Muhammad

With all the different types of religions and practices it is hard to remember what’s what and the differences and similarities. One thing all religions have in common is they all have a leader of some sort, Christianity has Jesus, Buddhism has Buddha, and Islam has Muhammad. Muhammad is considered the founder of Islam and was a prophet and messenger to God. He grew up an orphan and lived with many different families, when he was older he became a merchant, traveling between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. He later married a much older wealthy widow named Khadija, but also had 12 other wives later. He had seven children, most of which died, and only one carried on his name. In 610 the angel Gabriel appeared to him, while he was meditating in a cave outside of Mecca. Gabriel told Muhammad that he was messenger to God; Muhammad only told close friends and family at first. Then he started preaching and gaining followers. During the years following Muhammad had many supporters, but he also had many opponents, most of which were gained when he condemned the worshiping of idols. Also, many people were not happy that he was preaching monotheism and there were many attempts to take his life. Around this time Muhammad and his followers moved from Mecca to Medina; Medina means “city of the prophet” and became the first Muslim settlement. Soon after Muhammad left Mecca, war broke out between the two. After the war ended from a treaty, Muhammad made a pilgrimage to Mecca. Three months later he died from an illness; he was burned where he died and is housed in a mosque in Medina. He word lives on through the Qur'an and the Islamic religion.

Sources:
http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/timeline_html.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad