The compilation of the Qur’an is not chronological; the chapters are not listed in the order revealed but by length, with the longest chapters at the start. There are 114 chapters in all.

Muhammad is mentioned in the Qur’an 5 times. Moses is mentioned 135 times, Abraham 67, Noah 43, Jesus 33, Joseph 27 and Adam 25. The only woman mentioned by name is Mary, mother of Jesus.

THE PROPHET

Sallallahu alaihi wassalam. That’s what Muslims say every time they mention or hear Muhammad’s name: “Peace be upon him” (PBUH).

While movies, television and other media proliferate in Muslim nations, tradition continues to forbid the depiction of the Prophet and his companions. The prohibition flows from the injunction against making images of the living God (Deuteronomy 4:16-19), which Muslims adopted. But there are enough detailed descriptions of him for Muslims to know him intimately. That’s how the movie Muhammad (1977) was made, with him off-camera but his presence felt in almost every scene.

The Sermon That Changed the World

“There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for the white over the black, nor for the black over the white, except in piety.” The Prophet Muhammad enunciated that message of equality, now the bedrock principle of democracies, back in AD 632.

He was delivering his now famous sermon during his only Haj pilgrimage to Mecca. He had come from Medina with 30,000 followers, insisting that the women come along. About 70,000 others had joined him along the way. After circumambulating the Ka’ba, the throng proceeded to the valley of Arafat, where he climbed the Mount of Mercy to deliver what amounted to his last will and testament.

The Life of Muhammad

AD 570 Born in Mecca, Arabia.

595 Marries his boss, Khadijah, a rich widow.

610 Receives first revelation from God. The revelations continue for twenty-two years and constitute the Qur’an.

615 Muhammad’s teachings infuriate locals who persecute him. He sends seventy to eighty followers to Ethiopia (Abyssinia), whose Christian ruler gives them refuge.

619 Khadijah dies, leaving four daughters but no sons (two died in infancy).

620 Muhammad, known for his integrity and leadership, is visited by a six-member delegation from the northern city of Yathrib, inviting him to move there and lead their five fractious tribes.

622 Migrates to Yathrib. The journey is called Hijra (the flight), from which the Muslim calendar is dated. So, AD 2008 is 1429 AH (After Hijrah). Yathrib is named Madinat al-Nabi (City of the Prophet), shortened to Medina.

624 First battle against the Meccans; 313 Muslims defeat 1,000 Meccans.

625 Second battle against the Meccans; 1,000 Muslims are routed by 3,000 Meccans, who mutilate Muslim corpses. Muhammad is injured but salvages an honorable retreat.

627 Third battle against the Meccans; the Meccan army of

“Hear me, O People, for I know not if ever I shall meet with you in this place after this year,” he began, intending his words for more than those present. Instead of “O Muslims,” he called out “O People” and “O Mankind” a total of eight times.