Muhammad
محمد
The seal of the prophets, born in Mecca, to whom the Quran was revealed over twenty-three years, beginning with “Read!”. Orphaned, then persecuted, he emigrated to Medina where the first community was established, and the Quran describes him as a mercy to the worlds.
Each step links to the passage of the Quran that recalls it.
13years of calling in Mecca
10years in Medina
23years of revelation
c. 570Birth
He is born in Mecca in the Year of the Elephant. His father ʿAbdullah died before his birth; his mother Āmina dies when he is six. His grandfather ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib takes him in, then his uncle Abū Ṭālib.
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَـَٔاوَىٰ ٦595age 25
A shepherd, then a merchant, he is known throughout Mecca for his honesty: they call him al-Amīn. At twenty-five he marries Khadīja, who will be the first to believe in him.
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ ٤610age 40
He is forty and often withdraws to the cave of Ḥirāʾ, above Mecca. One night in Ramadan, the angel Jibrīl brings him the first verses of the Quran.
ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ١ خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ ٢ ٱقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ ٱلْأَكْرَمُ ٣ ٱلَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ ٤ عَلَّمَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ ٥613age 43
After three years of discreet calling, he is commanded to warn his kin. He climbs the hill of aṣ-Ṣafā and calls the clans of Quraysh. Mockery begins, then persecution.
وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ ٱلْأَقْرَبِينَ ٢١٤619age 49
Khadīja dies, then Abū Ṭālib, his protector. He cannot bring his uncle to faith, and the Quran tells him that guidance belongs to Allah. He then seeks support in Ṭāʾif, and is driven out with stones.
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِى مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ ٥٦c. 621age 51
In a single night he is carried from Mecca to Jerusalem, then raised through the heavens. It is there that the five daily prayers are prescribed.
سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ ١622year 1 AHage 53
Under threat of death, he leaves Mecca by night with Abū Bakr. Three days hidden in the cave of Thawr, then over four hundred kilometres of desert to Yathrib, which becomes Medina. This departure opens the Muslim calendar.
… ثَانِىَ ٱثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِى ٱلْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَـٰحِبِهِۦ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَنَا …622year 1 AHage 53
In Medina he builds his mosque with his own hands alongside his companions, and binds as brothers the emigrants from Mecca and the Anṣār who welcome them, even sharing their wealth with them.
… يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ …624year 2 AHage 54
Sixteen or seventeen months after the Hijra, the direction of prayer moves from Jerusalem to the Kaaba — the one still faced today.
… فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ …624year 2 AHage 54
In Ramadan, at Badr, some three hundred poorly equipped believers prevail over a Meccan army three times their number. The Quran calls it “the Day of Criterion”.
وَلَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِبَدْرٍ وَأَنتُمْ أَذِلَّةٌ ۖ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ١٢٣625year 3 AHage 55
At the foot of Mount Uḥud, victory turns when archers leave their post. The Prophet ﷺ is wounded and his uncle Ḥamza falls. The Quran consoles and lifts the believers.
وَلَا تَهِنُوا۟ وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا۟ وَأَنتُمُ ٱلْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ١٣٩627year 5 AHage 57
A coalition of tribes besieges Medina. The believers dig a trench around the city; after nearly a month, an icy wind scatters the confederates.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَآءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا ٩628year 6 AHage 58
On the way to the lesser pilgrimage, he signs a ten-year truce with Mecca. His companions find it unfavourable; on the way back, the Quran calls it “a clear victory”.
إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا ١630year 8 AHage 60
He enters Mecca almost without a fight, pardons those who had driven him out, and topples the idols of the Kaaba while reciting this verse.
وَقُلْ جَآءَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ ٱلْبَـٰطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْبَـٰطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا ٨١632year 10 AHage 62
During his only pilgrimage, at ʿArafa, before an immense crowd, he gives his farewell sermon. That day is revealed: “Today I have perfected your religion for you”.
… ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًا …632year 11 AHage 63
He dies in Medina, aged sixty-three, in ʿĀʾisha's room. Before the stricken companions, Abū Bakr recites this verse: a messenger passes, Allah remains.
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ …Videos are streamed from their original source; this site hosts none of them.
by Mishary Al Afasi