رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِيْ مُقِيْمَ الصَّلٰوةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِيْ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاۗءِ

O my Lord! Make me one who performs As-Salaat (Iqaamat-as-Salaat), and (also) from my offspring, our Lord! And accept my invocation.

While it’s very easy to fall into a trap to misguidance, as there’s much hatred against Islam & Muslims in some countries.. One must try to be rational and think of the context, the timeframe, the geopolitical & historical setting that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sent into..to get the “Factual” background on Islam…

Here’s a small attempt to bring to the light, The actual scene, The authentic Historic BACKGROUND..about The MOST LOVED HUMAN BEING EVER to walk the face of the Earth (Muhammad, pbuh)..as well as the most misunderstood by the non-Muslims.

Mid Sixth Century-Arabia:

While the Arabs found themselves located in what we’d term as harsh conditions for living. Dry, Arid Land with little rain & low vegetation. Located between two Mighty powers, The Sassanid Persian Empire on the East, And the Byzantine Rome on the West. Arabs were simmered deep into tribalism, nomadic laws, where a minor feud could turn into a decades long war between clans.

The Arabian Peninsula itself was divided into specific divisions and people:
There was Yemen to the South, where the Arab caravans would travel to during the mild Winters. Yemen was predominantly Christian with a minority Jewish population.

Slightly north of Mecca was The town of Medina (Yathrib) with a Strong Jewish population.

Up further north of Medina there was Ash-Shaam with the capital Damascus, A vibrant City with strong Christian & Pagan (Roman) presence where the Arab caravans would travel to in harsh Arab Summers.

Then there was Mecca, where the descendants of Ishmael (pbuh) flourished, but from Pure Monotheism Preached by their Forefathers (Abraham & Ishmael-pbut), within a few centuries, Mecca (The Holy city) with House of God (Kaaba), A symbol of the Oneness of the Almighty God built by Abraham & his son Ishmael became contaminated by the presence of almost 360 idols that Arab Caravans brought from All over.

Interestingly, The Jewish tribes (e.g. Khazraj and Banu Kuraiza, etc.) Had settled in Arabia as they were told by their Learned men about The awaited Prophet to come in Arabia. This was infact the main reason they settled there..

A reference to this can still be found in the Old Testament (Book of Isiah chapter 42, and Deut 18, etc.)

The Jews were at times in serious confrontation with the Pagan Arabs and they’d at many occassions threaten the Pagans by using statements such as, “When our Prophet has come, we’ll exterminate all of you pagans like the Thamud & Pharaoh’s forces were destroyed”.

The women had literally no rights whatsoever and were treated as mere sex objects, many a times buried alive in infancy by their parents.

The West (what was known in the 6th century) was no different. Dirty & oppressive laws, slavery, no rights for the poor, lawlessness, lack of freedom & chaos were the order of the day.

Amidst these troubled times (called the Dark Ages), in the family of Abdulmutallab, The Chief of Mecca. His youngest Son, Abdullah (who passed away while he was away for a trip near Medina when his wife-Aamina was pregnant with the child) bore Muhammad (The Praiseworthy), pbuh.

We’ll continue the legacy..from here..in sha Allah (God willing)..

A few years before the birth of the Prophet(pbuh)..
An Abyssinian Chriatian Warrior/Commander, Abraha, who had travelled to Yemen, across the Red Sea from predominantly what’s Ethiopia today sought fame & glory. He got into a duel with the existing commander/ruler of Yemen, defeated him and now sought means of expanding, & spreading his fame far and wide.

He heard of Kaaba to be the most visited place by Pilgrims in the Arabian Peninsula, so he pledged to Build the biggest Cathedral known to mankind at that time and destroy Kaaba.

570A.D – The Year of the Elephant (Aam-ul-Fil)
Abraha decided to March with 60,000 + soldiers and a Giant Mammoth (with huge Tusks), He reached the outskirts of Mecca and camped there. He captured a lot of Meccan Pastures & Animals which included over 200 Camels that belonged to Abdul Mutallib (The Chief of Quraish & Leader of Mecca), The grandfather of Muhammad (pbuh).

When Abdul Mutallib heard of this, He went to meet Abraha. When Abraha saw him, He was struck by Abdulmutallab’s personality. However, when the latter asked him to return his camels. He got angry and said, “When I saw you, I was much impressed by your presence and you seemed like a wise man, but when you asked me to return the camels. I lost all respect for you. I seek to destroy your Kaaba and have come here for your camels?”

Abdulmutallab responded: “As for the camels, they belong to me, And as for the Kaaba, it has a Lord and He will protect it”.

So, Abdulmutallab returned with his camels, told all Meccans to take to the surrounding mountains and wait while Abraha inched closer towards the Kaaba. Abdulmutallab made a Duaa near the Kaaba and joined his clan on a nearby mountain.

The Giant Elephant led the March and when it reached almost within the sight of Kaaba, It turned back, the Soldiers tried to drag it back in the direction of the Kaaba, and it went crazy & as a result, So did their horses. When they changed its direction away from the Kaaba, it would run, but when they pointed it to the Kaaba, The Elephant would just sit down.

Suddenly, a huge flock of Nightangales emerged out of nowhere and began encircling the Kaaba, then headed towards the Army not far away, Each bird carried 2 stones of something like baked clay (smaller than pea sized), Dropped them from a height at a great speed and rendered the Army to nothing. Abraha died on it’s way back to Yemen, and all his troops perished on the way.

This was later also confirmed through revelation sent to Muhammad (pbuh)…

CHAPTER 105(1-5)
﷽
105:1
Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?
105:2
Did He not make their plan into misguidance?
105:3
And He sent against them birds in flocks,
105:4
Striking them with stones of hard clay,
105:5
And He made them like eaten straw.”

This year (570A.D) became symbolic for the Arabs, The Year of the Elephant (Aam-ul-Fil)..Significantly, the Same year, a few months later, The Holy Prophet (Muhammad-pbuh) was born.