silent knight

AKU SUKA HIDUP SEDERHANA

2009-03-18T00:03:00.000-07:00

Wilfred Hoffman, bekas duta Jerman di Algeria dan Moroko bercerita bahawa isterinya merasa malu setiap kali menghadiri majlis di kalangan diplomat atau pegawai di kedua negara itu. Sebabnya, isteri En. Hoffman tidak memiliki barang kemas dan baju gemerlapan, mahal dan mewah seperti yang biasa dipakai oleh isteri-isteri diplomat negara-negara Arab.

Beliau duta negara maju, gajinya tentu besar. Tetapi kenapa beliau memilih untuk hidup sederhana? Adakah beliau tidak mempunyai duit untuk menyenangkan isterinya?

Jawapannya jelas, tidak. Beliau hidup sederhana bukan kerana tidak mempunyai duit, tetapi kerana beliau memang sengaja memilih untuk hidup sederhana. Jadi hidup sederhana sebagai pilihan yang membanggakan, dan bukan sebagai keterpaksaan.

Mereka bangga dengan kesederhanaan itu. Ramai di kalangan tokoh-tokoh dan usahawan di negara-negara maju memilih hidup sederhana kerana merasakan hidup lebih bermanfaat dan bermakna.

Lebihan pendapatan mereka disalurkan kepada yayasan pemberi biasiswa, untuk orang-orang miskin di negara-negara berkembang, untuk berbagai kajian dan lain-lain.

Salah satu contoh yang paling terkenal ialah Albert Nobel. Inventor dan pemilik lebih dari 300 hak cipta berbagai penemuan teknologi baru. Beliau telah mendermakan seluruh harta kekayaannya untuk Nobel Foundation.Albert Nobel telah meninggal dunia puluhan tahun tetapi namanya selalu dikenang di seluruh dunia hingga sekarang. Kuncinya kerana beliau memilih untuk hidup sederhana.

Akhirnya En. Hoffman dan isterinya telah masuk Islam kerana terpikat dengan ajaran-ajaran Islam pada tahun 1980. Ketahui lebih lanjut tentang En. Hoffman di
http://www.islamicvoice.com

Tulisan ini bukan untuk menyuruh pembaca hidup miskin. Kita harus bekerja keras untuk menambah pendapatan dan apabila kita sudah kaya, janganlah mudah tertipu dengan nikmat dunia yang sudah pasti hanyalah sementara.

NILAI KASIH AYAH..

2009-03-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Seorang anak mendapatkan ayahnya yang baru balik dari kerja, lalu menghulurkan sekeping kertas yang bertulis sesuatu. Si ayah segera menanggalkan kasut dan menyambut kertas yang dihulurkan oleh si anak lalu membacanya.

Kos upah membantu ayah:

Tolong pergi kedai: RM 5.00

Tolong urut kaki: RM 7.00

Tolong gilap kasut: Rm 4.00

Tolong buat air: RM 3.00

Jumlah: RM19.00

Selepas membaca, si ayah tersenyum memandang si anak sambil sesuatu berlegar-legar di mindanya. Si ayah mencapai sebatang pen dan menulis sesuatu di belakang kertas yang sama.

Kos membesarkanmu selama 8 tahun- Percuma

Kos membeli susu untukmu selama 8 tahun-Percuma

Kos membeli pakaian dan keperluanmu selama 8 tahun- percuma

Kos memberimu makan dan minum selama 8 tahun - Percuma

Kos menghantarmu ke sekolah _ Percuma

Kos kerunsingan kerana bimbangkanmu- Percuma

Jumlah keseluruhan nilai kasihku - Percuma

Air mata si anak jatuh setelah membaca apa yang dituliskan oleh si ayah. Si anak menatap wajah ayahnya, memeluknya dan berkata "saya sayangkan ayah" Kemudian si anak mengambil pen dan menulis 'Telah Dibayar' pada muka surat yang ditulisnya..

ANDA INSAN YANG MANA SATU?

2009-03-15T00:41:00.000-07:00

Insan berfikiran tinggi
gemar berkata tentang ILMU...

Insan berfikiran sederhana
gemar berkata tentang PERISTIWA...

Insan berfikiran rendah
gemar berkata tentang INSAN LAIN...

Insan berfikiran cetek
gemar berkata tentang KEHEBATAN DIRI SENDIRI...

Pilihan terletak pada tangan anda untuk menjadi insan yang mana satu???

TEMPAYAN YANG RETAK

2009-03-13T00:36:00.000-07:00

Berikut ini adalah cerita bijak dari Cina, sebagai bahan renungan

Seorang ibu di Cina yang sudah tua memiliki dua buah tempayan yang digunakan untuk mencari air, yang dipikul di pundaknya dengan menggunakan sebatang buluh.

Salah satu dari tempayan itu retak, sedangkan yang satunya tanpa cela dan selalu memuat air hingga penuh.

Setibanya di rumah setelah menempuh perjalanan panjang dari sungai, air di tempayan yang retak tinggal separuh.

Selama dua tahun hal ini berlangsung setiap hari, dimana ibu itu membawa pulang air hanya satu setengah tempayan.

Tentunya si tempayan yang utuh sangat bangga akan pencapaiannya.

Namun tempayan yang retak merasa malu akan kekurangannya dan sedih sebab hanya bisa memenuhi setengah dari kewajibannya.

Setelah 2 tahun yang dianggapnya sebagai kegagalan, akhirnya dia berbicara kepada ibu tua itu di dekat sungai.

"Aku malu, sebab air bocor melalui bahagian tubuhku yang retak di sepanjang jalan menuju ke rumahmu."

Ibu itu tersenyum, "Tidakkah kau lihat bunga beraneka warna di laluan yang kau lalui, namun tidak ada di laluan yang satunya?

Aku sudah tahu kekuranganmu, jadi aku menabur benih bunga di laluanmu dan setiap hari dalam perjalanan pulang kau menyirami benih-benih itu.

Selama dua tahun aku bisa memetik bunga-bunga cantik untuk menghias meja.

Kalau kau tidak seperti itu, maka rumah ini tidak berseri seperti ini sebab tidak ada bunga."

Kita semua adalah tempayan yang retak, mempunyai kekurangan masing-masing …

Namun keretakan dan kekurangan itulah yang menjadikan hidup kita bersama menyenangkan dan saling melengkapi di antara satu sama lain..

Allah swt menggunakan kekurangan kita untuk tujuan yang tertentu.Di sisi Allah swt, tiada seorang insan pun yang disia-siakan.Jangan takut akan kekurangan kita..Kenalilah kelemahan kita dan kita adalah keindahan karya sang Maha Pencipta Allah SWT..

Dalam kelemahan kita, di situ juga terdapatnya kekuatan diri kita.

MAINAN KANAK-KANAK TIDAK MENARIK SYAITAN

2009-03-11T22:37:00.000-07:00

Menurut buku Muhammad Isa Dawud, Dialog Dengan Jin Islam, mainan kanak-kanak seperti teddy bear dan baby doll tidak menarik kedatangan syaitan.

A'isyah r.a pernah bermain-main dengan mainan seperti itu, dan nabi Muhammad saw tidak melarangnya.

Al-Bukhari dan Muslim meriwayatkan bahawa Umm Al-Mu'minin A'isyah berkata,"Aku bermain-main dengan boneka di samping Rasulullah saw, dan di saat itu ada beberapa kawan yang menemaniku. Mereka takut kepada Rasulullah saw, dan bersembunyi. Padahal Rasulullah saw sangat suka bila mereka menemaniku dan bermain denganku.

Jin dan syaitan boleh melihat cahaya yang dikeluarkan oleh patung-patung dan gambar-gambar makhluk bernyawa, tetapi menurut Jin Islam sahabat Muhammad Isa Dawud, mainan kanak-kanak berupa patung menyinarkan cahaya yang agak kurang kerana berada di tangan kanak-kanak. Pengaruh mereka membuatkan cahaya mainan itu mengecil.

Jin Islam memberitahu tentang adanya magnetisme yang muncul kerana adanya patung-patung yang boleh menarik kedatangan syaitan-syaitan. Ia betul-betul magnet dalam erti sesungguhnya. Bahkan syaitan-syaitan itu menyedut-nyedutnya sebagaimana manusia menghisap suatu bauan yang harum. Syaitan-syaitan itu boleh melihatnya dari jauh, sebab patung-patung tersebut memiliki pantulan cahaya atau wap yang tidak boleh dilihat oleh mata kasar manusia.

Ilmu pengetahuan moden telah membuktikan adanya cahaya magnetik pada setiap benda basah, atau benda mengalir, atau gambar yang bersifat cahaya, baik yang boleh dilihat manusia atau pun tidak.

LARANGAN MENYIMPAN PATUNG DAN GAMBAR MAKHLUK BERNYAWA

2009-03-11T05:54:00.000-07:00

Setelah saya membaca buku tulisan Muhammad Isa Dawud, Dialog Dengan Jin Islam, saya telah menurunkan semua gambar2 dalam frame yang tergantung di rumah saya. Kemudian saya gantikan dengan gambar2 kereta , gambar bungaan dan juga gambar Makkah. Semoga saya sekeluarga dapat pergi ke sana suatu hari nanti.

Di antara isi kandungan buku tersebut adalah seperti berikut:

Dalam pertemuan pertama saya dengan jin Islam sahabat saya, dia berjalan ke sana ke mari, sambil menatap ke arah langit-langit saat menyampaikan salam.Tiba-tiba dia melihat tempat pensel itu dan dengan sungguh2 dia mengatakan.

Jin Islam: ambillah pisau, dan potonglah segera kepalanya. Atau buatlah kepalanya demikian rupa sehingga tidak lagi menyerupai kepala patung.

sesudah berkata demikian, ia berkata keras seakan-akan mengusir sesuatu.

' ayuh, ayuh, keluar dari sana'

muhammad Isa dawud" mengapa engkau berkata begitu?

Jin Islam: aku melihat syaitan bertenggek di kepala tempat pensel ini.

kemudian, kami menutupi kepala gambar itu dan syaitan itu pun menyingkir darinya.

Jin Islam sahabat saya itu kemudian mengatakan, Muhammad saw mengatakan , (maksudnya) "orang yang paling hebat seksanya di hari kiamat ialah orang-orang yang melukis gambar-gambar (seperti ini).<>

Nabi juga mengatakan , "Malaikat tidak mahu masuk ke dalam rumah yang di situ terdapat patung ( atau gambar-gambar)."

Muhammad Isa Dawud: kalau foto, bagaimana?

Jin islam: sama saja.Ia menarik syaitan untuk datang. oleh itu, jangan engkau tempelkan di dinding dan jangan pula engkau letakkan secara terbuka. Kalau ia merupakan gambar di majalah atau buku ,maka balikkanlah, sehingga gambarnya tidak terlihat.

Pakej RM60 bilion @ bajet mini 2009

2009-03-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

sumber: utusan online

KUALA LUMPUR 10 Mac – Melebihi jangkaan! Kerajaan hari ini mengumumkan pakej rangsangan tambahan berjumlah RM60 bilion – suntikan yang dijangka mampu memulihkan ekonomi negara yang lembap kesan kemelesetan global dan pada masa sama, memastikan kesejahteraan rakyat.

Pakej yang diumumkan oleh Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak itu lebih sekali ganda daripada sekurang-kurangnya RM30 bilion atau 30 peratus daripada Bajet 2009 yang diharap-harapkan oleh pelbagai pihak termasuk penganalisis ekonomi.
Bajet Mini yang dibahagikan kepada empat teras itu akan dilaksanakan dalam tempoh dua tahun iaitu 2009 dan 2010.

- Teras pertama sebanyak RM2 bilion akan memberi tumpuan mengurangkan pengangguran dan menambah peluang pekerjaan;

- Teras kedua, RM10 bilion untuk meringankan beban rakyat terutamanya golongan mudah terjejas;

- Teras ketiga, RM29 bilion untuk membantu sektor swasta menghadapi krisis dan

- Teras keempat, RM19 bilion untuk membina keupayaan masa depan

Memandangkan senario ekonomi global yang meruncing, Najib berkata, Pakej Rangsangan Kedua ini perlu bersifat lebih komprehensif dan bersaiz besar yang menjangkau lebih banyak sektor ekonomi dan kumpulan sasaran.

Ini termasuk pekerja, pengguna, pelabur, peniaga kecil dan sederhana, pengeksport dan graduan menganggur.

komen : bajet mini kali ini amat baik sekali. nampaknya pemimpin telah melakukan usaha yang serius untuk membantu rakyat dalam krisis ekonomi yang meruncing pada masa sekarang.

apa yang saya harapkan ialah sikap tanggungjawab badan-badan pelaksana yang ditugaskan oleh kerajaan agar bantuan betul2 sampai ke tangan rakyat.

KEPERIBADIAN NABI MUHAMMAD SAW

2009-03-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Baginda sering berkata benar sehingga digelar al-Amin kerana sikapnya itu.

Bersikap amanah sehingga Khadijah sanggup menyerahkan modal untuk baginda menjalankan perniagaan.

Baginda menjalankan perniagaan secara jujur dan layanan baik kepada pelanggannya.

Mampu memimpin kerana meletakkan semula Hajar Aswad di tempat sepatutnya.

Ketua keluarga yang pengasih dan bertimbang rasa kepada anak-anak dan isteri baginda.

Baginda mengamalkan cara hidup yang sederhana.

Baginda merendah diri dan bergaul dengan semua lapisan masyarakat.

Baginda sering berfikir dan prihatin terhadap kehidupan masyarakat zamannya yang penuh tidak bermoral.

MAKSUD GELARAN UMMI YANG SEBENARNYA PADA DIRI NABI MUHAMMAD SAW…

2009-03-08T00:31:00.000-08:00

Saya ingin membawa pelayar internet berfikir akan maksud ummi yang sebenarnya iaitu gelaran yang diberikan kepada junjungan besar Nabi kita , Nabi Muhammad SAW. Apa pendapat anda ? Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan Ummi itu ? Sesetengah daripada kita beranggapan gelaran ummi pada Rasulullah SAW itu bermaksud orang yang tidak tahu menulis dan membaca. Benarkah gelaran ummi itu dimaksudkan dengan orang yang tidak tahu menulis dan membaca ? Apa fikiran anda ?

