Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born in 570 CE in Makkah. His father, Abdullah, died frequent weeks before his birth in Medina where he went to visit his father's passionate relatives. His mother died while on the return journey from Medina at a place called ‘Abwa’ when he was six years old. He was raised by his loving grandfather 'Abdul Muttalib until the age of eight, and after his grandfather’s death by Abu Talib, his loving uncle. 'Abdul Muttalib's mother, Salma, was a inhabitant of Medina and he was born and raised as a young boy in Medina before his uncle Muttalib brought him to Makkah to succeed him. Many years before Muhammad's birth, 'Abdul Muttalib had established himself as a prominent leader of the Arab tribe ‘Quraish’ in Makkah and took care of the Holy sanctuary ‘Ka’bah’.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was still a boy when he worked as a shepherd. Later, when he grew into a young man, Prophet Muhammad, s (PBUH) uncle, Abu Talib, used to take him along on his trading journeys. Makkans like Abu Talib were merchants and the journeys they made where very long. Their camels brought many different goods into Makkah. This was a very good and exciting experience for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and when he grew older he was able to lead the caravans on his own.In Makkah there lived a rich widow whose name was Khadija. She owned trade caravans and employed Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to lead them for her. Khadija had made a very sensible choice, for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was a good honest tradesman and a very successful one. Later on, Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and Khadija were married and settled down with their children to lead a happy and peaceful life in Makkah.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was forty when, during his one of many retreats to Mount Hira for consideration during the month of Ramadan, he received the first revelation from the Archangel Jibril (Gabriel). On this first appearance, Gabriel (as) said to Muhammad: "Iqraa," meaning Read or Recite. Muhammad replied, "I cannot read," as he had not received any formal education and did not know how to read or write. The Angel Gabriel then embraced him until he reached the limit of his endurance and after releasing said: "Iqraa." Muhammad’s answer was the same as before. Gabriel repeated the embrace for the third time, asked him to repeat after him and said:"Recite in the name of your Lord who created! He created man from that which clings. Recite; and thy Lord is most Bountiful, He who has taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not."
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was terrified by the whole experience of the revelation and fled the cave of Mt. Hira. When he reached his home, tired and worried, he asked his wife: ‘cover me, cover me,’ in a blanket. After his terror had rather abated, his wife Khadijah asked him about the reason of his great angst and fear. She then assured him by saying: "Allah (The One God) will not let you down because you are kind to relatives, you speak only the truth, you help the poor, the orphan and the needy, and you are an honest man. Khadijah then consulted with her cousin Waraqa who was an old, saintly man possessing knowledge of previous revelations and scriptures. Waraqa confirmed to her that the visitor was none other than the Angel Gabriel who had come to Moses. He then added that Muhammad is the expected Prophet. Khadijah accepted the revelation as truth and was the first person to accept Islam. She supported her husband in every hardship, most particularly during the three-year ‘boycott’ of the Prophet’s family by the pagan Quraish. Khadijah died at the age of sixty five in the month of Ramadan soon after the lifting of the boycott in 620 CE..jpg)
Gabriel (as) visited the Prophet as commanded by Allah revealing Ayat in Arabic over a period of twenty-three years. The revelations that he received were sometimes a few verses, a part of a chapter or the whole chapter. Some revelations came down in response to an inquiry by the nonbelievers. The revealed verses were recorded on a variety of available materials (leather, palm leaves, bark, shoulder bones of animals), memorized as soon as they were revealed, and were recited in daily prayers by Muslims. Angel Gabriel taught the order and arrangement of verses, and the Prophet instructed his several scribes to record verses in that order. Once a year, the Prophet used to recite all the verses revealed to him up to that time to Gabriel to authenticate the accuracy of narration and the order of verses. All the revealed verses were compiled in the book known as Qur’an. The name Qur’an appears in the revealed verses. The Qur’an does not contain even a word from the Prophet. The Qur'an speaks in the first person, i.e., Allah's commandments to His creation. Gabriel also visited the Prophet throughout his mission informing and teaching him of events and strategy as needed to help in the completion of the prophetic mission. The Prophet’s sayings, actions, and approvals are recorded separately in collections known as Hadith. 
