Mark Gagnon (0:00)

The story of the Prophet Muhammad begins before his birth with a series of prophecies and miracles. Orphaned merchant in the middle of the Arabian desert that basically alters the course of human history. How does this person, with no formal education, no army, no political power, ends up founding one of the great religions of the world, the Prophet Muhammad's mother. During her pregnancy, extraordinary signs marked the impending birth of a remarkable figure symbolizing this spiritual illumination that her son would bring into the world. The cave of Hira. But it was there that one of the most significant turning points in human history unfolded when silence broke into revelation. So all that to say, this is another attempt me to dive deeper in my understanding about what it really means to be a Muslim. And there's no better place to dig into than the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the final and greatest of God's prophets on earth. In today's episode, we're going to go through his whole life. I found a kid who swings a golf club like a dream. I'd like to try to qualify him for the US Amateurs coming to Apple tv. Plus what's your name? I'm not into older guys, but I'm flattered. A new comedy series. Stick. I don't want to go on this trip. Your mouth's saying one thing, but those eyes are saying something else. From the home of Ted Lasso, you see your shot at redemption. This is your mulligan, Owen Wilson. This game takes and it takes. The game's finally giving me something back. Stick. You know Arnold Palmer Iced Te lemonade. Mix it. I'm missing a nap for this. Streaming June 4th on Apple TV Plus. What's up, people? And welcome back to Religion Camp. My name is Mark Gagnon, and this is my tent, where every single week on Sundays, we explore the most interesting, controversial, fascinating stories from all religions from around the world, from all times. Today, like most days, I'm joined by the Greek freak, the legend himself, Christos, on the shiny buttons. How are you, sir? Doing good. How are you? All right. So today we are exploring. I saw a couple comments about that on the last episode that made me laugh. Someone clipped it. Yeah, I thought that was great. That is great. A lot. Oh, every time I ask you how you do it, it's like. Anyway, guys, we have a fascinating topic to dive into today. Now, let me just preface by saying I did not grow up Muslim, so a lot of this is new to me. Now, the whole reason that I do this channel and why I'm fascinated by religions is that I myself grew up religious as A Catholic. But I think that it is fundamental, if you have a desire to understand people and cultures and how people interact with each other, I think you must understand the God that they worship. I don't know if it's possible to be like, yo, I completely understand what it means to be a Muslim in the world or even a Muslim in America without understanding who Allah is. Right. Or a Hindu without understanding, you know, Brahma or a Sikh without, you know, reading the. The works of the great gurus. So all that to say, this is another attempt at me to dive deeper in my understanding about what it really means to be a Muslim. And there's no better place to dig into than the life of the Prophet. Yes, that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. So let's. I'm also going to say this. I'm not going to say peace be upon him for the whole time. Okay. I just can't. Just for the interest of flow and expedience, I'm just going to give it one big piece up top. You know how I feel. There was a whole episode where you did it every single time. So you're compensating. That's what I'm saying. Yeah, it feels. Try hard. So I'm just going to give a big. One big old piece. All right. Shout out to the Prophet. Shout out to the Muslims out there watching. And, yeah, from henceforth, it will be either just the Prophet or Muhammad. So this is a fascinating human being, right? I mean, basically all I knew prior to this was that you have this illiterate orphaned merchant in the middle of the Arabian desert that basically alters the course of human history. I think. What, what? You know, if you're secular, if you're Muslim, Christian, everyone agrees on that fact. And that is crazy to me. That is fascinating. It's been this question that I've been thinking about, like, you know, how does this person with no formal education, no army, no political power ends up founding one of the great religions of the world? It's fascinating, truly. So let's begin at the end of the seventh century. Okay. Christianity has been kind of pumping, to be honest with you. All right? Christianity has been going buck wild. Undisturbed expansion, you could say. And it's been kind of spreading across Asia and, you know, Asian Minor, the Near East, North Africa and all over Europe. And Christians had kind of, you know, taken on the Roman Empire and won. So now, you know, the Roman state is a. Is a Christian nation. And yeah, there's no cultural power that's really, you know, comparing to what the Christians are rocking with. That was until it was challenged by one of the most potent religious, political and cultural forces known to history, Islam. And it all started with one man, the Prophet Muhammad, who was, according to, you know, Muslim belief, the final and greatest of God's prophets on earth. So you've probably never seen an image of him and you've almost certainly met someone who's been named after him. As today Muhammad is actually the most popular name given on the planet, basically. I mean, yeah, it's like number one, which I always found funny that Muhammad's the most popular name in the world and I think Wang is the most popular last name. I have a theory on that, by the way, but there's no Muhammad Wangs. It's kind of, kind of strange, right? Sure. Wait, what's your, what's your theory on Wang? No, my theory on Muhammad is that a lot of times you it's first and last name, so it counts twice, which is why it's the most popular. That's a good point. I like that. So this is one of the most popular names that's, that's passed out and in today's episode we're going to go through his whole life. So let's go to the birth of the Prophet. Much like Jesus and you know, Siddhartha, the story of the Prophet Muhammad begins before his birth with a series of prophecies and miracles. Arabia at this time was a home to diverse peoples, clans, cultures, you know, all filled the deserts and, you know, towns nearby. Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, was a sanctuary which attracted pilgrims from across the region where, you know, various tribes worshiped an array of idols and they practiced polytheism. If you don't know what polytheism is, the worship of multiple gods. Much of Arabia at this time was characterized by what historians would call the Jahiliyya period, which is the age of ignorance. Mostly because there was an absence of a monotheistic religious framework to basically unify the region, but also because of the prevalence of this idol worship and, you know, tribal feuding and a lot of, you know, social issues that were existing in the region. This region, matter of fact, was controlled by the Quraysh. This is a dominant tribe in Mecca at the time of the Prophet's birth. And they looked after the Kaaba, which gave them both religious influence and economic power. As pilgrims from across Arabia came to the city, the Prophet Muhammad was born into one of its respected clans, the Banu Hashim. Although his family was not among the wealthiest of the clan, by Any stretch. It's important to remember that the Quraysh, as they played a central role in both his early protection, but also later his opposition. But Arabia was not completely isolated from other faiths. Christianity and Judaism were actually present and interacted with some Arab tribes. There was also a looming expectation, a religious anticipation that some great prophet would soon arise to restore true monotheism to the land. And this is where we are introduced to Amina Bintwab. This is the Prophet Muhammad's mother. Islamic tradition recounts that during her pregnancy, extraordinary signs marked the impending birth of a remarkable figure. One of the most well known stories tells of a light radiating from Amina's womb. This light was so intense that it illuminated the household and nearby surroundings, symbolizing this spiritual illumination that her son would bring into the world. And Amina herself reportedly experienced these, you know, sort of auspicious dreams, as did many people that she knew. These dreams, you know, often featured stars and these, like radiant figures, almost like these angelic beings and other symbols of great significance. And the glowing lights and the dreams were interpreted by the community as confirmation that some type of divine plan may be unfolding. So 570 CE or AD the Prophet Muhammad was born. And this is the year of the Elephant, an event recorded in multiple early sources and celebrated within Islamic tradition. This year was named after this extraordinary episode when Abraha, the Christian ruler of Yemen, led an army that included elephants to attack Mecca and destroy the Kaaba, which, if you don't know what the Kaaba is, we have a video on it where I go through the entire history of the Kaaba that I would recommend you check out. But at this point the Kaaba was basically, you know, you could say being desecrated and used as a polytheistic worshiping site, you know, that the, that many different pagans in the region were utilizing, which Muhammad would later come in to restore. So back to Abraha, he basically sends this attack to Mecca and this turned out to be a massive mistake. According to the tradition, the attack was miraculously repelled by divine intervention. Flocks of birds known as Ababil appeared, pelting the invading army with stones and forcing their retreat. Mecca was under this divine protection and people were convinced that special things were right about to happen. So Muhammad may be the most popular name given today, but it certainly was not at the time that he was born. It meant the Praised one, a rare name that was not chosen by his father who had already passed, but instead by his grandfather. When asked why he chose it, he basically just said so he may be praised in the heavens and on earth. Much like many other religious leaders, great expectations were placed on his very, you know, young shoulders. So at 6 years old, Muhammad lost a parent for the second time. Amina's death came suddenly during a journey to the Yathrib later Medina, which would be, you know, significant later on in the story. And this is where she had taken a young Muhammad to visit his maternal relatives. On the return journey, somewhere in the barren flatlands of Abu, she fell ill and passed away. First he was taken in by his grandfather, Abd al Matali, who was already an old man by then. He held the boy in high regard. So much so that young Muhammad was given access to the place of honor under the Kaaba's shade, a spot typically only reserved for elders. But tragedy continued to plague Muhammad's early life. Two years later, his grandfather too passed away, now in the care of his uncle Abu Talib, who was actually a gifted poet and, you know, a very kind man but not wealthy in any capacity. Muhammad would grow up in pretty modest means. No, you know, fine robes or gold or servants or any of that stuff. He tended sheep in the hills of Mecca. It's interesting how the divine often brings with pastoral settings even with other, you know, Abrahamic prophets, from Abraham himself to Moses David and also in Islam with the prophet Muhammad. This image of, you know, the shepherd is sort of, it's inseparable from the divine. I mean, Christ just, you know, the, the shepherd of men that tends to his flock. It's just interesting that, you know, across all these different Abrahamic religions the idea of, of the shepherd was, you know, so pervasive. I wonder if just in the region that the, you know, that these ideas were kind of percolating if that was the most common job or if that was just something that people, you know, if it was useful for the metaphor. I don't know. That's an interesting, that's an interesting thing that, you know, I'm thinking about. So he's in the hills of Mecca, you know, tending to his, his flock. And those hills eventually become, you know, in a metaphorical sense, a teacher for Muhammad in a lot of different ways. I mean, long walks and silence gives him all sorts of time to kind of think. And it was there that he built this sort of calm and, you know, considerate temperament that would later help him, as we'll see, and, and away from the bustle of the