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THIS."For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone. They are like lonely persons. Not like hermits who have stolen away out of some weakness, but like great, solitary men, like Beethoven and Nietzsche. In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfil themselves according to their own laws, to build up their own form, to represent themselves. Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death-wound to the sun, one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk: in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. And every young farm boy knows that the hardest and noblest wood has the narrowest rings, that high on the mountains and in continuing danger the most indestructible, the strongest, the ideal trees grow.Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.A tree says: A kernel is hidden in me, a spark, a thought, I am life from eternal life. The attempt and the risk that the eternal mother took with me is unique, unique the form and veins of my skin, unique the smallest play of leaves in my branches and the smallest scar on my bark. I was made to form and reveal the eternal in my smallest special detail.A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts. Let God speak within you, and your thoughts will grow silent. You are anxious because your path leads away from mother and home. But every step and every day lead you back again to the mother. Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for a long time, this longing reveals its kernel, its meaning. It is not so much a matter of escaping from one's suffering, though it may seem to be so. It is a longing for home, for a memory of the mother, for new metaphors for life. It leads home. Every path leads homeward, every step is birth, every step is death, every grave is mother.So the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our own childish thoughts: Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy. Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness."— Hermann Hesse (Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte)

This below answer has being produced with lots of insight and research , thus though it would flash some more light on this question , thus sharing this answer as food for thought !What was the condition of Arabic society before Prophet Mohammad came?What was the condition of Arabic society before Prophet Mohammad came?11 AnswersPuneetchandra SharmaNotify MePuneetchandra SharmaUpdated Sep 26, 2018Updated Sep 26, 2018Re-presenting my article PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA from my blog:Pre-Islamic Arab society was extremely liberal.Any society or nation in the world today can be judged by simply looking at how women are treated. If women are respected, given equal rights, then we call it an ‘open & free society’ or we call it regressive and primitive.The pre-Islamic Arab society were ‘tribe-centric’. Tribe was supreme. Due to desert conditions, life was very hard, so helping each-other was religion. Hospitality and generosity were the primary qualities a man could possess and was judged on. There is an incident wher...(more)Loading…Re-presenting my article PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA from my blog:Pre-Islamic Arab society was extremely liberal.Any society or nation in the world today can be judged by simply looking at how women are treated. If women are respected, given equal rights, then we call it an ‘open & free society’ or we call it regressive and primitive.The pre-Islamic Arab society were ‘tribe-centric’. Tribe was supreme. Due to desert conditions, life was very hard, so helping each-other was religion. Hospitality and generosity were the primary qualities a man could possess and was judged on. There is an incident where the Ansar and the Tubba’ were at war with each other, and they used to fight during the day and the Ansar would treat them as guests at night.[1]Freeing slaves, giving charity, providing food to the poor and needy, to strangers and wayfarers or during famines were considered very noble deeds.[2] So Arabs vied to attain these qualities, as that made them extremely popular among their men and women.They loved music and dancing and threw parties. Tambourines, lyres and pipes were played during weddings. They used to go the Meccan marketplace to spend their evenings to have fun. [3] Muhammad himself was supposed to have had a taste for the performance of singing girls and was represented to have been clamouring for sport at the wedding of his cousin, Abu Lahab’s daughter. [4]The women were highly respected and extremely free. There was no Purdah/Burqa of any kind. Having temporary adult mutual relationships was not looked down upon.[5]Women could choose their husbands, do business or any other activity that they desired. In fact, woman could marry and dismiss their husbands at will, the children belonging to the mother’s kin and growing up under their protection.[6] A married woman could receive occasional visits from her beloved without any fear of disgrace or punishment on her. There were poems written about such affairs and openly celebrated.[7] In case of ill treatment by her husband, death or divorce, she had solid support from her kin.[8]Women in inter-tribal marriages had more freedom and retained the right to dismiss or divorce their husbands at any time.“The women in pre-Islamic Arabia, or some of them, had the right to dismiss their husbands, and the form of dismissal was this. If they lived in a tent they turned it around, so that if the door faced east, it now faced west, or if the entrance faced south, they would turn it towards north. And when the man saw this, he knew that he was dismissed and did not enter. -Isfahani 17.387” (Robert G. Hoyland, 2001)[9]Muhammad’s father Abd ‘Allah, while on his way to marrying Amina, was offered many camels by a girl Umm Qattal, if he cohabited with her once.[10] This is what was called a mota marriage. Not just men, even women could contract mota marriages and there was no stigma attached to it. In fact, some women advertised for temporary husbands when they wanted children or sex. And to keep up the appearance of a marriage, the women gave the dowry to the men, hired under a temporary contract. [11]A more informal marriage, where no semblance was kept, no contract drawn up, was called nikah al-istibda.Sahih Bukhari [5127]: The second type was that a man would say to his wife after she had become clean from her period. "Send for so-and-so and have sexual intercourse with him." Her husband would then keep away from her and would never sleep with her till she got pregnant from the other man with whom she was sleeping. When her pregnancy became evident, he husband would sleep with her if he wished. Her husband did so (i.e. let his wife sleep with some other man) so that he might have a child of noble breed. Such marriage was called as Al-Istibda'.Another type mentioned by Bukhari was, when women kept multiple relationships and when she had a child, she had the right to choose who the husband would be and the men had to accept. And it is obvious that she would choose the most successful of them. This insured better education and upbringing for the child.Sahih Bukhari [5127]: Another type of marriage was that a group of less than ten men would assemble and enter upon a woman, and all of them would have sexual relation with her. If she became pregnant and delivered a child and some days had passed after delivery, she would sent for all of them and none of them would refuse to come, and when they all gathered before her, she would say to them, "You (all) know what you have done, and now I have given birth to a child. So, it is your child so-and-so!" naming whoever she liked, and her child would follow him and he could not refuse to take http://him.In some marriages, a contract would be signed by paying a certain amount and rights could be bought. Depending upon, who paid whom, the rights of the children could go to the mother’s kin or the father. If the child was named after the mother’s father, it belonged to the mother’s kin and vice versa. In case the father was paid, he had to give up his rights on his children, and he was called a sadic husband or a jar.[12]The case in point is Khadija-the 1st wife of Muhammad. She was the wealthiest caravan trader[13] with a very high status in society.[14] She was married twice before and was 15 yrs. older than him. One of her husbands, Zorara the Tamimite, by whom she had a son, was alive as late as the Battle of Badr,[15] which means,Women could DivorceWomen could have more than one husband or relationship at a given time.Khadija was 15 years elder to Muhammad, which means age difference was not gender biased and wasn’t looked down upon.Khadija never kept the veil (purdah/burqa) and neither did any other woman.She was the biggest trader in Mecca, which meant, women could not only do business but were also accepted as Bosses and men had no problem working under them. Muhammad himself was her employee before she proposed to him.