Mohammad, Quran, and Islam

Muhammad (or Mohammed), A.D. 570-632, is the founder of the world religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the messenger and prophet of God (Allāh), the last and the greatest in a series of prophets of Islam. Muslims consider him the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith (Islam) of Adam, Abraham and others. The name Muhammad literally means "Praiseworthy".

Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle. He later worked mostly as a merchant. Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him is the only way acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets.

Muhammad gained few followers early on and migrated to Medina in the year 622. This historic event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The revelations (or Ayats, lit. "Signs of God"), which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the “word of God”, around which his religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims.

At the end of the tenth year after the migration to Medina, Muhammad carried through his first truly Islamic pilgrimage. In 632 a few months after returning to Medina from his Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died.