Muhammad
- The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Muhammad (also spelled "Mohammad", "Mohammed"; and formerly
Mahomet in imitation of the
Latin spelling; محمد in
Arabic) is revered by
Muslims as the prophet of
Islam. According to his traditional Muslim biographies (called
sirah in Arabic), he was born circa 570 in
Mecca (or "Makkah") and died
June 8, 632 in
Medina (Madinah). His full name was
Abu al-Qasim Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Abd al-Muttalib Ibn Hashim (
Ibn meaning "son of" and
Abu meaning "father of"). Muslims consider Muhammad the last
prophet of the
Abrahamic religions. He also unified certain
Arabian tribes, which enabled the Arab conquests which established the later Islamic empires.
Muslim culture holds Muhammad in great reverence. After mentioning or writing his name, or that of any other
prophet such as
Jesus or
Moses, a Muslim will often add "
peace be upon him" or
sallalahu aleyhi wasallam (صلى الله عليه و سلم: alternatively abbreviated as "PBUH" or as "SAW"). Different groups of Muslims have differing usages in this regard, so for example
Shia Muslims only use the phrase for Muhammad himself and not for other prophets, and add a sub-phrase to it, making it
sallalahu alayhi wa ahlihi wasallam generalizing the blessing to "him and his family".