Koresh market and its rising material, you know, ideas, he seemed to develop a quiet but sort of wise and almost soft spoken character. His temperament was gentle but firm, observant, but not withdrawn necessarily. And most importantly, he listened far more than he ever spoke. This wisdom earned him the nickname Al Amin the Trustworthy. Not for, you know, grand gestures, but because he simply never lied. In a society of, you know, complex alliances and rivalries and status games, he just had a simplicity about him that was, you know, almost unsettling to some people and earned him this, you know, respect from others. Even Gandhi described Muhammad's rigid simplicity as the reason for Islam's success and not necessarily the sword as many people have claimed. What's up, guys? We're gonna take a quick break because I have great news. Religion camp has merch. That's right. We have amazing T shirts like this one you see here. And this one we got hats. All sorts of very interesting designs. Not only for Christianity, the one I was raised in, but for all religions. Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism. I actually don't know if we have a Mormonism shirt, but maybe we can work on that if we, you know, Latter Day Saints trying to cop. Anyway, you can catch it all here at this link. We'll also have it in the description as well as the comments. Get that right now. And peace be with you. What's up, guys? We're gonna take a break really quick because you are a grown child, yes, you're a giant man child. And you just love stuff in your face. And all the sugary cereals you ate when you were a kid, when you're just a fat little 8 year old, you would sit down on your couch and you would just eat these, these sugary cereals. 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When it fell into disrepair. After flooding, the tribes of Mecca came together to try to rebuild it. But then came the question, who would have the honor of placing the sacred black stone back into its place? And this argument grows heated. People get pissed off. People, they're yelling at each other. Hands goes to swords. And now they're holding swords to each other. And it seems like they're going to kill each other. There's going to be absolute mayhem and violence at the Kaaba. Then someone suggests, let's wait for the next man to walk through the gates of the sanctuary and let's just let him decide. And that man was none other than the Prophet Muhammad. And given his reputation, as you know, Al Amin, the trustworthy, the tribes agreed to trust him. So Muhammad, in his sage wisdom, takes a cloak, spreads it on the ground and places the black stone at the center. Then he asked each of the tribal leaders to hold a corner of the cloth and together they lifted it. And once it reached the proper height, Muhammad placed the stone in position with his own hands. The crisis averted. It's now that all of the leaders of the region got to place the stone together. Pretty clever. So by his mid-20s, Muhammad was hired by a woman named Khadijah. This was a wealthy merchant to lead basically like a trading caravan. He returned not just with profit, but with so much integrity that she noticed and she actually proposed marriage and he accepted. She was older, established, wise, and he was steady, principled and calm. And they had a great sort of bond, you know, a well known and respected chapter in Islamic history. She believed in him before anyone else would. Together they built this quiet life. Children, business, a home. But something deeper stirred in the Prophet. The idols meant absolutely nothing. The rituals, hollow, the injustice around him really weighed on his spirit. So he began to climb away from Mecca into the hills, into the cave of Hira. There, in solitude, he searched. For what? He wasn't sure just yet. But it was there that one of the most significant turning points in human history unfolded, when silence broke into revelation and the Prophet Muhammad became a messenger God. So in the silence of the cave, this is ultimately shattered. It's no longer quiet and instead a presence fills the air and then a voice and then a figure appears before Muhammad. It is the angel Jabril, who, if you were, you know, raised Catholic or, you know, Protestant or anything like that, you may know the angel Gabriel, who infamously delivered the annunciation of Jesus's birth to Mary. The angel Jabril goes to Muhammad and says to him, iqra or read. And Muhammad responds, I'm not the one who reads. It is useful to note at this point that Muhammad was illiterate and the angel embraced him tightly and said, read. This happened three times and then the words came not from his own memory, not from his own voice, but carried through him basically in some divine revelation. Read, in the name of your Lord who created, created man. From a clot read and your Lord is the most generous who taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not. And what exactly is Muhammad reading? Well, the Arabic word iqra can mean to read or recite. The command was more about receiving and proclaiming the divine words, perhaps from the same small still voice that was revealed as God to the Prophet Elisha in the Book of Kings. The irony of Reid is that it adds to the miracle. It was unlikely that Muhammad was plagiarizing these words from existing scripture because he didn't know how to read in the first place, as anyone would do. Muhammad fled the cave in fear, with his heart racing, unsure if he was losing his mind or being burdened with too large a responsibility, if this even was true. He rushed down the mountain to Khadijah. She held him and comforted him. She didn't doubt him for a second. And she became the first believer of Islam. Then she took him to her cousin Waraka IBN Nafal. A Christian, Arabic ascetic. Waraka listened intently and confirmed what Muhammad feared and sort of hoped in kind of the same measure that he had encountered the same angel who had come to Moses or Musa in Islamic tradition, that this was a real revelation that he was some type of chosen messenger. And the words came to the Prophet Muhammad in many different forms, most famously through the angel Jibril, but also through dreams. And sometimes the revelations came down like a ringing of a bell, as described by Muhammad himself. Eventually, those around him would begin to write