The next phase in the Prophet's PBUH life is when he was a young man, around 14-15. As we mentioned many times, we have very little about the Prophet's PBUH life 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 was witnessing and recording the incidents.
(ii) Nobody knew that he was going to become 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 note: this shows that most sahaba didn't even know he had a job as a shepherd — let alone the other details.) They thought the Prophet PBUH would be an exception — but the Prophet PBUH replied, "I was. And I used to tend to the flock of the people of Makkah in return for some qararit (قراريط - pennies/insignificant amount of money)." In another hadith, it's said the Prophet PBUH saw some of the shepherds taking care of the sheep they had and said, "I advise you to find the tree of arak (أراك - Salvadora persica/toothbrush tree) and find the darker branches as this will be better for your flock." So they were shocked and asked, "How do you know this, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "I used to be a shepherd, and every prophet of Allah used to be a shepherd." In another narration, in Musnad Imam Ahmad, the Prophet PBUH is recorded to have said, "Musa was sent (to become a prophet) when he was a shepherd. Dawud was sent when he was a shepherd. And I too was a shepherd in [the valley of] Ajyad (أجياد)."
If Allah had willed, the Prophet PBUH could have been born rich, and money would have been poured upon him as a child, teenager, and adult. Why would Allah let the Prophet PBUH start his life with the most menial, lowest-paid, most difficult job in all of Makkah? There are a lot of wisdoms:
1. As a shepherd, you have the opportunity to spend time alone with your thoughts. Taking your flock away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life allows you to contemplate the purpose of existence. It's no coincidence that those who are absorbed in their work and worldly pursuits tend to be less spiritual, with atheism being more prevalent in wealthy countries with high-paying jobs. On the other hand, farmers, who spend their days tending to the land and observing nature, are generally more contemplative and religious. When you are involved with nature —the creation of Allah SWT— it has an impact on your soul. You cannot really be an atheist if you are involved with nature. Conversely, when you are cut off from the creation of Allah and immersed in the dunya, your heart becomes hard, and you can even be so arrogant as to say there is no God.
2. Sheep are similar to men. They need to be taken care of or else they will go astray. This is why they need a shepherd to guide and protect them. And each animal has its own unique personality — and a good shepherd understands this. He knows how to treat each animal according to its individual needs. Some sheep are stubborn and require a firmer hand, while others are more sensitive and require a gentler approach. Some know where they are going, while others just follow the pack. A good shepherd knows each animal individually and deals with them accordingly. And 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. You must be gentle and compassionate towards your flock while also being brave and courageous when defending them against predators like wolves and other beasts. Our Prophet PBUH said in a hadith, "The people who own horses will be the ones full of pride, the people who own camels will be the ones full of arrogance, and the people who own sheep will be the ones full of humility and humbleness." So we can surmise this is why Allah made every prophet a shepherd. (So it's not a coincidence, by the way, that the Prophet PBUH was very tender towards other animals as well: in a hadith, it's narrated that a camel approached the Prophet PBUH, making distressing noises and tears coming out of its eyes. So he PBUH comforted the camel until it calmed down and then found the owner and told him, "This animal has complained 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 demonstrates the tenderness of the Prophet PBUH.)
4. It shows that the Prophet PBUH understands that 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. He engaged in the most basic, difficult, and low-paying manual labor, which teaches us that there is no shame in working hard for your own income. In a hadith, the Prophet PBUH said, "The purest money you can earn is that which you earn with your own hands. And even the Prophet Dawud AS would earn his money from the labors of his hands." (Note: Prophet Dawud AS was an ironsmith and a carpenter.)
6. To teach us the value of starting from the bottom and working our way up — by starting from the bottom, we will be better equipped to do justice to and appreciate the blessings and success that Allah blesses us with. And additionally, if you start at the top (if somehow it happens by a fluke of coincidence, or birthright, etc.), you are not ever going to be as successful as those who started from the bottom and worked their way up. This is the reality of business as it is of religion. Look at the most successful entrepreneurs on the surface of this earth —Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, et al.— they all started from the bottom and they are the ones who then built the largest empires. The same applies to the Prophet PBUH — he started right from the bottom and worked his way to the highest pinnacle. And look how true is this statement of Allah SWT when He says in Surah al-Duha (سورة الضحى):
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 not abandoned you, nor has He become hateful [of you]. And the next life is certainly far better for you than this one. And [surely] your Lord will give so much to you that you will be pleased. Did He not find you as an orphan then sheltered you? Did He not find you unguided then guided you? And did He not find you needy then satisfied your needs? So do not oppress the orphan, nor repulse the beggar. And proclaim the blessings of your Lord" [Quran, 93:3-11].
