Foundation of Islam

Islam began when an illiterate man named Muhammad was visited by the angel Jibreel while he was praying on Mount Hira near Mecca. He was there because those locals were polytheistic and worshipped many false gods and idols which had upset him. That night in 610CE was the Night of Power in which the inhabitants made sacrifices to the gods who had their likenesses in the holy, temple of the Kaaba.

Jibreel taught Muhammad to read and with that he started preaching the word of Allah (God) which made the locals who were still worshipping the gods very angry. Which is why in 622CE, the Islamic calendar began with Muhammad and the first Muslims fleeing in what is now called Hijra.

They fled to Medina where they endured 3 battles before returning to Mecca where they circled the Kaaba seen times before smashing all of the fake gods and idols which restored the Kaaba to it being a place to worship one god.

The Muslims back then and today wanted to make it clear that they worship the one unseen God who is nothing on earth and didn't want any pictures of Muhammad in case he was thought to be an idol. Even a respectable picture of the prophet Muhammad is not allowed because it isn't right.

After Muhammad died, there was a split in Islam with Sunni and Shia Muslims and Mecca became a city that only allows Muslim residents and tourists to enter. Muhammad's teachings were collected in the sacred text of Islam, the Qur'an in 633CE before being standardised in 635CE.