Muhammad 
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Dummipedia, the simplified free online encyclopedia
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| Muhammad | |
| Born | c. 570 Mecca |
| Died | June 8, 632 (aged approx. 62) Medina |
| Resting place | Mosque of the Prophet, Medina |
| Known for | Founder of Islam |
| Spouse | 11 or 13 women, including: • Khadijah bint Khuwaylid • Sawda bint Zama • Maria al-Qibtiyya |
| Children | Only two of Muhammad's wives bore him children.
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| Parents | ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib and Aminah bint Wahb |
Abu l-Qasim Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (Mohammed, Muhammed, Mahomet; c. 570 - 632) was the founder of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the last messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: Allah). He is also regarded as a prophet by the Druze and as a Manifestation of God by the Bahá'í Faith. Muslims do not believe that he was the creator of a new religion, but the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, and others.
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2. Born into the Quraysh tribe in Mecca, Arabia, Muhammad was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle. He later worked mostly as a merchant, and was married by age 26. At some point, discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic tradition, it was here at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God.
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3. Three years after this event, Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn), acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets. The revelations (or Ayats, lit. Signs of God), which Muhammad reported receiving till his death, form the verses of the Qur'an, regarded by Muslims as the “word of God”, around which the religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims.
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4. Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was largely met with hostility from the tribes of Mecca. He was treated harshly and so were his followers. As the ranks of Muhammad's followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city whom Muhammad threatened to overthrow. Muhammad’s denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba. The great merchants tried but failed to come to some arrangements with Muhammad in exchange for abandoning his preaching.
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5. To escape persecution, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Yathrib (Medina) in the year 622. This historic event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca.
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6. In 632, Muhammad fell ill after returning to Medina from his 'Farewell pilgrimage' and succumbed on June 8 in the city of Medina. He was buried in his tomb (which previously was in his wife Aisha's house) which is now housed within the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina. By the time of his death, most of Arabia had converted to Islam. more... at Wikipedia
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