Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. Robertson, and I love RE.

I'm so excited that you've decided to join me for this lesson today.

This is our final lesson in the unit called "Prophethood: How are Abrahamic faiths connected through prophets?" And this unit is all about the great prophets of the Abrahamic tradition, noticing connections between these traditions, and differences.

This lesson is entitled "Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets." And I'm really excited to be learning with you today.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the significance of Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets in Islam.

We have, as always, some key words today.

Our three key words are: honorific, revelation, and risalah.

Honorific is a title given to show respect.

Revelation is a message, or information, passed on by a supernatural being.

And risalah is the various ways Allah communicates with humans, including prophethood.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand, and use, those key words.

Our lesson about Muhammad is in three parts, and in the first part of this lesson, we're going to be learning about Muhammad's early life.

Let's go.

So if you look carefully at the image here, you can see a map, and that map shows the Arabian Peninsula with a current country of Saudi Arabia marked on it, and the holy city of Mecca, or Makkah.

Now Muhammad was born around 570 CE in Makkah, which is in modern day Saudi Arabia.

His name derived from the Arabic word "hamada," which means to praise or glorify.

Muhammad had a difficult start in life.

His father died before he was born, and by the age of six he had become an orphan, because his mother also passed away.

He was then raised by his uncle, and worked from a young age to help bring in money to pay for his care.

He became known by local people as El Amin, meaning "the trustworthy one." So I'm going to see if we can check our understanding so far.

Which of these adjectives best describes Muhammad early life? Was it A, stable, B, luxurious, or C, challenging? Pause the video and have a think.

Fantastic work theologians, it's C, challenging.

Yes, indeed, he had a very challenging upbringing, because he was orphaned at an early age.

Wow, look at that image there.

Isn't that absolutely beautiful? You can see camel trains going into the distance, can't you? You could see the hot desert environment which Muhammad grew up in.

Now by his early twenties, Muhammad entered the service of a wealthy Makkan merchant, a widow named Khadija.

Muhammad worked for her as a merchant, and that means he carried her goods to the north to sell them, and returned with a profit.

Trade was carried out with camel caravans, as we see in this image.

The deserts of Arabia were sweltering hot, and the camel could carry loads of goods, and walk across the boiling sand.

Being a merchant was hard work, but there were opportunities to cheat your employer, which Muhammad did not do.

Khadija was impressed by Muhammad's honesty, and character, and she proposed marriage.

Once they were wed, Muhammad continued to manage Khadija's business affairs, and their next years together were pleasant and prosperous.

So we can see that Muhammad married Khadija, and this painting represents what the merchants may have looked like.

You can see them on their caravan, wrapped up against the cold, the warm, and making their way across the hot deserts.

Let's just check our understanding again, true or false question for you here.

Khadija was attracted to Muhammad because he was a ruthless businessman.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, theologians.

It's false, isn't it? Why is it false? Well, it's false because Khadija married Muhammad because she was impressed by his honesty, and his character.

Well done, if you got that right.

What a stunning image there.

Now, many other merchants were also successful, and Makkah was becoming an increasingly wealthy place.

We can see here a drawing of Makkah at the time of Muhammad, with the Ka'bah at the centre.

Now in the centre of the city stood the Ka'bah, believed to have been built by Abraham, in Muhammad's time it was decorated with idols.

Idols are small carvings, or statues, which people worshipped.

Local tribes came to Makkah to worship them, which made the merchants rich.

This led to a culture of greed, as the Makkans could charge money to visit the Ka'bah.

The materialism and tradition of worshipping idols disturbed Muhammad, he felt that worshipping images, and statues, were not true worship of God, and wanted to get rid of them.

He began making long retreats to a mountain cave outside town where he could meditate, and reflect on his beliefs, and behaviour of others.

Let's just check our understanding here.

Which two of these things bothered Muhammad about Makkah? A, it was increasingly wealthy.

B, people had become materialistic.

C, there was a tradition of worshipping idols.

D, there was too much trade and business.

Theologians, think about what we've just heard.

I want you to choose two things.

Pause the video, have a go.

Okay, theologians? Yeah, B, people had become materialistic.

All the wealth had made them materialistic.

And the tradition of worshipping idols because Muhammad believed in one God.

Fantastic if you got that right.

If we look carefully here, we can see an image of a cave, and if you look really carefully, you might be able to see some Arabic writing on it.

Can you see that there, just above the cave's entrance? This is what we think the cave in which Muhammad meditated is called Cave Hira.

