Jihadists, Saints, and Protestant Reformers
Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, was born in Mecca in 570. At age 40, he began to have visions and revelations that he was the last prophet of Allah in a line that descended from Abraham. His claims to be a prophet were fiercely opposed in Mecca, and he was only able to gather about 150 followers. In 622, two Arab tribes in Medina asked him to come there to arbitrate their differences. There were also three Jewish tribes there. Muhammad quickly became the leader of the Arabs in Medina. He also became a caravan raider and war lord and was recognized as the final Prophet of Allah whose revelations should be believed and obeyed.
Muhammad’s revelations were later compiled into the Koran, the authoritative “Scripture” of Islam. His sayings and the events of his life were later remembered and recorded in the Hadith(s) and Sira (biography) and revered as sound and authoritative Islamic doctrine (Sunna).
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