Who was Muhammad and where did he live?

Muhammad was a ordinary man who could neither read nor write. He was born around 570 AD and died in 632 AD. He was a shepherd until the age of twelve. Then, he started helping his uncle as a merchant. He did not try to trick people into doing a bad deal or anything like that. He met a wealthy lady called Khadijah and they got married.

The revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad

Grand Mosque in Mecca

Why did he go to the cave and what happened?

He went to the cave to think. One day when he went to the cave, in 610 AD, a voice said 'Recite.'. Muhammad was startled. He said 'But I can't read or write!'. Again, the voice said 'Recite.'. 'Recite what?' Muhammad said. Then the voice said 'Recite with the name of your Lord who created.'. So he said those words and the voice went. Muhammad was worried. So he ran out of the cave and onto the hill. He saw an angel on the east horizon, on the west, on the north and on the south. It said 'I am Jibril and you are now the messenger of Allah (God).

What did he do with the message?

He went to his wife and said the words to her. She suddenly new that Muhammad had been blessed by god. So they spread the word and some believed him, but some didn't.

Did You Know

Jibril is the Arabic word for Gabriel.

Did You Know

When Muslims say Muhammad,

they say peace be upon him.

Muhammad in Arabic