Perkataan “tidak tahu” pada ayat tersebut sebenarnya telah merendahkan sifat kebijaksanan Rasulullah SAW. Sehinggan orang kafir mempertikaikan kebijaksanaan Nabi Muhammad SAW, Rasul yang amat kita kasihi. Orang kafir berpendapat, bahawa orang yang bijaksana mestilah tahu menulis dan membaca kerana itu adalah cara atau kaedah untuk mencari ilmu pengetahuan.

Saya ingin menceritakan satu kisah berkenaan dengan seorang ustaz yang sangat mencintai Rasulullah. Ustaz ini mengambil PHD dan beliau yelah membuat kajian tentang UMMI iaitu sifat yang ada pada Rasulullah SAW. Sejak kecil hingga dewasa, ustaz ini hanya mengetahui maksud ummi pada Rasulullah itu sebagai orang yang tidak tahu menulis dan membaca.

Beliau telah berjumpa dengan ramai professordan melawat banyak perpustakaan universiti di negara-negara Arab tetapi jawapan yang ditemui tetap juga sama. Beliau berasa sedih kerana sejak kecil beliau tidak berpuas hati dengan jawapan ini. Beliau sangat mencintai Rasulullah dan tidak sanggup mendengar penghinaan orang kafir terhadap junjungan besar Nabi kita.

Kunjungan terakhirnya ialah di Makkah Al- Munawwarah. Selepas bersolat dan berdoa di hadapan Ka’bah, beliau melihat seorang tua senyum kepadanya. Ustaz ini dating kepada orang tua itu dan berbual-bual. Akhirnya soalan terakhir yang dikemukakan oleh ustaz ini kepada orang tua itu ialah ‘ apakah maksud ummi yang ada pada Rasulullah SAW itu sebenarnya?’. Walaupun tidak yakin dengan jawapan yang akan diberikan oleh orang tua itu, tetapi ustaz ini bertanya juga. Orang tua itu tersenyum dan akhirnya menjawab….

“ Wahai anakku, UMMI itu sebenarnya berasal daripada perkataan Bahasa Arab lama yang membawa 2 maksud. Maksud yang pertama ialah INDUK dan maksud yang kedua ialah ORANG YANG TIDAK TAHU MENULIS DAN MEMBACA. Perkataan INDUK itu pula mendukung dua maksud juga iaitu yang pertama IBU dan maksud yang kedua ialah TEMPAT LETAKNYA SEGALA SESUATU. Sebenarnya ummi pada Nabi Muhammad SAW itu membawa maksud pengertian induk yang kedua iaitu ~ tempat letaknya segala sesuatu ~ dan bukannya orang yang tidak tahu menulis dan membaca.

Wahai anakku, anda pun tahu segala ilmu pengetahuan yang berada di dunia ini terdapat di dalam kitab Al-Quran dan Al-Quran diturunkan kepada Nabi Muhammad SAW untuk disebarkan kepada seluruh umat manusia. Ini bermaksud Rasulullah adalah tempat berkumpulnya segala ilmu pengetahuan. Perlukah orang yang telah mempunyai segala ilmu pengetahuan belajar menulis dan membaca, sedangkan menulis dan membaca hanyalah satu kaedah untuk mencari ilmu pengetahuan.

Rasulullah tidak perlu kepada menulis dan membaca kerana Allah SWT sendiri melalui malaikat Jibril telah mengajar Rasulullah SAWAI-Quran, kitab yang mengandungi segala ilmu ilmu dunia dan akhirat. Hanya orang biasa seperti kita yang patut tahu bagaimana hendak menulis dan membaca kerana hanya dengan cara itu kita dapat mencari ilmu. Jadi maksud ummi pada Rasulullah SAW yang anak cari selama ini bukanlah orang yang tidak tahu menulis dan membaca tetapi terdapat dalam maksud induk yang kedua iaitu “ TEMPAT LETAKNYA SEGALA ILMU PENGETAHUAN “. Nabi Muhammad SAW adalah seorang Rasul Yang bersifat Bijaksana. ”

Selepas mendengar jawapan daripada orang tua itu, ustaz itu memeluk orang tua itu dan menangis sedih kerana kejahilannya selama ini yang beranggapan bahawa ummi pada Rasulullah itu bermaksud orang yang tidak tahu menulis dan membaca, sedangkan maksud ummi yang sebenar yang ada pada diri Rasulullah itu adalah lebih tinggi maksudnya. Ustaz itu menyesal, bertaubat dan sangat gembira kerana apa yang dicarinya selama ini telah ditemui.

Melihatlah dengan pandangan mata hati…Wallahu a’lam.

Al- ALAQ

2009-03-08T00:27:00.000-08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

Bacalah ( wahai Muhammad )

Dengan nama Tuhanmu yang menciptakan (sekalian makhluk )

Ia menciptakan manusia dari sebuku darah beku

Bacalah, dan Tuhanmu Yang Maha Pemurah,

Yang mengajar manusia melalui pena dan tulisan,

Ia mengajarkan manusia apa yang tidak diketahuinya

Ingatlah ! Sesungguhnya jenis manusia tetap melampaui
batas (yang sepatutnya atau yang sewajibnya )

Dengan sebab ia melihat dirinya cukup apa yang dihajatinya.

Ingatlah ! sesungguhnya kepada Tuhanmu tempat kembali untuk menerima balasan.

Adakah engkau nmapak ( baiknya ) orang yang melarang (dan menghalang).

Seorang hamba Allah apabila ia mengerjakan sembahyang ?

Adakah engkau nampak ( buruknya ) jika ia berada di atas jalan yang betul ?

Atau ia menyuruh orang yang bertakwa ( jangan melakukan syirik ) ?

Adakah engkau nampak ( terlepas dari azab )jika ia mendustakan ( apa yang disampaikan oleh Nabi Muhammad kepadanya ) serta ia berpaling ingkar ?

Tidakkah ia mengetahui sesungguhnya Allah melihat ( segala amal perbuatannya dan membalasnya ) ?

Jangan sekali-kali berlaku derhaka Demi sesungguhnya jika ia tidak berhenti ( dari perbuatannya yang buruk itu ), nescaya Kami menyentap ubunnya ( dan menyeretnya ke dalam neraka ) ,Ubun-ubun ( orang ) yang berdusta , yang bersalah.

Kemudian biarlah ia memanggil kumpulannya ( untuk menyelamatkannya )

Kami pula akan memanggil malaikat Zabaaniyah ( untuk menyeksanya )

Ingatlah ! Janganlah engkau ( wahai Muhammad ) menurut kehendaknya, dan ( sebaliknya )
sujudlah dan dampingkanlah dirimu kepada Allah
( dengan taat dan beramal soleh ).

what michael H. Hart says about Nabi Muhammad

2009-03-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

For other persons named Muhammad, see Muhammad (name). For other uses, see Muhammad (disambiguation).

Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh (Arabic: محمّد; Transliteration: Muḥammad;IPA: [mʊħɑmmæd̪]; pronunciation (help·info); also spelled Mohammed or Muhammed) (ca. 570 Mecca – June 8, 632 Medina), is the founder of the religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: الله‎ Allāh), the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets. Muslims consider him the restorer of the uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets. He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, military general, and, according to Muslim belief, an agent of divine action.

Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at a young age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.

Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes; he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape persecution Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622 CE. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca without bloodshed. In 632 a few months after returning to Medina from his Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam and he united the tribes of Arabia into a single Muslim religious polity.

The revelations (or Ayat, lit. "Signs of God") which Muhammad reported receiving until his death form the verses of the Qur'an, regarded by Muslims as the “word of God” and around which the religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned. While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern times have been far less so. Besides this, his life and deeds have been debated by followers and opponents over the centuries.

Names and appellations in the Qur'an

The name Muhammad means "Praiseworthy" and occurs four times in the Qur'an. The Qur'an addresses Muhammad in second person not by his name but by the appellations prophet, messenger, servant of God (‘abd), announcer (bashir), warner (nathir), reminder (mudhakkir), witness (shahid), bearer of good tidings (mubashshir), one who calls [unto God] (dā‘ī) and the light-giving lamp (siraj munir). Muhammad is sometimes addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address: thus he is referred to as the enwrapped (al-muzzammil) in Qur'an 73:1 and the shrouded (al-muddaththir) in Qur'an 74:1. In the Qur'an, believers are not to distinguish between the messengers of God and are to believe in all of them (Surah 2:285). God has caused some messengers to excel above others 2:253 and in Surah 33:40 He singles out Muhammad as the "Seal of the Prophets".[22] The Qur'an also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad "more praiseworthy" (Arabic: أحمد‎, Surah 61:6).

Sources for Muhammad's life

Nakkaş Osman [c. 1595]. Prophet Muhammad at the Ka'ba, The Life of the Prophet Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul (Inv. 1222/123b).

Main articles: Historiography of early Islam and Historicity of Muhammad

Muhammad's life is well documented within numerous records in historical texts, although like other premodern historical figures not every detail of his life is known. Because Muhammad is a highly influential historical figure, his life, deeds, and thoughts have been debated by followers and opponents over the centuries, which makes a biography of him difficult to write.[14]
The most trustworthy source for the historical Muhammad is the Qur'an.[14] The Qur'an has a few allusions to Muhammad's life,[23] revealing the salient aspects associated with him.[19] The Qur'an responds "constantly and often candidly to Muhammad's changing historical circumstances and contains a wealth of hidden data."[14] In its actual form, the Qur'an is generally considered by academic scholars to record the words spoken by Muhammad because the search for variants in Western academia has not yielded any differences of great significance.[24]
Next in importance are the historical works by writers of the third and fourth century of the Muslim era.[25] These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him (the sira and hadith literature), which provide further information on Muhammad's life.[26] The earliest surviving written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Ibn Ishaq's Life of God's Messenger written some 120 to 130 years after Muhammad's death. Although the original work is lost, portions of it survive in the recensions of Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari.[27][23] Another early source is the history of Muhammad's campaigns by al-Waqidi (death 207 of Muslim era), and the work of his secretary Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi (death 230 of Muslim era).[25] Many scholars accept the accuracy of the earliest biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable.[23] Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. In the former sphere, traditions could have been subject to invention while in the latter sphere, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been only subject to "tendential shaping".[28]
In addition, the hadith collections are accounts of the verbal and physical traditions of Muhammad that date from several generations after his death.[29] Hadith compilations are records of the traditions or sayings of Muhammad. They might be defined as the biography of Muhammad perpetuated by the long memory of his community for their exemplification and obedience.[30] Western academics view the hadith collections with caution as accurate historical sources.[31] Scholars such as Madelung do not reject the narrations which have been complied in later periods, but judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.[32] Finally, there are oral traditions. Although usually discounted by positivist historians, oral tradition plays a major role in the Islamic understanding of Muhammad.[19]
There are also a few non-Muslim sources that, according to S. A. Nigosian, confirm the existence of Muhammad and are valuable for corroboration of traditional Muslim statements.[23]

Background

Main articles: Pre-Islamic Arabia and Jahiliyyah

Approximate locations of some of the important tribes of the Arabian Peninsula at the dawn of Islam (cities are indicated in white).
The Arabian Peninsula was largely arid and volcanic, making agriculture difficult except near oases or springs. The landscape was thus dotted with towns and cities, two prominent ones being Mecca and Medina.Medina was a large flourishing agricultural settlement, while Mecca was an important financial center for many surrounding tribes.[33] Communal life was essential for survival in the desert conditions, as people needed support against the harsh environment and lifestyle. Tribal grouping was encouraged by the need to act as a unit, this unity being based on the bond of kinship by blood.[34] Indigenous Arabs were either nomadic or sedentary (or bedouins), the former constantly traveling from one place to another seeking water and pasture for their flocks, while the latter settled and focused on trade and agriculture. Nomadic survival was also dependent on raiding caravans or oases, the nomads not viewing this as a crime.[35][36]
In pre-Islamic Arabia, gods or goddesses were viewed as protectors of individual tribes, their spirits being associated with sacred trees, stones, springs and wells. As well as being the site of an annual pilgrimage, the Kaaba shrine in Mecca housed 360 idol statues of tribal patron deities. Aside from these gods, the Arabs shared a common belief in a supreme deity called Allah (literally "the god"), who was remote from their everyday concerns and thus not the object of cult or ritual. Three goddesses were associated with Allah as his daughters: al-Lāt, Manāt and al-‘Uzzá. Monotheistic communities existed in Arabia, including Christians and Jews.[37] Hanifs – native pre-Islamic Arab monotheists – are also sometimes listed alongside Jews and Christians in pre-Islamic Arabia, although their historicity is disputed amongst scholars.[38][39] According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself was a Hanif and one of the descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham.[40]

Timeline of Muhammad in Mecca

Important dates and locations in the life of Muhammad in Mecca

c. 569 Death of his father, Abdullah

c. 570 Possible date of birth, April 20: Mecca

576 Death of Mother

578 Death of Grandfather
c. 583
Takes trading journeys to Syria
c. 595
Meets and marries Khadijah
610
First reports of Qur'anic revelation
c. 610
announcement of Prophethood
c. 613
Begins spreading message of Islam publicly
c. 614
Begins to gather following in Mecca
c. 615
Emigration of Muslims to Ethiopia
616
Banu Hashim clan boycott begins
c. 618
Medinan Civil War
619
Banu Hashim clan boycott ends
619
The year of sorrows: khaddija and Abu Talib die
c. 620
Isra and Mi'raj
622
Emigrates to Medina (Hijra)
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Life

Main article: Muhammad in Mecca

Muhammad in Mecca
Muhammad was born and lived in Mecca for the first 52 years of his life (570–622) which was divided into two phases, that is before and after declaring the prophecy.

