Quran in 30 DaysPart 3 · Muhammad ﷺ
Day 13
Makkah
How did an orphan in Makkah become the Messenger of Allah?
Day 13 · Makkah
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How did an orphan in Makkah become the Messenger of Allah?
Muhammad ﷺ was born in Makkah around 570 CE. His father died before his birth and his mother when he was six; his grandfather, then his uncle Abu Talib, raised him. Known as trustworthy, he married Khadijah and lived quietly until, at about forty, revelation came in the cave of Hira.
Thirteen years in Makkah followed: a quiet call to family and friends, then an open call met with mockery, torture and a boycott. In one year he lost both Khadijah and Abu Talib. Then came the Night Journey and, at last, the Hijra, his migration to Madinah. The surahs of these years are short, vivid and full of comfort.
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What the Quran says
93:3-8The Quran says
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ ﴿٣﴾ وَلَلۡأٓخِرَةُ خَيۡرٞ لَّكَ مِنَ ٱلۡأُولَىٰ ﴿٤﴾ وَلَسَوۡفَ يُعۡطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرۡضَىٰٓ ﴿٥﴾ أَلَمۡ يَجِدۡكَ يَتِيمٗا فَـَٔاوَىٰ ﴿٦﴾ وَوَجَدَكَ ضَآلّٗا فَهَدَىٰ ﴿٧﴾ وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلٗا فَأَغۡنَىٰ ﴿٨﴾
Your Lord has not taken leave of you, [O Muhammad], nor has He detested [you]. And the Hereafter is better for you than the first [life]. And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied. Did He not find you an orphan and give [you] refuge? And He found you lost and guided [you], And He found you poor and made [you] self-sufficient.
Context Reports in al-Bukhari say it came when revelation was delayed and someone taunted that his Lord had left him.
Allah reassures him: not abandoned, not disliked. He was an orphan given refuge, lost and guided, poor and made sufficient.
74:1-5The Quran says
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلۡمُدَّثِّرُ ﴿١﴾ قُمۡ فَأَنذِرۡ ﴿٢﴾ وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرۡ ﴿٣﴾ وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرۡ ﴿٤﴾ وَٱلرُّجۡزَ فَٱهۡجُرۡ ﴿٥﴾
O you who covers himself [with a garment], Arise and warn And your Lord glorify And your clothing purify And uncleanliness avoid
Context Reports in al-Bukhari place it soon after the first revelation, following a pause.
"Arise and warn": the call begins. The first orders are to glorify his Lord, purify his clothing and leave all uncleanliness. Patience follows (74:7).
17:1The Quran says
سُبۡحَٰنَ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَسۡرَىٰ بِعَبۡدِهِۦ لَيۡلٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡأَقۡصَا ٱلَّذِي بَٰرَكۡنَا حَوۡلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنۡ ءَايَٰتِنَآۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡبَصِيرُ ﴿١﴾
Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
Context Its date is uncertain. Hadith in al-Bukhari and Muslim describe the ascent through the heavens that followed (the Mi'raj).
In one night Allah took "His Servant" from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah to al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, "to show him of Our signs".
9:40The Quran says
…Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down his tranquillity upon him …
Context The Hijra, 622 CE. Reports say the companion was Abu Bakr and they hid in the cave of Thawr.
Hunted, hiding with one companion, he says, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." Allah sends down tranquillity.
See it
Thirteen years in Makkah
Scholars explain- Born an orphan
Raised by his grandfather, then his uncle Abu Talib.
93:6 - First revelation
"Read!" in the cave of Hira, at about forty.
96:1-5 - The quiet call
Khadijah, family and close friends accept first.
74:1-2 - The open call
He warns his clan; his uncle Abu Lahab curses him.
26:214 - Persecution
Mockery for him, torture for weaker believers.
111 - Refuge in Abyssinia
Some Muslims find shelter with a just Christian king.
- The boycott
His clan besieged in a valley for about three years.
- Year of grief
Khadijah and Abu Talib die.
- Ta'if
Rejected and stoned, he still hopes for their descendants.
- Night Journey
From Makkah to al-Aqsa, then the ascent.
17:1 - Pledges of 'Aqabah
Pilgrims from Yathrib pledge to protect him.
- The Hijra
The cave, then Madinah. The Islamic calendar begins.
9:40
Dates are approximate and come from the biographies (sirah), not the Quran. Historians differ by a year or more on several, especially the Night Journey.
The key word
هِجْرَةٌ
hijrah · Emigration, leaving behind
- ه
- ج
- ر
The root means to leave or abandon. The Hijra of 622 begins the Islamic calendar, but the root appears in one of the first commands: "uncleanliness avoid" (74:5), literally "leave it". A hadith in al-Bukhari says the true emigrant is one who leaves what Allah has forbidden.
74:516:41A common mix-up
The Hijra to Madinah was the first time Muslims left Makkah for their faith.
About seven years earlier, around 615, a group of Muslims fled to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), where its Christian king, known as the Najashi, gave them protection. The Hijra of 622 was different: the Prophet ﷺ himself left, and a community took shape in Madinah. The Quran promises those who emigrate after being wronged "a good place" (16:41).
16:4139:10Remember
- He began as an orphan, and Allah reminded him: "Did He not find you an orphan and give [you] refuge?" (93:6)
- Thirteen years in Makkah: a quiet start, then an open call met with mockery, boycott and grief.
- The Night Journey (17:1) and the Hijra (9:40) came at the hardest moments: "Allah is with us."
Carry one verse
فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرًا ﴿٥﴾ إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرٗا ﴿٦﴾
For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.
Check yourself
Question 1 of 4
In the cave during the Hijra, what did the Prophet ﷺ tell his companion?
In the cave during the Hijra, what did the Prophet ﷺ tell his companion?
- "We must return to Makkah."
- "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us."
- "Prepare to fight them."
- "Let us wait for the angels."
Surah al-Masad (111) names which opponent of the Prophet ﷺ?
- Abu Jahl
- Abraha
- Pharaoh
- Abu Lahab
According to 17:1, where did the Night Journey take him?
- From al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa
- From Makkah to Madinah
- From the cave of Hira to Mount Sinai
What did Allah say to the fire prepared for Ibrahim?
- "O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham."
- "O fire, go out."
- "O fire, burn only the idols."
- Answers: 1B · 2D · 3A · 4A
Before you close
Day 13 complete
Tomorrow · Day 14Madinah: Building a CommunityConnects toDay 1Day 8Day 12Day 14
Go deeper939496:1-510611153:1-188:30105
Read moreProphet Muhammad ﷺ: a biographyMuhammad ﷺ on the timelineAbu LahabRead Surah ad-Duha
Translation: Sahih International. Lesson status: draft, not yet reviewed by a scholar.