Muhammad: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}

| honorific_prefix  = [[Islamic prophet|The Holy Prophet]]

| caption="Muhammad, the Messenger of God."<br />inscribed on the gates of the [[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi|Prophet's Mosque]] in [[Medina]]

| birth_date        = {{Circa}} 53 [[Hijri year|BH]] (570 [[Common Era|CE]])<ref name="abraha" />

| death_date        = {{Death date and age|632|6|8|570|df=y}}

| other_names        = {{Unbulleted list|style=line-height:1.3em; |''Abu al-Qasim'' ([[Kunya (Arabic)|nickname]]) |''Rasūl Allāh'' (Messenger of God) |''(see [[Names and titles of Muhammad]])''}}

| relatives          = [[Family tree of Muhammad]], [[Ahl al-Bayt]]{{nbsp|2}}("Family of the House")

| ism = Muhammad

| nasab = Muḥammad ibn [[Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib|Abd Allah]] ibn [[Abd al-Muttalib]] ibn [[Hashim ibn Abd Manaf|Hashim]] ibn [[Abd Manaf ibn Qusai|Abd Manaf]] ibn [[Qusai ibn Kilab|Qusai]] ibn [[Kilab ibn Murrah|Kilab]]

| kunya = Abu [[Qasim ibn Muhammad|al-Qasim]]

| laqab = [[Khatam an-Nabiyyin|Khātam an-Nâbîyīn]] (Seal of the prophets)

| signature          = [[File:Muhammad Seal.svg|40px]] <br />[[Seal of Muhammad]]

'''Muhammad ibn Abdullah'''<ref group="n">He is referred to by many appellations, including '''Messenger of Allah''', '''The Prophet Muhammad''', '''Allah's Apostle''', '''Last Prophet of Islam''', and others; there are also many variant spellings of Muhammad, such as '''Mohamet''', '''Mohammed''', '''Mahamad''', '''Muhamad''', and many others.</ref> ({{lang-ar|مُحَمَّد ٱبن عَبْد ٱللَّٰه|Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh}}, {{small|Classical Arabic pronunciation:}} {{IPA-ar|muˈħammad|}}; {{circa}}&nbsp;570 – 8 June 632 CE)<ref name="abraha" /><ref name=Goldman>Elizabeth Goldman (1995), p. 63, gives 8 June 632 CE, the dominant Islamic tradition. Many earlier (primarily non-Islamic) traditions refer to him as still alive at the time of the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant#Conquest of Palestine|Muslim conquest of Palestine]]. See Stephen J. Shoemaker, ''The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad's Life and the Beginnings of Islam'', page 248, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.</ref> was an [[Arab]] religious, social, and political leader and the founder of the [[world religion]] of [[Islam]].<ref name="OEIW">{{cite encyclopedia |author1=Alford T. Welch |author2=Ahmad S. Moussalli |author3=Gordon D. Newby |title=Muḥammad |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |editor=John L. Esposito |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2009 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0550 |quote=The Prophet of Islam was a religious, political, and social reformer who gave rise to one of the great civilizations of the world. From a modern, historical perspective, Muḥammad was the founder of Islam. From the perspective of the Islamic faith, he was God's Messenger (''rasūl Allāh''), called to be a "warner," first to the Arabs and then to all humankind. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211050118/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0550 |archive-date=11 February 2017 }}</ref> According to [[Muhammad in Islam|Islamic doctrine]], he was a [[prophet]] [[Divine inspiration|divinely inspired]] to preach and confirm the [[tawhid|monotheistic]] teachings of [[Adam in Islam|Adam]], [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]], [[Moses in Islam|Moses]], [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]], and other [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophets]].<ref name=OEIW /><ref>Esposito (2002b), pp. 4–5.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Peters |first=F.E. |title=Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-11553-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/islamguideforjew00fepe/page/9 9] |url=https://archive.org/details/islamguideforjew00fepe/page/9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Esposito |first=John |title=Islam: The Straight Path (3rd ed.) |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-511234-4 |pages=9, 12}}</ref> He is believed to be the [[Seal of the Prophets]] within Islam.<ref group="n">The Quranic epithet '[[Seal of the Prophets]]' (''khātam an-nabīyīn'') is understood by the majority of Muslims to mean that Muhammad was the last of the prophets sent by God. An alternative view holds that his status as such does not preclude forms of subordinate prophecy upholding Quranic law to subsist within Islam, a view espoused most notably by the modern [[Ahmadiyya movement]]. See:

 

 

Muhammad was born approximately 570{{nbsp}}CE in [[Mecca]].<ref name="abraha" /> He was the son of [[Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib]] and [[Amina bint Wahb]]. His father Abdullah was the son of [[Quraysh]] tribal leader [[Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim]], and he died a few months before Muhammad's birth. His mother Amina died when he was six, leaving Muhammad an orphan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.al-islam.org/life-muhammad-prophet-sayyid-saeed-akhtar-rizvi/early-years|title=Early Years|website=Al-Islam.org|date=18 October 2012|language=en|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref> He was raised under the care of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, and paternal uncle, [[Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib|Abu Talib]].<ref name="Watt7" /> In later years, he would periodically seclude himself in a mountain cave named [[Jabal al-Nour|Hira]] for several nights of prayer. When he was 40, Muhammad reported being visited by [[Gabriel]] in the cave<ref name="abraha">* {{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00049016 |last1=Conrad |first1=Lawrence I. |year=1987 |title=Abraha and Muhammad: some observations apropos of chronology and literary topoi in the early Arabic historical tradition1 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=225–40 |s2cid=162350288 }}

* {{Cite journal |pages=6–12 |last=Hamidullah |first=Muhammad |author-link=Muhammad Hamidullah |title=The Nasi', the Hijrah Calendar and the Need of Preparing a New Concordance for the Hijrah and Gregorian Eras: Why the Existing Western Concordances are Not to be Relied Upon |journal=The Islamic Review & Arab Affairs |date=February 1969 |url=http://aaiil.org/text/articles/islamicreview/1969/02feb/islamicreview_196902.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105021544/http://aaiil.org/text/articles/islamicreview/1969/02feb/islamicreview_196902.pdf |archive-date=5 November 2012 }}</ref><ref name="EncWorldHistory">''Encyclopedia of World History'' (1998), p. 452.</ref> and receiving [[Muhammad's first revelation|his first revelation]] from God. In 613,<ref>Howarth, Stephen. ''Knights Templar.'' 1985. {{ISBN|978-0-8264-8034-7}} p. 199.</ref> Muhammad started [[Dawah|preaching]] these revelations publicly,<ref name="Al-A'zami2">[[Muhammad Mustafa Al-A'zami]] (2003), ''The History of The Qur'anic Text: From Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments'', pp. 26–27. UK Islamic Academy. {{ISBN|978-1-872531-65-6}}.</ref> proclaiming that "[[Tawhid|God is One]]", that complete "submission" (''[[Islam#Etymology|islām]]'') to God<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1087|title=Islam: An Overview – Oxford Islamic Studies Online|website=www.oxfordislamicstudies.com|language=en|access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref> is the right way of life (''[[dīn]]''),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Anis Ahmad |title=Dīn |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |editor=John L. Esposito |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2009 |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e1102 |url-access=subscription |quote=A second important aspect of the meaning of the term emerges in Meccan revelations concerning the practice of the Prophet Abraham. Here it stands for the straight path (al-dīn al-ḥanīf) toward which Abraham and other messengers called the people [...] The Qurʿān asserts that this was the path or practice followed by Abraham [...] In the final analysis, dīn encompasses social and spiritual, as well the legal and political behaviour of the believers as a comprehensive way of life, a connotation wider than the word "religion." |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093241/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e1102 |archive-date=5 December 2017 }}</ref> and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, similar to the other [[Prophets in Islam#Table of prophets/messengers in the Quran|prophets in Islam]].<ref name="Peters 2003 9">F.E. Peters (2003), p. 9.</ref><ref name="EspositoI">Esposito (1998), p. 12; (1999) p. 25; (2002) pp. 4–5.</ref><ref name="EoI-Muhammad">{{Cite encyclopedia |edition=2nd |publisher=Brill |volume=7 |pages=360–376 |last2=Welch |first2=A.T. |last1=Buhl |first1=F. |title=Muḥammad |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |isbn=978-90-04-09419-2 |year=1993}}</ref>

 

The revelations (each known as ''[[Ayah]]''{{snd}} literally, "Sign [of God]") that Muhammad reported receiving until his death form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the verbatim "Word of God" on which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammad's teachings and practices (''[[sunnah]]''), found in the [[Hadith]] and ''[[Prophetic biography|sira]]'' (biography) literature, are also upheld and used as [[sources of sharia|sources]] of Islamic law (see [[Sharia]]).

[[File:Muhammad Salat.svg|thumb|right|"Muhammad" written in [[Thuluth]], a script variety of [[Islamic calligraphy]]]]

The [[Muhammad (name)|name ''Muhammad'']] ({{IPAc-en|m|ʊ|ˈ|h|æ|m|ə|d|,_|-|ˈ|h|ɑː|m|ə|d}})<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/muhammad "Muhammad"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215011659/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Muhammad |date=15 December 2014 }}. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> means "praiseworthy" and appears four times in the Quran.<ref>Jean-Louis Déclais, ''Names of the Prophet'', [[Encyclopedia of the Quran]].</ref> The Quran also addresses Muhammad in the second person by various appellations; [[Prophets in Islam|prophet]], [[Apostle (Islam)|messenger]], servant of God ('''abd''), announcer (''bashir''),<ref>{{qref|2|119|b=y}}</ref> witness (''[[Shahid (name)|shahid]]''),<ref>{{qref|33|45|b=y}}</ref> bearer of good tidings (''mubashshir''), warner (''nathir''),<ref>{{qref|11|2|b=y}}</ref> reminder (''mudhakkir''),<ref>{{qref|88|21|b=y}}</ref> one who calls [unto God] (''[[dawah|dā'ī]]''),<ref>{{qref|12|108|b=y}}</ref> light personified (''noor''),<ref>{{qref|05|15|b=y}}</ref> and the light-giving lamp (''siraj munir'').<ref>{{qref|33|46|b=y}}</ref>

== Sources of biographical information ==

 

=== Early biographies ===

Important sources regarding Muhammad's life may be found in the historic works by writers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries [[Hijri year|of the Muslim era]] (AH&nbsp;– 8th and 9th century CE).<ref name="Watt-Mecca-xi">Watt (1953), p. xi.</ref> These include traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, which provide additional information about Muhammad's life.<ref name="Reeves">Reeves (2003), pp. 6–7.</ref>

The earliest written ''sira'' (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is [[Ibn Ishaq]]'s ''[[Prophetic biography|Life of God's Messenger]]'' written c. 767 CE (150 AH). Although the original work was lost, this sira survives as extensive excerpts in works by [[Ibn Hisham]] and to a lesser extent by [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|Al-Tabari]].<ref name="Nigosian6">S.A. Nigosian (2004), p. 6.</ref><ref>Donner (1998), p. 132.</ref> However, Ibn Hisham wrote in the preface to his biography of Muhammad that he omitted matters from Ibn Ishaq's biography that "would distress certain people".<ref>{{cite book |last=Holland |first=Tom |title=In the Shadow of the Sword |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5u3Ukw7AftwC&pg=PT28 |year=2012 |publisher=Doubleday |pages=42|isbn=978-0-7481-1951-6 |quote=Things which it is disgraceful to discuss; matters which would distress certain people; and such reports as I have been told are not to be accepted as trustworthy – all these things have I omitted. [Ibn Hashim, p. 691.]}}</ref> Another early history source is the history of Muhammad's campaigns by [[al-Waqidi]] (death 207 AH), and [[The Book of the Major Classes|the work]] of Waqidi's secretary [[Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi]] (death 230 AH).<ref name="Watt-Mecca-xi" />

Many scholars accept these early biographies as authentic, though their accuracy is unascertainable.<ref name="Nigosian6" /> Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between traditions touching legal matters and purely historical events. In the legal group, traditions could have been subject to invention while historic events, aside from exceptional cases, may have been only subject to "tendential shaping".<ref>Watt (1953), p. xv.</ref>

=== Hadith ===

Other important sources include the [[hadith]] collections, accounts of verbal and physical teachings and traditions attributed to Muhammad. Hadiths were compiled several generations after his death by Muslims including [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]], [[Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj]], [[Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi]], [[Al-Nasa'i|Abd ar-Rahman al-Nasai]], [[Abu Dawood]], [[Ibn Majah]], [[Malik ibn Anas]], [[al-Daraqutni]].<ref name="Lewis 1993, pp. 33–34">Lewis (1993), pp. 33–34.</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=A.C. Brown |last1=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan A.C. Brown |date=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyMKDEAb4GsC&pg=PA9 |title=The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon |page=9 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-15839-9 |quote=We can discern three strata of the Sunni ḥadīth canon. The perennial core has been the ''Ṣaḥīḥayn''. Beyond these two foundational classics, some fourth-/tenth-century scholars refer to a four-book selection that adds the two ''Sunans'' of Abū Dāwūd (d. 275/889) and al-Nāsaʾī (d. 303/915). The Five Book canon, which is first noted in the sixth/twelfth century, incorporates the ''Jāmiʿ'' of al-Tirmidhī (d. 279/892). Finally, the Six Book canon, which hails from the same period, adds either the ''Sunan'' of Ibn Mājah (d. 273/887), the ''Sunan'' of al-Dāraquṭnī (d. 385/995) or the ''Muwaṭṭaʾ'' of Mālik b. Anas (d. 179/796). Later ḥadīth compendia often included other collections as well. None of these books, however, has enjoyed the esteem of al-Bukhārīʼs and Muslimʼs works. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018150501/https://books.google.com/books?id=nyMKDEAb4GsC#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=18 October 2017 }}</ref>

Some Western academics cautiously view the hadith collections as accurate historical sources.<ref name="Lewis 1993, pp. 33–34" /> Scholars such as [[Wilferd Madelung|Madelung]] do not reject the narrations which have been compiled in later periods, but judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.<ref>Madelung (1997), pp. xi, 19–20.</ref> Muslim scholars on the other hand typically place a greater emphasis on the hadith literature instead of the biographical literature, since hadiths maintain a traditional chain of transmission ([[isnad]]); the lack of such a chain for the biographical literature makes it unverifiable in their eyes.<ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAXNxxkJKYsC&pg=PA99 |author=Nurullah Ardic |page=99 |title=Islam and the Politics of Secularism |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-48984-6 |date=21 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122105439/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAXNxxkJKYsC&pg=PA99 |archive-date=22 January 2018 }}</ref>