Childhood and early life

Muhammad was born in the month of Rabi' al-awwal in 570. He belonged to the Banu Hashim, one of the prominent families of Mecca, although it seems not to have been prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime.[14][41] Tradition places the year of Muhammad's birth as corresponding with the Year of the Elephant, which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite king Abraha who had in his army a number of elephants. Recent scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as 568 or 569.[42]
Muhammad's father, Abdullah, died almost six months before he was born.[43] According to the tradition, soon after Muhammad's birth he was sent to live with a Bedouin family in the desert, as the desert-life was considered healthier for infants. Muhammad stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until he was two years old. Some western scholars of Islam have rejected the historicity of this tradition.[44] At the age of six Muhammad lost his mother Amina to illness and he became fully orphaned.[45] He was subsequently brought up for two years under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe. When Muhammad was eight, his grandfather also died. He now came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of Banu Hashim.[42] According to Watt, because of the general disregard of the guardians in taking care of weak members of the tribes in Mecca in sixth century, "Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time."[46]
While still in his teens, Muhammad accompanied his uncle on trading journeys to Syria gaining experience in the commercial trade, the only career open to Muhammad as an orphan.[46] According to tradition, when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans' caravan to Syria, he met a Christian monk or hermit named Bahira who is said to have foreseen Muhammed's career as a prophet of God.[47]
Little is known of Muhammad during his later youth, and from the fragmentary information that is available, it is hard to separate history from legend.[46] It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea."[48] Due to his upright character he acquired the nickname "Al-Amin" (Arabic: الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.[14][11][49] His reputation attracted a proposal from Khadijah, a forty-year-old widow in 595. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one.[48]

Beginnings of the Qur'an

See also: Origin and development of the Qur'an and Wahy

The cave Hira in the mountain Jabal al-Nour where, according to Muslim beliefs, Muhammad received his first revelation.
At some point Muhammad adopted the practice of meditating alone for several weeks every year in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca.[50][51] Islamic tradition holds that during one of his visits to Mount Hira, the angel Gabriel appeared to him in the year 610 and commanded Muhammad to recite the following verses:[52]
Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Qur'an 96:1-5)
According to some traditions, upon receiving his first revelations Muhammad was deeply distressed and contemplated throwing himself off the top of a mountain but the spirit moved closer and told him that he has been chosen as a messenger of God. Muhammad returned home and was consoled and reassured by his wife, Khadijah and her Christian cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal. Shia tradition maintains that Muhammad was neither surprised nor frightened at the appearance of Gabriel but rather welcomed him as if he had been expecting him.[53] The initial revelation was followed by a pause of three years during which Muhammad gave himself up further to prayers and spiritual practices. When the revelations resumed he was reassured and commanded to begin preaching: Your lord has not forsaken you nor does he hate [you] (Qur'an 93:1-11).[54][55]
According to Welch these revelations were accompanied by mysterious seizures, and the reports are unlikely to have been forged by later Muslims.[14] Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages.[56] According to the Qur'an, one of the main roles of Muhammad is to warn the unbelievers of their eschatological punishment (Qur'an 38:70, Qur'an 6:19). Sometimes the Qur'an does not explicitly refer to the Judgment day but provides examples from the history of some extinct communities and warns Muhammad's contemporaries of similar calamities (Qur'an 41:13–16).[57] Muhammad is not only a warner to those who reject God's revelation, but also a bearer of good news for those who abandon evil, listen to the divine word and serve God.[58] Muhammad's mission also involves preaching monotheism: The Qur'an demands Muhammad to proclaim and praise the name of his Lord and instructs him not to worship idols apart from God or associate other deities with God.[57]
The key themes of the early Qur'anic verses included the responsibility of man towards his creator; the resurrection of dead, God's final judgment followed by vivid descriptions of the tortures in hell and pleasures in Paradise; and the signs of God in all aspects of life. Religious duties required of the believers at this time were few: belief in God, asking for forgiveness of sins, offering frequent prayers, assisting others particularly those in need, rejecting cheating and the love of wealth (considered to be significant in the commercial life of Mecca), being chaste and not to kill newborn girls.[14]

Opposition
See also: Persecution of Muslims by the Meccans and Migration to Abyssinia
According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife Khadija was the first to believe he was a prophet.[59] She was soon followed by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, close friend Abu Bakr, and adopted son Zaid.[59] Around 613, Muhammad began his public preaching (Qur'an 26:214).[60] Most Meccans ignored him and a few mocked him, while others became his followers. There were three main groups of early converts to Islam: younger brothers and sons of great merchants; people who had fallen out of the first rank in their tribe or failed to attain it; and the weak, mostly unprotected foreigners.[61]
According to Ibn Sad, the opposition in Mecca started when Muhammad delivered verses that condemned idol worship and the Meccan forefathers who engaged in polytheism.[62] However, the Qur'anic exegesis maintains that it began as soon as Muhammad started public preaching.[63] As the number of followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Kaaba, the focal point of Meccan religious life, which Muhammad threatened to overthrow. Muhammad’s denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba.[61] The powerful merchants tried to convince Muhammad to abandon his preaching by offering him admission into the inner circle of merchants, and establishing his position therein by an advantageous marriage. However, he refused.[61]
Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment of Muhammad and his followers.[14] Sumayyah bint Khabbab, a slave of Abu Jahl and a prominent Meccan leader, is famous as the first martyr of Islam, having been killed with a spear by her master when she refused to give up her faith. Bilal, another Muslim slave, was tortured by Umayya ibn khalaf who placed a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion.[64][65] Apart from insults, Muhammad was protected from physical harm as he belonged to the Banu Hashim clan.[66][67]

Location of Abyssinia (Aksumite Empire).
In 615, some of Muhammad's followers emigrated to the Ethiopian Aksumite Empire and founded a small colony there under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Aṣḥama ibn Abjar.[14] Some early traditions[which?] describe Muhammad's involvement at this time in an episode that has come to be known as the "Story of the Cranes" -- dubbed by some scholars[which?] as the "Satanic Verses." The account holds that Muhammad pronounced a verse acknowledging the existence of three Meccan goddesses considered to be the daughters of Allah, praising them, and appealing for their intercession. According to these accounts, Muhammad later retracted the verses at the behest of Gabriel.[68] Islamic scholars vigorously objected to the historicity of the incident as early as the tenth century CE.[69] In any event, relations between the Muslims and their pagan fellow-tribesmen rapidly deteriorated.
In 617 the leaders of Makhzum and Banu Abd-Shams, two important Quraysh clans, declared a public boycott against Banu Hashim, their commercial rival, to pressurize it into withdrawing its protection of Muhammad. The boycott lasted three years but eventually collapsed as it failed in its objective.[70][71]

Last years in Mecca

Road to Ta'if in the foreground, mountains of Ta'if in the background (Saudi Arabia).
Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib both died in 619, the year thus being known as the "year of sorrow." With the death of Abu Talib, the leadership of the Banu Hashim clan was passed to Abu Lahab, an inveterate enemy of Muhammad. Soon afterwards, Abu Lahab withdrew the clan's protection from Muhammad. This placed Muhammad in danger of death since the withdrawal of clan protection implied that the blood revenge for his killing would not be exacted. Muhammad then visited Ta'if, another important city in Arabia, and tried to find a protector for himself there, but his effort failed and further brought him into physical danger.[71][14] Muhammad was forced to return to Mecca. A Meccan man named Mut'im b. Adi (and the protection of the tribe of Banu Nawfal) made it possible for him safely to re-enter his native city.[14][71]
Many people were visiting Mecca on business or as pilgrims to the Kaaba. Muhammad took this opportunity to look for a new home for himself and his followers. After several unsuccessful negotiations, he found hope with some men from Yathrib (later called Medina).[14] The Arab population of Yathrib were familiar with monotheism because a Jewish community existed there.[14] Converts to Islam came from nearly all Arab tribes in Medina, such that by June of the subsequent year there were seventy-five Muslims coming to Mecca for pilgrimage and to meet Muhammad. Meeting him secretly by night, the group made what was known as the "Second Pledge of al-`Aqaba", or the "Pledge of War"[72] Following the pledges at Aqabah, Muhammad encouraged his followers to emigrate to Yathrib. As with the migration to Abyssinia, the Quraysh attempted to stop the emigration. However, almost all Muslims managed to leave.[73]

Isra and Mi'raj
Main article: Isra and Mi'raj

The Al-Aqsa Mosque, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock, the site from which Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven.
Islamic tradition relates that in 620, Muhammad experienced the Isra and Mi'raj, a miraculous journey said to have occurred with the angel Gabriel in one night. In the first part of the journey, the Isra, he is said to have travelled from Mecca to "the farthest mosque" (in Arabic: masjid al-aqsa), which Muslims usually identify with the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In the second part, the Miraj, Muhammad is said to have toured heaven and hell, and spoken with earlier prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.[74] Ibn Ishaq, author of the first biography of Muhammad, presents this event as a spiritual experience whereas later historians like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir present it as a physical journey.[74] Some western scholars of Islam hold that the oldest Muslim tradition identified the journey as one traveled through the heavens from the sacred enclosure at Mecca to the celestial al-Baytu l-Maʿmur (heavenly prototype of the Kaaba); but later tradition identified Muhammad's journey from Mecca to Jerusalem.[75]
Timeline of Muhammad in Medina
Important dates and locations in the life of Muhammad in Medina
c. 618
Medinan Civil War
622
Emigrates to Medina (Hijra)
624
Battle of Badr: Muslims defeat Meccans
624
Expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa
625
Battle of Uhud: Meccans defeat Muslims
625
Expulsion of Banu Nadir
627
Battle of the Trench
627
Demise of Banu Qurayza
628
Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
c. 628
Gains access to Meccan shrine Kaaba
628
Conquest of the Khaybar oasis
629
First hajj pilgrimage
629
Attack on Byzantine Empire fails: Battle of Mu'tah
630
Bloodless conquest of Mecca
c. 630
Battle of Hunayn
c. 630
Siege of Ta'if
c. 631
Rules most of the Arabian peninsula
c. 632
Attacks the Ghassanids: Tabuk
632
Farewell hajj pilgrimage
632
Death (June 8): Medina
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Muhammad in Medina

Hijra
Main articles: Hijra (Islam) and Muhammad in Medina
A delegation consisting of the representatives of the twelve important clans of Medina, invited Muhammad as a neutral outsider to Medina to serve as chief arbitrator for the entire community.[76][77] There was fighting in Yathrib mainly involving its Arab and Jewish inhabitants for around a hundred years before 620.[76] The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the Battle of Bu'ath in which all clans were involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood-feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with authority to adjudicate in disputed cases.[76] The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow-citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and physically protect him as one of themselves.[14]
Muhammad instructed his followers to emigrate to Medina until virtually all his followers left Mecca. Being alarmed at the departure of Muslims, according to the tradition, the Meccans plotted to assassinate Muhammad. With the help of Ali, Muhammad fooled the Meccans who were watching him, and secretly slipped away from the town with Abu Bakr.[78] By 622, Muhammad emigrated to Medina, a large agricultural oasis. Those who migrated from Mecca along with Muhammad became known as muhajirun (emigrants).[14]

Establishment of a new polity
Main article: Constitution of Medina
Among the first things Muhammad did in order to settle down the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was drafting a document known as the Constitution of Medina, "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca, which specified the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina (including that of the Muslim community to other communities, specifically the Jews and other "Peoples of the Book").[76][77] The community defined in the Constitution of Medina, Ummah, had a religious outlook but was also shaped by practical considerations and substantially preserved the legal forms of the old Arab tribes.[14] It effectively established the first Islamic state.
The first group of pagan converts to Islam in Medina were the clans who had not produced great leaders for themselves but had suffered from warlike leaders from other clans. This was followed by the general acceptance of Islam by the pagan population of Medina, apart from some exceptions. According to Ibn Ishaq, this was influenced by the conversion of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (a prominent Medinan leader) to Islam.[79] Those Medinans who converted to Islam and helped the Muslim emigrants find shelter became known as the ansar (helpers).[14] Then Muhammad instituted brotherhood between the emigrants and the helpers and he chose Ali as his own brother.[80]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Medina Charter
With the early general conversion of the pagans, the pagan opposition was never of prime importance in the affairs of Medina. Those remaining pagans were very bitter about the advance of Islam. In particular, Asma bint Marwan and Abu 'Afak had composed verses taunting and insulting the Muslims. These two were assassinated and Muhammad did not disapprove of it. No one dared take vengeance on them, and some members of Asma bint Marwan's clan who previously converted to Islam in secret, now professed Islam openly. This ended overt opposition to Muhammad among the pagans.[81]

Beginnings of armed conflict

A map of the Badr campaign.
Main article: Battle of Badr
Following the emigration, the Meccans seized the properties of the Muslim emigrants in Mecca.[82] Economically uprooted and with no available profession, the Muslim migrants turned to raiding Meccan caravans for their livelihood, thus initiating armed conflict between the Muslims and Mecca.[83][84] Muhammad delivered Qur'anic verses permitting the Muslims to fight the Meccans (see Qur'an 22:39–40).[85] These attacks pressured Mecca by interfering with trade, and allowed the Muslims to acquire wealth, power and prestige while working towards their ultimate goal of inducing Mecca's submission to the new faith.[86][87] In March of 624, Muhammad led some three hundred warriors in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan. The Muslims set an ambush for them at Badr.[88] Aware of the plan, the Meccan caravan eluded the Muslims. Meanwhile, a force from Mecca was sent to protect the caravan, continuing forward to confront the Muslims upon hearing that the caravan was safe. The Battle of Badr began in March of 624.[89] Though outnumbered more than three to one, the Muslims won the battle, killing at least forty-five Meccans with only fourteen Muslims dead. They also succeeded in killing many Meccan leaders, including Abu Jahl.[90] Seventy prisoners had been acquired, many of whom were soon ransomed in return for wealth or freed.[91][92][83] Muhammad and his followers saw in the victory a confirmation of their faith.[14] The Qur'anic verses of this period, unlike the Meccan ones, dealt with practical problems of government and issues like the distribution of spoils.[93]
Muhammad expelled from Medina the Banu Qaynuqa, one of three main Jewish tribes.[14] Following the Battle of Badr, Muhammad also made mutual-aid alliances with a number of Bedouin tribes to protect his community from attacks from the northern part of Hijaz.[14]