down these messages on parchment, leather, or even palm leaves. And today, those writings are compiled together in the Islamic holy book known as the Quran. The Islamic message had begun, and it would continue to unfold over a period of 23 years. And the command was clear. This message was not for the Prophet Muhammad alone. It was for all of humanity. But for the first three years, he kind of kept quiet about it, one conversation at a time, sort of talking to his friends, a pause between merchant dealings to bring up some of these ideas. And the first to follow him were the people closest to him. Khadijah, the first believer. Then Ali, his young cousin, barely in his teens at that point. Then Zayed, his adopted son, who was a former slave, and Abu Bakr, his closest friend. Each of them would go on to shape Islamic history. But in those early days, they were just a handful of believers, praying quietly, learning verses as they were revealed, and trying to make sense of this unfolding message. Much like the Christian apostles, they would meet in sort of, you know, like these secret homes before going out to spread their message, which would make sense if you consider that, you know, when revelations are given, these are usually followed by pushback from the existing order, right? Like the Pharaoh doubled the workload of the slaves after Moses revelation. The aftermath of Jesus's life led to centuries of Roman persecution for Christians. And, you know, the Mughal rulers often responded with violence when they felt threatened by the gurus of, you know, Sikhi. So the Prophet Muhammad was no exception to this pattern. His message was a challenge to Mecca's entire structure, right? The spiritual, economic and social norms of the day. And the Quraysh weren't just religiously invested in idol worship, they were financially dependent on it. Again, the Kaaba at this point, and again, it depends if you ask, you know, a Muslim or not, but the. The prevailing theory amongst, you know, many Muslims is that the Kaaba was originally, you know, this place that reflects in heaven, you know, the same sort of, you know, movement and worship. And it was built, you know, by Adam and then eventually by Abraham, and then it was sort of reclaimed by the Prophet, which we will get to. But before the Prophet reclaims it, it's being used for idol worship. There's all sorts of different pagans from all sorts of different places that all have their idols there. And the Quraysh are like, hey, let's just let everyone worship here and just charge them a little fee to come in. So pilgrims come from all across Arabia to honor their tribal gods. So you can imagine that they weren't too happy about this whole, you know, revelation thing, saying, like, hey, all your gods are BS and there's actually only one God. When the command finally came to proclaim the message openly, he climbed to Mount Safa and called out to the people, if I told you there was an army behind this hill, would you believe me? They said, yes, of course. After all, he was Al Amin the Trustworthy. Then he famously said, I am a warner to you of a severe punishment. And some kind of, like, laughed. Some people were confused, but most were sort of pissed off, to be honest, specifically, like the elites. Even his own uncle, Abu Lahab kind of made fun of him. He said, may you perish. Is this why you gathered us? From that moment, the opposition began. Quiet disbelief turned into this open mockery and hostility. But the hostility intensified and so did the revelations. I mean, verses continued to descend to the Prophet, sharper now, confronting the oppression, the arrogance, hoarding, the injustice of the region. And the words spoke of pharaohs and past nations brought down by their pride, and praised this patience and demanded honesty and condemned these practices such as killing and burying infant daughters alive. All of this stuff. It wasn't just this spiritual revival, it was a social and societal reform in that the early believers, many of them poor, enslaved outcasts, found this worth and this power and ultimately found one God. A well known story tells of one of the Abyssian slaves who had been beaten for refusing to return to idol worship after, you know, hearing the words of the Prophet and with stones crushing his chest, he keep repeating ahad, ahad, meaning one, one. And this was in a way, I mean, kind of literally theological warfare. The one monotheistic God versus many deities of many different clans. And it was a reaffirmation of the Abrahamic message. And at the center of it, Muhammad, right? Calm, reciting words from, you know, this realm that's, you know, only sort of available to him as the Prophet. And like many other religious visionaries, he was mocked and made fun of and maligned. And I mean, the Quraysh accused him of sorcery. I mean, they straight up were like, yo, this guy is like a wizard or something, right? But he continued to offer, you know, these words, words that would make, you know, the, the idols of Mecca, you know, fearful as well as the men who profited from them. So the opposition continues. Muhammad was mocked, insulted and stoned. One story actually goes that as he prayed near the Kaaba, someone dumped the entrails of a camel, literally like the guts of a camel on his back. And his daughter Fatima, still just a child, rushed to clean him. Muhammad remained calm in such situations, often, you know, showing forgiveness and kind of turning the other cheek rather than fighting back. Kind of a, almost a Christ like response is, you know, if you're growing up religious, growing up Catholic rather. And this revelation continued to descend. When persecution intensified, the words offered comfort. And when the Prophet was defamed, the Quran would defend him. Unable to silence his message, the Quraysh turned to collective punishment. The clans of Banu Hashim and Banu Al Mutalib, the Prophet's family were placed under this economic boycott. No one was allowed to trade with them, marry into their families, protect them, nothing. And this was basically disaster for the Prophet and everyone he knew. They were forced to retreat to a valley on the outskirts of Mecca and inevitably being ostracized from society, food becomes scarce and the cries of these, you know, hungry children that they had begins to, you know, echo through the