration. Divine knowledge and assistance was already at work helping the Prophet ﷺ before he had received invitation from the Madinah delegation. In fact, during his journey many miracles happened, the enemies caught up with him twice but both times the divine assistance failed the plan of those who tried to assassinate him and his traveling companion Abu Bakr (r.a). These miracles have been further discussed, in detail, in the section of Miracle of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (still developing). 

​Constitution of Madinah

It is commonly known that the document called Magna Carter also called the 'Great Charter', was the first ever multiparty charter of rights in which all communities part of the agreement were entitled to social, judicial and religious rights. This charter was agreed upon between King John of England of (12th century CE) and the rebellious tribes. In the Western academic circles this document is called 'one of the greatest charters of all times' and considered as the basis of all constitutions of modern nation states. However what is not commonly known is the fact that Mithaq al-Madinah or the Constitution of Madinah, preceded the Magna Carter by several centuries. In fact it would be correct to say that the first person to have ever created charter of rights that functioned as a constitution of a multi ethnic and multi religious society was Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. This charter of Madinah was brought to the modern world's attention by the famous Western Islamic scholar and polymath named Dr. Hamidullah in his article published in 1969 called "The First Written Constitution in the World: An Important Document of the Time of the Holy Prophet." The noted Islamic scholar and jurist Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri analysed the constitution from earlier Islamic sources and divided it into 63 constitutional articles which is available online for free.

Madinah was a town which was not ruled by a single tribe. All tribes laid claim to it which often caused them to be at war with each other. The Aws and Khazraj, two major pagan tribes were sometimes at peace and other times at war. These two tribes had allies from among the three main Jewish tribes of Banu Qurayza, Banu Nadir and Banu Qaynuqa who also took part in their conflicts. Madinah was a place where no majority or a king ruled them all and so such a setting gave an excellent opportunity to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for implementation of a pluralist charter giving all parties equal rights thus eventually ceasing warfare. One of the primary reasons that members of Aws and Khazraj, visited Makkah during the annual gathering (Hajj in Makkah) was to invite Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to Yathrib (former name of Madinah), to act as a chief arbitrator and help them find a political solution to their never-ending conflict.

The constitution helped secure an agreement among different communities ensuring safety and security of their lives and properties. This was a first form of a charter in humankind’s history that defined how a plural society was to function. It helped gain mutual trust of all the parties involved because it bound them to the terms and conditions of the charter. Anyone of the communities or their individual members reneging on any of its terms was liable for consequences and this was the only way to secure each other’s allegiance so that all citizens remained safe. The constitution was not a divine injunction given by Allah ﷻ to the Prophet ﷺ to deliver to humankind even though humanity has benefited from this prophetic wisdom. In fact it would be correct to claim that this constitution may have played the role of inspiring great minds throughout the history, and became the basis of the modern system of governance called 'democracy', a democratic form of a government. This system of governance that majority nation states follow today is based on a constitution which claims that all citizens have equal rights regardless of race, ethnicity and religion supervised by a judicial system. Likewise, the state of Madinah was a like a modern nation state with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as its head of state ruled by a constitution that provided equal rights to all communities. We can also say that the Madinah constitution was similar to a modern secular constitutions, in the sense that not all parties involved followed same religion. However, many of its injunctions clearly mention the sovereignty of Allah and Prophet's messengership that all parties accepted. The agreement was mainly between three parties: The muhajireen (emigrants), early Muslims who emigrated to Madinah, the ansaar (helpers), new Muslim converts in Madinah, all Jewish tribes and their allies. 

Treating them with his merciful nature

The authentic hadith collection mention an incident in which Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was alone and an enemy suddenly came from behind to kill him:

Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah (r.a) “we took part in the Ghazwa of Najd along with Allah's Messenger ﷺ and when the time for the afternoon rest approached while he was in a valley with plenty of thorny trees, he dismounted under a tree and rested in its shade and hung his sword (on it). The people dispersed amongst the trees in order to have shade. While we were in this state, Allah's Messenger ﷺ called us and we came and found a bedouin sitting in front of him. The Prophet ﷺ said, “This (Bedouin) came to me while I was asleep, and he took my sword stealthily. I woke up while he was standing by my head, holding my sword without its sheath. He said, 'Who will save you from me?' I replied, 'Allah.' Then something forced him to drop his sword. I then picked up the sword and said, ‘Who will protect you from me.’ But Allah's Messenger ﷺ did not punish him.”[1] The bedouin’s name was Ghwarath ibn al-Harith. The Prophet did not punish him, in fact, he was forgiven and later accepted Islam and became a Muslim. This is how the Prophet ﷺ treated his personal enemies. However, there were times when he punished those who were enemies of the state and committed crimes against its people. But even after such crimes committed, many were provided opportunity to gain forgiveness.

