Who was Muhammad?

The sources Muslims rely on are the Qurʼān, the sīra (early biographies, especially Ibn Isḥāq's Sīrat Rasūl Allāh as preserved by Ibn Hishām and al-Ṭabarī), and the ḥadīth literature.

Early life

Born in Mecca around AD 570 to the Banū Hāshim clan of the Quraysh tribe. His father ʿAbdullāh died before his birth; his mother Āmina died when he was about six. He was raised by his grandfather ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, then his uncle Abū Ṭālib. As a young man he worked in trade and earned the nickname al-Amīn (the trustworthy). At about twenty-five he married Khadīja, a wealthy older widow who became his first follower.

The first revelation

Bukhārī 3 records that around age forty, while in the cave of Ḥirāʼ, Muhammad received the first revelation through the angel Jibrīl: 'Recite in the name of your Lord who created' (Q 96:1-5). Khadīja, her cousin Waraqa, and a small circle of close family and friends became the first Muslims.

The Meccan period (610-622)

Muhammad preached strict monotheism in a polytheistic city. He and his followers were persecuted; some emigrated to Christian Abyssinia for protection. The death of Khadīja and Abū Ṭālib in the same year (the Year of Sorrow) left him deeply vulnerable.

The Medinan period (622-632)

In AD 622, Muhammad and his followers undertook the hijra (emigration) to the city of Yathrib, renamed Medina. The Muslim calendar dates from this event. In Medina, Muhammad was political and military leader as well as prophet. The community fought a series of battles with Mecca (Badr 624, Uḥud 625, the Trench 627) and reached treaty (Ḥudaybiyya 628) before conquering Mecca peacefully in 630.

Death

Muhammad died in Medina in AD 632 after a brief illness. He left behind a community that would, within a century, control territory from Spain to the borders of China.

Muhammad is not, in Islam, a divine figure. Muslims insist he is a man — created, mortal, fallible in some senses (Q 80:1-12 records a divine rebuke). But the love and reverence Muslims show him is intense. Whenever his name is mentioned, Muslims say ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). His daily life — how he ate, slept, prayed, dealt with his wives, treated children — is the sunna, the model for Muslim life.

Q 33:21: 'There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example.'

Q 48:29 describes his companions as 'severe against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves.'

A Christian who insults Muhammad — even casually — wounds his Muslim friend in a way the Christian may not anticipate. Muslims often describe loving Muhammad as part of loving Allah.

Christians do not accept Muhammad as a prophet, because the New Testament closes its prophetic witness with Jesus and the apostles (Hebrews 1:1-2) and warns against accepting another gospel (Galatians 1:8). But that disagreement should not produce contempt.

Muhammad lived in a polytheistic society and preached the unity of God. He gave his community an extraordinary cohesion. He shaped a civilization. He suffered real persecution before he held real power. He also led wars, married more than one wife (including the very young ʿĀʼisha), and his life raises real questions for Christians.

The Christian task on this site is to read his life carefully — using Muslim sources, not hostile caricature — and then to apply biblical tests for prophets fairly. That belongs on a separate page. (See the biblical tests for a prophet when authored.)

A note for the Christian reader

Do not lead a conversation with a Muslim by criticizing Muhammad. Lead with Jesus. If your friend asks what you think of Muhammad, be honest, kind, and slow. 'I do not believe he is a prophet of God in the way Muslims do, but I want to understand him before I say more' is a fair and friendly answer.