The Life of the Prophet ﷺ: An Introduction 🕋

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born in the town of Makkah around the year 570 CE. He belong to the Banu Hashim clan, a subset of the Quraysh tribe that controlled Makkah - the trading and religious centre deep in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula.

About eighty kilometers inland from the Red Sea, it benefitted greatly from the north-south trade routes that connected the Romans in the north and Yemen in the south. Yet, Makkah was far detached from both these places. Hundreds of kilometers of desert surrounding from the valley town allowed it to develop independent of any foreign control or influence.

Makkah was at once both internationally connected and isolated. But when it came to religion, it was a focal point for the entire Arabian Peninsula. It was teh location of teh Ka’ba and the annual pilgrimage that attracted Arabs from all over the peninsula. So while Makkah was far away enough to elude imperial control by the Byzantines or Persians, it was central enough tot have a major impact on the Arab people. Both of these characteristics would play a major role when Islam began to spread.