3 Muhammad
3.1 Who Was Muhammad?
3.2 The Life of Muhammad
3.3 Muhammad as Prophet, Leader, and Lawgiver
3.4 Muhammad’s Role in Islamic Belief and Practice
3.1 Who Was Muhammad?
Muhammad (570–632 CE) was the founder of Islam and is considered by Muslims to be the final prophet sent by God.
He was born in the city of Mecca, in the Arabian Peninsula, into a tribal society that practiced polytheism and was shaped by trade networks and clan alliances. Muhammad was orphaned at a young age and later worked as a merchant before beginning to preach a message of monotheism in his forties.
According to Islamic belief, Muhammad received revelations from God through the angel Gabriel over a period of about 23 years. These revelations became the Qur’an, the central sacred text of Islam.
Muslims do not believe Muhammad was divine or the son of God. Instead, he is viewed as a human messenger chosen by God to restore the original monotheistic faith associated with earlier figures such as Abraham, Moses, and other biblical prophets.
In Islamic theology, Muhammad is known as the “Seal of the Prophets,” meaning he is understood to be the final prophet in a long line that includes many figures also recognized in Judaism and Christianity.
Understanding Muhammad is essential for understanding Islam, because his life, teachings, and actions form a central part of Islamic belief, law, and practice. He is also considered by Muslims to be the world’s most moral man.
In 3.2 we’ll take a quick look at the life of Muhammad.
3.2 The Life of Muhammad
Muhammad is considered by Muslims to be the world’s most moral man. Islamic scholars sometimes use the term “The Perfect Man” (Al-Insan al-Kamil) or describe him as the “exemplar of moral conduct.”
His life, known as the Sunnah, serves as a practical guide for Muslims, while his recorded sayings and actions, called Hadith, provide the specific details for living out Islamic faith and law. We will look more closely at both the Sunnah and Hadith in Module 8.
Muhammad was born around 570 CE in the city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. His father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was about six years old.
He was then raised by his grandfather and later by his uncle. Growing up as an orphan in a tribal society likely shaped his later emphasis on caring for the poor and vulnerable.
As a young adult, Muhammad worked as a merchant. Around the age of 25, he married Khadijah, a wealthy widow and businesswoman who was older than he was. Their marriage lasted approximately 25 years. Khadijah is remembered in Islamic tradition as his first supporter and the first person to believe in his prophetic message.
When Muhammad was about 40 years old, he began reporting that he was receiving revelations from God through the angel Gabriel while meditating in a cave near Mecca. During this Meccan period, Islamic tradition records a miraculous Night Journey (Isra and Mi’raj), in which Muhammad was taken to Jerusalem and ascended to heaven. This event is highly significant as it reinforced Jerusalem’s significance as a holy site and was the occasion where the command for the five daily prayers was given.
Muhammad preached that there is only one God and called people to repentance, moral accountability, and social justice. His message attracted followers but also strong opposition from some leaders in Mecca.
His first wife Khadijah died when Muhammad was about 50 years old. After her death, he entered into polygamous marriages. Islamic tradition explains these marriages in various ways, including forming diplomatic alliances, supporting widows, and strengthening community ties.
One of his wives, Aisha, is reported in early Islamic sources to have been married to him at age six, and that the marriage was consummated when she was nine. She later became an important transmitter of teachings and played a significant role in early Islamic history.
Muhammad’s family life and marriages are discussed extensively in Islamic tradition and are part of how later Muslims understand religious practice and law.
In 622 CE, Muhammad and his followers migrated to the nearby city of Medina in an event known as the Hijra, which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad became not only a religious preacher but also a political leader, judge, and military commander. He drafted the Constitution of Medina, a revolutionary social contract that established a multi-faith community (the Ummah) and granted religious freedom and shared defense rights to Muslims, Jews, and other tribes. Over the next decade, alliances and conflicts with surrounding tribes expanded his influence across the region.
Eventually, Muhammad returned to Mecca with a growing following, and the city came under Muslim control. By the time of his death in 632 CE, much of the Arabian Peninsula had accepted his leadership and the new religious movement that became Islam.
For Muslims, Muhammad’s life is not only a historical biography, but also a model of religious devotion and obedience to God.
In 3.3 we will look more closely at Muhammad’s public leadership.
3.3 Muhammad as Prophet, Leader, and Lawgiver
In Islam, Muhammad is understood not only as a prophet who delivered revelation, but also as a political leader, judge, and community organizer.
This combination of roles is essential for understanding how Islam developed and how Muslims view religious authority.
