The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, was born around 570 CE in the city of Mecca — a boy who lost his father before birth and his mother at age six, yet grew up to change the hearts of countless people through his honesty and patience. This is his story, from an orphaned child in Mecca to a leader who made Medina his second home.
A Childhood That Began With Grief
Muhammad was born into a family of the Quraysh tribe, in the city of Mecca (in present-day Saudi Arabia). His father, Abdullah, died before he was born, and his mother, Amina, passed away when he was only six years old. After that, his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, and later his uncle, Abu Talib, raised him.
Despite a childhood marked by loss, Muhammad grew into a young man known for his honesty and reliability — so well-regarded that the people of Mecca gave him the nickname al-Amin, meaning “the trustworthy one.” He worked in trade caravans, and it was this reputation for honesty that led a businesswoman named Khadijah to ask him to manage her caravan trade.
Marriage to Khadijah
Khadijah was deeply impressed by Muhammad’s honesty in business and proposed marriage to him. Muhammad was 25 at the time, and Khadijah was about 15 years older. They spent years together, and Khadijah remained his greatest supporter until the end of her life — especially through the hardest days that were still ahead of them.
The First Revelation, in the Cave of Hira
Muhammad had a habit of retreating to a cave called Hira, on a mountain near Mecca, to think and get away from the noise of the city. On one of these retreats, when he was about 40 years old, something happened that changed everything: he received the first message of revelation. Muhammad returned home shaken and trembling, and it was Khadijah who comforted him and stood by him — she even consulted her cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who was familiar with earlier religious texts, to help understand what this experience meant.
From that day on, Muhammad shared the messages he received with the people of Mecca: a message of monotheism, kindness to the poor and orphaned, and justice. But this message clashed with the interests of many of Mecca’s elites, who profited from trade and pilgrimage around the Kaaba. Because of this, the years 610 to 619 CE were difficult ones for Muhammad and his followers, marked by opposition and pressure.
The Migration to Medina
In 622 CE, when Muhammad was about 52 years old, he and his companions left Mecca and migrated to a city called Yathrib — later renamed Medina. This journey is called the Hijra, a word meaning “leaving and migrating,” and it’s the very event that marks the start of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar.
In Medina, Muhammad built a new community in which different groups — including Muslims and the Jewish tribes of Medina — lived together under a shared set of agreements.
A Triumphant Return to Mecca
Years later, in 630 CE, when Muhammad was about 60 years old, he and his companions entered Mecca without bloodshed. Rather than taking revenge on those who had persecuted him for years, Muhammad declared a general amnesty. Historians often point to this moment as a striking example of his tolerance toward former opponents.
Muhammad died in 632 CE, at around 62 years old, in Medina — the city that had become his second home.
Read the Fuller Story on Noorjoo
This is only a small part of the Prophet of Islam’s life. If you want more detail on his life, the battles he took part in, and even how historians debate some of these events, visit the full Prophet of Islam page on Noorjoo — where the story continues, layer by layer, with a timeline and glossary.
Sources
- Ibn Hisham (based on the account of Ibn Ishaq), As-Sira an-Nabawiyya
- Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
- W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman
- Encyclopaedia of Islam, Brill