As Muhammad ﷺ reached the age of forty, he began to retreat to a cave called Hira, seeking peace and truth. One night, in the year 610 CE, while he was alone in the cave, the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) appeared to him with a command that would change the world forever:
"Read!"
Terrified, Muhammad ﷺ replied that he could not read. The angel embraced him and repeated the command until the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed:
"Read in the name of your Lord who created…" (Qur'an 96:1–5)
This moment marked the beginning of Islam, the religion of submission to One God, Allah.