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Origins of Islam
Muhammad and the Qur'an
Religion in Arabia before Muhammad:
Since the time of Ishmael the Arab peoples had divided into warring tribes. Each tribe worshipped its own god. By the seventh century CE the Arabian city of Mecca had become a major trading and pilgrimage site for the Arab peoples. In Mecca stood a huge black cube - the Ka'ba - that housed the idols of the various Arab tribal gods. It was in this place that the Arabs put down their swords to worship and trade. This Ka'ba still stands today, surrounded by the Great Mosque of Mecca. It is the major place of pilgrimage for Muslims as it was for their pre-muslim Arab ancestors. Legend has it that this Ka'ba had originally been built by Abraham and Ishmael as the first altar for worship of the God of Abraham - the God that Jews, Christians, and Muslims, continue to worship in common to this very day! But, by the time of Muhammad, this shrine had become desecrated with worship of many "false" gods and the idols that represented them. By the time Muhammad died, in 632 CE, the Ka'ba had been rededicated to the One True God - Allah.
Muhammad:
Muhammad was born in 570 CE. He was orphaned at an early age and raised by his uncle. As a young man, he led camel caravans across the desert and was hired by a businesswoman 15 years his senior. At the age of 25 Muhammad was married to this woman - Kadhija - and she bore several children to him. Only one - a daughter by the name of Fatima - lived to adulthood. Muhammad was married only to this one women until she died. He then took several other wives who had become widowed.
The Qur'an and the life of Muhammad testify to Islam's concern, right from the start, with care and respect for orphans and widows (often tossed aside and abused by Arabian culture in Muhammad's day). Muslim women also have strong role models in Muhammad's wife and daughter.
The Quran: 
In the year 610, when Muhammad was 40, he had taken a spiritual retreat in a cave just outside of Mecca. It was the Arabian month of Ramadan - a month still special to Muslims today. Here, then, Muhammad heard a voice. It was the voice of an angel - the angel Gabriel (the same angel that made the annunciation unto Mary about the coming birth of Jesus). The angel said, "recite!" (qur'an in Arabic). This was the beginning of a series of revelations that would come to Muhammad throughout the remaining 22 years of his life. Bit by bit, God's words were being revealed to this new prophet. Muhammad would then return to his followers and recite to them the words he had heard from the angel. Muhammad himself was illiterate but some of his followers wrote down the words. Within several years of his death, these writings were collected into what has since been known as the Qur'an - the "recitation" of the word of God.
Initial struggles in Mecca:
At first, Muhammad did not know what to make of this voice he was hearing. He feared he was going mad. But his wise, older wife, Khadija believed even before the Prophet himself, that this was revelation from God. She encouraged him to listen and preach these new words of God. Muhammad began to gain followers. Few at first but, as years went on, attracting more and more Arabs away from their tribal gods and loyalties. This naturally did not rest well with the authorities in Mecca and this early following of Muslims was persecuted. After some 12 years an invitation came from leaders in the city of Yathrib - about 200 miles northeast of Mecca. They sought an objective mediator to settle disputes in their town and asked Muhammad to take on this role. He agreed to do so providing that his following would be accepted in this new town.
Success in Medina: 
It was, then, in the year 622 that Muhammad and the Muslims made the migration from Mecca to what would become known as Medina - the "City of the Prophet". This event - known as the Hijrah (migration) - marks the beginning of the Muslim era. The year 622 is the year 1 AH (after Hijrah) on the Muslim calendar. From this time forward, Islam became a great unifying force within a society. For 10 years it unified the peoples of Medina. In the year 630, the Muslims returned triumphant to Mecca, making the first Muslim pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, cleansing it of the tribal gods. Two years later, Muhammad died. But by that time, all of Arabia had been unified under the new religion. Within 100 years of the Prophet's death Islam had spread far beyond Arabia south and west into North Africa, across the Mediterranean to the shores of Spain, and north and east into Persia to the boarders of India.
Other Sources: Sunnah and Hadith
Beyond Qur'an, two other sources inform Islamic faith and practice: Sunnah and Hadith. Sunnah is the "tradition" of the Prophet - the example Muhammad set through his actions as the model for Islamic life and the religion in practice. Hadith is the collection of stories that have come down from the time of Muhammad of the Prophet's sayings - his extra-Qur'anic guidance for his followers. To this day, Islamic law (Shariah) is based on Qur'an, Hadith and Sunnah - each supplementing and expanding on the other.
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