The Prophet(sa) was born in Mecca in August 570 A.D. He was given the name Muhammad(sa) which means, the Praised One. To understand his life and character we must have some idea of the conditions which obtained in Arabia at the time of his birth.
When he was born almost the whole of Arabia believed in a polytheistic form of religion. The Arabs traced their descent to Abraham(as). They knew that Abraham(as) was a monotheistic Teacher. In spite of this, they entertained polytheistic beliefs and were given to polytheistic practices. In defence, they said that some human beings are outstanding in their contact with God. Their intercession on behalf of others is accepted by God. To reach Him is difficult for ordinary human beings. They must have others to intercede for them in order to obtain God's pleasure and help. Thus they were able to combine their reverence for Abraham(as) with their own polytheistic beliefs. Abraham(as), they said, was a holy man. He was able to reach God without intercession, whilst ordinary Meccans could not do so. The people of Mecca, therefore, had made idols of holy and righteous persons, and these they worshipped and to these they made offerings in order to please God through them. This attitude was primitive, illogical and full of defects. But the Meccans were not worried by these. They had not had a monotheistic Teacher for a long time, and polytheism, once it takes root, spreads and knows no bounds. The number of gods begins to increase. At the time of the Prophet's(sa) birth, it is said that in the Ka’ba alone, the Sacred Mosque of all Islam and the house of worship built by Abraham(as) and his son Ishmael, there were 360 idols. It seems that for every day of the lunar year the Meccans had an idol. In other big centres there were other idols, so that we can say that every part of Arabia was steeped in polytheistic belief. The Arabs were devoted to the culture of speech. They were much interested in their spoken language and were very keen on its advance. Their intellectual ambitions, however, were scant. Of History, Geography, Mathematics, etc., they knew nothing. But as they were a desert people and had to find their way about in the desert without the assistance of landmarks, they had developed a keen interest in Astronomy. There was in the whole of Arabia not a single school. It is said that in Mecca only a few individuals could read and write.
From the moral point of view the Arabs were a contradictory people. They suffered from some extreme moral defects but at the same time they possessed some admirable qualities. They were given to excessive drinking. To become drunk and to run wild under the effect of drink was for them a virtue, not a vice. Their conception of a gentleman was one who should entertain his friends and neighbours to drinking bouts. Every rich man would hold a drinking party at least five times a day. Gambling was their national sport. But they had made of it a fine art. They did not gamble in order to become rich. Winners were expected to entertain their friends. In times of war, funds were collected through gambling. Even today we have the institution of prize-bonds to raise money for war. The institution has been resuscitated in our time by the people of Europe and America. But they should remember that in this they only imitate the Arabs. When war came, Arabian tribes would hold a gambling party. Whoever won had to bear the greater part of the expenses of the war.
Of the amenities of civilized life, the Arabs knew nothing. Their chief occupation was trade, and to this end they sent their caravans to far-off places, such as Abyssinia, Syria, Palestine and even India. The rich among them were great admirers of Indian swords. Their clothing needs were supplied largely by Yemen and Syria. The trading centres were the towns. The rest of Arabia, excepting Yemen and some northern parts, was Bedouin. There were no permanent settlements, or places of habitation. The tribes had divided the country between them so that members of a tribe wandered about freely in their part of the country. When the water supply in any place was exhausted, they would move on to some other place and settle down. Their capital consisted of sheep, goats and camels. From the wool they made cloth, and from the skins they made tents. What was left over they sold in the market. Gold and silver were not unknown, but they were certainly very rare possessions. The poor and the common folks made ornaments of cowries and sweet-smelling substances. Seeds of melons were cleaned, dried and strung together to make necklaces. Crime and immoralities of various kinds were rampant. Theft was rare but dacoity was common. To attack and to dispossess one another was regarded a birthright. But, at the same time, they honoured their word more than any other people. Should an individual go to a powerful leader or tribe and ask for protection, that leader or tribe was honour-bound to protect that individual. If this was not done, the tribe lost caste throughout Arabia. Poets commanded great prestige. They were honoured as national leaders. Leaders were expected to possess great powers of speech and even to be able to compose verse. Hospitality had developed into a national virtue. A forlorn traveller on arrival at the headquarters of a tribe would be treated as an honoured guest. The best animals would be slaughtered for him and the utmost consideration shown. They did not care who the visitor was. It was enough that a visitor had arrived. The visit meant an increase of status and prestige for the tribe. It became the tribe's duty, therefore, to honour the visitor. By honouring him it honoured itself. Woman in this Arab society had no status and no rights. Among them it was thought honourable to put baby girls to death. It is a mistake, however, to think that infanticide was practised on a country-wide scale. Such a dangerous institution could not flourish throughout a country. That would have meant the extinction of the race. The truth is that in Arabia - or for that matter in India or any other country where infanticide has ever existed, it has been confined only to certain families. The Arab families who practised it either had an exaggerated notion of their social status or they were constrained in other ways. Possibly they were unable to find suitable young men for their daughters to marry; knowing this, they put to death their baby girls. The evil of this institution lies in its savageness and its cruelty, not in the results which it has in terms of a nation's population. Different methods were used for killing baby girls, among them burying alive and strangulation.
