26 April, 2024

17 Shawwal, 1445 H

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"Silence saves you from regret"

- Imam Ali (as) -

Learning
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Core Curriculum
Section 1 - God, Religion and Islam: An Introduction

  • Topic 1.1 - God, Allah and Religion

  • Topic 1.2 - What is “Religion” and What’s the Point of it Anyways?

  • Topic 1.3 - Introduction to Islam

  • Topic 1.4 - A Brief Introduction to the Prophet Muhammad (s), the Prophet of Islam

Section 2 - Foundations of Islam - Theology

  • Topic 2.1 - Satan, Jinns and Angels: Their Influence in the World

  • Topic 2.2 - The Islamic Concept of the Nafs: Battling the Human Ego

  • Topic 2.3 - The Sharīʿa: Purpose and Practice

  • Topic 2.4 - Nubuwwa: The Purpose of Prophethood in Islam

  • Topic 2.5 - Tawhīd: The Unity and Oneness of God in Islam

  • Topic 2.6 - The Usūl al-Dīn: The Fundamental Beliefs of Islam

  • Topic 2.7 - Adala: Divine Justice in Islam

  • Topic 2.8 - Entering Islam: The Shahada

  • Topic 2.9 - Maʿād: The Day of Judgment in Islam

  • Topic 2.10 - Imāmah or divinely guided leadership in Islam after the Prophet Muhammad.

Section 3 - Foundations of Islam - Obligatory Acts

  • Topic 3.1 - Accepting Islam: Putting Faith into Action

  • Topic 3.2 - The Furūʿ al-Dīn: The Fundamental Practices of Islam

  • Topic 3.3 - Salāt: Obligatory Ritual Prayers in Islam

  • Topic 3.4 - Fasting in Islam, its Purpose, Dos and Don’ts

  • Topic 3.5 - The Hajj Pilgrimage

  • Topic 3.6 - The Purpose of Zakat and Khums in Islamic Law

  • Topic 3.7 - Jihād in Islamic Law and Spirituality

  • Topic 3.8 - Commanding the Good and Forbidding Evil in Islam

  • Topic 3.9 - Tawalla and Tabarra, its Basics and Purpose

  • Topic 3.10 - The Five Categories of Islamic Law

  • Topic 3.11 - Niyya: Religious Intention as the Foundation of Islamic Practice

  • Topic 3.12 - Ritual Purity in Islamic Law: Understanding Tahāra and Najāsa

  • Topic 3.13 - Other Obligatory and Forbidden Acts in Islam

Section 4 - Prophethood in Islam

  • Topic 4.1 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Childhood (PART I of III)

  • Topic 4.2 - Bio: The Prophet Muhammad as a Prophet of God (PART II of III)

  • Topic 4.3 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Character (PART III of III)

  • Topic 4.4 - The Prophet Muhammad (s) as Messenger and Teacher

  • Topic 4.5 - The Prophet and his Relationships

  • Topic 4.6 - The Prophet’s Sunnah and Hadith

  • Topic 4.7 - Ghadīr and Arafah: The Two Last Sermons of the Prophet

  • Topic 4.8 - Jesus and Mary in Islam

Section 5 - The Qur'an and Hadith

  • Topic 5.1 - Islam and Other Religions

  • Topic 5.2 - What is the Qur’an? A Short Introduction to Islam’s Holy Book

  • Topic 5.3 - The Structure of the Holy Qur’an

  • Topic 5.4 - The Quran and Islamic law

  • Topic 5.5 - The Qur’an, Allah and Humankind

  • Topic 5.6 - Hadith and Sunnah, difference and variations

  • Topic 5.7 - The Reliability of Hadiths

  • Topic 5.8 - A Reflection on Verses of the Holy Qur’an

  • Topic 5.9 - Hadith al-Thaqalayn

  • Topic 5.10 - Imam Ali (as) and Nahj al-Balagha.

  • Topic 5.11 - Taqlid and Tawḍih Al Masail Genre of Literature

Section 6 - Measuring Good and Bad in Islam

  • Topic 6.1 - Guidance According to Islam

  • Topic 6.2 - Life and Death in Islam

  • Topic 6.3 - Heaven and Hell in Islam

  • Topic 6.4 - The Effects of Our Actions in this World

  • Topic 6.5 - The Gray Areas of Islamic Law and Morality

  • Topic 6.6 - Benefits of Islamic Law in this World

  • Topic 6.7 - Good and Bad Deeds: The Spiritual Consequences of our Choices

  • Topic 6.8 - The Effect of Culture and Environment in Shaping our Religious Choices

  • Topic 6.9 - Fate and the Consequences of our Choices in Islam

  • Topic 6.10 - Trivializing the Harām

  • Topic 6.11 - Sinning Against Others and their Delayed Punishment

  • Topic 6.12 - The Three Kinds of Rights in Islam

  • Topic 6.13 - Major Sins in Islam

  • Topic 6.14 - Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins in Islam

  • Topic 6.15 - Kufr in Islam

  • Topic 6.16 - Why Allah Allows People to Sin

Section 7 - The Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (as)

  • Topic 7.1 - Islam and Knowledge: the Importance of Islamic Education

  • Topic 7.2 - The Ahl al-Kisa

  • Topic 7.3 - Imamah in the Qur’an

  • Topic 7.4 - Fatima al-Zahrah (as)

  • Topic 7.5 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam al-Hasan until Imam Muhammad al-Baqir)

  • Topic 7.6 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam Jafar al-Sadiq until Imam Hasan al-Askari)

  • Topic 7.7 - A Brief Look at the Life and Importance of Imam al-Mahdi (aj)

  • Topic 7.8 - Salawat and Atonement in Islam

  • Topic 7.9 - The Companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet According to the Qur’an

  • Topic 7.10 - Clerical Hierarchies in Muslim Communities

  • Topic 7.11 - Mosques in Islam

  • Topic 7.12 - The Philosophy of Karbala and Majalis

  • Topic 7.13 - A Brief Biography of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)

  • Topic 7.14 - The Battle of Karbala: A Brief History

Section 8 - Islamic Relationships, Sects and Conflicts

  • Topic 8.1 - Islam and Rights

  • Topic 8.2 - Islam and Religious Conflicts

  • Topic 8.3 - Major Sects of Islam

  • Topic 8.4 - Sunnism and Shi’ism, beginnings and historical developments.

  • Topic 8.5 - Misconceptions about Shi’ism

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Special Topics
Section 9 - Independent Topics

  • Topic 9.1 - Muslim Converts – Welcome to Islam!

  • Topic 9.2 - Basic Dos and Don’ts of Being a Muslim

  • Topic 9.3 - Halal Food and Zabiha

  • Topic 9.4 - Modesty in Islam

  • Topic 9.5 - Family, Parents and Marriage in Islam

  • Topic 9.6 - Marriage in Islam

  • Topic 9.7 - Islam and Sex

  • Topic 9.8 - Women’s Menstruation in Islam

  • Topic 9.9 - Music, Alcohol, Drugs and Pork in Islam

  • Topic 9.10 - Islam and Science

  • Topic 9.11 - A Reading List of Islamic Knowledge

  • Topic 9.12 - Islam and Sufism

  • Topic 9.13 - Ritual Prayers and Supplications in Islam

  • Topic 9.14 - Death & Burial Rituals in Islam

  • Topic 9.15 - The Battle of Armageddon: An Islamic View

  • Topic 9.16 - The Muslim Calendar

  • Topic 9.17 - Muslims and non-Muslims in the Shariah

  • Topic 9.18 - A Timeline of Major Events in Islamic History

  • Topic 9.19 - Introducing the Qur’an: Why it is the way it is

  • Topic 9.20 - The School of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq

  • Topic 9.21 - Major Fields in Islamic Studies

  • Topic 9.22 - The Caliphate in Sunni and Shia Islam

  • Topic 9.23 - The Spread of Islam: After the Prophet until the Ottoman Empire

  • Topic 9.24 - Islam, Racism and Anti-Semitism

Section 10 - Islam, Religion, and Modern Controversies

  • Topic 10.1 - Modern Fallacies about God: where Theists and Atheists Agree

  • Topic 10.2 - Tawhīd: The Muslim God according to the Prophet Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt (as)

  • Topic 10.3 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Being (Wujūd)

  • Topic 10.4 - God’s Existence: The Kalam Cosmological Argument

  • Topic 10.5 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Design

  • Topic 10.6 - The Problem of Evil, Suffering and Pain

  • Topic 10.7 - Why did God Create Us? The Purpose of our Creation

  • Topic 10.8 - Why Humans Need Religion according to Islam

  • Topic 10.9 - Jahl and Spiritual Ignorance in Islam

  • Topic 10.10 - Faith in Islam: Belief without Evidence?

  • Topic 10.11 - Do Non-Muslims Go to Hell?