== Pre-Islamic Arabia ==

The [[Arabian Peninsula]] was, and still is, largely arid with volcanic soil, making agriculture difficult except near oases or springs. Towns and cities dotted the landscape, two of the most prominent being [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]]. Medina was a large flourishing agricultural settlement, while Mecca was an important financial center for many surrounding tribes.<ref name="Muhammad-Mecca-12">Watt (1953), pp. 1–2.</ref> Communal life was essential for survival in the [[desert]] conditions, supporting indigenous tribes against the harsh environment and lifestyle. Tribal affiliation, whether based on kinship or alliances, was an important source of social cohesion.<ref>Watt (1953), pp. 16–18.</ref> Indigenous Arabs were either [[nomad]]ic or [[Sedentism|sedentary]]. Nomadic groups constantly traveled seeking water and pasture for their flocks, while the sedentary settled and focused on trade and agriculture. Nomadic survival also depended on raiding caravans or oases; nomads did not view this as a crime.<ref name="Rue">Loyal Rue, ''Religion Is Not about God: How Spiritual Traditions Nurture Our Biological'',2005, p. 224.</ref><ref name="Esposito4">John Esposito, ''Islam'', Expanded edition, Oxford University Press, pp. 4–5.</ref>

In pre-Islamic Arabia, gods or goddesses were viewed as protectors of individual tribes, their spirits associated with sacred trees, [[Baetylus|stones]], springs and wells. As well as being the site of an annual pilgrimage, the [[Kaaba]] shrine in Mecca housed 360 idols of tribal patron deities. Three goddesses were worshipped, in some places as daughters of Allah: [[Allāt]], [[Manāt]] and [[al-'Uzzá]]. Monotheistic communities existed in Arabia, including Christians and [[Jewish tribes of Arabia|Jews]].<ref>See:

* Quran 3:95.</ref> [[Hanif]]s – native pre-Islamic Arabs who "professed a rigid monotheism"<ref>{{cite book |last=Ueberweg |first=Friedrich |title=History of Philosophy, Vol. 1: From Thales to the Present Time |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |page=409 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GZfL4GsU3JAC&q=Hanifs&pg=PA409 |isbn=978-1-4400-4322-2}}</ref> – are also sometimes listed alongside Jews and Christians in pre-Islamic Arabia, although scholars dispute their [[historicity (philosophy)|historicity]].<ref>Kochler (1982), p. 29.</ref><ref>cf. [[Uri Rubin]], ''Hanif'', Encyclopedia of the Qur'an.</ref> According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself was a Hanif and one of the descendants of [[Ishmael]], son of [[Abraham]].<ref>See:

* Louis Jacobs (1995), p. 272

* Turner (2005), p. 16.</ref> After a century of exhaustive archaeological investigation, no evidence has been found of a historical Abraham or Ishmael.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dever|first=William G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-VxwC5rQtwC&q=What+Did+the+Biblical+Writers+Know+and+When+Did+They+Know+It%3F%3A+What+...|title=What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?: What Archeology Can Tell Us About the Reality of Ancient Israel|date=10 May 2001|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-2126-3|language=en}}</ref>

The second half of the sixth century was a period of political disorder in Arabia and communication routes were no longer secure.<ref>{{cite book |author=Christian Julien Robin |title=Arabia and Ethiopia. In The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA297 |year=2012 |publisher=OUP USA |pages=297–299 |isbn=978-0-19-533693-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516010339/https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA297 |archive-date=16 May 2016 }}</ref> Religious divisions were an important cause of the crisis.<ref name="Robin302">{{cite book |author=Christian Julien Robin |title=Arabia and Ethiopia. In The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA302 |year=2012 |publisher=OUP USA |pages=302 |isbn=978-0-19-533693-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501235340/https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA302 |archive-date=1 May 2016 }}</ref> [[Judaism]] became the dominant religion in [[Yemen]] while Christianity took root in the [[Persian Gulf]] area.<ref name="Robin302" /> In line with broader trends of the ancient world, the region witnessed a decline in the practice of polytheistic cults and a growing interest in a more spiritual form of religion.<ref name="Robin302" /> While many were reluctant to convert to a foreign faith, those faiths provided intellectual and spiritual reference points.<ref name="Robin302" />

During the early years of Muhammad's life, the [[Quraysh]] tribe to which he belonged became a dominant force in western Arabia.<ref name="Robin286">{{cite book |author=Christian Julien Robin |title=Arabia and Ethiopia. In The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA286 |year=2012 |publisher=OUP USA |pages=286–287 |isbn=978-0-19-533693-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604024657/https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA286 |archive-date=4 June 2016 }}</ref> They formed the cult association of ''hums'', which tied members of many tribes in western Arabia to the [[Kaaba]] and reinforced the prestige of the Meccan sanctuary.<ref name="Robin301" /> To counter the effects of anarchy, Quraysh upheld the institution of sacred months during which all violence was forbidden, and it was possible to participate in pilgrimages and fairs without danger.<ref name="Robin301">{{cite book |author=Christian Julien Robin |title=Arabia and Ethiopia. In The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA301 |year=2012 |publisher=OUP USA |page=301 |isbn=978-0-19-533693-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517040025/https://books.google.com/books?id=GKRybwb17WMC&pg=PA301 |archive-date=17 May 2016 }}</ref> Thus, although the association of ''hums'' was primarily religious, it also had important economic consequences for the city.<ref name="Robin301" />

== Life ==

=== Childhood and early life ===

{{See also|Mawlid|Family tree of Muhammad|Muhammad in Mecca}}

[[File:Site of the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.jpg|thumb|left|[[Makkah Al Mukarramah Library]] ({{coord|21|25|30|N|39|49|48|E|type:landmark_scale:5000_region:SA|name=Bayt al-Mawlid / Makkah Al Mukarramah Library}}) is believed to stand on the spot where Muhammad was [[mawlid|born]], so it is also known as ''[[Bayt al-Mawlid]]'']]

Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim<ref name="auto">[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad Muhammad] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209125352/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad |date=9 February 2017 }} [[Encyclopedia Britannica]]. Retrieved 15 February 2017.</ref> was born in Mecca<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rodinson |first1=Maxime |author-link1=Maxime Rodinson |title=Muhammad: Prophet of Islam |date=2002 |publisher=Tauris Parke Paperbacks|page=38 |isbn=978-1-86064-827-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LqR_mU0qpE4C&pg=PA38 |access-date=12 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> about the year 570<ref name="abraha" /> and [[Mawlid|his birthday]] is believed to be in the month of [[Rabi' al-awwal]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John L. |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-512558-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00bada/page/198 198] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00bada/page/198 |access-date=19 June 2012 }}</ref> He belonged to the [[Banu Hashim]] clan, part of the [[Quraysh tribe]], which was one of [[Mecca]]'s prominent families, although it appears less prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref>See also {{qref|43|31|b=y}} cited in EoI; Muhammad.</ref> Tradition places the year of Muhammad's birth as corresponding with the [[Year of the Elephant]], which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the [[Abraha]], Yemen's king, who supplemented his army with elephants.<ref>Marr J.S., Hubbard E., Cathey J.T. (2014): The Year of the Elephant. <!-- figshare. -->

Retrieved 21 October 2014 (GMT).</ref><ref>''The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity''; edited by Scott Fitzgerald Johnson; p. 287.</ref><ref>''Muhammad and the Origins of Islam''; by Francis E. Peters; p. 88.</ref>

Alternatively some 20th century scholars have suggested different years, such as 568 or 569.<ref name="Watt7">Watt (1974), p. 7.</ref>

<div class="depiction">

[[File:Mohammed kaaba 1315.jpg|thumb|left|Miniature from [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]]'s ''[[Jami al-Tawarikh]]'', {{c.|lk=no|1315}}, illustrating the story of Muhammad's role in re-setting the [[Black Stone]] in 605. ([[Ilkhanate]] period)<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ali |first=Wijdan |date=August 1999 |journal=Proceedings of the 11th International Congress of Turkish Art |title=From the Literal to the Spiritual: The Development of the Prophet Muhammad's Portrayal from 13th Century Ilkhanid Miniatures to 17th Century Ottoman Art |number=7 |url=http://www2.let.uu.nl/Solis/anpt/ejos/pdf4/07Ali.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041203232347/http://www2.let.uu.nl/Solis/anpt/ejos/pdf4/07Ali.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 December 2004 |page=3 |issn=0928-6802 }}</ref>]]

Muhammad's father, [[Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib|Abdullah]], died almost six months before he was born.<ref name="Meri2004">{{cite book |last=Meri |first=Josef W. |author-link=Josef W. Meri |title=Medieval Islamic civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC |access-date=3 January 2013 |volume=1 |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-96690-0 |page=525 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114153019/http://books.google.com/books?id=H-k9oc9xsuAC |archive-date=14 November 2012 }}</ref> According to Islamic tradition, soon after birth he was sent to live with a [[Bedouin]] family in the desert, as desert life was considered healthier for infants; some western scholars reject this tradition's historicity.<ref name=WattHalimah>Watt, "[http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/halima-bint-abi-dhuayb-SIM_2648 Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203073455/http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/halima-bint-abi-dhuayb-SIM_2648 |date=3 February 2014 }}", ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]''.</ref> Muhammad stayed with his foster-mother, [[Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb]], and her husband until he was two years old. At the age of six, Muhammad lost his biological mother [[Aminah|Amina]] to illness and became an orphan.<ref name= WattHalimah /><ref>Watt, ''Amina'', [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]].</ref> For the next two years, until he was eight years old, Muhammad was under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather [[Abd al-Muttalib]], of the Banu Hashim clan until his death. He then came under the care of his uncle [[Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib|Abu Talib]], the new leader of the Banu Hashim.<ref name="Watt7" /> According to Islamic historian [[William Montgomery Watt]] there was a general disregard by guardians in taking care of weaker members of the tribes in Mecca during the 6th century, "Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time."<ref name="Watt8">Watt (1974), p. 8.</ref>

In his teens, Muhammad accompanied his uncle on Syrian trading journeys to gain experience in commercial trade.<ref name="Watt8" /> Islamic tradition states that when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans' caravan to Syria, he met a Christian monk or hermit named [[Bahira]] who is said to have foreseen Muhammad's career as a prophet of God.<ref>Armand Abel, ''Bahira'', [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]].</ref>

Little is known of Muhammad during his later youth as available information is fragmented, making it difficult to separate history from legend.<ref name="Watt8" /> It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the [[Indian Ocean]] and the [[Mediterranean Sea]]."<ref name="BerkWorldHistory">''Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History'' (2005), v. 3, p. 1025.</ref> Due to his upright character he acquired the nickname "[[Amin (name)|al-Amin]]" (Arabic: الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and "al-Sadiq" meaning "truthful"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Majid Ali |title=Muhammad the final messenger |edition=1998 |page=332 |year=1998 |publisher=Islamic Book Service |location=India |isbn=978-81-85738-25-3 }}</ref> and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.<ref name="EncWorldHistory" /><ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref>Esposito (1998), p. 6.</ref> His reputation attracted a proposal in 595 from [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadijah]], a successful businesswoman. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one.<ref name="BerkWorldHistory" />

Several years later, according to a narration collected by historian [[Ibn Ishaq]], Muhammad was involved with a well-known story about setting the [[Black Stone]] in place in the wall of the Kaaba in 605 CE. The Black Stone, a sacred object, was removed during renovations to the Kaaba. The Meccan leaders could not agree which clan should return the Black Stone to its place. They decided to ask the next man who comes through the gate to make that decision; that man was the 35-year-old Muhammad. This event happened five years before the first revelation by Gabriel to him. He asked for a cloth and laid the Black Stone in its center. The clan leaders held the corners of the cloth and together carried the Black Stone to the right spot, then Muhammad laid the stone, satisfying the honor of all.<ref name="Dairesi">{{cite book |title=The Sacred Trusts: Pavilion of the Sacred Relics, Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul |editor=Uğurluel, Talha |editor2=Doğru, Ahmet |author1=Dairesi, Hırka-i Saadet |author2=Aydin, Hilmi |publisher=Tughra Books |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-932099-72-0}}</ref><ref>[[Muhammad Mustafa Al-A'zami]] (2003), ''The History of The Qur'anic Text: From Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments'', p. 24. UK Islamic Academy. {{ISBN|978-1-872531-65-6}}.</ref>

=== Beginnings of the Quran ===

{{Quote box|quoted=true|bgcolor=#ffeeaa|align=right|width=30%|salign=right|quote=''Recite in the name of your Lord who created—Created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous—Who taught by the pen—Taught man that which he knew not.''|source=— [[Quran 96:1–5]]}}

Muhammad began to pray alone in a cave named [[Cave of Hira|Hira]] on [[Jabal al-Nour|Mount Jabal al-Nour]], near Mecca for several weeks every year.<ref>Emory C. Bogle (1998), p. 6.</ref><ref>John Henry Haaren, Addison B. Poland (1904), p. 83.</ref> Islamic tradition holds that during one of his visits to that cave, in the year 610 the angel [[Gabriel]] appeared to him and commanded Muhammad to recite verses that would be included in the Quran.<ref>Brown (2003), pp. 72–73.</ref> Consensus exists that the first Quranic words revealed were the beginning of [[Quran 96:1]].<ref name="EI2-Wahy">{{qref|96|1|b=y}} {{Cite encyclopedia |edition=2nd |publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |volume=11 |pages=54 |first1=A.J. |last1=Wensinck |first2=A. |last2=Rippen |title=Waḥy |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-90-04-12756-2}}</ref>

Muhammad was deeply distressed upon receiving his first revelations. After returning home, Muhammad was consoled and reassured by Khadijah and her Christian cousin, [[Waraka ibn Nawfal]].<ref name=autogenerated1>Esposito (2010), p. 8.</ref> He also feared that others would dismiss his claims as being possessed.<ref name=Esposito4 /> Shi'a tradition states Muhammad was not surprised or frightened at Gabriel's appearance; rather he welcomed the angel, as if he was expected.<ref>''See:''

* Rodinson (2002), p. 71.</ref> The initial revelation was followed by a three-year pause (a period known as ''fatra'') during which Muhammad felt depressed and further gave himself to prayers and [[spiritual practice]]s.<ref name=EI2-Wahy /> When the revelations resumed he was reassured and commanded to begin preaching: "Thy Guardian-Lord hath not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased."<ref>{{qref|93|3|b=y}}.</ref><ref>Brown (2003), pp. 73–74.</ref><ref>Uri Rubin, ''Muhammad'', [[Encyclopedia of the Quran]].</ref>

[[File:Cave Hira.jpg|right|upright|thumb|The cave [[Cave of Hira|Hira]] in the mountain [[Jabal al-Nour]] where, according to Muslim belief, Muhammad received his first revelation]]

