121 Facts About Muhammad

Muhammad is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets in Islam, and along with the Quran, his teachings and normative examples form the basis for Islamic religious belief.

Muhammad was born in Mecca to the aristocratic Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh.

Muhammad was the son of Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahb.

Muhammad was raised under the care of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, and paternal uncle, Abu Talib.

When he was 40, in, Muhammad reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave and receiving his first revelation from God.

Muhammad's followers were initially few in number, and experienced persecution by Meccan polytheists for 13 years.

In Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina.

The conquest went largely uncontested, and Muhammad seized the city with minimal casualties.

The revelations that Muhammad reported receiving until his death form the verses of the Quran, upon which Islam is based, are regarded by Muslims as the verbatim word of God and his final revelation.

Almost none of Muhammad's companions are mentioned by name in the Quran, hence not providing sufficient information for a concise biography.

Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim was born in Mecca, and his birthday is believed to be in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal.

Muhammad belonged to the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe, which was a dominant force in western Arabia.

Muhammad is claimed to have been a descendant of Ishmael, son of Abraham.

The name Muhammad means "praiseworthy" in Arabic and it appears four times in the Quran.

Muhammad then stayed with his foster mother, Halima bint Abi Dhu'ayb, and her husband until he was two years old.

At the age of six, Muhammad lost his biological mother Amina to illness and became an orphan.

Muhammad then came under the care of his uncle, Abu Talib, the new leader of the Banu Hashim.

All accounts of Bahira and his meeting with Muhammad have been considered fictitious by modern historians as well as by some medieval Muslim scholars such as al-Dhahabi.

Sometime later in his life, Muhammad proposed marriage to his cousin and first love, Fakhitah bint Abi Talib.

When Muhammad was 25, his fortunes turned around; his business reputation caught the attention of his 40-year-old distant relative Khadija, a wealthy businesswoman who had staked out a successful career as a merchant in the caravan trade industry.

Muhammad asked him to take one of her caravans into Syria, after which she was so impressed by his competence in the expedition that she proposed marriage to him; Muhammad accepted her offer and remained monogamous with her until her death.

Muhammad placed the stone on it, guiding clan representatives to jointly elevate it to its position.

The financial security Muhammad enjoyed from Khadija, his wealthy wife, gave him plenty of free time to spend in solitude in the cave of Hira.

When Muhammad confessed his illiteracy, Gabriel choked him forcefully, nearly suffocating him, and repeated the command.

When Muhammad came to his senses, he felt scared; he started to think that after all of this spiritual struggle, he had been visited by a jinn, which made him no longer want to live.

In desperation, Muhammad fled from the cave and began climbing up towards the top of the mountain to jump to his death.

Frightened and unable to understand the experience, Muhammad hurriedly staggered down the mountain to his wife Khadija.

Muhammad had absolutely no doubts about his revelation; she insisted it was real and not a jinn.

When he appeared during their private time, Khadija conducted tests by having Muhammad sit on her left thigh, right thigh, and lap, inquiring Muhammad if the being was still present each time.

Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages.

Muhammad was followed by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, close friend Abu Bakr, and adopted son Zayd.

Around 613, Muhammad began to preach to the public; many of his first followers were women, freedmen, servants, slaves, and other members of the lower social class.

Muhammad introduced rituals to his group which included prayer with physical postures that embodied complete surrender to God, and almsgiving as a requirement of the Muslim community.

Sometime later, Muhammad came, kissing the Black Stone and performing the ritual.

Muhammad answered yes, and one of them seized him by his cloak.

The Quraysh attempted to entice Muhammad to quit preaching by giving him admission to the merchants' inner circle as well as an advantageous marriage, but he refused both of the offers.

At some point later, the angel Gabriel came to Muhammad and provided him with the answers.

In 615, Muhammad sent some of his followers to emigrate to the Abyssinian Kingdom of Aksum and found a small colony under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Ashama ibn Abjar.

However, the next day, Muhammad retracted these verses at the behest of Gabriel, claiming that they had been cast by Satan to his tongue and God had abrogated them.

Historian Alfred T Welch proposes that the period of Muhammad's turning away from strict monotheism was likely far longer but was later encapsulated in a story that made it much shorter and implicated Satan as the culprit.

Muhammad eventually evaded this chaos and persecution by escaping to the garden of Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, a Meccan chief with a summer residence in Ta'if.

Muhammad felt despair due to the unexpected rejection and hostility he received in the city; at this point, he realized he had no security or protection except from God, so he began praying.

Muhammad then sent a message to Suhayl ibn Amir, who similarly declined on the basis of tribal principle.

