Muhammad´s Revelation In 610 AD he received the first revelation of the Qur´an. He continued to receive the revelations until his death. Muhammad´s call to Islam met with stiff resistance from most of the people of Mecca. They were afraid to lose Mecca´s advantage, as a trading and religious center for Arabia, if Arabs abandoned the idols in Mecca and embraced Islam. The Arabs had abandoned the religion of Abraham and Ishmael and used idols as intermediaries between them and God the way many Christians used saints and angels. Muhammad persisted in his call to Islam refusing offers of wealth and power in return for abandoning his mission. Consequently, the Muslims began to experience persecution which ranged from boycott to physical torture. In spite of all the persecution, the number of Muslims grew steadily. Converts to Islam included Jews and Christian as well as idol-worshipping Arabs. Muslims began to emigrate from Mecca to Ethiopia to escape persecution. The ruler of Ethiopia protected them from their enemies after he and his church patriarchs heard the chapter of the Qur´an about the Virgin Mary. The death of his uncle, followed by the death of his wife, affected Muhammad deeply and exposed him to more aggressive persecution. Following the end of the mourning period, Muhammad married Sawdah the widow of one of the early converts to Islam. She was the first of several wives that he married following the death of his first wife. In 621 AD, Muhammad achieved full spiritual enlightenment. He left Mecca for Medina in 622 AD to join the increasing number of Muslims who immigrated to Medina to escape persecution in Mecca. In Medina, he established a nation of equals based on the brotherhood between the Muslims in Medina and those from Mecca regardless of wealth or social status. Muhammad invited the Jews to join the new society as an independent nation, governed by Rabbinical court, within the Muslim Nation. The Jews accepted and an agreement known as The Covenant of Medina was signed. This gave birth to the world´s first written constitution. The spread of Islam in Arabia and the growing strength of the Muslims threatened the leadership position of Mecca and its trading missions. The leaders of Mecca and their allies resorted to force in an attempt to eliminate Islam before the Muslims become too strong. Several battles followed but Mecca´s hopes were shattered. The Muslims won or held their own against superior forces in all the battles. This led to the spread of Islam at a more rapid pace. The conflicts with Mecca ended when Muhammad entered the city at the head of 4 armies. The city offered practically no resistance after Muhammad gave his word that everyone who remained at home or in the mosque would be safe. The idols in Mecca were destroyed and Arabia was united under the banner of Islam before the Prophet´s death in 632 AD. 
The Personality Of The Prophet Muhammad The Prophet Muhammad was known for good character throughout his life. He was known as: "The Honest" long before he received the message of Islam. He was handsome, of medium height, very active, walked rapidly which forced his companions to race to keep up with him. People reported seeing light around his body and in his face, which they compared to the sun or the full moon. His skin was white and turned rosy from exposure to the sun. He had black eyes and a thick beard. People he touched, reported feeling healed, safe and secure. He was humble and did not allow his companions to stand up when he met them or kiss his hand. He sat with his companions where he happened to be. A stranger walking into the room could not tell who the Prophet was by his position in the group. He joked with his companions, played with their kids and put them in his lap. He loved his grandchildren, played with them, and even carried them on his shoulder while conducting the ritual prayers. He smiled most of the time and disliked to say no. When asked a question he didn´t want to answer, he remained silent. When given a choice, he always chose the easiest option. He emphasized that Islam is the Golden Mean and discouraged extremes of behavior. He accepted all invitations, all apologies, all presents. He returned favors with equal or higher value presents. He visited the sick, was the first to greet people he met, was the last to pull away when shaking hands with someone or embracing him. He always listened to others until they finished what they had to say. In the mosque, he cut the group prayer short if he heard a child crying outside to allow the child´s mother to leave the mosque and take care of her child. He stopped his personal prayers if he noticed someone approaching to ask him something then resumed the prayers after the person´s departure. At home, he cleaned and mended his clothing repaired his shoes, milked his sheep and saddled his camel and horse. His servant reported that the Prophet never insulted, beaten, frowned to, or reprimanded him even when he didn´t complete an assignment. He was kind to animals and opened his door to a stray cat seeking shelter. One of his travelling companions once took 2 baby robins from a nest. When the Prophet saw the mother flapping her wings over the nest, he responded, "Who shocked this in her babies? Return her babies to her". He ordered his followers not to use animals for target practice. He also ordered those who slaughtered animals for food to sharpen their blades and not to slaughter an animal in view of another animal. He lived a very simple life and donated anything he earned or received beyond his minimum requirements to the needy on a daily basis. He placed his faith in God to provide for his future needs. He prayed frequently which meant his body and clothing were always clean since Muslims must complete a cleansing ritual before praying. He ate only when hungry and never reached his fill. He brushed his teeth after every meal. He advised his companions to keep one third of their stomach for food, one third for beverages, and one third for themselves. The Prophet Muhammad once summarized his code to be: "mindfulness of God privately and publicly, fairness in anger or satisfaction, moderation in poverty or wealth, connecting with those who avoided him, giving to those who deprived him, forgiving those who wronged him, speaking out for what is good, and making his silence a meditation, his speech a recital of the name of God, and what he saw a lesson." This statement rhymes nicely in Arabic. The Prophet Muhammad always guarded against becoming a divine intermediary or son of God like Jesus, Ezra, and the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt. He emphasized being the servant of God at all times. Because of his full spiritual enlightenment, which surpassed those achieved by any prophet from Noah to Jesus, Prophet Muhammad was capable of performing miracles that defied the physical laws of the universe. He preferred to veil his miracles by preceding them with sincere prayers to God and following them by thanking and praising God. This attributed the miracle to God and left Prophet Muhammad as His humble servant. Muslims always considered the Qur´an a miracle. The Qur´an is a living miracle that can be verified today by anyone and does not depend on accepting ancient accounts of miracles without question.
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Following the death of his grandfather, Muhammad was raised by his uncle Abu Talib. Muhammad accompanied his uncle on a trading mission to Syria when he was only 12 years old. Muhammad was unlettered, because of his uncle´s limited means, but he was known for his good character and was nicknamed "The Honest".