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Episode 114, The Life of Muhammad, Part 1, Cobwebs.

In this program, we will learn about the life and world of the prophet Muhammad, from his

birth in about 570, CE, up to the Hizra of 622, or the immigration of the earliest Muslim converts

from Mecca to Medina.

There are few people in history who have inspired more biographical writings than Muhammad.

From the oral traditions that immediately post-dated him,

to early biographies by Ibn Issaq, Ibn Sad, Al-Wakidi, and others,

to the hundreds of thousands of short prophetic narratives

that began being systematically compiled in the mid-800s, Muhammad's life, actions, and sayings

have been sources of interest to billions over the past millennium and a half. His life story,

even in the reserved pages of modern academic

biographies, is an epic tale. The prophet began his life as an orphan, sent to do humdrum

work with caravan camels. Through intelligence and steady moral fiber, Muhammad rose to become a

respected businessman in the trade organizations of Arabia's

Hijaz region. He worked hard, met thousands of people from all walks of life, and in spite of

nearly everyone doubting his prophetic revelations, including himself, he eventually rose to

become a leader, a legislator, a general, an adjudicator, a sage, and later, an

exemplar of a life well-lived. Of all the quotes about Muhammad set down during antiquity,

I will begin this three-part series with one set down by the early biographer Halwakidi.

That quote is, quote, when the messenger of God made a deliberate effort

...