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Bio: The Prophet Muhammad as a Prophet of God (PART II of III)

Abstract

Here we briefly look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and the qualities that distinguished him as a Prophet of God. This is part I of the biography.

Bismillāhir Rahmānir Rahīm, As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. Peace be upon you brothers and sisters.

  Welcome back to the Muslim Converts Channel!

 PART II: The Prophet Muhammad (s) as a Prophet of God

 At the age of 25, the Prophet (s) began working for a wealthy lady of high status called Khadījah. Khadījah was older than the Prophet Muhammad (s) yet she was not married at the time. Many men over the years had proposed marriage to her, but Khadījah had rejected them all as she was not satisfied with them.  

 As an employee of Khadījah, the Prophet Muhammad (s) had shown a lot of valor, honor and honesty in his position as Khadījah’s trade representative to Syria. Remember that single women could not simply travel for trade at the time and as such, they needed to hire male delegates to do the trade for them.  

 Impressed by Muhammad’s character, Khadījah, through a third party, proposed marriage with Muhammad. As Muhammad had seen a pure heart in Khadījah as well, he immediately accepted the proposal.   

 The Prophet Muhammad (s) and Khadijah were to remain married for twenty-five years. In these twenty-five years, the Prophet remained in a completely monogamous relationship even though polygamy was very common at the time, especially for men of the Prophet Muhammad’s high social status. Remember that the Prophet Muhammad came from the Banu Hashim, the most honored family in Mecca.

 A favorite practice of the Prophet Muhammad was prayer and meditation. As a monotheist Hanīf, he worshipped God in his daily prayers. Hanīf usually referred to an Arab who followed the monotheistic message of Abraham (as).

 Although the Prophet worked in the world, he had a strong inclination for spiritual solitude by taking refuge in a mountain cave called Hira.  

 For the Prophet (s), the cave was a place of absolute silence where he could immerse himself in meditative prayer. This environment helped strengthen the Prophet’s interior silence.  

 Remember that many of us distance ourselves from God as there is too much noise in our minds. This noise blocks out God’s voice. We can live in a quiet place, and although this may be helpful, it is more important to achieve interior silence. You may, for example, get yourself out of New York, but what is primary is to take New York out of your mind.  

 The Prophet’s meditative prayer in the cave of Hira was part of the Prophet’s ascetic practice of partaking in God’s eternity. In a particularly high state of union with God, the Archangel Gabriel (as) revealed himself to the Prophet and revealed the entirety of the Qur’an to him. There the Messenger of Allah officially became God’s emissary to the world. That year was 610 A.D and he was 40 years of age which marked the beginning of his proselytizing mission to humanity.

 Although the Qur’an was revealed in complete form to the Prophet (s), he revealed it to Muslims incrementally in a space of over two decades until shortly before his death in 632 A.D.

 For the first few years of his Prophetic mission, the Prophet (s) shared the message of the Qur’an to individuals. As he did this, he gained many enemies but still, he responded in kindness, compassion and patience even to those who had mistreated him. At the time, since Abū Ṭālib was alive, few people could hurt him directly given the heavy protection he was under.

 The majority of the people who converted to Islam were of the lowest oppressed classes of society, many of whom were slaves. Although the Prophet was afforded protection from Abū Tālib and the Banu Hāshim, others did not fare well as this protection did not extend to them. Although the Prophet would have preferred this protection to extend to them, tribal rules as well as limitations in the Banu Hāshim’s power did not allow this to happen.

 In 614 A.D, those Muslims without protection fled to Abyssinia and sought refuge with the Christian king who ruled the land there.  Members of the Quraysh tribe opposed to Islam sent a delegation to the king to have the new converts returned to Mecca. Although they tried to bribe the king, he refused. The king showed his true honor at the time and his respect for Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

 Not long after this incident, the Quraysh imposed economic sanctions and social restrictions on the Prophet, the Banu Hāshim and the new Muslims. The Muslims suffered a lot under these sanctions but the sanctions eventually collapsed in less than four years. However, these sanctions had taken their toll on Khadija and Abu Talib who passed away soon afterwards.  

 This was the most difficult time of the Prophet’s life. He lost the people whom he had loved the most. With the loss of much of his former protection, the Prophet’s enemies attempted to kill him.  

 As a result, the Prophet migrated to the city of Medina in 622 A.D. This migration was called the Hijrah, meaning “migration” in Arabic. Some of the tribal chiefs of Medina had already converted to Islam when they had met him in Mecca, so Medina ended up being a safe haven for him.

