MOhammEd never expected to changethe world. He was born in 570 A.D. in Saudi Arabia. He was kind, and hisnickname was "the truthful one." The boy was orphaned, and his uncleraised him. Muhammad tended sheep on the dry hills like many young Arabians.
Later, he became a successfulmerchant and married a wealthy widow. However, he felt as though something wasmissing in his life, so he went on a retreat.
Muhammad went up to Mount Hira to pray in a smallcave. He knew about Judaism and Christianity, and he wanted to find a deepermeaning for his life. He was also upset about the cruelty of his people. Theykilled baby girls to control the number of women, and they treated their slavesunkindly. Muhammad had a strong sense of right and wrong. He wanted change, buthe had no idea that his prayers would lead to a new religion.
Islam began in 610 A.D. when Muhammad claimed that the Archangel Gabrielappeared in the cave. Muhammad was amazed at the angel's first command: ‘Read,in the name of Allah!' He wanted to obey, but he tried to explain that hedidn't know how to read. Muhammad suddenly could read! The messages from thearchangel over the next twenty-two years became the Koran. The Koran is theholy book of Islam.
.Archangel Gabriel told Muhammad to preach about Allah Muhammad began to preachthree years after his vision. Mecca had 360 shrines to different gods, and thepeople didn't like the idea of just one god. They may have thought that moregods gave them a better chance of getting answers to their prayers. So thefirst Muslims became outcasts, and they moved to the city of Medina in 622 A.D. The Islamic calendarbegins at this date instead of from the birth of Christ. Medina later became the center of Islamiccivilization.
