Muhammad’s early life Muhammad was born in a city called Makkah (what is now known as Saudi Arabia). He was born in the year 570CE. Muhammad had a very hard childhood. His Father died just before he was born. His moth- Key words er died when he was six years old. He was brought up by his Grandfather and then his Uncle. When he grew up, Muhammad helped his Uncle in his work as a Merchant Arabia As a young man, Muhammad was already well known for his honesty and goodness. He worked in Mak- Mecca kah for a wealthy woman called Khadijah. She was a trader. When Muhammad was 25, he and Khadijah were married. They were rich and respected, their marriage was happy- it seemed that Muhammad had Gods everything which he could possibly want. Kaaba Key People Mecca fact file Muhammad—The prophet Mecca is the holiest city in Islam. Before the of Islam and the main life of Muhammad, Muslims say that the character of our story. prophet Ibrahim and his son built a building there called the Kaaba. The Kaaba is a black Abu Talib—Muhammad’s cube. After Ibrahim died, Arabian polytheists Uncle came and put statues of their Gods in the Kaaba. Christians and many different tribes Khadija — Muhammad’s first would travel to the Kaaba to worship. wife The Revelation of the Quran Muhammad become more worried about the things which he saw, such as the rich mer- chants cheating the poor, and people smoking, drinking and fighting. Muslims believe that there have been many people in history who God has spoken to, and they Key call these people ‘prophets’. Muslims believe that Muhammad was also a prophet, and that Mu- words hammad was the last prophet. Muhammad often meditated. One night the Angel Gabriel told Mu- hammad that he would have to go into Mecca and tell people about what God, who Muslims Quran call ‘Allah’, had told him. This made Muhammad feel nervous. Prophet Allah Key People Quran fact file The Angel Gabriel — Muhammad visited the cave outside Mecca many times. The Quran is the Muslim Holy book, and Muslims believe it contains A messenger of God everything that Allah told Muhammad when who Muslims believe he visited the cave. communicated the The Quran is divided into chapters called Su- Quran to Muhammad rahs. Surah 96 is the first thing the angel Gabri- el told Muhammad and it starts “Recite in the name of your lord” Exile from Mecca Key words Three years after the angel Gabriel visited Muhammad, Muhammad started preach- ing in Mecca. Preaching means when you tell people about your religious beliefs. Preaching Muhammad’s uncle and wife converted to Islam, and some of the people in Mecca Medina converted as well. Unfortunately, Muhammad’s preaching made the leaders Hijra of Mecca angry, some wanted him dead. in the year 622, Muhammad moved to Me- Key People dina. Muhammad—The prophet of Islam and the main Medina fact file character of our story. Muslims have a word for the time when Muhammad and the first Muslims departed to Abu Talib—Muhammad’s Medina. They call it ‘hijrah’. Uncle Hijrah means ‘departure’. Muslims think that this is very important, because it was the be- Khardija — Muhammad’s ginning of the success of Islam. The Muslim first wife calendar begins from this date, and years are numbered AH: year of Hijrah. The First Pilgrimage Muhammad and the people living in Medina were at war with the people living in Mecca. Key words They had many battles. The most important of these was the battle of Badr in 624, where Muhammad won a great victory. In 627, the Meccan army surrounded Medina, but the Hajj Muslims in Medina survived the attack for forty days before defeating the Meccan army. Medina During this war, Muhammad and Mecca agreed that they would stop fighting for a short time so that Muhammad and the Muslims could visit Mecca for a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is Mecca a journey to a religious place. Badr treaty Pilgrimage Fact File The word ‘hajj’ means ‘pilgrimage’. Pilgrimage is just as important to Muslims today as it was to Mu- Key People hammad. Muslims will travel thousands of miles to go on hajj. At hajj, everyone wears white clothes so Muhammad (pbuh)—The that everyone looks the same, no matter if they are prophet of Islam and the rich or poor, old or young. This shows that every- main one is equal before Allah. character of our story. At hajj, Muslims will also throw stones at three pil- lars that represent evil and temptation, and they will also sacrifice an animal to feed the poor. Muhammad Conquers Mecca In the year 630 Muhammad defeated Mecca and took control of the city. He Key words smashed all the statues of the Gods in the Kaaba so that it was clear that they should only worship Allah. Muhammad spent the last two years of his life in Hajj Mecca before he died. Muslims view Muhammad conquering Mecca as evidence that God was helping him. Now that Muhammad had conquered Mecca, his job was Conquer complete. It was clear that to be a Muslim you had to believe in one God (‘Allah’), you couldn’t believe in the polytheistic Gods, and you had to believe what Muhammad Polytheism said. Hadith Hadith Fact File The Quran tells us a lot about what Muhammad says the Angel Gabriel told Key People him about God, but it doesn’t tell us Muhammad—The prophet about Muhammad’s life. We get some of Islam and the main information of Muhammad’s life from character of our story. eyewitness accounts who have told people what they saw, eventually these were written down. These are called the ‘Hadith’. .