What about the Prophet’s life before his Prophethood?

Muhammad’s life before his Prophethood

This was Prophet Muhammad’s homeland. His father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was six years old. Consequently, he was deprived of whatever training and upbringing an Arab child of that time received. During his childhood, he tended flocks of sheep and goats with other Bedouin boys. As education never touched him, he remained completely unlettered and unschooled.

The Prophet left the Arabian peninsula only twice. As a youth, he accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on a trade mission to al-Sham (present-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan). The other time was when he led another trade mission to the same region for the widow Khadijah, a wealthy Makkan merchant 15 years his senior. They got married when he was 25, and lived happily together until she died about 20 years later.

Being illiterate, he read no Jewish or Christian religious texts or had any appreciable relationship with them. Makka’s ideas and customs were idolatrous and wholly untouched by Christian or Jewish religious thought. Even Makka’s hanifs,33 who rejected idolatry, were not influenced by Judaism or Christianity. No Jewish or Christian thought is reflected in these people’s surviving poetic heritage. Had the Prophet made any effort to become acquainted with their thought, it would have been noticed.

Moreover, Muhammad avoided the locally popular intellectual forms of poetry and rhetoric even before his Prophethood. History records no distinction that set him over others, except for his moral commitment, trustworthiness, honesty, truthfulness, and integrity. He did not lie, an assertion proven by the fact that not even his worst enemies ever called him a liar. He talked politely and never used obscene or abusive language. His charming personality and excellent manners captivated the hearts of those who met him. He always followed the principles of justice, altruism, and fair play with others, and never deceived anyone or broke his promise.

Muhammad was engaged in trade and commerce for years, but never entered into a dishonest transaction. Those who had business dealings with him had full confidence in his integrity. Everyone called him al-Amin (the Truthful and the Trustworthy). Even his enemies left their precious belongings with him for safe custody, and he scrupulously fulfilled their trust. He was the embodiment of modesty in society that was immodest to the core.

Born and raised among people who regarded drunkenness and gambling as virtues, he never drank alcohol or gambled. Surrounded by heartless people, his own heart overflowed with the milk of human kindness. He helped orphans, widows, and the poor, and was hospitable to travelers. Harming no one, he exposed himself to hardship for their sake. Avoiding tribal feuds, he was the foremost worker for reconciliation. He never bowed before any created thing or partook of offerings made to idols, even when he was a child, for he hated all worship devoted to that which was not God. In brief, his towering and radiant personality, when placed in the midst of such a benighted and dark environment, may be likened to a beacon of light illumining a pitch-dark night, to a diamond shining among a heap of stones.