It would've been plain at the time.

It's been decorated since by Muslims, as to show that it's an important place that they may want to come and visit.

Now I wonder why a cave might be a good place to reflect on concerns.

If you think about it, you might have thought of things like, it might be a quiet place, it might be peaceful.

It's quite a simple place.

It's not a materialistic place, is it? And there are no idols there.

So we can imagine that Muhammad may have found this a calming place to go, to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and to find time away from all the practises, he felt, in the city were causing problems for the people, and letting everybody down.

Okay, I've got a task for you now.

In the middle you can see a diagram, and that diagram talks about the nature of prophets.

And we have four different criteria here which show what a prophet might be in the Abrahamic traditions.

A prophet might show loyalty to God or to other people.

A prophet may have had to overcome personal challenges in their life.

A prophet often has great strength of character, which means they're not afraid to stand up against other people, or the society in which they live.

And finally, prophets show a commitment to the will of God.

They carry out what they believe God is asking, despite any difficulties, or challenges that might present.

So what I'd like you to do is this, I'd like you to choose some qualities, and I'd like you to think about what we've learned about Muhammad in his early life shows some of these qualities.

I've got some sentence starters for you.

So we have, Muhammad showed, you can choose a quality there, in his early life when he, and think of an episode in his life which showed that quality.

Another quality showed by Muhammad was.

He showed this by.

Can you choose two examples from his early life, and two qualities he showed? Fantastic, theologians.

Really looking forward to see what you've come up with.

Pause the video, have a go.

All amazing ideas.

So lots of things you could have put, you might have put something like this.

You might have said, Muhammad showed strength of character in his early life when he became known as El Amin, meaning trustworthy.

He proved to be an honest businessman.

You might also have put something like, another quality showed by Muhammad was overcoming personal challenges.

He showed this by overcoming the difficult start he had as an orphan who had to work to help his uncle look after him, eventually becoming successful in business.

You may have chosen some other qualities, or other episodes from his life, but well done, if you've managed to think of something like this.

In the next section of this lesson, we're going to be learning all about the first revelation.

Here we can see the image again of the cave where Muhammad went to meditate, and get away from the world.

During one of his meditations, Muhammad had a religious experience, a vision of an angel.

In Islamic tradition, this angel is named Jibril.

In the Christian tradition he's known as Gabriel.

The same angel who Christians believe announced the birth of Jesus.

Jibril commanded Muhammad to read, but Muhammad replied that he was illiterate and could not.

He was commanded twice more, "Read," by the angel.

And eventually he found that, through Allah's power, channelled through Jibril, he could recite the words from Allah.

This is an absolutely foundational story within a turning point in Muhammad's life.

So during one of the meditations in the cave, he had a religious experience, a vision of an angel.

Let's check our understanding here.

True or false? Muhammad spoke to Allah who revealed the Quran to him.

True or false? Pause the video.

Have a think.

Excellent, theologians.

It's false, isn't it? But why is it false? Well, it's false because, if you remember, the angel Jibril spoke to Muhammad, not Allah himself.

Muslims believe that only Moses, or Musa, as they called him, is unique in having a direct conversation with God.

The revelation from Allah to Muhammad was channelled through the angel Jibril.

Well done, if you got that right.

So, what did that revelation say? So that revelation was this, "Read in the name of your Lord who created everything, created man from a clinging substance.

Read, and your Lord is most generous, He who taught by the pen taught man that which he knew not." So this revelation, the first revelation to Muhammad, is now part of the Qur'an.

We can see there, it's in Surahs, it's called 96.

Muslims believe they have been the same since that first experience.

The Qur'an has not been altered.

Shocked, understandably, by his religious experience, Muhammad went home, and told his wife Khadija.

His close friends, and family, supported him, and they believed he was God's prophet.

Let's just check our understanding.

Which of the following helps Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the perfect word of Allah? Is it A, Muhammad was an excellent scholar.

B, Muhammad was illiterate.

Or, C, Muhammad was known to be trustworthy? Which of these is the best answer to that question, do you think, theologians? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent work.

It's B, isn't it? Muhammad was illiterate.

He couldn't read, and when the angel commanded him to read, he suddenly found he could.

So from a Muslim perspective, this is real evidence that the Qur'an is the word of Allah.

Okay, we're going to think about this in a bit more depth now, and our practise task.

So I want you to think about this big question.