[16]Apart from making money from her business, Khadija also probably inherited wealth and property from her former husbands[17] or gifts from her father[18] as she had a huge estate and had gifted a house to her daughter Zainab.[19]This means, women could hold property.Khadija had 2 sons, Hala and Hind, from her first husband[20] and a daughter Hindah, from her second husband.[21]W.R. Smith in Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia (1907), suggests that the marriage of Khadija and Muhammad was probably a mota marriage, which was a personal contract between a man and a woman and no witnesses or mediation of the woman’s kin was required; and where Khadija had paid for sole ownership, as “it can hardly have been of his free will that a man of such strong passions (Muhammad) had no other wife as long as ‘the old woman’ lived. Khadija's mother Fatima was of the Banu "Amir b. Loayy, and these seem to be the same Banu ‘Amir whose women still contracted mota marriages at Mecca in the first years of Islam (Wilken, Matriarchaat, p. 10; at p. 16 Wilken suggests that the ‘Amir b. Sa’sa’a are meant, but that is less likely, as the latter were not a Meccan clan). If mota marriage was common among the Banu ‘Amir, it is possible that Khadija was herself the offspring of such a marriage, and had been brought up with her mother's people to follow their customs. This would account for her independence and property but would indicate that her social position was low.”[22]This mota marriage becomes more plausible also due to the fact that, it was Muhammad who moved into Khadija’s house and not the other way around. Another example of a similar marriage was of Salma bint Amr, of the Najjar clan. Ibn Hisham clearly mentions that she would marry only on the condition that she could leave her husband whenever she wished. She was first married to Uhayha b. al-Julah and bore him a son called ‘Amr. And then she married Hashim b. Abdu Manaf and had a son, Shayba who was later called Abd Al’Muttalib. He was the grandfather of Muhammad. Hashim left when Abd Al’Muttalib was a young boy and he stayed with his mother.[23] And Salma never moved to her husband’s house, exactly like Khadija did.Khadija is said to have worshipped the three daughters of Allah, Al-Lat, Al-Manat and Al-‘Uzzá # and she also had the idol of Al-Lat and Al-Uzza installed in her house. Both, Khadija and Muhammad used to worship them and perform some domestic rite in honour of one of the goddesses each night before retiring.[24]Khadijah herself was known to have sacrificed two goats at the birth of each son and one at the birth of each daughter.[25] Muhammad himself has mentioned that he sacrificed a white sheep to Al-Uzza.[26] He also confessed to have sacrificed a grey sheep to Al-Uzza and probably did it many times, since, later in life too, he always used to slaughter sheep with his own hands after his raids.[27] Even the grandfather of Muhammad, Abd Al-Muttalib, sacrificed camels to Hubal (the greatest God in the Kaaba pantheon).[28]Also, Arabs were fiercely polytheistic. They worshipped many Gods and Goddesses, the greatest of all was ‘Hubal’. Next came the Goddesses loved by all Arabs, Al-Uzza, Al-Lat ¥ and Al-Manat,© who were the daughters of Allah.[29]Freedom of religion was a given. Nobody was persecuted for worshipping a particular God or Goddess. Conversion was unheard of. There were 360 idols of Gods & Goddesses around the Kaaba.[30]Despite the commonly held belief of muslims that the Ka’ba at Mecca existed since the time of Abraham, the Kaaba in Mecca was actually made in 4 CE.“‘In the 2nd AD, a dam was breached in Ma’rib, a city in Yemen, forcing the Khuzaa’h tribe to migrate from there to the location where they later founded Mecca (A. Jamme. W. F , 1962). Because no temple existed there, the Khuzaa’h tribe erected a tent there to worship, in the same location the Ka’ba was later built. In the 4th Century, they started to build the city of Mecca.’”[31]“‘The King of Yemen, Tiban Abu Karib Asa’d, came to Mecca in the 5th Century AD. He built the Ka’ba similar to the Ka’ba found in Yemen.’”[32] Initially the Kaaba was just a small plot of land, demarcated by loose stones:“The temple was built in prehistoric times with loose stones, without clay. Its height was such that young goats could leap into it. It had no roof and its drapes were merely laid upon it, hanging down. –Abd al-Razzaq 5.102” (Robert G. Hoyland, 2001)[33]‘Abu Karib Asa’d covered the Ka’ba with a curtain (Kiswah), which was the 2nd most important step.’”[34]And there were many Kaabas. “‘Nejran also had a Ka’ba, probably consisting of a great basaltic rock, still standing at Taslal though long disused. San’a had a 3rd Ka’ba, still represented by a small domed building in the Great Mosque. At Petra was a kind of Ka’ba where Dhu al Shara (Dhushara, later associated with the vine) was worshipped under the form of a black quadrangular stone, about 4 ft. high. A square stone at ‘Taif represented the goddess Al Lat (compare the erection of a sacred stone by Jacob, Genesis xxviii, 18, 19; Genesis 28:22)Weapons garments & rags were hung in a sacred as gifts palm-tree at Nejran, and offerings were made to the tree (probably a sidr-tree, Zizyphus) of Al ‘Uzza at Nakhla. After the conquest of Muhammad, many idols were destroyed.’”[35]Compared to the small Kaaba at Mecca, the Kaaba of Bel at Palmyra was huge and grand, with a raised podium, encompassed by numerous and huge columns with carved crossbeams and grand staircase led to the podium. Even the Kaaba of Dhushara and the Kaaba of winged lions at Petra were much decorated and elaborate affairs.[36]‘Allat, venerated seemingly by all was represented by a square rock at al-‘Taif, the cult being superintended by Banu-‘Attab ibn-Malik of the Thaqif who had built an edifice over her.’”[37]The very fact that Goddesses were worshipped and sacrifices of animals were offered to them, show that the status of women was exalted, and any instances of subjugation and persecution would have been an exception, rather than the rule.The idea of Prophets was also a very old idea among the Arabs. Many prophets had come before. One of the names mentioned by muslims scholars is Khalid b. Sinan.[38] He was a prophet who lived before Muhammad was born. And even before Muhammad died, there were 3 men and 1 woman, who claimed to be the next prophets of Allah, but were all killed by muslims. Musaylima bin Habib Al-Hanafi, and Al-Aswad bin Ka’b al-Ansi were the two men who claimed prophethood.[39] Musaylima had even written a letter to Muhammad regarding this and Muhammad had replied back calling him a liar.[40]Musaylima was supposed to be against prostration and bending to Allah during prayers. He is quoted as saying:“What is the will of Allah by raising your buttocks and by your prostration on your foreheads? Pray standing upright, in a noble posture. Allah is great." (M.J. Kister, 2005)[41]Another man who declared himself a prophet was Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid ibn Nawfal al-Asadi. Tulayha was a genuine soothsayer (kahin) and a tribal chief. He is described as a poet, a composer of rhymed prose, an orator and a genealogical expert. [42] He too was against prostration and bending to Allah and is reported to have said:“What is it to God that you make your cheeks dusty and that you spread your buttocks? Pronounce God's name in a modest posture, standing upright. Allah is great." (ma yaf ‘alu Allah bi-ta'firi khududikum wa-fathi adbarikum? udhkuru Allah a'iffatan qiyaman). (M.J. Kister, 2005)[43]But the most interesting fact is of Sajah bint al-Harith. She was a woman who had declared herself a prophetess of Allah; and who had garnered quite a following. She was a very popular soothsayer (Kahin) and after Muhammad’s death, she declared herself as a prophetess. She was from the Banu Yarbu of the Tamim tribe[44] and several leaders of Tamimi tribal sections joined her.[45] She had a sizeable following of about 4000 people, whom she led to attack Medina. She later made a pact with another prophet Musaylima [46]and married him; and both combined their views[47] and tried to form a new sect with a new Book of Revelations by Allah, called the first Faruk.[48] Musaylima said that the Quran was the second Faruk and called it Furkan.[49] Musaylima later died fighting with Abu Bakr’s forces in the Battle of Yamama, where he was said to lead an army of 40,000 followers. Later, he was cornered with about 7000 of his followers, who were all slaughtered in a place later named as the ‘Garden of Death.[50] And this is the place where most of Muhammad’s companions who knew the Quran (Qurra), died.[51] According to all accounts, after Musaylima’s death, Sajah went back to her native tribe and lived her life in obscurity. Ibn al-kalbi would have us believe that she accepted Islam and lived and died in Basra.