Towards the year 570, that we were going to name Mohammed and would become the Prophet of one of the great religions of the world, Islam, was born into a family belonging to the clan of Quraish, the main tribe of Mecca, city of the region of Hijaz, located in the North-West of Arabia.
First known as the place sheltering the Ka’aba, of ancient origin, the Mecca pilgrimage had become, with the decline of South Arabia in the sixth century, an important center of trade which was attended by the powers such as the Sassanians, the Byzantines, and the Ethiopians. That’s why it was dominated by powerful merchant families, among which stood the members of Quraish.
Mohammed’s father, Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, died before he was born. His mother, Aminah, died when he was six years old. It was given to his grandfather, who was head of the Hashim clan. After the latter’s death, he was raised by his uncle, Abu Talib. As was the custom at the time, when he was still a child (and her mother was alive), he was sent to live with a family of Bedouins, out of town, for a year or two. This had a significant impact on the life of Mohammed. Also, to endure the harsh life in the desert, he learned to appreciate the richness of the language Arabic, so much loved by the people of Arabia, whose poetry was art which they drew the greatest pride. He learned the patience and tolerance of herders; It grew to their solitary lives, what would make him enjoy loneliness, later in his life.
In his twenties, Mohammed entered the service of a rich widow named Khadijah; He was going to sell his goods in the North, at the end of long trips in a caravan. Eventually marry, and had two sons, of whom none survived, then four girls.
One day, while he was forty years old, he was in a cave located in a crack of the mount Hira outside Mecca. He used to pick on a regular basis to meditate and enjoy the solitude. That day, he heard a voice (that of the Angel Gabriel, but he didn’t know it then) who ordered him:
“Read: in the name of your Lord who created, who created man (from) a clot (of blood).” (Koran 96:1 – 2)
Mohammed repeated three times that he could not read, but every time he heard of a new order. Finally, he ends up repeating the words that the voice had recited to him, words that make up the first five verses of surah 96 of the Qur’an, words that State that God is the creator of man and the source of the knowledge.
Mohammed fled the cave with all legs and went to live with him. He did share his experience only to his wife and his family. But as and when that reached him other revelations ordering him to proclaim the oneness of God, he began to preach a little more openly, attracting new followers every day. The first were especially poor and slaves who had recognized the truth in his message, and then, with time, the nobles of Mecca converted to turn. The revelations he received at this time and those he received later all was collected in book form, to form the Quran.
The message of God, sent by Mohammed, was well received by a small group of people. Even in his clan, many opposed actively, including a large number of merchants. This opposition, however, did not encourage Mohammed in his mission and he showed clearly how Islam stood out of paganism. The belief in the oneness of God was paramount, and it was from her that was everything. The verses of the Qur’an emphasis on the oneness of God, warn those who reject it against imminent punishment and proclaim his infinite compassion for those who submit to his will. They also recall the last judgment when God, the judge, will balance the faith and actions of each person, rewarding the faithful and punishing the transgressors. Because the Quran rejected polytheism vehemently and focused on the moral responsibility of each person, in powerful terms.