Accomplishments of Prophet Mohammed - Essay Example

Prophet Mohammed. Mohammed is famous among the Muslim society as a prophet of God. He is known to set the standard of living for all true practicing Muslims. His birthplace was Mecca, which was a small town in Arabia. He was brought up from a humble background, as his family was not wealthy. After the death of his parents, his grandfather took him in at the age of six. Some two years later, an Uncle Abu Talib who paid him to look after his livestock adopted him. Mohammed was raised with a religious background owing to the fact that his grandfather was the custodian of the temple. Many are the times that the grandfather was escorted by Mohammed on official duties in the temple. The lonely life of a Sheppard that Mohammed led to the nurturing of the skills required in leading the life of a prophet. In addition, the environment in his early life provided him with the skill set fit to lead and guide people. The reason as to why Mohammed took on prophecy is a blur but at the time, the town of Mecca was filled with many nomadic. These tribes were rivals with each other and they had their own gods and beliefs. This religious diversity at the time was the root of all enmity. At forty years old, Mohammed aspired to become a reformer and hence assumed leadership of a secret society. This organizations goal was to ensure unity in terms of religion and politics among the Arabs. He had come to the realization that with unity comes power. After seeking insight from the Jews and Christians, Mohammed determined that one supreme God was key to achieving his goal of unity among the Arabs. After conviction of his call to prophesy, this secret society with its own rules whereby they prayed to one supreme God grew exponentially and is otherwise known as Islam (Margoliouth 86). Mohammed as a prophet had a lot of accomplishments in his time. Hence, he is perceived as one of the greatest people in the Muslim community. He is the founder of the Islamic religion. At a time when there were numerous religious groups each having their own gods among the Arabic people, Mohammed was able to unite the Arabs by forming a secret society. This secret society later became publicized and became the Islamic community. Islam spread out exponentially throughout Mecca whereby they spread the ideology of worshipping and praying to one supreme God. Islam has become a way of life in our society among the Muslim community. It has lead to the peaceful coexistence of people due. This is because Islam gives an individual a sense of inner peace, which results to one having peace of mind. The Islamic religion preaches the need to have peaceful relation people of different ethnicities and religious backgrounds. This, as a result, promotes world peace. Islam is also seen to promote peace between an individual and his creator. This paves way for having a blessed life free from sin. Islamic religion is also important because it advocates for submission to God’s will. Submitting to God’s will translate to submitting to God, which is the reason to the founding of the Islamic religion. The Islamic religion and culture supports the union in marriage between Muslims in the society. It is God’s will that man and woman join together in the bond of marriage; the Islamic religion is seen to fulfill this will of God by supporting marriage. It also provides guidance to married couples, which promote long lasting relationships. Above all traits, Islam has promoted unity among people. This unity has come to realization as a result of Islam spreading the message of peace throughout. This has paid off owing to the fact that Islam has spread widely to all corners of the world. Hence, Muslims have been able to coexist peacefully with other religious groups promoting world peace (murata and Chittick 125). Mohammed had become the leader of a vast community; Islam looked up to him for guidance. With Islam becoming a religion that spread vastly throughout the world, there arose the need to create a distinguished place whereby the Islamic community could pray and worship. The very first mosque was established at a place called Medinah. It was in this mosque that Mohammed performed his duties as a priest. It was in this first mosque that Mohammed abolished many Jewish practices. Instead of praying facing Jerusalem, the Islamic people prayed facing Mecca. As a result, Mohammed liberated his followers from falling victims of copying religious practices belonging to other religions and established their own. It was in these mosques that Mohammed became the messenger of God to the Arab people hence becoming God’s mouthpiece. The mosque is nowadays the most important institution within the Islamic society. It is the centre of all affairs concerning Muslims. The mosques main agenda is correcting minds, which in turn makes the beliefs as well as the actions of all Muslims inclined to one purpose; praising Allah. Consequently, mosques have acted as a place whereby Muslims in the community seek guidance teaching both the old and the younger generations. The Muslim community visits the mosque frequently. It takes Muslims two to five visits at the mosque in a day. Apart from the work place and home, the mosque is the most frequently visited and is place