Muhammad (ca. 570/571–632 ce)

Muhammad, literally the “praised one,” is believed by Muslims to be the last and final prophet sent by God (Allah) to guide humankind. Although from the modern historical perspective there has been much debate on the historicity of specific events related to his life, modern scholarship has conceded Muhammad's historicity, cautioning, however, that there is much that awaits research.

Muhammad was born in Mecca (Makkah) in 570–571 CE to the noble tribe of Banu Hashim. His father had died just months before his birth, and within the first 10 years of his life, he lost his mother and grandfather ‘Abd al-Muttalib and was subsequently brought up by his paternal uncle Abu Talib. He assisted his uncle in trade and traveled around Arabia and to Syria a couple of times. From a young age, he had become known as “the honest one” and “the trustworthy one.” He married Khadijah, a rich widow 15 years his senior, who bore him four daughters and two sons, both of whom died very early. Close to age 40, he took to meditation and would retire to the cave of Hira’ outside Mecca in reclusion. On one such occasion around 610 CE, he received the first revelation through the archangel Jibreel (Gabriel), and thus began his prophetic career that would last till his death in 632 CE.

Muhammad's initial message to the Arab tribes was quite simple: Believe in only one God, casting aside all forms of idol worship, and believe in him (Muhammad) as God's messenger and in an afterlife where everyone would be held accountable to God for his or her actions—implying therefore moral uprighteousness.

Muhammad's prophetic activities are usually divided into two eras: the Makkan and the Madinan. After continuous preaching for 13 years under increasingly hostile conditions in Mecca and only being able to win a handful of followers, Muhammad migrated to Medina (Madinah), where he had been promised support and where he would spend the rest of his life.

In Medina, in addition to his prophetic and spiritual qualities, he demonstrated his skills as an intelligent statesman as he fused previously warring tribes into a brotherhood and nation (umma) unparalleled in human history. In a mere 23 years of an active prophetic career, Muhammad's message rose from the dirt alleys of Makkah to challenge the Byzantine and Persian empires, thus laying the foundations for Islam to turn into a global religion.

Muslims the world over consider the love of Prophet Muhammad and the recitation of salawat (blessing invocations) on him as the benchmark for piety; he is seen to be the model par excellence and thus needs to be followed in his words and actions.