Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
2. The Emergence and Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad
~ 24 ~
2. THE EMERGENCE AND LEGACY OF
THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Poised between Africa, Asia and Europe, the
Arabian Peninsula lay at the very heart of the
ancient world. Yet no ambitious conqueror had
invaded the territory; no ruler had sought to bring it
under his domain. All military campaigns had been
limited to the area bordering Arabia—Iraq, Syria,
Palestine and Lebanon. As for the Arabian
Peninsula, no one had considered it worth fighting
for. True, its shores were lapped by three seas, but
its interior offered little beyond inhospitable desert
and barren mountains.
Makkah was the central township of this land, it
was in this “uncultivable valley” in which it lay that
the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, on whom be
peace, was born. His father, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdul
Muttalib, died a few months before the birth of the
Prophet. He was only six years of age when his
mother, Aminah, also passed away. For two years
he was cared for by his grandfather, ‘Abdul
Muttalib, and, when he too died, the Prophet’s
uncle, Abu Talib, became his guardian. Abu Talib’s