night. And for three years they endured, held together by just this faith and this family loyalty and this resilience and eventually the boycott ended, but the damage had been done. It weakened their position immensely, especially for the, you know, the elderly. And the tragedy for Muhammad and his family didn't stop there. Soon after, in what would be known as the year of Sorrow, two of the Prophet's greatest supporters had passed away. His beloved wife, Khadijah, and his protective uncle, Abu Talib. One offered him this spiritual strength and the other this sort of, you know, political shield, in a way. And the loss was devastating for the Prophet. Right. And at this point, things seem kind of hopeless. Muhammad is in the midst of, you know, this Jobian tragedy, right? Like everything gets taken away from. He loses his parents, he can't read, he loses his wife, he loses his uncle, he loses his grandfather. I mean, it's just tragedy after tragedy. And in the depths of the loss and the grief, he experienced something unlike anything before, really. I mean, this famous journey that is miraculous in every way. So here's a story. What's up, people? Quick announcement. If you are a fan of Camp Gagnon or religion Camp, I have great news because we are dropping History Camp. That's right. This is the channel. We're going to be exploring the most interesting, fascinating, controversial topics from all time throughout all history. History. Right. You probably know about Benjamin Franklin, I don't know, Thomas Jefferson, Nikola Tesla. Interesting figures from history. And you probably learned about them in school and they were pretty boring. But not here. No. As you know, I was raised by a conspiracy theorist. So I'm going to be diving deep into all of the interesting strange, occult and secretive societal relationships that all of these famous, influential men from our shared past have. So if you're interested, please go ahead and subscribe to the YouTube channel. It will be pinned in the description as well as the comments. And if you're on Spotify, this doesn't really apply to you, but these episodes will be dropping as well. Just go ahead and give us a high rating because it really helps the show. All righty. Don't skip forward, guys, because I am on the road. World's fastest ad read coming at you. I'm going to be at Buffalo, Raleigh, Poughkeepsie, Portland, Oregon, Fort Worth, Texas, Austin, Texas, Stanford, Philly, Levittown, Chandler, Arizona, San Diego. I'm also going to be adding Toronto, Montreal, as well as Washington, D.C. and a bunch of other dates. You can get all that@the markagnon.com dates are in the description. Also in probably the comments of this episode. Go see me on the road. Come hang out. I'll be hanging out with everyone after the show. Come shake my hand, call me an idiot, whatever you want to do, I will be there. Additionally, I will be doing my one hour of standup comedy. I'm very proud of this hour. I'm really excited to share with you guys and it would mean the world if everyone could come on out. And what do you wear to a show on the road? That's a great question. You can go to Camp Goods co. That's right. We got merch, we got Camp Merch. We got hats, hoodies, T shirts. A lot of stuff is out of stock. Things have been selling like hotcakes. But we're going to be restocking everything in all the sizes so you can go there right now, get all the merch, get all the coolest clothing in the podcast game. We're going to be updating that site regularly. And if you come out to a show, I'd love to see you sporting some of the threads that we got up online. I'll see you guys there. Let's get back to the show. Craftsman days are here at Lowe's with big savings on the tools you need. Save $100 on the Craftsman V26 Tool Power Tool Combo Kit now at $199. No matter what the project is, Craftsman's high quality, high performance products empower you to build on. Stop by your nearest Lowe's store and check out the full line of Craftsman tools today. Valid through 618 while supplies last selection varies by location. Lonzo ball for buzzballs ready to go cocktails take 12. Buzz balls just dropped their biggest blue balls. Script says Biggie's blue balls Lonzo take 13. Blue balls just dropped their biggest buzz balls. Ugh. Let's try a vocal exercise. Buzz balls, Biggies. Blue balls. Buzz balls. Biggies. Blue balls. Big balls just drop. Get blue balls this season with Buzz Ball responsibly. Buzz balls available in Spirit, wine and malt 15 alcohol by volume Buzzballs LLC. Carrollton, Texas. One night as the Prophet was resting near the Kaaba, he was awoken by the angel Jabril and brought it's known in Islamic tradition as a Mount Al Baraq. If you don't know, this is basically almost like a horse, like mythical divine steed you could say. And here's a picture of it to give you context. And it was described as faster than any beast, glowing and unlike anything of this world. And with it, the Prophet traveled from Mecca to Jerusalem, a city he had never visited yet, which the Quran calls the farthest mosque this story is famously known as the Night Journey. There, at Al Masjid Al Aqsa, he led in prayer a congregation of prophets, Moses, Jesus, Abraham, and many others. It was a symbolic moment. The final prophet now among those who came before, connected not only in the spiritual sense, but literally in space and time, all in the same spot, all happening simultaneously. I mean, that's pretty crazy. That's one of the more wild elements of Islam that I never got told. The Night Journey. I mean, that's crazy. And it's a who's who of people involved. I mean, for real. I mean, that's. That's wild. It also gives a lot of context as to why Jerusalem for the Muslims is such an important place and why this mosque of Al Aqsa is so fundamental. You know, I think that. I'm sure there's probably more to it. Again, I don't know all the details, but even as you know, doing research on this, this makes so much more sense, this idea that literally this place was done as, you know, it was a point to prayer at this mosque with the other great prophets. I mean, just wild. But the story keeps going. Then came, you know, the ascent known as the Mirage. From Jerusalem, he was taken up through the heavens, and at each level, he met prophets of earlier nations. Adam, Idris, Joseph, Aaron, and others, until he finally