Short answer
Any time and place would draw the same question. The Qur'an's answer is that God (﷾) knows best where to place His message. So the place cannot show that the message is false, and the real test is the message itself. Islam does not say Arabia was the only place God (﷾) spoke. The Qur'an says every people had a messenger at some time, though not all are named. What came in 7th-century Arabia was the last message, sent to all people. The Qur'an says God (﷾) will guard it, and its oldest dated leaves carry today's text, apart from small points of spelling. God (﷾) chose to send it from the House at Mecca, where the Qur'an says Abraham prayed for a messenger. So the question leads back to the message, which anyone can read and test today.
Full explanation
Any time and place would raise the same question
A message from God (﷾) has to arrive somewhere. It must come at some time, to some person, in some language. Had it come to Rome, India or China, someone would ask "why there?" Had it come in our century, people a thousand years from now would ask "why then?" So the place and time cannot count against a message, and they cannot prove it either. What can be tested is the message itself and the record of how it reached us. Islam's own answer is one sentence of the Qur'an: God (﷾) knows best where to carry out His mission.
“Allah knoweth best where (and how) to carry out His mission.”
Arabia was not the only place God (﷾) spoke
Islam does not teach that God (﷾) ignored the world until the 7th century. The Qur'an says a warner lived among every people, and that a messenger was sent to every people. It names some of these messengers and says there are others whose stories it does not tell. It does not name those others, and this page does not guess at them. So the question "why only Arabia?" starts from a mistake. Other verses say no warner had come to the Prophet's (ﷺ) own people before him. Classical commentators read these as speaking of his own people, not of every people. Some add that they lived in the long gap between Jesus and him.
“Verily We have sent thee in truth, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner: and there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them (in the past).”
“For We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger, (with the Command), "Serve Allah, and eschew Evil": of the People were some whom Allah guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth).”
“To every people (was sent) a messenger: when their messenger comes (before them), the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.”
“We did aforetime send messengers before thee: of them there are some whose story We have related to thee, and some whose story We have not related to thee. It was not (possible) for any messenger to bring a sign except by the leave of Allah: but when the Command of Allah issued, the matter was decided in truth and justice, and there perished, there and then those who stood on Falsehoods.”
“Or do they say, "He has forged it"? Nay, it is the Truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest admonish a people to whom no warner has come before thee: in order that they may receive guidance.”
“In order that thou mayest admonish a people, whose fathers had received no admonition, and who therefore remain heedless (of the Signs of Allah).”
Explains "a people whose fathers had received no admonition" as the Arabs, for no warner had come to them before the Prophet (ﷺ). Adds that naming them alone does not exclude others, just as naming some members of a group does not cancel a general statement. He refers back to the verses and widely reported hadith on his being sent to all, set out at 7:158.
Reports Qatada: the people meant are Quraysh, an unlettered nation to whom no warner came before Muhammad (ﷺ). He also reports Ibn Abbas and Muqatil: they are the people of the interval (fatra) between Jesus and Muhammad. A third view: God's proof stood against them through the warning of the earlier messengers, even though they had not seen a messenger.
What was new: one message for all people
Each earlier messenger was sent to his own people, in their own language. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that every prophet before him was sent to his own nation only, while he was sent to all mankind. The Qur'an tells him to say that he is the Messenger of Allah (﷾) to all people. It says it was revealed to warn its first hearers and all whom it reaches. It also calls him the Seal of the Prophets, the last of them. So the last message was not for Arabia alone. Arabia was only where it began.
Jabir ibn Abdullah reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) named five things given to him that no prophet before him was given. The last of them: every earlier prophet was sent to his own nation only, but he was sent to all mankind.
“We sent not a messenger except (to teach) in the language of his (own) people, in order to make (things) clear to them. Now Allah leaves straying those whom He pleases and guides whom He pleases: and He is Exalted in power, full of Wisdom.”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
“We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not.”
“We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.”
“This Qur'an hath been revealed to me by inspiration, that I may warn you and all whom it reaches.”
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”
A last message has to be kept, and this one can be checked
A message meant for every later age has to reach them as it was given. The Qur'an says God (﷾) sent down the Message and will guard it. That is a claim history can check. Scribes wrote the revelation down in the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime, and many learned it by heart. Abu Bakr, the first leader after him, acted within about two years of his death. He had Zayd ibn Thabit, who had written down the revelation for the Prophet (ﷺ), gather it into one volume. Two leaves at the University of Birmingham were carbon dated, most likely to between 568 and 645 CE. Apart from small points of spelling, their text is today's text. The Qur'an Muslims recite today is the one the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Companions recited. The page on how the Qur'an was preserved gives the full record.