Why is it significant that Muhammad was illiterate? And to do this, I'd like you to consider what you know about the Muslim belief in the Qur'an being the perfect word of God.

So let's just clarify what we're asking here.

We know that Muslims believe the Qur'an, revealed to Muhammad, is the perfect word of God.

It's not been altered since it was revealed to him.

We also know that Muhammad was illiterate, which means that he couldn't read.

You might like to use these sentence starters to help you frame your answer.

It's significant that Muhammad was illiterate because.

Can you give a reason why that might be important to Muslims? This helps Muslims to understand the Qur'an is the perfect word of Allah because.

Can you think of a reason to back that up? Okay, theologians, pause the video, have a go at this task.

Looking forward to see what you come up with.

As always, some amazing thinking.

So, let's think about some answers.

You might've said something like, it's significant that Muhammad was illiterate because he would've been unable to create, and write the verses by himself.

He couldn't read and write, so how on earth could he have come up with these? Secondly, you might have said something like, it helps Muslims to understand the Qur'an as the perfect word of Allah because it must have been recorded exactly as it was given and contained no changes in the original message.

So the words that were given to Muhammad, he memorised, and they were later written down.

So it's a really important belief for many Muslims that Muhammad was illiterate.

Well done, if your answer included some of these points.

Fantastic thinking.

In the final section of this lesson, we're going to be looking at the idea of Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets.

We can see an image here of the Qur'an, written in the original Arabic, and behind it we can see an image of the Ka'bah, as it is nowadays.

Now, after several similar experiences, Muhammad began to reveal the message he was receiving to his wife and close friends.

These messages were gathered verse by verse, and would later become put together to become the Qur'an, which is the sacred scripture of Islam.

Here you can see a really beautiful version of the Qur'an.

You can see on the right, can't you, the Arabic script beautifully written out, and we can see some geometric patterns as well.

Now this is a very early manuscript of the Qur'an.

So all of these scriptures were gathered together to become the Qur'an.

The early Qur'ans were recorded on a variety of different materials, and some of the earliest Qur'ans we found are actually on animal skin.

After Muhammad died, all of these different revelations were gathered together, and compiled to form the Qur'an in the form that we see it today.

Now, when he began to share the message more widely, beyond his family and friends, Muhammad and his followers were belittled and ridiculed.

They were persecuted, and physically attacked for his monotheistic, i.

e.

believing in one God, message, and departing from Makkah's traditions, because Muhammad was teaching that they should turn away from the idols, and focus on the worship of Allah.

The teachings of Muhammad were a direct threat to the way of life which had become rich from the idols in the Ka'bah.

For several years, Makkah's dominant tribe banned trade with Muhammad's people, and the lack of food really nearly starved them.

Finally, the leaders of Makkah attempted to assassinate Muhammad.

Let's just check our understanding here.

Which of the following is not a response of the Makkans to Muhammad's message? A, banning trade.

B, an assassination attempt.

C, ridicule.

D, acceptance.

Pause the video, theologians.

Have a think.

Excellent work, theologians, it's D, isn't it? The Makkans banned trade, and tried to starve Muhammad's people.

They tried to assassinate him, they ridiculed him.

They certainly didn't accept the message.

Wow, look at that incredible image there.

This is the present day image of the Ka'bah, with the mosque that's grown up around it.

Now it took over 20 years for Islam to be fully established in Makkah.

Muhammad utilised peaceful negotiations, and also fought battles during that period.

He remained dedicated to the message he received, and overtime more tribes joined him.

In March 632 CE, he returned to Makkah one last time to perform a pilgrimage.

Tens of thousands of Muslims joined him.

The idols in the Ka'bah were smashed, and it was rededicated to the worship of Allah alone.

So over this 20 year period, Muhammad united the tribes of Makkah into accepting Islam.

Now the Ka'bah is the centre of Islamic worship, and it's the place all Muslims face when they pray.

And you can see the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims that now come to the Hajj pilgrimage.

So how did Muhammad show commitment to the will of God, which if you remember was one of the categories and qualities of prophets? Well, you might have said, he dedicated his life to sharing the message he received, even though it was unpopular and dangerous.

He showed commitment by continuing until Islam was accepted.

And so Muhammad clearly demonstrates that quality of commitment because of the time it took.

It took his whole life to have the message received, and he had to face many, many trials until that happened.

True or false? Muhammad showed qualities of Abrahamic prophets, so he's important to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Theologians, is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, theologians.

