Mu'awiya I was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashidun ('rightly-guided') caliphs. Unlike his predecessors, who had been close, early companions of Muhammad, Mu'awiya was a relatively late follower of Muhammad.
Sasanian-style silver dirham minted in Mu'awiya's name, c. 674
A statue representing Uqba ibn Nafi, the Arab commander who conquered Ifriqiya and founded Kairouan in 670, during Mu'awiya's reign. Uqba served as Mu'awiya's lieutenant governor over North Africa until the caliph dismissed him in 673.
Muhammad was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets within Islam, with the Quran as well as his teachings and practices forming the basis for Islamic religious belief.
"Muhammad, the Messenger of God" inscribed on the gates of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina
Two folios of the Birmingham Quran manuscript, an early manuscript written in Hijazi script likely dated within Muhammad's lifetime between c. 568–645
An early manuscript of Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, believed to have been transmitted by his students shortly after his death in 833
An early manuscript of the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas, dated within his lifetime in c. 780