The Life of the Prophet Muhammad Historical Context and Chronology

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did not appear in a vacuum. He was born into a seventh-century Arab tribal society, with its codes, alliances, conflicts, and polytheistic religion. To understand Sunni Islam, one must first understand the world in which the message was revealed.

Pre-Islamic Arabia: the Jāhiliyya

The term Jāhiliyya (جاهلية) literally means “ignorance.” It designates the pre-Islamic period in Arabia—not in the sense of absence of civilization, but of absence of divine guidance from the Islamic perspective.

Sixth-century Arabia was a commercial crossroads between the Byzantine Empire to the north, the Sasanian (Persian) Empire to the east, and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to the west. Mecca (Makka) was a center of trade and pilgrimage, thanks to the Kaʿba—a sanctuary that at the time contained more than 360 idols.

Arab society was organized into tribes. Identity was tribal, not national. Loyalty was to the clan, not to a state. Law was customary, based on ancestral traditions and the arbitration of chiefs. There was no unified sacred book, although Jewish and Christian communities existed in Arabia.

The birth and youth of Muhammad (~570–610)

Muhammad ibn ʿAbdullāh was born in Mecca around 570 CE. His father, ʿAbdullāh, died before his birth. His mother, Āmina, died when he was about six. He was raised first by his grandfather ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, then by his uncle Abū Ṭālib.

He grew up in the caravan trade, traveling between Mecca and Syria. His reputation for honesty earned him the titles al-Amīn (the trustworthy) and al-Ṣādiq (the truthful).

Around 595, he married Khadīja bint Khuwaylid, a prosperous merchant aged about 40 (Muhammad was about 25). Khadīja was his main support during the early years of revelation. She was the first person to believe in his message.

Revelation (~610): the beginning of the mission

Muhammad took the habit of retreating to the cave of Ḥirāʾ on Mount al-Nūr, near Mecca, for meditation. Around 610, during one of these retreats, the angel Gabriel (Jibrīl) appeared to him and conveyed the first verses of the Qur'an:

“Read! In the name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clinging clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.” — Qur'an, 96:1–3

This event marks the beginning of the period of revelation, which would last about 23 years (610–632). Revelations came gradually, in response to events, questions, and the needs of the nascent community.

Meccan period (610–622): perseverance and persecution

The first 13 years of the mission took place in Mecca. The message was first conveyed in a restricted circle (three years of private preaching), then publicly.

Meccan revelations are characterized by:

• Affirmation of pure monotheism (tawḥīd) in the face of polytheism
• Descriptions of the hereafter (Paradise, Hell, Day of Judgment)
• Narratives of earlier prophets (Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus)
• Short, poetic, striking verses
• Little practical legislation

The reaction of Quraysh grew progressively hostile. The message threatened the economic order (polytheistic pilgrimage enriched Mecca) and the social order (equality of believers vs. tribal hierarchy). Muslims suffered persecution, economic boycott, and violence. Some emigrated to Abyssinia around 615.

The Hijra (622): the founding turning point

In 622, Muhammad and his companions left Mecca for Yathrib, which would become Medina (al-Madīna al-Munawwara, “the illuminated city”). This migration is called the Hijra.

The Hijra is so fundamental that it marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar (year 1 AH). It was not merely a geographical move—it was the birth of a state. In Medina, Muhammad was both spiritual leader and political head.

Medinan period (622–632): building the community

Medinan revelations are very different from Meccan ones:

• Detailed legislation: marriage, divorce, inheritance, commerce, criminal law
• International relations: treaties, rules of war, diplomacy
• Social organization: rights, duties, contracts
• Longer, more detailed verses

Key events of the Medinan period

The Farewell Pilgrimage and death (632)

In 632, Muhammad performed his Farewell Pilgrimage (Ḥajjat al-Wadāʿ). In the sermon at ʿArafāt, before more than 100,000 pilgrims, he delivered foundational words on equality, rights, and the completion of his message.

Shortly after, on 12 Rabīʿ al-Awwal (8 June 632), Muhammad died in Medina, in the house of his wife ʿĀʾisha. He was about 63. He left no explicitly designated successor—this question would become the major point of divergence between Sunnis and Shīʿa.

Complete timeline

Summary

1. Muhammad was born around 570 in a tribal, polytheistic society.
2. Revelation began around 610—13 years in Mecca (monotheism, hereafter, prophetic narratives).
3. The Hijra (622) marks the birth of an organized political community in Medina.
4. 10 years in Medina: legislation, battles, treaties, peaceful conquest of Mecca.
5. The Prophet died in 632 leaving a revealed Qur'an and a Sunna transmitted orally.
6. Meccan and Medinan revelations have distinct characteristics essential for understanding the Qur'an.

The next article explores the crucial question: how was this message transmitted from the Prophet to later generations? How was the Qur'an compiled? And why did the Sunna remain oral for so long?