Question

Why did Muhammad become a prophet?

Answer 1

God wanted him to. Muslims believe that Muhammad was visited by Gabriel, and Gabriel told him to "transcribe." Gabriel then recited what was to be told by Muhammad to his followers. These statements of the Islamic faith were meant to set the record straight, as previous Jews and Christians had differed from the path laid out by God from the beginning.

Answer 2

In 610, in a cave in Mount Hira north of Mecca, he had a vision in which he heard God, speaking through the angel Gabriel, command him to become the Arab prophet of the “true religion.” Thus began a lifetime of religious revelations, which he and others collected as the Qur'an.