[52]The very fact that Goddesses were worshipped and sacrifices of animals were offered to them, show that the status of women was exalted, and any instances of subjugation and persecution would have been exceptions, rather than the rule.Women, who were worshipped as Goddesses, could become Queens (like Mawiya of Ghassan),[53] Judges (daughter of Amir b. Al-Zarib),[54] run businesses, inherit, propose to men as per their will, remarry, take part in battles (Hind bint Utbah took part in the battle of Uhud),[55] write poetry (all of Muhammad’s paternal aunts-Safiya, Barra, Atika, Umm Hakim al-Bayda, Umayma and ‘Arwa wrote poetry),[56] construct public buildings and tombs,[57] be priestesses[58] and soothsayers and even declare themselves as Prophetesses, suddenly were pushed into the dark ages.W.R. Smith clearly states in Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia (1907) that “the Arabs themselves recognised that the position of woman had fallen; it could not but fall with the spread of ba’al marriages of the type we have described, and it continued still, to fall under Islam, because the effect of Muhammad’s legislation in favour of women was more than outweighed by the establishment of marriages of dominion as the one legitimate type, and the gradual loosening of the principle that married women could count on their own kin to stand by them against their husbands.”[59]Their freedoms were completely curtailed after the advent of Islam and their status was degraded to the level of prisoners[60] and domestic animals.[61] Muhammad said that women were omens of evil[62] and he branded them as a severe trial[63] for men.A lot has been written and claimed about female infanticide before Islam. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, claimed that this happened due to poverty and Islam condemns it in many places like Quran [81:8-9], [17:31] and [16:58-59]. Although cases of female infanticide were recorded among certain tribes like Tamim, a general consensus among the scholarship is of the view that it was not widespread as is made out to be.[64]As W. R. Smith asserts in his Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, “It is very remarkable that in spite of Muhammad’s humane ordinances the place of woman in the family and in society has steadily declined under his law.”[65]After Islam, they had to cover their faces and bodies.[66] They were now supposed to stay home[67] and not do anything without permission from their husbands. They were not allowed to be alone with any stranger or travel without a (mahram) male blood relative or her husband, [68] thus eliminating any possibility of them to work in any profession. This law was the most draconic in the sense that it took away all freedoms of them to work outside and confined them behind closed doors. Their inheritances were halved to that of men.[69] Adultery was now to be punished with stoning.[70] Rape was to be substantiated with 4 witnesses and this is misused hugely against women, as now, if any woman was raped, she also was supposed to furnish the same proof, otherwise, she herself was accused for adultery and punished.[71]The worst insult was the concept of triple talaq and nikah halala. A muslim man could divorce his wife by uttering ‘Talaq’ three times in succession at one go. The woman doesn’t have this right. Men have been known to divorce through phone calls & even sms messages. Although Quran [2:231] doesn’t mandate Triple Talaq in succession (a minimum of 3 months are mandated), Muhammad had himself divorced many women using the instantaneous triple talaq. One example is when Muhammad married Asma' bt. al-Nu'man and on finding that she had leprosy, he divorced her immediately and sent her home.[72] He married Ghaziyyah bt. Jabir, and when he went to her he found her to be too old and thus divorced her.[73] He also married another woman Layla bt. al-Khatim. When she informed her people, they told her that she had committed a blunder, that she is a self-respecting woman while the prophet was a womaniser. They asked her to get her marriage annulled, so she went back to Muhammad and asked him to revoke the marriage and he complied with it.[74] And as anything done by Muhammad is Sunnah (permissible) for muslims, this mode of divorce became a means of misuse against women.Whereas a woman either needs her husband's consent to divorce or can go to a Qazi (sharia Judge) who will decide on the matter according to Shariah Law i.e. the husband has to agree.[75] Any woman who was divorced by her husband in a fit of anger by repeating triple talaq, became unlawful to her husband. The only way her husband could remarry her was to make her marry another man, who cohabits with her for one night and divorces her in the morning; after which the husband may again possess her as his wife. And men used to hire any peasant from the streets, who would generally be the poorest and ugliest, so as to come at a cheaper price. Such a person was called a ‘Mostahil’ and wives used to dread being subjected to such humiliation.[76] A muslim woman asking for Divorce is like an infidel.[77] A divorced wife has no claim to alimony or lodging.[78] A divorced wife loses custody of all her children after they have been weaned and they can eat, drink & clean by themselves. That is usually at the age of seven or eight.[79]Now a muslim man can have 4 wives at a time, apart from keeping sex slaves.[80] This right doesn’t extend to women as they are unequal & beneath men.[81]A muslim man can marry very young girls as Quran mentions in detail, ways to divorce prepubescent girls.[82] Of course, this was because Muhammad had himself married a 6 year old girl Aisha and consummated the marriage when she was nine.[83] Not just this, Ibn Ishaq records that Muhammad looked at an infant and wanted to marry her when she grew up:“Suhayli, ii. 79: In the riwaya of Yunus I.I. recorded that the apostle saw her (Ummu'l-Faᶁl) when she was a baby crawling before him and said, 'If she grows up and l am still alive I will marry her.' But he died before she grew up and Sufyãn b. al-Aswad b.'Abdu'l-Asad al-Makhzũmĩ married her and she bore him Rizq and Lubaba.” (A. Guillaume, 2004) [84]William Muir (1861) writes in life of Mahomet,”The idea of conjugal unity is utterly unknown to the Mahometans, excepting when the Christian example is by chance followed; and even there the continuance of the bond is purely dependant on the will of the husband. The wives have a separate interest, not only each in regard to her sister-wives, but even in regard to her husband; so much so, that, on the death of a son, the father and mother receive separate shares from the inheritance. In this respect, I believe, the morale of the Hindoo society, where polygamy is less encouraged, to be sounder, in a very marked degree, than that of a Mahometan society.”[85]A lot of fuss is made about how Muhammad made it mandatory for men to give Mahr (dowry) to women before they marry them, thus giving them financial protection.[86] But in practice, it was mere eyewash. Muhammad married Safiyya, a captive woman, captured as war booty, without giving her any Mahr. When asked, he replied that, her manumission was her Mahr.[87] On another occasion, when a man said he had nothing to give, not even an iron ring as Mahr, he asked him if he knew the Quran. When the man told the names of some Surahs, Muhammad stated that, that was enough for him to marry a woman without giving her any Mahr.[88] So much for financial security.“As regards female slaves, it is difficult to conceive a more single degradation of the human species. They were treated as an inferior class of beings.” (William Muir, 1861)They were treated with utter contempt, with no conjugal or other rights. They were purely at the disposal of their masters.[89] In fact, a slave, even after being manumitted (freed), still belonged to his/her owners.[90] When a non-muslim woman is captured, it is permissible to have sex with (rape) her. Her marriage to her non-muslim husband is annulled. If she is pregnant, then she can be used as a sex slave (jariya) only after her pregnancy. If she is not pregnant, one has to wait for her to have her next period and then have sex with her.[91]Music and singing was considered evil and became forbidden.[92]Painting or drawing of any living being was proclaimed a Sin.[93]Free speech was banished and anybody insulting or making fun of Islam, Allah, Muhammad was to be killed.[94]Religious freedom was a thing of the past. Muhammad destroyed the 360 idols of Gods and Goddesses around the Kaaba with his own hands[95] and ordered his men to destroy all other idols in other religious places.[96]Even the tradition of destroying another mosque was started by Muhammad when he ordered Al-Dirar mosque to be destroyed and it was burnt down.[97]Forcible Conversion became Divine Law. Anybody resisting was to be killed. Surrender would result in paying a huge religious tax ‘Jizya’ along with continuous humiliation and usurpation of all rights to land, property and women.[98] Women & children were enslaved as sex-slaves.[99] They were regularly sold for profit and slave trade became lawful as slavery got the divine sanction.