Page 44 - History of The Quranic Text | Kalamullah.Com

24 THE HISTORY OF THE QUR'ANIC TEXT

i. The Birth of Muhammad ~

As mentioned earlier 'Abdullah, Muhammad's father, died while Amina
was in pregnancy. Muhammad was therefore born into precarious circum-
stances, a member of a poor but very noble family. Soon bereft of hismother
as well, he became an orphan at the age of six and took to working as a
shepherd in Makkah's barren landscape." Following in the footsteps of
Quraishi fashion he began engaging in trade, and here his integrity and
success as a merchant attracted the attention of an older and particularly
intelligent rich widow,Khadfja, who eventually married him.t? Muhammad
was renowned throughout the city for this honesty and integrity in all
matters; quoting Ibn Ishaq: "Prior to the revelations, Quraish labelled the
Prophet as 'the trustworthy one' (c:r.,..\tl: am'in)".50

ii. Muhammad ~, the Amm

There came a time when Quraish concurred on the necessity of rebuilding
the Ka'ba; allocating the work among themselves, each sub-clan gathering
stones and built a portion of the structure by itself As the construction
reached the Black Stone (~r\t\pI) a controversy ignited. Every sub-clan
quarrelled for the sole honour of depositing the Black Stone into its appro-
priate corner, to the point where allianceswere quicklyformed and hostilities
appeared inevitable. Abu Umayya, who at the time was the oldest man in
Quraish, urged them to consent to the judgment of the first man entering
the gate of the Holy Sanctuary, and they approved. It so happened that
the first to enter was none other than Muhammad, Seeing him Quraish
exclaimed, "Here comes the amin, we are pleased with him [as a judge].
Here comes Muhammad." When he was informed of the dispute he asked
for a cloak. He then took the Black Stone, placed it on the cloak, and told
each sub-clan to clutch a side of the garment and lift it collectively. This
they did, and once they were at the designated spot he raised the Black
Stone and set it in with his own hands. With the controversy dissipated
to everyone's satisfaction, the construction continued without incident.!'

48 Al-Bukhari, SaWz, Ijara:2.
49 Ibn Hisham, Sira, vol. 1-2, pp. 187-189
50 ibid,vol. 1-2,p. 197.
51 ibid, vol. 1-2, pp. 196-7.