Muhammad, the Qur'an and the rise of Islam

Baghdad, the ‘City of Peace’, was a hugely important Islamic city for c. 500 years that grew with the spread of Islam. Muslims believe Muhammad, a merchant from Mecca, became a prophet c. 610 CE by receiving revelations from Allah. These revelations were first spread orally and then written down in a single text known as the Qur’an. The elites of Mecca rejected Muhammad’s revelations, forcing him to flee to escape persecution. The Hijra was the migration of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE.