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Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Muslims believe MuhammadBelieved by Muslims to be the last Prophet sent from God to ... More was the last in a long line of Prophets. He is known as the final Messenger of God.
Muhammad was born in the city of MakkahThe city in Saudi Arabia where the Kaba is in 570 AD, or roughly six centuries after Jesus.
He was orphaned at a very young age and was brought up by his uncle Abu Talib
Muhammad was a very kind and gentle man, who would always give to the poor and take care of those in need. He was also a very honest man, and was known as 'Al-Amin' – the trustworthy, by those he lived amongst.
Muhammad was very close to God, although most of the people around him worshipped statues and idols instead. He would often go alone to a cave, to get away from busy life to focus on his spirituality by talking and praying to God.
Muslims believe at the age of 40, on one such occasion in a cave, the angel Gabriel came to him with a message from God. The angel said:
'Read: in the name of your Lord who created man from a clot of blood' (In Arabic)
For the next 23 years, Muhammad would continue to receive words from God through the angel Gabriel.
Muhammad would memorise these words and recite them to his people. Some would write down the message word for word, on leaves, pieces of leather and stones. Muhammad would also recite the words in collective prayer sessions, so that people could arrange the words in a particular sequence or order, and remember them that way. Later, all of these words from God would be collected and written down in one manuscript to make up the 'Quran'.
Muhammad would not just tell people about these words, but he would interpret them and implement them in his own life. He was therefore known as 'the walking Quran'
Many sayings and actions of Muhammad have been recorded also, they are known as 'hadith' (which means: statement or talk). Reading about the life of Muhammad helps Muslims to understand the message of the Quran better and demonstrates how to put its teachings into practise.