Hanif – The Upright One
Now let us consider the particular details from the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallal-lahu alaihe wa Salam) before he started his preaching activities. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.), son of Abdullah of the tribe of Quraysh, was born in Mecca on 29th of August, 570 A. D. in the house of his mother Amina. (90, p. 
His father died before he was born, and his mother soon after. He was raised by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, a very respected person in Mecca. The Ka’ba was under his care. This temple, built by Adam and rebuilt by others for the worship of the one Almighty God, Allah, was still called the “House of Allah”, but the chief objects of worship were some 360 idols, called daughters of Allah and intercessors.
The few who felt disgust at this idolatry, which had prevailed for centuries, longed for the religion of Abraham and tried to find out what were his true teachings. Such seekers of the truth were known as Hunafa (sing. Hanif), a word originally meaning “those who turn away” (from the existing idol worship), but came in the end to mean “upright” or “by nature upright”, because such persons held the way of truth to be the right conduct. These Hunafa did not form a community, each sought the truth by the light of his own inner consciousness. (95, p. 4) They believed in life after death and that their destination after death depended upon personal conduct, hence they strove for virtue, freedom from sin, and resigned themselves to Allah’s will. The Hunafa practiced asceticism. They retired from social life, lived in a solitary place and performed meditation. Thus amidst all this degradation there were people who tried to follow the principles of true religion and strive for God-realization.
The degradation of moral codes and religious principles had come to a point where a messenger of Allah was needed. He had to be the best of people from his community. So Hazrat Muhammad (S. A. W.), the upright one was chosen by Allah and empowered to fulfill Allah’s desire.