It's false.

Why? Well, it's false because, although Muhammad showed the same qualities of Abrahamic prophets, he came after Judaism and Christianity, and Muhammad is only a prophet in Islam.

Well done, if you got that right.

Muslims believe the revelation of the Qur'an came from Allah to angels, who have no free will to change it.

We can see this diagram here.

We have Allah, revelation comes to angels, and then to Muhammad.

This means it came to Muhammad exactly as Allah intended, and was recorded perfectly.

And as we said, that's a really important belief for many Muslims. This means that the Qur'an has no corrections, and there's no additions needed to the Qur'an.

And because of this, Muhammad is the last in the line of prophets for Muslims, which began with the Prophet Adam.

Muhammad is the final prophet, because we now have, from a Muslim perspective, the Qur'an, which is the final, and complete, word of God.

Many Muslims believe that Muhammad is the perfect embodiment of the qualities shown by prophets.

And we've talked about these prophets throughout this lesson, haven't we? Okay, let's check our understanding here.

Why do Muslims believe Muhammad is the final prophet? A, they kept getting the messages wrong.

B, there are no corrections or additions needed.

C, there will be a new holy book after the Qur'an.

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, theologians.

It's B, isn't it? There are no corrections, or additions, needed to the Qur'an, because it is the final complete word of God, and therefore Muhammad is the final prophet.

Well done, if you've got that right.

Now, here we can see some Arabic text.

Muhammad has this honorific title "Peace be upon him" after his name.

Now prophets come under the Islamic term "rissalah," which is the way in which Allah communicates with humans.

These are very important to Muslims. After Muhammad's death, Muslims began to use honorific titles to show respect to prophets.

They're spoken after each time the name is said.

Many significant leaders, in Judaism and Christianity, are recognised as prophets in Islam as well, due to the links between the history of the Abrahamic religions.

The term Abrahamic is that uniting prophet Abraham.

This term, which you can see in Arabic, means peace be upon him.

And it's often shortened to PBUH when written in English.

And most Muslims will say a form of words, such as peace be upon him, in Arabic, when they use the Prophet Muhammad's name.

Now this honorific title, peace be upon him, shows that Muhammad is seen as the Seal of the Prophets, because he was revealed the final perfect word of God.

And that term, peace be upon him, is part of that understanding of Muhammad being the Seal of the Prophets, the final Prophet.

Let's just check our understanding here.

So when written in English, what of the following means PBUH? Is it A, power be upon him.

B, peace be upon him.

Or C, people be under him.

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent, theologians.

It's B, isn't it? Peace be upon him.

Well done, if you've got that right.

So our final task is this.

We're going to think about all the learning we've done.

Sam and Alex are explaining what they understand about Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets.

So Sam says, "Muhammad is called "the Seal" because he checked all the messages from Allah.

Like a seal of approval to confirm what was said to him was correct." And Alex says, "Muhammad is called "the Seal" because he is the final prophet after all the others, like how you seal a letter when it's finished, and no corrections are needed." Great thinking, Sam and Alex.

I wonder which of those two shows the best understanding.

I'd like you to read their answers carefully, and I'd like you to choose Sam, or Alex, as showing the best understanding.

But I'd also like you to explain why.

We've learned a lot about Muhammad being the Seal of the Prophets.

Why is either Sam or Alex's the best answer? Pause the video, theologians, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you say.

Wow, I've heard some amazing theological discussions here.

Let's think about the answer.

So you might have said, Alex shows the best understanding, because according to Islam, Muhammad is the final prophet who received Allah's perfect word.

Sam is incorrect because he said that the seal meant that the prophet needed to check the messages from Allah.

But, of course, from a Muslim perspective, Allah's messages do not need approval from anyone.

So, Alex's idea of the Seal is a brilliant way of explaining it because he's the seal at the final end, giving us the perfect word of Allah.

So well done, theologians, if you manage to get that, and create an explanation like that.

Fantastic work.

Let's just summarise what we've been learning today.

So we've learned that Muhammad shares qualities with prophets in Judaism and Christianity, but he does not feature in either religion.

We've learned the revelations Muhammad experienced were recorded, and compiled, to form the Qur'an, and we've learned that Muhammad is known as the Seal of the Prophets in Islam, and many Muslims use the honorific, peace be upon him, after his name.

Theologians, I've absolutely loved learning with you today.

You've been marvellous, and really look forward to seeing you in another lesson.

Thank you very much.