Muhammad

穆罕默德

Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah was the founder of the religion of Islam and the last prophet of God according to Islamic belief. He was born in Mecca in 570 CE and, after being orphaned, was raised by his uncle and became a merchant. He received his first divine revelation at age 40 and began preaching in Mecca three years later. His teachings against the polytheistic tradition that had made Mecca a pagan pilgrimage destination earned him enough hostility to force him to migrate to Medina in 622, marking the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad gained 10,000 followers, united the area’s conflicting tribes, and took control of Mecca. He succeeded in uniting the many tribes of Arabia into a single state governed by Islamic teaching under his leadership. He died in 632 shortly after returning to Medina from his only pilgrimage to Mecca, which became a destination for obligatory Muslim pilgrimage.