Muhammad, founder of Islam, died in the city of Medina at around age 62, in the house of his wife Aisha. His death triggered an immediate succession crisis among his followers, resolved when Abu Bakr was chosen as the first caliph. The question of rightful leadership would eventually split the Muslim community into Sunni and Shia branches, a division with consequences still shaping the world.
By the time of his death, Muhammad had transformed the Arabian Peninsula. Two decades earlier he had been a merchant in Mecca receiving revelations he believed came from God; by 632 he commanded the allegiance of most of Arabia's tribes, having united them under a single faith and a single political authority centered in Medina.
His final illness came on suddenly after a farewell pilgrimage to Mecca. According to tradition, he died with his head resting in the lap of his youngest wife, Aisha, daughter of his close companion Abu Bakr. His death caught the community unprepared; some followers, including Umar, reportedly refused at first to believe the Prophet could die.
The succession question that followed proved momentous. Abu Bakr's selection as caliph satisfied most, but a minority believed leadership belonged to Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali. That disagreement, seemingly a matter of political succession, hardened over centuries into the Sunni-Shia schism that still defines much of the Muslim world's religious and political geography today.
Key people: Muhammad, Abu Bakr, Aisha