Muhammad was born in the city of Makkah in the year 570 A.D.  Since his father died before his birth and his mother shortly afterwards, his uncle from the respected tribe of Quraysh brought him up.

As he grew older, he became known for his truthfulness, generosity and sincerity such that he was sought after for his ability to arbitrate in disputes.  The historians describe him as calm and meditative.

Muhammad was of a deeply religious nature and since birth had long detested the decadence of Arab society.  It became his habit to meditate from time to time in the Cave of Hira near the summit of Jabal al-N£r, the ‘Mountain of Light’ close to Makkah.

At the age of 40, while engaged in a meditative retreat, Muhammad received his first revelation from Allah through the Angel Gabriel – the same Angel that brought revelation to ªdam, Noah, Jesus, Abraham and other Prophets. 

The first words that were taught to the Prophet by this respected Angel are recorded in the 96th verse of the Qur’an and are the following:

“Read! In the Name of your Lord who created. Created man from a leech like clot. Read! And your Lord is the Greatest. The One who taught by the pen.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 95, Verse 1-5)

This revelation, which continued for twenty-three years is known as the Qur’an.  In a verse of the Qur’an, Allah tells us of one of the reasons why He sent Muhammad:

“It is He who has sent to the illiterate, a Messenger from among their own people to recite to them His revelations and purify them.  He teaches the Book to them, and gives them wisdom.  Verily before this, they had been in plain error.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 63, Verse 3)

As soon as he began to spread the words from Gabriel and to preach the Message which God had revealed to him, he and a small group of his followers suffered bitter persecution, which grew so fierce that in the year 622 A.D., God gave them the command to emigrate. 

This event, the Hijra or migration, in which they left Makkah for the city of Madina (some 130 kilometers to the north), marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

Before the Prophet died at the age of 63, the greater part of Arabia was Muslim, and within a century of his death, Islam had spread to Spain in the West and as far East as China.


Source: http://www.al-haqq.com/