Early Islam

Before the seventh century, the Arabian peninsula was populated by nomadic Bedouin tribes who worshipped spirits they believed present in objects such as rocks, animals, and plants. In Bedouin mythology Allah was the supreme ruler of the universe, but there were others, such as Hubal the Moon God. But in 610 a merchant named Muhammad had a revelation: there is no God but Allah. In Arabic this is the sonorous refrain, “la ilaha illa Allah.” The denial of the very existence of other gods was made one of the five pillars of a new religion, soon known as Islam (“submission,” i.e., submission to the will of God) and its adherents would be called Muslims.

Muhammad began preaching in his birthplace of Mecca. In one respect, it was a good place to begin, since many came to the city to worship at the cube-shaped shrine known as the Ka'aba, which housed relics honoring more than 300 gods. The most sacred relic was the “Black Stone” of Hubal which, according to legend, fell to Earth from the Moon; because of this story, most scholars believe the Black Stone is a meteorite. On the other hand, themerchant families that dominated the city feared that reducing the number of gods would jeopardize a valuable source of revenue, so the early Muslims faced considerable persecution. After ten years of steadily increasing opposition,Muhammad broke the bonds (hijra in Arabic) that tied him to Mecca; this event in 622 marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. Muhammad settled in Yathrib, some 200 miles north of Mecca, but later renamed “The City of the Prophet of God:” Madīnat Rasūl Allāh, or Medina.