Muhammad been about 40, but she bore Muhammad
Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca. Because the climate of Mecca was considered to be unhealthful, he was given as an infant to a wet nurse from a nomadic tribe and spent some time in the desert as a wanderer. By the time he was eight he lost both his mother and his grandfather.
Muhammad came under the care of a famous trader named Abu Talib, and is reputed to have accompanied him on trading journeys to Syria. About 595, on such a journey, he was in charge of the merchandise of a rich woman, Khadijah , and so impressed her that she offered marriage. She is said to have been about 40, but she bore Muhammad at least two sons, who died young, and four daughters. Muhammad appears to have been of a reflective turn of mind and is said to have adopted the habit of occasionally spending nights in a hill cave near Mecca.
The poverty and misfortunes of his early life doubtless made him aware of tensions in Meccan society. About 610, as he reflected on such matters, Muhammad had a vision of a majestic being (later identified with the angel Gabriel) and heard a voice saying to him, “You are the Messenger of God.” This marked the beginning of his career as messenger of God ( or Allah), or Prophet.
From this time, at frequent intervals until his death, he received “revelations”. Sometimes these were kept in memory by Muhammad and his followers, and sometimes they were written down. About 650 they were collected and written in the Qur’an (or Koran, the sacred scriptures of Islam), in the form that has endured through time. Muslims believed the Qur’an is divine revelation, written in the words of God himself.
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