Where Did Islam Start and How Its Message Spread Across the World

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange.” What does “strange” mean, and where and when did Islam begin? Understanding the beginnings of Islam is essential for anyone who seeks to appreciate the greatest religion revealed by Allah. Many people often ask: where did Islam start and how did it expand so quickly beyond its place of origin? The story of Islam’s rise is not only a historical account but also a spiritual journey that continues to influence societies across the globe today.

The Arabian Peninsula: Birthplace of Islam

To answer the question where did Islam start, let us first go back to the condition of the Arabian Peninsula before Islam  in the 7th century CE. The Prophet’s ﷺ  biography is, in reality, the very message he carried to humanity—bringing people out of darkness into light, and from servitude to others into the worship of Allah alone. Its full and magnificent picture cannot be truly appreciated except by reflecting on the state of the world before it—meaning the message of Islam—especially the Arabian Peninsula, and the great imbalance it suffered in all aspects, including:

The Arabian Peninsula was politically fragmented, with no unified state to govern it and no central authority to administer it. 

– The ancient kingdoms that once existed in Yemen, Najd, and the fringes of Iraq and the Levant had vanished. 

– Bedouin life dominated the remaining cities of the Hijaz, where the tribe served as the primary political and social unit. Makkah, in particular, was managed by the nobles through the Dār al-Nadwah (Council House).

– Madinah, on the other hand, was in a constant state of conflict between the Aws and Khazraj tribes, which even led to attempts at establishing a monarchical system of rule.

– As for the Lakhmid kingdom in al-Hirah and the Ghassanid kingdom in Jordan and the Golan, the Persians and Byzantines allowed these states to exist as buffer zones to block Arabian tribes from advancing into their territories.

From an economic perspective:

– The desert environment relied heavily on pastoral activities. Arab tribes settled in areas where water was available and suitable for grazing camels, sheep, and goats. When water became scarce, tribes were forced to migrate, which often led to conflicts and wars in search of better resources.

– In the cities, however, commercial, agricultural, and industrial activities flourished, though one type of activity often dominated.In Makkah, trade was the primary source of livelihood. Madinah—known before Islam as Yathrib—was mostly agricultural. Yemen combined extensive agriculture and natural pastures with a thriving role in large-scale trade.

– The eastern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula connected the trade of China and India with the Fertile Crescent (Iraq and Syria).

According to social and religious life:

social structures were deeply tribal, and practices such as idol worship were common. Yet, there were also remnants of earlier Abrahamic faiths, as Jewish and Christian communities lived in parts of Arabia. 

In these conditions, we can find the answer to where did Islam start became clear. Islam began in the city of Makkah, located in western Arabia. This city was not only a commercial hub but also home to the Kaaba, a sacred sanctuary that attracted pilgrims even before Islam. Later, when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ received the revelation, a transformative chapter of history began. 

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The Role of Makkah in Early Islamic History

Allah has favored some places over others, making Makkah the most honored and virtuous of all lands. Hearts long for it, souls find peace within it, and worshippers turn toward it, presenting their pleas to Allah and asking Him for their salvation.

Among its virtues is that Allah chose it as the birthplace and mission of His final Prophet ﷺ In it, the Qur’an was first revealed, and from it the call to goodness and truth began and spread across the horizons. Allah Almighty says:

“And thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur’an so that you may warn the Mother of Cities and those around it” (Ash-Shura: 7).

Islam began with the mission of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  when the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) descended upon him with revelation from Allah in Makkah, in the Arabian Peninsula. This occurred on a Monday in the month of Ramadan, thirteen years before his migration to Madinah (which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar). According to the Gregorian calendar, the mission took place around the year 608 or 609 CE.

In Makkah were the beginnings of Islam, during its most difficult times. How did the Prophet ﷺ begin the call? With whom did he start? And who were the ones the Messenger ﷺ chose to begin with?

When Gabriel first descended upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,and he did not yet realize it was revelation, the Prophet ﷺ hastened to the person who loved him most and began with them. He went first to his righteous wife, Lady Khadijah رضي الله عنها, and she was indeed the very first to believe on the face of the earth.

She said to him: “You maintain the ties of kinship, you bear the burdens of others, you provide for the needy, and you support people in times of truth and hardship.” Such qualities could never be found in a liar or an impostor. It was she who took him to Waraqah ibn Nawfal – because he had knowledge from the predecessors about the signs of the Final Prophet- , who confirmed to them that he was indeed a Prophet, and the Angel continued to descend, informing him that he was the Messenger.

