ABSTRACT
The Prophet Muhammad led a remarkable life. At the age of 40, he received the first revelation from God (al-lah, ‘the God’) which was to be a major turning point both in his own life and in the subsequent lives of millions. As the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, against great opposition, unified the disparate Arab peoples into a community (the umma ) under one leader and one belief system. After his death, this new movement spread until it became the largest empire since the Roman era and enjoyed hegemony for a thousand years. Today there are around one billion people who call themselves Muslim and look to Muhammad as the model to follow in their lives.