 With the Prophet (s) in Medina, many Muslims started migrating to Medina for safety. Sensing the growing power and danger of Islam, the Quraysh tried to assassinate him in Medina, which fortunately did not work.  

They also opted for war which ended in the Prophet’s victory after almost a decade of fighting. In the year 630 A.D, the Prophet Muhammad (s) conquered Mecca.  

 It is noteworthy here that the Prophet never started a single war. Every war he partook in was defensive in nature. Even the conquest of Mecca was the result of the Prophet defending himself.  

 The Meccan elite had caused the Prophet many years of agony. They had killed and mutilated many of his friends and loved ones. They were responsible for the hardships that contributed to the deaths of his wife Khadijah and Abū Tālib. They had also mutilated his uncle Hamza and ate his liver.

 Despite this, the Prophet (s) showed no inclination for revenge. He forgave the Meccans for the injustices they had done to him.

 Instead, the Prophet (s) entered the city with his head bowed down in humility. All he asked the people around him was if he had fulfilled his duty to God. The Muslims in response answered in the affirmative.  

 The Prophet Muhammad (s) died in the year 632 A.D. In the same year, before he died, he made sure to appoint a successor. This successor was to take on the Prophet’s religious mission on earth. For this to happen, this successor had to inherit the primordial light of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and receive unmediated divine knowledge from God.  

 Since the message was complete and perfect, no new revelation was needed. As such, this successor did not have to be a Prophet. But by virtue of his divine appointment and as a manifestation of the primordial Muhammadan light in this world, he was to be called an Imām, that is, a divinely appointed leader for the guidance of humankind.  

 The new Imām, like the Prophet Muhammad (s) and Prophet Jesus (as) before him, was also to be the qutb of the world, that is, that perfect human being who was to be the cosmic and universal leader for all of God’s saints and the mediator between the divine and human realms.  

 The presence of the qutb or divine pole as God’s primordial light in the world was necessary for the continued existence of the earth for he was the channel through which God’s providence and mercy unto the world was made possible.  

 This new Imām and Qutb of the world was no other than ʿAli, the son of Abū Tālib. His was the beginning of the divine institution of Imāmate that was to last twelve generations until the Day of Judgment.  

 Please make sure to tune in the third part of this lesson. Until Next Time, Thank you for watching. As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh

Banu Hāshim

Clan of the Prophet

Quraysh

Tribe of the Prophet

Cave of Hira


 Cave the Prophet meditated and prayed in

Hanīf


An Arab who followed the monotheistic message of Abraham

Mecca


City the Prophet was born in

Medina

City the Prophet migrated to and found as his permanent base.

Hijrah

the Prophet’s migration to Medina in the year 622.

Khadījah

The first wife of the Prophet

Abū Ṭālib

 The uncle of the Prophet

ʿAbd Al-Muṭṭalib

The Prophet’s grandfather

Qutb

literally means pole. It is that perfect human being who is the cosmic and universal leader of all of God’s saints and the mediator between the divine and human realms. His presence is necessary for the continued existence of the world.

Q1

Why did the Prophet migrate to Medina?

To flee persecution and assassination attempts on his life

Q2

Did Abū Ṭālib convert to Islam?

Yes, he was of the best of Muslims, however, in order to preserve his power so that he could defend the Prophet, he kept his Muslim identity secret from most people.

Q3

Did the King of Abyssinia convert to Islam?

We are not 100% sure, but we know he respected Islam and the Qur’an very much.

Q4

Did the Prophet ever go on offensive wars?

No, all of his wars were defensive in nature. He never began wars.

Q5

Why did the Prophet marry multiple women after the death of Khadījah?

The Prophet only married them in order to create tribal alliances so that he could defend Islam which, at the time, was under threat. At the height of his power after the conquest of Mecca, he did not take any additional wives.

Prophet Muhammad
Hanif
Ismāʿīl
Jesus
Abraham
Abrahamic
Qur’an
Mecca
polytheists
idol worshipers
prophet of islam
jesus
moses
noah
adam
meccans
tribes
war
slaves
Abyssinia
Abū Ṭālib
Abū Tālib
Banu Hāshim
messenger of allah
ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib
Kaʿba
Imāmate
ʿAlī
Ali
qutb

Hayatul Qulub: A Detailed Biography of the Prophet Muhammad by Allamah al-Majlisi
The Prophet Muhammad: A Mercy to the World by Muhammad Shirazi
The Message by Jafar Subhani