Finally, Muhammad dispatched someone to ask Mut'im ibn 'Adiy, the chief of the Banu Nawfal.

Some modern scholars maintain that the earliest tradition saw this faraway site as a celestial twin of the Kaaba, so that Muhammad's journey took him directly from Mecca through the heavens.

Ibn Sa'd recorded that Muhammad's Mi'raj took place first, from near the Kaaba to the heavens, on the 27th of Ramadan, 18 months before the, while the Isra' from Mecca to took place on the 17th night of the Last Rabi'ul before the.

The next year, five of the earlier converts revisited Muhammad, bringing with them seven newcomers, three of whom were from the Banu Aws.

Muhammad asked them to protect him as they would protect their wives and children.

Subsequently, Muhammad called upon the Meccan Muslims to relocate to Medina.

Tree trunks were used as pillars to hold up the roof, and there was no fancy pulpit; instead, Muhammad stood on top of a small stool to speak to the congregation.

Muhammad used the building to host public and political meetings, as well as a place for the poor to gather to receive alms, food, and care.

Politically, the agreement helped Muhammad better understand which people were on his side.

Ibn Ishaq, following his narration of the, maintains that Muhammad penned the text and divulges its assumed content without supplying any or corroboration.

Muhammad delivered Quranic verses permitting Muslims to fight the Meccans.

Muhammad adjusted to the new direction, and his companions praying with him followed his lead, beginning the tradition of facing Mecca during prayer.

Muhammad ordered a number of raids to capture Meccan caravans, but only the 8th of them, the Raid on Nakhla, resulted in actual fighting and capture of booty and prisoners.

From a tactical standpoint, Muhammad placed troops in front of all of the wells so the Quraysh would have to fight for water, and positioned other troops in such a way that would require the Quraysh to fight uphill while facing the sun.

Muhammad expelled from Medina the Banu Qaynuqa, one of three main Jewish tribes, but some historians contend that the expulsion happened after Muhammad's death.

Regardless of the cause, the Banu Qaynuqa sought refuge in their fort, where Muhammad blockaded them, cutting off their access to food supplies.

Back in Medina, Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a wealthy half-Jewish man from Banu Nadir and staunch critic of Muhammad, had just returned from Mecca after producing poetry that mourned the death of the Quraysh at Badr and aroused them to retaliate.

Muhammad then gathered accomplices, including Ka'b's foster brother, Abu Naila.

Mass casualties suffered by the Muslims in the Battle of Uhud resulted in many wives and daughters being left without a male protector, so after the battle, Muhammad received revelation allowing Muslim men to have up to four wives each, marking the beginning of polygyny in Islam.

Sometime later, Muhammad found himself needing to pay blood money to Banu Amir.

Muhammad sought monetary help from the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir, and they agreed to his request.

Muhammad then initiated a siege on the tribe; during this time he commanded the felling and burning of their palm groves, which was an unambiguous symbol of declaring war in Arabia.

Muhammad prepared a force of about 3,000 men and adopted a form of defense unknown in Arabia at that time; the Muslims dug a trench wherever Medina lay open to cavalry attack.

Aisha was exonerated from accusations when Muhammad announced he had received a revelation confirming Aisha's innocence and directing that charges of adultery be supported by four eyewitnesses.

However, there are sources that say the Banu Qurayza broke the treaty with Muhammad and assisted the enemies of Muslims during the Battle of the Trench.

Muhammad immediately regretted his indiscretion and tied himself to one of the Mosque pillars as a form of penance.

Muhammad assigned the role to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, a man nearing death from an infection in his wounds from the previous Meccan siege.

Muhammad pronounced that all the men should be put to death, their possessions to be distributed among Muslims, and their women and children to be taken as captives.

Muhammad approved this pronouncement saying it aligned with the God's judgement.

Early in 628, following a dream of making an unopposed pilgrimage to Mecca, Muhammad embarked on the journey.

Muhammad was dressed in his customary pilgrim attire and was accompanied by a group of followers.

Muhammad explained they had come to venerate the Kaaba, not to fight.

Muhammad then sent Uthman, Abu Sufyan's second cousin, to negotiate with the Quraysh.

Roughly ten weeks subsequent to his return from Hudaybiyya, Muhammad expressed his plan to invade Khaybar, a flourishing oasis about 75 miles north of Medina.

Muhammad took Kinana's wife, Safiyya bint Huyayy, as his own slave and later advised her to convert to Islam.

Muhammad consented to this arrangement with the caveat that he could displace them at any time.

At the feast following the battle, the meal served to Muhammad was reportedly poisoned.