[[File:Rashid al-Din Tabib - Jami al-Tawarikh, f.45v detail - c. 1306-15.png|thumb|left|Muhammad receiving his first revelation from Gabriel in ''[[Jami' al-tawarikh]]'' by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani|Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb]] (1307)]]

</div>

[[Sahih Bukhari]] narrates Muhammad describing his revelations as "sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell". [[Aisha]] reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/001-sbt.php |title=Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement |publisher=Cmje.org |access-date=26 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110054749/http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/001-sbt.php |archive-date=10 January 2012 }}</ref> According to [[Alford T. Welch|Welch]] these descriptions may be considered genuine, since they are unlikely to have been forged by later Muslims.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages.<ref>Watt, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'' (1977), p. 31.</ref> According to the Quran, one of the main roles of Muhammad is to warn the unbelievers of their [[eschatological]] punishment ([[Quran 38:70]],<ref>{{qref|38|70|b=y}}.</ref> [[Quran 6:19]]).<ref>{{qref|6|19|b=y}}.</ref> Occasionally the Quran did not explicitly refer to Judgment day but provided examples from the history of extinct communities and warns Muhammad's contemporaries of similar calamities ({{qref|41|13–16|b=y}}).<ref name="EoQ-Muhammad">Uri Rubin, ''Muhammad'', [[Encyclopedia of the Qur'an]].</ref> Muhammad did not only warn those who rejected God's revelation, but also dispensed good news for those who abandoned evil, listening to the divine words and serving God.<ref>Daniel C. Peterson, ''Good News'', [[Encyclopedia of the Quran]].</ref> Muhammad's mission also involves preaching monotheism: The Quran commands Muhammad to proclaim and praise the name of his Lord and instructs him not to worship idols or associate other deities with God.<ref name="EoQ-Muhammad" />

The key themes of the early Quranic verses included the responsibility of man towards his creator; the resurrection of the dead, God's final judgment followed by vivid descriptions of the tortures in Hell and pleasures in Paradise, and the signs of God in all aspects of life. Religious duties required of the believers at this time were few: belief in God, asking for forgiveness of sins, offering frequent prayers, assisting others particularly those in need, rejecting cheating and the love of wealth (considered to be significant in the commercial life of Mecca), being chaste and not committing [[Women in pre-Islamic Arabia#Female infanticide|female]] [[infanticide]].<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" />

=== Opposition ===

{{See also|Persecution of Muslims by Meccans|Migration to Abyssinia}}

[[File:Surat An-Najm.jpg|thumb|right|The last verse from [[An-Najm]]: ''"So prostrate to Allah and worship."'' Muhammad's message of [[monotheism]] challenged the traditional order]]

According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadija]] was the first to believe he was a prophet.<ref name="Watt53-86">Watt (1953), p. 86.</ref> She was followed by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin [[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]], close friend [[Abu Bakr]], and adopted son [[Zayd ibn Harithah|Zaid]].<ref name="Watt53-86" /> Around 613, Muhammad began to preach to the public ({{qref|26|214|b=y}}).<ref name="Al-A'zami2" /><ref>Ramadan (2007), pp. 37–39.</ref> Most Meccans ignored and mocked him, though a few became his followers. There were three main groups of early converts to Islam: younger brothers and sons of great merchants; people who had fallen out of the first rank in their tribe or failed to attain it; and the weak, mostly unprotected foreigners.<ref name="Cambridge 1977 36">Watt, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'' (1977), p. 36.</ref>

According to Ibn Saad, opposition in Mecca started when Muhammad delivered verses that condemned idol worship and the polytheism practiced by the Meccan forefathers.<ref>F.E. Peters (1994), p. 169.</ref> However, the Quranic exegesis maintains that it began as Muhammad started public preaching.<ref name="Rubin">Uri Rubin'', Quraysh'', [[Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an]].</ref> As his followers increased, Muhammad became a threat to the local tribes and rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Ka'aba, the focal point of Meccan religious life that Muhammad threatened to overthrow. Muhammad's denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the [[Quraysh (tribe)|Quraysh]], as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba.<ref name="Cambridge 1977 36" /> Powerful merchants attempted to convince Muhammad to abandon his preaching; he was offered admission to the inner circle of merchants, as well as an advantageous marriage. He refused both of these offers.<ref name="Cambridge 1977 36" />

{{Quote box|quoted=true|bgcolor=#ffeeaa|align=right|width=25%|salign=right|quote=''Have We not made for him two eyes? And a tongue and two lips? And have shown him the two ways? But he has not broken through the difficult pass. And what can make you know what is the difficult pass? It is the freeing of a slave. Or feeding on a day of severe hunger; an orphan of near relationship, or a needy person in misery. And then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to mercy.''|source=— Quran (90:8–17)}}

Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment towards Muhammad and his followers.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> [[Sumayyah bint Khayyat]], a slave of a prominent Meccan leader [[Amr ibn Hishām|Abu Jahl]], is famous as the first martyr of Islam; killed with a spear by her master when she refused to give up her faith. [[Bilal ibn Rabah|Bilal]], another Muslim slave, was tortured by [[Umayyah ibn Khalaf]] who placed a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion.<ref>Jonathan E. Brockopp, ''Slaves and Slavery'', [[Encyclopedia of the Qur'an]].</ref><ref>W. Arafat, ''Bilal b. Rabah'', [[Encyclopedia of Islam]].</ref>

In 615, some of Muhammad's followers [[Migration to Abyssinia|emigrated]] to the Ethiopian [[Kingdom of Aksum]] and founded a small colony under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor [[Aṣḥama ibn Abjar]].<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> [[Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi|Ibn Sa'ad]] mentions two separate migrations. According to him, most of the Muslims returned to Mecca prior to [[Hegira|Hijra]], while a second group rejoined them in Medina. [[Ibn Hisham]] and [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|Tabari]], however, only talk about one migration to Ethiopia. These accounts agree that Meccan persecution played a major role in Muhammad's decision to suggest that a number of his followers seek refuge among the Christians in Abyssinia. According to the famous letter of [[Urwah ibn Zubayr|ʿUrwa]] preserved in al-Tabari, the majority of Muslims returned to their native town as Islam gained strength and high ranking Meccans, such as [[Umar]] and [[Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib|Hamzah]] converted.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Horovitz |first1=Josef |author-link1=Josef Horovitz |date=1927 |title=The Earliest Biographies of the Prophet and Their Authors |journal=Islamic Culture |volume=1 |issue= 2|pages=279–284 |doi=10.1163/157005807780220576 }}</ref>

However, there is a completely different story on the reason why the Muslims returned from Ethiopia to Mecca. According to this account—initially mentioned by [[Al-Waqidi]] then rehashed by [[Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi|Ibn Sa'ad]] and [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|Tabari]], but not by [[Ibn Hisham]] and not by [[Ibn Ishaq]]<ref>"Muḥammad", [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]], Second Edition. Edited by [[P. J. Bearman]], [[Th. Bianquis]], [[C. E. Bosworth]], [[E. van Donzel]], [[W. P. Heinrichs]] et al. Brill Online, 2014.</ref>—Muhammad, desperately hoping for an accommodation with his tribe, pronounced a verse acknowledging the existence of three Meccan goddesses considered to be the daughters of Allah. Muhammad retracted the verses the next day at the behest of Gabriel, claiming that the verses were whispered by the devil himself. Instead, a ridicule of these gods was offered.<ref>The Cambridge Companion to Muhammad (2010), p. 35.</ref><ref group="n">The aforementioned Islamic [[Satanic Verses#Tabarī's account|histories recount]] that as Muhammad was reciting Sūra Al-Najm (Q.53), as revealed to him by the Archangel [[Gabriel]], Satan tempted him to utter the following lines after verses 19 and 20: "Have you thought of Allāt and al-'Uzzā and Manāt the third, the other; These are the exalted Gharaniq, whose intercession is hoped for." (Allāt, al-'Uzzā and Manāt were three goddesses worshiped by the Meccans). cf Ibn Ishaq, A. Guillaume p. 166.</ref><ref group="n">"Apart from this one-day lapse, which was excised from the text, the Quran is simply unrelenting, unaccommodating and outright despising of paganism." (The Cambridge Companion to Muhammad, Jonathan E. Brockopp, p. 35).</ref> This episode, known as "The Story of the Cranes," is also known as "[[Satanic Verses]]". According to the story, this led to a general reconciliation between Muhammad and the Meccans, and the Abyssinia Muslims began to return home. When they arrived Gabriel had informed Muhammad that the two verses were not part of the revelation, but had been inserted by Satan. Notable scholars at the time argued against the historic authenticity of these verses and the story itself on various grounds.<ref>"Kuran" in the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', 2nd Edition, Vol. 5 (1986), p. 404.</ref><ref>''"Muḥammad", [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]], Second Edition. Edited by [[P. J. Bearman]], [[Th. Bianquis]], [[C. E. Bosworth]], [[E. van Donzel]], [[W. P. Heinrichs]] et al. Brill Online, 2014''.</ref><ref group="n">"Although, there could be some historical basis for the story, in its present form, it is certainly a later, exegetical fabrication. Sura LIII, 1–20 and the end of the sura are not a unity, as is claimed by the story, XXII, 52 is later than LIII, 2107 and is almost certainly Medinan; and several details of the story—the mosque, the sadjda, and others not mentioned in the short summary above do not belong to Meccan setting. Caetani and J. Burton have argued against the historicity of the story on other grounds. Burton concluded that the story was invented by jurists so that XXII 52 could serve as a Kuranic proof-text for their abrogation theories." ("Kuran" in the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', 2nd Edition, Vol. 5 (1986), p. 404).</ref> Al-Waqidi was severely criticized by Islamic scholars such as [[Malik ibn Anas]], [[al-Shafi'i]], [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], [[Al-Nasa'i]], [[al-Bukhari]], [[Abu Dawood]], [[Al-Nawawi]] and others as a liar and forger.<ref name="arafat">{{cite journal |title=New Light on the Story of Banu Qurayza and the Jews of Medina |author=W.N. Arafat |publisher=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |year=1976 |pages=101–107}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c1ZsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA754 |title=Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia |page=754 |author=Rizwi Faizer |publisher=Routledge |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227162611/https://books.google.com/books?id=c1ZsBgAAQBAJ |archive-date=27 February 2017 |isbn=978-1-135-45596-5 |date=31 October 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AtvBAAAQBAJ |title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture |page=279 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319044010/https://books.google.com/books?id=2AtvBAAAQBAJ |archive-date=19 March 2017 |isbn=978-1-61069-178-9 |date=25 April 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mDqtAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |page=109 |title=The Quran and Hadith |author=Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi |year=1975 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122105439/https://books.google.com/books?id=mDqtAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |archive-date=22 January 2018 |isbn=978-9976-956-87-0 }}</ref> Later, the incident received some acceptance among certain groups, though strong objections to it continued onwards past the tenth century. The objections continued until rejection of these verses and the story itself eventually became the only acceptable orthodox Muslim position.<ref>Shahab Ahmed, "Satanic Verses" in the ''[[Encyclopedia of the Qur'an]]''.</ref>

In 616 (or 617), the leaders of [[Makhzum]] and [[Banu Abd-Shams]], two important Quraysh clans, declared a public boycott against Banu Hashim, their commercial rival, to pressure it into withdrawing its protection of Muhammad. The boycott lasted three years but eventually collapsed as it failed in its objective.<ref>F.E. Peters (2003b), p. 96.</ref><ref name="Momen">Moojan Momen (1985), p. 4.</ref> During this time, Muhammad was able to preach only during the holy pilgrimage months in which all hostilities between Arabs were suspended.

=== Isra and Mi'raj ===

[[File:Dome of the Rock, from Governor's House, Francis Bedford 1862.jpg|thumb|The [[Masjid Al-Aqsa]] in [[Jerusalem]], also known as the Haram ash-Sharif or the Temple Mount, takes its name from the "farthest mosque" described in [[Al-Isra|Surah 17]], where Muhammad travelled in his night journey.<ref name="Grabar2006">{{cite book |author=Oleg Grabar |title=The Dome of the Rock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeIOowshe6EC&pg=PA14 |access-date=26 December 2011 |date=1 October 2006 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-02313-0 |page=14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615020045/http://books.google.com/books?id=OeIOowshe6EC&pg=PA14 |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref>]]

Islamic tradition states that in 620, Muhammad experienced the ''[[Isra and Mi'raj]]'', a miraculous night-long journey said to have occurred with the angel [[Gabriel]]. At the journey's beginning, the ''Isra'', he is said to have traveled from [[Mecca]] on a [[Buraq|winged steed]] to "the farthest mosque." Later, during the ''Mi'raj'', Muhammad is said to have toured [[Jannah|heaven]] and [[Jahannam|hell]], and spoke with earlier prophets, such as [[Islamic view of Abraham|Abraham]], [[Islamic view of Moses|Moses]], and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]].<ref name="EoIMW" /> [[Ibn Ishaq]], author of the first [[Sirah Rasul Allah|biography of Muhammad]], presents the event as a spiritual experience; later historians, such as [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|Al-Tabari]] and [[Ibn Kathir]], present it as a physical journey.<ref name="EoIMW">''Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World'' (2003), p. 482.</ref>

Some western scholars{{who|date=May 2014}} hold that the Isra and Mi'raj journey traveled through the heavens from the sacred enclosure at Mecca to the celestial ''al-Baytu l-Maʿmur'' (heavenly prototype of the Kaaba); later traditions indicate Muhammad's journey as having been from Mecca to Jerusalem.<ref>Sells, Michael. ''Ascension'', [[Encyclopedia of the Quran]].</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2014}}

[[File:Domeoftherock1.jpg|thumb|Quranic inscriptions on the [[Dome of the Rock]]. It marks the spot Muhammad is believed by Muslims to have ascended to [[Jannah|heaven]].<ref name="BloomBlair2009">{{cite book |author1=Jonathan M. Bloom |author2=Sheila Blair |title=The Grove encyclopedia of Islamic art and architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA76 |access-date=26 December 2011 |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-530991-1 |page=76 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615020218/http://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA76 |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref>]]

 

Muhammad's wife Khadijah and uncle Abu Talib both died in 619, the year thus being known as the "[[Year of Sorrow]]". With the death of Abu Talib, leadership of the Banu Hashim clan passed to [[Abu Lahab]], a tenacious enemy of Muhammad. Soon afterward, Abu Lahab withdrew the clan's protection over Muhammad. This placed Muhammad in danger; the withdrawal of clan protection implied that blood revenge for his killing would not be exacted. Muhammad then [[Muhammad's visit to Ta'if|visited Ta'if]], another important city in Arabia, and tried to find a protector, but his effort failed and further brought him into physical danger.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref name="Momen" /> Muhammad was forced to return to Mecca. A Meccan man named Mut'im ibn Adi (and the protection of the tribe of [[Banu Nawfal]]) made it possible for him to safely re-enter his native city.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref name="Momen" />

