The founder and prophet of Islam, Muhammad (570–632 C.E.) was born in Arabia. At the age of forty, he was selected by God (Allah) to be the prophet of true religion. He heeded the command to preach and spread the word, preaching openly against idolatry and of the oneness of Allah or God.

Muhammad's parents were of the Hashim clan, of the Kuraish tribe. Once laborers, tribal members acquired the Kaaba in the fifth century and became one of the most prominent and powerful tribes in central Arabia. Muhammad was orphaned soon after his birth and raised by an uncle, Abu Talib.

As an adult, Muhammad became a respected and successful trader. On a trading journey to Syria, he was put in charge of the merchandise of a rich middle-aged widow named Kahdija. She was so taken with him that she offered herself in marriage. She eventually bore him six children, two sons and four daughters. The best known of these children was his daughter Fatima, who became the wife of Muhammad's cousin Ali, who was regarded as Muhammad's divinely ordained successor.

Muhammad was known for his charm, courage, impartiality, and resoluteness. He was considered a man of virtuous character who epitomized what would later become the Islamic ideal. His personal revelation came while he was meditating in a cave outside the city of Makkah (or Mecca) when he was forty years old. He had a vision of the angel Gabriel, who said, “Recite.” Muhammad refused three times until the angel said, “Recite in the name of thy Lord who created.” The words that were given to Muhammad declared the oneness and power of God, to whom worship should be made, and the judgment that all must face.

The Koran called Muhammad the “unlettered prophet.” This makes his recitation more credible, the thinking goes, for if he was unable to read or write he could not have changed the words of Allah, but received the revelation directly. Indeed, Allah says to Muhammad in the Koran, “Never have you read a book before this, nor have you transcribed one with your right hand. Had you done either of these the unbelievers might have justly doubted.” (29:48)

Following his revelation, Muhammad began preaching. It was a turbulent time of military conquest and political expansion throughout the area, and Muhammad met with opposition. He and his followers fled the persecution and migrated to Medina, where his teachings began to be accepted and the first Islamic community was founded.

The major achievements of Muhammad were the founding of a state and a religion. He was politically successful, created a federation of Arab tribes, and made the religion of Islam the basis of Arab unity. He died in 632 in Medina.

What followed was an amazing expansion of the Muslim faith throughout a large part of the world from Spain to Central Asia to India, Turkey, Africa, Indonesia, Malaya, and China — the same areas where the Muslims were very active traders. But the expansion was also due to suppression of alternate religious faiths. Jews and Christians were given a special status; they had to pay a tax to maintain their religious autonomy. Other religions were given a different choice: Accept Islam or die.

In the early days of the faith, Islam became a part of both the spiritual and temporal aspects of Muslim life. There was not only an Islamic religious institution but also Islamic law, state, and other government institutions. It wasn't until the twentieth century that the religious and secular were formally separated. Even so, Islam actually draws no absolute distinction between the religious and temporal parts of life; the Muslim state is by definition religious.