Muhammad's first revelation in the Cave of Hira
- Date
- c. 610 CE
- Category
- Religion & ideology
- Region
- Arabia (Hejaz, Mecca)
- Era
- Post-Classical / Medieval
- Significance
According to Islamic tradition, around 610 CE the Meccan merchant Muhammad, then about forty, received the first of the revelations that would form the Quran while meditating in the Cave of Hira on Jabal al-Nour near Mecca.
Muslims hold that the angel Gabriel commanded him to 'Recite', delivering the opening verses of what became Surah 96. The experience marked the beginning of his prophetic mission and the birth of Islam as a distinct monotheistic faith proclaiming submission to one God. Muhammad began preaching publicly in Mecca a few years later, attracting a small community of followers while facing growing hostility from the Quraysh tribal leadership, whose polytheistic shrine and pilgrimage economy his message challenged. The revelations continued for roughly two decades until his death in 632. This event set in motion one of history's most consequential religious and political movements, whose teachings, scripture and community would within a century reshape the political map from the Atlantic to Central Asia and create one of the world's major enduring civilisations.
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Empires active in c. 610 CE
- Sassanid Empire224 CE – 651 CE
- Byzantine Empire330 CE – 1453 CE
- Classic Maya Civilization250 CE – 900 CE
- Kingdom of Aksum100 CE – 940 CE
- Pyu City-States200 BCE – 1050 CE
- Dvaravati575 CE – 1100 CE
Related religion & ideology events
- The Hijra: Muhammad's migration to Medina622 CE
- Official Introduction of Buddhism to Japan552 CE (traditional date; 538 CE in some sources)
- Adi Shankara and the Revival of Advaita Vedantac. 700-750 CE
- Bhakti devotional movement emerges in Tamil South Indiac. 6th–7th century CE
- Pope Gregory the Great and the Gregorian mission to England590–604 CE (mission 596–597)
- Church of the East Reaches Tang China (Alopen Mission)635 CE
Further reading
The wider story
A Little History of Religion
Accessible sweep of humanity's faiths and belief systems from prehistory to the present.
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