The life of the prophet: from the public call to the passing of Abu Talib and Khadījah

The life of the prophet: from the public call to the passing of Abu Talib and Khadījah

by: Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi
Oxford

One of the most remarkable aspects of the sīrah, the life of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is that it exists at all. It is not a myth, nor a legend, nor a symbolic drama. It is a record of a human life unfolding within the real fabric of history. The Prophet behaves as a human being: he makes decisions, takes steps, responds to events, and lives within the natural order of the world. Yet he does so under the constant eye of Allah. Whenever he makes an error in judgement, he is corrected by revelation. This interaction between the divine and the human gives the sīrah its extraordinary depth. The Prophet’s life is neither detached from reality nor elevated beyond the reach of human experience. Every event occurs as part of history, not as a series of magical acts detached from cause and effect. If Allah had willed to make the Prophet’s mission instantaneous and miraculous, He could have done so with a mere command. But then there would have been no history, no human struggle, and no lessons for mankind to draw from the Prophet’s example.

This is precisely what gives the sīrah its living character. It is not a tale of wonders; it is a record of reality. It unfolds in the natural sequence of events, through patience, hardship, effort, and gradual success. In contrast, modern times tend to glorify speed and spectacle. People wish for things to happen immediately, as if by magic, and nations attempt to build power and civilisation through rapid, artificial means. Yet, because such efforts lack the depth of real growth, they rarely produce enduring results. Real civilisation, as the sīrah teaches, is not created overnight. It develops through the steady, disciplined application of effort, guided by moral purpose and divine faith.

The life of the Prophet shows that the future was unseen to him. Only Allah knew what was to come. The Prophet acted in the present, with trust in Allah to guide the outcome. The space between what he could see and what Allah alone knew was bridged by his tawakkul, his complete reliance upon his Lord. The sīrah is not like a scripted play, as the Greeks once wrote and the modern West continues to imitate. In those dramas, every line and action is predetermined before the play is performed. By contrast, the sīrah unfolds in real time, in the real world, through real causes. It is worldly in the sense that everything in it happens through proper means, not through fantasy.

Every story within the Prophet’s life, and within the lives of his male and female companions, reflects this quality of reality. Their experiences were not imagined or exaggerated; they were lived. The early Muslims faced persecution, rejection, and hardship. They made decisions, took risks, and bore the consequences. They were not characters in a myth, but human beings striving sincerely in the path of truth. The Prophet, too, constantly adapted to the circumstances around him. He changed his strategy when conditions required it, he waited when patience was wiser, and he acted when action was necessary. Yet, amid all these adjustments, one element remained constant: his trust in Allah and his complete submission to His will.

This teaches a profound moral lesson. It is not through possessions or appearances that greatness is achieved. A person does not become a great runner simply by buying the best shoes; one becomes a great runner by running, by exerting effort, discipline, and persistence. The shoes may assist, but they do not create greatness. In our time, people often concentrate on the “shoes”: the external tools, the material advantages, the shortcuts. They forget the “running”: the inner effort, the spiritual and moral struggle. The Prophet’s life demonstrates that true success comes through the act of striving itself, rooted in faith and sincerity.

The range of the Prophet’s experience is vast and comprehensive. It encompasses every human condition, prosperity and hardship, joy and grief, companionship and solitude, victory and loss. From the moment he made his call to the faith public, he encountered opposition from his tribe, ridicule from the leaders of Quraysh, and isolation from those he once lived among peacefully. Yet neither he nor his followers turned away in despair. They struggled and persevered, placing their trust in Allah even when the future appeared uncertain. Through this struggle, they were gradually led to success.

This period of the Prophet’s life reached one of its most painful points with the deaths of his uncle, Abu Ṭālib, and his beloved wife, Khadījah. Abu Ṭālib had protected him from the hostility of the Quraysh, using his influence as a respected elder to shield his nephew. Khadījah, on the other hand, had been his emotional support and the first person to believe in his message. She provided not only material comfort but also deep reassurance at times when his mission was heavy with trials. Their loss left the Prophet without two of his greatest sources of comfort and support. It was a period marked by grief and uncertainty, often referred to as the ‘Ām al-Ḥuzn, the Year of Sorrow.

Yet even in this time of personal pain and apparent weakness, the Prophet’s faith remained firm. He continued to act with clear judgement and purpose. He did not fall into despair or confusion, nor did he act rashly. His connection to Allah was his constant guide. Every choice he made was grounded in faith and reason, not in impulse. This steadfastness shows that his strength did not depend on worldly protection or companionship alone, but on the unshakeable foundation of his trust in Allah.

Throughout this process, one truth stands out above all others: everything depends upon the quality of faith. Faith determines the soundness of action, the clarity of thought, and the strength to endure hardship. It is the inner light by which human beings can navigate the uncertainties of life. The Prophet’s life shows that faith is not a passive feeling but an active force. It moves one to act rightly, to persevere in adversity, and to maintain hope when all worldly support has vanished. His companions, following his example, shared this same spirit. They did not seek ease or miracles; they sought to live rightly, trusting that the outcome lay in Allah’s hands.

When viewed as a whole, the sīrah from the moment of the public call to the deaths of Abu Ṭālib and Khadījah represents a profound demonstration of how divine guidance operates within human history. It is a life lived not through magical intervention but through the natural processes of effort, trial, and faith. Each event unfolds in accordance with the laws of life that Allah has established, yet each is suffused with divine purpose. The sīrah thus reconciles the worldly and the spiritual: it shows that to live in the world faithfully is itself a form of divine service.

In the modern world, where speed and spectacle are often mistaken for progress, the lessons of the sīrah are more relevant than ever. True civilisation, as the Prophet’s example teaches, is built slowly, with sincerity, effort, and moral integrity. It cannot be produced by shortcuts or by illusion. The Prophet’s life stands as a timeless reminder that real achievement, whether spiritual, moral, or civilisational, depends not on external forms but on the quality of faith and the reality of human striving. His story is the story of how trust in Allah transforms struggle into success, hardship into strength, and history itself into a record of divine wisdom working through human lives.

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