Sufi

Muhammad

Sufic. 570 CE – 632 CEMecca, Arabia17 quotes· 5 sources

Muhammad (c. 570-632 CE), the revered Prophet of Islam, taught devotion to the One God, mercy, justice, and compassion. Honored as the final messenger, he conveyed the Quran and inspired a community united in faith and charity.

Muhammad, born around 570 CE in the city of Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula, is honored by more than a billion people as the Prophet of Islam and the bearer of a message of mercy, justice, and devotion to the One God. He was born into the Banu Hashim clan of the respected Quraysh tribe. Orphaned young, he lost his father, Abdullah, before his birth and his mother, Amina, when he was a child of six. Raised first by his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib and then by his uncle Abu Talib, he grew up in modest circumstances, known from an early age for his honesty, gentleness, and trustworthiness. So unblemished was his reputation that his fellow Meccans called him al-Amin, 'the Trustworthy,' entrusting him with their goods and seeking his counsel in disputes. As a young man he worked in the caravan trade, traveling the routes between Arabia and the lands to the north, and earning a name for fair dealing. In his twenties he entered the service of Khadija, a respected and successful merchant widow, whose confidence in his integrity blossomed into a marriage of deep mutual devotion. Their union was one of profound companionship and partnership, and Khadija would become the first to believe in his prophetic mission and his steadfast source of comfort and strength. A reflective and contemplative soul, Muhammad would often withdraw to a cave on Mount Hira above Mecca to meditate in solitude. According to Islamic tradition, in the year 610 CE, at about the age of forty, he received the first of the revelations that would continue throughout his life, brought by the angel Gabriel with the command to 'Recite.' These revelations, gathered over the following years, form the Quran, which Muslims hold to be the very word of God and the heart of their faith. Their central theme is the oneness of God (tawhid) and the call to live in humble submission, gratitude, and righteousness. Muhammad began to share this message gently among his family and close companions, and then more widely. His teaching emphasized the worship of the One God alone, the dignity and equality of all human beings, care for the orphan and the poor, honesty in dealings, and the practice of regular prayer (salat) and charitable giving (zakat). Among his earliest followers were the humble and the vulnerable, who found in his message a vision of justice and compassion that uplifted them. He counseled patience in the face of hardship, forgiveness over revenge, and kindness to neighbors, travelers, and even to animals. In 622 CE, Muhammad and his followers undertook the Hijra, the migration to the city of Yathrib, thereafter known as Medina, 'the City of the Prophet.' This event was so pivotal that it marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad was welcomed as a leader and peacemaker, and he drew together the city's diverse groups under a shared covenant, the Constitution of Medina, which set out mutual responsibilities and protections for the community. There he built the first mosque and nurtured a flourishing community bound by faith, brotherhood, and shared devotion. In the later years of his life, Muhammad returned to Mecca, entering the city peacefully and with great magnanimity, extending forgiveness and reconciliation freely to all. Near the end of his life he delivered his celebrated Farewell Sermon during a pilgrimage to Mecca, a discourse cherished across the Muslim world. In it he proclaimed the sanctity of human life and property, the equality of all people regardless of lineage or color, the rights and honored status of women, the setting aside of old grievances in favor of peace, and the call to hold fast to the guidance he had conveyed. 'All of you are equal,' he taught, urging his followers to treat one another with justice and care. Muhammad died in Medina in 632 CE, in the home of his beloved companion. By then his message had spread across much of the Arabian Peninsula, drawing together many peoples in a shared devotion to God. Muslims revere him as the 'Seal of the Prophets,' the last in a line of messengers that includes Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and they strive to follow his example, the Sunnah, in their daily lives. His enduring legacy is a faith centered on mercy, gratitude, prayer, charity, and submission to the Divine. To this day, when his name is mentioned, Muslims invoke blessings and peace upon him, honoring a life devoted, in word and deed, to compassion, justice, and love of the One God.

Wisdom

Those who understand themselves, understand God.

He forgave them and told them to live in peace, because they were all brothers.

Every good act is a form of charity. Smiling at your brother is charity, and guiding a lost person in the right direction is also charity.

Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and free those who are unjustly imprisoned. Help anyone who is oppressed, regardless of their faith. Love your fellow human being first.

Whoever knows themselves, knows God.

You cannot interact with the world without being tainted by it, just as you cannot enter water without getting wet.

The Prophet said, "The world is a curse, and everything in it is a curse, except the remembrance of God and what assists it."

Abandoning one's wife and children is comparable to being a runaway slave; until one returns to them, their fasts and prayers will not be accepted by God.

The Prophet once asked God, "Lord, who are your lovers?" The answer was, "Those who cling to me like a child to its mother, take refuge in my remembrance like a bird seeking shelter in its nest, and are as angry at the sight of sin as a fearless lion."

Whoever knows themselves knows God.

He who deserts his wife and children is like a runaway slave; until he returns to them, none of his fasts or prayers will be accepted by God.

He who seeks a wife for the sake of her beauty or wealth will lose both.

Woman was formed of a crooked rib; if you try to bend her, you will break her; if you leave her alone, she will grow more and more crooked; therefore treat her tenderly.

Suppose a man spends one dinar in religious war, another in ransoming a slave, a third in charity, and gives the fourth to his wife, the giving of this last surpasses in merit all the others put together.

The Prophet once asked God, 'Who are Your lovers?' The answer came, 'Those who cling to Me like a child to its mother, take refuge in the remembrance of Me like a bird seeking shelter in its nest, and are as fiercely opposed to sin as a fearless lion.'

He insisted that man is responsible for his own salvation. Whoever chooses the life to come, their desire will be acceptable to God.

When Muhammad exclaims, "There are times when neither cherubim nor prophet are equal to me!" the Sufis declare that he alludes to moments of ecstatic union with God;