The Prophet Muhammad (SM) A simple Guide to his Life This book not only describes the life of the Prophet Muhammad but also analyses in depth the message conveyed to us by his life. The author lays enormous emphasis on the fact that the Prophet Muhammad went out of his way to follow a policy of peace throughout his life, contrary to the misconception that a significant part of his life was spent on warfare. The Prophet Muhammad was supremely successful at both the religious and secular levels. The exemplary life he lived can serve as an unfailing guide to right thinking and right living even in this modern age. THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib, who was born in Makkah in 570 A.D. and died in Madinah in 632 A.D. received the prophethood at the age of forty. We give here a brief sketch of his life. Muhammad, may peace be upon him, was still in his mother?s womb when his father Abdullah died. A few years after his birth, his mother too passed away. In accordance with the ancient Arab custom, he was looked after by a Bedouin woman, Haleema Sadia. Being an orphan, he was taken charge of by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. After the latter?s death, Muhammad?s uncle, Abu Talib, who was a merchant, became his guardian. The Prophet accompanied him on certain trading journeys. At the age of twenty-five he married a Makkan widow, Khadijah bint Khowailid, who was forty years old at the time. When the Prophet was forty years old, he received his first revelation from God, in the cave of Hira near Makkah, where he often used to go in search of solitude. It was here that the Angel Jibril (Gabrial) came to him for the first time and gave him the good tidings that God had chosen him as His Prophet. The first few verses revealed to him on this occasion form part of chapter 96, titled „The Clot? in the Quran