[100]A mature, free, civilized society was obliterated and then named ’Jahiliyya’ (period of ignorance). Arabia and the world would never be the same again.[1] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 7[2] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 1, p.76; Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, Robert G. Hoyland (2001) London, New York, Routledge, p. 138[3] The History of Al-Tabari, tr. & ed. by Montgomery Watt, M V McDonald (1987), Vol 06, p. 47; Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, Robert G. Hoyland (2001) London, New York, Routledge, p. 137[4] Mohammed and the Rise of Islam by D. S. Margoliouth, (1905), New York & London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, p. 70[5] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 1, p.128[6] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 87-88[7] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 87[8] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 126[9] Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, Robert G. Hoyland (2001) London, New York, Routledge, p. 130; Beyond the Veil: Male-female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society by Fatima Mernissi (1987), p. 75[10] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 1, p.127[11] Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, Robert G. Hoyland (2001) London, New York, Routledge, p. 131[12] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. IV, p. 132[13] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 1, p. 190[14] ibid[15] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), p. 290[16] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 1, p. 189-190[17] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 120[18] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 119[19] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 120[20] The History of Al-Tabari, tr. & ann. by Ismail K Poonawala (1990), Vol 09, p. 127[21] ibid[22] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), p. 290[23] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 58-59# Azizos is the masculine form of the deity whose feminine aspect was Al-Uzza, who represents the martial aspect of the Arabic Venus star. Accordingly goddess Al-Uzza was seen as a warrior goddess whose function was to lead and protect caravans across the desert, just as she guided the Sun across the sky, cf. ‘Who were the daughters of Allah?’ by Donna Kristin Randsalu (1988), p. 59-60; It was common among Arabs to name their children with the goddess’ name; one of the paternal uncles of Muhammad was Abd-al-'Uzza meaning ‘slave of Uzza’ Another paternal uncle, Abu Talib, who adopted him, was called Abd-Manaf after the goddess Al-Manat.[24] Musnad by Ahmed ibn Hanbal, vol. 4, p. 222. Cited in Mohammed and the Rise of Islam by D. S. Margoliouth, (1905 New York & London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, p. 70.[25] Kitab Al-Tabaqat Al-Kabir by Ibn Saad, Vol 1, Parts 1.36.2[26] Kitāb al-Aṣnām by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī (737 CE - 819 CE), tr. as ‘Book of Idols’ by Nabih Amin Faris (1952), p. 18[27] Reste Arabischen Heidentums: gesammelt und erläutert. Dritte unveränderte Auflage by J. Wellhausen (1961), p. 34, Cited in Mohammed and the Rise of Islam by D. S. Margoliouth, (1905), 3rd ed., p. 70.[28] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 66; Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 1, p. 125-127¥ There is a possibility that the name Allat is the feminine form of Allah, possibly daughter or wife, just as the Canaanite goddess Elat was the wife of her progenitor, El. A basic feature of the ancient Semitic pantheons was the intimate relationships of its deities that represented the element of reproduction of man and in nature; Allah/Allat (Elat/El), p. 5; cf. ‘Who were the daughters of Allah?’ by Donna Kristin Randsalu (1988). The Arabs also used to name their children after her, calling them Zayd-Allat and Taym-Allat, p.16, cf. Kitāb al-Aṣnām by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī (737 CE - 819 CE), tr. as ‘Book of Idols’ by Nabih Amin Faris (1952)© The most ancient of all these idols was Manah [Manat]. The Arabs used to name [their children] 'Abd-Manah and Zayd-Manah. All the Arabs used to venerate her and sacrifice before her. They did not consider their pilgrimage completed until they visited Manah; cf. Kitāb al-Aṣnām by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī (737 CE - 819 CE), tr. as ‘Book of Idols’ by Nabih Amin Faris (1952), p.14-15[29] Kitāb al-Aṣnām by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī (737 CE - 819 CE), tr. as ‘Book of Idols’ by Nabih Amin Faris (1952), p. 18; Al-Tabari, Jami' al-Bay'dn fi Tafsir al-Qur'an, Cairo, 1323-1330, vol. xxvii, p.34-36. Also F. V. Winnett, "The Daughters of Allah," in The Moslem World (1940),, Vol. XXX, p. 113-130[30] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 3, p. 409[31] See Al-Azraqi, Kitab Akhbar Makka, Vol. 1, p. 6[32] See A. Jamme. W. F, Sabean Inscriptions from Mehram Bilqis (Ma’rib), the John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1962, vol. III, p. 387[33] Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, Robert G. Hoyland (2001) London, New York, Routledge, p. 180[34] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 7; See Al-Azraqi, Kitab Akhbar Makka, Vol. 1, p. 173; Yakut al-Hamawi, Mujam al-Buldan, Vol 4, p. 463[35] Excerpt from Western Arabia & The Red Sea, Naval Intelligence Division (1946), Ch. V: History, p. 236[36] Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, Robert G. Hoyland (2001) London, New York, Routledge, p. 180[37] Excerpt from The Emergence of Islam in Late Antiquity: Allah and His People by Aziz Al-Azmeh, Preface to Allah, p.218-220; Book of Idols (Kitāb al-Aṣnām) by Hishām ibn al-Kalbī, tr. by Nabih Amin Faris (1952), p. 16; Ibn Hazm, Jamhara 491; Reste Arabischen Heidentums by Julius Wellhausen (1897), Berlin, G. Reimer, p. 29 ff.[38] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 1, p.73[39] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 648[40] The History of Al-Tabari, tr. & ann. by Ismail K Poonawala (1990), Vol 09, p. 107[41] The struggle against Musaylima and the conquest of Yamama by M.J. Kister (2005), Published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG), p. 26[42] E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, ed. by P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E.Bosworth, E, Van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs (2000), Vol X, p. 603[43] The struggle against Musaylima and the conquest of Yamama by M.J. Kister (2005), Published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG), p. 26[44] The struggle against Musaylima and the conquest of Yamama by M.J. Kister (2005), Published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG), p. 23[45] The struggle against Musaylima and the conquest of Yamama by M.J. Kister (2005), Published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG), p. 24[46] The struggle against Musaylima and the conquest of Yamama by M.J. Kister (2005), Published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG), p. 25[47] The Dabistán or School of manners, tr. by David Shea, Anthony Troyer (1843), Madame Veuve Dondey-Dupre, Printer to the Asiatic Societies of London, Paris, and Calcutta, 46, rue St-Louis, Paris., Vol 3, p. 8[48] The Dabistán or School of manners, tr. by David Shea, Anthony Troyer (1843), Madame Veuve Dondey-Dupre, Printer to the Asiatic Societies of London, Paris, and Calcutta, 46, rue St-Louis, Paris., Vol 3, p. 4[49] The Dabistán or School of manners, tr. by David Shea, Anthony Troyer (1843), Madame Veuve Dondey-Dupre, Printer to the Asiatic Societies of London, Paris, and Calcutta, 46, rue St-Louis, Paris., Vol 3, p. 5[50] The struggle against Musaylima and the conquest of Yamama by M.J. Kister (2005), Published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG), p. 47[51] Sahih al-Bukhari 65:4679[52] E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, ed. by C.E.Bosworth, E, Van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs, G. Lecomte, ass. by P.J. Bearman, Madame S. Nurit (1995), Vol VIII, p. 738-739[53] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 125-126[54] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 126 footnote[55] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 385[56] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 73-76[57] Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, Robert G. Hoyland (2001) London, New York, Routledge, p. 132[58] Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam, Robert G. Hoyland (2001) London, New York, Routledge, p. 133[59] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 126[60] Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1163 (Sahih, Darussalam), 47:3367 (Hasan, Darussalam); Riyad as-Salihin 1:276[61] The History of Al-Tabari, tr. & ann. by Ismail K Poonawala (1990), Vol 09, p.113[62] Sahih al-Bukhari 5093; 5094[63] Sahih al-Bukhari 5096[64] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 153-154[65] Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia by William Robertson Smith (1907), Ch. III, p. 120[66] Quran 24:31; Quran 33:59[67] Quran 33:33[68] Sahih al-Bukhari 3006, 1862; Sahih Muslim 1339a, 1341c; Bulugh al-Maram 718[69] Quran 4:11[70] Sahih Muslim 1695b; 1457b[71] Quran 24:4-5; 24:13[72] The History of Al-Tabari, tr. & ann. by Ismail K Poonawala (1990), Vol 09, p.137[73] The History of Al-Tabari, tr. & ann. by Ismail K Poonawala (1990), Vol 09, p.139[74] The History of Al-Tabari, tr. & ann. by Ismail K Poonawala (1990), Vol 09, p.139[75] Quran 2:128; Quran 2:230[76] The Life of Mahomet by William Muir (1861), London: Smith Elder & Co. 65 Cornhill, Vol 3, p. 306 (footnote)[77] Sunan an-Nasa'i 3461 (Sahih, Darussalam)[78] Sahih Muslim 1480a; 1480b; 1480c[79] Wilaayat al-Mar’ah fi’l-Fiqh al-Islami, p. 692; Al-Wafi, 3/207, chapters on wiladat; Jaza’iri, Sayyid ʿAbd Allah, Al-Tuhfat al-Saniyya, p.296; ʿAllama Hilli, Tahrir al-Ahkam, 1/247 and 2/44; Tusi, Abu Jaʿfar Muhammad b. Hasan, Al-Khilaf, 5/131, problem 36; Tusi, Abu Jaʿfar Muhammad b. Hasan, Al-Mabsut, 6/39; Ruhani, Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq, Fiqh al-Sadiq, 22/304.