stood before the divine. What exactly transpired there is not recorded in specific detail, but it was intimate, sacred, and immense. If you've ever wondered why Muslims pray five times a day, the story of the Mirage will tell us why. From this meeting with God, one key command was given to his people, prayer. Which is why it is such an integral part of the Muslim life today. Initially 50 prayers a day, it was eventually, through intercession and mercy, reduced to five. Yet with the reward of the original 50, the ritual that now structures the rhythm of Muslim life was born not from some sermon, but from this divine meeting with Allah itself. And again, it makes sense. What do I always say on this show? If you want to understand the people, you have to understand the God they worship. If you look at these Muslims, you're like, oh, you guys are praying all the time. What's that about? Here you go. The Prophet Muhammad, he ascends into heaven. When does he do that? Well, you got to go all the way back. You need to know the whole story. So what happens next? He's talking to Allah. Well, he returns. And when the Prophet returns, he described the journey. And as you would expect, many people scoffed. A trip from Mecca to Jerusalem and back in one night is impossible. At this point, it seems absurd, but Abu Bakr, when told he responded simply. If he said it, then it is true again, Al Amin. The situation in Mecca, however, is continuing to deteriorate. The Prophet begins to search for a place where the message could grow and where the community could be safe. So he went to Ta if, a town to the east, hoping that its leaders might offer refuge. Instead, they mocked him and set the street children upon him and basically beat him up. And so, bloodied and exhausted, he found shelter in a nearby garden. And there he prayed not for revenge, but. But for guidance. And it was in this moment of rejection that an unexpected audience listened. A group of jinn. Now, if you don't know what jinn are, I would highly recommend that you check out our episode on the Jinn. But in short, the Jinn are basically these, like, unseen beings, you know, some of which are sort of evil and, you know, acolytes of shaytan, but some of which, some of the jinn are actually Muslims themselves. And in this exact case, these Jinn who hear the Prophet's prayers later accept his message. Even when humans closed their ears, the other realms were listening. But the breakthrough came not from power or prestige, but from pilgrims from a place called Yathrib. There they heard the Prophet's recitations and they were moved. They were tired of the constant tribal warfare within their city, and this message of unity and justice struck a chord. The Quraysh realized the full scale of what was happening, and their grip on Mecca was basically going away. And if Muhammad established a base somewhere else, their power would then truly be threatened. So they decided to act. Not to imprison him, not to exile him, but to kill him. So a plan was hatched. Assassins drawn from each tribe would strike him together so that no one group would be blamed. But on the night of their plot, the Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr took refuge in the cave of Thar. To protect them, Allah caused a spider to spin a web across the cave's entrance and a dove to nest nearby. When the Koresh trackers arrived, they assumed that the cave was undisturbed. No one could have entered without breaking the web or disturbing the birds. So if there's a web and a bird there, there's obviously no one that just went into it. So they moved on, sparing the Prophet's life. Eventually, he made his way to Yathrib, a journey of several days across the desert. And in that city, the Prophet would not just find safety, he would find something Far more important, the foundation of a new society. And Yathrib would be known by a new name, Al Medinah, Al Munawvara, the radiant city. And Medina wasn't just a new home. It was a divided city in need of healing. So he built the Masjid alone, Nabawi, which you know, still stands today. It is a mosque that doubled as a school and a court and a gathering place. And then came the constitution of Medina, a bold social contract uniting Muslims, Jews and Christians under a single community known as, you know, a, an ummah in Arabic with shared rights and responsibilities, which was a groundbreaking step for this, you know, multi tribal society. But it wasn't, you know, completely hiccup free. You had the munafi kun, those who outwardly accepted Islam but worked against it. And these people sow division from within and outside. You have the Koresh who still wanted the Prophet silenced. Yet Medina grew not just in numbers, but in spirit into a disciplined and just and diverse community. But soon it would have to defend what it had become. Medina offered Muhammad refuge, but peace was short lived. The Quraysh saw the Prophet's growing influence as a threat and they understood that war was coming and it would test the faith and fortitude of the early Muslims. Something that sets the Prophet Muhammad apart from other religious visionaries is that he was a military leader as well as a spiritual one. American Bishop Reverend Bosworth Smith described the Prophet as head of the state as well as the church. He was a Caesar and a pope in one. And this is actually a fascinating aspect of the Prophet's life, right? He ruled over secular life as much as religious life. Think about, you know, the Christian stories of Jesus rejecting secular leadership and power. Such as the story of, you know, temptation in the desert where the devil offers him political power and he says no. Or when the Buddha was prophesied to either go down the path of becoming a spiritual leader or a king and he chose to be a spiritual leader. The Prophet was both. And so the first major clash occurs. This is known as Badir. This is the first major battle. This was a skirmish over a trade caravan that had escalated. The Muslims were outnumbered three to one, but yet they stood firm. And according to tradition, angels descended to aid them. Victory shocked the Arabian region. The Prophet had gone from exile to a leader that couldn't be ignored. But this glory didn't shield them from setbacks. At uhud, the Muslims initially held their own until archers disobeyed the Prophet's instructions