{{Main|Hegira}}

{{further|Military career of Muhammad}}

The Hijra is the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. In June 622, warned of a plot to assassinate him, Muhammad secretly slipped out of Mecca and moved his followers to Medina,<ref name="Al-A'zami4">[[Muhammad Mustafa Al-A'zami]] (2003), ''The History of The Qur'anic Text: From Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments'', pp. 30–31. UK Islamic Academy. {{ISBN|978-1-872531-65-6}}.</ref> {{convert|450|km|mi|abbr=off}} north of Mecca.<ref name="Al-A'zami3">[[Muhammad Mustafa Al-A'zami]] (2003), ''The History of The Qur'anic Text: From Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments'', p. 29. UK Islamic Academy. {{ISBN|978-1-872531-65-6}}.</ref>

==== Migration to Medina ====

A delegation, consisting of the representatives of the twelve important clans of Medina, invited Muhammad to serve as chief arbitrator for the entire community; due to his status as a neutral outsider.<ref name="Cambridge39" /><ref name="Esp">Esposito (1998), p. 17.</ref> There was fighting in Yathrib: primarily the dispute involved its Arab and Jewish inhabitants, and was estimated to have lasted for around a hundred years before 620.<ref name="Cambridge39" /> The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the [[Battle of Bu'ath]] in which all clans were involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal concept of blood-feud and [[Eye for an eye|an eye for an eye]] were no longer workable unless there was one man with authority to adjudicate in disputed cases.<ref name="Cambridge39">Watt, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 39.</ref> The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow-citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and physically protect him as one of themselves.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" />

Muhammad instructed his followers to emigrate to Medina, until nearly all his followers left Mecca. Being alarmed at the departure, according to tradition, the Meccans plotted to assassinate Muhammad. With the help of [[Ali]], Muhammad fooled the Meccans watching him, and secretly slipped away from the town with Abu Bakr.<ref>Moojan Momen (1985), p. 5.</ref> By 622, Muhammad emigrated to Medina, a large agricultural [[oasis]]. Those who migrated from Mecca along with Muhammad became known as ''[[muhajirun]]'' (emigrants).<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" />

Among the first things Muhammad did to ease the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was to draft a document known as the [[Constitution of Medina]], "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca; this specified rights and duties of all citizens, and the relationship of the different communities in Medina (including the Muslim community to other communities, specifically the [[Jew]]s and other "[[People of the Book|Peoples of the Book]]").<ref name="Cambridge39" /><ref name="Esp" /> The community defined in the Constitution of Medina, ''[[Ummah]]'', had a religious outlook, also shaped by practical considerations and substantially preserved the legal forms of the old Arab tribes.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" />

The first group of converts to Islam in Medina were the clans without great leaders; these clans had been subjugated by hostile leaders from outside.<ref>Watt (1956), p. 175.</ref> This was followed by the general acceptance of Islam by the [[pagan]] population of Medina, with some exceptions. According to [[Ibn Ishaq]], this was influenced by the conversion of [[Sa'd ibn Mu'adh]] (a prominent Medinan leader) to Islam.<ref>Watt (1956), p. 177.</ref> Medinans who converted to Islam and helped the Muslim emigrants find shelter became known as the ''[[Ansar (Islam)|ansar]]'' (supporters).<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> Then Muhammad instituted [[Brotherhood among the Sahaba|brotherhood between the emigrants and the supporters]] and he chose [[Ali]] as his own brother.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Ali ibn Abitalib |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica |access-date=25 October 2007 |url=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v1f8/v1f8a043.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812205939/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v1f8/v1f8a043.html |archive-date=12 August 2007}}</ref>

==== Beginning of armed conflict ====

Following the emigration, the people of Mecca seized property of Muslim emigrants to Medina.<ref>[[Fazlur Rahman]] (1979), p. 21.</ref> War would later break out between the people of Mecca and the Muslims. Muhammad delivered [[Quran]]ic verses permitting Muslims to fight the Meccans (see sura [[Al-Hajj]], {{qref|22|39–40|b=y}}).<ref>[[John Kelsay]] (1993), p. 21.</ref> According to the traditional account, on 11 February 624, while praying in the [[Masjid al-Qiblatayn]] in Medina, Muhammad received revelations from God that he should be facing Mecca rather than Jerusalem during prayer. Muhammad adjusted to the new direction, and his companions praying with him followed his lead, beginning the tradition of facing Mecca during prayer.<ref name="Watt1974">{{cite book|author=William Montgomery Watt |title=Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman |url=https://archive.org/details/muhammadprophets00watt/page/112 |access-date=29 December 2011 |date=7 February 1974 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-881078-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/muhammadprophets00watt/page/112 112–14] }}</ref>

Muhammad ordered a number of raids to capture Meccan caravans, but only the 8th of them, the Raid of Nakhla, resulted in actual fighting and capture of booty and prisoners.<ref name=":0" /> In March 624, Muhammad led some three hundred warriors in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan. The Muslims set an ambush for the caravan at Badr.<ref>Rodinson (2002), p. 164.</ref> Aware of the plan, the Meccan caravan eluded the Muslims. A Meccan force was sent to protect the caravan and went on to confront the Muslims upon receiving word that the caravan was safe. The [[Battle of Badr]] commenced.<ref>Watt, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 45.</ref> Though outnumbered more than three to one, the Muslims won the battle, killing at least forty-five Meccans with fourteen Muslims dead. They also succeeded in killing many Meccan leaders, including [[Amr ibn Hishām|Abu Jahl]].<ref>Glubb (2002), pp. 179–86.</ref> Seventy prisoners had been acquired, many of whom were ransomed.<ref name="Lewisw">Lewis (2002), p. 41.</ref><ref name="W123">Watt (1961), p. 123.</ref><ref name="Rodinson 168-9">Rodinson (2002), pp. 168–69.</ref> Muhammad and his followers saw the victory as confirmation of their faith<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> and Muhammad ascribed the victory to the assistance of an invisible host of angels. The Quranic verses of this period, unlike the Meccan verses, dealt with practical problems of government and issues like the distribution of spoils.<ref>Lewis(2002), p. 44.</ref>

The victory strengthened Muhammad's position in Medina and dispelled earlier doubts among his followers.<ref>Russ Rodgers, ''The Generalship of Muhammad: Battles and Campaigns of the Prophet of Allah'' (University Press of Florida; 2012) ch 1.</ref> As a result, the opposition to him became less vocal. Pagans who had not yet converted were very bitter about the advance of Islam. Two pagans, [[Asma bint Marwan]] of the Aws Manat tribe and [[Abu 'Afak]] of the 'Amr b. 'Awf tribe, had composed verses taunting and insulting the Muslims.<ref name=watt-medina-178>Watt (1956), p. 178.</ref> They were killed by people belonging to their own or related clans, and Muhammad did not disapprove of the killings.<ref name=watt-medina-178 /> This report, however, is considered by some to be a fabrication.<ref>Maulana Muhammad Ali, ''Muhammad The Prophet'', pp. 199–200.</ref> Most members of those tribes converted to Islam, and little pagan opposition remained.<ref>Watt (1956), p. 179.</ref>

Muhammad expelled from Medina the [[Banu Qaynuqa]], one of three main Jewish tribes,<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> but some historians contend that the expulsion happened after Muhammad's death.<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-7456-5488-1 |last=Zeitlin |first=Irving M. |title=The Historical Muhammad |date=2007 |page=148}}</ref> According to [[al-Waqidi]], after [[Abd-Allah ibn Ubaiy]] spoke for them, Muhammad refrained from executing them and commanded that they be exiled from Medina.<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-92113-1 |last=Faizer |first=Rizwi |title=The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi |date=2010 |page=79}}</ref> Following the Battle of Badr, Muhammad also made mutual-aid alliances with a number of Bedouin tribes to protect his community from attacks from the northern part of [[Hejaz]].<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" />

==== Conflict with Mecca ====

A scout alerted Muhammad of the Meccan army's presence and numbers a day later. The next morning, at the Muslim conference of war, a dispute arose over how best to repel the Meccans. Muhammad and many senior figures suggested it would be safer to fight within Medina and take advantage of the heavily fortified strongholds. Younger Muslims argued that the Meccans were destroying crops, and huddling in the strongholds would destroy Muslim prestige. Muhammad eventually conceded to the younger Muslims and readied the Muslim force for battle. Muhammad led his force outside to the mountain of Uhud (the location of the Meccan camp) and fought the [[Battle of Uhud]] on 23 March 625.<ref>C.F. Robinson, ''Uhud'', [[Encyclopedia of Islam]].</ref><ref>Watt (1964), p. 137.</ref> Although the Muslim army had the advantage in early encounters, lack of discipline on the part of strategically placed archers led to a Muslim defeat; 75 Muslims were killed, including [[Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib|Hamza]], Muhammad's uncle who became one of the best known [[Martyrdom in Islam|martyrs in the Muslim tradition]]. The Meccans did not pursue the Muslims; instead, they marched back to Mecca declaring victory. The announcement is probably because Muhammad was wounded and thought dead. When they discovered that Muhammad lived, the Meccans did not return due to false information about new forces coming to his aid. The attack had failed to achieve their aim of completely destroying the Muslims.<ref>Watt (1974), p. 137.</ref><ref>David Cook (2007), p. 24.</ref> The Muslims buried the dead and returned to Medina that evening. Questions accumulated about the reasons for the loss; Muhammad delivered Quranic verses {{qref|3|152}} indicating that the defeat was twofold: partly a punishment for disobedience, partly a test for steadfastness.<ref>See:

* Watt (1981), p. 432

Abu Sufyan directed his effort towards another attack on Medina. He gained support from the nomadic tribes to the north and east of Medina; using propaganda about Muhammad's weakness, promises of booty, memories of Quraysh prestige and through bribery.<ref name="Watt Medina 30">Watt (1956), p. 30.</ref> Muhammad's new policy was to prevent alliances against him. Whenever alliances against Medina were formed, he sent out expeditions to break them up.<ref name="Watt Medina 30" /> Muhammad heard of men massing with hostile intentions against Medina, and reacted in a severe manner.<ref>Watt (1956), p. 34.</ref> One example is the assassination of [[Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf]], a chieftain of the Jewish tribe of [[Banu Nadir]]. Al-Ashraf went to Mecca and wrote poems that roused the Meccans' grief, anger and desire for revenge after the Battle of Badr.<ref>Watt (1956), p. 18.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rubin |first1=Uri |year=1990 |title=The Assassination of Kaʿb b. al-Ashraf |journal=Oriens |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=65–71 |jstor=1580625 |doi=10.2307/1580625}}</ref> Around a year later, Muhammad expelled the Banu Nadir from Medina<ref>Watt (1956), pp. 220–21.</ref> forcing their emigration to Syria; he allowed them to take some possessions, as he was unable to subdue the Banu Nadir in their strongholds. The rest of their property was claimed by Muhammad in the name of God as it was not gained with bloodshed. Muhammad surprised various Arab tribes, individually, with overwhelming force, causing his enemies to unite to annihilate him. Muhammad's attempts to prevent a confederation against him were unsuccessful, though he was able to increase his own forces and stopped many potential tribes from joining his enemies.<ref>Watt (1956), p. 35.</ref>

==== Battle of the Trench ====

With the help of the exiled [[Banu Nadir]], the Quraysh military leader [[Abu Sufyan]] mustered a force of 10,000 men. 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. The idea is credited to a Persian convert to Islam, [[Salman the Persian]]. The siege of Medina began on 31 March 627 and lasted two weeks.<ref>Watt (1956), pp. 36, 37.</ref> Abu Sufyan's troops were unprepared for the fortifications, and after an ineffectual siege, the coalition decided to return home.<ref>See:

* Watt (1964), p. 169.</ref> The Quran discusses this battle in sura Al-Ahzab, in verses {{qref|33|9–27}}.<ref name="Rubin" />

During the battle, the Jewish tribe of [[Banu Qurayza]], located to the south of Medina, entered into negotiations with Meccan forces to revolt against Muhammad. Although the Meccan forces were swayed by suggestions that Muhammad was sure to be overwhelmed, they desired reassurance in case the confederacy was unable to destroy him. No agreement was reached after prolonged negotiations, partly due to sabotage attempts by Muhammad's scouts.<ref>Watt (1964) pp. 170–72.</ref> After the coalition's retreat, the Muslims accused the Banu Qurayza of treachery and besieged them in their forts for 25 days. The Banu Qurayza eventually surrendered; according to [[Ibn Ishaq]], all the men apart from a few converts to Islam were beheaded, while the women and children were enslaved.<ref>Peterson (2007), p. 126.</ref><ref>Ramadan (2007), p. 141.</ref> Walid N. Arafat and [[Barakat Ahmad]] have disputed the accuracy of Ibn Ishaq's narrative.<ref name="Meri1">Meri, ''Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia'', p. 754.</ref> Arafat believes that Ibn Ishaq's Jewish sources, speaking over 100 years after the event, conflated this account with memories of earlier massacres in Jewish history; he notes that Ibn Ishaq was considered an unreliable historian by his contemporary [[Malik ibn Anas]], and a transmitter of "odd tales" by the later [[Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani|Ibn Hajar]].<ref name="Arafat">{{cite journal |last1=Arafat |title=New Light on the Story of Banu Qurayza and the Jews of Medina |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=1976 |pages=100–07}}</ref> Ahmad argues that only some of the tribe were killed, while some of the fighters were merely enslaved.<ref name="Ahmad85">Ahmad, pp. 85–94.</ref><ref>Nemoy, "Barakat Ahmad's "Muhammad and the Jews", p. 325. Nemoy is sourcing Ahmad's ''Muhammad and the Jews''.</ref> Watt finds Arafat's arguments "not entirely convincing", while [[Meir J. Kister]] has contradicted{{Clarify|date=March 2009}} the arguments of Arafat and Ahmad.<ref>Kister, "The Massacre of the Banu Quraiza".</ref>

In the siege of Medina, the Meccans exerted the available strength to destroy the Muslim community. The failure resulted in a significant loss of prestige; their trade with Syria vanished.<ref>Watt (1956), p. 39.</ref> Following the Battle of the Trench, Muhammad made two expeditions to the north, both ended without any fighting.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> While returning from one of these journeys (or some years earlier according to other early accounts), an [[Aisha#Accusation of adultery|accusation of adultery]] was made against [[Aisha]], Muhammad's wife. 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 (sura 24, [[An-Nur]]).<ref name="Watt-encyc-online" />

