Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born and raised in Mecca. It was only after he received prophethood and was persecuted by the Quraysh and fled to Medina with his companions and started his new life there. 

For the next few lessons, we will be learning about the earliest parts of his life before fleeing for Medina, starting with his family tree:

Abdullah – Father 

Aminah – Mother 

Abd al-Muttalib – Paternal Uncle 

Hamza – Paternal Uncle 

Abdullah – Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s father 

• He died well before Prophet Muhammad ﷺ born
• Abdullah was a Quraishite, meaning he came from the Quraysh tribe. They were known to be of Mecca’s most successful merchants travelling frequently for trade along the West coast of Arabia 
• They were also known as the protectors of the Ka’bah 
• He was on a business trip to Palestine and Syria with one of the caravans when he fell ill. Abdullah was on his way to visit his grandmother’s family in Yathrib – the older name of Medina, Abdullah fell ill and died on route

Aminah – Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s mother 

• She died when the prophet was six-years-old 

As per the custom in Mecca at the time, when children were very young their parents would send them off to the greener countryside of Mecca where they would be raised by foster parents. The reason for this is because Mecca was very dry and barren and not conducive for raising children. In the next lesson, we will discuss the prophet’s foster parents, Halimah and Harith.