The story of Prophet Yusuf (alaihi salaam) (Joseph) in the Quran is worth mentioning here. He had eleven brothers. Due to their jealousy of him, they plotted to take away his life. They lured him to the forest and pushed him in a well. After a while, a caravan passing by, saved him and sold him as a slave in Egypt. After serving a master for some time, he was alleged with a crime of attempting to commit an immoral act with his master’s wife. Due to this charge, he remained in prison for several years. After his ability to interpret a dream of the King of Egypt he was saved from the prison and absolved of the crime he was alleged for. The master’s wife also accepted that Yusuf (alaihi salaam) was in fact innocent, and it was she who tried to commit an act with him. After such long suffering and trial when Yusuf (alaihi salaam) was given a post of a vizier (prime minister) due to his sincerity, honesty and truthfulness that everyone observed, one day his brothers arrived in Egypt, faced him after several years: “They (Brothers said) said, ‘By God! God really did favour you over all of us and we were in the wrong!’ but he said, ‘You will hear no reproaches today. May God forgive you: He is the Most Merciful of those who are merciful.’”[2] Prophet Yusuf (a.s) did not take revenge, throw them in prison, torture them, did not curse nor abuse them neither physical nor verbal. In fact, the only thing, he said, “You will hear no reproaches today. May God forgive you: He is the Most Merciful of those who are merciful.” Amazingly, another Prophet said the same words, after bearing twenty years of persecution and difficulties from his people. After entering the city of Makkah, with his strong army and finally defeating the Qurayshis who had been persecuting Prophet and his followers for more than past two decades, including continuously waging battles against them for last ten years, this is what Prophet Muhammad ﷺ declared:

“O Qurayshis! What do you think I will do to you?” The Qurayshis said, “You are a generous and good brother. You are a generous and good nephew. We think you will do good things about us.” Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said “My situation and your situation are like what Joseph (Yusuf) said to his brothers. I am saying to you what Yusuf said to his brothers, "You will hear no reproaches today. May God forgive you: He is the Most Merciful of those who are merciful.” “You can leave; you are free.”[3] It is quite common about human nature that most people are humble, kind and merciful usually when in they are in a weak and helpless position. It is only a few who are truly merciful when in a position of power and being in control of everything and that is what proves that they truly own a merciful nature. Whether in position of power or no, the Prophet displayed his merciful nature at all times as expressed in the Quran: "It was only as a mercy that We sent you [Prophet] to all people."[4]
 

References:
[1] Narrated in Al Bukhari in Sahih Al Bukhari
[2] Al Quran 12:91–93
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest_of_Mecca 
[4] Al Quran 21:107

Logical reason of such orders
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Madinah was the state with Muslims as its nation and Prophet Muhammad ﷻ as the head or president of that state. In those days poetry was a strong culture trait of the Arabs. It was recited at moments of lamentation if on anyone's death, at the joyous ceremony of someones birth or marriage. Poetry was used to incite the emotions of listeners at moments of sadness and joy. Likewise it was also recite by skilled poets to incite emotions of hatred and fighting against an enemy. Since the enemies among the pagans and Jews left no stone unturned in their attempts to harm the Prophet and his followers, they even resorted to poetry to incite war against the Muslims and such poets were threat to the security because their poetry lead towards battles and even assassination attempts at the Prophet himself. 

Any attempts through poetry to incite enemies of the state that could jeopardize their security, endanger the lives of its population and have its leader killed eventually destabilizing the state, was considered an attack on the state. These people did not only spew hatred in their poetry but also conspired and financially supported to kill the head of the Madinah state i.e. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Such acts could not only weaken the foundation of this nation but also impede the mission given by Allah ﷻ to his Prophet. Such acts were not committed against the Prophet’s own person they were in fact committed against a whole community. These sorts of acts if allowed to slip by the Muslim leadership could have caused a gradual disintegration of their state. Being a leader, it was the Prophet’s responsibility to secure the state and its people. Therefore, it was necessary for the Prophet to order his companions to assassinate such persons. To understand better, let take the example of some terrorists planning to assassinate the President of a country, and killed many innocent in their attempts. However, before they could achieve their target of assassination, the law enforcement of that country succeeded in catching them. Once caught, what do you think would happen to these criminals? Their recompense would be the same as those conspiring poets at the time of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
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Prophet Muhammad ﷺ met Prophet Yusuf (alaihi salaam) (Joseph) on the night of Miraj (Ascension) and described him in the following words: “I saw Yusuf (peace of Allah be upon him) who had been given half of (world) beauty. He welcomed me prayed for my well-being.”[1] Prophet Yusuf (alaihi salaam) was extremely beautiful in his appearance. However in a hadith the Prophet's wife and mother of the believers Aisha (r.a) said "if the women who saw Yusuf (aalaihi salaam) cut their hands seeing the beauty of Yusuf. They would have cut their throats if they saw my Yusuf." (referring to Prophet Muhammad)[2] Some may say that Aisha (r.a) may be exaggerating due to her immense love for Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. However if we read about the overall personality and appearance as described to us then she may be very correct after all. Even though Yusuf (a.s) was given beautiful face, our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was given beauty not only in his face but also his figure, character, manners, habits, deeds, worshiping and all his actions, in almost everything we can find about him.