==== Truce of Hudaybiyyah ====

{{Quote box|align=right|quote=

"In your name, O God!<br />This is the treaty of peace between Muhammad Ibn Abdullah and Suhayl Ibn Amr. They have agreed to allow their arms to rest for ten years. During this time each party shall be secure, and neither shall injure the other; no secret damage shall be inflicted, but honesty and honour shall prevail between them. Whoever in Arabia wishes to enter into a treaty or covenant with Muhammad can do so, and whoever wishes to enter into a treaty or covenant with the Quraysh can do so. And if a Qurayshite comes without the permission of his guardian to Muhammad, he shall be delivered up to the Quraysh; but if, on the other hand, one of Muhammad's people comes to the Quraysh, he shall not be delivered up to Muhammad. This year, Muhammad, with his companions, must withdraw from Mecca, but next year, he may come to Mecca and remain for three days, yet without their weapons except those of a traveller; the swords remaining in their sheaths."

|source=—The statement of the treaty of Hudaybiyyah<ref name=Text>{{cite book |title=Learning Islam 8 |year=2009 |publisher=Islamic Services Foundation |isbn=978-1-933301-12-9 |page=D14}}</ref>

}}

Although Muhammad had delivered Quranic verses commanding the [[Hajj]],<ref>{{qref|2|196-210|b=y}}</ref> the Muslims had not performed it due to Quraysh enmity. In the month of [[Shawwal]] 628, Muhammad ordered his followers to obtain sacrificial animals and to prepare for a pilgrimage (''[[umrah]]'') to Mecca, saying that God had promised him the fulfillment of this goal in a vision when he was shaving his head after completion of the Hajj.<ref>Lings (1987), p. 249.</ref> Upon hearing of the approaching 1,400 Muslims, the Quraysh dispatched 200 cavalry to halt them. Muhammad evaded them by taking a more difficult route, enabling his followers to reach al-Hudaybiyya just outside Mecca.<ref name="Hudaybiya" /> According to Watt, although Muhammad's decision to make the pilgrimage was based on his dream, he was also demonstrating to the pagan Meccans that Islam did not threaten the prestige of the sanctuaries, that Islam was an Arabian religion.<ref name="Hudaybiya">Watt, ''al- Hudaybiya or al-Hudaybiyya'' [[Encyclopedia of Islam]].</ref> [[File:Kaaba Masjid Haraam Makkah.jpg|thumb|The [[Kaaba]] in [[Mecca]] long held a major economic and religious role for the area. Seventeen months after Muhammad's arrival in Medina, it became the Muslim [[Qibla]], or direction for prayer ([[salat]]). The Kaaba has been rebuilt several times; the present structure, built in 1629, is a reconstruction of an earlier building dating to 683.<ref name="Peters2005">{{cite book |author=F.E. Peters |title=The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition, Volume I: The Peoples of God |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RsafPfUjC6EC&pg=PA88 |access-date=29 December 2011 |date=25 July 2005 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12372-1 |page=88 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615001550/http://books.google.com/books?id=RsafPfUjC6EC&pg=PA88 |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref>]]

Negotiations commenced with emissaries traveling to and from Mecca. While these continued, rumors spread that one of the Muslim negotiators, [[Uthman|Uthman bin al-Affan]], had been killed by the Quraysh. Muhammad called upon the pilgrims to make a pledge not to flee (or to stick with Muhammad, whatever decision he made) if the situation descended into war with Mecca. This pledge became known as the "Pledge of Acceptance" or the "[[Pledge of the Tree|Pledge under the Tree]]". News of Uthman's safety allowed for negotiations to continue, and a treaty scheduled to last ten years was eventually signed between the Muslims and Quraysh.<ref name="Hudaybiya" /><ref>Lewis (2002), p. 42.</ref> The main points of the treaty included: cessation of hostilities, the deferral of Muhammad's pilgrimage to the following year, and agreement to send back any Meccan who emigrated to Medina without permission from their protector.<ref name="Hudaybiya" />

Many Muslims were not satisfied with the treaty. However, the Quranic sura "[[Al-Fath]]" (The Victory) (Quran {{qref|48|1–29|b=y}}) assured them that the expedition must be considered a victorious one.<ref>Lings (1987), p. 255.</ref> It was later that Muhammad's followers realized the benefit behind the treaty. These benefits included the requirement of the Meccans to identify Muhammad as an equal, cessation of military activity allowing Medina to gain strength, and the admiration of Meccans who were impressed by the pilgrimage rituals.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" />

After signing the truce, Muhammad assembled an expedition against the Jewish oasis of [[Khaybar]], known as the [[Battle of Khaybar]]. This was possibly due to housing the Banu Nadir who were inciting hostilities against Muhammad, or to regain prestige from what appeared as the inconclusive result of the truce of Hudaybiyya.<ref name="Lewis 1960 45" /><ref>Vaglieri, ''Khaybar'', Encyclopedia of Islam.</ref> According to Muslim tradition, [[Muhammad's letters to the Heads-of-State|Muhammad also sent letters]] to many rulers, asking them to convert to Islam (the exact date is given variously in the sources).<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref name=King_Lings>Lings (1987), p. 260.</ref><ref name=Kings_Khan>Khan (1998), pp. 250–251.</ref> He sent messengers (with letters) to [[Heraclius]] of the [[Byzantine Empire]] (the eastern Roman Empire), [[Khosrau II|Khosrau]] of [[Sassanid Empire|Persia]], the chief of [[Yemen]] and to some others.<ref name=King_Lings /><ref name=Kings_Khan /> In the years following the truce of Hudaybiyya, Muhammad directed his forces against the Arabs on [[Transjordan (region)|Transjordanian]] Byzantine soil in the [[Battle of Mu'tah]].<ref>F. Buhl, ''Muta'', [[Encyclopedia of Islam]].</ref>

=== Final years ===

==== Conquest of Mecca ====

The [[Treaty of Hudaybiyyah|truce of Hudaybiyyah]] was enforced for two years.<ref name=khan_274>Khan (1998), p. 274.</ref><ref name="Lings_291">Lings (1987), p. 291.</ref> The tribe of [[Banu Khuza'a]] had good relations with Muhammad, whereas their enemies, the [[Banu Bakr ibn Abd Manat|Banu Bakr]], had allied with the Meccans.<ref name=khan_274 /><ref name="Lings_291" /> A clan of the Bakr made a night raid against the Khuza'a, killing a few of them.<ref name=khan_274 /><ref name=Lings_291 /> The Meccans helped the Banu Bakr with weapons and, according to some sources, a few Meccans also took part in the fighting.<ref name=khan_274 /> After this event, Muhammad sent a message to Mecca with three conditions, asking them to accept one of them. These were: either the Meccans would pay [[Blood money (term)|blood money]] for the slain among the Khuza'ah tribe, they disavow themselves of the Banu Bakr, or they should declare the truce of Hudaybiyyah null.<ref name=khan_274_275>Khan (1998), pp. 274–75.</ref>

The Meccans replied that they accepted the last condition.<ref name=khan_274_275 /> Soon they realized their mistake and sent [[Abu Sufyan]] to renew the Hudaybiyyah treaty, a request that was declined by Muhammad.

Muhammad began to prepare for a campaign.<ref>Lings (1987), p. 292.</ref> In 630, Muhammad marched on Mecca with 10,000 Muslim converts. With minimal casualties, Muhammad seized control of Mecca.<ref>Watt (1956), p. 66.</ref> He 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".<ref name=Subhani>''The Message'' by Ayatullah Ja'far Subhani, [http://www.al-islam.org/message/49.htm#n582 chapter 48] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502163638/http://www.al-islam.org/message/49.htm |date=2 May 2012 }} referencing Sirah by [[Ibn Hisham]], vol. II, page 409.</ref> Some of these were later pardoned.<ref>Rodinson (2002), p. 261.</ref> Most Meccans converted to Islam and Muhammad proceeded to destroy all the statues of [[Pre-Islamic Arabian gods|Arabian gods]] in and around the Kaaba.<ref>Harold Wayne Ballard, Donald N. Penny, W. Glenn Jonas (2002), p. 163.</ref><ref>F.E. Peters (2003), p. 240.</ref> According to reports collected by [[Ibn Ishaq]] and [[al-Azraqi]], Muhammad personally spared paintings or frescos of [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] and Jesus, but other traditions suggest that all pictures were erased.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Life of Muhammad. A translation of Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah" |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Guillaume |first=Alfred |author-link=Alfred Guillaume |year=1955 |page=552 |isbn=978-0-19-636033-1 |quote=Quraysh had put pictures in the Ka'ba including two of Jesus son of Mary and Mary (on both of whom be peace!). ... The apostle ordered that the pictures should be erased except those of Jesus and Mary. |url=https://archive.org/details/IbnIshaq-SiratRasulAllah-translatorA.Guillaume |access-date=8 December 2011}}</ref> The Quran discusses the conquest of Mecca.<ref name="Rubin" /><ref>{{qref|110|1–3|b=y}}.</ref>

==== Conquest of Arabia ====

[[File:Muslim Conquest.PNG|thumb|Conquests of Muhammad (green lines) and the Rashidun caliphs (black lines). Shown: Byzantine empire (North and West) & Sassanid-Persian empire (Northeast).]]

Following the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad was alarmed by a military threat from the confederate tribes of [[Hawazin]] who were raising an army double the size of Muhammad's. The [[Hawazin|Banu Hawazin]] were old enemies of the Meccans. They were joined by the [[Banu Thaqif]] (inhabiting the city of Ta'if) who adopted an anti-Meccan policy due to the decline of the prestige of Meccans.<ref>Watt (1974), p. 207.</ref> Muhammad defeated the Hawazin and Thaqif tribes in the [[Battle of Hunayn]].<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" />

In the same year, Muhammad organized an attack against northern Arabia because of their previous defeat at the [[Battle of Mu'tah]] and reports of hostility adopted against Muslims. With great difficulty he assembled 30,000 men; half of whom on the second day returned with [[Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy]], untroubled by the damning verses which Muhammad hurled at them. Although Muhammad did not engage with hostile forces at Tabuk, he received the submission of some local chiefs of the region.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref>M.A. al-Bakhit, ''Tabuk'', [[Encyclopedia of Islam]].</ref>

He also ordered the destruction of any remaining pagan idols in Eastern Arabia. The last city to hold out against the Muslims in Western Arabia was [[Taif]]. Muhammad refused to accept the city's surrender until they agreed to convert to Islam and allowed men to destroy the statue of their goddess [[Al-Lat]].<ref name=":0">Ibn Ishaq (translated by Guillaume, A. 1955) The Life of Muhammad. Oxford University Press, Oxford. pp. 281–287.</ref><ref>Haykal, M.H. (1933) The Life of Muhammad, translated by Isma'il Razi A. al-Faruqi. The Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Cairo, Egypt and University of Chicago.</ref><ref>Husayn, M.J. Biography of Imam 'Ali Ibn Abi-Talib, Translation of Sirat Amir Al-Mu'minin, Translated by: Sayyid Tahir Bilgrami, Ansariyan Publications, Qum, Islamic Republic of Iran.</ref>

A year after the Battle of Tabuk, the Banu Thaqif sent emissaries to surrender to Muhammad and adopt Islam. Many bedouins submitted to Muhammad to safeguard against his attacks and to benefit from the spoils of war.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> However, the bedouins were alien to the system of Islam and wanted to maintain independence: namely their code of virtue and ancestral traditions. Muhammad required a military and political agreement according to which they "acknowledge the suzerainty of Medina, to refrain from attack on the Muslims and their allies, and to pay the [[Zakat]], the Muslim religious levy."<ref>Lewis (1993), pp. 43–44.</ref>

==== Farewell pilgrimage ====

[[File:Maome.jpg|thumb|Anonymous illustration of [[Abu Rayhan Biruni|al-Bīrūnī]]'s ''[[The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries]]'', depicting Muhammad [[Islamic calendar#Prohibiting Nasī’|prohibiting Nasī’]] during the [[Farewell Pilgrimage]]<!-- ''cf. Watt (1956), p. 300'' -->, 17th-century Ottoman copy of a 14th-century ([[Ilkhanate]]) manuscript (Edinburgh codex).]]

</div>

In 632, at the end of the tenth year after migration to Medina, Muhammad completed his first true Islamic pilgrimage, setting precedent for the annual Great Pilgrimage, known as ''[[Hajj]]''.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> On the 9th of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]] Muhammad delivered his [[Farewell Sermon]], at [[Mount Arafat]] east of Mecca. In this sermon, Muhammad advised his followers not to follow certain pre-Islamic customs. For instance, he said a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black any superiority over a white except by piety and good action.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sultan |first=Sohaib |title=The Koran For Dummies |publisher=[[John Wiley and Sons]] |date=March 2011 |isbn=978-0-7645-5581-7}}</ref> He abolished old [[blood feud]]s and disputes based on the former [[tribal]] system and asked for old pledges to be returned as implications of the creation of the new Islamic community. Commenting on the vulnerability of women in his society, Muhammad asked his male followers to "be good to women, for they are powerless captives (''awan'') in your households. You took them in God's trust, and [[Islamic marriage contract|legitimated your sexual relations]] with the Word of God, so come to your senses people, and hear my words ..." He told them that they were entitled to discipline their wives but should do so with kindness. He addressed the issue of inheritance by forbidding false claims of paternity or of a client relationship to the deceased and forbade his followers to leave their wealth to a testamentary heir. He also upheld the sacredness of four lunar months in each year.<ref>[[Devin J. Stewart]], ''Farewell Pilgrimage'', Encyclopedia of the Qur'an.</ref><ref>Al-Hibri (2003), p. 17.</ref> According to [[Sunni]] [[tafsir]], the following Quranic verse was delivered during this event: "Today I have perfected your religion, and completed my favours for you and chosen Islam as a religion for you" (Quran {{qref|5|3|b=y}}).<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> According to [[Shia]] tafsir, it refers to the appointment of [[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]] at the [[Rabigh#Ghadir Al-Khumm|pond of Khumm]] as [[Succession to Muhammad|Muhammad's successor]], this occurring a few days later when Muslims were returning from Mecca to Medina.<ref>See:

* [http://www.almizan.org/Tafseer/Volume3/Baqarah50.asp Tabatabae, Tafsir Al-Mizan, vol. 9, pp. 227–47] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011223853/http://almizan.org/Tafseer/Volume3/Baqarah50.asp |date=11 October 2007 }}

* {{Cite web |url=http://www.tafseercomparison.org/study2.asp?TitleText=Study%202:%20Verse%205:3 |title=Comparing the Tafsir of various exegetes |publisher=Tafseer Comparison |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514111339/http://www.tafseercomparison.org/study2.asp?TitleText=Study%202%3A%20Verse%205%3A3 |archive-date=14 May 2012 |access-date=2 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Death and tomb ====

