Biography of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him): Lineage, Birth, Family and Miracles

Quick answer: Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born in Makkah in the Year of the Elephant (around 570 CE), a descendant of Prophet Ismail son of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon them). Orphaned young, he grew up known as “the Truthful, the Trustworthy,” received revelation at forty, and spent twenty-three years delivering the message of Islam. This article walks through his noble lineage, birth, childhood, names, family, and miracles — drawn from the classical biographies.

His Noble Lineage

Few people can name their ancestors beyond a few generations; the Prophet’s lineage (peace be upon him) was preserved by the Arabs with famous precision. As recorded in the classical biographies, he is:

Muhammad, son of Abdullah, son of Abdul-Muttalib, son of Hashim, son of Abd Manaf, son of Qusayy, son of Kilab, son of Murrah, son of Ka’b, son of Lu’ayy, son of Ghalib, son of Fihr, son of Malik, son of al-Nadr, son of Kinanah, son of Khuzaymah, son of Mudrikah, son of Ilyas, son of Mudar, son of Nizar, son of Ma’add, son of Adnan.

Up to Adnan, this chain is agreed upon by the genealogists. Beyond Adnan, scholars affirm that the line reaches back to Prophet Ismail, son of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon them both) — the family of the builders of the Ka’bah — though the individual names between Adnan and Ismail were not preserved with certainty, which is why careful scholars traditionally stop at Adnan. Thus the Prophet of Islam stands at the meeting point of Ibrahim’s ancient supplication: a messenger raised from among the descendants he left in the valley of Makkah.

Birth in the Year of the Elephant

He was born (peace be upon him) in Makkah on a Monday in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal in the Year of the Elephant — the very year Allah destroyed Abrahah’s army that had marched to demolish the Ka’bah, corresponding to about 570 CE. The most famous report places the date on the twelfth of Rabi’ al-Awwal, with other narrations differing slightly. That it was a Monday is certain: when the Prophet was later asked about fasting on Mondays, he answered, “That is the day I was born, and the day revelation first came to me” (Muslim). His mother, Aminah bint Wahb, is reported to have said she never felt a pregnancy lighter or more blessed than his.

An Orphan’s Childhood

His father, Abdullah, died before ever seeing his son. Returning from a trade journey to Syria with a caravan of Quraysh, he fell ill and stayed with his mother’s relatives of Banu al-Najjar in Yathrib (later al-Madinah), where he died aged about twenty-five — leaving a modest legacy that included a few camels, a flock of sheep, and the servant Umm Ayman, who would lovingly serve the Prophet all her life.

The infant was nursed first, briefly, by Thuwaybah, and then by Halimah al-Sa’diyyah of the Banu Sa’d, in whose desert household he spent his early years — years Halimah always described as filled with blessing. When he was six, his mother Aminah took him to visit his father’s grave and her relatives in Yathrib, accompanied by Umm Ayman; on the return journey she fell ill and died at a place called al-Abwa’. The orphan passed into the care of his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib, who loved him dearly — and upon the grandfather’s death two years later, into the care of his uncle Abu Talib, who protected him faithfully into manhood. Allah would later remind him: “Did He not find you an orphan and give you refuge?” (Quran 93:6).

His Names

In an authentic narration (Bukhari and Muslim), the Prophet said: “I have five names: I am Muhammad, and I am Ahmad; I am al-Mahi (the Effacer), through whom Allah effaces disbelief; I am al-Hashir (the Gatherer), at whose feet mankind will be gathered; and I am al-’Aqib (the Last), after whom there is no prophet.” The tradition also preserves beloved titles and descriptions: the Prophet of Mercy, the Trustworthy (al-Amin) — a title Makkah gave him before Islam — al-Mustafa (the Chosen), the Seal of the Prophets, the ever-truthful bringer of good news and warner.

His Appearance

The companions preserved his description (peace be upon him) with the tenderness of people describing the one they loved most. He was of medium height — neither conspicuously tall nor short — with a bright, radiant complexion touched with redness, deep black eyes, a broad forehead, and a full, expressive face; his hair was neither straight nor tightly curled and reached toward his shoulders. Anas ibn Malik, who served him for ten years, said: “I never touched silk or brocade softer than the palm of the Messenger of Allah, nor smelled any fragrance sweeter than his scent” (Bukhari and Muslim). Between his shoulders was the Seal of Prophethood.

His Children

The Prophet (peace be upon him) had seven children. Six were from Khadijah: his sons al-Qasim (by whom he took the honorific Abu al-Qasim) and Abdullah, both of whom died in early childhood, and his daughters Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah. His seventh child, Ibrahim, was born to Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah and died as an infant of about a year and a half, to his father’s deep grief. Of all his children, only Fatimah outlived him — by six months.

His Wives — the Mothers of the Believers

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid holds a station all her own: a noble widow of Makkah who had been married twice before, she proposed to the young man whose honesty had managed her trade caravan — and became the first believer of this Ummah. For twenty-five years he married no one else; she stood by him through the first revelation and the years of persecution, and Jibril himself brought her greetings of peace from her Lord and glad tidings of a house in Paradise (Bukhari and Muslim). Long after her death the Prophet kept honouring her friends and praising her, saying she believed in him when people denied him.