and they left their post. The Quraysh counterattacked The Prophet was injured. Many companions were killed, including his uncle Hamza. It was a sobering moment. You know, basically this, this moment with Allah that indicated that victory was not necessarily guaranteed. The Quraish and their allies tried once more at the Battle of the Trench. Instead of facing them head on, the Muslims dug a massive trench around Medina, an unheard of tactic for the time. And the siege as it dragged on. And the attackers eventually gave up, worn down by the weather and the hunger and the fortitude of the Muslims in Medina. And these battles weren't just about survival. They redrew the map of power and spirituality in the region. The Prophet's leadership was no longer in question and the Muslims were no longer a persecuted minority, but instead a political force. In the sixth year after the migration from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra, the Prophet and over a thousand companions set out towards Mecca not for battle, but for pilgrimage. They brought no weapons beyond those common for travel. But the Quraysh stopped them. Just outside the city, tensions were high. A confrontation seemed inevitable. But the Prophet chose a different path. He chose to negotiate. The result was the Treaty of Hudaybaya. At first this seemed like a loss for the Muslims. They were to turn back without completing the pilgrimage. And it also seemed like the treaty had terms that appeared to favor the Quraysh. Many other Muslims were disappointed. But the Prophet saw beyond the one singular treaty. This specific treaty gave the Muslims something more valuable than this short term pride. It gave them time. Peace meant the chance to spread the message with that war. And it worked. In the months that followed, Islam grew faster than ever. And it didn't take long for the Quraysh to break the terms of the treaty when they attacked an allied tribe of the Muslims. And the Prophet had grounds to act. And this time he did. But instead of war, Mecca saw something else. The Prophet marched with a vast army of 10,000 toward Mecca. The Quraysh, now weakened and fractured, did not resist. Yet despite the fact that this could have been an easy win for the Muslims, the Prophet entered the city with hardly any bloodshed. There was no revenge, no forced conversions. Instead, he forgave many of the very people who had driven him out years earlier, he entered the Kaaba. He removed the idols, every one of them, and restored it as a sanctuary devoted to the worship of one God. Mecca had returned to its original purpose. So with Mecca restored and much of the, you know, Arabian region embracing Islam, the Prophet Muhammad's mission neared its basic earthly conclusion. But his message was far from over. In the 10th year of the Hijra, the Prophet set out for what would be his first and final pilgrimage since his return to Mecca. Over 100,000 Muslims joined him on the journey. At Arafat, he stood before the gathering and delivered his farewell sermon, a powerful summary of his teachings. He reminded the people of their shared humanity. Quote, all mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non Arab, nor does a non Arab over an Arab, except by piety and good action. He spoke of justice, of the sacredness of life and property, and the importance of treating women well. And he delivered a final charge. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example. If you follow these, you will never go astray. This example is known as the Sunnah. To Muslims. It represents the lived practice of the Prophet, his actions and words that serve as a practical guide for how to implement the teachings of the Quran in daily life. Muslims believe that the Quran is the divine message, but the Sunnah shows how that message was understood and applied by the Prophet himself. And together, the Quran and the Sunnah form the foundation of Islamic law and ethics, helping believers navigate everything from prayer and charity to justice and compassion. And a final verse was revealed in the farewell sermon. Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion. Some companions wept as they understood what that verse truly meant. Shortly after returning to Medina, the Prophet became ill. It began with a fever. And over the next few days his strength declined and he continued to lead prayers when he could, leaning on his companions for support. And in his final moments, he was in the apartment of his wife Aisha, his head resting on her lap. He looked towards the heavens and whispered, O Allah, the highest companion. And those were the final words the Prophet Muhammad spoke as he passed away in 632 AD. So if there were a Mount Rushmore, perhaps of the most influential individuals to ever live. I don't know if you can ignore the Prophet. Right. And I'm saying this as a Catholic, someone that didn't grow up Muslim at all. I just don't think you can look at the impact that this has had on the world. I mean, 150 million people named after him, 2 billion Muslims today. Islam continues to be one of the fastest growing religions in the world. And even just the life of Muhammad I find to be very interesting. Right. You know, of course there's going to be things that people point at as critiques and criticisms. That is not the purpose of this channel. I'm here to look at all the beautiful Fascinating things that I think unite religions across the world. And this idea that he goes into the, you know, into Mecca and doesn't kill all the Quraysh and doesn't force them to convert I think is a good sign for, you know, Muslims, you know, that. That I know, right? Like, most of the Muslims I know are kind and peaceful people. And sure, there's radicals all over the world, but I think most of the Muslims that you might meet at your grocery store probably detest that. And they denounce it in the way that, you know, Christians, you know, denounce Christian radicalism, etc. So I don't know if you can really even look at the Prophet's life and be like, yo, this guy is not impactful, right? And throughout his life, the Quran had been recited, memorized and written on parchment stone, whatever was around. And after his passing, fearing that those who knew it by heart would die in battle, the companions around him compiled it into a single text. It was not the Prophet's