A few months after the farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and suffered for several days with fever, head pain, and weakness. He died on Monday, 8 June 632, in Medina, at the age of 62 or 63, in the house of his wife Aisha.<ref name="USN&WR">[https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/religion/2008/04/07/the-last-prophet.html?PageNr=3 ''The Last Prophet''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123041056/http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/religion/2008/04/07/the-last-prophet.html?PageNr=3 |date=23 January 2009}}, p. 3. Lewis Lord of [[U.S. News & World Report]]. 7 April 2008.</ref> With his head resting on Aisha's lap, he asked her to dispose of his last worldly goods (seven coins), then spoke his final words: {{Blockquote|''O Allah, to Ar-Rafiq Al-A'la'' (exalted friend, highest Friend or the uppermost, highest Friend in heaven).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTC6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PT255 |title=The Luminous Life of Our Prophet |author=Reşit Haylamaz |page=355 |publisher=Tughra Books |year=2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122105439/https://books.google.com/books?id=HTC6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PT255 |archive-date=22 January 2018 |df=dmy-all |isbn=978-1-59784-681-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C75RN7Smxy0C&pg=PA24 |title=Muhammad The Messenger of God |first=Fethullah |last=Gülen |author-link=Fethullah Gülen |page=24 |publisher=The Light, Inc. |isbn=978-1-932099-83-6 |year=2000 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85sjN3wM5I8C&pg=PA214 |page=214 |title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Volume 5) |publisher=DARUSSALAM |isbn=978-9960-892-76-4 |year=2003}}</ref>|Muhammad}}

According to the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', Muhammad's death may be presumed to have been caused by Medinan fever exacerbated by physical and mental fatigue.<ref name=death-cause>{{Cite encyclopedia |first1=F. |last1=Buhl |first2=A.T. |last2=Welch |year=1993 |title=Muhammad |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=2nd |publisher=Brill |editor1-first=P. |editor1-last=Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C.E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W.P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |volume=7 |page=374 |quote=Then Mumammad suddenly fell ill, presumably of the ordinary Medina fever (al-Farazdak, ix, 13); but this was dangerous to a man physically and mentally overwrought.}}</ref> Academics Reşit Haylamaz and Fatih Harpci say that ''Ar-Rafiq Al-A'la'' is referring to God.<ref>{{cite book |title=Prophet Muhammad – Sultan of Hearts – Vol 2 |author1=Reşit Haylamaz |author2=Fatih Harpci |publisher=Tughra Books |isbn=978-1-59784-683-7 |page=472|date=7 August 2014 }}</ref>

Muhammad was buried where he died in Aisha's house.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref>Leila Ahmed (1986), 665–91 (686).</ref><ref name="Peters90">F.E. Peters (2003), [https://books.google.com/books?id=HYJ2c9E9IM8C&pg=PA90 p. 90] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922124552/https://books.google.com/books?id=HYJ2c9E9IM8C&pg=PA90 |date=22 September 2015}}</ref> During the reign of the Umayyad caliph [[al-Walid I]], [[al-Masjid an-Nabawi]] (the Mosque of the Prophet) was expanded to include the site of [[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi|Muhammad's tomb.]]<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Penerbit UTM |isbn=978-983-52-0373-2 |last=Ariffin |first=Syed Ahmad Iskandar Syed |title=Architectural Conservation in Islam: Case Study of the Prophet's Mosque |year=2005 |page=88}}</ref> The [[Green Dome]] above the tomb was built by the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] sultan [[Al Mansur Qalawun]] in the 13th century, although the green color was added in the 16th century, under the reign of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=10061 |title=Prophet's Mosque |publisher=Archnet.org |date=2 May 2005 |access-date=26 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323131933/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=10061 |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref> Among tombs adjacent to that of Muhammad are those of his companions ([[Sahabah]]), the first two Muslim caliphs [[Abu Bakr]] and [[Umar]], and an empty one that [[Jesus in Islam#Second Coming|Muslims believe awaits Jesus]].<ref name="Peters90" /><ref>"Isa", ''Encyclopedia of Islam''.</ref><ref name="Al-HaqqaniKabbani2002">{{cite book |first1=Shaykh Adil |last1=Al-Haqqani |first2=Shaykh Hisham |last2=Kabbani |author-link2=Hisham Kabbani |title=The Path to Spiritual Excellence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzpV0QnOVxsC&pg=PA65 |year=2002 |publisher=ISCA |isbn=978-1-930409-18-7 |pages=65–66 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924043430/https://books.google.com/books?id=mzpV0QnOVxsC&pg=PA65 |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

When [[Saud bin Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud|Saud bin Abdul-Aziz]] took Medina in 1805, Muhammad's tomb was stripped of its gold and jewel ornamentation.<ref name="Weston2008" /> Adherents to [[Wahhabism]], Saud's followers, destroyed nearly every tomb dome in Medina in order to prevent their veneration,<ref name="Weston2008">{{cite book |first=Mark |last=Weston |author-link=Mark Weston (journalist) |title=Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEEFsVYLko4C&pg=PA102 |year=2008 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-470-18257-4 |pages=102–03 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101063555/https://books.google.com/books?id=EEEFsVYLko4C&pg=PA102 |archive-date=1 January 2016}}</ref> and the one of Muhammad is reported to have narrowly escaped.<ref name="Behrens-AbouseifVernoit2006">{{cite book |first1=Doris |last1=Behrens-Abouseif |first2=Stephen |last2=Vernoit |title=Islamic art in the 19th century: tradition, innovation, and eclecticism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4q58Af5zAoC&pg=PA22 |year=2006 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-14442-2 |page=22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930145617/https://books.google.com/books?id=A4q58Af5zAoC&pg=PA22 |archive-date=30 September 2015}}</ref> Similar events took place in 1925, when the [[Ikhwan|Saudi militias]] retook—and this time managed to keep—the city.<ref name="Weston2008b">{{cite book |first=Mark |last=Weston |title=Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEEFsVYLko4C&pg=PA136 |year=2008 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-470-18257-4 |page=136 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101063555/https://books.google.com/books?id=EEEFsVYLko4C&pg=PA136 |archive-date=1 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Cornell2007">{{cite book |first=Vincent J. |last=Cornell |title=Voices of Islam: Voices of the spirit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dNKFLJVvNkC&pg=PA84 |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-98734-3 |page=84 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101063555/https://books.google.com/books?id=8dNKFLJVvNkC&pg=PA84 |archive-date=1 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Ernst2004">{{cite book |first=Carl W. |last=Ernst |author-link=Carl W. Ernst |title=Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the contemporary world |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOWn22EkJsQC&pg=PA1173 |year=2004 |publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-5577-5 |pages=173–74 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101063555/https://books.google.com/books?id=DOWn22EkJsQC&pg=PA1173 |archive-date=1 January 2016}}</ref> In the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, burial is to take place in unmarked graves.<ref name="Behrens-AbouseifVernoit2006" /> Although the practice is frowned upon by the Saudis, many pilgrims continue to practice a [[ziyarat]]—a ritual visit—to the tomb.<ref name="Bennett1998">{{cite book |first=Clinton |last=Bennett |author-link=Clinton Bennett |title=In search of Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-VTIkkcUFHQC&pg=PA182 |year=1998 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-304-70401-9 |pages=182–83 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922131141/https://books.google.com/books?id=-VTIkkcUFHQC&pg=PA182 |archive-date=22 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="Clark2011">{{cite book |first=Malcolm |last=Clark |title=Islam For Dummies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPXu561ZpvgC&pg=PT165 |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-1-118-05396-6 |page=165 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924035138/https://books.google.com/books?id=zPXu561ZpvgC&pg=PT165 |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

{{wide image|Madina Haram at evening.jpg|800px|[[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi]] ("the Prophet's mosque") in [[Medina]], Saudi Arabia, with the [[Green Dome]] built over Muhammad's tomb in the center|left}}

=== After Muhammad ===

{{further|Succession to Muhammad|Rashidun|Muslim conquests}}

[[File:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|thumb|right|Expansion of the caliphate, 622–750&nbsp;CE.

{{legend|#a1584e| Muhammad, 622–632&nbsp;CE.}}

{{legend|#ef9070| Rashidun caliphate, 632–661&nbsp;CE.}}

{{legend|#fad07d| Umayyad caliphate, 661–750&nbsp;CE.}}]]

 

 

{{Main|Early social changes under Islam}}

 

According to [[William Montgomery Watt]], religion for Muhammad was not a private and individual matter but "the total response of his personality to the total situation in which he found himself. He was responding &#91;not only&#93;... to the religious and intellectual aspects of the situation but also to the economic, social, and political pressures to which contemporary Mecca was subject."<ref>Cambridge History of Islam (1970), p. 30.</ref> [[Bernard Lewis]] says there are two important political traditions in Islam—Muhammad as a statesman in Medina, and Muhammad as a rebel in Mecca. In his view, Islam is a great change, akin to a revolution, when introduced to new societies.<ref name="LewisNYRB">Lewis [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/4557 (1998)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100408105440/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/4557 |date=8 April 2010 }}</ref>

 

Historians generally agree that Islamic social changes in areas such as [[social security]], family structure, slavery and the rights of women and children improved on the ''status quo'' of Arab society.<ref name="LewisNYRB" /><ref>* Watt (1974), p. 234

* Esposito (1998), p. 98.

* R. Walzer, ''Ak̲h̲lāḳ'', [[Encyclopaedia of Islam Online]].</ref> For example, according to Lewis, Islam "from the first denounced [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] privilege, rejected hierarchy, and adopted a formula of the career open to the talents".{{which|date=August 2014}}<ref name="LewisNYRB" /> Muhammad's message transformed society and [[Islamic ethics|moral orders]] of life in the Arabian Peninsula; society focused on the changes to perceived identity, [[world view]], and the hierarchy of values.<ref>''Islamic ethics'', [[Encyclopedia of Ethics]].</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2014}}

Economic reforms addressed the plight of the poor, which was becoming an issue in [[Jahiliyyah|pre-Islamic]] Mecca.<ref>Watt, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 34.</ref> The Quran requires payment of an alms tax ([[zakat]]) 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.<ref>Esposito (1998), p. 30.</ref><ref>Watt, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 52.</ref>

 

[[File:Hilye-i serif 5.jpg|thumb|A ''[[hilya]]'' containing a description of Muhammad, by [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[calligraphy|calligrapher]] [[Hâfiz Osman]] (1642–1698)]]

 

In [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]]'s book [[Sahih al-Bukhari]], in Chapter 61, Hadith 57 & Hadith 60,<ref>{{cite web |title=Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari/61/57 |website=Sunnah.com |access-date=25 March 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326135947/https://sunnah.com/bukhari/61/57 |archive-date=26 March 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari/61/60 |website=Sunnah.com |access-date=25 March 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326050856/https://sunnah.com/bukhari/61/60 |archive-date=26 March 2017 }}</ref> Muhammad is depicted by two of his companions thus:

 

{{quotation|God's Messenger was neither very tall nor short, neither absolutely white nor deep brown. His hair was neither curly nor lank. God sent him (as a Messenger) when he was forty years old. Afterwards he resided in Mecca for ten years and in Medina for ten more years. When God took him unto Him, there was scarcely twenty white hairs in his head and beard.|sign=Anas|source=}}

 

 

The description given in [[Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi]]'s book [[Shama'il Muhammadiyah|Shama'il al-Mustafa]], attributed to [[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]] and Hind ibn Abi Hala is as follows:<ref name="AsaniAbdel-Malek1995">{{cite book|author1=Ali Sultaan Asani |author2=Kamal Abdel-Malek |author3=Annemarie Schimmel |title=Celebrating Muḥammad: images of the prophet in popular Muslim poetry |url=https://archive.org/details/celebratingmuham00asan |access-date=5 November 2011 |date=October 1995 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-57003-050-5 }}</ref><ref name="Schimmel1985">{{cite book |author=Annemarie Schimmel |title=And Muhammad is his messenger: the veneration of the Prophet in Islamic piety |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZojDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 |access-date=5 November 2011 |year=1985 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-1639-4 |page=34 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326161811/https://books.google.com/books?id=gZojDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 |archive-date=26 March 2017 }}</ref><ref>Al-Tirmidhi, [https://sunnah.com/shamail/1 Shama'il Muhammadiyah] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326230223/https://sunnah.com/shamail/1 |date=26 March 2017 }} Book 1, Hadith 5 & Book 1, Hadith 7/8.</ref>

{{quotation|Muhammad was middle-sized, did not have lank or crisp hair, was not fat, had a white circular face, wide black eyes, and long eye-lashes. When he walked, he walked as though he went down a [[wikt:declivity|declivity]]. He had the "seal of prophecy" between his shoulder blades ... He was bulky. His face shone like the moon. He was taller than middling stature but shorter than conspicuous tallness. He had thick, curly hair. The plaits of his hair were parted. His hair reached beyond the lobe of his ear. His complexion was ''azhar'' [bright, luminous]. Muhammad had a wide forehead, and fine, long, arched eyebrows which did not meet. Between his eyebrows there was a vein which distended when he was angry. The upper part of his nose was hooked; he was thick bearded, had smooth cheeks, a strong mouth, and his teeth were set apart. He had thin hair on his chest. His neck was like the neck of an ivory statue, with the purity of silver. Muhammad was proportionate, stout, firm-gripped, even of belly and chest, broad-chested and broad-shouldered.}}

The "seal of prophecy" between Muhammad's shoulders is generally described as having been a type of raised mole the size of a pigeon's egg.<ref name="Schimmel1985" /> Another description of Muhammad was provided by [[Umm Ma'bad]], a woman he met on his journey to Medina:<ref name="Safi2009">{{cite book|author=Omid Safi |title=Memories of Muhammad: why the Prophet matters |url=https://archive.org/details/memoriesofmuhamm00safi/page/273 |access-date=5 November 2011 |date=17 November 2009 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-123134-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/memoriesofmuhamm00safi/page/273 273–274] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World |author=Carl W. Ernst |page=78}}</ref>

{{quotation|I saw a man, pure and clean, with a handsome face and a fine figure. He was not marred by a skinny body, nor was he overly small in the head and neck. He was graceful and elegant, with intensely black eyes and thick eyelashes. There was a huskiness in his voice, and his neck was long. His beard was thick, and his eyebrows were finely arched and joined together.

 

 

== {{anchor|household}}Household ==

[[File:Mrs Aisha room.jpg|thumb|The tomb of Muhammad is located in the quarters of his third wife, [[Aisha]]. ([[Al-Masjid an-Nabawi]], [[Medina]])]]

Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two periods: [[Muhammad in Mecca|pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca]] (from 570 to 622), and [[Muhammad in Medina|post-hijra in Medina]] (from 622 until 632). Muhammad is said to have had thirteen wives in total (although two have ambiguous accounts, [[Rayhana bint Zayd]] and [[Maria al-Qibtiyya]], as wife or concubine<ref>See for example Marco Schöller, '' Banu Qurayza'', [[Encyclopedia of the Quran]] mentioning the differing accounts of the status of [[Rayhana]].</ref><ref name="Barbara Freyer">Barbara Freyer Stowasser, ''Wives of the Prophet'', [[Encyclopedia of the Quran]].</ref>). Eleven of the thirteen marriages occurred after the [[Hijra (Islam)|migration to Medina]].

