He is Abul-Qasim, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, the son of Abdul-
Muttalib, the son of Hashim. He belonged to the Arab tribe of Quraish
whose ancestry traces back to 'Adnaan, one of the children of Ishmael, the
Prophet of Allah. Ishmael was the son of Abraham, who was the messenger
of Allah, may Allah praise him.
He was born in the year 571 C.E. in the honored city of Makkah. Makkah
was the religious center of the Arabian Peninsula, as it housed the Honored
Kabah, which was built by Abraham and his son, Ishmael.
Even before he received revelation, he was known
amongst his people as 'The Trustworthy', and they
would entrust him with their possessions when
they intended to go on a journey. He
was also known as 'The Truthful"
due to what they knew of him from
truthfulness. He never lied or acted
treacherously. He always desired
good for others.
He received his first
revelation at the age of
forty and informed his wife, Khadeejah, may Allah be
pleased with her, apprehensively:
"Indeed I fear for myself." Khadeejah replied, "No, by Allah!
Allah will never humiliate you. Indeed
you maintain ties of kinship, you
bear the problems of others, you give
wealth to those who do not have it, you honor
and feed your guests, and you give support in times of true calamity."
(Bukhari)
He remained in Makkah for thirteen years thereafter, calling people to
believe in the Oneness of Allah. He then migrated to the city of Medina and
called its inhabitants to Islam, which they accepted. There, Allah revealed
to him the remaining legislations of the religion.
He returned and conquered Makkah eight years after his migration, and died at the age of
63 after
Allah revealed to him the entire Quran. All the legislations of the religion
were perfected and completed and majority of the Arab nation accepted
Islam.