by Shaheen Darr

Created on: September 16, 2008   Last Updated: April 06, 2011

Mohammad was born in 570 AD in Mecca and soon before his birth his father Abdullah passed away. When Mohammed was only 6 years of age his mother Amina also died leaving him in the care of his uncle, Abu Talib who took Muhammad under his wing and became not only a protector but a friend all his life.

As a child Mohammad was a herd's boy and he often accompanied his uncle with a merchant camp on his trips to Syria. When he was 25 he worked for a wealthy widow called Khadija and his integrity and honesty in all his business dealings did not go unnoticed by her. She asked him to marry her and agreed. They had four daughters and two sons who both died in infancy.

Mohammad liked to spend his free time in contemplation in a cave on the Mount of Hira in Mecca. It was during one his times of contemplation at the age of 40 that he had a vision of the angel Gabriel. The angel asked him to recite and despite Muhammad's insistence that he could not read the angel embraced him tightly and again urged him to recite. The recitation that followed was to be the first revelation that was sent by God to Muhammad:

"Recite in the Name of Your Lord who created. He created the human being from a clot. Recite and your Lord is Most Honourable, Who taught (to write) with the pen, taught the human being what he knew not..." Holy Quran (Alaq 96: 1-5)"

Khadija was the first person to whom Mohammad confided about the revelations he received and she supported and encouraged him to spread the message that was being revealed to him. She was the first person to convert to Islam followed by his daughters, his cousin Ali, his servant Zayd and his friend Abu Bakr. His followers gradually increased and became known as Muslims (bowing to the will of Allah). More revelations continued over his lifetime and they were recorded on leather, bark and palm leaves and memorised by the Muslims. These revelations were all put together in Mohammad's lifetime and were recited often but it was after his death that it was compiled by the first Caliph Abu Bakr.

As he started preaching the message of Islam to the Meccans, Mohammad faced a lot of opposition especially from the Quraish tribe. In 615 AD the Muslims took refuge in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) under the kind leadership of the Christian leader, Negus, who allowed them to practise Islam in peace. Later around 629 AD after an invitation from Mohammad, he too accepted Islam.

It was in 621 AD that the Prophet was taken to see the heavens by Gabriel (Al-Miraj) and

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