An authentic narration of Imam Hassan ibn Ali (r.a) who narrated from his maternal uncle named Hind Bin Abi Haalah (r.a) (a step brother of Fatima (r.a)) who described the Prophet ﷺ in the following words:

“He had great qualities and attributes in him, others also held him in high esteem. His mubarak (blessed) face shone like the full moon. He was slightly taller than a man of middle height, but shorter than a tall person. His mubarak (blessed) head was moderately large. His mubarak (blessed) hair was slightly twisted. If his hair became parted naturally in the middle he left it so, otherwise he did not habitually make an effort to part his hair in the middle. Rasoolullah ﷺ had a very luminous complexion, and a wide forehead. He had dense and fine hair on his eye brows. Both eye brows were separate and did not meet each other in the middle. There was a vein between them that used to expand when he became angry. His nose was prominent and had a nur (Light) and lustre on it. When one first looked at him, it seemed as if he had a large nose, but looking at it carefully showed that the lustre and beauty made it look large, otherwise in itself the nose was not large. His beard was full and dense. The pupil of his eye was black. His cheeks were full and full of flesh. The mouth of Rasoolullah ﷺ was moderately wide. (He did not have a small mouth). His teeth were thin and bright. The front teeth had a slight space between them. There was a thin line of hair from the chest to the navel. Besides this line neither the chest nor the stomach had other hair on it. His neck was beautiful and thin, like the neck of a statue shaved clean, the colour of which was clear, shining and beautiful like silver. All the parts of his body were of moderate size, and fully fleshed. His body was proportionately jointed. His chest and stomach were in line, but his chest was broad and wide. The space between his shoulders was wide. The bones of his joints were strong and large (denoting strength). When he removed his clothing, his body looked bright and had a lustre i.e. those parts of the body that were not covered by his clothing were bright and shining, compared with those parts of the body that were covered by his clothing. His forearm was long and palms were wide. The palms and both feet were fully fleshed. The fingers and toes were moderately long. The soles of his feet were a bit deep. His feet were smooth, because of their cleanliness and smoothness the water did not remain there but flowed away quickly. When he walked, he lifted his legs with vigor, leaned slightly forward and placed his feet softly on the ground. He walked at a quick pace and took rather a long step. He did not take small steps. When he walked it seemed as if he was descending to a lower place. When he looked at something he turned his whole body towards it. He always looked down (due to humbleness). His sight was focused more to the ground than towards the sky. His habit was to look down towards the ground, but he also waited for the wahi (revelation), therefore while waiting he often looked towards the sky. Otherwise he usually looked down towards the ground. His modest habit was to look at something with a light eye, i.e. he looked at a thing, with modesty and bashfulness, hence he did not stare at anything. While walking he asked the Sahabah (Companions) to walk in front, and he himself walked behind. He made salaam (peace and greetings) to whomsoever he met.”[3]

Leading scholar Hamza Yusuf informs us how such a description of his blessed appearance has made an impact among Muslims throughout the centuries of carrying this tradition: “One of things about the ulema, they say mahabba (love) for most human beings arises out of three things. The first is the physical love. You see something beautiful and your heart inclines towards it. So He put the love of beauty in the hearts of human beings. The ulema have maintained the physical description of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ because that is a level of mahabba — to actually hear how beautiful he was. He was the most beautiful human being. He was more beautiful than Yusuf (Joseph). One of the gifts of this ummah is that we have an exact description of the Prophet ﷺ, it is as if you are looking at him. There was a desire to keep the description of the Prophet ﷺ so people could have a physical attraction to him as well as the first stage of love.” [4]

References:
[1] Sahih Muslim 162 a – Sunnah.com
[2] Shama'il - Imam Tirmidhi 
[3] Book 1, Hadith 7 - Shama'il Muhammadiyah الشمائل المحمدية by Imam Tirmidhi – Sunnah.com 
[4] Yusuf, Shaykh Hamza. 2009. ShaykhHamza.com. January. Accessed 02 23, 2019. http://shaykhhamza.com/transcript/Description-of-the-Prophet(SAW).