At the age of 25, Muhammad married the wealthy [[Khadijah bint Khuwaylid]] who was 40 years old.<ref>{{cite book |last=Subhani |first=Jafar |title=The Message |chapter-url=http://www.al-islam.org/message |publisher=Ansariyan Publications, Qom |chapter=Chapter 9 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007221418/http://www.al-islam.org/message/ |archive-date=7 October 2010 }}</ref> The marriage lasted for 25&nbsp;years and was a happy one.<ref name="Esp2">Esposito (1998), p. 18.</ref> Muhammad did not enter into marriage with another woman during this marriage.<ref name="Bullough 1998 119">Bullough (1998), p. 119.</ref><ref name="Reeves46">Reeves (2003), p. 46.</ref> After Khadijah's death, Khawla bint Hakim suggested to Muhammad that he should marry [[Sawda bint Zama]], a Muslim widow, or [[Aisha]], daughter of [[Um Ruman]] and [[Abu Bakr]] of [[Mecca]]. Muhammad is said to have asked for arrangements to marry both.<ref name="Watt-encyc-online">Watt, ''Aisha'', [[Encyclopedia of Islam]].</ref> Muhammad's marriages after the death of Khadijah were contracted mostly for political or humanitarian reasons. The women were either widows of Muslims killed in battle and had been left without a protector, or belonged to important families or clans with whom it was necessary to honor and strengthen alliances.<ref>Momen (1985), p. 9.</ref>

According to traditional sources, Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad,<ref name="Watt-encyc-online" /><ref name="Spellberg">[[Denise Spellberg|D. A. Spellberg]], ''Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: the Legacy of A'isha bint Abi Bakr'', [[Columbia University Press]], 1994, p. 40.</ref><ref name="Armstrong">Karen Armstrong, ''Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet'', Harper San Francisco, 1992, p. 145.</ref> with the marriage not being [[consummate]]d until she reached the age of nine or ten years old.{{refn|<ref name="Watt-encyc-online" /><ref name="Spellberg" /><ref name="Karen_Armstrong">[[Karen Armstrong]], ''Muhammad: Prophet For Our Time'', HarperPress, 2006, p. 105.</ref><ref name="Haykal">Muhammad Husayn Haykal, ''The Life of Muhammad'', North American Trust Publications (1976), p. 139.</ref><ref>Barlas (2002), pp. 125–26.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=A.C. Brown |first1=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan A.C. Brown |title=Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]] |isbn=978-1-78074-420-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/misquotingmuhamm0000brow/page/143 143–44] |url=https://archive.org/details/misquotingmuhamm0000brow/page/143 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=A.C. Brown |first1=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan A.C. Brown |title=Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]] |isbn=978-1-78074-420-9 |page=316 |quote=Evidence that the Prophet waited for Aisha to reach physical maturity before consummation comes from al-Ṭabarī, who says she was too young for intercourse at the time of the marriage contract; |url=https://archive.org/details/misquotingmuhamm0000brow |url-access=limited }}</ref><ref>{{Hadith-usc|bukhari|5|58|234}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|5|58|236}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|7|62|64}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|7|62|65}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|7|62|88}}, {{Hadith-usc|usc=yes|muslim|8|3309}}, {{Hadith-usc|muslim|8|3310}}, {{Hadith-usc|muslim|8|3311}}, {{Hadith-usc|abudawud|41|4915}}, {{Hadith-usc|abudawud|usc=yes|41|4917}}</ref><ref>Tabari, volume 9, page 131; Tabari, volume 7, page 7.</ref>}} She was therefore a virgin at marriage.<ref name="Spellberg" /> Modern Muslim authors who calculate Aisha's age based on other sources of information, such as a hadith about the age difference between Aisha and her sister Asma, estimate that she was over thirteen and perhaps in her late teens at the time of her marriage.{{refn|<ref>{{cite book |first=Asma |last=Barlas |year=2012 |title="Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an |publisher=University of Texas Press |page=126 |quote=On the other hand, however, Muslims who calculate 'Ayesha's age based on details of her sister Asma's age, about whom more is known, as well as on details of the Hijra (the Prophet's migration from Mecca to Madina), maintain that she was over thirteen and perhaps between seventeen and nineteen when she got married. Such views cohere with those Ahadith that claim that at her marriage Ayesha had "good knowledge of Ancient Arabic poetry and genealogy" and "pronounced the fundamental rules of Arabic Islamic ethics.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-islam.org/polygamy-marriages-prophet |title=The Concept of Polygamy and the Prophet's Marriages (Chapter: The Other Wives) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207094707/http://www.al-islam.org/polygamy-marriages-prophet/ |archive-date=7 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ali |first1=Muhammad |author1-link=Muhammad Ali (writer) |title=Muhammad the Prophet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=od6dAQKgK-YC&pg=PT150 |year=1997 |publisher=Ahamadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam |isbn=978-0-913321-07-2 |page=150 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101063555/https://books.google.com/books?id=od6dAQKgK-YC&pg=PT150&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=1 January 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.valiasr-aj.com/fa/page.php?bank=question&id=699 |title=Ayesha married the Prophet when she was young? (In Persian and Arabic) |last=Ayatollah Qazvini |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926234317/http://www.valiasr-aj.com/fa/page.php?bank=question&id=699 |archive-date=26 September 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=A.C. Brown |first1=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan A.C. Brown |title=Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy |date=2014 |publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]] |isbn=978-1-78074-420-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/misquotingmuhamm0000brow/page/146 146–47] |url=https://archive.org/details/misquotingmuhamm0000brow/page/146 }}</ref>}}

Muhammad performed household chores such as preparing food, sewing clothes, and repairing shoes. He is also said to have had accustomed his wives to dialogue; he listened to their advice, and the wives debated and even argued with him.<ref>[[Tariq Ramadan]] (2007), pp. 168–69.</ref><ref>Asma Barlas (2002), p. 125.</ref><ref>Armstrong (1992), p. 157.</ref>

[[Zayd ibn Harithah|Zayd ibn Haritha]] was a slave that Muhammad bought, freed, and then adopted as his son. He also had a [[wet nurse|wetnurse]].<ref name=Zad116>Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya recorded the list of some names of Muhammad's female-slaves in [[Zad al-Ma'ad]], Part I, p. 116.</ref> According to a BBC summary, "the Prophet Muhammad did not try to abolish slavery, and bought, sold, captured, and owned slaves himself. But he insisted that slave owners treat their slaves well and stressed the virtue of freeing slaves. Muhammad treated slaves as human beings and clearly held some in the highest esteem".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml |title=Slavery in Islam |publisher=BBC |access-date=16 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624234057/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml |archive-date=24 June 2017 }}</ref>

== Legacy ==

=== Islamic tradition ===

Following the attestation to the [[Tawhid|oneness of God]], the belief in Muhammad's prophethood is the main aspect of the [[Aqidah|Islamic faith]]. Every Muslim proclaims in ''[[Shahadah]]'': "I testify that there is no god but God, and I testify that Muhammad is a Messenger of God." The Shahadah is the basic creed or tenet of [[Islam]]. Islamic belief is that ideally the Shahadah is the first words a newborn will hear; children are taught it immediately and it will be recited upon death. Muslims repeat the shahadah in the call to prayer (''[[adhan]]'') and the [[salat|prayer]] itself. Non-Muslims wishing to [[Conversion to Islam|convert to Islam]] are required to recite the creed.<ref>Farah (1994), p. 135.</ref>

In Islamic belief, Muhammad is regarded as the last prophet sent by God.<ref name="espos12">Esposito (1998), p. 12.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Nigosian |first=S. A. |title=Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices |url=https://archive.org/details/islamitshistoryt0000nigo |url-access=registration |year=2004 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |location=[[Indiana]] |isbn=978-0-253-21627-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/islamitshistoryt0000nigo/page/17 17] }}</ref> {{qref|10|37|b=y}} states that "...it (the Quran) is a confirmation of (revelations) that went before it, and a fuller explanation of the Book—wherein there is no doubt—from [[God in Islam|The Lord of the Worlds]]." Similarly, {{qref|46|12|b=y}} states "...And before this was the book of Moses, as a guide and a mercy. And this Book confirms (it)...", while {{qref|2|136|b=y}} commands the believers of Islam to "Say: we believe in God and that which is revealed unto us, and that which was revealed unto [[Abraham]] and [[Ishmael]] and [[Isaac]] and [[Jacob]] and the tribes, and that which [[Moses]] and [[Jesus]] received, and which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered."

[[File:Sahadah-Topkapi-Palace.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Muslim]] [[Profession (religious)|profession]] of faith, the [[Shahadah]], illustrates the Muslim conception of the role of Muhammad: "There is no god except [[Allah|the God]]; Muhammad is the [[Prophets in Islam|Messenger of God]]." in [[Topkapı Palace]], [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]]]

Muslim tradition credits [[Miracles of Muhammad|Muhammad with several miracles or supernatural events]].<ref name="EoI-Miracle">A.J. Wensinck, ''Muʿd̲j̲iza'', [[Encyclopaedia of Islam|Encyclopedia of Islam]].</ref> For example, many Muslim commentators and some Western scholars have interpreted the Surah {{qref|54|1–2|b=y}} as referring to Muhammad [[Splitting of the moon|splitting the Moon]] in view of the Quraysh when they began persecuting his followers.<ref name="EoQ-Miracle">Denis Gril, ''Miracles'', [[Encyclopedia of the Qur'an]].</ref><ref>Daniel Martin Varisco, ''Moon'', [[Encyclopedia of the Qur'an]].</ref> Western historian of Islam Denis Gril believes the Quran does not overtly describe Muhammad performing [[Islamic view of miracles|miracles]], and the supreme miracle of Muhammad is [[Quran and miracles|identified with the Quran itself]].<ref name="EoQ-Miracle" />

According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was attacked by the people of Ta'if and was badly injured. The tradition also describes an angel appearing to him and offering retribution against the assailants. It is said that Muhammad rejected the offer and prayed for the guidance of the people of Ta'if.<ref>"A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims" chapter "[http://www.al-islam.org/restatement/16.htm Muhammad's Visit to Ta’if] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926090245/http://www.al-islam.org/restatement/16.htm |date=26 September 2013 }}" on al-islam.org.</ref>

[[File:Mohamed peace be upon him.svg|thumb|right|200px|Calligraphic rendering of "may God honor him and grant him peace", customarily added after Muhammad's name, encoded as a [[Typographic ligature|ligature]] at [[Unicode]] code point [[Arabic script in Unicode|U+FDFA]].<ref name="unicode">{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-3.1/U31-FB50.pdf |title=Arabic Presentation Forms-A |date=1 October 2009 |website=The Unicode Standard, Version 5.2 |publisher=Unicode, Inc. |location=Mountain View, Ca. |access-date=9 May 2010}}</ref> {{script|Arab|ﷺ}}.]]

The [[Sunnah]] represents actions and sayings of Muhammad (preserved in reports known as [[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. The Sunnah is considered a model of emulation for pious Muslims and has to a great degree influenced the Muslim culture. The greeting that Muhammad taught Muslims to offer each other, "may peace be upon you" (Arabic: ''[[As-Salamu Alaykum|as-salamu 'alaykum]]'') is used by Muslims throughout the world. Many details of major Islamic rituals such as daily prayers, the fasting and the annual pilgrimage are only found in the Sunnah and not the Quran.<ref>''Muhammad'', Encyclopædia Britannica, p. 9.</ref>

Muslims have traditionally expressed love and veneration for Muhammad. Stories of Muhammad's life, his intercession and of his miracles have permeated popular Muslim thought and [[Na`at|poetry]]. Among Arabic odes to Muhammad, [[Qaṣīda al-Burda|Qasidat al-Burda]] ("Poem of the Mantle") by the Egyptian [[Sufi]] [[al-Busiri]] (1211–1294) is particularly well-known, and widely held to possess a healing, spiritual power.<ref name="Stetkevych2010">{{cite book |author=Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych |title=The mantle odes: Arabic praise poems to the Prophet Muḥammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F-nY3_DXo-gC&pg=PR12 |access-date=27 January 2012 |date=24 May 2010 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-22206-0 |page=xii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615211359/http://books.google.com/books?id=F-nY3_DXo-gC&pg=PR12 |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref> The Quran refers to Muhammad as "a mercy (''rahmat'') to the worlds" (Quran {{qref|21|107|b=y}}).<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> The association of rain with mercy in Oriental countries has led to imagining Muhammad as a rain cloud dispensing blessings and stretching over lands, reviving the dead hearts, just as rain revives the seemingly dead earth (see, for example, the Sindhi poem of Shah ʿAbd al-Latif).<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> [[Mawlid|Muhammad's birthday]] is celebrated as a major feast throughout the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]], excluding [[Wahhabism|Wahhabi]]-dominated Saudi Arabia where these public celebrations are discouraged.<ref name="Nasr-Muhammad">[[Seyyed Hossein Nasr]], Encyclopædia Britannica, ''Muhammad'', p. 13.</ref> When Muslims say or write the name of Muhammad, they usually follow it with the Arabic phrase ''ṣallā llahu ʿalayhi wa-sallam'' (''may God honor him and grant him peace'') or the English phrase ''[[Peace be upon him (Islam)|peace be upon him]]''.<ref name="Ann Goldman 2006 p. 212">Ann Goldman, Richard Hain, Stephen Liben (2006), p. 212.</ref> In casual writing, the abbreviations SAW (for the Arabic phrase) or PBUH (for the English phrase) are sometimes used; in printed matter, a small calligraphic rendition is commonly used ({{lang|ar|ﷺ}}).

