LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH) : A TIMELINE

 

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THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD (PBUH): A TIMELINE

Early Meccan period

570 AD (52 years Before Hijrah or Migration to Medina) Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah (Peace be upon him) born in the city of Mecca (a city in the Hejaz, lit. literally “the barrier”, a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia), in the Year of the Elephant. The observance of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad is celebrated on the 12^th day of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar. According to Ibn Ishaq was a Monday. 

In the Qur’an, in the Surah (chapter) Yunus 10:6 we can read: Say, “If Allah had willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you, for I had remained among you a lifetime before it. Then will you not reason?” This ayah (verse) it can be interpreted like between the birth of Muhammad and the first appearance of the Qur’an that had been revealed to him an age of life (‘umr) has passed away. Most of the traditionalists understand that for a sum of forty years. The number forty is widespread throughout the Near East as a sacred number. Some examples are well known: the forty days Moses was on the mountain or Jesus in the desert. Consequently, the story of Ibn Ishaq about the appointment (mab’ath) of Muhammad starts like this: “When Muhammad, the messenger of God, was forty years old, God sent him for mercy for humanity”. So, there are forty years between the birth of Muhammad (570 AD) and the Muhammad’s first revelation (610 AD).

Al-Tabari confirms that Muhammad was born in the Year of Elephant: The birth of the Messenger of God took place during the reign of Kisra Anusharwan in the year when Abrahah al-Ashram Abu Yaksum marched against Mecca with the Abyssinians, bringing with him the elephant, having the intention of demolishing the House of God.

Muhammad born into the clan of Banu Hashim within the tribe of Quraysh in Mecca. Muhammad’s father, Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (born c. 546 AD / 76 BH), died shortly before his birth. According to Ibn Ishaq, his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib named him “Muhammad”, a name quite unknown at that time in the Arabian peninsula. The Quraysh (which, like the Hebrew karish, means “shark”) was the most powerful tribe in Mecca and had considerable influence in the surrounding area. Most of its members were worshippers of the traditional Arabian pantheons.

576 (46 BH) Aminah bint Wahb, the mother of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), dies when he was 6 years old. She was a member of the Banu Zuhrah clan in the tribe of Quraysh who claimed descent from Ibrahim (pbuh) through his son Ismail (pbuh). Now orphaned, Muhammad, aged 6, was passed into the custody of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, who was eighty years old.

 

578 (44 BH) Shaybah ibn Hashim (born c. 497), better known as Abd al-Muttalib, the grand-father of Prophet Muhammad, dies. Muhammad was eight years old. His father was Hashim ibn Abd Manaf (464-497), the progenitor of the distinguished Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca. They claimed descent from Ibrahim and Ismail. Abd al-Muttalib supplied pilgrims to the Ka’bah with food and water from the well Zamzam, the so called offices Siqaya and Rifada (Food & Beverages). This tradition was established by his the great-grandfather Qusai ibn Kilab ibn Murrah (died 400-480).

Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib (born c. 539), brother of Abd Allah, Muhammad’s father, became guardian of Muhammad after the death of his father Abd al-Muttalib. Leader of the Banu Hashim, he inherited the offices of siqaya and rifada. Abu Talib was the father of Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

 

583 (39 BH) Muhammad, age 12, accompanied his uncle Abu Talib during trading journeys to Syria. In one of them, his prophetic status was discovered by Bahira, a Christian monk of Busra al-Sham (southern Syria), who, after taking one look at Muhammad, pulled off his shirt to reveal the “seal of prophecy” (khatam an-nubuwwah) between Muhammad’s shoulder blades that the monk recognized from ancient manuscripts. Ahmad Ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri (died 892), one of the most eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, tells the following story in his Ansab al-A shraf (“Genealogies of the Nobles”): «When the Prophet of God (peace be upon him) had reached the age of twelve, Abu Talib once had to depart to Syria for trade. The Prophet of God (Peace be upon him) had a close bond with him […] Then one of the learned monks, whom hey called ‘Bahira’, saw him while a cloud gave him shade. He said to Abu Talib: ‘how is he related to you?’ He answered: ‘he is my nephew’. He said: ‘did you not see how the cloud gives him shade and moves with him?’ By God, he is a noble prophet and I reckon that he is the one who was announced by Jesus. His time has drawn near and it is your duty to protect him’. The Abu Talib sent him back to Mecca. The story of Muhammad’s encounter with Bahira, or “Sergius the Monk” to the Latin West, is found also in the works of the early Muslim historians Ibn Hisham, Muhammad Ibn Sa’d al-Baghdadi, and Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Bahira derives from the Syriac bhira, meaning “tested (by God) and approved”.

