In 578 his grandfather died and then he went under the wing of his uncle who looked after him for many years when he was eight. It is believed that he thought God had given him shelter when it was needed.
When he was a teenager he helped his uncle as a shepherd boy to earn his keep. He sometimes went on journeys to trade centres with caravans. He was known as the one everybody could trust.
Muhammad then started to be a wealthy Meccan merchant; he carried Khadija’s goods north and south of the country and returned with the profit.
Khadija was impressed by Muhammad’s honesty and proposed marriage to him in 595. He was then 25 but she was nearly 40. He carried on working with her business and over the next few years she gave birth to six children. The two sons died at birth and the four daughters became successful traders.
Muhammad then started making journeys to the mountains and caves to meditate and fast. On one occasion after a few visionary experiences he was visited by an overpowering presence and told to recite words of beauty and force. Muhammad was very scared and it took him years to speak of his experience outsides his family.
After several experiences he began to tell the stories to his tribe verse by verse, which later became the Qur’an the holy Islam book. They did not understand what he was saying and Quraysh the leading tribe in Mecca made a ban to trade with any of Muhammad’s people. Later his uncle and wife died and the leaders of Mecca attempted to assassinate him.
In 622 Muhammad and a few hundred followers travelled to the city of Yathrib to where his father was born. The leaders there were having a major civil war. The city soon became known as Medina the city of the prophet. Muhammad remained there for the next six years and started the first Muslim community, which meant more people were on his side.
Over the next years Meccans did not like Muhammad’s success and started a few wars. The Muslims won the battle of Badr in 624 but lost the battle of Uhud. The other two battles were stalemate. Later on a treaty was signed which made the Muslims a separate Arabic group who could travel around freely.
In January 630 Mecca’s power had switched to Muhammad and the Muslims. As they marched in to Mecca many tribes joined them along the way. There was no bloodshed in Mecca because the opposition had realised they were beaten.
He went to live in Medina for another three years, he returned to Mecca one last time as a pilgrimage and tens of thousand of people joined him. After the pilgrimage he retuned to Medina within three months he died. He was buried in a mosque in Medina.