The Sunnah contributed much to the development of Islamic law, particularly from the end of the first Islamic century.<ref>J. Schacht, ''Fiḳh'', Encyclopedia of Islam.</ref>

Muslim mystics, known as [[sufi]]s, 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 also as a perfect human being. All Sufi orders trace their chain of spiritual descent back to Muhammad.<ref>''Muhammad'', Encyclopædia Britannica, pp. 11–12.</ref>

==== <!--Please leave the following "anchor" here, as a number of pages link to this section using it (see WP:ANCHOR):-->{{anchor|Islamic depictions of Muhammad}} Depictions ====

In line with the [[Aniconism in Islam|hadith's prohibition against creating images of sentient living beings]], which is particularly strictly observed with respect to God and Muhammad, Islamic religious art is focused on the word.<ref name="Plas1987" /><ref name="Esposito2011">{{cite book |author=John L. Esposito |title=What everyone needs to know about Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wSVQI3Ya2EC&pg=PA14 |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-979413-3 |pages=14–15 |edition=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930142902/https://books.google.com/books?id=2wSVQI3Ya2EC&pg=PA14 |archive-date=30 September 2015 }}</ref> Muslims generally avoid [[depictions of Muhammad]], and mosques are decorated with calligraphy and Quranic inscriptions or geometrical designs, not images or sculptures.<ref name="Plas1987">{{cite book |editor=Dirk van der Plas |author=Kees Wagtendonk |title=Effigies dei: essays on the history of religions |chapter=Images in Islam |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ops3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA120 |access-date=1 December 2011 |year=1987 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-08655-5 |pages=119–24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615040436/http://books.google.com/books?id=ops3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA120 |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Peters2010">{{cite book |author=F.E. Peters |title=Jesus and Muhammad: Parallel Tracks, Parallel Lives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olEi-1LZYYQC&pg=PA159 |access-date=1 December 2011 |date=10 November 2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-974746-7 |pages=159–61 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614223637/http://books.google.com/books?id=olEi-1LZYYQC&pg=PA159 |archive-date=14 June 2013 }}</ref> Today, the interdiction against images of Muhammad—designed to prevent worship of Muhammad, rather than God—is much more strictly observed in Sunni Islam (85%–90% of Muslims) and [[Ahmadiyya]] Islam (1%) than among Shias (10%–15%).<ref name="Safi20102010">{{cite book |last=Safi2010 |title=2 November 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s63i21E9dr8C |access-date=29 December 2011 |date=2 November 2010 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-123135-3 |page=32 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614191323/http://books.google.com/books?id=s63i21E9dr8C |archive-date=14 June 2013 }}</ref> While both Sunnis and Shias have created images of Muhammad in the past,<ref name="Omid" /> Islamic depictions of Muhammad are rare.<ref name="Plas1987" /> They have mostly been limited to the private and elite medium of the miniature, and since about 1500 most depictions show Muhammad with his face veiled, or symbolically represent him as a flame.<ref name="Peters2010" /><ref name="Bakker2009" />

The earliest extant depictions come from 13th century [[Anatolian Seljuks|Anatolian Seljuk]] and [[Ilkhanid]] [[Persian miniature]]s, typically in literary genres describing the life and deeds of Muhammad.<ref name="Bakker2009" /><ref name="Gruber2009">{{cite book |author=Christiane Gruber |chapter=Between Logos (Kalima) and Light (Nur): Representations of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in Islamic Painting |editor=Gulru Necipoglu |title=Muqarnas |chapter-url=https://umich.academia.edu/ChristianeGruber/Papers/443477/_Between_Logos_Kalima_and_Light_Nur_Representations_of_the_Prophet_Muhammad_in_Islamic_Painting_ |volume=26 |year=2009 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-17589-1 |pages=234–35 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711133658/http://umich.academia.edu/ChristianeGruber/Papers/443477/_Between_Logos_Kalima_and_Light_Nur_Representations_of_the_Prophet_Muhammad_in_Islamic_Painting_ |archive-date=11 July 2012 }}</ref> During the Ilkhanid period, when Persia's Mongol rulers converted to Islam, competing Sunni and Shi'a groups used visual imagery, including images of Muhammad, to promote their particular interpretation of Islam's key events.<ref name="Elverskog2010" /> Influenced by the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] tradition of representational religious art predating the Mongol elite's conversion, this innovation was unprecedented in the Islamic world, and accompanied by a "broader shift in Islamic artistic culture away from abstraction toward representation" in "mosques, on tapestries, silks, ceramics, and in glass and metalwork" besides books.<ref>{{cite book |author=Johan Elverskog |title=Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhismislamons0000elve |url-access=registration |year=2010 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-4237-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/buddhismislamons0000elve/page/164 164]–69 }}</ref> In the Persian lands, this tradition of realistic depictions lasted through the [[Timurid dynasty]] until the [[Safavids]] took power in the early 16th century.<ref name="Elverskog2010" /> The Safavaids, who made Shi'i Islam the state religion, initiated a departure from the traditional Ilkhanid and Timurid artistic style by covering Muhammad's face with a veil to obscure his features and at the same time represent his luminous essence.<ref name="Gruber2011">{{cite book |chapter=When Nubuvvat encounters Valayat: Safavid painting of the "Prophet" Mohammad's Mi'raj, c. 1500–50 |author=Christiane Gruber |editor=Pedram Khosronejad |title=The Art and Material Culture of Iranian Shi'ism: Iconography and Religious Devotion in Shi'i Islam |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/1176067 |year=2011 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-84885-168-9 |pages=46–47 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102103545/http://www.academia.edu/1176067/When_Nubuvvat_Encounters_Valayat_Safavid_Paintings_of_the_Prophet_Muhammads_Miraj_ca._1500-50 |archive-date=2 January 2017 }}</ref> Concomitantly, some of the unveiled images from earlier periods were defaced.<ref name="Elverskog2010">{{cite book |author=Johan Elverskog |title=Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhismislamons0000elve |url-access=registration |year=2010 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-4237-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/buddhismislamons0000elve/page/167 167] }}</ref><ref name="EdwardsBhaumik2008">{{cite book |author1=Elizabeth Edwards |author2=Kaushik Bhaumik |title=Visual sense: a cultural reader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bhxPW9B8s1oC&pg=PA344 |year=2008 |publisher=Berg |isbn=978-1-84520-741-0 |page=344 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923141751/https://books.google.com/books?id=bhxPW9B8s1oC&pg=PA344 |archive-date=23 September 2015 }}</ref><ref name="Ruggles2011">{{cite book |author=D. Fairchild Ruggles |author-link=D. Fairchild Ruggles |title=Islamic Art and Visual Culture: An Anthology of Sources |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Te5QRi35W5EC&pg=PA56 |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-5401-7 |page=56 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924021048/https://books.google.com/books?id=Te5QRi35W5EC&pg=PA56 |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref> Later images were produced in [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Turkey and elsewhere, but mosques were never decorated with images of Muhammad.<ref name="Omid">{{cite news |last=Safi |first=Omid |author-link=Omid Safi |date=5 May 2011 |url=http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/05/why_islam_does_not_ban_images_of_the_prophet.html |title=Why Islam does (not) ban images of the Prophet |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |access-date=27 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202195337/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/05/why_islam_does_not_ban_images_of_the_prophet.html |archive-date=2 February 2012 }}</ref> Illustrated accounts of the night journey (''mi'raj'') were particularly popular from the Ilkhanid period through the Safavid era.<ref name="GruberColby2010" /> During the 19th century, [[Iran]] saw a boom of printed and illustrated ''mi'raj'' books, with Muhammad's face veiled, aimed in particular at illiterates and children in the manner of [[graphic novels]]. Reproduced through [[lithography]], these were essentially "printed manuscripts".<ref name="GruberColby2010">{{cite book |editor1=Christiane J. Gruber |editor2=Frederick Stephen Colby |title=The Prophet's ascension: cross-cultural encounters with the Islamic mi'rāj tales |chapter=Persian illustrated lithographed books on the miʻrāj: improving children's Shi'i beliefs in the Qajar period |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sjLHirJmvPUC&pg=PA252 |year=2010 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-35361-0 |pages=252–54 |author=Ali Boozari |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016005841/https://books.google.com/books?id=sjLHirJmvPUC&pg=PA252 |archive-date=16 October 2015 }}</ref> Today, millions of historical reproductions and modern images are available in some Muslim-majority countries, especially Turkey and Iran, on posters, postcards, and even in coffee-table books, but are unknown in most other parts of the Islamic world, and when encountered by Muslims from other countries, they can cause considerable consternation and offense.<ref name="Omid" /><ref name="Bakker2009">{{cite book |author=Freek L. Bakker |title=The challenge of the silver screen: an analysis of the cinematic portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha and Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4KNSp-uEO18C&pg=PA207 |access-date=1 December 2011 |date=15 September 2009 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-16861-9 |pages=207–09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615043959/http://books.google.com/books?id=4KNSp-uEO18C&pg=PA207 |archive-date=15 June 2013 }}</ref>

=== European appreciation ===

After the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], Muhammad was often portrayed in a similar way.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref name="Lewis 2002 45">Lewis (2002).</ref> [[Guillaume Postel]] was among the first to present a more positive view of Muhammad when he argued that Muhammad should be esteemed by Christians as a valid prophet.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |isbn=978-1-61592-020-4 |last=Warraq |first=Ibn |title=Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said's Orientalism |date=2007 |page=147 |quote=Indeed, [Postel's] greater tolerance for other religions was much in evidence in Πανθενωδια: ''compostio omnium dissidiorum'', where, astonishingly for the sixteenth century, he argued that Muhammad ought to be esteemed even in Christendom as a genuine prophet.}}</ref> [[Gottfried Leibniz]] praised Muhammad because "he did not deviate from the natural religion".<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> [[Henri de Boulainvilliers]], in his ''Vie de Mahomed'' which was published posthumously in 1730, described Muhammad as a gifted political leader and a just lawmaker.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" /> He presents him as a divinely inspired messenger whom God employed to confound the bickering Oriental Christians, to liberate the Orient from the despotic rule of the [[Byzantine Empire|Romans]] and [[Sasanian Empire|Persians]], and to spread the knowledge of the unity of God from India to Spain.<ref name=tolan>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Companion to Muḥammad |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00broc |url-access=limited |last=Brockopp |first=Jonathan E |publisher=Cambridge UP |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-71372-6 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00broc/page/n258 240]–42}}</ref> Voltaire had a somewhat mixed opinion on Muhammad: in his play ''[[Mahomet (play)|Le fanatisme, ou Mahomet le Prophète]]'' he vilifies Muhammad as a symbol of fanaticism, and in a published essay in 1748 he calls him "a sublime and hearty charlatan", but in his historical survey ''Essai sur les mœurs'', he presents him as legislator and a conqueror and calls him an "enthusiast."<ref name=tolan /> [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], in his ''[[The Social Contract|Social Contract]]'' (1762), "brushing aside hostile legends of Muhammad as a trickster and impostor, presents him as a sage legislator who wisely fused religious and political powers."<ref name=tolan /> [[Claude-Emmanuel de Pastoret|Emmanuel Pastoret]] published in 1787 his ''Zoroaster, Confucius and Muhammad'', in which he presents the lives of these three "great men", "the greatest legislators of the universe", and compares their careers as religious reformers and lawgivers. He 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." Pastoret writes that the common accusations of his immorality are unfounded: on the contrary, his law enjoins sobriety, generosity, and compassion on his followers: the "legislator of Arabia" was "a great man."<ref name=tolan /> [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] admired Muhammad and Islam,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/talkofnapoleonat007678mbp#page/n321/mode/2up ''Talk Of Napoleon At St. Helena''] (1903), pp. 279–80.</ref> and described him as a model lawmaker and a great man.<ref name="Brockopp">{{cite book |editor1-first=Jonathan E. |editor1-last=Brockopp |title=The Cambridge Companion to Muhammad |url=http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/middle-east-history/cambridge-companion-muhammad |series=Cambridge Companions to Religion |year=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-71372-6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019194114/http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/middle-east-history/cambridge-companion-muhammad |archive-date=19 October 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Younos |first=Farid |title=Islamic Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUEaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT31 |series=Cambridge Companions to Religion |year=2010 |publisher=AuthorHouse |page=15 |isbn=978-1-4918-2344-6}}</ref> [[Thomas Carlyle]] in his book ''[[On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History]]'' (1841) describes "Mahomet" as "A silent great soul; he was one of those who cannot ''but'' be in earnest".<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Carlyle |year=1841 |title=On heroes, hero worship and the heroic in history |url=https://archive.org/details/onheroesherowor08carlgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/onheroesherowor08carlgoog/page/n95 87] |publisher=James Fraser |place=London}}</ref> Carlyle's interpretation has been widely cited by Muslim scholars as a demonstration that Western scholarship validates Muhammad's status as a great man in history.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kecia Ali |title=The Lives of Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-oWYBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 |year=2014 |publisher=Harvard UP |page=48 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904001211/https://books.google.com/books?id=-oWYBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |isbn=978-0-674-74448-6 }}</ref>

[[Ian Almond]] says that [[German Romantic]] writers generally held positive views of Muhammad: "[[Goethe]]’s 'extraordinary' poet-prophet, [[Johann Gottfried Herder|Herder]]’s nation builder (...) [[Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel|Schlegel]]’s admiration for Islam as an aesthetic product, enviably authentic, radiantly holistic, played such a central role in his view of Mohammed as an exemplary world-fashioner that he even used it as a scale of judgement for the classical (the dithyramb, we are told, has to radiate pure beauty if it is to resemble 'a Koran of poetry')."<ref>Ian Almond, ''History of Islam in German Thought: From Leibniz to Nietzsche'', Routledge (2009), p. 93.</ref> After quoting [[Heinrich Heine]], who said in a letter to some friend that "I must admit that you, great prophet of Mecca, are the greatest poet and that your Quran... will not easily escape my memory", [[John V. Tolan|John Tolan]] goes on to show how [[Jews]] in Europe in particular held more nuanced views about Muhammad and Islam, being an [[ethnoreligious]] minority feeling discriminated, they specifically lauded [[Al-Andalus]], and thus, "writing about Islam was for Jews a way of indulging in a fantasy world, far from the persecution and [[pogroms]] of nineteenth-century Europe, where Jews could live in harmony with their non-Jewish neighbors."<ref>Tolan, John. "The Prophet Muhammad: A Model of Monotheistic Reform for Nineteenth-Century Ashkenaz." ''Common Knowledge'', vol. 24 no. 2, 2018, pp. 256–279.</ref>

Recent writers such as [[William Montgomery Watt]] and [[Richard Bell (Arabist)|Richard Bell]] dismiss the idea that Muhammad deliberately deceived his followers, arguing that Muhammad "was absolutely sincere and acted in complete good faith"<ref>Watt, Bell (1995) p. 18.</ref> and Muhammad's readiness to endure hardship for his cause, with what seemed to be no rational basis for hope, shows his sincerity.<ref>Watt (1974), p. 232.</ref> Watt, however, says that sincerity does not directly imply correctness: in contemporary terms, Muhammad might have mistaken his subconscious for divine revelation.<ref>Watt (1974), p. 17.</ref> Watt and [[Bernard Lewis]] argue that viewing Muhammad as a self-seeking impostor makes it impossible to understand Islam's development.<ref>Watt, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 37.</ref><ref>Lewis (1993), p. 45.</ref> [[Alford T. Welch]] holds that Muhammad was able to be so influential and successful because of his firm belief in his vocation.<ref name="EoI-Muhammad" />