Conflict with Mecca
Main article: Battle of Uhud
The attack at Badr committed Muhammad to total war with Meccans, who were now anxious to avenge their defeat. To maintain their economic prosperity, the Meccans needed to restore their prestige, which had been lost at Badr.[94] In the ensuing months, Muhammad led expeditions on tribes allied with Mecca and sent out a raid on a Meccan caravan.[95] Abu Sufyan subsequently gathered an army of three thousand men and set out for an attack on Medina.[96]

Map of the Battle of Uhud, showing the Muslim and Meccan lines respectively.
A scout alerted Muhammad of the Meccan army's presence and numbers a day later. The next morning, at the Muslim conference of war, there was dispute over how best to repel the Meccans. Muhammad and many senior figures suggested that it would be safer to fight within Medina and take advantage of its heavily fortified strongholds. Younger Muslims argued that the Meccans were destroying their crops, and that huddling in the strongholds would destroy Muslim prestige. Muhammad eventually conceded to the wishes of the latter, and readied the Muslim force for battle. Thus, Muhammad led his force outside to the mountain of Uhud (where the Meccans had camped) and fought the Battle of Uhud on March 23.[97][98] Although the Muslim army had the best of the early encounters, indiscipline on the part of strategically placed archers led to a Muslim defeat, with 75 Muslims killed including Hamza, Muhammad's uncle and one of the best known martyrs in the Muslim tradition. The Meccans did not pursue the Muslims further, but marched back to Mecca declaring victory. They were not entirely successful, however, as they had failed to achieve their aim of completely destroying the Muslims.[99][100] The Muslims buried the dead, and returned to Medina that evening. Questions accumulated as to the reasons for the loss, and Muhammad subsequently delivered Qur'anic verses [Qur'an 3:152] which indicated that their defeat was partly a punishment for disobedience and partly a test for steadfastness.[101]
Abu Sufyan now directed his efforts towards another attack on Medina. He attracted the support of nomadic tribes to the north and east of Medina, using propaganda about Muhammad's weakness, promises of booty, memories of the prestige of the Quraysh and use of bribes.[102] Muhammad's policy was now to prevent alliances against him as much as he could. Whenever alliances of tribesmen against Medina were formed, he sent out an expedition to break them up.[102] When Muhammad heard of men massing with hostile intentions against Medina, he reacted with severity.[103] One example is the assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a chieftain of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir who had gone to Mecca and written poems that helped rouse the Meccans' grief, anger and desire for revenge after the Battle of Badr.[104] Around a year later, Muhammad expelled the Banu Nadir from Medina.[105] Muhammad's attempts to prevent formation of a confederation against him were unsuccessful, though he was able to increase his own forces and stop many potential tribes from joining his enemies.[106]

Siege of Medina
Main article: Battle of the Trench
With the help of the exiled Banu Nadir, the Quraysh military leader Abu Sufyan had mustered a force of 10,000 men. Muhammad prepared a force of about 3000 men and adopted a new form of defense unknown in Arabia at that time: the Muslims dug a trench wherever Medina lay open to cavalry attack. The idea is credited to a Persian convert to Islam, Salman the Persian. The siege of Medina began on March 31 627 and lasted for two weeks.[107] Abu Sufyan's troops were unprepared for the fortifications they were confronted with, and after an ineffectual siege lasting several weeks, the coalition decided to go home.[108] The Qur'an discusses this battle in verses Qur'an 33:9-33:27.[63]

Battle of Khandaq (Battle of the Trench).
During the battle, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza, located at the south of Medina, had entered into negotiations with Meccan forces to revolt against Muhammad. Although they were swayed by suggestions that Muhammad was sure to be overwhelmed, they desired reassurance in case the confederacy was unable to destroy him. No agreement was reached after the prolonged negotiations, in part due to sabotage attempts by Muhammad's scouts.[109] After the coalition's retreat, the Muslims accused the Banu Qurayza of treachery and besieged them in their forts for 25 days. The Banu Qurayza eventually surrendered and all the men, apart from a few who converted to Islam, were beheaded, while the women and children were enslaved.[110][111] In the siege of Medina, the Meccans exerted their utmost strength towards the destruction of the Muslim community. Their failure resulted in a significant loss of prestige; their trade with Syria was gone.[112] Following the Battle of the Trench, Muhammad made two expeditions to the north which ended without any fighting.[14] While returning from one of these (or some years earlier according to other early accounts), an accusation of adultery was made against Aisha, Muhammad's wife. Aisha was exonerated from the accusations when Muhammad announced that he had received a revelation confirming Aisha's innocence and directing that charges of adultery be supported by four eyewitnesses.[113]

Truce of Hudaybiyya
Main article: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
Although Muhammad had already delivered Qur'anic verses commanding the Hajj,[114] the Muslims had not performed it due to the enmity of the Quraysh. In the month of Shawwal 628, Muhammad ordered his followers to obtain sacrificial animals and to make preparations for a pilgrimage (umrah) to Mecca, saying that God had promised him the fulfillment of this goal in a vision where he was shaving his head after the completion of the Hajj.[115] Upon hearing of the approaching 1,400 Muslims, the Quraysh sent out a force of 200 cavalry to halt them. Muhammad evaded them by taking a more difficult route, thereby reaching al-Hudaybiyya, just outside of Mecca.[116] According to Watt, although Muhammad's decision to make the pilgrimage was based on his dream, he was at the same time demonstrating to the pagan Meccans that Islam does not threaten the prestige of their sanctuary, and that Islam was an Arabian religion.[116]
Negotiations commenced with emissaries going to and from Mecca. While these continued, rumors spread that one of the Muslim negotiators, Uthman bin al-Affan, had been killed by the Quraysh. Muhammad responded by calling upon the pilgrims to make a pledge not to flee (or to stick with Muhammad, whatever decision he made) if the situation descended into war with Mecca. This pledge became known as the "Pledge of Acceptance" (Arabic: بيعة الرضوان , bay'at al-ridhwān‎) or the "Pledge under the Tree." News of Uthman's safety, however, allowed for negotiations to continue, and a treaty scheduled to last ten years was eventually signed between the Muslims and Quraysh.[116][117] The main points of the treaty included the cessation of hostilities; the deferral of Muhammad's pilgrimage to the following year; and an agreement to send back any Meccan who had gone to Medina without the permission of their protector.[116]

A rendering of the seal attributed to Muhammad used in the letters sent to other heads of state.
Many Muslims were not satisfied with the terms of the treaty. However, the Qur'anic sura "Al-Fath" (The Victory) (Qur'an 48:1-29) assured the Muslims that the expedition from which they were now returning must be considered a victorious one.[118] It was only later that Muhammad's followers would realise the benefit behind this treaty. According to Welch, these benefits included the inducing of the Meccans to recognise Muhammad as an equal; a cessation of military activity posing well for the future; and gaining the admiration of Meccans who were impressed by the incorporation of the pilgrimage rituals.[14]
After signing the truce, Muhammad made an expedition against the Jewish oasis of Khaybar, known as the Battle of Khaybar. This was possibly due to it housing the Banu Nadir, who were inciting hostilities against Muhammad, or to regain some prestige to deflect from what appeared to some Muslims as the inconclusive result of the truce of Hudaybiyya.[96][119] According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad also sent letters to many rulers of the world, asking them to convert to Islam (the exact date is given variously in the sources).[120][121][14] Hence he sent messengers (with letters) to Heraclius of the Byzantine Empire (the eastern Roman Empire), Khosrau of Persia, the chief of Yemen and to some others.[120][121] In the years following the truce of Hudaybiyya, Muhammad sent his forces against the Arabs on Transjordanian Byzantine soil in the Battle of Mu'tah, in which the Muslims were defeated.[122]

Final years

Conquest of Mecca
Main articles: Conquest of Mecca and Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca

The Kaaba in Mecca held a major economic and religious role for the area. It became the Muslim Qibla (prayer direction).

An artist's 16th-century depiction of Muhammad and his companions advancing on Mecca. The angels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil and Azrail, are also in the painting.

Muhammad prohibits intercalary months during the Farewell Pilgrimage. 17th century Ottoman copy of a 14th century (Ilkhanate) manuscript (Edinburgh codex). Illustration of Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī's The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries.

The Mosque of the Prophet (Al-Masjid al-Nabawi) is Islam's second most sacred site. The green dome in the background stands above Muhammad's tomb.
The truce of Hudaybiyya had been enforced for two years.[123][124] The tribe of Banu Khuza'a had good relations with Muhammad, whereas their enemies, the Banu Bakr, had an alliance with the Meccans.[123][124] A clan of the Bakr made a night raid against the Khuz'aah, killing a few of them.[123][124] The Meccans helped the Banu Bakr with weapons and, according to some sources, a few Meccans also took part in the fighting.[123] After this event, Muhammad sent a message to Mecca with three conditions, asking them to accept one of them. These were that either the Meccans paid blood money for those slain among the Khuza'ah tribe; or, that they should disavow themselves of the Banu Bakr; or, that they should declare the truce of Hudaybiyya null.[125]
The Meccans replied that they would accept only the last condition.[125] However, soon they realized their mistake and sent Abu Sufyan to renew the Hudaybiyya treaty, but now his request was declined by Muhammad.
Muhammad began to prepare for a campaign.[126] In 630, Muhammad marched on Mecca with an enormous force, said to number more than ten thousand men. With minimal casualties, Muhammad took control of Mecca.[127] He declared an amnesty for past offences, except for ten men and women who had mocked and ridiculed him in songs and verses. Some of these were later pardoned.[128] Most Meccans converted to Islam and Muhammad subsequently destroyed all the statues of Arabian gods in and around the Kaaba.[129][130] The Qur'an discusses the conquest of Mecca.[131][63]

Conquest of Arabia
Main articles: Battle of Hunayn and Battle of Tabouk
Soon after the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad was alarmed by a military threat from the confederate tribes of Hawazin who were collecting an army twice the size of Muhammad's. The Banu Hawazin were old enemies of the Meccans. They were joined by the Banu Thaqif (inhabiting the city of Ta'if) who adopted an anti-Meccan policy due to the decline of the prestige of Meccans.[132] Muhammad defeated the Hawazin and Thaqif tribes in the Battle of Hunayn.[14]
In the same year, Muhammad made the expedition of Tabuk against northern Arabia because of their previous defeat at the Battle of Mu'tah as well as reports of the hostile attitude adopted against Muslims. Although Muhammad did not make contact with hostile forces at Tabuk, he received the submission of some local chiefs of the region.[14][133]
A year after the Battle of Tabuk, the Banu Thaqif sent emissaries to Medina to surrender to Muhammad and adopt Islam. Many bedouins submitted to Muhammad in order to be safe against his attacks and to benefit from the booties of the wars.[14] However, the bedouins were alien to the system of Islam and wanted to maintain their independence, their established code of virtue and their ancestral traditions. Muhammad thus required of them a military and political agreement according to which they "acknowledge the suzerainty of Medina, to refrain from attack on the Muslims and their allies, and to pay the Zakat, the Muslim religious levy."[134]

Farewell pilgrimage and death
Main article: The Farewell Pilgrimage
At the end of the tenth year after the migration to Medina, Muhammad carried through his first truly Islamic pilgrimage, thereby teaching his followers the rites of the annual Great Pilgrimage (Hajj).[14]
After completing the pilgrimage, Muhammad delivered a famous speech known as The Farewell Sermon. In this sermon, Muhammad advised his followers not to follow certain pre-Islamic customs such as adding intercalary months to align the lunar calendar with the solar calendar. Muhammad abolished all old blood feuds and disputes based on the former tribal system and asked for all old pledges to be returned as implications of the creation of the new Islamic community. Commenting on the vulnerability of women in his society, Muhammed asked his male followers to “Be good to women; for they are powerless captives (awan) in your households. You took them in God’s trust, and legitimated your sexual relations with the Word of God, so come to your senses people, and hear my words ...”. He also told them that they were entitled to discipline their wives but should do so with kindness. Muhammad also addressed the issue of inheritance by forbidding false claims of paternity or of a client relationship to the deceased and also forbidding his followers to leave their wealth to a testamentary heir. He also upheld the sacredness of four lunar months in each year.[135][136] According to Sunni tafsir, the following Qur'anic verse was delivered in this incident: “Today I have perfected your religion, and completed my favours for you and chosen Islam as a religion for you.”(Qur'an 5:3)[14] According to Shia tafsir, it refers to appointment of Ali ibn Abi Talib at the pond of Khumm as Muhammad's successor, this occurring a few days later when Muslims were returning from Mecca to Medina.[137]
A few months after the farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and suffered for several days with head pain and weakness. He died on Monday, June 8, 632, in Medina. He is buried where he died which was in his wife Aisha's house and is now housed within the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina.[138][14][139] Next to Muhammad's tomb, there is another empty tomb that Muslims believe awaits Jesus.[139][140]

Aftermath
See also: Rashidun, Muslim conquest, and Succession to Muhammad

Conquests of Muhammad and the Rashidun.
Muhammad united the tribes of Arabia into a singular Arab Muslim religious polity in the last years of his life. With Muhammad's death, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community.[141] Umar ibn al-Khattab, a prominent companion of Muhammad, nominated Abu Bakr, Muhammad's friend and collaborator. Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph. This choice was disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, had been designated the successor by Muhammad at Ghadir Khumm. Abu Bakr's immediate task was to make an expedition against the Byzantine (or Eastern Roman Empire) forces because of the previous defeat, although he first had to put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode referred to by later Muslim historians as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy".[142]
The pre-Islamic Middle East was dominated by the Byzantine and Sassanian empires. The Roman-Persian Wars between the two had devastated the inhabitants, making the empires unpopular amongst local tribes. Furthermore, most Christian Churches in the lands to be conquered by Muslims such as Nestorians, Monophysites, Jacobites and Copts were under pressure from the Christian Orthodoxy who deemed them heretics. Within only a decade, Muslims conquered Mesopotamia and Persia, Roman Syria and Roman Egypt.[143] and established the Rashidun empire.