“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”
Zayd ibn Thabit reports that after many who knew the Qur'an by heart were killed at Yamama, Abu Bakr asked him to gather the Qur'an into one volume, reminding him that he used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah. Zayd collected it from written pieces and from the memories of men, and the finished copy passed from Abu Bakr to Umar and then to Hafsa.
Two parchment leaves carrying parts of Surahs 18 to 20 in early Hijazi script. In 2015 the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit dated the parchment to between 568 and 645 CE, with 95.4 per cent probability, a span that covers the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime (c. 570-632). Apart from small points of spelling, the text on the leaves is the text of those surahs as the Qur'an has them today.
A study of the Sanaa palimpsest (Sanaa 1), a manuscript whose first, erased text lies under a later standard text. A leaf was radiocarbon dated, with high probability, to before 671 CE. The authors argue that the erased lower text is a companion's codex of the kind the early Muslim sources say existed before Uthman's standard copy, and that the evidence supports the report that the standard text goes back to Uthman. They conclude that the standard text reproduces the Prophet's (ﷺ) recitation more faithfully than the lower text does.
Why Mecca: the prayer of Abraham
The Qur'an gives its own reason for the place. It says Abraham and his son Isma'il (Ishmael) raised the foundations of the House. Muslims know it as the Kaaba, in Mecca. There they prayed that their descendants would submit to God (﷾). They also asked Him to send among them a messenger of their own, to recite His signs and teach them scripture and wisdom. The Qur'an calls that House the first house of worship set up for mankind. Later in the same chapter (surah), it uses the same words for the Prophet (ﷺ). He is a messenger of their own, reciting signs and teaching scripture and wisdom. Ibn Kathir, a 14th-century commentator, reads the prayer as answered in him.
“And remember Abraham and Isma'il raised the foundations of the House (With this prayer): "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-knowing.”
“"Our Lord! make of us Muslims, bowing to Thy (Will), and of our progeny a people Muslim, bowing to Thy (will); and show us our place for the celebration of (due) rites; and turn unto us (in Mercy); for Thou art the Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.”
“"Our Lord! send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them: For Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise."”
“A similar (favour have ye already received) in that We have sent among you a Messenger of your own, rehearsing to you Our Signs, and sanctifying you, and instructing you in Scripture and Wisdom, and in new knowledge.”
“The first House (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakka: Full of blessing and of guidance for all kinds of beings: In it are Signs Manifest; (for example), the Station of Abraham; whoever enters it attains security; Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah,- those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures.”
Explains that Abraham prayed for the people of the Sacred Precinct at Mecca, asking God to send among them a messenger from among them, that is, from Abraham's own descendants. Holds that this answered prayer matched what God had already decreed: Muhammad (ﷺ), sent as a messenger among the unlettered people and to them, and to all the non-Arab peoples, of mankind and jinn.
Chosen by God (﷾), not by rank or race
This question is as old as the Qur'an. Its opponents in Mecca asked why it was not sent down to some leading man of the two towns. The Qur'an answers that God's (﷾) mercy is His to give, not theirs to share out. Nor does it make Arabs a favoured race. It says God (﷾) made people into nations and tribes so that they would know one another. The most honoured of them in His sight is the most righteous. Descent from Abraham buys no one a place with God (﷾) either. When Abraham asked for leaders from his offspring, God (﷾) answered that His promise does not reach wrongdoers. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that whoever is held back by his deeds will not be hurried forward by his lineage. Today most Muslims are not Arabs, as the page on whether Islam is only for Arabs shows.
“Also, they say: "Why is not this Qur'an sent down to some leading man in either of the two (chief) cities?" Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of thy Lord?”
“Allah knoweth best where (and how) to carry out His mission.”
“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
“And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: "I will make thee an Imam to the Nations." He pleaded: "And also (Imams) from my offspring!" He answered: "But My Promise is not within the reach of evil-doers."”
Abu Hurayra reports a longer saying of the Prophet (ﷺ) about good deeds and their reward. Among them: whoever follows a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes easy for him a path to Paradise; and when people gather in a mosque to recite the Qur'an and study it together, tranquillity descends on them, mercy covers them and the angels surround them. It ends: whoever is held back by his deeds will not be hurried forward by his lineage.
Islam's answer: test the message, wherever it began
So the place points back to the message. The Qur'an presents itself as guidance for everyone it reaches, and it reaches anyone who opens it today. It calls the reader to a whole way of life: belief in the One God (﷾), worship of Him alone, and shunning every false god. Any reader can test it: read it, and weigh what it says against what can be checked. Only God (﷾) guides, and there is no compulsion in religion, so the choice is the reader's.
“This Qur'an hath been revealed to me by inspiration, that I may warn you and all whom it reaches.”
“We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not.”