[80] Quran 4:3[81] Quran 4:34[82] Quran 65:4;[83] Sahih al-Bukhari 5133, 5134; 5158[84] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 311[85] The Life of Mahomet by William Muir (1861), London: Smith Elder & Co. 65 Cornhill, Vol 3, p.305 (footnote)[86] Quran 4:4; 4:19-20; 4:24; 60:10-11[87] Sahih al-Bukhari 5086; 5169[88] Sahih al-Bukhari 5126; 5132[89] The Life of Mahomet by William Muir (1861), London: Smith Elder & Co. 65 Cornhill, Vol 3, p. 305[90] Sahih Bukhari 6761; Sunan Ibn Majah 20:2707; Sunan Abi Dawud 5114 (Sahih, Albani)[91] Quran 23:6; 70:30; 4:24; 33:50; Sahih Bukhari 4213; Sahih Bukhari 4201; Sahih Bukhari 2229; Sahih Muslim 1456a, 1456b, 1456d; Sunan Abi Dawud 2158 (Hasan, Albani)[92] Quran 53:59-62; The History of Al-Tabari, tr. & ed. by Montgomery Watt, M V McDonald (1987), Vol 06, p. 47[93] Sahih al-Bukhari 6109, 3873, 2105; Sahih Muslim 2108a,2109c, 2110a, 2110b[94] Quran 6:93; 5:33–34; 33:57–61; 7:33; Sahih Bukhari 4037; Sahih Muslim 1801; Sunan Abu Dawood 4361 (Sahih, Albani); Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 551[95] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 552[96] Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, tr. by A. Guillaume (2004), p. 616[97] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 4, p. 26-29[98] Quran 9:29; 3:151; 8:12; 9:5; 9:14[99] Quran 33:50; 24:32-33; Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 3, p. 172[100] Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya by Ibn kathir, tr. by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr Ahmad Fareed (2006), Vol 3, p. 172

Infrequently there are those very sensitive beings born into the world who are true empaths. Michael Jackson was one of them. Michael Jackson’s mother recalls an incident when her son was watching a public service announcement on television about poverty and hunger in Africa. The film featured little Black children with swollen bellies and flies circling their mouths. Katherine remembers Michael as inconsolable reacting to the images on the screen. He loudly and emphatically proclaimed that someday he would help save these children. These unusual children have emotions that run high and deep; they feel other people’s feelings; their feelings extend into others and into spaces and situations. And they retain much of their “feeling into” faculties into adulthood.These are the healers, the poets, artists and dreamers of a society. They are the social activists, leaders and the charismatics who can inspire others to action. Michael Jackson was all of the above. These geniuses, however, are subject to their personalities with introvert or extrovert dominance, insecurities and social awkwardness or failings. With a teacher, guru or master an individual can begin to transcend the personality and the ego to become pure being with a thrust toward enlightenment– the embodiment of the Spiritual Self or a Soul-infused personality. Michael Jackson knew of this unusual path of the seeker and studied with teachers and learned discipline in meditation, Yoga, and prayer. His quest becomes evident to a fellow aspiring adept in his book and his short films (music videos.) Mudras (hand gestures) and spiritual messages are evident in his filmed concerts.Some artists are extroverts and great orators; others express themselves through their art. Jackson was not an orator. He was naturally shy off the stage and he hated having to talk to large audiences. He also knew the curse of adulthood and its ability to strip a human of his or her innate innocence, charm, wonder and awe and the creative mind; he gravitated to children because they retained the magic of birth, creation and youth. There comes a point, usually in the early teens when children learn how to manipulate through deliberate strategizing. They learn about hidden agendas. Young children do not have hidden agendas and they do not strategize in order to manipulate.The context Michael operated during his heyday was that he was the most popular superstar in the world and he was someone that especially poor children looked up to as someone who “made it” (out of poverty, out of the “hood,” out of the inner city, the ghetto, and all the other entrapments of financial distress.) He represented a way out of being Black and poor, a way to escape the hardship of the projects and gangs and domestic discord. Kids emulated him because he was their hero and they projected all their hopes and dreams onto him. He was the most famous man on Earth. Kids not only adored him, they wanted to dance like him, to be like him, and many wanted to be him.Many adults hung around him because of reflected glory, because of his money, because of his popularity—they all wanted something from him. But children loved him for himself—because he was young and playful and a kid at heart. He preferred the company of children to adults because of their innocence and lack of judgment and manipulation. So he focused on children and on supporting children’s foundations and charities. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records and being the most generous man in the world supporting almost 40 charities—most of the for children. He donated all the insurance money from his settlement with Pepsi when he burned his scalp to build a burn center. He donated all the proceeds from the Victory Tour to charities. And during the Bad Tour he visited a major hospital in every city on the tour and donated a large piece of medical equipment. Not just one piece for the tour; one piece for every hospital in the cities on the tour schedule. He also founded the “Heal the World” charity and Wrote “We Are the World” with Lionel Richie for the USA for Africa project which addressed the famine if Africa. Most of his philanthropy was aimed at children.His references to children include accolades to their purity and innocence– in other words, unfettered by the accumulated and internalized insults of adulthood that crush the spirit. Children don’t display the limitations of adults– the doubt, disbelief and cynicism that replace spontaneity, creativity, and uncensored imagination and awe experienced in childhood. The carefree spirit is tamped down in growing up and Jackson was determined to not let that happen. He preferred the company of children because of their energy and spirit, that part that is damaged in maturing to adulthood as the “practical” mind takes over and dreams are adjusted from fantastic to “realistic.”He didn’t know how to articulate this philosophy about childhood vs. adulthood, his own childhood interrupted, and painfully traded for other things: “Have You Seen My Childhood?” He was also too insulated from reality in the surreal world of the Jacksons, to know that hanging out with children wasn’t just socially awkward, but some would see it as criminal. In his experience, in a two bedroom home the size of a 2 car garage in Gary, Indiana, 7 children and adults piled together on beds in family banter or to watch TV. He never slept in a bed or room alone. Even the living room in their tiny house became a bedroom at night.The collective adult attitude toward children and the adult-child relationship changed after the McMartin Preschool Case horrified the public and brought to light the incidence of incest in rural America. At that same time, there was a kind of collective hysteria about Satanic Cult activity and repressed (later recovered or resurfaced) memories of children about ritual abuse. The characteristics of “ritual abuse” included repetitive rituals associated with malingering behavior toward children– for sexual or manipulative purposes.Many “therapists” who assisted with “recovered memories” and “repressed memories” of Satanic Cult activity were later