Muhammad was a prophet who lived from 570-632. He was the founder of Islam, and his teachings, social and political as well as religious principles, became the basis of Islamic civilization. His teaching had a great influence of world history. He received the revelations which later made up the Qur’an from Allah, or God and others wrote it down for him.
Muhammad was born in Mecca and belonged to the clan of Hashim, a poor but respected branch of the tribe of Quraysh. His father died before his birth and his mother died when he was six, so his uncle Abu Talib brought him up.
Muhammad was thoughtful and solitary and displayed acute moral sensitivity at an early age, and became known as al-Amin (“the trusted one”). He became a trader and made several journeys to Syria, where he may have met and conversed with Christians. He later began to manage the business of Khadija, a rich widow. She was greatly impressed by his ability and honesty. She shortly offered him marriage, which he accepted at the age of 25. The couple had seven children, three boys and four girls. However, all three boys died in infancy and of the girls, only one, Fatima, lived long enough to marry and have children. (source : www.geocities.com) |