“For We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger, (with the Command), "Serve Allah, and eschew Evil": of the People were some whom Allah guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who denied (the Truth).”
“It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one, whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance.”
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.”
Reply by reply
Qur'an 32:3 — Surat al-Sajda (The Prostration), verse 3
“Or do they say, "He has forged it"? Nay, it is the Truth from thy Lord, that thou mayest admonish a people to whom no warner has come before thee: in order that they may receive guidance.”
Cited for
The Qur'an contradicts itself. It says every people had a warner, yet it says the Prophet's (ﷺ) people had none before him.
The response
The verses speak of different things. 35:24 speaks of the past as a whole: at some time, a warner lived among every people. The verses on the Arabs speak of the Prophet's (ﷺ) own people. Ibn Kathir, a 14th-century commentator, says 36:6 means the Arabs, to whom no warner had come before him. He adds that naming them does not limit the message to them. Al-Qurtubi, a 13th-century commentator, reports early scholars on 32:3. Qatada says the people meant are Quraysh, the Prophet's (ﷺ) tribe. Ibn Abbas and Muqatil say they are the people of the gap between Jesus and him. Long before, Isma'il, whom the Qur'an calls a messenger and a prophet, had raised the House with Abraham.
Where it lands — Both verses hold: every people had a warner at some time, and the Prophet's (ﷺ) people had gone a long time without one.
Qur'an 35:24 — Surat Fatir (The Originator), verse 24
“Verily We have sent thee in truth, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner: and there never was a people, without a warner having lived among them (in the past).”
Cited for
If every people had a messenger, where are their names? History records no such prophets in most lands.
The response
The Qur'an says it does not tell the stories of all the messengers. Most peoples of the past left no writing at all. Where records survive, they keep what later generations chose to keep. And the Qur'an says that among each people, some rejected the messenger sent to them. Each earlier messenger was sent to his own people. The last message was sent to all people, and the Qur'an says God (﷾) will guard it.
Where it lands — The missing names do not count against the teaching that every people had a warner.
Qur'an 15:9 — Surat al-Hijr (The Rock), verse 9
“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”
Cited for
Any book can say it will be preserved. The claim proves nothing.
The response
The promise alone proves nothing, and the page does not rest on it. It rests on the record. Scribes wrote the revelation down in the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime, and Abu Bakr had it gathered into one volume. Leaves dated, most likely, to between 568 and 645 CE carry today's text, apart from small points of spelling. One parchment in Sanaa has an older text washed off beneath today's. It differs in small words, chapter order, one swapped pair of verses and one missing verse. Its editors judge it a companion's private copy, and today's text the more faithful. The page on the oldest Qur'an manuscripts sets out the evidence.
Where it lands — The claim is one that history can check, and the record supports it.
Qur'an 49:13 — Surat al-Hujurat (The Inner Apartments), verse 13
“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
Cited for
Sending the last prophet to the Arabs makes them a chosen people.
The response
The Qur'an says the most honoured person is the most righteous, not the best born. Its opponents in Mecca were told that God's (﷾) mercy is His to give. The Prophet (ﷺ) was sent to all people, and today most Muslims are not Arabs.
Where it lands — The message began among Arabs but belongs to no race.
Sahih Muslim 2276 — Kitab al-Fada'il (The Book of Virtues), hadith 2276
Wathila ibn al-Asqa' reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said God chose Kinana from the descendants of Ishmael, chose Quraysh from Kinana, chose Banu Hashim from Quraysh, and chose him from Banu Hashim. In Sahih Muslim it stands under the heading on the merit of the Prophet's lineage.
Cited for
A sahih hadith says God chose Quraysh from among Isma'il's descendants, and the Prophet's (ﷺ) clan from Quraysh. So lineage does count.
The response
That hadith speaks of where God (﷾) placed His Prophet (ﷺ), and the Qur'an says God (﷾) knows best where to place His message. It gives no one standing with God (﷾) by birth. God (﷾) told Abraham His promise does not reach the wrongdoers among his offspring. The Qur'an condemns Abu Lahab, though he was the Prophet's (ﷺ) own uncle. And the Prophet (ﷺ) said that lineage will not hurry forward anyone whose deeds hold him back.
Where it lands — God (﷾) chooses where His message begins; honour with Him is by righteousness alone.
Qur'an 2:129 — Surat al-Baqara (The Cow), verse 129
“"Our Lord! send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them: For Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise."”
Cited for
The link to Abraham is a story told later, to give Islam old roots.
The response
The page gives Abraham's prayer as the Qur'an's own account of the place, not as the proof of the message. The case does not rest on anyone's family tree. It rests on the message and its record, which any reader can test.
Where it lands — The prayer of Abraham is Islam's reason for the place; the evidence for the message stands apart from it.
