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570 Life Before His Birth
His father having died a few months prior to Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) birth allowed for everyone to immerse in the chaos and strife. His mother Aminah fairly scared for her own well being. Allowing for a dangerous environment for a new born -
570 Muhammad's Birth and Infancy
Born in the year 570 in the town of Mecca,his name derives from the Arabic verb hamada, meaning "to praise, to glorify." He was the first and only son of Abd Allah bin Al-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahb. Abd Allah died before Muhammad's birth and Muhammad was raised by his mother Amina, who in keeping with Meccan tradition entrusted her son at an early age to a wet nurse named Halima from the nomadic tribe of the Sa'd ibn Bakr. He grew up in the hill country, learning their pure Arabic. -
575 Muhammad Becomes an Orphan
When Muhammad was young his mother took him to Yathrib, to stay w/ relatives and visit his father's grave. On the return journey, Amina took ill and died. Halima, his nurse, returned to Mecca with the orphaned boy and placed him in the protection of his paternal grandfather. In this man's care, Muhammad learned things. Mecca was Arabia's most important pilgrimage center and Abdul Al-Muttalib its most respected leader. He controlled important concessions and presided over Mecca's Council. -
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Legacy PBUH
His legacy will continue, may he live within others and may the beautiful calls of prayer throughout the caliphate be forever in his name. -
578 Muhammad in Mecca in Care of an Uncle
Upon his grandfather's death in 578, Muhammad, aged about eight, passed into the care of a paternal uncle, Abu Talib. Muhammad grew up in the older man's home and remained under Abu Talib's protection for many years. Chroniclers have underscored Muhammad's disrupted childhood. So does the Qur'an: "Did God not find you an orphan and give you shelter and care? And He found you wandering, and gave you guidance. And he found you in need, and made you independent" (93:6-8). -
594 Muhammad Acts as Caravan Agent for Wealthy Tradeswoman, Khadija
In his early twenties, Muhammad entered the service of a wealthy Meccan merchant, a widow named Khadija bint Khawalayd. The two were distant cousins. Muhammad carried her goods to the north and returned with a profit. -
580- 594 Muhammad's Teens
When young boy, Muhammad worked as a shepherd to help pay his uncle was of modest means. He sometimes traveled with Abu Talib, who was a merchant, accompanying caravans to trade centres. On at least one occasion, he is said to have traveled as far north as Syria. Older merchants recognized his character and nicknamed him El–Amin, the one you can trust. -
595- 609 Muhammad's Marriage and Family Life
Charmed by Muhammad's honesty and character, Khadija eventually proposed marriage. They were wed in about 595. He was twenty-five. She was nearly forty. Muhammad continued to manage Khadija's business affairs, and their next years were pleasant and prosperous. Six children were born to them, two sons who both died in infancy, and four daughters. Mecca prospered too, becoming a well–off trading center in the hands of an elite group of clan leaders who were mostly successful traders. -
610 Muhammad Receives First Revelation
Mecca's new traditional idolatry disturbed Muhammad. He began making long retreats to a mountain cave. There, he fasted and meditated. On one occasion, after a number of indistinct visionary experiences, Muhammad was visited by an overpowering presence and instructed to recite words of such beauty and force that he and others gradually attributed them to God. This experience shook Muhammad to the core. It was several years before he dared to talk about it outside his family. -
613 Muhammad Takes his Message Public
Muhammad began saying messages to his tribe. Gathered verse by verse and became the Qur'an Muhammad & his followers were first ridiculed, then persecuted and physically attacked for departing from traditional Mecca's tribal ways. Muhammad's message was monotheistic. Mecca's dominant tribe, levied a ban on trade with Muhammad's people, subjecting them to near famine conditions. Toward the end of the decade, Muhammad's wife and uncle both died. Leaders of Mecca attempted to assassinate Muhammad. -
622 Muhammad and the Muslims Emigrate to Medina
In 622, Muhammad and his few hundred followers left Mecca and traveled to Yathrib, the oasis town where his father was buried. The leaders there were suffering through a vicious civil war, and they had invited this man well known for his wisdom to act as their mediator. Yathrib soon became known as Medina, the City of the Prophet. Muhammad remained here for the next six years, building the first Muslim community and gradually gathering more and more people to his side. -
625- 628 The Military Period
Meccans didn't enjoy Muhammad's new success.. Early skirmishes led to three major battles in the next three years. Of these the Muslims won the Battle of Badr, March, 624, lost the Battle of Uhud, March, 625 and outlasted The Battle of the Trench and the Siege of Medina, April, 627. In 628, a treaty was signed between the two sides, which recognized the Muslims as a new force in Arabia and gave them freedom to move unmolested throughout Arabia. Meccan allies breached the treaty a year later. -
630 The Conquest of Mecca
By now, the balance of power had shifted radically away from once-powerful Mecca, toward Muhammad and the Muslims. In January, 630, they marched on Mecca and were joined by tribe after tribe along the way. They entered Mecca without bloodshed and the Meccans, seeing the tide had turned, joined them. -
630- 632 Muhammad's Final Years
Muhammad returned to live in Medina. He referred most of the Arabian Peninsula under Islam. In 632, he returned to Mecca to perform a pilgrimage, & tens of thousands of Muslims joined him. After the pilgrimage, he returned to Medina. On 632 he died there, after a brief illness. He is buried in the mosque in Medina. Within a hundred years Muhammad's teaching and way of life had spread from the remote corners of Arabia as far east as Indo-China and as far west as Morocco, France and Spain. -
632 Muhammad's Death and What Came After
After Muhammad passed in 632, the Muslim community elected a new leader called a caliph also known as a successor. The first four caliphs knew Muhammad personally and had promised to stay true to the Qur'an and Muhammad's message and represent him with respect in continuing his legacy. -
632 Caliphate
Caliphate the Muslim community, lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. Ruled by a caliph Arabic khalīfah, “successor”, who held spiritual authority, the empire of the Caliphate grew rapidly through conquest during its first two centuries to include most of Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Spain. Dynastic struggles later brought about the Caliphate’s decline, and it ceased to exist with the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258.
