Allah ﷻ sent the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after an interval of time between Messengers. Misguidance and ignorance had become widespread, and the religion of the Messengers had been distorted by polytheism and idolatry. Even civilized societies were immersed in the muck of polytheism and filth of ignorance.

People at the time who had remnants of revelation declared that the time had come for the appearance of the Prophet of the End Times. The Arabs also witnessed Allah’s special care for them and His exalting the sanctity of His Sacred House when He annihilated the armies that came to destroy it. This was a pre-revelatory miracle (irhāṣ) in honor of the birth of His Prophet ﷺ, “He sent ranks of birds against them pelting them with pellets of hard-baked clay, leaving them like chewed up straw.” [Quran :-] The Prophet’s ﷺ birth was in this year, the Year of the Elephant. He was born shortly before Fajr on Monday in Mecca, on the twelfth of Rabī‘ ul-Awwal.

At his birth ﷺ , many extraordinary and amazing things manifested from the Unseen. The Prophet’s mother saw a brilliant radiance that illuminated the palaces of Shām. He said of his birth, “I will inform you of my beginning: I am the du‘ā of my father Ibrahim, the good news that Jesus shared, and the vision my mother had when she gave birth to me, when a light emanated for her that lit up the palaces of Shām.”

Highlighting the blessedness of his birth, he said ﷺ when asked by his Companions why he would fast on Mondays, “That is the day I was born.” Al-‘Abbās ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib praised the Prophet ﷺ with the following lines of poetry, "And you, when you were born, The earth and horizons filled with your light! And we—in that radiance and in that light— Traverse the paths of guidance!"

When his mother Āmina gave birth to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, she nursed him for some days, then he was nursed by Thuwayba al-Aslamīyya, after which Ḥalīma al-Sa‘dīyya nursed him in the desert—as was the custom of the people of Mecca. After completing the two- year nursing period, Ḥalīma requested that he ﷺ remain with her, due to what she experienced of blessings and benefit. Two angels then came to him and cut open his noble chest, filling his heart with wisdom, knowledge, and forbearance. After this powerful spiritual experience, Ḥalīma returned him to his mother Āmina.

His mother traveled with him to Madina to visit his maternal uncles from Banū al-Najjār. On the journey back, she passed away. He ﷺ was six years old when she died. His grandfather ‘Abdul Muṭṭalib, who cared for him, also died when he was at the tender age of eight. At this point, he became completely orphaned. He was then cared for by his uncle, Abū Ṭālib, who loved him more than his own sons.

His upbringing ﷺ as an orphan was due to a sublime divine wisdom, which was for him to be aided solely by his Lord and directly nurtured by Him ﷻ . He was not indebted to any created being, only Allah. He ﷻ kept him pure from polytheism and from the customs of his people in the Days of Ignorance. He never revered any of their idols nor did he attend any of their celebrations. They would invite him to such practices, but he would refuse, and Allah would protect him.

When he ﷺ reached the age of , his uncle Abū Ṭālib brought him along on a journey to the lands of the Shām. When they arrived in Bosra, Baḥīra the Monk saw him and recognized the signs of Prophethood in him. Baḥīra urged his uncle to take him back [to Mecca] because he feared that some people of the Jewish religion would seek to harm him, so his uncle quickly returned with him.

He ﷺ then became a shepherd of a flock, to prepare and train him to become the shepherd of nations, as is the way of Allah ﷻ with the Prophets and Messengers. He then became a merchant, which made his virtues evident to people, granting him renown among them as ‘The Trustworthy’ (Al-Amīn).

At the age of , he went out selling merchandise for Khadīja bint Khuwaylid. With him was her young servant Maysara who served and assisted him. His business dealings were especially profitable. Maysara observed his gentle character and wondrous nature, later describing the miracles he saw to Sayyida Khadīja. Due to the perfection of her intellect, she recognized the virtue of the Prophet ﷺ and so she offered to marry him, seeking to attain the greatest good and honor in this life and the next.