The heart of Islam, where the Kaaba stands and the call to prayer began.
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to its two holiest cities, Makkah and Madinah. Every Muslim in the world, no matter where they live, turns toward the Kaaba in Makkah five times a day to pray, a single direction uniting nearly two billion people.
Final messenger of God
Born in Makkah; received the Quran and brought Islam to humanity.
Country
Saudi Arabia
Muslims
About 33 million Muslims
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The birthplace of Islam
Landmark
The Kaaba · Makkah
In 610 CE, in a cave near Makkah, the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelation of the Quran. Within a century, Islam had spread from Arabia to the Atlantic and the borders of China. The holy cities of Makkah and Madinah have drawn pilgrims every year for over fourteen centuries, and the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, founded in 1932, serves as the custodian of these sacred sites.
View statistical sourceIslam began here, in a desert people whom the world had overlooked, with a message so simple it changed the world: there is no god but God, and Muhammad is His messenger. It did not spread by force, it spread because it was true, and because it was the same truth every prophet had brought before, restored to its purity. From one man in a cave, the call reached every continent. The rise of Islam is the story of a message that refuses to stay where you put it, because it belongs to every human heart that is honest enough to hear it.
"We have sent you but as a mercy to all the worlds." — Qur'an 21:107
Positive contribution
Muslims in Saudi Arabia contribute to the whole society — in service, scholarship, sport and charity.
Saudi Arabia maintains the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah, serving the Hajj and Umrah of millions of pilgrims from every nation each year.
Saudi humanitarian aid, including through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid Centre, supports disaster relief, health and education across the Muslim world and beyond.
The country's universities and printing presses produce millions of Qurans and works of scholarship distributed worldwide in dozens of languages.
As a leading energy producer and G20 economy, Saudi Arabia plays a major role in the global economy and increasingly in green investment.
Different languages, different cultures, one message. Explore more countries or read the Qur'an for yourself.
