How Muslims speak of the Prophet

Muslims add peace be upon him (often written pbuh, or in Arabic sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) after the Prophet's name, as a mark of respect. The Cambridge syllabus itself writes 'Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)'.

Two things to get right from the start: Muslims do not worship Muhammad (pbuh) — worship belongs to Allah alone — and Islam is not 'Muhammadanism'. He is the messenger, not the message.

Al-Amin

Early life and character

Muhammad (pbuh) was born in Makkah, orphaned young, and raised first by his grandfather and then his uncle Abu Talib. He worked as a merchant and married Khadijah, a successful businesswoman.

• The syllabus highlights his trustworthy character: he was known as al-Amin — 'the trustworthy'.
• Makkah at the time was a trading city whose Kaʿbah housed many idols.

Why examiners care: his reputation for honesty before any revelation is used by Muslims as evidence that he was not an impostor.

The first revelation

The cave of Hira

Muhammad (pbuh) used to withdraw to meditate in a cave on Mount Hira. There, aged about forty, he received the first revelation through the angel Jibril (Gabriel), beginning with the command 'Iqra' — 'Read!' or 'Recite!' (Surah 96:1–5).

• The experience terrified him; Khadijah comforted him and became the first Muslim.
• Revelations continued for around twenty-three years and together make up the Qurʾan.

Significance: Muslims believe the Qurʾan is the direct word of Allah, not Muhammad's composition. That is why its Arabic wording is treated with such care.

Makkah, Madinah, or a source?

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Why Makkah turned against him

When Muhammad (pbuh) began preaching, the leaders of Makkah opposed him. The syllabus asks for the reasons for his persecution:

• He preached tawhid — that Allah is one — which threatened the idols in the Kaʿbah and the pilgrim trade that came with them.
• He taught the equality of rich and poor, and of enslaved and free, before God — which threatened the social order.
• He warned of a Day of Judgement, challenging the powerful.

Early Muslims, especially those without tribal protection, suffered boycott, abuse and violence.

Persecution

The hijrah to Madinah

In 622 CE the Prophet and his followers migrated to Yathrib, afterwards called Madinah — 'the city of the Prophet'. This migration is the hijrah.

• The Muslim (Hijri) calendar counts its years from the hijrah — not from the Prophet's birth.
• In Madinah the first Muslim community was established and the first mosque built.

Its importance for Islam today: the hijrah shows that faith may require leaving what is comfortable, and it marks the moment Islam became a community with a shared life, not just a private belief.

The hijrah

The Seal of the Prophets

Muslims believe Allah sent many prophets — including Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses) and ʿIsa (Jesus) — with the same essential message. Muhammad (pbuh) is the last: the Seal of the Prophets (Surah 33:40).

• The Qurʾan is therefore Allah's final revelation, needing no successor.
• Belief in the prophets — risalah — is one of the Six Articles of Faith.

Respectful accuracy: Muslims honour Jesus (ʿIsa) as a great prophet, but do not accept that he was the son of God. Say this precisely; it is a common exam question.

Key terms

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Sunnah and Hadith

Because Muslims believe the Prophet lived the Qurʾan, his example is itself a source of guidance.

• Sunnah — the Prophet's way of life: his practice, his decisions, his manner.
• Hadith — the recorded reports of what he said and did, gathered and sifted for reliability by later scholars.

The Qurʾan describes the Messenger as an excellent example for those who hope in Allah (Surah 33:21). Together, Qurʾan and Sunnah are the two main sources of Shariʿah.

Seal of the Prophets

The Prophet in daily Muslim life

The syllabus wants the impact of belief, not just the belief. Muslims follow the Prophet's example in ordinary things:

• Prayer (salah) follows the pattern he taught.
• Manners — greeting, eating, kindness to neighbours, treatment of animals — are shaped by Hadith.
• Muslims say 'peace be upon him' whenever his name is spoken.
• Because of the emphasis on Allah's oneness, Islamic art avoids images of the Prophet and of living beings, using calligraphy and pattern instead.

A careful distinction

How Muslims discuss his importance

Evaluation questions here often ask: 'Muhammad (pbuh) is the most important figure in Islam.' Discuss.

• Agree — without him there is no Qurʾan in human hands, no Sunnah, no ummah. The shahadah names him alongside Allah.
• Disagree — Muslims would say the greatest is Allah; to elevate the Prophet too far edges towards shirk (associating partners with God), the gravest sin in Islam.
• Sunni and Shiʿah Muslims also differ over what happened to leadership after his death — the subject of a separate lesson.

The best answers hold both: supremely important as messenger, but never worshipped.

The big ideas to know

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