— The Migration and the Constitution of Medina —
After migrating to the city of Medina in 622 CE (the Hijra), Muhammad became the leader of a growing community known as the Ummah. This community was unique because it sought to replace old tribal loyalties with a shared identity based on faith.
To govern this diverse population, Muhammad drafted the Constitution of Medina. This document established a formal agreement between the Muslim migrants, the local tribes of Medina, and the city’s Jewish communities. It outlined shared responsibilities for defense, settled long-standing tribal feuds, and recognized Muhammad as the final arbiter of disputes.
— Military Leadership and Conflict —
Muhammad also served as a military leader during conflicts between his followers and the Quraysh tribe of Mecca. These hostilities began shortly after the Hijra, often involving raids on Meccan trade caravans. From a Muslim perspective, these raids were a form of economic warfare intended to reclaim property confiscated from them in Mecca and to weaken their primary oppressors.
Early Islamic sources describe several major battles that shaped the early community:
- The Battle of Badr: A surprising victory for the early Muslims.
- The Battle of Uhud: A difficult setback and a tactical defeat.
- The Battle of the Trench: A successful defense of Medina against a massive confederacy of tribes.
— The Banu Qurayza Incident —
One of the most intensely discussed episodes in this period involves the Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe in Medina.
The Banu Qurayza incident is significant because it represents a rare instance of collective capital punishment in early Islamic history, which stands in contrast to the more common practice of exile or ransom seen in previous conflicts.
During the Battle of the Trench, the Banu Qurayza were accused of breaking their treaty with Muhammad and conspiring with the Meccan besiegers to attack the Muslims from within.
After the siege was lifted, the tribe was blockaded. According to Islamic tradition, the punishment was not decided by Muhammad himself, but by an arbitrator, Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, a leader of the Aws tribe who had been a former ally of the Banu Qurayza.
Invoking a judgment based on his understanding of tribal law, Sa’d ruled that the adult male members of the tribe be executed, while women and children were taken captive.
While this event is recorded in early Islamic biographies (Sira), it remains a subject of significant debate among modern historians regarding its scale, the reliability of the sources, and the moral interpretations of wartime conduct in 7th-century Arabia.
— Unification and Legacy —
By the end of Muhammad’s life, much of the Arabian Peninsula had come under his leadership through a combination of strategic alliances, political agreements, and military encounters—culminating in the (largely bloodless) Conquest of Mecca.
For Muslims, Muhammad’s role as both prophet and leader means that his words and actions serve as a practical guide for all aspects of life.
Reports about his behavior, known as Hadith, became a major source of Islamic law (Sharia) alongside the Qur’an.
This distinguishes Muhammad from figures like Jesus, who did not hold political office, though it draws parallels to Moses, who provided both religious guidance and a legal framework for his people.
In 3.4, we will look at Muhammad’s role in Islamic belief and practice.
3.4 Muhammad’s Role in Islamic Belief and Practice
In Islam, Muhammad is regarded as the final prophet sent by God, often referred to as the “Seal of the Prophets.”
Muslims believe that he delivered God’s final revelation, the Qur’an, and that his life provides the definitive example of how to live in submission to God. The word Islam means submission.
Because of this, Muhammad’s words and actions hold religious authority that extends far beyond his lifetime. His lived example is known as the Sunnah. Knowledge of the Sunnah is preserved through Hadith—written reports and traditions about his behavior and teachings. Together with the Qur’an, the Sunnah and Hadith form the foundation of Islamic law (Sharia) and ethics.
Muhammad’s life is not viewed merely as historical biography. For Muslims, he is the “Excellent Exemplar,” a model for religious practice, ethics, family life, and community leadership. His example influences everything from the specific movements of prayer and methods of charity to social etiquette and legal rulings.
While Muhammad is deeply revered, it is a core tenet of Islam that he is not worshiped.
Muslims emphasize that he was a human messenger chosen by God, but he is not divine. Worship is directed to God alone.
To emphasize their respect, Muslims traditionally follow Muhammad name with the phrase “peace be upon him” (often abbreviated as PBUH).
Understanding Muhammad’s role helps explain how authority functions in Islam. While the Qur’an is the central sacred text, Muhammad’s interpretation and lived example are essential for understanding how those teachings are applied in daily life.
As a comparison between the Abrahamic traditions:
- In Christianity, Jesus is understood as the Son of God and is central to salvation.
- In Judaism, Moses is associated with receiving and teaching divine law.
- In Islam, Muhammad is the final messenger who confirms earlier revelations and provides the ultimate model for living according to God’s guidance.
Recognizing these differences helps clarify how each tradition understands revelation, authority, and religious practice.
Next, in Module 4, we will look more closely at the Qur’an, the sacred text of Islam that was revealed to Muhammad over 23 years.