Who is Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)?

Muhammad ibn Abdullah was the founder of the world religion Islam. Muhammad was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of the earlier prophets (e.g. Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus). He is considered to be the final prophet and there is no prophet between him and Jesus Christ (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ). Besides being a religious leader, Muhammad was also a highly successful social, political and military leader and managed to unite the divided Arabian Peninsula under Islam. Muhammad was ranked as the #1 most influential person in history by Michael H. Hart for being "supremely successful" in both the religious and secular realms.

How Was Prophet Muhammad's (ﷺ) Early Life?

Muhammad was born in 570 CE and belonged to the Banu Hashim clan, one of Mecca's (modern day Saudi Arabia) powerful and prominent families. Muhammad's father, Abdullah, died before he was born. His mother, Amina, died when he was at the age of six and thus becoming an orphan at an early age. At the time the Arabian Peninsula had no centralized government or power and people aligned with their respective clans. Therefore, Muhammad was taken into the care of his extended family members.

How Was Prophet Muhammad's (ﷺ) Character?

Muhammad was highly respected by everyone in his community due to his upright character. Before he began preaching Islam, the pagan Meccans respected him as well. His character was so honorable that he had been given the nickname "Al-Sadiq Al-Amin", meaning the truthful and the trustworthy. This righteous character was on full display when he managed to arbitrate between major clans and resolve a dispute over the Black Stone that almost lead to a clan war.

Muhammad was described as being moderate in his demeanor, with a simple and humble lifestyle along with extreme generosity and often forgiving as long as God's prohibitions were not violated.

Allah's messenger [Muhammad] was neither obscene, nor extravagant, nor rowdy in the markets. He did not avenge a bad deed with a bad deed, but would pardon and forgive. - Aishah (R.A)

What Was Prophet Muhammad's (ﷺ) Message?

During his lifetime, the Arabian Peninsula had become filled with polytheism and idol worship. Arabs believed in God (Allah in Arabic) but believed that the idols were intermediaries between them and God. They also believed that some idols could bring blessings such as rain and wealth. Muhammad began receiving revalations from the Angel Gabriel (Jibreel) at the age of 40. The message was simple: inform people to shun idols and false gods and turn back to The One Almighty God. His job had been to reinstate what previous messengers had already preached, monotheism.

Muhammad lived for 40 years amongst the pagan Meccans without any problems. But due to the perceived threat to the elites of Mecca, opposition and slander against him started almost immediately once he began preaching against idolatry and in favour of monotheism.

Why Was Prophet Muhammad's (ﷺ) Message Controversial?

Muhammad's message was contrary to the societal norms and was considered "upsetting the social order". Specifically, the new religious teachings were negatively impacting the rich & elite. Some of what he preached included:

Destroying idols and worshipping One God - This was extremely controversial due to the fact that Mecca's economy was based almost entirely off of idol worship.
Women had rights, including inheritance rights - Women were considered disposable objects by pagan Arabs. Giving them rights and sharing wealth with them was not welcomed.
Blacks, Whites, Arabs and non-Arabs were equal - In a culture dominated with racism and slavery, this was considered absurd.
Muslims had to donate 2.5% of their standing wealth to the poor every year - People were not fond of being forced to share their wealth with the less fortunate.

The Meccans desperately and unsuccessfully tried to prevent the new religion from spreading by persecuting new converts, destroying their homes, stealing their property and eventually kicking them out of Mecca.

Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) Vs Jesus Son of Mary (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)

Muhammad is considered the final Prophet in a line of Prophets such as Adam, Abraham, Noah, Isaac, Moses and the immediate messenger after Jesus Christ. In Islam, Muhammad and Jesus are considered righteous humans and mighty messengers of God. It is to important to note that they are not considered divine whatsoever. Muslims believe that Jesus and Muhammad both preached the same message: the belief in One God.

Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one. - Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)

As part of Muhammad's teachings Muslims must believe in Jesus but he warned his followers not to exaggerate his status as anything more than a messenger of God.

Do not exaggerate my status as the Christians have done with the son of Mary. Verily, I am only a servant, so refer to me as the servant of Allah and His Messenger. - Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)

Jesus, Muhammad, Abraham

Why Can't We Draw Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)?

Islam prohibits images or drawings of Allah, Prophet Muhammad or any other Prophets and certain noble disciples for two main reasons:

The creation of images or statues of noble individuals have previously lead to people worshipping them.
Out of respect.

This is not considered an abnormal teaching for a monotheistic religion. This Islamic teaching is similar to Christianity's second commandment which states "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image".

Did Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) Order Violence?

Muhammad and the early Muslims were persecuted, evicted from their homes, had their property stolen and fought continuously. Eventually they managed to win over the pagan Meccans. Upon entering Mecca, almost a decade after being expelled, Muhammad ordered his followers not to fight anyone that lays their weapons down and the return to Mecca was essentially a bloodless victory for Muslims. Muhammad is also said to have asked the pagan Meccans the following:

O men of Quraysh! What do you expect me to do to you?

The Meccans replied:

We hope for the best, after all, you've been a gracious brother to us and the son of a gracious brother.

Muhammad then said:

"You may leave, you're free."

Muhammad took no revenge and destroyed the idols inside the Ka'bah and declared Mecca a sanctuary. By reading this story we can understand that Muhammad was not a man of violence. At a time where he could have slaughtered all those that persecuted him without any consequences, he chose forgiveness. That is not to say he did not engage in battles but there were strict rules of engagement that no one was allowed to violate such as not hurting children, women, animals or the elderly.

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good things or remain silent.

Why is Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) Targeted Today?

Generally speaking, people who insult and slander Muhammad fit one of two categories:

Political leaders - Muhammad lead a revolution and encouraged Muslims to stand up against tyrants, regardless of social status and prestige. Upsetting social order does not sit well with political leaders and other elites therefore they insult Muhammad in attempts to defame him.
Ignorant individuals - They do not know anything about him, instead they simply regurgitate information they heard from the media, friends and family.

"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah"

What Makes Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) Unique?

Throughout history, God has sent many prophets to guide people back to the straight path and warn them of an impending punishment if they do not alter their ways. The main difference between Muhammad and the other prophets is that Muhammad's message is meant for the entirety of mankind, whereas the previous prophets' messages were meant specifically for the people at that time and place. As a result their messages were not deemed fit to be preserved by God. This is one of the reasons why Muslims do not believe the Torah and Gospel accurately represent what Moses and Jesus preached.

Furthermore, Muhammad is considered to be the seal of the prophets. This means that there is no prophet after him and his message is the final message to be revealed by God to humans before the Day of Judgement.

Muslims consider the Quran and Hadiths to be divinely protected by God from any changes, alterations or corruptions. As a result, the Quran and the sayings of Muhammad (called Hadiths) have been preserved to an extent that is not witnessed with any other religious or secular texts.