Only the real mother was regarded as a mother in Arab society. Step-mothers were not regarded as mothers and there was no ban on a son's marrying his step-mother on the death of his father. Polygamous marriages were very common, and there was no limit to the number of wives a man could take. More than one sister could also be taken to wife by the same person at one and the same time.
The worst treatment was meted out by combatant sides to one another in war. Where hatred was strong, they did not hesitate to split the bodies of the wounded, take out parts and eat them in cannibal fashion. They did not hesitate to mutilate the bodies of their enemies. Cutting off the nose or ears, or plucking out an eye was a common form of cruelty practised by them. Slavery was widespread. Weak tribes were made slaves. The slave had no accepted status. Every master did as he liked with his slaves. No action could be taken against a master who maltreated his slave. A master could murder his slave without having to answer for it. If one master murdered another's slave, even then the penalty was not death. All that was required of him was to compensate the aggrieved master suitably. Women-slaves were used to satisfy sexual desires. The children born of such unions were also treated as slaves. Women-slaves who became mothers remained slaves. In terms of civilization and social advance the Arabs were a very backward people. Kindness and consideration to one another were unknown. Woman had the worst status possible. Still the Arabs possessed some virtues. Individual bravery, for instance, sometimes reached a very high level.
It was among such people that the Holy Prophet(sa) of Islam was born. His father Abdullah had died before his birth. Accordingly, he and his mother Amina had to be looked after by the grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. The child Muhammad(sa) was suckled by a countrywoman who lived in a place near Ta'if. It was a custom in Arabia in those days to hand over children to women in the country, whose duty was to bring up the children, to train their speech and to give them a good start in bodily health. When the Prophet(sa) was in his sixth year, his mother died while travelling from Medina to Mecca and had to be buried en route. The child was brought to Mecca by a woman-servant and handed over to the grandfather. When he was in his eighth year, his grandfather also died, after which Abu Talib, his uncle, became his guardian, this being the wish expressed in a will by the grandfather. The Prophet(sa) had two or three opportunities to travel out of Arabia. One of these occurred when at the age of twelve he went in the company of Abu Talib to Syria. It seems that this journey took him only to the south-eastern towns of Syria, for in historical references to this journey there is no mention of places like Jerusalem. From now onwards until he grew up to young manhood he remained in Mecca. From very childhood he was given to reflection and meditation. In the quarrels and rivalries of others he took no part, except with a view to putting an end to them. It is said that the tribes living in Mecca and the territories around, tired of unending blood-feuds, resolved to found an association the purpose of which was to help victims of aggressive and unjust treatment. When the Holy Prophet(sa) heard of this, he gladly joined. Members of this association gave an undertaking in the following terms:
They will help those who were oppressed and will restore them their rights, as long as the last drop of water remained in the sea. And if they do not do so, they will compensate the victims out of their own belongings. (Sirat Ibni Hisham by Imam Suhaili).
It seems that no other member of this association was ever called upon to discharge the undertaking solemnly entered into by members of this association. But opportunity came to the Holy Prophet(sa) when he had announced his Mission. His worst enemy was Abu Jahl, a chief of Mecca. He preached social boycott and public humiliation of the Prophet(sa). About that time a person from outside came to Mecca. Money was due to him from Abu Jahl, but Abu Jahl refused to pay. He mentioned this to people in Mecca. Some young men, out of sheer mischief, suggested that he should approach the Prophet(sa). They thought that the Prophet(sa) would refuse to do anything for fear of the general opposition to him and particularly for fear of the opposition of Abu Jahl. If he refused to help this man, he would be said to have broken his pledge to the association. If, on the other hand, he did not refuse and chose to approach Abu Jahl for the restitution of this loan, Abu Jahl was certain to turn him away with contempt. This man went to the Prophet(sa) and complained to him about Abu Jahl. The Prophet(sa), hesitating not a minute, stood up, went with the man and knocked at Abu Jahl's door. Abu Jahl came out and saw that his creditor was standing with the Prophet(sa). The Prophet(sa) mentioned the loan and suggested its payment. Abu Jahl was taken aback and, making no excuses, paid at once. When the other chiefs of Mecca heard of this they reproved Abu Jahl, telling him how weak and self-contradictory he had proved. He preached the social boycott of the Prophet(sa), yet he himself accepted direction from the Prophet(sa) and paid a loan on his suggestion. In self-defence, Abu Jahl pleaded that any other person would have done the same. He told them that as he saw the Prophet(sa) standing at his door, he also saw two wild camels standing one on each side, ready to attack. We cannot say what this experience was. Was it a miraculous appearance designed to upset Abu Jahl or was it the awe-inspiring presence of the Prophet(sa) which produced this hallucination? A man hated and oppressed by a whole town had taken the courage to go alone to the leader of that town and demand the restitution of a loan. Maybe this very unexpected sight frightened Abu Jahl and for a moment made him forget what he had sworn to do against the Prophet(sa), and forced him to do as the Prophet(sa) suggested (Hisham).