The Trustworthy

A Name Everyone Knew

In a town where everyone knew everyone, the young Muhammad ﷺ became known for one thing above all: he did not lie. Years later, even an enemy admitted it. When the Byzantine emperor Heraclius questioned Abu Sufyan, then a leader of the opponents of Islam, he asked: “Did you ever accuse him of lying before he began saying what he says?” Abu Sufyan had to answer: “No.” Bukhari 7

Abu Sufyan admitted he would have lied about him if he could, but he was afraid his companions would call him a liar. Bukhari 7 Truthfulness was the one thing about Muhammad ﷺ that nobody could deny.

He would later teach that truthfulness leads to goodness, and goodness leads to Paradise; and that a person keeps telling the truth until he is written with Allah as truthful. Bukhari 6094

A Pact for the Wronged

Historians reportMakkah had no police and no courts. A stranger who was cheated could find himself with nobody to help him. Historians tell of a pact that some families of Quraysh swore at this time, known as Hilf al-Fudul: they promised to stand with anyone wronged in Makkah, local or visitor, until he got his rights back. al-Tahawi, Sharh Mushkil al-Athar 15:219

Muhammad ﷺ took part with his uncles. Long after he became a prophet, he said he would not want to break that promise, even in exchange for the finest red camels. al-Adab al-Mufrad 567 · al-Arna'ut: sahih Red camels were the most valuable possession an Arab could own. Standing up for people who have been treated unfairly was something he valued before Islam, and Islam confirmed it.

Two Men Who Stood Apart

Not everyone in Makkah worshipped idols. One man, Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl, refused to. Before any revelation came, Muhammad ﷺ met him in a valley near Makkah. Zayd would not eat meat sacrificed to idols. He used to say: Allah created the sheep, sent down rain for it and made the grass grow for it, and then you slaughter it in the name of something other than Allah? Bukhari 3826

Asma bint Abi Bakr remembered seeing Zayd standing with his back against the Ka'bah, saying, “People of Quraysh, none of you follows the religion of Ibrahim except me.” When someone wanted to bury a baby daughter alive, which some cruel people did then, Zayd would say, “Don't kill her. I will feed her for you.” He would raise the girl, and when she was older he would offer to give her back or keep providing for her. Bukhari 3828

Zayd shows us that the fitrah, the natural sense that Allah is One, was never completely lost. But a few searching individuals were not enough. People needed a message.

Khadijah

Historians reportKhadijah bint Khuwaylid was a respected and wealthy woman of Quraysh who traded with Syria. Historians report that she hired Muhammad ﷺ to take her goods north with a caravan, and that she was so impressed by his honesty and character that she proposed marriage to him. He was about twenty-five. Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma'ad 1:75–76

Their marriage lasted twenty-five years. Aishah later said that he did not marry any other woman as long as Khadijah lived. Muslim 2436 Long after Khadijah's death, he still spoke of her often and sent gifts of meat to her friends. Bukhari 3818

Historians reportThey had six children: two sons, al-Qasim and Abd Allah, who both died as small children, and four daughters, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah. Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma'ad 1:100–101 You will meet all four daughters again.

He was a helping husband and father. Aishah, asked what he did at home, said he served his family, and when it was time for prayer, he went out to pray. Bukhari 676

Rebuilding the Ka'bah

When Muhammad ﷺ was about thirty-five, Quraysh decided to rebuild the Ka'bah. He carried stones for the building alongside his uncle al-Abbas. Bukhari 1582

Quraysh did not have enough money to rebuild it on all of Ibrahim's foundations, so they left out part of it: the curved area beside the Ka'bah that still lies outside its walls today. They also raised the door high off the ground, so that they could choose who was allowed in. The Prophet ﷺ later explained this to Aishah. Bukhari 1584

Then came a crisis. When the walls reached the place of the Black Stone, every clan wanted the honour of putting it back. Tempers rose. They agreed that the first man to walk in would decide. The first man was Muhammad ﷺ, and they said, “Al-Amin has come; we accept him.” He asked for a cloth, placed the Stone in the middle and told each clan to hold an edge. Together they lifted it, and he set it in its place with his own hands. Musnad Ahmad 15504 · al-Arna'ut: sahih

Everyone got a share of the honour, and nobody fought. Trust had been built over many years, and it paid off in one tense moment.

Alone in the Cave

As he approached forty, he came to love being alone. He would go to a small cave called Hira, high on a mountain outside Makkah, and spend many nights there worshipping Allah. He took food with him, and when it ran out he went home to Khadijah for more, and then went back. Bukhari 3

He also had dreams, and every dream he saw came true, as clear as the light of dawn. Bukhari 3 He later said that he still recognised a stone in Makkah that used to greet him with salam before he was sent as a prophet. Muslim 2277

Something was about to begin. The next chapter tells what happened in the cave.