If you understand the society Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) lived in, you will understand why he was considered a threat. He fought against the religious beliefs of his society, against elitism, racism, injustices to women, slaves, you name it! His teachings touched every fabric of society. There was a reason so many Arabs, especially the elites, hated him.

So how did he go from just one person in Makkah to being the ruler of the Arabian peninsula, a feat never done in Arab history before? One would think that before he could finish his 23 years of preaching, he would have been assassinated. After years of preaching in his home town of Makkah, the elites indeed did have enough and started becoming hostile towards the Muslims. They were tired of speaking to them and resorted to violence. In fact, towards the end of the Prophet’s stay in Makkah, there was an assassination attempt on him, but it failed and he was able to escape to Madinah, which he then called home til he died.

Even in Madinah, there was worry that someone would come to his house and kill him. Thus, his companions bodyguarded him at night. Ibn Abi Hatim, a scholar of Hadith, narrated that the wife of the Prophet, ‘Aishah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا) said, “The Prophet was being guarded until this Ayah, وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ was revealed.” In the Qur’an, this is in Ayah 67 of Surah Al-Maa’idah and it translates to “Allah will protect you from the people.” After that, the Prophet had no more bodyguards!

Despite that, Prophet Muhammad was known to be a courageous individual throughout his life. For example, as the companion Anas (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) reported:

“The people of Madinah were frightened by a noise one night and some came out of their homes in the direction of the sound. They were met by the Prophet returning, as he had preceded them to where the sound came from. The Prophet was riding on the horse of Abu Talhah without a saddle and a sword around his neck, saying, ‘Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid!’” 

[Source: Sahih Bukhari 2751, Sahih Muslim 2307]

He also lived a simple life. His entire house was no bigger than some of our bedrooms. He would walk in Madinah at night, at times by himself. He would also take naps under a tree. Yet, nothing happened to him. As recorded by Bukhari, Muslim, and other scholars of Hadith, there was even an incident where a Jewish woman intentionally fed him a poisoned lamb, yet it didn’t kill him.

On the battlefield, he was in the front line and a source of confidence. His cousin, Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said,

“If the fighting became fierce when the two nations met, we used to seek protection from the Messenger of Allah. And none of us were nearer to the enemy than he was!”

[Source: Ahmad]

There were countless battles the Muslims were in, several where the Muslims could’ve been wiped out and just been a footnote in the history books, if even. In the Battle of Uhud, Prophet Muhammad sustained such great injuries to his head that the Muslims thought he passed away. Yet, despite all this, he survived and was able to complete his mission of spreading Islam.

Hadiths are sayings or actions of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) witnessed by Muslims who lived during his time. If counting only the sahih hadiths, which in the rigorous standards in the sciences of hadith are the most authentic ones, there are around 15,000 of them. Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim alone, which are two of the most well-known collections, have about 2,400 and 7,500 hadiths, respectively.

Thus, hadiths are sayings and actions witnessed by Prophet Muhammad’s family, friends, and other companions, those close to him and even those who just met him for a few hours or days. Nothing about his life was hidden. What he did publicly and what he did privately was and is known for everyone to see. One does not need to be a scholar to get access to these. How he was at home, how he ate, how he went to bed, and even how he used the bathroom, Muslims have recorded.

Now, I want to focus on one category of narrators in particular and that is his wives. The ones that know you the most are your spouses. Outside, you can look like a saint! You can go to a masjid, church, or synagogue, go to charity events and give thousands of dollars, give speeches and appear as an amazing person in front of everyone. However, behind closed doors, your true colors show. You can either be consistent and be that great person you are everywhere else, or you can be a hypocritical monster. And your spouse will know that! At home, there’s no hiding.

So how was Prophet Muhammad? As we know, on the outside, his followers loved him. However, his enemies too had no choice, but to at least appreciate and respect him based on his character. And what did his wives say about him? Well, the same exact thing! His wives absolutely loved him! They too praised his great character and, in addition, how great of a husband he was. In fact, there was a time where the wives were given a choice by God Himself to divorce him if they wanted to, but they all chose to stay. And years and years after he passed away, they continued to praise him. You’d expect at least one wife in her old age to be like, “Now that decades have passed and my time has come too, let me tell you how he REALLY was!” But there was nothing! I will conclude with one hadith:

“When ‘Aisha, one of the wives of the Prophet (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهَا) was asked, ‘O mother of the believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.’ ‘Aisha said, ‘Have you not read the Qur’an?’ The person said, ‘Of course.’ ‘Aisha said, ‘Verily, the character of the Prophet of Allah was the Qur’an.’”

[Source: Ṣaḥiḥ Muslim 746]