Sahih al-Bukhari 335 — Kitab al-Tayammum (Book of Tayammum), hadith 335
Jabir ibn Abdullah reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) named five things given to him that no prophet before him was given. The last of them: every earlier prophet was sent to his own nation only, but he was sent to all mankind.
Cited for
If earlier prophets went only to their own nations, God left most of mankind without a full message for thousands of years.
The response
The Qur'an says every people had a warner of its own at some time. It also says God (﷾) punishes no one before a messenger has come. Each people was answerable for what reached it, and no one for a message that never came.
Where it lands — Every people had a warner in its time, and no one is judged by a message that never reached them.
Qur'an 12:2 — Surat Yusuf (Joseph), verse 2
“We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an, in order that ye may learn wisdom.”
Cited for
A message in Arabic is meant for Arabs. Everyone else must rely on translations.
The response
Every message comes in some language, and the Qur'an says each messenger spoke his people's tongue. The Qur'an itself says it warns all whom it reaches. The Arabic the Prophet (ﷺ) recited is still recited today, so every translation can be checked against it.
Where it lands — One language at the start does not limit who the message is for.
Birmingham Qur'an manuscript (Mingana 1572a)
Two parchment leaves carrying parts of Surahs 18 to 20 in early Hijazi script. In 2015 the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit dated the parchment to between 568 and 645 CE, with 95.4 per cent probability, a span that covers the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime (c. 570-632). Apart from small points of spelling, the text on the leaves is the text of those surahs as the Qur'an has them today.
Cited for
The Birmingham date range begins before 610, so it cannot show anything about the Prophet's (ﷺ) Qur'an.
The response
Radiocarbon dates the animal skin, not the writing, and the range is a spread of likely dates. Writing comes after the parchment is made. The range overlaps the Prophet's (ﷺ) life, so the leaves fit a copy from his time or soon after.
Where it lands — The dating fits a copy made in or near the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime.
Qur'an 6:124 — Surat al-An'am (The Cattle), verse 124
“Allah knoweth best where (and how) to carry out His mission.”
Cited for
"God knows best" is no answer. It just ends the question.
The response
The page does not rest on it. It rests on a reason anyone can check: any place and time would draw the same question. So the place decides nothing, and the message and its record are what can be tested. The verse states Islam's view of the same point.
Where it lands — The place of a message is no evidence either way, so the test moves to the message.
Perspectives
Sceptic: one man in one place is a reason for doubt
If God wanted everyone to know Him, the sceptic says, He would not speak to one man in one corner of the world. A message given in one place, in one language, long ago, is what we would expect if it came from people. The sceptic adds that those who lived before it, or far away, would be left out.
A God who wanted everyone to know Him would reveal Himself to everyone directly, not to one man in Arabia.
Rebuttal
A sign so plain that no one could doubt it would force belief, and forced belief is no test. The Qur'an says that if an angel were sent down, the matter would be settled at once. Instead every people had a messenger, and the last message is a public book anyone can read and weigh.
Islam began in the time and place where it did. That is just what we would expect, says the sceptic, if it came from its own culture.
Rebuttal
Every message must begin in some culture, so this fits a true message as well as a man-made one. A fact that fits both views is evidence for neither. The test is the message itself and its record.
A message given today, with cameras and records, could be checked. One from the 7th century cannot.
Rebuttal
Every age looks early to the ages after it, so any revelation would one day be old. What can be weighed is the message itself, as its first hearers weighed it. Its text can be checked against copies from its own century.
A message for all people would not come in one language.
Rebuttal
Every message has to come in some language, and the Qur'an says each messenger spoke his people's tongue. The Arabic the Prophet (ﷺ) recited is still recited today, so every translation can be checked against it.
Those who lived before the Qur'an, or far from Arabia, were left without God's message.
Rebuttal
The Qur'an says every people had a warner at some time. It also says God (﷾) punishes no one until a messenger has come to them.
The Islamic perspective
God (﷾) knows best where to place His message. Every people had a messenger at some time. The last message was sent from Mecca to all people, and kept so that it would reach them. God (﷾) chose to send it from the House where, the Qur'an says, Abraham prayed for a messenger.
Any time and place would draw the same question. So the place of a message cannot decide whether it is true.
The Qur'an says a messenger was sent to every people, and that not all of them are named.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said every earlier prophet was sent to his own nation only. He himself was sent to all mankind.
The Qur'an teaches that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was sent to all people, as the last of the prophets.
The Qur'an was written down and learned by heart in the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime. It was gathered into one volume soon after his death.
The Qur'an presents the Prophet (ﷺ) as the messenger Abraham and Isma'il prayed for at the House in Mecca.
The Qur'an ranks people by righteousness, not by nation or tribe.