Muslims believe he received revelations from God that were later recorded in the Quran.
Islam spread quickly throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond, and today it is the second-largest religion in the world, with over 1 billion followers.
Islam began in the city of Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia, where Muhammad received revelations from God at age 40 in 610 AD.
Muhammad began preaching the message of Islam to the people of Mecca. Still, his teachings were met with resistance from the city’s leaders, who were largely involved in pagan polytheism and trade. As a result, Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD, an event known as the Hijra that marks the Islamic calendar’s beginning. This migration, or hijra, was a pivotal event in the early history of Islam, as it established a community of believers who were able to spread the religion and gain converts throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
Over the next several decades, Islam rapidly spread throughout the region and beyond under the leadership of Muhammad and his successors.
Today, Islam is the second-largest religion after Christianity and continues to grow in many parts of the world.
