Muḥammad bin Abdullah (the son of Abdullah), the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, about the year 570 C.E.

Muḥammad gave rituals and rites an Arabic flavor. Jerusalem and its temple were replaced by Mecca and its sacred shrine, the Kaaba.

Finally, Mecca was taken peacefully in 8 A.H. (630 C.E.), as was most of the Arabian Peninsula.

Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, in that order, are Islam’s three most sacred places: Mecca because of its Kaaba sanctuary, which tradition says Abraham built;