Muhammad's escape from Mecca to Medina is called the hegira. Medina was closer to the Hellenistic world of many different cultures, including monotheistic Jews and Christians, and he found his message better received. In AD 622, Muhammad fled with his family and few followers to Medina, a city to the north of Mecca. AD 622 is considered year one on the Islamic calendar. Muhammad attacked the pagan gods as false, this was not popular in Mecca, a center for pagan worship. The people of Mecca felt Muhammad's teachings were bad for their city if people rejected the gods and goddesses of the Kaaba, they would not flock to Mecca, and this would be bad for the economy of the city. Muhammad tried to convince the people of Mecca to convert to Islam, but they were not happy with his teachings. Muslims accept Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as prophets, to name a few, with Muhammad being the final prophet of Islam. Those who follow Islam, are called Muslims. She believed him, as did her Christian cousin. Kadijah was the first person to convert to Islam, the name for Muhammad's religion. When Muhammad returned home, he told his wife Kadijah about this revelation and his God, whom he called Allah. This one god is the same God whom Abraham followed. Muhammad said that he was told by Gabriel to reject the polytheism of the others in the area and follow the one true God. During one of these meditations, at age 40, Muhammad claimed to have a revelation from the angel Gabriel. Muhammad would, at times, retreat to a mountain to meditate. Muhammad and Kadijah fell in love and got married. He caught the attention of Kadijah, a woman who hired him to travel in a caravan to trade her goods. Muhammad was known for his honesty travelling distances with other people's goods and money. Tourists strengthened the economy of Mecca. People travelled long distances to see the stone and worship. The Kaaba, a structure, was built around the Black Stone. When Muhammad was growing up, the Kaaba served as a temple to the many gods and goddesses of the people living in this area. Besides being an oasis, Mecca was the location of a large black stone, possibly a meteorite. Mecca was very important to the people of the Arabian Peninsula. One of these oases was Mecca, the town of Muhammad's birth.
Trade routes through the desert required stopping at the various oases to water animals.
Muhammad grew up learning the trade of a merchant, moving goods across the desert in caravans. Muhammad was an orphan very early in his life, he was raised by his uncle. Muhammad was born in AD 570 on the Arabian Peninsula. Merchants cross the desert by caravan, stopping at oases.