in priority by Muslims compared to other tasks. It is in these mosques that the bonds with the creator are reinforced and confirmation of the Islamic spirituality. Apart from acting as a place of worship, the mosque is seen to act as an educational facility. It is in the mosque that members of the Islam community are able to learn the teachings of the prophet Mohammed and learn how to read and use the Quran. To read the Quran, one should clearly understand the Arabic language in which the book is written in. also to understand the teachings this book, one must take visits in this place of worship. The Quran defines and stipulates the Islamic way of life (Nasr 30). Islamic religion paved way for the existence of the Quran. In the Islamic religion, the Quran is considered to be a holy book containing God’s revelation to the prophet Mohammed. The Quran, therefore, acts as a guide for Muslims in worshipping God and coexisting peacefully in a harmonious manner with other religions and cultures. The Quran stipulates clearly on the importance of leading a morally upright life. Muslims and non-Muslim individuals benefit from its scripture on how to live a morally upright life. As a result, good relations are noticeable for those living up to the standards set in the Quran. The Quran also acted as a guide during offering procedures to be followed in rituals and the worship of God. This included things like fasting and pilgrimage. The Quran contains rules governing marriage and divorce. The Muslim community reflects other communities in terms of common human practices such as marriage. The Quran Clearly states protocols to be followed in the event of marriage or separation of married couples. The Quran goes further to define the process and stages to be undertaken in during inheritance. This minimized the chances of squabbles resulting from inheritance of wealth hence promoting unity among family members. Brothers and sisters rarely turned against each other. The Quran is the last entity that reveals Gods scriptures. It is responsible for teaching all the early scriptures that were revealed by God. Hence, the Quran acts as a manual for leading an Islamic way of life. The Quran is also seen to cater for non-believers of the Islamic religion. It teaches morals to these non-believers on how to lead a positive life by abiding by the commands of the God. Procedures of conversion to Islam are also constituted in the Quran. Prophets use this book to run mosques, which are the places of worship, and to offer guidance. Rules on how to conduct all Islamic ceremonies are clearly stated hence exercising the Islamic religion does not come off as challenging (Andrae 34). The prophet Mohammed led to the establishment of Ramadan. The Ramadan festival takes approximately one month. In this month, Muslims throughout the world come together in a prayerful mood in a bid to come close to God. Many are the times when these Muslims visit the mosques to listen to the recitation of the Quran. A common practice associated with this month is fasting. In the daytime, there is the abstinence from food and physical requirements. At this time, all efforts are geared towards self-sacrifice and focusing attention to God in prayer. During this month of Ramadan, Muslims conduct a self-evaluation of their lives and consider changes to lead life as a proper Muslim. In fasting, Muslims get to know how difficult it is to live on very little food. This results with the affluent and wealthy people in the community sharing with the less fortunate. Hence, this will translates to unity among the Islamic community, as social barriers within the Muslim community will be eradicated. Muslims have the belief that prayers made during the month of Ramadan helps them connect with their inner selves. This is due to the fact that fasting enables the praying parties to focus better by freeing the mind of distractions. Fasting also comes as a sacrifice hence the prayers made have a sense of meaning (Cheema 10). The Ramadan festival teaches Muslims to be grateful to God for their achievements and happiness in the lives they lead. In the Muslim culture, God is the provider of everything that life has to offer. Hence, it is in order to constantly thank Him through prayer and worshipping Him constantly. During Ramadan, it is the belief of Muslims that charitable giving develops a sense of generosity and goodwill. These aids in the building of the character among the Muslims at large, whereby vices such as greed are diminished and removed from the Islamic culture. Ramadan is also seen to help strengthen the bond between family members. Families gather in participation, in the month of Ramadan whereby family members get the chance to interact with one another. Inter family bonds are also strengthened which results to the Islamic culture being perceived as a family (Eaton 61). The prophet Mohammed was responsible for the spread of the Islam culture. Due to his shared ideologies that were easy to relate to, the numbers of the Islamic community increased every day. This was mostly due to good leadership skills exhibited by Mohammed; hence, the members of the community favored this new religion and way of life. At that time, Mohammed took on duties of becoming the prophet and the priest. Hence, being in leadership helped in the realization of his ambitions and goals envisioned for the Islamic culture. It was at a later date that Prophet Mohammed became the mouthpiece of God to the people. The establishment of the first mosque in Medinah resulted in the spread of the Islam culture. This is due to the fact that increasing population in the mosque resulted in the building of more mosques. With mosques being the places of worship for the Islamic community whereby Islamic sentiments are exchanged, the spreading of the Islamic culture became inevitable. Mohammed in his world conquest sent representatives all over the world to spread the word of Islam. He sent his representatives with letters bearing a message that clearly stated that he was Mohammed, the prophet of God. He insisted that the concerned parties should embrace Islam as a religion. This resulted in Islam culture gaining mileage and hence facilitating its spread throughout the world. Islamic culture has become a religion to reckon with in the world today. In at least every corner of the world, there is a mosque present, which signifies the presence of Islam religion and culture. This is as a result of the efforts put forth by Mohammed who is believed to have inspired the Islamic culture and religion (Nursi 45). The rise of the Islamic religion and culture saw the end of idol worship among majority of the Arabs. Mohammed eliminated all the elements of idol worship in the city if Kabba. These idol worshippers practiced inhumane acts whereby they offered human sacrifices during their religious functions. Mohammed was against the spilling of human blood in the name of idol worship. At the time, Mohammed was wielding a lot of power and hence he had the influence on matters concerning idol worship. It was in his time that Mohammed curbed idol worship among the Arabic community thus resulting to the spread of the Islamic religion (murata and Chittick 45). The prophet Mohammed was skilled in warfare. This is evident in the battle of Badr whereby Mohammed emerged victorious considering that the odds were against him. A thousand men were set to fight off three hundred Muslims. Under the prophet Mohammed, the Muslims portrayed good tactic and skill in the battlefield. This, as a consequence, resulted in the Mecca’s one thousand strong soldiers losing the battle to three hundred Muslims. The Meccans were inexperienced in the battlefield, and as a result of poor organization, Mecca lost to the Muslims. Because of this conquest, neighboring Arab communities sought to become allies with the Muslims resulting from his military strength. This accelerated the spread of Islam among the neighboring Arab communities. Mecca since then has become a strong hold of Islam and the Islamic religion, Mecca is a town of significance since Muslims pray facing its direction (Akhtar 2). The prophet Mohammed was a man who considered women a required entity in the bringing up of a family. As a family man, he confided in his wife constantly on pressing matters relating to his goal of establishing the Islamic religion. Hence, as a result, Mohammed in his time set up laws that focused on women. It is evident that Mohammed held high regard for his wife even after her death. He was faithful to her in the time of their marriage and held her memory with high regard. From this, it is evident that Mohammed had respect for the women especially those in his life (Ali 234). In conclusion, before his death, Mohammed led an expedition which was directed the Romans. Mecca became his pilgrimage town hence, throughout the world Muslims pray facing the direction of the town Mecca. In these last times, he emphasized on the removal of social barriers. He continued to say that all men are equal; hence, the rich man is no better than the poor man is. In this understanding, good relations among members of the Islamic community will be evident. He continued to say that, in the eyes of God, all men are equal. Islamic religion has become one of the largely practiced religions in the world. It is practiced in almost all corners of the world and is still growing. Prophet Mohammed’s diligence and persistence resulted in the rise of Islam and the Islamic culture. Works sited Ali, Maulana Muhammad. The Living Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad. eBookIt.com, 2011. Print. Akhtar, Syed H. "Prophet Muhammad." (n.d.): 1-6. http://www.islamquery.com/documents/prophet-muhammad.pdf Andrae, Tor. Mohammed, the man and his faith. New York: Harper, 1960. Print. Cheema, Maulana M. A. "THE HOLY PROPHET MUHAMMAD." (n.d.): 1-33. www.alislam.org/.../the_holy_prophet_muhammad.pdf Eaton, Gai. Islam and the Destiny of Man. New York: SUNY, 1985. Print. Margoliouth, David. Mohammed and the rise of Islam. New York: Putnam, 1905. Print. Miles, George Henry. Mohammed, the Arabian prophet A tragedy, in five acts. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & company, 1850. Print. Murata, sachiko and William C. Chittick. The vision of islam. New York: I.B.Tauris, 1994. Print. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam. United Kingdom: Islamic Texts Society, 2001. Print. Nursi, Bediuzzaman Said. Prophet Muhammad and His Miracles. New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2006. Print. Read More