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The Fijar Wars (the Evil Wars)
After the incident of being a shepherd, only two or three things are recorded before the prophethood begins.
When the Prophet PBUH was a teenager, between 15 and 18 (most likely closer to 15, as he didn't physically fight in the battle, which shows that he was not of the age to carry a sword, when in those days, around 15 was when you were regarded as a full adult and allowed to carry a sword), the Quraysh fought in the Harb al-Fijar (حرب الفجار - the Evil Wars). The Fijar Wars is a series of small battles that broke out between two large tribes of Arabia: Kinana (كنانة) and Qays Aylan (قيس عيلان).
- The tribe of Quraysh belongs to a much larger branch called Kinana.
- Another large branch was called Qays Aylan which was composed of tribes such as Ghatafan (غطفان) and Hawazin (هوازن).
To make a long story short: A person from Kinana killed somebody from the Hawazin. When they found out, the Hawazin attacked the Kinanite tribes. So the Kinanite tribes, including the Quraysh, rushed back to Makkah — they did this because the rule of law was "whoever enters the Haram is safe." But 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 Kinanite tribes, as indeed, killing a person is a crime — however, attacking the sanctity of the Haram is a much bigger crime — and therefore, the Quraysh declared all-out war against the Hawazin and Qays Aylan tribes. And this war is called the Wars of Fijar — because both sides committed evil, and especially because the sanctity of the Haram was broken, which is the height of evil.
And the Prophet's PBUH job was to find and look for the 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. And Abu Talib saw this, so he 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.
And it is recorded that after Islam, when the Prophet PBUH was much older, he said, "I remember participating in the Fijar Wars, and I would collect arrows for my uncles and hand them back to them. And 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 (حلف الفضول), also called Hilf al-Mutayyabin (حلف المطيبين) — 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 Months, and took place in Makkah.
A person from the tribe of Zubayd (زبيد) —a tribe from Yemen, which in Makkah was not considered to be as elite— sold a number of items to al-As ibn Wa'il (العاص بن وائل), the father of Amr ibn al-As, before hajj, as a merchant. And al-As ibn Wa'il is a chieftain, a politician, a career statesman in the Quraysh, and also a rich businessman — and he told the man, "I'll give you the money after hajj before you go back to Yemen."
So this man performs the hajj, and then he goes to al-As and asks for his money. But 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 the Quraysh, e.g., Banu Hashim, Banu Abd al-Dar, etc., asking for help — but everyone makes an excuse, as al-As is a rich politician. And the tribesmen of Zubayd are all 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.
And in those days, to make things public, they would compose poems and announce them. So the man said a poem out loud one day when everybody was 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 (إحرام)! My hair is not combed nor have I finished my Umrah (عمرة)! Where are my men to help me? Between the Hijr (حجر - Hijr Ismail) and the Hajar (حجر - 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!"
And the news spread like wildfire. Al-Zubayr ibn Abdul Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet PBUH, heard of this, and he 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 (عبد الله بن جدعان), a distinct uncle of Aisha RA who 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 their tribe — even if the one who is shown injustice is from a faraway tribe, and the oppressor is from the Quraysh.
And they all went in front of the Ka'bah and 'signed their names on a document.' Now of course they are all unlettered — 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)?!"
When the Prophet PBUH was much older, he said, as recorded 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. And he PBUH said, "In that treaty, they all agreed that the rights would be given back to the one who deserves 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. Thus 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 — so the Prophet PBUH participated. Though one may say the Prophet PBUH didn't physically fight, there is no denying that he PBUH aided. So even though the minutiae of the extent of the participation is debatable, 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, especially 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 our time, in that, as an ummah, some of us think we should only get involved in purely Islamic causes — and so they don't get involved in causes against racism, oppression, poverty, child abuse, etc. And they only care about Syria, Palestine, etc. —and no doubt, 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 time, especially as Muslims 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 was a bearded Muslim with a skullcap — nothing to do with Islam — but that is the best dawah. Imagine if a muhajjibah sister (hijabi) talks against racism, oppression, etc. — nothing about Islam — but her message in and of itself is dawah. 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 us 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 became a prophet, he was known, he was loved, he was respected, his Message then became 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.
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 and virtue. They agreed to come together to help the wronged and the oppressed. Even though it was a 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, and the rebuilding of the Ka'bah, insha'Allah.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Muhammad Abdul Rahman, March 2023]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Muhammad Abdul Rahman, March 2023]
