Muhammad (Mohammed, Muhammed or Mahomet,) is regarded by Muslims as the last messenger and prophet of God (Allah) and the historical founder of the religion of Islam.
Muhammad was born in 570 in the city of Mecca in Arabia. He was orphaned at a young age and was brought up by his uncle and later worked mostly as a merchant.
Disenchanted with his life in Mecca, the 40-year old Muhammed retreated to a cave located at the summit of Mount Hira, just outside Mecca in the Arabian Hijaz for meditation and reflection during the month of Ramadan. There, according to Islamic tradition, he received his first revelation from God. Muhammad would retreat to a cave located at the summit of Mount Hira, just outside Mecca in the Arabian Hijaz, where he fasted and prayed. According to Islamic belief he was visited by the Angel Gabriel and commanded to recite verses sent by God. These revelations continued until his death 23 years later. The collection of these verses is known as the Qur'an. Three years after his first revelation, Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, and proclaiming himself a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets.
Muhammad met with hostility from the tribes of Mecca. While he gained a few followers he was initially shunned then persecuted. Muhammad and his band of followers escaped to Medina in the year 622. This historic event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
In Medina, Muhammad gained a larger following and brought together conflicting tribes. After an eight year war, Muhammad led an army of ten thousand and conquered Mecca. In 632 AD, on returning to Medina Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of Arabia had converted to Islam.
Under the caliphs who assumed authority after his death, an Islamic empire expanded north into Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia and west into Egypt, North Africa, southern Spain. Later conquests spread Islam over most of the middle east, into India and Southeast Asia.

The Koran

The Koran is the holy book of the religion of Islam. It is also called “Qur'an” or “Quran.”
The exact translation of the word “Koran” is not known, although it may be the ancient Arabic word  for “collect” or “tie together” or perhaps it is the word for “read” or “recite.”
Muslims believe the Koran is the transcribed words of God (Allah) as revealed to Muhammad. Muslims believe the words were written down by Muhammad.
Followers also believe the Koran is the last in a series of messages that started with the Book of Genesis’s Adam – regarded as the first prophet is Islam – followed by the Scrolls of Abraham/Ibrahim, the Jewish Torah, The Psalms and the Injil (a gospel of Jesus). The Koran relates some events from Jewish and Christian scriptures, retelling some of these them, and referring obliquely to others. The text rarely offers detailed accounts of historical events and instead highlights the moral significance of the event, rather than its narrative sequence.
Most historians date the actual writing of the Koran as between 620 to 650. According to Muslim scholars contemporaries and disciples of Mohammad, memorized the sayings and teachings and wrote them down on stones. In the Sunni tradition, the collection of the Qur'ān compilation took place under the Caliph Abu Bakr.
As the Koran is believed to be the actual revealed word of Allah, there is a prohibition against destroying actual books and there can be no re-writing of text. However, a recent discovery in Oman produced many sixth Century Korans that showed considerable editing.
The Koran is divided into 114 suras, which are opened by indications on their origin. The origin is either Mecca or Medina. There is no chronology like the Christian Bible, and the majority of its contents are commandments and instructions. Very little is made up of stories and allegories.
The book gives many instructions on the living life day to day, but little on moral and legal questions. Sharia law grew up to compliment the Koran and deals with more societal issues. This has given rise to considerable misunderstanding of the Koran by non-Muslims.
The first translation of the Koran into another language was to Latin in 1143, by a monk serving with the Crusaders.