debunked. The McMartin Case horrified the public and was a sweeping hysteria similar to the Salem Witch Trials in the 1690s in Colonial Massachusetts or the “Communist” witch hunts of Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. The attitude and behavior of adults toward children would forever change after the McMartin case dominated the frenzied media. The McMartin family defendants were all exonerated but it took ten years. Meanwhile, the public was inundated with sickening descriptions of what the adults in a daycare supposedly did to children.This was the culture Michael Jackson, loved and elevated to cult hero status by kids, some of whom were dealing with their own nightmarish homelife of neglect or abuse– had to navigate in the 1990s. His rise to superstar was paralleled by the Mc Martin drama and aftermath where every breathing adult was under suspicion. Jackson represented hope to kids because of his lyrics, his runaway success and his meteoric rise to superstar. If they could “hang on” to Michael in some way, they could hang on until their eventual emancipation from whatever restricted their freedom.Michael was raised a strict Jehovah Witness, to respect women, especially his mother. He saw children as the humans closest to God, only recently leaving the Divine realms to incarnate as a human baby. He revered children. For that he was mocked.His philanthropy speaks for him:January 10, 1984: Michael visits the unit for burn victims at Brotman-Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles.April 9, 1984: David Smithee, a 14-year-old boy who suffers from cystic fibroses is invited to Michael’s home. It was David’s last wish to meet Michael. He dies 7 weeks later.April 14, 1984: Michael equips a 19-bed-unit at Mount Senai New York Medical Center. This center is part of the T.J. Martell-Foundation for leukemia and cancer research.July 5, 1984: During the Jackson’s press conference at Tavern On The Green, Michael announces that his part of the earnings from the Victory Tour will be donated to three charitable organizations: The United Negro College Fund, Camp Good Times, and the T.J. Martell-Foundation.July 14, 1984: After the first concert of the Victory Tour, Michael meets 8 terminally ill children backstage.December 13, 1984: Michael visits the Brotman Memorial Hospital, where he had been treated when he was burned very badly during the producing of a Pepsi commercial. He donates all the money he receives from Pepsi, $1.5 million, to the Michael Jackson Burn Center for Children.January 28, 1985: Michael and 44 other artists meet to record “We Are The World”, written by Michael and Lionel Ritchie. The proceeds of this record are donated to the starving people in Africa.1986: Michael set up the “Michael Jackson UNCF Endowed Scholarship Fund”. This $1.5 million fund is aimed towards students majoring in performance art and communications, with money given each year to students attending a UNCF member college or university.February 28, 1986: After having had a heart-transplant, 14-year-old Donna Ashlock from California gets a call from Michael Jackson. He had heard that she is a big fan of his. Michael invites her to his home as soon as she is feeling better. This visit takes place on March 8th. Donna stays for dinner and watches a movie together with Michael.September 13, 1987: Michael supports a campaign against racism. He supports efforts of the NAACP, to fight prejudices against black artists.October 1987: At the end of his Bad Tour, Michael donates some personal items to the UNESCO for a charitable auction. The proceeds will be for the education of children in developing countries.February 1, 1988: The Song “Man In the Mirror” enters the charts. The proceeds from the sales of this record goes to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a camp for children who suffer from cancer.March 1, 1988: At a press conference held by his sponsor Pepsi, Michael presents a $600,000 check to the United Negro College Fund.April 1988: Free tickets are given away for three concerts in Atlanta, Georgia to the Make A Wish Foundation.May 22, 1988: Michael visits children who suffer from cancer in the Bambini-Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome. He signs autographs and gives away sweets and records to the little patients. He promises a check of 100,000 pounds to the hospital.July 16, 1988: Before a concert at Wembley Stadium Michael meets the Prince of Wales and his wife Diana. He hands over a check of 150,000 pounds for the Prince’s Trust, and a check of 100,000 pounds for the children’s hospital at Great Ormond Street.July 20, 1988: Michael visits terminally ill children at Great Ormond Street Hospital. At a unit for less critical patients he stays a little bit longer and tells a story.August 29, 1988: At his 30th birthday Michael performs a concert in Leeds, England for the English charity-organization “Give For Life”. The goal of this organization is the immunization of children. Michael presents a check for 65,000 pounds.December 1988: Michael visits 12-year-old David Rothenburg. His father had 5 years earlier burned him very badly in an act of revenge against his former wife.January 1989: The proceeds of one of Michael’s shows in Los Angeles are donated to Childhelp USA, the biggest charity-organization against child-abuse. In appreciation of the contributions of Michael, Childhelp of Southern California is founding the “Michael Jackson International Institute for Research On Child Abuse”.January 10, 1989: The Bad Tour comes to an end. Under-privileged children are donated tickets for each concert and Michael donates money to hospitals, orphanages and charity-organizations.February 7, 1989: Michael visits the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California. Some weeks earlier a 25-year-old man had fired at the school’s playground. 5 children had been killed and 39 had been wounded.March 5, 1989: Michael invites 200 deprived children of the St. Vincent Institute for handicapped children and of the organization Big Brothers and Big Sisters to the Circus Vargas in Santa Barbara. After this event he invites them to his ranch to introduce his private zoo at his Neverland Ranch to them.November 13, 1989: The organization “Wishes Granted” helps 4-year-old Darian Pagan, who suffers from leukemia to meet Michael. Michael invites the little boy to a performance of Canadian acrobats.December 28, 1989: Young Ryan White, who suffers from hemophilia, spends his holidays on Michael’s ranch. Ryan had been infected with AIDS by contaminated blood transfusions in 1984. After he was excluded from his school in Kokomo, Ryan fought against the discrimination of AIDS victims.January 6, 1990: Michael invites 82 abused and neglected children through Childhelp to his Neverland Ranch. There are games, a Barbeque and a movie show provided for them.July 1990: 45 children from the Project Dream Street, Los Angeles, for children with life-threatening illness are invited to Neverland Valley.August 18, 1990: Michael invites 130 children of the YMCA summer program of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara to his Neverland Ranch.May 6, 1991: Michael is invited to the Jane Goodall Charity event. Michael supports her, an advocate of behavioral research concerning chimpanzees in Gombe, Nigeria for more than 30 years.July 26, 1991: Michael pays a visit to the Youth Sports & Art Foundation in Los Angeles. This Foundation supports families of gang members, and helps dealing with drug-abuse. Michael talks to the kids and presents them with a wide-screen TV set and a financial gift.December 1991: Michael’s office MJJ Productions treats needy families in Los Angeles with more than 200 turkey dinners.February 1992: Within 11 days Michael covers 30,000 miles in Africa, to visit hospitals, orphanages, schools, churches, and institutions for mentally handicapped children.February 3, 1992: At a press conference at the New York Radio City Music Hall, Michael announces that he is planning a new world tour, to raise funds for his new “Heal The World” Foundation. This Foundation will support the fight against AIDS, Juvenile Diabetes and will support the Camp Ronald McDonald and the Make A Wish Foundation.May 6, 1992: Michael defrays the funeral-expenses for Ramon Sanchez, who was killed during the Los Angeles riots.June 23, 1992: At a press conference in London, Michael makes an announcement about his Heal The World Foundation.June 26, 1992: Michael presents the Mayor of Munich, Mr. Kronawitter, with a 40,000 DM-check for the needy people of the city.June 29, 1992: Michael visits the Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam and presents a check for 100,000 pounds.July 1992: Michael donated L. 821,477,296 to La Partita del Cuore (The Heart Match) in Rome and donated 120,000 DM to children’s charities in Estonia and Latvia.July 25, 1992: On the occasion of a concert in Dublin, Ireland, Michael announces that he will give 400,000 pounds of the tour earnings to various charities.July 29, 1992: Michael