Wives and children
Main articles: Muhammad's wives and Ahl al-Bayt
Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two periods: pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca (from 570 to 622), and post-hijra in Medina (from 622 until 632). Muhammad is said to have had thirteen wives or concubines (there are differing accounts on the status of some of them as wife or concubine[144])[145] All but two of his marriages were contracted after the migration to Medina.
The wives of MuhammadMothers of the Believers
Khadija bint Khuwaylid
Sawda bint Zama
Aisha bint Abu Bakr
Hafsa bint Umar
Zaynab bint Khuzayma
Hind bint Abi Umayya
Zaynab bint Jahsh
Juwayriya bint al-Harith
Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan
Rayhana bint Amr
Safiyya bint Huyayy
Maymuna bint al-Harith
Maria al-Qibtiyya
At the age of 25, Muhammad married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. The marriage lasted for 25 years and was a happy one.[146] Muhammad relied upon Khadija in many ways and did not enter into marriage with another woman during this marriage.[147][148] After the death of Khadija, it was suggested to Muhammad by Khawla bint Hakim, that he should marry Sawda bint Zama, a Muslim widow, or Aisha, the young daughter of Abu Bakr.[149] Muhammad is said to have asked her to arrange for him to marry both.[113] Later, Muhammad married additional wives nine of whom survived him.[145] Aisha, who became known as Muhammad's favourite wife in Sunni tradition, survived him by many decades and was instrumental in helping to bring together the scattered sayings of Muhammad that would form the Hadith literature for the Sunni branch of Islam.[113]
After migration to Medina, Muhammad (who was now in his fifties) married several women. These marriages were contracted mostly for political or humanitarian reasons, these wives being either widows of Muslims who had been killed in the battles and had been left without a protector, or belonging to important families or clans whom it was necessary to honor and strengthen alliances.[150]
Muhammad did his own household chores and helped with housework, such as preparing food, sewing clothes and repairing shoes. Muhammad is also said to have had accustomed his wives to dialogue; he listened to their advice, and the wives debated and even argued with him.[151][152][153]
Khadijah is said to have borne Muhammad four daughters (Ruqayyah bint Muhammad, Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad, Zainab bint Muhammad, Fatimah Zahra) and two sons (Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad and Qasim ibn Muhammad) who both died in childhood. All except two of his daughters, Fatimah and Zainab, died before him.[154] Shi'a scholars contend that Fatimah was Muhammad's only daughter.[155] Maria al-Qibtiyya bore him a son named Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, but the child died when he was two years old.[154]
Muhammad's descendants through Fatimah are known as sharifs, syeds or sayyids. These are honorific titles in Arabic, sharif meaning 'noble' and sayed or sayyid meaning 'lord' or 'sir'. As Muhammad's only descendants, they are respected by both Sunni and Shi'a, though the Shi'as place much more emphasis and value on their distinction.[156]

Legacy

Reforms
Main article: Early reforms under Islam
According to William Montgomery Watt, for Muhammad, religion was not a private and individual matter but rather “the total response of his personality to the total situation in which he found himself. He was responding [not only]… to the religious and intellectual aspects of the situation but also to the economic, social, and political pressures to which contemporary Mecca was subject."[157] Bernard Lewis says that there are two important political traditions in Islam – one that views Muhammad as a statesman in Medina, and another that views him as a rebel in Mecca. He sees Islam itself as a type of revolution that greatly changed the societies into which the new religion was brought.[158]

9th century Qur'an, the main legacy of Muhammad.
Historians generally agree that Islamic social reforms in areas such as social security, family structure, slavery and the rights of women and children improved on the status quo of Arab society.[158][159] For example, according to Lewis, Islam "from the first denounced aristocratic privilege, rejected hierarchy, and adopted a formula of the career open to the talents".[158] Muhammad's message transformed the society and moral order of life in the Arabian Peninsula through reorientation of society as regards to identity, world view, and the hierarchy of values.[160] Economic reforms addressed the plight of the poor, which was becoming an issue in pre-Islamic Mecca.[161] The Qur'an requires payment of an alms tax (zakat) for the benefit of the poor, and as Muhammad's position grew in power he demanded that those tribes who wanted to ally with him implement the zakat in particular.[162][163]

Sunnah
The Sunnah represents the actions and sayings of Muhammad (preserved in reports known as Hadith), and covers a broad array of activities and beliefs ranging from religious rituals, personal hygiene, burial of the dead to the mystical questions involving the love between humans and God. The Sunnah is considered a model of emulation for pious Muslims and has to a great degree influenced the Muslim culture. The greeting that Muhammad taught Muslims to offer each other, “may peace be upon you” (Arabic: as-salamu `alaykum) is used by Muslims throughout the world. Many details of major Islamic rituals such as daily prayers, the fasting and the annual pilgrimage are only found in the Sunnah and not the Qur'an.[164]
The Sunnah also played a major role in the development of the Islamic sciences. It contributed much to the development of Islamic law, particularly from the end of the first Islamic century.[165] Muslim mystics, known as sufis, who were seeking for the inner meaning of the Qur'an and the inner nature of Muhammad, viewed the prophet of Islam not only as a prophet but also as a perfect saint. Sufi orders trace their chain of spiritual descent back to Muhammad.[166]

Traditional views

Muslim veneration
See also: Islamic views of Muhammad, Naat, Depictions of Muhammad, Islamic music, Qawwali, Islamic view of miracles, and List of films about the Prophet Muhammad

Topkapı Palace gate with Shahadah and his seal. The Muslim Profession of faith, the Shahadah, illustrates the Muslim conception of the role of Muhammad – "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Messenger."

Persian manuscript miniature depicting Muhammad, from Rashid al-Din's Jami al-Tawarikh, approximately 1315, illustrating the episode of the Black Stone.[167]

"Muhammad preaching" (1840-1850) by Grigory Gagarin - a 19th Century Russian view of the founder of Islam.
Following the attestation to the oneness of God, the belief in Muhammad's prophethood is the main aspect of the Islamic faith. Every Muslim proclaims in the Shahadah that "I testify that Muhammad is a messenger of Allah". The Shahadah is the basic creed or tenet of Islam. Ideally, it is the first words a newborn will hear, and children are taught as soon as they are able to understand it and it will be recited when they die. Muslims must repeat the shahadah in the call to prayer (adhan) and the prayer itself. Non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the creed.[168]
Muslims have traditionally expressed love and veneration for Muhammad. Stories of Muhammad's life, his intercession and of his miracles (particularly "Splitting of the moon") have permeated popular Muslim thought and poetry. The Qur'an refers to Muhammad as "a mercy (rahmat) to the worlds" (Qur'an 21:107).[14] The association of rain with mercy in Oriental countries has led to imagining Muhammad as a rain cloud dispensing blessings and stretching over lands, reviving the dead hearts, just as rain revives the seemingly dead earth (see, for example, the Sindhi poem of Shah ʿAbd al-Latif).[14] Muhammad's birthday is celebrated as a major feast throughout the Islamic world, excluding Wahhabi-dominated Saudi Arabia where these public celebrations are discouraged.[169] Muslims experience Muhammad as a living reality, believing in his ongoing significance to human beings as well as animals and plants.[169]
According to historian Denis Gril, the Qur'an does not overtly describe Muhammad performing miracles, and the supreme miracle of Muhammad is finally identified with the Qur’an itself.[170] However, Muslim tradition credits Muhammad with several supernatural events.[171] For example, many Muslim commentators and some Western scholars have interpreted the Surah 54:1-2 as referring to Muhammad splitting the Moon in view of the Quraysh when they began persecuting his followers.[170][172]
When Muslims say or write the name of Muhammad or any other prophet in Islam, they usually follow it with Peace be upon him (Arabic: sallAllahu `alayhi wa sallam).[173]

European and Western views
See also: Medieval Christian view of Muhammad
The biographical knowledge about Muhammad in the learned, Latin circles of the Middle Ages in Europe, was remarkably precise to some extent and a good amount of concrete data about his life was known. Learned European circles of the time interpreted the data in such a way that Muhammad was viewed as a charlatan driven by ambition and eagerness for power, and who seduced the Saracens into his submission under a religious guise.[14] This knowledge about Muhammad's life in Latin theological texts was not reflected in the popular literature of the Middle Ages, in which Muhammad was viewed as an idol or one of the heathen gods.[14] Some medieval Christians said he died in 666, alluding to the number of the beast, instead of 632;[174] others changed his name from Muhammad to Mahound, the "devil incarnate".[175] Bernard Lewis writes "The development of the concept of Mahound started with considering Muhammad as a kind of demon or false god worshipped with Apollyon and Termagant in an unholy trinity."[176] A later medieval work, Livre dou Tresor represents Muhammad as a former monk and cardinal.[14] Dante's Divine Comedy (Canto XXVIII), puts Muhammad, together with Ali, in Hell "among the sowers of discord and the schismatics, being lacerated by devils again and again."[14]
After the reformation, Muhammad was no longer viewed as a god or idol, but as a cunning, ambitious, and self-seeking impostor.[176][14] Guillaume Postel was among the first to present a more positive view of Muhammad.[14] Boulainvilliers described Muhammad as a gifted political leader and a just lawmaker.[14] Gottfried Leibniz praised Muhammad because "he did not deviate from the natural religion".[14] Friedrich Bodenstedt (1851) described Muhammad as "an ominous destroyer and a prophet of murder."[14] Later Western works, many of which, from the 18th century onward, distanced themselves from the polemical histories of earlier Christian authors. These more historically-oriented treatments, which generally reject the prophethood of Muhammad, are coloured by the Western philosophical and theological framework of their authors. Many of these studies reflect much historical research, and most pay more attention to human, social, economic, and political factors than to religious, theological, and spiritual matters.[19]
It was not until the latter part of the 20th century that Western authors combined rigorous scholarship as understood in the modern West with empathy toward the subject at hand and, especially, awareness of the religious and spiritual realities involved in the study of the life of the founder of a major world religion.[19] According to Watt and Richard Bell, recent writers have generally dismissed the idea that Muhammad deliberately deceived his followers, arguing that Muhammad “was absolutely sincere and acted in complete good faith”.[177] Watt says that sincerity does not directly imply correctness: In contemporary terms, Muhammad might have mistaken his own subconscious for divine revelation.[178] Although Muhammad's image in the west is much less unfavorable than in the past, prejudicial folk beliefs remain.[179]
Watt and Lewis argue that viewing Muhammad as a self-seeking impostor makes it impossible to understand the development of Islam.[180][181] Welch holds that Muhammad was able to be so influential and successful because of his firm belief in his vocation.[14] Muhammad’s readiness to endure hardship for his cause when there seemed to be no rational basis for hope shows his sincerity.[182]

Other religious traditions
Bahá'ís venerate Muhammad as one of a number of prophets or "Manifestations of God", but consider his teachings to have been superseded by those of Bahá'u'lláh.[183]
Muhammad is regarded as one of the Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints considers Muhammad, along with Confucius, the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, to have received a portion of God's light and that moral truths were given to them to enlighten nations and bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.[184]
Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, viewed Muhammad as an agent of the Hindu supreme being Brahman.[185]
The Roman Catholic Church, does not regard Muhammad as a prophet. According to Pope John Paul II, Muhammad's teachings "completely reduces Divine Revelation" and sets aside "all the richness of God's self-revelation, which constitutes the heritage of the Old and New Testaments". He then explained that the God of the Qur'an is "ultimately a God outside of the world, a God who is only Majesty, never Emmanuel, God-with-us. Islam is not a religion of redemption. There is no room for the Cross and the Resurrection. [...] For this reason not only the theology but also the anthropology of Islam is very distant from Christianity." Pope John Paul II adds that nevertheless Muslims' fidelity to prayer deserves admiration.[186]

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, 1978 (Revised Edition, 1992)

2009-03-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

The 100 merupakan buku karya Michael H. Hart yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1978. Buku ini memuat 100 tokoh yang ia rasa memiliki pengaruh terkuat dalam sejarah manusia. Bukunya secara hangat diperdebatkan, konsep bukunya secara luas ditiru. Penting untuk dicatat bahwa Dr. Hart tidak memasukkan orang terbesar. Kriterianya ialah yang berpengaruh.
Buku ini dicetak kembali pada 1992 dengan beberapa revisi nyata terhadap daftar urutan 100 dan pangkat luar biasa mereka. Terutama di antara revisi itu ialah penurunan pangkat tokoh komunis seperti Lenin dan Joseph Stalin, dan pengenalan Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. Edisi ini juga memuat Edward de Vere menggantikan William Shakespeare. Hart menggantikan Niels Henrik David Bohr dan Antoine Henri Becquerel dengan Ernest Rutherford, juga membetulkan kesalahan dalam edisi pertama. Henry Ford juga dimasukkan di sini dari yang sekedar "Tokoh-tokoh Terhormat", menggantikan Pablo Picasso. Akhirnya, urutan itu ditata kembali

