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When was Islam founded?
Muslims date Muhammad’s public mission from about 610 and date the community’s calendar from the Hijra to Medina in 622. He died in 632. The Qur’an also calls Abraham a Muslim, meaning one who submits.
On this page
Muslims date Muhammad’s public mission from the first recitation, about 610, and they date the community’s calendar from the move to Medina in 622. He died in 632. The Qur’an also uses “Muslim” for Abraham, so the word on its pages is older than the Medina state.
Key points
- Watt’s Britannica biography places the call in about 610, the Hijra in 622, and the death on 8 June 632.
- Qur’an 96:1–51
Recite in the name of your Lord who created
2Created man from a clinging substance.
3Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous -
4Who taught by the pen
5Taught man that which he knew not.
Qur’an 96:1-5 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ is the passage tradition calls the first recitation. - Qur’an 3:67
Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to Allāh]. And he was not of the polytheists.
Qur’an 3:67 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ calls Abraham a Muslim, one who submits, and says he was neither a Jew nor a Christian. - The historical community that becomes the caliphate starts after Muhammad’s death. What is the history of Islam?
- Christians can grant the Qur’an’s word for Abraham and still date the religion’s public history to Muhammad. Was Jesus a Muslim?
The dates in the biography
Britannica’s life of Muhammad puts the birth about 570 in Mecca, the marriage to Khadijah in 595, the vision that begins the preaching about 610, the Hijra in 622, and the death on 8 June 632 in Medina. Who was Muhammad? How did Muhammad die?
The year 622 is year 1 of the Islamic calendar. Battles such as Badr are dated from it.
The first recitation
Qur’an 96:11 Recite in the name of your Lord who created
2 Created man from a clinging substance.
3 Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous -
4 Who taught by the pen
5 Taught man that which he knew not.
Qur’an 96:1-5 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International) says:
Recite in the name of your Lord who created
Qur’an 96:1 · Saheeh International
The next lines, in the same translation, say man was created from a clinging substance, that the Lord is the most generous, that he taught by the pen, and that he taught man what he did not know. Qur’an 96:1–51 Recite in the name of your Lord who created
2 Created man from a clinging substance.
3 Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous -
4 Who taught by the pen
5 Taught man that which he knew not.
Qur’an 96:1-5 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗
Abraham in the Qur’an
Qur’an 3:67Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to Allāh]. And he was not of the polytheists.
Qur’an 3:67 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International) says:
Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to Allāh]. And he was not of the polytheists.
Qur’an 3:67 · Saheeh International
That verse uses the word for a man who lived long before Muhammad. Muslims read it as true submission to the one God. The community that has a caliph, a Hijra, and a prophet in Mecca and Medina is still dated from Muhammad’s mission and from 622.
The Christian claim
Christians confess Abraham’s God as the Father of Jesus Christ, and they confess Jesus as God. They do not read Qur’an 3:67Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to Allāh]. And he was not of the polytheists.
Qur’an 3:67 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ as a claim that Abraham denied the Son. The Trinity What do Christians believe about Muhammad?
Frequently asked questions
Is 610 or 622 the founding year?
610 is the traditional year preaching began. 622 is the year the calendar starts, when the community moved to Medina. Both dates are in the Britannica biography. The death in 632 closes his life, not the religion.
Did Islam begin with Abu Bakr?
Abu Bakr is the first caliph in the Sunni count, after Muhammad died. The preaching and the Qur’an are dated before that. What is a caliphate?
References
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Muhammad (W. Montgomery Watt. The call about 610, the Hijra in 622, death on 8 June 632.)
- Qur’an, 96:1; 3:671
Recite in the name of your Lord who created
2Created man from a clinging substance.
3Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous -
4Who taught by the pen
5Taught man that which he knew not.
Qur’an 96:1-5 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International, as published on Quran.com. The link is 96:1.)
See also
- What is a caliphate? — A caliph is a successor in leadership of the Muslim community after Muhammad. Sunni Muslims count Abu Bakr first. Shia Muslims hold that leadership belonged to Ali. The Ottoman claim was abolished on 3 March 1924.
- What is the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam? — Sunni and Shia Muslims share the Qur’an and divide on who should have led after Muhammad. Sunnis count the first four caliphs. Shia Muslims hold that leadership belonged to Ali and his descendants.
- What is the history of Islam? — Islam’s first community runs from Muhammad’s preaching in Mecca to his death in Medina in 632. Sunni and Shia Muslims then divide on who should lead, and the Ottoman claim to the caliphate ends on 3 March 1924.
- Can God Have a Son? — The Qur'an condemns the claim that God has taken a son, especially a son by a consort. Christians deny that picture and still confess the eternal Son.
- Did Jesus Die on the Cross? — The Qur'an is widely read as saying Jesus was not crucified. The Gospels, Paul, and two Roman-era historians say he was.