In the desert of Arabia at a place called Mecca, present day Saudi
Arabia Mohammad was born, according to the Muslim historians, on 20th
April 571 AD. Though there are certain controversies regarding the
actual date but in most of the historical books this date is followed.
He is depicted as the model for humanity in all walks of life to follow
until the Last Hour. He is regarded as the messenger Allah (God). Circa
610 AD, Prophet is said to have gained revelations from Allah through
the angel Gabriel that he was His Messenger. In 622 AD Mohammed along
with his followers went to Medina. This flight from Mecca to Medina is
known as Hijrah and marks the beginning of the Islamic era. By 630 AD,
Islam came to be accepted as a religion and Muhammad as ruler by a large
number of people. However, in 632 A.D. Muhammad led the pilgrimage to
Mecca, preached his farewell sermon and died soon after. His name
signifies 'highly praised'. He is the greatest among all the sons of
Arabia. He is more than all the leaders, kings, poets and philosophers
that preceded him in that impenetrable desert of red sand. When he
appeared Arabia was a desert and nothing. Out of nothing a new world was
fashioned by the mighty spirit of Mohammad. He gave birth to a new life,
a new culture, a new civilization, a new kingdom, which extended from
Morocco to Indies and influenced the thought and life of three
continents, Asia, Europe and Africa.
The Prophet Muhammad, one of the most influential religious and
military leaders in history. His father died before he was born, and
Muhammad was put under the care of his grandfather, head of the
prestigious Hashim clan. His mother died when he was six, and his
grandfather when he was eight, leaving him under the care of his uncle
Abu Talib, the new head of the clan. When he was 25, Muhammad married a
wealthy widow 15 years his senior. He lived the next 15 years as a
merchant, and came into contact with many Jewish merchants and
landowners in the largely Jewish Kingdom of Himyar in what is today
Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Prophet and his wife gave birth to six
children: two sons, who died in childhood, and four daughters. From time
to time, Muhammad spent nights in a cave in Mount Hira north of Mecca,
ruminating on the social ills of the city caused by the Jews and Jewish
converts. Around 610 CE, he had a vision in the cave in which he heard
the voice of a majestic being, later identified as the angel Gabriel,
say to him, "You are the Messenger of God." Thus began a
lifetime of religious revelations, which he and others collected as the
Qur'an, or Koran. Muhammad regarded himself as the last prophet of the
Judaic-Christian tradition, and he adopted aspects of these older
religions' theologies while introducing new doctrines. Teachings of
Mohammed are included in what is called "Hadith." The "Hadith"
is a record of Mohammed's words and deeds according to his wives,
relatives, and companions. Next to the Quran, it is the most important
part of Islamic law; its teachings are just as binding. It is recorded
and interpreted in many books and in various forms by various people.