Muhammad declared an amnesty for past offences, except for ten men and women who were "guilty of murder or other offences or had sparked off the war and disrupted the peace".

Some were later pardoned Most Meccans converted to Islam and Muhammad proceeded to destroy all the statues of Arabian gods in and around the Kaaba.

Muhammad led 12,000 soldiers to raid them, but they surprised him at the valley of Hunayn.

Muhammad then turned his attention to Taif, a city that was famous for its vineyards and gardens.

Muhammad ordered them to be destroyed and besieged the city, which was surrounded by walls.

When he divided the plentiful loot acquired at Hunayn among his soldiers, the rest of the Hawazin converted to Islam and implored Muhammad to release their children and women, reminding him that he had been nursed by some of those women when he was a baby.

Muhammad complied but held on to the rest of the plunder.

Muhammad distributed a big portion of the booty to the new converts from the Quraysh.

Roughly 10 months after he captured Mecca, Muhammad took his army to attack the wealthy border provinces of Byzantine Syria.

Muhammad requested his wives to allow him to stay in Aisha's hut.

Muhammad replied that God would not afflict him with such a vile disease, and ordered all the women to take the remedy.

Historian Alfred T Welch speculates that Muhammad's death was caused by Medinan fever, which was aggravated by physical and mental fatigue.

When Saud bin Abdul-Aziz took Medina in 1805, Muhammad's tomb was stripped of its gold and jewel ornamentation.

Adherents to Wahhabism, Saud's followers, destroyed nearly every tomb dome in Medina in order to prevent their veneration, and the one of Muhammad is reported to have narrowly escaped.

Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two periods: pre-hijra in Mecca, and post-hijra in Medina.

Muhammad is said to have had thirteen wives in total.

At the age of 25, Muhammad married the wealthy Khadija who was 40 years old.

Muhammad did not enter into marriage with another woman during this marriage.

Muhammad is said to have asked for arrangements to marry both.

Muhammad performed household chores such as preparing food, sewing clothes, and repairing shoes.

Muhammad is said to have had accustomed his wives to dialogue; he listened to their advice, and the wives debated and even argued with him.

Maria al-Qibtiyya bore him a son named Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, who died at two years old.

Muhammad was bought by her nephew Hakim ibn Hizam at the market in Ukaz.

Zayd then became the couple's adopted son, but was later disowned when Muhammad was about to marry Zayd's ex-wife, Zaynab bint Jahsh.

Every Muslim proclaims in the : "I testify that there is no god but God, and I testify that Muhammad is a Messenger of God".

In Islamic belief, Muhammad is regarded as the last prophet sent by God.

The sunnah represents the actions and sayings of Muhammad preserved in hadith and covers a broad array of activities and beliefs ranging from religious rituals, personal hygiene, and burial of the dead to the mystical questions involving the love between humans and God.

Muhammad's birthday is celebrated as a major feast throughout the Muslim world, excluding Wahhabi-dominated Saudi Arabia where these public celebrations are discouraged.

Muhammad was slightly above average in height, with a sturdy frame and wide chest.

Muhammad's neck was long, bearing a large head with a broad forehead.

Muhammad's eyes were described as dark and intense, accentuated by long, dark eyelashes.

Muhammad's nose was long and aquiline, ending in a fine point.

Muhammad's face was described as intelligent, and his clear skin had a line of hair from his neck to his navel.

Muhammad's message transformed society and moral orders of life in the Arabian Peninsula; society focused on the changes to perceived identity, worldview, and the hierarchy of values.

The Quran requires payment of an alms tax for the benefit of the poor; as Muhammad's power grew he demanded that tribes who wished to ally with him implement the zakat in particular.

Pastoret rejects the common view that Muhammad is an impostor and argues that the Quran proffers "the most sublime truths of cult and morals"; it defines the unity of God with an "admirable concision".

Watt says that sincerity does not directly imply correctness: in contemporary terms, Muhammad might have mistaken his subconscious for divine revelation.

Alford T Welch holds that Muhammad was able to be so influential and successful because of his firm belief in his vocation.

Criticism of Muhammad has existed since the 7th century, when Muhammad was decried by his non-Muslim Arab contemporaries for preaching monotheism, and by the Jewish tribes of Arabia for his perceived appropriation of Biblical narratives and figures and proclamation of himself as the "Seal of the Prophets".

Muslim mystics, known as Sufis, who were seeking for the inner meaning of the Quran and the inner nature of Muhammad, viewed the prophet of Islam not only as a prophet but as a perfect human being.

Druze tradition honors several "mentors" and "prophets", and Muhammad is considered an important prophet of God in the Druze faith, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.