visits the Queen Elizabeth Children’s Hospital in London. To the surprise the children, he brings Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse from Euro-Disney to the hospital.July 31, 1992: On the Eve of his second concert at Wembley Stadium, Michael presents Prince Charles with a check of 200,000 pounds for the Prince’s Trust.August 16, 1992: 6 year old Nicholas Killen, who lost his eyesight caused by a life aiding cancer surgery, meets Michael backstage in Leeds, England.September 1992: Michael donated 1 million pesetas to charity headed by the Queen of Spain.September 30, 1992: President Iliescu of Romania inaugurates a playground for 500 orphans which Michael has financed. Michael discusses his Heal The World Foundation.October 1, 1992: Michael chooses a concert in Bucharest, Romania for worldwide television broadcast. Bucharest is a logical choice due to the numerous orphanages the country is known for.November 24, 1992: At Kennedy Airport in New York, Michael supervises the loading of 43 tons of medication, blankets, and winter clothes destined for Sarajevo. The Heal The World Foundation collaborates with AmeriCares to bring resources totaling $2.1 million to Sarajevo. They will be allocated under the supervision of the United Nations.December 10, 1992: During a press conference at the American Ambassy in Tokyo Michael is presented with a check for $100,000 for the Heal The World Foundation by Tour Sponsor Pepsi.December 26, 1992: During a broadcast request for donations to the United Negro College Fund, Michael declares: “Black Colleges and Universities are breeding some of the leading personalities of our time. They are on top in business, justice, science and technologies, politics and religion. I am proud, that the Michael Jackson Scholarship Program enabled more than 200 young men and women to get a qualified education.”January 19, 1993: Michael is one of the stars to perform at the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton. Before he sings “Gone Too Soon” he draws the attention to the plights of the victims of AIDS and mentions his friend Ryan White.January 26, 1993: At a press conference held at Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, Michael is presented with a $200,000 donation from the National Football League and the Sponsors of the Super Bowl. He gets another $500,000 from the BEST Foundation for his Heal The World Foundation. At this occasion the foundation of “Heal L.A.” is officially announced.February 1993: In association with Sega, launched an initiative to distribute more than $108,000 of computer games and equipment to children’s hospitals, children’s homes, and children’s charities throughout the U.K.March 1993: The foundation of an independent film company is announced. They will produce family-oriented movies. A part of the earnings will go to the Heal The World Foundation.March 27, 1993: At a meeting at Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, Michael gives a 5-minute speech to 1200 teachers and politicians.April 26, 1993: Within his “Heal LA” tour, Michael visits the Watta Health Foundation, and two schools in Los Angeles South Central.May 5, 1993: Former President Jimmy Carter and Michael, who are chairmen of the “Heal Our Children/Heal The World” initiative, are in Atlanta to promote their “Atlanta Project Immunization Drive”.June 1993: Michael has announced that he will donate $1.25 million for children who have suffered from the riots in Los Angeles.June 1993: 100 children from the Challengers Boys and Girls Club visit Neverland.June 10, 1993: Michael promotes the new DARE-program. The purpose of the program is to inform children about the dangers of drug abuse.June 18, 1993: Michael pays a visit to a hospital in Washington. He spends several hours with the young patients and plays chess with some of them.August 1993: With Pepsi-Cola Thailand, donated $40,000 to Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s charity, the Rural School Children and Youth Development Fund, in support of school lunch programs in rural villages in Thailand.August 1993: In conjunction with Pepsi-Cola International, donated new ambulances to the Contacts One Independent Living Center for Children in Moscow, Russia and the Hospital de Ninos Dr. Ricardo Gutierrez in Buenos Aires, Argentina.October 1993: Donated $100,000 to the Children’s Defense Fund, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, the Atlanta Project, and the Boys and Girl Clubs of Newark, New Jersey.October 22, 1993: Michael visits a hospital in Santiago.October 28, 1993: Michael makes it possible for 5000 underprivileged children to visit the Reino Aventura Park, where the whale Keiko (”Free Willy”) is living.November 5, 1993: Michael is guest at a children’s party at the Hard Rock Cafe in Mexico City.December 1993: With the Gorbachev Foundation, airlifted 60,000 doses of children’s vaccines to Tblisi, Georgia.December 16, 1993: The Heal The World Foundation UK supports “Operation Christmas Child” delivering toys, sweets, gifts and food to children in former Yugoslavia.1994: Michael donates $500,000 to Elizabeth Taylor’s AIDS Foundation.January 7, 1994: On the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Michael gives a party for more than 100 underprivileged children at his Neverland Ranch.February 22, 1994: “The Jackson Family Honors” is televised. The earnings of the show are given to their own newly formed charity, “Family Caring for Families”.August 6, 1994: Michael and his wife Lisa Marie are visiting two children’s hospitals in Budapest. They distribute toys to the ill children.1995: Michael wants to free dolphins who have been locked up for years. He believes there should be legal guidelines about the way dolphins have to live in zoos and parks.March 1995: Little Bela Farkas received a new liver. Michael and Lisa Marie met this 4-year-old boy during their trip to Hungary in 1994. Michael did everything to help Bela, whose only chance to live was getting a new liver. The Heal The World Foundation covered the surgery and the cost for caring.June 21, 1996: Michael donated a four-times platinum disc of “HIStory” in aid of the Dunblane appeal at the Royal Oak Hotel, Sevenoaks in England.July 18, 1996: In Soweto, South Africa Michael is laying down a wreath of flowers for youngsters who have been killed during the fights involving Apartheid.September 1996: The first Sports Festival “Hope” was held for orphans and disadvantaged children. 3000 children and 600 volunteers took part in the Sports Festival and Michael Jackson was a special guest.September 6, 1996: Michael visits the children’s unit of a hospital in Prague.October 1996: Michael visited a hospital for mentally challenged children in Kaoshiung, Taiwan and offered 2,000 free tickets to the sold out performance in Kaoshiung.October 1, 1996: Michael donated the proceeds of his Tunisia concert to “The National Solidarity Fund”, a charity dedicated to fighting poverty.October 3, 1996: Michael visits a children’s hospital and brings small gifts for the patients during a HIStory tour visit in Amsterdam. A room in the hospital (for parents who want to be with their children) is named after Michael.November 1, 1996: Michael donates most of the earnings from a HIStory concert in Bombay, India to the poor people of the country.November 7, 1996: Before his first concert in Auckland, New Zealand, Michael fulfills the wish of little Emely Smith, who is suffering from cancer, who wants to meet Michael.November 25, 1996: Michael visited the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, delivering toys, signing autographs, and visiting with children.December 9, 1996: During a HIStory tour visit in Manila, Michael visits a children’s hospital. He announces that a part of his concert earnings will be donated to the renovation of the hospital.January 25, 1997: Michael waved his personal fee for his Bombay appearance and donated $1.1 million to a local charity helping to educate children living in slums.April 4, 1997: British magazine “OK!” is publishing exclusive photos of Michael’s son Prince. The magazine pays about 1 million pounds for the photos. Michael donates the money to charity.June 18, 1997: Michael signed the “Children in Need” book auctioned by the charity UNESCO.September 1998: Michael meets 5 year old Aza Woods, who suffers from cancer, at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Michael introduces Aza to the attraction “Star Trek: The Experience” and spends the rest of the afternoon with the little boy. Finally Michael invites Aza to spend some time with him at his Neverland Ranch.November 16, 1998: Michael arrives in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is a member of the American Delegation invited by the Minister of Defense. The delegation thanks the government of Zimbabwe for helping to keep the peace in this area.September 4, 1999: Michael presented Nelson Mandela with a check for 1,000,000 South African rand for the “Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.”January 22, 