Origins and Diffusion of Islam

Islam originated with Muhammad ibn Abdullah, born in Mecca around 570 CE, who reported receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel on Mount Hira in 610 CE. His preaching against the polytheism of the Meccan Quraysh tribe provoked sustained opposition, leading in 622 CE to the Hijra, his migration with a group of followers to the oasis town of Yathrib, subsequently renamed Medina; this event marks year one of the Islamic lunar calendar. In Medina, Muhammad drafted the Constitution of Medina establishing a new political community (umma), and after several years of conflict with Mecca he returned in triumph in 630 CE, rededicating the Kaaba to the worship of one God. Muhammad died in 632 CE, and within roughly two decades the Quran, believed by Muslims to be God's revealed word transmitted through him, was compiled into a standardized written text under the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan.