Tag Archives: Muhammad

Muhammad’s Family and the Revelations

Sometimes there were long silences, while other times, the revelations came in quick succession. Muhammad was able to recite each one to his family and close friends, who also memorized them. Each revelation incident became a surah, a chapter in … Continue reading

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The First Revelations of Muhammad

When Muhammad was forty years old, probably in the year 610, he was staying in the cave of al-Hira for prayer and meditation when the first revelation occurred. He saw the figure of a man appear to him and command, … Continue reading

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Muhammad the Meccan

Muhammad’s revelations did not begin until he was forty years old. During the period of normal life, he ran their caravan trading business and raised his family. As noted earlier, he adopted the former slave Zayd fairly early in this … Continue reading

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How do we know about Muhammad’s life? (what is a hadith?)

Before going on with Muhammad’s life story, let’s look at one of the basic problems. At the time of Muhammad’s life, Arabia was not a society that wrote much down. Paper is what makes writing easy; Arabia had parchment like … Continue reading

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Muhammad’s First Marriage

Muhammad is said to have been 25 when his employer, Khadijah, asked him to marry her. She was trying to run a business inherited from her deceased husband, having to depend on relative strangers and men whose interests might go … Continue reading

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Early Life of Muhammad

Muhammad ibn (son of) Abd-Allah ibn Abd al-Muttalib was born at Mecca in approximately 570, maybe earlier. His father had died while returning from a caravan trip to the west, before the baby was born. Not long after his birth, … Continue reading

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The Arab World in Muhammad’s Time

Muhammad was born in Mecca sometime around 560 AD. We’ve traced the development of culture in Arabia for about the thousand years before this, bringing us up to his time. What did it mean then to be an Arab? The … Continue reading

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