After Lady Khadijahرضي الله عنها , the Prophet ﷺ went to the man dearest to his heart, our master Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه. Abu Bakr did not hesitate for even a single moment in accepting this faith. The Prophet ﷺ said: “I never invited anyone to Islam without them having some hesitation, pause, or reconsideration, except Abu Bakr. The moment I mentioned it to him, he did not hesitate.”

After the Islam of Lady Khadijah and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنهم , the Prophet ﷺ spoke to his freed servant, our master Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him). His faith was not out of love alone—he certainly reflected with his mind. He saw Muhammad ﷺ always helping people without seeking anything in return. Would he now ask for some selfish gain after forty years of his life had already passed?

After that, the Prophet ﷺ invited his cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali رضي الله عنه was like a son to the Prophet ﷺ, just as Zayd ibn Harithahرضي الله عنه . He lived in the Prophet’s household and was only a young boy of about ten years old. The Prophet ﷺ noticed early brilliance and evident intelligence in Ali, so he felt reassured to confide in him about the message, even though this matter was serious and still a secret.

Thus, Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه became the first of the children to embrace Islam, while Abu Bakr was the first among the men, Zayd the first among the freed servants, and Lady Khadijah the first among the women.

 

Then the Prophet ﷺ introduced Islam to his daughters. Lady Zaynab was about ten years old, Lady Ruqayyah was seven, and Lady Umm Kulthum was six or perhaps five years old. All of them were raised upon Islam at this early age, while Lady Fatimah was only a year old.

The call to Islam remained completely secret for three full years. For three years, the call was based on selection and careful choice, from among his relatives and close friends, and likewise, his companions went forth cautiously to spread the message of the new faith. Why was that? Was it because the Prophet ﷺ feared Quraysh for himself? Absolutely not. Rather, the Prophet ﷺ did this because he knew that, although the message of Islam was convincing to people, it would face fierce opposition—not only from Quraysh, but from the entire world. 

When Khadijah’s house could no longer accommodate the followers, the Prophet ﷺ chose Dar al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam as a place to gather with his companions. This marked a new stage in spreading Islam in Makkah, which we may address in detail in upcoming articles.

So simply, Makkah is the answer to where did Islam start because Makkah’s environment shaped the challenges and opportunities of the new faith.

The Prophet’s Migration and the Spread of Islam

Although Makkah is the answer of where did Islam start, it was clear from the Makkan phase that the Islamic message was addressed to all of humanity, not only to Quraysh or the Arabs. The verse {And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds} (Al-Anbiya: 107) was revealed in Makkah.

The Prophet ﷺ had planned to spread Islam beyond Makkah from an early stage. When Abu Dharr al-Ghifari رضي الله عنه accepted Islam, the Prophet instructed him to stay among his tribe, Ghifar, and call them to Islam. Similarly, when Al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr al-Dawsi embraced Islam, the Prophet ﷺ asked him to remain with his people, the tribe of Daws, which lived between Ta’if and Yemen, to spread the message there.

The Hijrah (migration) was about detaching oneself from the place of birth and moving elsewhere purely for the sake of Allah, despite the deep bond a person naturally has with his land and familiar environment. The emigrants expressed their longing for Makkah intensely, especially in the early days.

When the Muslims in Madinah heard of the Prophet’s departure from Makkah, they would go out every morning beyond the city to await his arrival. When the heat became intense, they would return to their homes. Finally, on the day he arrived, the Prophet ﷺ first stayed in Quba with the clan of Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf for fourteen nights, where he established the Quba Mosque.

Then the Prophet ﷺ entered Madinah and settled near the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. When asked, “Which of our homes is closest?” Abu Ayyub replied: “Mine, O Prophet of Allah, this is my home and here is my door.” So the Prophet ﷺ stayed in his house.

The books of Seerah narrate that the leaders of the Ansar were eager to host the Prophet ﷺ, and each time he passed by one of them, they would invite him to stay. But he would say: “Leave the camel, for it is commanded,” until it finally knelt at the door of Abu Ayyub.

The Prophet ﷺ would pray wherever the time for prayer came upon him. Later, he ordered the construction of a mosque on a plot of land that belonged to two orphan boys from Banu al-Najjar. He purchased the land and the Muslims began building the mosque with joy, as the Prophet ﷺ himself worked alongside them.

