Muhammad was born in Mecca in about 570 C.E. We do not know much about his childhood. We know that his parents died. He knew not how to read and write, Muhammad married a widow named Khadija who was involved in trade and got him involved in it as well when he was about 25 years old. During one trading journey when he was about 40, Muhammad had an encounter with the angel Gabriel revealed to him special revelations. Different opinions exist on whether Mohammed miraculously read or just repeated the revelations, which said he was to become the messenger of God. I do not actually believe this. I believe he was on something or he believed this with all his heart. Following his prophetic experience, Mohammed returned to his wife and began spreading the teachings he learned.
The people who accepted Muhammad's teachings came to be known as Muslims and their religion Islam, Arabic for "surrender [to the will of Allah]." Muhammad was regarded as the last and most perfect prophet. During the two centuries after Muhammad's death, the laws of Islam were codified in the Shariah, and Muhammad was regarded as the last and most perfect prophet. The word of God was revealed to him through the angel Gabriel and recorded in the Arabic language in the Koran
Muhammad slowly began to build his power base both by the persuasiveness of his faith and the old-fashioned way: by marrying women from important families to gain political advantage. He came to control the oases and markets, which forced other traders and tribesmen to negotiate with him. When he finally returned to Mecca, it was at the head of an imposing army that forced the residents to capitulate.
Muhammad died in 632, and it was left to his followers to carry on the traditions he had begun. His followers developed Islam, just as the followers of Moses and Jesus developed Judaism and Christianity over time.
