Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ — The Seal of the Prophets

Muhammad ibn Abdullah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the final messenger sent by Allah to all of humanity and jinn until the Day of Judgment. His prophethood is the culmination of the entire prophetic chain stretching from Adam through every prophet and messenger. Allah says: "Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets" (Al-Ahzab 33:40).

Early Life and Character

The Prophet ﷺ was born in Mecca around 570 CE, in the Year of the Elephant, into the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh — the noblest lineage among the Arabs. His father Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib died before his birth, and his mother Aminah bint Wahb passed when he was six years old. He was nursed by Halimah al-Sa'diyyah among the Banu Sa'd, raised first by his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib and then by his uncle Abu Talib.

Even before prophethood, he was known among the Quraysh as Al-Amin (the Trustworthy) and As-Sadiq (the Truthful). He never worshipped an idol, never drank wine, and never engaged in the vices of pre-Islamic Arabia. At twenty-five he married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, a noble and wealthy woman fifteen years his senior, who became the first person to accept Islam and his greatest supporter during the early years of hardship.

The First Revelation

At the age of forty, while in spiritual retreat in the Cave of Hira on Jabal al-Nur, the angel Jibril came to him with the first words of the Quran: "Read in the name of your Lord who created — Created man from a clinging substance. Read, and your Lord is the most Generous — Who taught by the pen — Taught man that which he knew not" (Al-Alaq 96:1-5).

He returned to Khadijah trembling, and she reassured him with words recorded by al-Bukhari: "By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You maintain family ties, bear the burdens of the weak, earn for the destitute, honour your guests, and assist those struck by calamity." She then took him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, a Christian scholar, who confirmed that what had come to him was the same revelation given to Musa.

The Meccan Period

For thirteen years the Prophet ﷺ called the people of Mecca to the worship of Allah alone. The response of the Quraysh was fierce: Bilal was tortured under boulders, Sumayyah bint Khayyat became the first martyr of Islam, and the entire clan of Banu Hashim was subjected to a three-year boycott in the valley of Abu Talib. The Prophet ﷺ himself was mocked, stoned at Ta'if, and plotted against. Yet the message continued to spread. During this period occurred the Isra and Mi'raj — the night journey to Jerusalem and the ascension through the heavens — in which the five daily prayers were prescribed.

The Hijrah and the Medinan Period

In 622 CE, the Prophet ﷺ migrated to Yathrib (later named Madinah al-Munawwarah), an event so significant that it marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina he established the first Muslim polity, drafting the Constitution of Medina that governed relations between the Muhajirun, the Ansar, and the Jewish tribes. He built the Prophet's Mosque, instituted the brotherhood between the emigrants and the helpers, and laid the foundations of a society based on justice, consultation, and the rule of divine law.

The Medinan years saw the great defining events of the Ummah: the Battle of Badr, where 313 believers defeated a force three times their number by Allah's permission; the trial of Uhud; the siege of the Trench; the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah; the Conquest of Mecca, in which the Prophet ﷺ entered his homeland victorious and forgave those who had persecuted him for two decades; and the Farewell Pilgrimage, where over one hundred thousand Companions heard him deliver his final sermon.

His Message and Legacy

The Prophet ﷺ said: "I was sent to perfect noble character" (Ahmad, graded sahih by al-Albani). Allah describes him: "And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds" (Al-Anbiya 21:107), and: "Indeed, you are upon a great moral character" (Al-Qalam 68:4).

His Sunnah — his words, actions, approvals, and descriptions — is the second source of Islamic legislation after the Quran. It is preserved through unbroken chains of transmission in the collections of al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and others. The science of hadith, developed by this Ummah to verify his teachings, has no parallel in the history of any civilization.

Death and the Completion of the Religion

Shortly before his passing, Allah revealed: "This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as your religion" (Al-Ma'idah 5:3). The Prophet ﷺ died on 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, 11 AH (632 CE), in his chamber in Medina, his head resting in the lap of A'ishah. Abu Bakr addressed the grief-stricken community: "Whoever worshipped Muhammad, then Muhammad has died. And whoever worshipped Allah, then Allah is Ever-Living and does not die."

He was buried where he passed away, in the chamber that is now part of al-Masjid al-Nabawi. His life remains the most documented, most studied, and most emulated life in human history — a complete model for all who seek the pleasure of Allah and the success of the Hereafter.