Muhammad, too, was both a spiritual leader and a reformer, but because unlike other prophets before him he succeeded in establishing an organised social structure following the rules he brought, many biographers focus more on his political career than his spiritual teachings. His miracles, too, receive little attention since they are dwarfed by that ongoing miracle, the Qur’an, preserved unchanged since the days of its revelation.

 "He has revealed to you (Muhammad) the scripture with truth, confirming that which was (revealed) before it…" (Qur'an, 3:3).

 "And we reveal in the Qur'an that which is a healing and mercy for the believers…" (Qur'an 17:82) 

Muhammad was born into a noble family in Makkah, but the death of his father before his mother gave birth made him an orphan and somewhat more vulnerable in Arabian society. His mother died while he was still young and he was then brought up by his uncle Abu Talib. He became a successful trader in the employment of a wealthy widow, Khadija, who was so impressed with his integrity that she approached him with a proposal of marriage, although he was considerably younger than her. He was respected in society, and it was only after he had been called to prophethood by the archangel Gabriel whilst meditating in the cave of Hira, as he often did, that the very same society turned against him. They did not resent him as a person, but feared his message of equality before God. 

"Or do they not know their messenger, and so reject him? Or do they say: There is a madness in him? Nay, but he brings them the Truth; and most of them hate the Truth. And if the Truth had followed their desires, verily the heavens and the earth and whosoever is in it would have been corrupted." (Qur'an 23:69-71) 

Initially his call to reject idolatry and submit to the only true God was only directed at his family and friends. When it became a public invitation, however, the upholders of the established order, who benefited from the influx of pilgrims and wealth connected to their existing religion, became increasingly intolerant of this new movement and responded with slander and vilification as well as physical persecution. Eventually the growing number of Muslims following Muhammad’s teachings were banished from town and an embargo on trade and dealings with them was ordered. 

"The Quraysh gathered together to confer and decided to draw up a document in which they undertook not to marry women from Banu Hashim and the Banu al Muttalib, or to give them women in marriage, or to sell anything to them or buy anything from them. They drew up a written contract to that effect and solemnly pledged themselves to observe it. They then hung up the document in the interior of the Ka'bah to make it even more binding upon themselves. " (Tarikh al-Tabari) 

When Muhammad managed to find a safe haven amongst supporters of a different town, Yathrib (later known as Madinah), he began to organise the migration of his followers into exile and did not leave himself until they had all safely reached their new home. An attempt to intercept the prophet on his own migration to Medinah failed, and he established himself at the head of a flourishing community there whilst at the same time forging further alliances with neighbouring tribes and leaders of state. For the people of Makkah he became even more of a threat and rival by doing so, and their enmity culminated into drawing him and his followers into a military confrontation. In spite of their inferior numbers and lack of equipment they emerged victorious from the battle of Badr, and later at the battle of Uhud, during which Makkah tried to avenge its earlier defeat, the Muslims suffered heavy losses but survived the onslaught. Within less than ten years since the Hijrah, the first migration to Madinah, Muhammad retook Makkah at the head of a numerous and invincible army, but showed great compassion and leniency to its inhabitants and his former foes. He rooted out idolatry by removing the idols from the Kaabah, the House of God, to which people had made pilgrimage from the days of Abraham. 

"On the morning of Friday, 20 Ramadan, 8 A.H., the Messenger of Allah entered Makkah with his head bowed. When he realised the honour of the conquest Allah had bestowed. upon him, he felt so humble before Allah that his chin almost touched the back of his camel. He was reciting Surat al-Fath as he rode into Makkah in victory. He raised the standard of justice, equality, and humility. Behind him rode Usamah ibn Zayd, the son of his freed slave, rather than any sons of the Banu Hashim or of the Quraysh leaders, even though they were present. One man, trembling with awe on the Day of the Conquest, was told, 'Be at ease. Do not be afraid. I am not a king. I am only the son of a woman of the Quraysh who used to eat meat dried in the sun.' … The people assembled at the Ka'aba, and the Holy Prophet delivered the following address: 

"There is no God but Allah. He has no associate. He has made good His promise that He held to His bondman and helped him and defeated all his confederates. Remember that every claim of privilege, whether that of blood or property is abolished except that of the custody of the Ka'aba and of supplying water to the pilgrims. Remember that for any one who is slain the bloodwit is hundred camels. O people of Quraish, surely God has abolished from you all pride of the time of ignorance and all pride in your ancestry, because all men are descended from Adam, and Adam was made of clay." Then the Holy Prophet turning to the people said: "O Quraish, what treatment do you think I should accord you". And they said, "Mercy, O Prophet of Allah. We expect nothing but good from you." Upon this the Holy Prophet said: "I speak to you in the same words as Joseph spoke to his brothers. This day, there is no reproof against you: Go your way, for you are free." This announcement was received with great joy and applause." (Biography of Muhammad, based on Ibn Ishaq) 

When Muhammad returned to Madinah he was the undisputed ruler of a united Arabia, and Islam began to spread in all directions across the world. Within just over two decades Muhammad had transformed a remote desert community with superstitious practices into an enlightened world power with a written constitution and a refined code of law, establishing universities and cultural centres across the then known world. Europe, then still under the yoke of an ossified and monopolistic church rule, owes its scientific advances and cultural progress to the inspiring contact with the world of Islam which did not stop until the church regained its authority during the dark days of the inquisition and later the crusades. Muhammad was not only a worldly leader. He established a state on the foundations of religious laws in order to secure the freedom of people to worship God without persecution. During his night journey to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven (Isra and Mi’raj),

 "Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far distant place of worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer."(Qur'an 17:1) 

long before the migration to Madinah and whilst most people still doubted he and his followers would ever survive the persecution in Makkah, he declared his mission as a universal prophet and final link in the chain of prophets who had gone before him.   

Belief and good works]