Judged by the usual standards, Muhammad did not have a propitious beginning in life. His father died before he was born. That left him in charge of his grandfather, ‘Abd al-Muttalib, who immediately arranged for the infant Muhammad to be given to a wet nurse in one of the nomadic desert tribes. The reasons for that early orphanage are not clear. We do not know what his mother wanted, or if she tried to resist having her child taken from her. The historic reason given for that decision was that the climate in Mecca was considered unhealthful. He grew up in the desert, a displaced, dispossessed, virtual orphan. Yet from this meager and estranged beginning, remarkable developments would occur.
There may have been other reasons for this unusual decision by his grandfather. ‘Abd al-Muttalib was one of the lesser merchants in Mecca. Most of the caravan business was controlled by the wealthiest traders, who were not following tribal customs. These powerful men found it possible to get what they wanted without following Arab tribal rules. They saw no reason why they should share any of their wealth, and saw no reason why they should contribute in any way to those less fortunate. These were not normal tribal customs, and the Hashim family, to which Muhammad belonged, carried deep resentment against these controlling disdainful men. They were not alone in this buried anger against the richest merchants, but could find no way to break this cycle of an economic caste system. The first thought that comes to mind is that Muhammad’s grandfather was too embroiled in his struggles against the controlling class, and did not wish to be bothered with a suckling infant. But there may have been another reason. Perhaps ‘Abd al-Muttalib wanted his grandson to grow up in a place where he could take Arab tribal customs and morals to heart. If that was his intent, he achieved his purpose magnificently.
Muhammad grew up in the desert wrapped in the sustaining cloak of tribal morality. The nomadic Arab tribes had a few simple, but powerful beliefs. It was clear that there was one powerful force that controlled everything in the universe. If any human did not pay the deepest respect and deepest reverence for this powerful force, or God, that human would pay dearly. The power of this God to send rain, and turn parched dry land into lush greenery, crops and fruit, was unbelievable. In order to survive, all tribal members had to work together, as brothers and sisters. Those that were strong gave to those that were weak, and those that were weak contributed to the tribe in any way that they could. The warrior and the lame, widow, ill, orphan were all part of the same family. They all had to fight together when challenged. There was always someone willing to take what they possessed away from them. They all had to sacrifice for the good of their tribe and family. These were the lessons that were seared into the brain of the impressionable, charismatic child Muhammad, in the desert heat.
When Muhammad returned to Mecca , under the tutelage of his uncle, Abu Talib, he found a different prevailing morality than that he had learned in the desert. He could not accept it. After his marriage to the wealthy widow, Khadijah, he had sufficient monetary power to engage in commerce, and was the head of a burgeoning family. None of that was enough. He could not reconcile the lessons of the desert with the practices of Meccan society. If there was only one God, why was the Holy Kabah filled with idols of many religious faiths? Why did no one appreciate the power of the one and only true God of the universe? Why did the Christians and the Jews worship one all powerful God, but the Arabs did not? Why did the powerful merchants not contribute to the welfare of the widow, the lame, the orphan, the ill? Why did those in power not understand that they would be harshly judged by the one God of the universe if they did not provide for all members of their family? What would it take to bring all Arabs together in common worship as the members of one great tribe? Who could bring this message to his people in a way that they would understand?
Muhammad was slowly going mad under this turmoil boiling in his brain. He often went to a cave outside of Mecca at night to meditate, trying to bring some closure to this conflict between his beliefs and the religious irreverence and immorality of the wealthiest traders. He slept fitfully and had vivid dreams late at night. One night in 610, after a particularly restless sleep, sometimes toward morning, he had a vivid dream or hallucination. The Angel Gabriel appeared in frightening reality, and told Muhammad that he was the messenger of God. He was commanded to recite the messages of the one true God of the universe, when those messages were given to him. When those messages were received, Muhammad was often trembling or chilling, as in a trance. It was Khadijah who understood what to do. She encouraged Muhammad to begin preaching his messages to others, knowing that if he did not, he would probably go completely insane. Muhammad began his ministry cautiously, with Khadijah’s support. By 613, he had a following of some 75 persons who listened to his messages and prayed with him. The wealthy merchants soon took notice. They took great umbrage at the messages of this upstart minister who believed that the dead would come back to life on a day of judgment. They particularly took umbrage at the prediction God would cast into a scorching Hell those who had not shared their riches. By 615, stool was being piled at his door. By 617, death plots against Muhammad had formed. In 619, his beloved Khadijah and supportive uncle, Abu Talib died. His major support systems were gone. If he stayed in Mecca, he would be killed. In 622, he slipped out a back entrance, and using unguarded paths, reached Medina on July 16, 622. This was the hijrah, or emigration, marking the beginning of Islam as a separate religion.
This new religion of Islam required total submission to the one true God of the universe, Al-Lah. All true believers are Muslims, and all are brothers in a great tribe. All are required to pray daily to this one true God, in deep reverence. All are required to give of their possessions for those in need. Add to these, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, and the five pillars of this vibrant religion are formed. They exist because of the nomadic tribal lessons embraced in the intense desert heat, in the seventh century, by a charismatic child. All he did was shift these lessons to a larger stage: the religion of Islam. The ploy of ‘Abd al-Muttalib was a magnificent success, beyond his imagination. The morals of the desert tribe became embedded in the religion of Islam.