authorship. Remember, he was illiterate. He had never written a book. It was, as the Muslims believe, a direct revelation from Allah that he received word for word over 23 years. And today, billions across the world recite those same words in the same language, unchanged from that very time after his death. Some have even devoted their entire lives to memorizing the words known as hafiz if you're a man, or hafiza if you're a woman. The fact that you have never seen an image of the Prophet Muhammad is in keeping with his message that at the heart of Islam there is only one God. I think it's actually an interesting point, right, because the Prophet Muhammad becomes united with Jesus in Jerusalem during this sort of this night ride, right? And it's just interesting to me seeing kind of the overlap that Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet of Allah, that then Christians sort of ignorantly or falsely worship, that they actually are supposed to worship God, but instead they accidentally worship Christ, which is just a mistake. And, you know, I wonder if Jews, in a similar way, they go, oh, you guys are so close. We have Hashem, but instead you just worshiped the guy that was preaching Hashem's word. You worshiped the rabbi. You made a mistake. And in that regard, you can see Muhammad's prudence to say, hey, don't put any images of me, because it's not about me. I'm not one to be worshiped. I've seen when people worship the Prophet and not Allah himself. So don't put up Any images of me, I don't want to be worshiped, only worship the one true God. And this is a foundational tenet of Islam, this idea of Tawid, which is, you know, the monotheism, which is arguably the borderline, the most important tenet of Islam is that there is one God. And by understanding the history of where, you know, the Muslims came from this moment at the Kaaba when there's, you know, pagan idols all over the place. The purpose of that conquest was to restore Tawid monotheism to the region. So you can understand why it's such a, you know, presiding force by, you know, of the faith. And so the Prophet chooses to not have any images of him that exist, despite his importance. Of course, you know, Muslims believe that he was a human messenger of God and depicting him with, you know, images or statues could again run the risk of turning into idol worship that he fought so hard against. The Indian philosopher Ramakrishna Rao shows us, you know, dramatic set of scenes that make up Muhammad's life as he described all the different roles that he fulfilled. So you have, you know, Muhammad the Prophet, then you have Muhammad the warrior, Muhammad the businessman, the statesman, the orator, the reformer, the refuge of orphans, the protector of slaves, the emancipator of women, the judge and the saint. There's one other title that Muslims will be familiar with, and that is the seal of the prophets. As he is the last of God's messengers, whatever you choose to call him, his influence is felt in the global force that is Islam. So there you have it. That is the life of the Prophet. And I don't know, I'm always moved. When you kind of go to the source material of any faith, you're kind of like, man, this makes a lot of sense. I always think about the quote that Gandhi said or Gandhi said. He says, I, I love your Christ, but I just don't know about the Christians. This is his perspective on, you know, Christianity. He says, you know, I love the teachings of Christ, but, you know, it's the, it's the people that mess it up. And I think that's true for any faith, right? You get to the source material and you're like, oh, wow, this is actually really kind of profound. And most of the bad feelings I feel like that people have about different religions is typically about the people that they encounter and the human brokenness that kind of warps or distorts any type of faith and not the actual source material in it of itself. So, you know, people can bag on Christianity all you want, but you look at the, look at the Bible and read the words of Christ and the Gospel and you go, oh, this is pretty good. And you can, you know, pick on Islam if you want to, but read the Quran and you look at it and you go, oh, wow, this is actually pretty remarkable. This guy would go into, you know, he would go into Mecca, not spare any blood, almost no bloodshed, and return the Kaaba to its original purpose. And I think, furthermore, I think this is often neglected in looking at the Prophet's life, that he had a love for what he called the people of the book. And that's not only Muslims, that's Christians and Jews, all the people of Abrahamic faith. And he had this compassion toward other pagan faiths in general, right? Like it wasn't all this forced conversion and the sword. And in my opinion, this is often a neglected point of Islam that I think is worth pointing out that most of the Muslims that I know are kind and compassionate and have a desire to, you know, convert right. Rationally because they believe that they're following the one true faith. And I think that's worth celebrating. So all that to say, if you have any comments or ideas or thoughts in hearing the life of the Muhammad, I'd love to hear them. If you're Muslim, tell me, did I miss anything? Did I get anything wrong? If you're not Muslim, what did you think? Did you see overlap or connection with your own faith background? And once again, thank you so much for joining me in my tent. I do this every Sunday and I would love for you guys to join me once again. Peace be with you. Until next time. Goodbye. If you've made it to the end of this episode, you are clearly someone who understands that beneath every historical event lies lies a deeper truth waiting to be uncovered. You're the type of person who knows that real history is more fascinating than any fiction, and we deeply appreciate that about you. I'll be honest, that's exactly why I personally invite you to sign up for Today in History, our free newsletter that goes beyond the surface of historical events. We dive into the stories that textbooks never told you, the secrets that challenge the course of nations, and the forgotten tales of that deserve to be remembered. Let's continue this journey of discovery together. Take the conversation from your headphones into your inbox. 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