Muhammad son of Abdullah is the last prophet in a series of prophets sent by Allah for guidance to mankind. Muhammad the greatest law-bearer, in a series of prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.

He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, military general, and, an agent of divine action. Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca. His father died before he was born.  His mother died when he was six years of age.  He was brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25 to Khadijah who was widowed and was 40 years old.  He used to retreat to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn)  acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.

Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hosytility from Meccan tribes he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape persecution Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622 CE. This event, the Hijra marks the beginning of the Islamic Calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand,conquered Mecca without any bloodshed. In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from his  Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had  accepted his message and converted to Islam, and he united the tribes of Arabia into a single Muslim religious  state.  It is said that there were 125,000 people who attended his Farewell Sermon.