How did the Prophet live before prophethood?

The Prophet grew up an orphan. He was nursed in the desert of Banu Sa'd, his father died before he was born, his mother died when he was six, and his grandfather when he was eight, after which his uncle Abu Talib took him in ^{1 2 3}. In his youth he travelled for trade, tended sheep, witnessed the War of al-Fijar and the Pact of al-Fudul, married Khadija at the age of twenty-five, and was known among his people as al-Amin ⁴.

He was born in Mecca in the Year of the Elephant (the birth). He was nursed first by Thuwayba and then by Halima in the desert of Banu Sa'd, following the custom of Meccan families of sending infants to be nursed in the desert ^{5 6}. His mother died at al-Abwa when he was six (the death of Amina). Then his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib died when he was eight, and Abu Talib took him in (the death of Abd al-Muttalib) ^{2 3}.

At the age of twelve he travelled with his uncle to Syria, where he met Bahira (the meeting with Bahira). At fifteen he witnessed the War of al-Fijar, and then the Pact of al-Fudul. He tended sheep. At twenty-five he traded with Khadija's property and then married her (the marriage to Khadija) ^{3 7 8 9}. At thirty-five Quraysh made him the arbiter in placing the Black Stone (the rebuilding of the Kaaba) ¹⁰.

The author describes him before prophethood as given to long silence and reflection, and averse to idols, so that he would not attend their festivals and could not bear to swear by al-Lat and al-Uzza. His qualities made him the most truthful of his people in speech and the most trustworthy in what was entrusted to him, until they called him al-Amin ^{11 12}.

• The whole answer is taken from Al-Raheeq al-Makhtum, a modern biography that relies on Ibn Hisham and the hadith sources. The academic reading of this period is not presented here.