Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 8 - The early manhood of Prophet Muhammed - Yasir Qadhi | September 2011

The next phase in the Prophet's PBUH life was when he was a young man, around 14-15. As we mentioned many times, we have very little about the Prophet PBUH at this age. The early life of the Prophet PBUH is the most undocumented. We have nothing from the time he was 9-15 except for one story here, one story there. And we explained why:

(i) Nobody is witnessing and recording the incidents
(ii) Nobody knew that he was going to be a prophet of Allah
(iii) There was no writing in Makkah
(iv) Those who lived long enough to narrate the story were few

Prophet Muhammad PBUH as a Shepherd

We do however know the first job of the Prophet PBUH, and this hadith is in Bukhari so it is authentic: the Prophet PBUH said, "Allah never sent a prophet except that he was a shepherd." The sahaba asked, "Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?" (Side point: this shows that most sahaba didn't even know he had a job as a shepherd, let alone the other details.) They thought he would be an exception, but the Prophet PBUH replied, "Yes, I was, and I used to tend to the flock of the people of Makkah in return for some qararit (pennies)." In another hadith, the Prophet PBUH saw some of the shepherd taking care of the sheep they had and said, "I advise you to find the tree of the Arak (a specific tree) and find the darker branches as this will be better for your flock." And they were shocked and asked, "How do you know this?" He said, "I used to be a shepherd and every prophet of Allah used to be a shepherd." In another narration it’s said, "Musa and Dawud were sent when they were shepherds, and I was sent when I was a shepherd in the valley of Ajyad."

If Allah willed, the Prophet PBUH could have been born rich with money as a child, young man and adult. Why would Allah will the Prophet PBUH starts his life with the most menial, lowest paid, most difficult job in all of Makkah? There is a lot of wisdoms:


1. Being a shepherd gives you the opportunity to engage in solitude and think. You take your flock and you go away and think, contemplate and infer about the purpose of life. Indeed those people who are engrossed with their jobs and dunya are the least spiritual. It's not a coincidence that atheism is more popular amongst the rich countries and those with highly paid jobs. But farmers are more religious and contemplating. You cannot be an atheist if you are tending the flock, seeing nature etc. You will develop this Iman due to your natural fitrah. But people of the city that are immersed in materialism have harder hearts and thus find it easy to claim there is no God.

2. Sheep are similar to men. They need to be taken care of or else they will go astray. They need a shepherd. Every single animal has a personality and the shepherd understands this personality. You need to treat every animal according to its personality. Some sheep are stubborn, some are soft, some know where they are going, others just follow the pack. The shepherd knows each sheep individually and deals with each animal accordingly. This is what a leader needs to do. And thus the prophets of Allah needed this experience.

3. Being a shepherd makes you soft and tender on the one hand, and brave and courageous on the other. Soft and tender for your own flock, brave and courageous in fighting wolves and other beasts that attack your flock. Our Prophet PBUH said, "The people who own horses are going to be the ones who are full of pride, the people who own camels are going to be the ones who are full of arrogance, and the people who own sheep will be the ones full of humility and humbleness." This is indeed a factual statement. This is why Allah made every prophet a shepherd. And it's not a coincidence that the Prophet PBUH was very tender towards animals. In a hadith it's narrated that a camel came to the Prophet PBUH making noises, and tears came out of its eyes. The Prophet PBUH soothed the camel until it stopped crying. Then the Prophet PBUH asked, "Where is the owner of this camel?" A man came. And the Prophet PBUH said, "This animal has complain against you, that you overwork it, underfeed it, and you beat it! Fear Allah with regards to these animals that Allah has blessed you with." Subhan'Allah, this shows the tenderness of the Prophet PBUH.

4. It shows that the Prophet PBUH understands he needs to earn money - not just be a freeloader but rather be independent and help his uncle out.

5. To show the simple lifestyle of the Prophet PBUH. That he used to do the most basic, difficult, and low paid manual labor. This shows us there is no dishonor in working for your own money. The Prophet PBUH said, "The purest money you can earn is that which you earn with your own hands." Even Prophet Dawud AS did this - he was an iron smith and a carpenter.

6. This also shows that even when the Prophet PBUH became a prophet, he was not embarrassed to tell people of his simple past. This is the reality of everything - you need to start at the bottom and then work your way to the top. If you start at the top (somehow it happens, a fluke of coincidence, birthright, etc.), you're not ever going to be as successful as those who started from the bottom and work their way to the top. This is the reality of business as it is for religion. Look at the most successful entrepreneurs on the surface of this earth (Steve Jobs etc.) - they all started from the bottom and they are the ones who then built the largest empires; Never is the one who inherits all of this instantaneously as successful as the one who builds it from scratch. The same applies for the Prophet PBUH - he started right from the bottom and reached the pinnacle at the top. He went through every phase of life, and then when you get there, then indeed Allah has blessed you with it, and Allah has caused you to deserve it and earn it; otherwise if you just get it without any labor, then you will not appreciate it, and you will not do justice to it. And certainly we see this in Surah al-Duha:

مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ

وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الْأُولَىٰ

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ

 أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَىٰ

وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَىٰ

وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ

فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ

وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ

وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ

"Your Lord has neither forsaken you nor hated you. And indeed the Hereafter is better for you than the present (life of this world). And verily, your Lord will give you so that you shall be well-pleased. Did He not find you an orphan and gave you a refuge? And He found you unaware and guided you? And He found you poor, and made you rich? Therefore, treat not the orphan with oppression; And repulse not the beggar; And proclaim the Grace of your Lord." [93:3-11]

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The Fijar Wars (the Evil Wars)

After the incident of being a shepherd, we only have a few narrations before the prophethood begins.