Peringkat
Nama
Pengaruh
1
Nabi Muhammad
Penyebar agama Islam, penguasa Arabia
2
Isaac Newton
Fisikawan, pencetus Teori Gravitasi umum, Hukum gerak
3
Yesus
Isa Al Masih Kristen
4
Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
Pendiri agama Buddha
5
Kong Hu Cu
Pendiri agama Kong Hu Cu
6
Santo Paulus
Penyebar ajaran Kristen
7
Ts'ai Lun
Penemu kertas
8
Johann Gutenberg
Mengembangkan mesin cetak, mencetak Alkitab
9
Christopher Columbus
Penjelajah, memimpin orang-orang Eropa ke Amerika
10
Albert Einstein
Fisikawan, penemu Teori Relativitas
11
Louis Pasteur
Ilmuwan, penemu Pasteurisasi
12
Galileo Galilei
Astronom, secara akurat mengemukakan teori Heliosentris
13
Aristoteles
Filsuf Yunani yang berpengaruh
14
Euklides
Matematikawan, membuktikan tentang Geometri
15
Nabi Musa
Nabi terbesar Yahudi
16
Charles Robert Darwin
Biologis, mendeskripsikan teori Evolusi
17
Kaisar Qin Shi Huang
Kaisar Tiongkok
18
Augustus Caesar (Kaisar Agustus)
Kaisar pertama [Kekaisaran Romawi]
19
Nicolaus Copernicus
Astronom, salah satu tokoh Teori Heliosentris
20
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier
Bapak Kimia modern, Filsuf dan Ekonom
21
Konstantin yang Agung
Kaisar Romawi yang menjadikan agama Kristen sebagai agama resmi negara
22
James Watt
Mengembangkan Mesin uap
23
Michael Faraday
Fisikawan, Kimiawan, menemukan Induksi Elektromagnetik
24
James Clerk Maxwell
Fisikawan, penemu Spektrum Elektromagnetik
25
Martin Luther
Pendiri agama Protestan dan aliran Lutheran
26
George Washington
Presiden pertama Amerika Serikat
27
Karl Heinrich Marx
Bapak Komunisme
28
Orville Wright dan Wilbur Wright
Penemu Pesawat terbang
29
Jengis Khan
Penakluk dari bangsa Mongol
30
Adam Smith
Ekonom, pelopor Kapitalisme
31
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
Kemungkinan menulis karya yang berkaitan dengan William Shakespeare
32
John Dalton
Kimiawan, Fisikawan, penemu Teori Atom, Hukum Tekanan Parsial (Hukum Dalton)
33
Alexander yang Agung / Iskandar Zulkarnain
Penakluk dari Makedonia
34
Kaisar Napoleon Bonaparte
Penakluk dari bangsa Perancis
35
Thomas Alva Edison
Penemu bola lampu dan Fonograf, dll.
36
Antony van Leeuwenhoek
Ahli Mikroskop, mempelajari kehidupan mikroskopis
37
William Thomas Green Morton
Pelopor Anestesiologi
38
Guglielmo Marconi
Penemu Radio
39
Adolf Hitler
Penakluk, memimpin Blok Poros dalam Perang Dunia II
40
Plato
Filsuf Yunani
41
Oliver Cromwell
Politikus Inggris dan pemimpin militer
42
Alexander Graham Bell
Salah seorang penemu Telepon
43
Alexander Fleming
Penemu Penisilin, memajukan Bakteriologi, Imunologi dan Kemoterapi
44
John Locke
Filsuf dan Teolog liberal
45
Ludwig van Beethoven
Komponis musik klasik
46
Werner Karl Heisenberg
Pencetus Prinsip Ketidakpastian
47
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre
Penemu/pelopor Fotografi
48
Simon Bolivar
Pahlawan nasional dari Venezuela, Kolombia, Ekuador, Peru, dan Bolivia
49
René Descartes
Filsuf Rasionalis dan matematikawan
50
Umar bin al-Khattab
Khalifah Ar-Rasyidin kedua, memperluas Daulah Khilafah Islamiyah
51
Paus Urbanus II
Penyeru Perang Salib
52
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Pelukis, pematung, arsitek
53
Asoka
Raja India yang masuk dan mengembangkan agama Buddha
54
Santo Augustinus
Teolog Kristen awal
55
William Harvey
Penemu sirkulasi darah
56
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson
Fisikawan
57
Yohanes Calvin
Tokoh Reformasi Gereja, pendiri Calvinisme
58
Gregor Johann Mendel
Penemu teori genetika
59
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck
Fisikawan, mengemukakan Termodinamika
60
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
Pelaku penemuan Antiseptik yang secara besar mengurangi kematian akibat pembedahan
61
Nikolaus August Otto
Penemu mesin pembakaran 4 tak
62
Francisco Pizarro
Penakluk dari bangsa Spanyol yang menaklukkan Kerajaan Inka di Amerika Selatan
63
Hernando Cortes
Penakluk dari bangsa Spanyol yang menaklukkan Meksiko
64
Thomas Jefferson
Presiden ketiga AS
65
Ratu Isabella I
Penguasa Spanyol, penyokong Cristopher Colombus
66
Joseph Stalin
Tokoh revolusioner dan penguasa Uni Soviet
67
Julius Caesar
Penguasa Roma
68
Raja William I sang Penakluk
Meletakkan pembangunan Inggris modern
69
Sigmund Freud
Pendiri sekolah Freud untuk psikologi, ahli psikoanalisis
70
Edward Jenner
Penemu vaksin cacar
71
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
Penemu sinar X
72
Johann Sebastian Bach
Komponis
73
Lao Tzu
Pendiri Taoisme
74
Voltaire
Penulis dan filsuf
75
Johannes Kepler
Astronom penemu Hukum Kepler tentang pergerakan planet
76
Enrico Fermi
Salah satu tokoh abad atom, Bapak Bom Atom
77
Leonhard Euler
Fisikawan, matematikawan penemu Kalkulus Diferensial dan Integral serta Aljabar
78
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Filsuf dan pengarang Prancis
79
Niccolò Machiavelli
Penulis Sang Pangeran (risalat politik yang berpengaruh)
80
Thomas Robert Malthus
Ekonom penulis Esai Prinsip Populasi dalam Pengaruhnya pada Kemajuan Masa Depan pada Masyarakat
81
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Presiden AS yang mendirikan "Program Luar Angkasa Apollo"
82
Gregory Goodwin Pincus
Endokrinolog, menemukan pil KB
83
Mani (en)
Nabi Iran abad ke-3, Pendiri Manicheanisme
84
Lenin
Tokoh revolusioner dan pemimpin Rusia
85
Kaisar Sui Wen
Menyatukan Tiongkok, pendiri Dinasti Sui
86
Vasco da Gama
Navigator, penemu rute pelayaran Eropa ke India
87
Raja Cyrus yang Agung
Pendiri kekaisaran Persia
88
Tsar Peter yang Agung
Mendekatkan Rusia kepada Eropa
89
Mao Zedong
Bapak Maoisme, komunisme Tiongkok
90
Sir Francis Bacon
Filsuf, menggambarkan secara induktif metode ilmiah
91
Henry Ford
Pembuat mobil model T
92
Meng Tse
Filsuf, pendiri sekolah Konfusianisme
93
Zarathustra
Pendiri Zoroastrianisme
94
Ratu Elizabeth I
Ratu Inggris, memperbaiki Gereja Inggris setelah Ratu Mary
95
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
Perdana Menteri Rusia yang mengakhiri Komunisme di Uni Soviet dan Eropa Timur
96
Raja Menes
Menyatukan Mesir Atas dan Mesir Bawah
97
Kaisar Charlemagne
Kaisar Romawi Suci
98
Homer
Penyair epik
99
Kaisar Justinianus I
Kaisar Romawi, menaklukkan kembali kekaisaran Mediterania
100
Mahavira
Pendiri Jainisme

Muhammad (bahasa Arab: محمد, juga dikenal sebagai Mohammad, Mohammed, dan kadang-kadang oleh orientalis Mahomet, Mahomed) adalah pembawa ajaran Islam, dan diyakini oleh umat Muslim sebagai nabi Allah (Rasul) yang terakhir. Menurut biografi tradisional Muslimnya (dalam bahasa Arab disebut sirah), ia lahir sekitar tahun 570, diperkirakan 20 April 570 di Mekkah (atau "Makkah") dan wafat pada 8 Juni 632 di Madinah. Kedua kota tersebut terletak di daerah Hejaz (Arab Saudi saat ini).
"Muhammad" dalam bahasa Arab berarti "dia yang terpuji". Muslim mempercayai bahwa ajaran Islam yang dibawa oleh Muhammad adalah penyempurnaan dari agama-agama yang dibawa oleh nabi-nabi sebelumnya. Mereka memanggilnya dengan gelar Rasulullah (رسول الله), dan menambahkan kalimat sallallaahu alayhi wasallam (صلى الله عليه و سلم, yang berarti "semoga Allah memberi kebahagiaan dan keselamatan kepadanya"; sering disingkat "s.a.w" atau "S.A.W") setelah namanya. Selain itu Al-Qur'an dalam Surah As-Saff (QS 61:6) menyebut Muhammad dengan nama "Ahmad" (أحمد), yang dalam bahasa Arab juga berarti "terpuji".

Michael H. Hart, dalam bukunya The 100, menetapkan Muhammad sebagai tokoh paling berpengaruh sepanjang sejarah manusia. Menurut Hart, Muhammad adalah satu-satunya orang yang berhasil meraih keberhasilan luar biasa baik dalam hal agama maupun hal duniawi. Dia memimpin bangsa yang awalnya terbelakang dan terpecah belah, menjadi bangsa maju yang bahkan sanggup mengalahkan pasukan Romawi di medan pertempuran.

Silsilah Muhammad dari kedua orang tuanya kembali ke Kilab bin Murrah bin Ka'b bin Lu'ay bin Ghalib bin Fihr (Quraish) bin Malik bin an-Nadr (Qais) bin Kinanah bin Khuzaimah bin Mudrikah (Amir) bin Ilyas bin Mudar bin Nizar bin Ma`ad bin Adnan. Dimana Adnan merupakan keturunan laki-laki ke tujuh dari Ismail bin Ibrahim, yaitu keturunan Sam bin Nuh. [1]

Para penulis sirah (biografi) Muhammad pada umumnya sepakat bahwa ia lahir di Tahun Gajah, yaitu tahun 570 M. Muhammad lahir di kota Mekkah, di bagian Selatan Jazirah Arab, suatu tempat yang ketika itu merupakan daerah paling terbelakang di dunia, jauh dari pusat perdagangan, seni, maupun ilmu pengetahuan. Ayahnya, Abdullah, meninggal dalam perjalanan dagang di Yatsrib, ketika Muhammad masih dalam kandungan. Ia meninggalkan harta lima ekor unta, sekawanan biri-biri dan seorang budak perempuan bernama Ummu Aiman yang kemudian mengasuh Nabi. [1]

Pada saat Muhammad berusia enam tahun, ibunya Aminah binti Wahab mengajaknya ke Yatsrib (Madinah) untuk mengunjungi keluarganya serta mengunjungi makam ayahnya. Namun dalam perjalanan pulang, ibunya jatuh sakit. Setelah beberapa hari, Aminah meninggal dunia di Abwa' yang terletak tidak jauh dari Yatsrib, dan dikuburkan di sana. [2] Setelah ibunya meninggal, Muhammad dijaga oleh kakeknya, 'Abd al-Muththalib. Setelah kakeknya meninggal, ia dijaga oleh pamannya, Abu Thalib. Ketika inilah ia diminta menggembala kambing-kambingnya disekitar Mekkah dan kerap menemani pamannya dalam urusan dagangnya ke negeri Syam (Suriah, Libanon dan Palestina).
Hampir semua ahli hadits dan sejarawan sepakat bahwa Muhammad lahir di bulan Rabiulawal, kendati mereka berbeda pendapat tentang tanggalnya. Di kalangan Syi'ah, sesuai dengan arahan para Imam yang merupakan keturunan langsung Muhammad, menyatakan bahwa ia lahir pada hari Jumat, 17 Rabiulawal; sedangkan kalangan Sunni percaya bahwa ia lahir pada hari Senin, 12 Rabiulawal atau (2 Agustus 570M).
2. 2. Masa remaja
Dalam masa remajanya, diriwayatkan bahwa Muhammad percaya sepenuhnya dengan keesaan Tuhan. Ia hidup dengan cara amat sederhana dan membenci sifat-sifat angkuh dan sombong. Ia menyayangi orang-orang miskin, para janda dan anak-anak yatim serta berbagi penderitaan dengan berusaha menolong mereka. Ia juga menghindari semua kejahatan yang biasa di kalangan bangsa Arab pada masa itu seperti berjudi, meminum minuman keras, berkelakuan kasar dan lain-lain, sehingga ia dikenal sebagai As-Saadiq (yang benar) dan Al-Amin (yang terpercaya). Ia senantiasa dipercayai sebagai penengah bagi dua pihak yang bertikai di kampung halamannya di Mekkah...

Muhammad dilahirkan di tengah-tengah masyarakat terbelakang yang senang dengan kekerasan dan pertempuran. Ia sering menyendiri ke Gua Hira', sebuah gua bukit dekat Mekah, yang kemudian dikenali sebagai Jabal An Nur karena bertentangan sikap dengan kebudayaan Arab pada zaman tersebut. Di sinilah ia sering berpikir dengan mendalam, memohon kepada Allah supaya memusnahkan kekafiran dan kebodohan.
Pada suatu malam, ketika Muhammad sedang bertafakur di Gua Hira', Malaikat Jibril mendatanginya. Jibril membangkitkannya dan menyampaikan wahyu Allah di telinganya. Ia diminta membaca. Ia menjawab, "Saya tidak bisa membaca". Jibril mengulangi tiga kali meminta agar Muhammad membaca, tetapi jawabannya tetap sama.
Akhirnya, Jibril berkata:
"Bacalah dengan menyebut nama Tuhanmu yang menciptakan manusia dari segumpal darah. Bacalah, dengan nama Tuhanmu yang Maha Pemurah, yang mengajar manusia dengan perantaraan (menulis, membaca). Dia mengajarkan kepada manusia apa yang tidak diketahuinya."
Ini merupakan wahyu pertama yang diterima oleh Muhammad. Ketika itu ia berusia 40 tahun. Wahyu turun kepadanya secara berangsur-angsur dalam jangka waktu 23 tahun. Wahyu tersebut telah diturunkan menurut urutan yang diberikan Muhammad, dan dikumpulkan dalam kitab bernama Al Mushaf yang juga dinamakan Al-Quran (bacaan). Kebanyakan ayat-ayatnya mempunyai arti yang jelas, sedangkan sebagiannya diterjemahkan dan dihubungkan dengan ayat-ayat yang lain. Sebagian ayat-ayat adapula yang diterjemahkan oleh Muhammad sendiri melalui percakapan, tindakan dan persetujuannya, yang terkenal dengan nama As-Sunnah. Al-Quran dan As-Sunnah digabungkan bersama merupakan panduan dan cara hidup bagi "mereka yang menyerahkan diri kepada Allah", yaitu penganut agama Islam.

