Born in approximately 571 AD, Muhammad is the most important and influential leader of the Islamic religion. His ability to influence people into believing his experiences helped the Islamic faith become what it is today. There are millions of people in this world whose lives have some how been effected by this man in one way or another. He has played a significant part in the development of Islam, and the happenings throughout his lifetime have caused changes and divisions to this faith.

There is little that is factually known about Muhammad's life prior to the revelations he received from the Angel Gabriel in 609 AD. His birth name is not even known for certain. However, there are some concrete facts regarding his childhood. He grew up as an orphan and was raised by one of his uncles in the Hashim clan1. At the age of twenty-five, he married a wealthy women, Khadija, who was fifteen years older than he2. It is said that he was an unusually honest man, and many stories in the Hadith tell of his destiny to become a prophet3.

During his marriage to Khadija, Muhammad frequently went to meditate at Mount Hira, which was located only a few miles north of Mecca4. O

4. Watt, W. Montgomery. What is Islam? New York: Frederick A Praeger, 1968. pg. 93-112.

In the year 629 AD, after the peaceful surrender of Mecca to Muhammad, he and many of his followers made their first pilgrimage back to Mecca. With the surrendering of Mecca to Muhammad, he then controlled most of the Arabian territory12. He was in command of many men, and this resulted in the capturing of lands to be converted to the Islam faith. Islam was beginning to rapidly spread throughout the Middle East.

Muhammad, The Supreme Prophet of God, was a man that changed the world. He had a great effect on the nations of the Middle East, and the people of his time. In only a short period of time, he drew these people's attention towards a religion that has survived for thousands of years and will continue on into the future.

1. Welch, Alford T. "Muhammad: The Life of the Prophet," The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. Volume 3. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. pg. 153-164.

Muhammad did not name a successor to his most powerful position. Abu Bakr, a close friend and Companion of Muhammad, was the Caliph (political and religious leader) that took over his position. Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali were the next four individuals to hold the position of Caliph after the death of Muhammad. This is where a controversy exists between Muslims, and causes a major division in the Islamic religion. There are two groups that emerge from this disagreement of who truly is a Caliph and who is not, they are the Sunni and the Shi'ite. The Sunni, which consists of 80 to 85 percent of all Muslims, believe all four of these men are true Caliphs. The Shi'ites believe that only the last man, Ali, is the true Caliph to emerge after the death of Muhammad. This disagreement about who are true Caliphates, will lead to controversy and wars between the Muslim nation16.

4. Esposito, John L. Islam: The Straight Path. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. pg. 3-19.

7. Watt, W. Montgomery. What is Islam? Ne

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