The Islam Compass

Muhammad ﷺ

The man. The Messenger. The journey.

Muhammad ﷺ

Muhammad ibn Abdullah was born in Makkah around 570 CE, orphaned young, raised by his grandfather and then his uncle, and known in his city as al-Amīn — the trustworthy — before he ever spoke of revelation.

Muslims do not worship him. He is described in the Qur'an as a servant and a messenger, a human being who ate, worked, grieved and died. Honouring him is not worship; the distinction is deliberate and strict.

  • Qur'anQur'an 18:110
  • HistoryIbn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.
Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God."
Qur'an — Surah Al-Kahf 18:110Translation: Saheeh International

The journey

Only events that are well established in the Qur'an, the authentic Sunnah and the standard early biographies.

  1. 01Makkah — before revelation

    A trading city built around the Kaaba, then filled with idols. Muhammad ﷺ worked as a merchant, married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, and withdrew periodically to a cave on Mount Hira to be alone.

    • HistoryIbn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.
    • SunnahSahih al-Bukhari 3 — the first revelation at Hira

  2. 02The first revelation — c. 610 CE

    In Hira, the angel Jibril came to him with the command "Iqra'" — Read. The first words revealed were Qur'an 96:1–5. He returned home shaken, and Khadijah was the first to believe him.

    • SunnahSahih al-Bukhari 3 — the first revelation at Hira
    • Qur'anQur'an 96:1–5

  3. 03The early call

    For roughly three years the call was quiet, then public. The earliest Muslims included his wife Khadijah, his friend Abu Bakr, his young cousin Ali, and his freed servant Zayd ibn Harithah.

    • HistoryIbn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.

  4. 04Persecution in Makkah

    Opposition hardened as the message rejected the idols the city's status rested on. Weak and enslaved believers such as Bilal ibn Rabah were tortured; a group of Muslims emigrated to Abyssinia, and the Prophet's clan was subjected to a social and economic boycott.

    • HistoryIbn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.
    • SunnahSahih al-Bukhari 3856 — persecution of the early Muslims

  5. 05The Hijrah to Madinah — 622 CE

    After years of pressure and the loss of Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib, he emigrated with Abu Bakr to Yathrib, which became Madinah. The Islamic calendar begins from this migration.

    • SunnahSahih al-Bukhari 3905 — the migration to Madinah
    • HistoryIbn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.

  6. 06Building a community

    In Madinah he built a mosque, paired emigrants with local helpers, and concluded a written agreement setting out the rights and obligations of the city's groups, including its Jewish tribes.

    • HistoryIbn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.

  7. 07Return to Makkah — 630 CE

    Makkah was entered with little fighting. The idols around the Kaaba were removed, and a general amnesty was granted to a population that had driven the Muslims out.

    • HistoryIbn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.
    • SunnahSahih al-Bukhari 4280 — the conquest of Makkah

  8. 08The Farewell Pilgrimage — 632 CE

    Before a large gathering at 'Arafah he delivered a final sermon: the sanctity of life and property, the settling of blood feuds and usury, the rights of women, and that no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab except by God-consciousness.

    • SunnahSahih Muslim 1218 — the Farewell Pilgrimage (Hadith of Jabir)
    • SunnahMusnad Ahmad 23489 — the Farewell Sermon

  9. 09Final days

    He fell ill shortly after returning to Madinah and died there in 632 CE, aged about sixty-three, leaving no wealth of consequence. He was buried in the room of his wife Aisha.

    • SunnahSahih al-Bukhari 4462 — his final illness and death
    • HistoryIbn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.
Qur'an — Surah Al-Anbiya 21:107Translation: Saheeh International

Sources & References

11 cited
    1. 1Sahih al-Bukhari 3 — the first revelation at Hira
    2. 2Sahih al-Bukhari 3856 — persecution of the early Muslims
    3. 3Sahih al-Bukhari 3905 — the migration to Madinah
    4. 4Sahih al-Bukhari 4280 — the conquest of Makkah
    5. 5Sahih Muslim 1218 — the Farewell Pilgrimage (Hadith of Jabir)
    6. 6Musnad Ahmad 23489 — the Farewell Sermon
    7. 7Sahih al-Bukhari 4462 — his final illness and death
    1. 1Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (recension of Ibn Ishaq); trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of MuhammadThe earliest surviving biography, used here only for events also corroborated in the hadith literature.

Religious content here follows the Qur'an, the authentic Sunnah, and the established scholarship of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah. Qur'an citations link to the verse; hadith carry collection and number; Tafsir and historical claims name the work. Where something could not be verified, it is not published.

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