History Fact Finder | Religion - How Old Is Islam?

How old is Islam?

Islam dates to the early 600s, when the prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632) received a revelation from Allah (God) and began gathering followers. Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia. Orphaned at age six, he was raised by relatives who trained him to become a merchant. Muhammad was known for his honesty, and when he was twenty-five years old he married Khadijah, a rich widow fifteen years his senior. Muhammad was disturbed by conditions in Mecca, where rich traders took advantage of the poor. Drunkenness, gambling, and violence against women and children were common.

In 610 Muhammad was meditating on Mount Hira when he started having visions. His companions wrote down some 600 of these visions in a book called the Koran (also spelled Qur'an). The Koran became the holy book of Muhammad's followers, who were soon called Muslims. The religion founded by Muhammad became known as Islam, which...

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