591 (31 BH) Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) joined a pact of chivalry (futuwwah) for the establishment of justice and the protection of the weak and the oppressed made by certain notables of the Quraysh like Abd Allah ibn Judan, the chief of the clan of Taym and cousin of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. Az-Zubayr ibn Abd al-Muttalib, chief of the Hashim Clan brought the young Muhammad that took part of the pact. The oath was called Hilf al-Fudul (League of the Virtuous). Muhammad was chosen because his absolute truthfulness, trustworthiness and integrity, his sense of justice and compassion for the poor, oppressed and downtrodden. Al-Amin, the Trustworthy, the Honest, al-Sadiq, the Truthful, were the titles on everybody’s lips for Muhammad, which means itself the Praised One. The Islamic idea and practice of the Futuwwah (lit. “youth” and by extension, “nobleheartness”) starts with this oath of Muhammad.

 

594/595 (28/27 BH) Khadija bint Khuwaylid (born c. 555) was daughter of a caravan merchant, Khuwaylid ibn Asad (died c. 585) and member of the tribe of Quraysh. She was a widow with considerable wealth. Khadija did not travel with her trade caravans; she employed others to trade on her behalf for a commission. By this time Khadija needed an agent for a transaction in Syria. Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib recommended her cousin Muhammad ibn Abd Allah. Khadija was so pleased with the young man’s honesty and success on this trip to Syria that she married him when she was aged 40 and he aged 25. Many wealthy Quraysh men had already asked for her hand in marriage, but all had been refused. While she remained alive during 24 years, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) did not take any other wives. Khadija bore the Prophet six children: two sons, Abd Allah and al-Qasim, both o whom died very young, and four daughters, Fatima, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Zaynab. Khadija was also known by the names Amirat-Quraysh (“Princess of Quraysh”), al-Tahira (“The Pure One”) and Khadija Al-Kubra (“the Great”).

 

605 (17 BH) The Ka’bah (lit. “cube”) named the “Holy House” (al-bayt al-haram) and the “Ancient House” (al-bayt al-atiq) was originally constructed by Adam as a sanctuary to Allah and after his death by his son Seth. When the time came, it was rebuilt by Ibrahim and his son Ismail and later by the descendents of Noah.

Seventeen years before Hijrah it was rebuilt again following a major fire which had partly destroyed the structure. A Byzantine ship which had been wrecked in the ancient Mecca’s port of Shu’ayba on the Read Sea provided the wood for the Ka’bah, which was built in alternate layers of teakwood and stone by one of the survivors of the wreckage, a Greek artisan called Baqum (Pachomios). «The Quraysh, Muhammad among them, cooperated by collecting stones for the new edifice. When the time came to replace the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad), strife broke out between various leaders of the clans demanding the honor of putting it back, leading to so serious a dispute that bloodshed was threatened. A story found in Ibn Ishaq’s Sirah Rasul Allah tells what happen in that occasion. The clans could not agree on which one of them should have the honour of setting the Black Stone back in its place. They decided to wait for the next man to come through the gate and ask him to make the decision. That individual happened to be the 35-year-old Muhammad, five years before his prophethood. He asked the elders of the clans to bring him a cloth and put the Black Stone in its centre. Each of the clan leaders held the corners of the cloth and carried the Black Stone to the right spot. Then, Muhammad himself set the Black Stone in the eastern cornerstone of the Ka’bah, satisfying the honour of all of the clans. Muhammad taught them an unforgettable lesson of unity and solidarity.

 

Period of the Meccan revelations

Hazrat Muhammad’s Prophetic initiation occurs at the age of 40. 

610 (12 BH) Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) struggled to make sense of humanity’s relationships with God and with one other. He found the paganism with which he had been brought up inadequate, and he was disturbed by the selfishness and immorality he saw in his own town of Mecca. Clearly Muhammad had also learned much about Judaism and Christianity during his trading expeditions.

Muhammad was troubled by the inequities of polytheists of Mecca, with the existence of the poor and those without adequate care. He used to retire himself to a cave on the slopes of Mount Hira near Mecca, also called “The Mountain of Light” (Jabal al-Nur), to think about this injustice and calamities. When he reached the age of forty, one night at Mount Hira, Muhammad received the first revelation of the Qur’an via the Archangel Jibril, the first five verses of Surat al-Alaq. The title of the 96^th sura of the Qur’an means “The Blood Clot”. The title refers to the 2^nd verse which describes the God’s creation of man from clotted blood: “Recite! In the name of your Lord, who creates: Creates humanity from a clot. Recite! For your Lord is most generous, Who teaches by the calamus (pen), teaches humanity what it knows not.”

          The voice of the Archangel Jibril said to him: “O Muhammad! You are the Messenger of Allah and I am Jibril!”

After this experience, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) returned home very confused and greatly doubted his designation, but Khadija and her cousin, Waraqa ibn Nawfal, a hanif, believed firmly that he had been contact by an angel of God. The second revelation Muhammad receive was the beginning of the surah named Al-Qalam (The Calamus): “By the calamus, and what they write, You are not, by God’s favour, possessed, In fact, you have and endless reward and a powerful inner strength.” (68:1-3)

Waraqa ibn Nawfal was familiar with the Scriptures and recognized Muhammad’s experience for what it was. Waraqah said: “O my nephew! What did you see?” When Muhammad told him what had happened to him, Waraqah replied: “This is Namus (meaning Gabriel) that Allah sent to Moses. I wish I were younger. I wish I could live up to the time when your people would turn you out.”

The first four converts to Islam were: Khadija bint Khuwaylid (First Muslim and first female convert), Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (First male to convert to Islam); Zayd ibn Harithah; and Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son of Abu Talib and cousin of Muhammad. Muhammad asked: “Will they drive me out?” Waraqah answered in the affirmative and said: “Anyone who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should be alive until that day, then I would support you strongly.” A few days later Waraqah died.

According to the Qur’an, the Qiblah (the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays) originally faced the al-Haram al-Sharjf (Noble Sanctuary) in al-Quds (Jerusalem): “So from wherever you go out [for prayer, O Muhammad] turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram, and indeed, it is the truth from your Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what you do. And from wherever you go out [for prayer], turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] may be, turn your faces toward it in order that the people will not have any argument against you, except for those of them who commit wrong; so fear them not but fear Me. And [it is] so I may complete My favor upon you and that you may be guided.” (2:149-150)

 

613 (9 BH) Beginning of public preaching of Monotheism. Around this time, Allah through the Holy Qur’an then commanded Muhammad to “admonish your nearest kinsmen”: «You shall preach to the people who are closest to you.» (26:214). Also, refer to this stage, came surah Al-Muddathir (The Cloaked One): «O you who covers himself [with a garment], Arise and warn.» (74-1-2) Being a Prophet (Nabi) during three years, now Muhammad became also a Rasul Allah (God’s Messenger).

One day Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) climbed Mount al-Safa in Mecca (now located in the Masjid al-Haram), and called out the tribal chiefs. After receiving assurances that the chiefs, who reportedly never heard Muhammad tell lies, would believe him, he declared the Oneness of God. Later Muhammad organized dinners in which he conveyed and advocated the substance of his message. At these events, Muhammad met fierce opposition from one of his uncles, Abu Lahab.

Reactionary opposition arose to Muhammad’s speeches. According to Ibn Sa’d al-Baghdadi, the opposition in Mecca started when Muhammad delivered verses that “spoke shamefully of the idols they (the Meccans) worshiped and mentioned the perdition of their fathers who died in disbelief.” So, as the ranks of Muhammad’s followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Ka’bah, the focal point of Meccan religious life, which Muhammad threatened to overthrow. Muhammad’s denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka’bah, home of 360 idols. So, a fierce persecution starts against Muhammad and his Muslim fellows, those who only submit to Allah and practises the faith of Islam, the Monotheism of Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Moses, Joseph, David, Jesus and all the True Prophets of the Only One God. (Peace be upon them).

 

615 (7 BH) The persecution of the Quraysh tribe pushed to Muslims to sought refuge in the Christian Kingdom of Aksum, present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea (formerly referred to as Abyssinia, a name derived from the Arabic Al-Habash). The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said of Abyssinia that it was “a land of sincerity in religion”. Before the Hijrah, some eighty Muslims (not counting the small children), including the Prophet’s daughter Ruqayyah bint Muhammad and her husband Uthman ibn Affan, emigrated to Abyssinia, where were received by the Negus called Armah (in Arabic, Al-Najashi) and given refuge. The leader of the emigrants was Ja’far ibn Abi Talib. All events that took place during this emigration are reported by Ibn Ishaq.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) suffers several attempts on his life during this time of darkness. One such attempt was made by Uqba ibn Abu Mu’ayt who tried to strangled Muhammad with a garment, until he was pushed away by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. This episode is narrated by the Persian scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (810-870) in his hadith collection. Uqbah was one the neighbors of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Yet he assaulted Muhammad verbally and physically as he was preaching monotheism. One day, when Muhammad was praying in the courtyard of the Ka’bah, Uqba brought the waste of a slaughtered camel (intestines, blood, dung, etc.) upon the suggestion of other Quraysh leaders who were gathered there, and placed it upon Muhammad’s back while he was in prostration. They laughed so much so that they fell on each other. Muhammad remained in that position due to the weight, unable to lift his head from prostration until his daughter Fatima came and removed it. On another incident, Uqba spat on Muhammad’s face at the incitement of his friend Ubay ibn Khalaf, another fierce enemy of Islam.

In another attempt, Abu Jahl, one of the tribal leaders, attempted a pre-planned murder, as he tried to smash Muhammad in the head with a rock. This case is recorded in Al-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah of Abu Muhammad Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (died 833).

 

616 (6 BH) Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib (c. 566-625) accepts Islam and the guidance of Prophet Muhammad. He was Muhammad’s foster-brother: they had both been suckled by the slave Thuwaybah. It was traditionally alleged that Hamza was four years older than Muhammad. The Shafiite scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (1372-1449) writes: “Hamza was born two to four years before Muhammad.” “Hamza’s Islam was complete, and he followed the Apostle’s commands. When he became a Muslim, the Quraysh recognised that the Apostle had become strong, and had found a protector in Hamza, and so they abandoned some of their ways of harassing him.”

Also in this same year, Umar Ibn al-Khattab converted to Islam one year after the Migration to Abyssinia. After reciting the quranic verses that were: “Verily, I am Allah: there is no God but Me; so serve Me (only and establish regular prayer for My remembrance” (20: l4). Umar then went to Muhammad and accepted Islam in front of him and his companions (sahaba). Umar was 33 years old when he accepted Islam. He was an expert Islamic jurist known for his pious and just nature, which earned him the epithet Al-Faruq (“the one who distinguishes between right and wrong”).

 

617 (5 BH) Meccan boycott of the Hashemites. The Meccan boycott of the Hashemites was against the clan of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the Banu Hashim, declared by the leaders of Banu Makhzum and Banu Abd-Shams, two important clans of Quraysh. According to tradition, the boycott was carried out in order to put pressure on Banu Hashim members to withdraw their protection from Muhammad. The terms imposed on Banu Hashim are reported by Ibn Ishaq. Al-Bukhari writes: «The Quraysh gathered together to confer and decided to draw up a document in which they undertook not to marry women from Banu Hashim and the Banu al-Muttalib, or to give them women in marriage, or to sell anything to them or buy anything from them. They drew up a written contract to that effect and solemnly pledged themselves to observe it. They then hung up the document in the interior of the Ka’bah to make it even more binding upon themselves. When Quraysh did this, the Banu Hashim and the Banu al-Muttalib joined with Abu Talib, went with him to his valley and gathered round him there; but Abu Lahab Abd al Uzza b. Abd al-Muttalib left the Banu Hashim and went with the Quraysh supporting them against Abu Talib. This state of affairs continued for two or three years, until the two clans were exhausted, since nothing reached any of them except what was sent secretly by those of the Quraysh who wished to maintain relations with them.

 

619 (3 BH) The Year of Sorrow (Am al-Huzn). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in this very same year, had to face the death of his beloved wife, Khadijah (Radi Allahu anha – May Allah be pleased with her) and his dear uncle, Abu Talib.

Muhammad’s visit to Ta’if : The Hardest Day in the Life of Allah’s Messenger. The death, in the same year, of the Prophet’s wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib magnified the Prophet’s sorrows and doubled his feelings of estrangement and alienation and filled his heart with pain. Moreover, it left him and his followers politically isolated in Mecca, without support. The tribe of Quraysh seize this opportunity to increase their abuses and tighten their grips on the Muslims. Abu Lahab succeeded Abu Talib as the leader of the Prophet’s clan Banu Hashim, and he harbored the bitterest hatred for Islam and the Prophet. He used to go up to the Prophet during the pilgrimage and in the marketplace and throw dirt and stones upon him, calling him a liar and warning people against following him. Mecca became unbearable. Prophet Muhammad had to seek support from outside of Mecca. He first headed for the neighboring town of Ta’if, looking for this support. The people of Ta’if ordered their children to throw rocks and stones at Prophet Muhammad to drive them out of the city. The rocks that were thrown at him by the children caused him to bleed seriously, so much that his feet became stuck to his shoes by the drying blood. Later Muhammad said: “The day of Taif was worse for me than the day of Uhud; that was the most difficult point of my life.”

