Muhammad Timeline

570 - Muhammad's Birth- Muhammad was born in a mountain town in the desert plateau in Western Arabia known as Mecca.

576- Muhammad becomes an orphan by the age of 6.

578 – Once his grandfather died in 578, Muhammad was now being taken care of by his uncle who taught him many skills, one being how to survive in battle.

580-594 – As a young boy and teenager, Muhammad worked as a shepherd before becoming a merchant in his adult life.

594 – Muhammad met Khadija bint Khawalayd, a wealthy merchant. They were distant cousins and Muhammad carried her goods to the north and then returned with a profit.

595 – Khadija, like others, was impressed by Muhammad’s intelligence, open mind, and ability to problem solve. Muhammad became known as “The trusted one” and Khadija soon proposed marriage. The two had two sons and four daughters.

610- Mecca's new greediness bothered Muhammad. He began making long trips to a mountain cave outside town where he fasted and meditated. One night, Muhammad was visited by an angel and was instructed to recite the powerful words of God. The main message that Muhammad was supposed to spread was that “there is only one God”

613 - Muhammad began to reveal the message(s) he was receiving from this angel. These were gathered verse by verse and later become the Qur'an, Islam's sacred scripture. The Qur’an is written in Arabic and is an ethical and social guide, although the description of God is avoided throughout the text.

614-621- In these few years, Muhammad and his followers were ridiculed, persecuted and physically attacked for breaking away from traditional Mecca tribal ways. Towards the end of the decade, Muhammad's wife and uncle both died and the leaders of Mecca attempted to assassinate Muhammad.   

622- Muhammad and his followers left Mecca and traveled to Yathrib, who was battling a civil war. Yathrib soon became known as Medina, the City of the Prophet. Muhammad stayed here for the next six years, building the first Muslim community and gradually gathering more followers.

625-629 - Early encounters led to three major battles in the next three years. Of these the Muslims won the Battle of Badr, lost the Battle of Uhud, and outlasted The Battle of the Trench and the Siege of Medina. In 628, a treaty was signed between the two sides, which gave Muslims freedom to move throughout Arabia. Meccan allies broke the treaty in 629.   

630- The balance of power had shifted away from Mecca toward Muhammad and the Muslims.

630-632- Muhammad returned to live in Medina. In the next three years, he united most of the Arabian Peninsula under Islam. Muhammad died on June 8th, 632, from an illness. Within a century, Muhammad’s teachings had spread all over Europe.