START OF ISLAM

Islam started in Mecca where as a new religion it denounced the practice of polytheism popular in Arabia during that time, this message was not received well by the majority of Mecca’s citizens nor its authorities, early Muslims were persecuted and later on forced to migrate to Medina and Abyssinia (Ethiopia). In Medina Islam flourished and the first Islamic state was established under the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), after Muhammad’s death in 632 various leaders of the Islamic state followed and the Islamic state expanded to include Persia, Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa.

Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Madina known as ‘Hijira’, which is an indication of the start of the Islamic Calendar. The Qur’an known as the miracle of the prophet; addresses both the Muslim and non-Muslims. It is a book of law and guidance, a revelation of the past incidences as well as of the future and hereafter (life and death, day of judgment), it talks of Allah (God) and His miracles including those of science and of the universe.

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Prophet Muhammad received the first revelation from Allah (God) through the angel Jibril (Gabriel) at the age of 40 on a night which is known as ‘Lailatul Quadar’, he revived this message in a area known as the cave of hira, after this night he continued to receive revelations for a long period; enough to be recorded and assembled – these messages are what form the Quran itself.