After Khadijah’s death, and mostly in the Madinan years, he married the other Mothers of the Believers — each marriage carrying wisdom of companionship, consolation of widows, teaching, or binding of tribes and hearts:

• Sawdah bint Zam’ah — an early Muslim widow, the first he married after Khadijah; in her later years she gifted her allotted day to Aisha, preferring to remain among his wives into the Hereafter.
• Aisha bint Abi Bakr — daughter of his closest companion; the only wife he married who had not been married before, whose innocence Allah declared in verses of the Quran recited until today (Surat al-Nur), and who became one of the greatest scholars and hadith narrators of the entire Ummah — the revelation itself descended while he was with her, and he passed away in her chamber and was buried there.
• Hafsah bint Umar ibn al-Khattab — the devoted widow whose father Umar offered her in marriage; to her care the first collected manuscript of the Quran was later entrusted.
• Zaynab bint Khuzaymah — called Umm al-Masakin, “Mother of the Poor,” for her constant feeding of the needy; she died only months after the marriage, in the Prophet’s lifetime.
• Umm Salamah, Hind bint Abi Umayyah — among the first emigrant women, widowed by the wounds of Uhud; renowned for wisdom, she counselled the Prophet memorably at Hudaybiyyah and was the last of his wives to die, at a great age.
• Zaynab bint Jahsh — his cousin, whose marriage Allah Himself pronounced in revelation (Quran 33:37); famed for worship, truthfulness, and generous charity by the work of her own hands.
• Juwayriyyah bint al-Harith — daughter of the chief of Banu al-Mustaliq; her marriage moved the Muslims to free a hundred households of her people, so that Aisha said no woman was a greater blessing to her tribe.
• Umm Habibah, Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan — steadfast through emigration to Abyssinia and the loss of her husband there; the Negus himself conducted her marriage contract to the Prophet and furnished her dowry before she journeyed to Madinah.
• Safiyyah bint Huyayy — daughter of the chief of Banu al-Nadir, of the line of Prophet Harun; when others taunted her, the Prophet taught her the reply: “My father is Harun, my uncle is Musa, and my husband is Muhammad.”
• Maymunah bint al-Harith — the last woman he married, during the ‘Umrah journey; Aisha praised her as among the most God-fearing of them and the most devoted to family ties.

His Miracles

The greatest miracle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is one you can still hold in your hands: the Quran itself — a living, inimitable revelation whose challenge stands open across fourteen centuries. Alongside it, the authentic collections preserve many miracles witnessed by the companions:

• The Isra and Mi’raj — the Night Journey to Jerusalem and the Ascension through the heavens.
• The splitting of the moon, affirmed in the Quran (54:1) and witnessed by the people of Makkah.
• Water flowing from between his fingers until whole companies of companions drank and made ablution.
• The multiplication of scarce food to feed armies of the hungry, related in Bukhari and Muslim.
• The yearning of the palm trunk he used to lean on while preaching, which the congregation heard weeping until he consoled it.
• Answered supplications and healing of companions by his prayer, and true tidings of unseen and future matters that unfolded exactly as he foretold.

Scholars who gathered these reports counted the well-transmitted miracles in the hundreds — yet the Prophet always pointed his people back to the first one: the Book.

Why His Story Still Matters

The biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not a museum piece. An orphan who never knew his father, who buried his mother at six, his children one after another, and his beloved Khadijah in a single year of grief — and who yet became the most merciful of men, the most truthful, and the teacher of a civilization: his life is the practical commentary on the Quran, and Muslims study it not only to know about him but to walk behind him. “Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example” (Quran 33:21).

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where was Prophet Muhammad born?

In Makkah, on a Monday in Rabi’ al-Awwal of the Year of the Elephant — about 570 CE. The twelfth of the month is the most famous of the narrated dates.

Was he really a descendant of Prophet Ibrahim?

Yes — through Ismail, son of Ibrahim (peace be upon them). His lineage to Adnan is preserved name by name; between Adnan and Ismail the names were not preserved with certainty, so scholars traditionally stop at Adnan.

How many children did he have?

Seven: al-Qasim, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, Fatimah, and Abdullah from Khadijah, and Ibrahim from Mariyah. Only Fatimah outlived him.

Why is Khadijah so honoured among his wives?

She was the first believer, his sole wife for twenty-five years, his supporter through the hardest years of the message — and she received greetings of peace from her Lord and glad tidings of Paradise in his lifetime.

The Bottom Line

From a precisely preserved lineage reaching back to Ibrahim’s family, through an orphaned childhood in Makkah, to a prophethood sealed by the Quran and confirmed by miracles his companions saw with their own eyes — the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the most documented, most studied, and most loved biography in Islam. This article is only a doorway; the classical works of Sirah reward a lifetime of reading, and for detailed questions of religion, the people of knowledge remain the address. May the finest blessings and peace be upon him.