The mission of Prophet Muhammad (s) was to restore the worship of the One True God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, as taught by Prophet Ibrahim and all Prophets of God, and to demonstrate and complete the laws of moral, ethical, legal, and social conduct and all other matters of significance for the humanity at large.The first few people who followed this message were: his cousin Ali, his servant Zayd ibn Harithah, his friend Abu Bakar and his wife and daughters. They accepted Islam by testifying that:
"There is no God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
Islam means peace by submission and obedience to the Will and Commandments of God and those who accept Islam are called Muslims, meaning those who have accepted the message of peace by submission to God.
The Quraish began to maltreat Muslims by thrashing, torture and boycott of their businesses. Those who were weak, poor or slaves were publicly tortured. The first person to die by this means was a Muslim woman by the name Umm Ammar (the mother of Ammar Ibn Yasir).
So, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told his children and his friends to leave Makkah and go to Madina. Then all who believed in Allah and worshipped only Allah, left Makkah. The last to leave were Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and his close companion, Abu Bakar. However, the people of Makkah were not content with driving Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) out. Now they wanted to kill him, because he had been warning them of their evil deeds. But Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) was able to leave while the Makkans were on their way to kill him. Ali, Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) brave young cousin, laid himself on Hazrat Muhammad’s (PBUH) bed so that the Makkans would think that the Prophet was still there. But Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and Abu Bakar were long since gone on their way, and so that nobody could find them, they hid themselves in a cave.When the people discovered that it was Ali (a.s.) who was in Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) bed and that the Prophet had gone, they became very angry. But there was nothing they could do, for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was already well beyond their evil reach.
Madina was completely different from Makkah. Here, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had more friends than enemies. However, the people of Makkah did not leave him in peace. Instead, they followed him to Madina, to make war with him. But Allah helped the Prophet and his followers, and kept them safe from their enemies.
In Madina, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) continued to receive Allah’s messages from the Angel Gabriel. These messages were written down in a book, called the Quran. In the Quran, we can read everything that Allah has said to Man.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his friends built a mosque in Madina and here they prayed five times every day. Once every year, they observed a month of fasting. During the days of this month, they did not eat or drink anything during the daytime. They trained themselves to go without food and drink, for the sake of Allah. From this experience, they learned to get used to eating very little food. So, they had a lot of food left over to give to the poor. They also gave the poor some of their money. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his friends believed in Allah and worshipped Him alone. They were obedient to Allah and followed His commands. Therefore they are called Muslims. Those who believe in Allah, who worship Allah alone, and who do things according to the Quran, are Muslims.But those who do not believe in Allah and refuse to obey Him and even want to kill the Muslims by fighting wars against them are not Muslims. They are the disbelieves.
For many years, in Madina, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his followers had to defend themselves against the attacks of their enemies, and many times were forced to fight against them. But in these battles, Allah gave help to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Muslims. After some time, the disbelievers began to understand that because of Allah’s help Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was much stronger than they were. So, at last, they said to themselves: We must stop fighting, for nobody is stronger than Allah. We cannot defeat Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), because Allah helps him. It is therefore better for us also to believe in Allah and to worship Him.The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Muslims were very happy that the long war had at last come to an end. Allah helped them as He had promised, and they were able to return to Makkah where they had once been the first small group of people who believed in Allah. When they arrived in Makkah, they held a prayer together. After that, some of them remained in Makkah, but others who had set up home in Madina went back there. However, these Muslims in Madina journey to Makkah once a year, because the Ka’ba was there.
The Prophet performed his first and last pilgrimage in 632 CE. One hundred twenty-thousand men and women performed pilgrimage that year with him. The Prophet received the last revelation during this pilgrimage. Two months later, Prophet Muhammad (s) fell ill and after several days died on Monday, 12 Rabi al-Awwal, the eleventh year after Hijra (June 8, 632 CE) in Medinah. He is buried in the same place where he died.
