allahallah Islam is one of the world's youngest major religions. It started about 1400 years ago, in the early seventh century, near Mecca in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. Muhammad, who was born around 570 C.E., is said to have founded Islam when the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) appeared to him in a trance of dream. The angel commanded Muhammad three times to "Recite!" Muhammad asked what he should recite, and the angel responded:

allahallahallah"Recite in the name of your Lord who created, created man from clots of blood.
allahallahallahRecite! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One, who by the pen taught man what he did not know."

(from the 96th Surah of the Qur'an, Al'Alaq) allahallah

allahallahThis first revelation's emphasis on the spoken and written word contains much of the spirit of Islam. The Qur'an (also spelled Koran) is the primary holy book of Islam, and the title means "The Recital." The emphasis on the "pen" in the above passage is reflected in important ways in later Islamic religious art. The Qur'an, together with the Hadith, the sayings of Muhammad, are the main religious texts of Islam. Although the Qur'an is considered to be the word of God, Muhammad is not considered divine in any special sense. He is seen simply as a prophet who had a very close relationship to God.

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