Selama tiga tahun pertama, Muhammad hanya menyebarkan agama terbatas kepada teman-teman dekat dan kerabatnya. Kebanyakan dari mereka yang percaya dan meyakini ajaran Muhammad adalah para anggota keluarganya serta golongan masyarakat awam, antara lain Khadijah, Ali, Zayd dan Bilal. Namun pada awal tahun 613, Muhammad mengumumkan secara terbuka agama Islam. Banyak tokoh-tokoh bangsa Arab seperti Abu Bakar, Utsman bin Affan, Zubair bin Al Awwam, Abdul Rahman bin Auf, Ubaidillah bin Harits, Amr bin Nufail masuk Islam dan bergabung membela Muhammad.
Akibat halangan dari masyarakat jahiliyyah di Mekkah, sebagian orang Islam disiksa, dianiaya, disingkirkan dan diasingkan. Penyiksaan yang dialami hampir seluruh pengikutnya membuat lahirnya ide berhijrah (pindah) ke Habsyah. Negus, raja Habsyah, memperbolehkan orang-orang Islam berhijrah ke negaranya dan melindungi mereka dari tekanan penguasa di Mekkah. Muhammad sendiri, pada tahun 622 hijrah ke Madinah, kota yang berjarak sekitar 200 mil (320 km) di sebelah Utara Mekkah.

Kronologi Kehidupan Muhammad
Tanggal dan lokasi penting dalam hidup Muhammad
569
Meninggalnya ayah, Abdullah
570
Tanggal lahir (perkiraan), 20 April: Makkah
570
Tahun Gajah, gagalnya Abrahah menyerang Mekkah
576
Meninggalnya ibu, Aminah
578
Meninggalnya kakek, Abdul Muthalib
583
Melakukan perjalanan dagang ke Suriah
595
Bertemu dan menikah dengan Khadijah
610
Wahyu pertama turun: Makkah
610
Ditunjuk sebagai Nabi: Makkah
613
Memulai menyebarkan Islam kepada umum: Makkah
614
Mendapatkan pengikut: Makkah
615
Hijrah pertama ke Habsyah
616
Boikot Quraish terhadap Bani Hasyim dan Muhammad mulai
619
Boikot Quraish terhadap Bani Hasyim dan Muhammad selesai
619
Tahun kesedihan: Khadijah dan Abu Thalib meninngal
620
Isra' dan Mi'raj
621
Bai'at Aqabah pertama
622
Bai'at Aqabah kedua
622
Hijrah ke Madinah
624
Pertempuran Badar
624
Pengusiran Bani Qaynuqa
625
Pertempuran Uhud
625
Pengusiran Bani Nadir
626
Penyerangan ke Dumat al-Jandal: Suriah
627
Pertempuran Khandak
627
Penghancuran Bani Quraizhah
628
Perjanjian Hudaybiyah
628
Melakukan umrah ke Ka'bah
628
Pertempuran Khaybar
629
Melakukan ibadah haji
629
Pertempuran Mu'tah
630
Pembukaan Kota Makkah
630
Pertempuran Hunain
630
Pendudukan Thaif
631
Menguasai sebagian besar Jazirah Arab
632
Pertempuran Tabuk
632
Haji Wada'
632
Meninggal (8 Juni): Madinah

Hijrah ke Madinah
Di Mekkah terdapat Ka'bah yang telah dibangun oleh Nabi Ibrahim a.s. Masyarakat jahiliyah Arab dari berbagai suku berziarah ke Ka'bah dalam suatu kegiatan tahunan, dan mereka menjalankan berbagai tradisi keagamaan mereka dalam kunjungan tersebut. Muhammad mengambil peluang ini untuk menyebarkan Islam. Di antara mereka yang tertarik dengan seruannya ialah sekumpulan orang dari Yathrib (dikemudian hari berganti nama menjadi Madinah). Mereka menemui Muhammad dan beberapa orang Islam dari Mekkah di suatu tempat bernama Aqabah secara sembunyi-sembunyi. Setelah menganut Islam, mereka lalu bersumpah untuk melindungi Islam, Rasulullah (Muhammad) dan orang-orang Islam Mekkah.
Tahun berikutnya, sekumpulan masyarakat Islam dari Yathrib datang lagi ke Mekkah. Mereka menemui Muhammad di tempat mereka bertemu sebelumnya. Abbas bin Abdul Muthalib, yaitu pamannya yang saat itu belum menganut Islam, turut hadir dalam pertemuan tersebut. Mereka mengundang orang-orang Islam Mekkah untuk berhijrah ke Yathrib. Muhammad akhirnya setuju untuk berhijrah ke kota itu.
Masjid Nabawi, berlokasi di Medinah, Arab Saudi.
Mengetahui bahwa banyak masyarakat Islam berniat meninggalkan Mekkah, masyarakat jahiliyah Mekkah berusaha menghalang-halanginya, karena beranggapan bahwa bila dibiarkan berhijrah ke Yathrib, orang-orang Islam akan mendapat peluang untuk mengembangkan agama mereka ke daerah-daerah yang lain. Setelah berlangsung selama kurang lebih dua bulan, masyarakat Islam dari Mekkah pada akhirnya berhasil sampai dengan selamat ke Yathrib, yang kemudian dikenal sebagai Madinah atau "Madinatun Nabi" (kota Nabi).

Di Madinah, pemerintahan (kalifah) Islam diwujudkan di bawah pimpinan Muhammad. Umat Islam bebas beribadah (shalat) dan bermasyarakat di Madinah. Quraish Makkah yang mengetahui hal ini kemudian melancarkan beberapa serangan ke Madinah, akan tetapi semuanya dapat diatasi oleh umat Islam. Satu perjanjian damai kemudian dibuat dengan pihak Quraish. Walaupun demikian, perjanjian itu kemudian diingkari oleh pihak Quraish dengan cara menyerang sekutu umat Islam.
2. 5. Penaklukan Mekkah
Pada tahun ke-8 setelah berhijrah ke Madinah, Muhammad berangkat kembali ke Makkah dengan pasukan Islam sebanyak 10.000 orang. Penduduk Makkah yang khawatir kemudian setuju untuk menyerahkan kota Makkah tanpa perlawanan, dengan syarat Muhammad kembali pada tahun berikutnya. Muhammad menyetujuinya, dan ketika pada tahun berikutnya ia kembali maka ia menaklukkan Mekkah secara damai. Muhammad memimpin umat Islam menunaikan ibadah haji, memusnahkan semua berhala yang ada di sekeliling Ka'bah, dan kemudian memberikan amnesti umum dan menegakkan peraturan agama Islam di kota Mekkah.
3. Pernikahan
Artikel utama untuk bagian ini adalah: Pernikahan Muhammad
Selama hidupnya Muhammad menikahi 11 atau 13 orang wanita (terdapat perbedaan pendapat mengenai hal ini). Pada umur 25 Tahun ia menikah dengan Khadijah, yang berlangsung selama 25 tahun hingga Khadijah wafat. Pernikahan ini digambarkan sangat bahagia, sehingga saat meninggalnya Khadijah (yang bersamaan dengan tahun meninggalnya Abu Thalib pamannya) disebut sebagai tahun kesedihan.

Sepeninggal Khadijah, Muhammad disarankan oleh Khawla binti Hakim, bahwa sebaiknya ia menikahi Sawda binti Zama (seorang janda) atau Aisyah (putri Abu Bakar, dimana Muhammad akhirnya menikahi keduanya. Kemudian setelah itu Muhammad tercatat menikahi beberapa wanita lagi sehingga mencapai total sebelas orang, dimana sembilan diantaranya masih hidup sepeninggal Muhammad. Para ahli sejarah antara lain Watt dan Esposito berpendapat bahwa sebagian besar perkawinan itu dimaksudkan untuk memperkuat ikatan politik (sesuai dengan budaya Arab), atau memberikan penghidupan bagi para janda (saat itu janda lebih susah untuk menikah karena budaya yang menekankan perkawinan dengan perawan).

Ibu-ibu dari orang-orang yang beriman (Arab: أمهات المؤمنين) adalah istilah Islam yang merupakan penyebutan kehormatan bagi istri-istri dari Nabi Muhammad. Muslim menggunakan istilah tersebut sebelum atau sesudah nama istri beliau. Istilah ini diambil dari ayat Quran, Surah Al-Ahzab ayat 6.Nabi itu (hendaknya) lebih utama bagi orang-orang mukmin dari diri mereka sendiri dan isteri-isterinya adalah ibu-ibu mereka...
Nabi Muhammad seringkali disebutkan menikah dengan 11 orang perempuan. Terdapat anggapan bahwa ia menikah dengan dua orang perempuan lainnya, tetapi diceraikannya sebelum mereka sempat bersama-sama.[rujukan?]
Daftar isi:1. Khadijah binti Khuwailid 2. Saudah binti Zam'ah 3. Aisyah binti Abu Bakar 4. Hafshah binti Umar bin al-Khattab 5. Ummu Salamah 6. Ummu Habibah binti Abu Sufyan 7. Juwairiyah (Barrah) binti Harits 8. Shafiyah binti Huyai 9. Zainab binti Jahsy 10. Zainab binti Khuzaimah 11. Maria al-Qibtiyyah
4. Perbedaan dengan nabi dan rasul terdahulu
Dalam mengemban misi dakwahnya, umat Islam percaya bahwa Muhammad diutus Allah untuk menjadi Nabi bagi seluruh umat manusia (QS. 34 : 28), sedangkan nabi dan rasul sebelumnya hanya diutus untuk umatnya masing-masing (QS 10:47, 23:44) seperti halnya Nabi Musa yang diutus Allah kepada kaum Bani Israil.
Sedangkan persamaannya dengan nabi dan rasul sebelumnya ialah sama-sama mengajarkan Tauhid, yaitu kesaksian bahwa Tuhan yang berhak disembah atau diibadahi itu hanyalah Allah (QS 21:25).

SIAPA MICHAEL H. HART

2009-03-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

Michael H. Hart (lahir 28 April 1932; umur 76 tahun) telah bekerja pada NASA dan guru besar astronomi dan fisika perguruan tinggi di Maryland, AS. Ia sarjana fisika, astronomi, dan hukum dan pengarang buku laris, 100 Tokoh yang Paling Berpengaruh dalam Sejarah, yang telah diterjemahkan dalam sejumlah bahasa, termasuk Tionghoa. Dan lagi, ia telah menulis dan menerbitkan secara luas dalam bermacam bidang teknis. Ia juga kembali bersama mempersiapkan buku, di Luar Bumi, di Manakah Mereka? dan merupakan pengarang Sebuah Pandangan dari Tahun 3000.

NABI MUHAMMAD SAW DI DALAM BUKU MICHAEL H. HART

2009-03-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

Seratus Tokoh yang Paling Berpengaruh dalam Sejarah
oleh Michael H. Hart

Pilihan saya yang jatuh kepada Nabi Muhammad dalam urutan pertama Seratus Tokoh yang paling berpengaruh di dunia mungkin mengejutkan pembaca dan mungkin menjadi tanda tanya . Tetapi saya berpegang kepada keyakinan saya, dialah Nabi Muhammad yang merupakan satu-satunya manusia dalam sejarah yang berjaya meraih kejayaan-kejayaan luar biasa sama ada diukur dari segi aspek agama mahupun ruang lingkup duniawi.

Berasal dari keluarga yang sederhana, Muhammad menegakkan dan menyebarkan salah satu daripada agama yang terbesar di dunia, Agama Islam. Dan pada masa yang sama baginda munsul sebagai seorang pemimpin yang berani, tulen, dan efektif. Kini tiga belas abad sesudah wafatnya, pengaruhnya masih tetap kuat dan mendalam serta berakar.

Sebagian besar daripada tokoh-tokoh yang dimuatkan di dalam buku ini merupakan makhluk beruntung kerana lahir dan dibesarkan di pusat-pusat peradaban manusia, berkebudayaan tinggi dan tempat berlakunya politik bangsa-bangsa. Muhammad lahir pada tahun 570 M, di kota Mekkah, di bahagian selatan Jazirah Arab, suatu tempat yang waktu itu merupakan daerah yang paling termundur di dunia, jauh dari pusat perdagangan, seni mahupun ilmu pengetahuan. Menjadi yatim-piatu pada umur enam tahun, dibesarkan dalam situasi yang sederhana dan rendah hati. Sumber-sumber Islam menyebutkan bahawa Muhamnmad seorang yang buta huruf.

Keadaan ekonominya baru mula meningkat pada umur dua puluh lima tahun apabila baginda berkahwin dengan seorang janda berada. Bagaimanapun, apabila mendekati umur empat puluh tahun, petunjuk keluarbiasaannya sebagai manusia masih belum nampak.

Umumnya, bangsa Arab pada masa itu tidak memeluk agama tertentu kecuali menyembah berhala. Di kota Makkah terdapat sejumlah kecil pemeluk-pemeluk Agama Yahudi dan Nasrani, dan besar kemungkinan dari merekalah Muhammad untuk pertama kali mendengar perihal adanya satu Tuhan Yang Mahakuasa, yang mengatur seluruh alam. Tatkala baginda berusia empatpuluh tahun, Muhammad yakin bahawa Tuhan Yang Maha Esa ini menyampaikan sesuatu kepadanya dan memilihnya untuk menjadi penyebar kepercayaan yang benar.

Selama tiga tahun Muhammad hanya menyebar agama terbatas kepada kawan-kawan terdekat dan keluarganya. Apabila memasuki tahun 613M baginda mula tampil di depan umum. Apabila lama kelamaan baginda mempunya pengikut, penguasa Makkah memandangnya sebagai orang yang berbahaya, penimbul masalah. Pada tahun 622M, cemas terhadap keselamatannya, Muhammad berhijrah ke Madinah, kota di utara Makkah berjarak 200 kml. Di kota itu dia ditawarkan kedudukan kekuasaan politik yang cukup meyakinkan.

Peristiwa hijrah ini merupakan titik penting bagi kehidupan Nabi. Di Mekkah dia susah memperoleh sejumlah kecil pengikut, dan di Madinah pengikutnya makin bertambah sehingga dalam tempoh yang cepat dia dapat memperolehi pengaruh yang menjadikannya seorang pemegang kekuasaan yang sebenar. Pada tahun-tahun berikutnya sementara pengikut Muhammad bertambah umpama cendawan tumbuh selepas hujan, beberapa siri pertempuran terjadi antara Makkah dan Madinah. Peperangan ini berakhir tahun 630M dengan kemenangan pada pihak Muhammad, kembali ke Makkah sebagai penakhluk. Baki dua setengah tahun dari hidupnya dia menyaksikan kemajuan luar-biasa dalam hal cepatnya suku-suku Arab memeluk Agama Islam.

Dan semasa Muhammad wafat pada tahun 632M, dia sudah memastikan dirinya selaku penguasa yang efektif seantero Jazirah Arab bahagian selatan.
Suku Badwi mempunyai tradisi turun-tumurun sebagai parajurit-parajurit yang handal dan berani. Tetapi, jumlah mereka tidaklah banyak dan sentiasa cenderung kepada perpecahan dan saling bermusuhan antara satu sama lain. Itulah sebabnya mereka tidak dapat menewaskan tentera dari kerajaan-kerajaan yang hebat di daerah pertanian di sebelah utara. Tetapi, Muhammadlah orang yang pertama dalam sejarah, berkat dorongan yang kuat kepada kepercayaan kepada keesaan Tuhan, pasukan Arab yang kecil itu sanggup melakukan siri-siri penaklukan yang mengkagumkan dalam sejarah manusia. Di sebelah timur laut Arab terdapat Kerajaan Parsi Baru Sassanids yang luas.

Di barat laut Arab terdapat kerajaan Byzantine atau Kerajaan Romawi Timur dengan Konstantinopel sebagai pusatnya.
Ditilik dari sudut jumlah dan ukuran, jelas Arab tidak akan mampu menghadapinya. Namun, di medan pertempuran, pasukan Arab yang semangatnya membara bagaikan kilat dapat menakluk Mesopotamia, Siria, dan Palestin. Pada tahun 642M Mesir direbut dari genggaman Kerajaan Byzantine, dan sementara itu bala tentera Parsi dikalahkan dalam pertempuran yang amat menentukan di Qadisiya tahun 637 dan di Nehavend tahun 642.

Tapi, penaklukan besar-besaran --di bawah pimpinan sahabat Nabi dan penggantinya Abu Bakar dan Umar ibn al-Khattab-- itu tidak menunjukkan tanda-tanda berhenti sampai di situ. Pada tahun 711M, pasukan Arab telah menyapu bersih Afrika Utara hingga ke tepi Samudera Atlantik. Dari situ mereka membelok ke utara dan menyeberangi Selat Gibraltar dan menyerang kerajaan Visigothic di Sepanyol.

Sepintas lalu orang mesti beranggapan pasukan Muslim akan menghambat habis semua Nasrani Eropah. Tapi pada tahun 732, dalam pertempuran yang masyhur dan dahsyat di Tours, satu pasukan Muslimin yang telah mara ke pusat negeri Perancis, akhirnya dipukul oleh orang-orang Frank. Biarpun begitu, hanya dalam tempoh secuwil abad pertempuran, orang-orang Badwi ini -dijiwai dengan ucapan-ucapan Nabi Muhammad- telah mendirikan sebuah kerajaan yang terbentang dari perbatasan India hingga pasir putih tepi pantai Samudera Atlantik, sebuah kerajaan terbesar yang pernah dikenal oleh sejarah manusia. Dan di mana pun penaklukan yang dilakukan oleh pasukan Muslim, ianya selalu disusuli dengan berbondong-bondongnya pemeluk masuk Agama Islam.

Ternyata, tidak semua penaklukan wilayah itu bersifat tetap. Orang-orang Parsi, walaupun masih tetap penganut setia Agama Islam, merebut kembali kemerdekaannya dari tangan Arab. Dan di Spanyol, sesudah melalui peperangan tujuh abad lamanya akhirnya berjaya dikuasai kembali oleh orang-orang Nasrani. Sementara itu, Mesopotamia dan Mesir dua tempat kelahiran kebudayaan purba, tetap berada di tangan Arab seperti halnya seluruh pantai utara Afrika. Agama Islam, tentu saja, terus tersebar dari satu abad ke abad lain, jauh melangkah dari daerah taklukan. Umumnya jutaan penganut Islam bertebaran di Afrika, Asia Tengah, lebih-lebih Pakistan dan India sebelah utara serta Indonesia. Di Indonesia, Agama Islam yang baru itu merupakan faktor penyatuan. Di anak benua India, sebaliknya: adanya agama baru itu menjadi sebab utama terjadinya perpecahan.

Apakah pengaruh Nabi Muhammad yang paling dalam terhadap sejarah ummat manusia? Seperti halnya lain-lain agama juga, Islam mempunyai pengaruh luar biasa besarnya terhadap para penganutnya. Itu sebabnya mengapa penyebar-penyebar agama besar di dunia semua mendapat tempat dalam buku ini. Jika diukur dari jumlah, banyaknya pemeluk Agama Nasrani dua kali ganda besarnya dari pemeluk Agama Islam, dengan sendirinya timbul tanda tanya apa alasan menempatkan urutan Nabi Muhammad lebih tinggi dari Nabi Isa dalam daftar urutan. Ada dua alasan pokok yang menjadi pegangan saya.

Pertama, Muhammad memainkan peranan jauh lebih penting dalam pengembangan Islam berbanding peranan Nabi Isa terhadap Agama Nasrani. Biarpun Nabi Isa bertanggung jawab terhadap ajaran-ajaran pokok moral dan etika Kristian (sampai tahap tertentu berbeza dengan Yudaisme), St. Paul merupakan tokoh penyebar utama teologi Kristian, tokoh penyebarnya, dan penulis bahagian terbesar dari Perjanjian Lama.

Sebaliknya Muhammad bukan saja bertanggung jawab terhadap teologi Islam tapi sekaligus juga terhadap pokok-pokok etika dan moralnya. Tambahan pula dia "pencatat" Kitab Suci Al-Quran, kumpulan wahyu kepada Muhammad yang diyakininya berasal langsung dari Allah. Sebahagian besar dari wahyu ini disalin dengan penuh kesungguhan selama Muhammad masih hidup dan kemudian dihimpun dalam bentuk yang kukuh tidak lama sesudah dia wafat. Al-Quran dengan demikian berkait erat dengan pandangan-pandangan Muhammad serta ajaran-ajarannya kerana dia bersandar pada wahyu Tuhan. Sebaliknya, tidak ada satu pun kumpulan yang begitu terperinci dari ajaran-ajaran Isa yang masih dapat dijumpai pada masa sekarang. Kerana Al-Quran bagi kaum Muslimin sedikit sebanyak sama pentingnya dengan Injil bagi kaum Nasrani, pengaruh Muhammad dengan perantaraan Al-Quran teramat besar.

Kemungkinan pengaruh Muhammad dalam Islam lebih besar dari pengaruh Isa dan St. Paul dalam dunia Kristian digabung menjadi satu. Jika diukur pada sudut agama semata-mata, nampaknya pengaruh Muhammad setara dengan Isa dalam sejarah kemanusiaan.
Lebih jauh dari itu (berbeza dengan Isa) Muhammad bukan semata-mata pemimpin agama tetapi juga pemimpin duniawi. Fakta menunjukkan, selaku pendorong yang kuat terhadap gerak penaklukan yang dilakukan bangsa Arab, pengaruh kepemimpinan politiknya berada dalam kedudukan paling depan sepanjang waktu.

Dari pelbagai peristiwa sejarah, orang boleh saja berkata perkara itu boleh terjadi tanpa kepemimpinan khusus dari seseorang yang mengetuai mereka. Misalnya, koloni-koloni di Amerika Selatan mungkin saja boleh membebaskan diri dari kolonialisme Sepanyol walaupun Simon Bolivar tidak pernah wujud di dunia. Tetapi, jikal ini tidak berlaku pada gerak penaklukan yang dilakukan bangsa Arab, tidak ada kejadian serupa sebelum Muhammad dan tidak ada alasan untuk menyangkal bahawa penaklukan boleh terjadi dan berhasil tanpa Muhammad. Satu-satunya kemiripan dalam hal penaklukan dalam sejarah manusia di abad ke-13 yang sebagian terpokok berkat pengaruh Jengis Khan. Penaklukan ini, walau lebih luas jangkauannya ketimbang apa yang dilakukan bangsa Arab, tidaklah bisa membuktikan kemapanan, dan kini satu-satunya daerah yang diduduki oleh bangsa Mongol hanyalah wilayah yang sama dengan sebelum masa Jengis Khan
Ini jelas menunjukkan beda besar dengan penaklukan yang dilakukan oleh bangsa Arab. Membentang dari Irak hingga Maroko, terbentang rantai bangsa Arab yang bersatu, bukan semata berkat anutan Agama Islam tapi juga dari jurusan bahasa Arabnya, sejarah dan kebudayaan. Posisi sentral Al-Quran di kalangan kaum Muslimin dan tertulisnya dalam bahasa Arab, besar kemungkinan merupakan sebab mengapa bahasa Arab tidak terpecah-pecah ke dalam dialek-dialek yang berantarakan. Jika tidak, boleh jadi sudah akan terjadi di abad ke l3. Perbedaan dan pembagian Arab ke dalam beberapa negara tentu terjadi -tentu saja- dan nyatanya memang begitu, tapi perpecahan yang bersifat sebagian-sebagian itu jangan lantas membuat kita alpa bahwa persatuan mereka masih berwujud. Tapi, baik Iran maupun Indonesia yang kedua-duanya negeri berpenduduk Muslimin dan keduanya penghasil minyak, tidak ikut bergabung dalam sikap embargo minyak pada musim dingin tahun 1973 - 1974. Sebaliknya bukanlah barang kebetulan jika semua negara Arab, semata-mata negara Arab, yang mengambil langkah embargo minyak.
Jadi, dapatlah kita saksikan, penaklukan yang dilakukan bangsa Arab di abad ke-7 terus memainkan peranan penting dalam sejarah ummat manusia hingga saat ini. Dari segi inilah saya menilai adanya kombinasi tak terbandingkan antara segi agama dan segi duniawi yang melekat pada pengaruh diri Muhammad sehingga saya menganggap Muhammad dalam arti pribadi adalah manusia yang paling berpengaruh dalam sejarah manusia.

100 TOKOH YANG PALING BERPENGARUH DALAM SEJARAH oleh MICHAEL H. HART

2009-03-06T23:48:00.000-08:00

01. Nabi Muhammad
51. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab
02. Isaac Newton
52. Asoka
03 Nabi Isa
53. St. Augustine
04. Buddha
54. Max Planck
05. Kong Hu Cu
55. John Calvin
06. St. Paul
56. William T.G.Morton
07. Ts'ai Lun
57. William Harvey
08. Johann Gutenberg
58. Antoine Henri Becquerel
09. Christopher Columbus
59. Gregor Mendel
10. Albert Einstein
60. Joseph Lister
11. Karl Marx
61. Nikolaus August Otto
12. Louis Pasteur
62. Louis Daguerre
13. Galileo Galilei
63. Joseph Stalin
14. Aristoteles
64. Rene Descartes
15. Lenin
65. Julius Caesar
16. Nabi Musa
66. Francisco Pizarro
17. Charles Darwin
67. Hernando Cortes
18. Shih Huang Ti
68. Ratu Isabella I
19. Augustus Caesar
69. William Sang Penakluk
20. Mao Tse-Tung
70. Thomas Jefferson
21 Jengis Khan
71. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
22. Euclid
72. Edward Jenner
23. Martin Luther
73. Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen
24. Nicolaus Copernicus
74. Johann Sebastian Bach
25. James Watt
75. Lao Tse
26. Constantine Yang Agung
76. Enrico Fermi
27. George Washington
77. Thomas Malthus
28. Michael Faraday
78. Francis Bacon
29. James Clerk Maxwell
79. Voltaire
30. Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright
80. John F. Kennedy
31. Antone Laurent Lavoisier
81. Gregory Pincus
32. Sigmund Freud
82. Sui Wen Ti
33. Alexander Yang Agung
83. Mani
34. Napoleon Bonaparte
84. Vasco Da Gama
35. Adolf Hitler
85. Charlemagne
36. William Shakespeare
86. Cyrus Yang Agung
37. Adam Smith
87. Leonhard Euler
38. Thomas Edison
88. Niccolo Machiavelli
39. Antony Van Leeuwenhoek
89. Zoroaster
40. Plato
90. Menes
41. Guglielmo Marconi
91. Peter Yang Agung
42. Ludwig Van Beethoven
92. Meng-Tse (Mencius)
43. Werner Heisenberg
93. John Dalton
44. Alexander Graham Bell
94. Homer
45. Alexander Fleming
95. Ratu Elizabeth I
46. Simon Bolivar
96. Justinian I
47. Oliver Cromwell
97. Johannes Kepler
48. John Locke
98. Pablo Picasso
49. Michelangelo
99. Mahavira
50. Pope Urban II
100. Neils Bohr

Tokoh-Tokoh Terhormat Yang Tertinggal
St. Thomas Aquinas
Archimedes
Charles Babbage
Khufu (Cheops)
Marie Curie
Benjamin Franklin
Mohandas Gandhi
Abraham Lincoln
Ferdinand Magellan
Leonardo Da Vinci