The name **Mecca** has become synonymous in the English language with any place that attracts enormous throngs of devotees. This is a fair and accurate use of the word, for its roots trace back to a real city, a venerable metropolis in the Arabian Desert that has been continuously inhabited for over two and a half thousand years. It is an ancient oasis, a nexus of trade and faith, and, crucially, the birthplace of Muhammad, who was arguably the most influential human being who ever lived.

Our story, then, begins with the Mecca of Muhammad’s day.

The Foundation of Mecca

Mecca’s enduring importance stems from its three main functions in antiquity:

• **Commerce:** Situated at the nexus of major merchant routes, it offered a vibrant bazaar and provided essential water to passing caravans in a hot, dry region.
• **Religion:** Most importantly, it served as a spiritual center, for in it lay the ancient House of Abraham.

The story of the city begins with **Abraham** and his son **Ishmael**. On God’s instructions, Abraham settled Ishmael and his mother in that barren valley. When they faced perishing from thirst, they miraculously discovered a bubbling spring, the unfailing well of Zamzam, which saved them. Upon returning, Abraham, seeing his family had survived, built a simple, cube-shaped shrine dedicated to the One God alongside his son. Today, that shrine is known as the **Ka‘bah** (or Cube). Ishmael then became the first patriarch and prophetic guide to the Bedouins who settled the valley, instilling in them the importance of monotheism and pilgrimage.

The Jewish Old Testament itself bears witness to these ancient rites and to Mecca (referred to as *Becca*) being an age-old center of pilgrimage, even mentioning its famed well in the Psalms of David (84:6).

The Decline into Idolatry

Along the centuries, however, the original purpose of this town and its shrine eroded. Through evolving customs, tribal myths, and legends, the concept of the One God was pushed further and further from the active consciousness of the people of Arabia.

The One Supreme God, whom they called **Allah** (cognate with the Hebrew *Elohim*), was relegated to a remote and disinterested position. He was ultimately replaced by an entire pantheon of idols and demigods whom the Arabs believed were the day-to-day maintainers of luck, health, and wealth. This theological shift was compounded by a philosophical one: the Arabs generally adopted the view that there was **no afterlife**, no resurrection, and therefore no consequences for one’s bad behavior or immorality. For them, this life was all there was.

The Lawless Land of Honor and Vengeance

This spiritual vacuum created a lawless society ruled by long-standing customs and pagan superstitions.

**Honor**—both personal and tribal—was the paramount measure of a man’s reputation, courage, and self-worth. While honor dictated that guests should be treated well, it also ensured that any small insult could lead to a personal fight or, worse, spiral downward into a generation-wide conflict of revenge, murder, and counter-revenge between entire tribes. Coupled with constant inter-tribal raiding, Arabia was a land where chaos could ensue at any moment.

Though the Byzantine Romans and the Persians held sway in territories to the north and south, the central Arabian Peninsula remained largely untouched and fiercely independent. The overwhelming majority of Arabs were pagans, while only scattered settlements held small minorities of Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians.

Mecca: A Center of Contradictions

Mecca served as a unique point of reference because the Shrine of Abraham still resided within the Arab imagination. The city was governed by the **Quraysh** tribe—a collection of loosely related clans who managed the city through a council of elders.

Crucially, the Ka‘bah had been transformed into a neutral sanctuary where every tribe could store its patron idol in safety. This ensured Mecca’s commercial success, as all Arabs mutually agreed to cease fighting during **four truce months** each year, allowing for safe travel, trade, and pilgrimage to venerate the idols. The Quraysh exploited the religious and commercial draw of the city for their own financial interests.

It was into this world—a place of stunning contrasts, where the memory of monotheism was buried beneath a sea of superstition, but where a central culture offered brief respites from lawless chaos—that **Muhammad was born.**