The Prophet’s Birth Muhammad, son of Abdullah, son of Abdul
Muttalib, of the tribe of Quraysh, was born in Makkah fifty-
three years before the Hijrah. His father died before he was
born, and he was protected first by his grandfather, Abdul
Muttalib, and after his grandfather’s death, by his uncle Abu
Talib. As a young boy he traveled with his uncle in the
merchants’ caravan to Syria, and some years afterwards made the
same journey in the service of a wealthy widow named Khadijah.
So faithfully did he transact the widow’s business, and so
excellent was the report of his behavior, which she received
from her old servant who had accompanied him, that she soon
afterwards married her young agent; and the marriage proved a
very happy one, though she was fifteen years older than he was.
Throughout the twenty-six years of their life together he
remained devoted to her; and after her death, when he took other
wives he always mentioned her with the greatest love and
reverence. This marriage gave him rank among the nota