Makkah is where did Islam start but the Hijrah led to the establishment of the Islamic state in Madinah, which laid the foundations of the Muslim community on principles of unity, love, mutual support, brotherhood, freedom, equality, and protection of rights. The Prophet ﷺ was the head of this state, its military commander, its chief judge, and its first teacher. He implemented the Shari‘ah of Islam, as the Qur’an was revealed in stages. The Companions studied each revelation as it came, applied it in their lives, and learned its explanation directly from the Prophet ﷺ. This created a divinely guided generation that combined devotion to Allah with the building of civilization.

Thus, when reflecting on where did Islam start, one must see it as more than a geographic point. It began in Makkah but expanded through migration, leadership, and the Prophet’s example. Within just a decade, most of the Arabian Peninsula was united under Islam. In the following few decades, Islam spread further across vast regions, reaching from Sindh in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, as people entered into the faith of Islam.

Why Understanding Islam’s Origins Matters Today

Where did Islam start? The idea brought by the Prophet ﷺ was true and convincing, yet it appeared strange. For this reason, the Prophet ﷺ began his mission with love and persuasion, not with compulsion. The Prophet ﷺ said in an authentic hadith: “Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange as it began, so glad tidings to the strangers.”

“Islam began as something strange” means that Islam first appeared as something unfamiliar in its early days in Makkah, strange among the disbelievers. Only a small number of people accepted it at the beginning. Then, little by little, it spread in Makkah, though it remained strange. Later, the Prophet ﷺ migrated to Madinah, where Islam spread, became established, and then extended across the entire world.

“As for ‘it will return to being strange as it began,’” this means that in the end of times Islam will again become rare because of the small number of people who truly embrace it and hold firmly to it. Towards the very end of time, the faith will be taken away, leaving only the wicked, and upon them the Hour will be established. The meaning of “returning to being strange” is that its adherents will become few, while its opponents and enemies will increase.

Revisiting the question of where did Islam start is not merely about recounting history; this will protect us when ‘the Islam will return to being strange as it began, and  it has profound implications for the present as following:

– Allah (Glorified be He) sent His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ with guidance and the religion of truth, which is Islam—the same religion with which Allah sent all the messengers. Allah, the Exalted, said: “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam.” (Aal ‘Imran: 19).

– Understanding the birthplace of Islam clarifies that its roots are deeply connected to the Abrahamic tradition. Muslims see themselves as part of a long line of prophets that includes Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them all). Islam did not emerge in isolation but as a continuation of divine guidance.

– Recognizing the moral and social challenges that early Muslims faced helps us appreciate the universality of its message. And how the Prophet ﷺ endured so many hardships, and how his companions bore so much pain, all for the sake of conveying the teachings of the religion to us—only so that they could help us enter Paradise.

– Reflecting on where did Islam start reminds us of Islam’s capacity to transcend borders. From the Arabian deserts, its message reached Asia, Africa, Europe, and eventually the entire globe. Today, Muslims make up over a quarter of humanity, yet they remain united by the same faith that began in Makkah.

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Conclusion

So, where did Islam start? It started in the Arabian Peninsula, in the holy city of Makkah, with the first message from God to the Prophet Muhammad. At first, only a few people believed, and they faced a lot of trouble, but over time, Islam became a big religion that affects millions of people around the world. 

Makkah is where did Islam start and then moving from Makkah to Madinah was a big step, and it helped build a community that welcomed everyone. The beginning of Islam isn’t just about the past—it shows values that are still important today, like believing in one God, treating others fairly, being kind, and working together. When we wonder where did Islam start, we’re really looking at how a message from God has influenced human history and continues to touch lives all over the world.

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FAQs

Where did Islam start?
Islam started in the Arabian Peninsula, specifically in the city of Makkah in the 7th century CE, when the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelation.

Why is Makkah significant in Islam?
Makkah is home to the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, and the place where the first revelations were received. It remains the spiritual center for Muslims worldwide.

How did Islam spread beyond Arabia?
Islam spread through preaching, treaties, trade, and interactions with neighboring empires. Within a century, it reached regions like North Africa, Persia, and parts of Europe.

Why is it important to know where Islam started?
Understanding where Islam started helps counter misconceptions, highlights its roots in the Abrahamic tradition, and shows how its principles continue to guide millions today.