When the Prophet PBUH was a teenager, between 15 and 18, closer to 15 (as he didn't physically fight, which shows that he was not of the age to carry a sword, when in those days around 15 is when you are regarded as a full adult and allowed to carry a sword), the Quraysh fought in the Wars of Fijar.

The Fijar Wars is a series of small battles that broke out between two large tribes of Arabia. The tribe of Quraysh belongs to a much larger branch called Kinana. And another large branch was called Qays 'Aylan which composed of tribes such as Ghatafan and Hawazin.

To make a long story short: A person from Kinana killed somebody from the Hawazin. When they found out, the Hawazin attacked the Kinanaic tribes. So the Kinanaic tribes, including the Quraysh, rushed back to Makkah - they did this because the rule of law was, "Whoever enters the Haram is safe". The Hawazin followed them, and because they were so angry, they didn't care about the sanctity of the Haram and they attacked the Kinana.

Now this is interesting: The initial fault was that of the Kinanaic tribes, but the rebuttal was much more severe. Indeed killing one person outside the Haram is a crime, but attacking the sanctity of the Haram is a much bigger crime. And thus the Quraysh declared all out war against Hawazin and the Qays 'Aylan tribes. So all out war broke out, called the Wars of Fijar.

The Prophet's PBUH job was to find and look for these arrows (that missed the target) and return them to his uncles.

Initially the Quraysh was losing, but eventually they won over. Whenever the Prophet PBUH would appear on the day with the Quraysh, they would win over; but whenever he would not be at home, they would lose ground. So Abu Talib saw this and said, "By Allah, you are going to stay with us." And eventually a peace treaty was enacted, the Quraysh agreed to pay the blood money, so the fighting stopped.

The Prophet PBUH (when he's much older) says, "I remember participating in the Fijar Wars (Evil Wars - because both sides committed evil, and especially because the sanctity of the Haram was broken, which is the height of evil) and I would collect arrows for my uncles and hand them back to them."

And the Prophet PBUH also said, "I do not regret participating in that war."

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The Hilf al-Fudul

In another few years, a more famous incident occurred, called the Hilf al-Fudul, also called Hilf al-Mutayyabin - the Treaty/Pact of Fudul or Mutayyabin. At this stage, the Prophet PBUH is probably in his early 20s. This pact occurred in Dhu al-Qa'dah, one of the Sacred Month, and took place in Makkah.

A person from the tribe of Zubayd (from Yemen) which in Makkah was not considered to be as elite, sold a number of items to al-As ibn Wa'il (the father of Amr ibn al-As) before Hajj, as a merchant. Al-As ibn Wa'il is a chieftain, politician, and a rich businessman in the Quraysh. Al-As ibn Wa'il told him that, "I'll give you the money after Hajj before you go back to Yemen." So this man performs the Hajj and goes to al-As and asks for his money. al-As says, "Come back tomorrow." So he does so. But then al-As says again, "Come back tomorrow." And this continued until this man realizes that he won't get his money back. So this person goes to the other subtribes in Quraysh e.g. Banu Hashim, Banu Abd al-Dar, Banu Abd al-Manaf etc. asking for help, but everyone makes an excuse, as al-As is a rich politician. The tribesmen of Zubayd are far away in Yemen, so there aren't any people ready to fight for him. Feeling completely trapped, he decided to make this a public issue.

In those days, to make things public, they would 'write' poems and announce them. So he said a poem out loud one day when everybody is gathered around the Ka'bah:

يا آلَ فِهْرٍ لِمَظْلُومٍ بِضَاعَتُهُ *** بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ نَائِي الدَّارِ وَالنَّفَرِ 

وَمُحْرِمٍ أَشْعَثٍ لَمْ يَقْضِ عُمْرَتَهُ *** يَا لَلرِّجَالِ وَبَيْنَ الْحِجْرِ وَالْحَجَرِ

إِنَّ الْحَرَامَ لِمَنْ مَاتَتْ كَرَامَتُهُ *** وَلاَ حَرَامَ لِثَوْبِ الفَاجِرِ الغُدَرِ

 "O family of Fihr (Quraysh)! I am one who has been unjustly treated because of my merchandise! I am in the valley of Makkata, far away from my home and away from people to protect me! I am still in my ihram! My hair is not combed nor have I finished my umrah! Where are my men to help me? Between the Hijr (the Maqam Ibrahim) and the Hajar (the Stone) you are doing this to me! The true Haram belongs to those who are noble! There is no sanctity to the one who wears a thobe while he is a traitor!"