2000: During Christmas last year a violent storm ravaged the park of the Chateau de Versailles and destroyed 10,000 trees in the park. The estimated cost for rebuilding the park is around $20 million. Some celebrities are supporting the restoration of the park. French officials are reporting that Michael Jackson is one of them. He was one of the first people to donate money to this cause.October 28, 2000:Michael painted a plate to be auctioned for the “Carousel of Hope Ball” benefiting childhood diabetes research.March 6, 2001: Michael donated a black hat, a birthday phone-call and a jacket worn at the Monaco Music Awards in 2000 to the Movie Action for Children auction, an event being given by UNICEF with all proceeds will going to UNICEF’s efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Africa.March 26, 2001: Michael handed out books to young people at a Newark, NJ theater. The event, which helped to launch the Michael Jackson International Book Club, part of his new Heal the Kids charity, aims to promote childhood reading and encourage parents to return to reading bedtime stories.September 15, 2002: Michael donated 16 exclusively autographed items consisting of CD’s, videos and 2 cotton napkins to aid in the support of the victims of a severe flood in Germany. These items were auctioned off for charity and managed to raise 3935 Euro (US$ 3,814).October 12, 2002: Michael Jackson invited more than 200 Team Vandenberg members, who recently returned from overseas deployments, and their families to his Neverland Ranch. This was to show his appreciation for the sacrifices the military in his community make.November 19-29, 2002: Michael donated an autographed teddy bear dressed in his likeness to Siegfried & Roy’s celebrity teddy bear auction. This auction benefits Opportunity Village which is a non-profit organization based in Las Vegas (USA) that enhances the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. Michael’s autographed teddy bear raised $5,000 for the charity.November 21, 2002: Michael donated a jacket to the The Bambi Charity Event in Berlin which raised $16,000.April 25, 2002: Michael Jackson performed at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Apollo Theater in Harlem helping to raise nearly $3 million dollars towards voter registration.June 2003: The Wolf family, who experienced serious damages to their belongings during the flood in Saxony, Germany last August, was invited to Berlin by Michael Jackson when he was at the Bambi Awards. On that occasion Michael invited them to Neverland. In June, they spent three days at Neverland, meeting Michael and his children.Charity AwardsMay 14, 1984: At a ceremony in the White House President Reagan presents Michael an award for special efforts; he is honored for his participation in a national ad campaign against drunk driving.January 1989: The “Say Yes To A Youngsters Future” program honors Michael in recognition of his efforts to encourage children to natural sciences and award him with the “National Urban Coalition Artist/Humanitarian Of The Year Award”.March 1989: At the Universal Amphitheater in Universal City, California, Michael receives the Black Radio Special Award for his humanitarian efforts.September 22, 1989: The Capital Children’s Museum awards Michael with the Best Of Washington 1989 Humanitarian Award in recognition of his efforts to raise money for the museum, and for his never-ending support of children.February 3, 1990: From Japan Michael receives a Role Model Award.April 5, 1990: During a ceremony, where Michael is awarded as “Entertainer Of The Decade”, Michael meets President George Bush, who honors him with the “Point Of Light” award. Michael receives this award for his philanthropic activities. President Bush explains Michael’s humanitarian commitments to the press.September 14, 1990: The Council of the American Scouts honors Michael with the first “Good Scout Humanitarian Award”. Michael receives this award for his humanitarian activities by supporting the Make A Wish Foundation, the Prince’s Trust, the United Negro College Fund and Childhelp USA.October 23, 1990: Michael Jackson and Elton John will be the first recipients of the award in memory of Ryan White, which will be handed over in 1991.May 1, 1992: President George Bush presents Michael with the “Point of Light” award for his continuing support of deprived children. During his stay, Michael visits little Raynal Pope, who had been injured very badly by dogs.June 3, 1992: The organization “One To One”, who is caring for better living conditions of young people, honors Michael with an award for his commitment to deprived youngsters.July 1993: The American Friends of Hebrew University honors Michael with the Scopus Award 1993.August 1993: The Jack The Rapper Awards are presented and Michael is honored with the “Our Children, Our Hope Of Tomorrow” award.November 17, 1993: Michael rejects the Scopus Award. He was nominated for this award, which was planned to be given him on January 29th, 1994.April 12, 1994: On occasion of the 2nd Children’s Choice Award ceremony at Cit Center in New York, Michael is presented with the “Caring For Kids” award. This award is to honor celebrities, who take time for young people. 100,000 children and young people from 8 to 18 years old gave Michael their vote of confidence. The Children’s Choice Awards are sponsored by Body Sculpt, a charity organization, that offers drug-prevention programs for young people.November 2, 1995: Michael receives the award “Diamont of Africa”.March, 30, 1996: The Ark Trust-Foundation, who wants to draw the attention of the public eye on animal’s problems, presents the 10th Genesis Award. Michael is presented with the 1995 Doris Day Award. He gets this award for the “Earth Song” video, which draws attention to the plight of the animals.May 1, 1999: At the Bollywood awards in New York, Michael is presented with an award for his humanitarian activities. The award is signed: “Though he comes from the young American tradition, Michael is the embodiment of an old indian soul. His actions are an expression of the philosophy of Weda, which asked to work for the people – not for one’s own interests.”OrganizationsThe Millennium-Issue of the “Guinness Book Of Records” names Michael as the Pop Star who supports the most charity organizations. The following projects are supported by Michael Jackson:AIDS Project L.A.American Cancer SocietyAngel FoodBig Brothers of Greater Los AngelesBMI FoundationBrotherhood CrusadeBrothman Burn CenterCamp Ronald McDonaldChildhelp U.S.A.Children’s Institute InternationalCities and Schools Scholarship FundCommunity Youth Sports & Arts FoundationCongressional Black CaucusDakar FoundationDreamstreet KidsDreams Come True CharityElizabeth Taylor Aids FoundationHeal The World FoundationJuvenile Diabetes FoundationLove MatchMake A Wish FoundationMinority Aids ProjectMotown MuseumNAACPNational Rainbow CoalitionRotary Club of AustraliaSociety of SingersStarlight FoundationThe Carter Center’s Atlanta ProjectThe Sickle Cell Research FoundationTransafricaUnited Negro College FundUnited Negro College Fund Ladder’s of HopeVolunteers of AmericaWatts Summer FestivalWish GrantingYMCA – 28th Street/CrenshawBig Brothers/Big Sisters of AmericaThis is the oldest mentoring organization serving youth in the USA.BBBSA has provided one-to-one mentoring relationships between adult volunteers and children at risk since 1904. BBBSA currently serves over 100,000 children and youth in more than 500 agencies throughout all of the United States.BMI FoundationFrom jazz to musical theater, from music education for gifted youngsters to support for the work of accomplished concert music composers, the BMI Foundation seeks out the best and most promising of today’s and tomorrow’s musical creators and offers a platform of support that fosters their growth and ensures the continuation of the heritage of American musical ingenuity for generations to come.Childhelp USAChildhelp USA is dedicated to meeting the physical, emotional, educational, und spiritual needs of abused and neglected children focusing efforts and resources upon treatment, prevention.Children’s Institute InternationalThis is a private, non-profit organization specializing in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect.Over the past 90 years, CII has evolved from a shelter for single mothers and their babies to an internationally recognized model of comprehensive care and assistance for at-risk children and their families.CII assistance includes child and family assessment supported by 24-hour emergency residential shelter care, family treatment services, therapeutic day care, child health clinic, long-term foster family care, and substance abuse treatment and prevention services.Make A Wish Foundation fulfills the favorite wish of any child between the age of 2 ½ and 18 who has a diagnosed life-threatening illness.Camp Ronald McDonaldCamp for children with cancer.With 750+ Million Records SoldMichael Jackson Has Given More Than$300+ Million to Charities.