Muhammad was born around the year 570 AD in the city of Mecca in Arabia as a member of a respected tribe. His ancestors go back to the Prophet Ishmael, the son of Abraham. Muhammad's father died before his birth, and his mother when he was six years old. He did not attend school but—as was common in those days—was raised by a wet nurse and later taken in and educated by his grandfather and his uncle. From his youth, he was known as a righteous person. Around the age of forty, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him in the cave where he used to meditate and revealed to him that he was a prophet of God. The subsequent revelations from God were sent down over a period of 23 years and later compiled into book form. This book, the Quran, is for Muslims the last and final revelation from God. The Quran is preserved unchanged and in its original form; it confirms the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel, which people have changed over time.