The news spread like wildfire. Al-Zubayr ibn Abdul Muttalib (the uncle of the Prophet PBUH) heard of this and decided something had to be done. So he convened a gathering of all of the senior members of the Quraysh in the house of Abdullah ibn Jud'an (a distinct uncle of Aisha RA and was considered to be the most noble of the people of Makkah in terms of hospitality and genuine sincerity). And here is where they agreed to a treaty that they would side with the oppressed against the oppressor regardless of tribe. Even if the one who is shown injustice is from a far away tribe, and the oppressor is from Quraysh.

And they all went in front of the Ka'bah and they 'signed their name on a document.' Now of course they are all illiterate - they can't read or write. So what they would do instead is dip their hand in perfume and put that perfume on the Ka'bah on the same place. And this is why it's called Hilf al-Mutayyabin, the Treaty of Those Who Have Perfumed Themselves. It is also called Hilf al-Fudul because when al-As heard of this, he said, "Why did they have to get involved in a matter that is fuduli (none of their business)?!"

The Prophet PBUH (when he's much older) said in Sahih Bukhari, "I witnessed in the house of Abdullah ibn Jud'an a treaty that, were I asked to uphold it even in Islam, I would do so. And I would not be willing to give up my place for a lot of red camels." - meaning the Prophet PBUH was very proud to be a part of this treaty and would not give up his place in it even for a lot of money. The Prophet PBUH says, "In that treaty, they all agreed that the rights would be given back to the one who deserve them, and that no oppressor would have an upper hand over the one who is oppressed."

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Lessons From Fijar Wars and Hilf al-Fudul

We can derive many benefits from these two stories:

1. The Prophet PBUH did not regret participating in the Wars of Fijar - showing what he did was correct. Some scholars derived from this that it's permissible to fight in wars that are not necessarily religious. Indeed both sides were pagan. And it was not a clear cut good vs evil, as both sides had done evil (one side more than the other). But it's a war to defend the Haram and the sanctity of the Haram. And of course the Prophet PBUH didn't physically fight, but he aided. So even though the minutiae of the extent of the participation is debatable, but the bottom line is that even in wars that are not purely religious, the Muslim has some leeway to get involved. So this is something to think about in the world that we live in - indeed many wars are not religious (esp. the ones that don't involve Muslim lands), but the fiqh of whether we can help or not is something that can be discussed based on this incident.

2. The incident of Hilf al-Fudul shows that the Prophet PBUH was actively involved with the society of his time, even though the society was not Muslim. And the causes he got involved with were not purely religious. But as it involved justice, truth, and helping the oppressed, the Prophet PBUH was proud to have been there. He said, "Were I called to uphold that treaty [even now as a Muslim and as a prophet], I would do so." This clearly shows us that getting involved in public causes is a part of being a good Muslim. And this is a big issue, in that, as an ummah, we think we should only get involved in purely Islamic causes - we don't get involved with [causes against] racism, oppression, poverty, child abuse, etc. We only care about Syria, Palestine etc. - these are all good causes but at the same time we learn that the Prophet PBUH was an active member of HIS society who supported justice regardless of religion. So we should do the same in our times, especially as Muslim living in a non-Muslim land. Imagine the effect of our dawah if a representative of the Red Cross society asking for blood donation on TV is a bearded Muslim with a skull cap; nothing to do with Islam - but that is the best dawah. Imagine if a muhajjibah sister talks against racism, oppression, etc.; nothing about Islam - but her message in and of itself is dawah. The involvement with society is the best dawah that we can do. Because oppression is oppression regardless of [the religion of] who does it and who it's done against. Racism is racism. Child abuse is child abuse. Poverty is poverty. It affects all of us. When we become involved with the problems of society, people see you as sincere - then when you come forth and say, "I am a Muslim," your Islam is shown to be a sincere faith. And this is what the Prophet PBUH did. He was involved with the problems of his society and solving them - THEN when he becomes a prophet, he is known, he is loved, he is respected, his message now becomes acceptable; and none of the Quraysh could come and say, "Where were you when we needed you? Who are you to preach to us?" The bottom line is that there are common human values: justice, security, etc. and the Muslim needs to be at the forefront of these issues. When we support justice and have the proper theology, it will come as a total package. Unfortunately, some Muslim think that dawah is only talk, preaching through theology, debate, etc. - no doubt this is one aspect, but not bulk of the dawah.

3. It clearly demonstrates the status of the Prophet PBUH, in that, he is called to witness the treaty and he is the youngest participant at 20 years old. This shows that they saw in him a future leader - one who is truthful and honest and well respected.

4. Despite all the differences and problems of the Quraysh, they still had characteristics of nobility, virtue, etc. They agreed to come together to help the wronged and the oppressed. Thus even though it was the time of Jahiliyyah, there was still an element of good - and because of this, Allah sent the Prophet PBUH in their midst to revive those very virtues.

Next time we will discuss the Prophet's PBUH marriage to Khadija RA, the rebuilding of the Ka'bah, and how the Prophet PBUH was protected as a young man.

Seerah of Prophet Muhammad 9 - Marriage to Khadija and Re building of Kaaba.