Muḥammad ibn-‘Abd-AllÄh ibn-‘Abd-al-Muttalib was born in Mecca (present day Saudi Arabia) in the latter half of the 6th century. His grandfather ‘Abd al-Muttalib was a prominent leader within Mecca’s most influential tribe overseeing the sacred Ka’bah, a shrine believed to have been erected by the Biblical Abraham and his son Ishmael over two thousand years before Muhammad’s birth. It is also the symbol of the destination of the Mecca pilgrimage. By the time Muhammad was a young boy of eight, he had lost his father, his mother and then his grandfather who had been his guardian. At this point, one of his uncles stepped in to care for the orphan, although the relative did not hold the same high position among his tribesmen. In his twenties, Muhammad married a wealthy widow 15 years his senior; they remained together for over 20 years until her death (and despite polygamy being a common practice in his time, Muhammad married no other woman during his first wife’s lifetime). They had four surviving daughters together (Fatima being the most esteemed). In his late thirties, Muhammad was drawn into contemplative life as he often meditated in a cave on Mount Hira. This is where the angel Gabriel first appeared to him stressing the importance of the Creator, God, and that Muhammad would be His Messenger. At first, he only told his wife and a few people he trusted but eventually the revelations became stronger and more detailed. Similar to Jesus’ beginnings, Muhammad’s first followers were primarily the poor and downtrodden, but eventually his flock grew. His dissenters only served to strengthen his resolve as he continued to preach the oneness of God amidst a pagan culture. Opposition continued to be fierce, and Allah warned Muhammad about an imminent assassination attempt. Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina. Against a hostile backdrop, Islam continued to gain widespread acceptance and belief in its monotheistic message of the equality of brotherhood under one God. The rest is, as they say, history.