 

620 (2 BH) Night Journey and Ascension (Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj). The night journey (al-isra) was that made by the Prophet Muhammad thought the air, mounted on al-Buraq, in the company of Archangel Jibril, from Masjid al-Haram at Mecca to the Farthest Mosque or Masjid al-Aqsa at Jerusalem; thence he made the Ascension (al-M’iraj) through the Seven Heavens, borne by Jibril and entered Allah’s presence. The Night Journey and Ascension are celebrated in the Islamic World on the 27^th day of the Islamic month of Rajab. There are a lot of reports from the traditionalists about this event, from the well-known sahabi Anas Ibn Malik (c. 612-712) and one of the younger sahaba Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (died 682/93), to Ibn Sa’d in his Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (The Book of the Mayor Categories) and Ibn Hisham’s Sira. The first of these reports is attributed to Abu Hurayra. It is found both in the Dala’il al-Nubuwwa (Proofs of Prophecy) of al-Bayhaqi (994-1066) and the Tafsir of al-Tabari. Ibn Ishaq gives a full report of this event. Within the Holy Qur’an itself, surah al-Isra, the 17th chapter, was named after the Night Journey. In it, the first verse briefly describes the Isra: “Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” (17:1)

There is also some information in a later verse of surah an-Najm (The Star), which some scholars say is related to the Isra and Mi’raj: “The sight [of the Prophet] did not swerve, nor did it transgress [its limit]. He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.” (53:17-18)

Muhammad married his second wife, Sawda bint Zam’a (died 674) in Ramadan in the tenth year after his prophethood (in April/May 620). Sawda bint Zam’a, had been the first woman to immigrate to Abyssinia in the way of Allah. Her husband had died and she was living with her aged father, Zam’a ibn Qays, from the Amir ibn Luayy clan of the Quraysh, until her marriage with Muhammad.

 

621 (1 BH) The First Treaty of Aqabah (a place between Mina and Mecca). Members of the al-Aws and al-Khazraj tribes of Yathrib (Medina), who were Yemenite migrants (Arab Qahtani), converted to Islam and negotiated with Muhammad with the aim of making him leader of their strife-ridden tribal community. Among this group, ten people were from al-Khazraj and two others from al-Aws. This showed that these two groups had set their quarrel aside and showed interest in coming under the banner of Islam. They swore that they would not associate anybody with God, steal, engage themselves in adultery, kill their own children, accuse one another, and they would obey the Holy Prophet in performing good deeds.

 

Medinan period- Hijra, emigration to Medina (called Yathrib)

622 July: At the pilgrimage of this year, a delegation of around 75 Muslims of the Banu Aws and Khazraj from Medina came to Mecca, and in addition to restating the formal promises, they also assured Muhammad of their full support and protection if the latter would migrate to their land. They invited him to come to Medina as an arbitrator to reconcile among the hostile tribes. This is known as the Second Treaty or Agreement of Aqabah. Following the pledges, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) encouraged his followers to migrate to Medina, and in a span of two months, nearly all the Muslims of Mecca migrated to Yathrib.

The leaders of Quraysh began to fear the Prophet for they realised that he was now strong enough to fight them and had been given leave to do so by Allah. They also knew that he now had the people of Yathrib to help and protect him. Seeing that the Muslims were leaving the city, they decided to kill the Prophet, before he, too, left Mecca to join his followers in Yathrib. In this way they hoped to put an end to Islam once and for all. But they were unsuccessful to stop the Holy Prophet.

After living the first 52 years of his life (570-622) in Mecca, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Abu Bakr left the city by night in the middle of September and after a while they reached Yathrib on Friday 24 September (12^th day of Rabi’ al-Awwal 1 AH) were greeted cordially by its people. Yathrib was renamed Medina from Madinat al-Nabi (“City of the Prophet”) in honor of Muhammad’s Prophethood. This journey received the name of Hijrah (Migration) in the Islamic tradition.

The Hijrah is also often identified erroneously with the start of the Islamic lunar calendar, which was set to Friday 16 July 622 (1^St day of Muharram). In 638 (17 AH), Muhammad’s second successor, Umar Ibn al-Kattab al-Faruq, considered this moment so important that he established the Hijrah calendar, marking the journey from Mecca to Medina as its inaugural year.

The Constitution of Medina (Dastur al-Madinah), also known as The Charter of Medina (Sahjfat al-Madinah) was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad shortly after his arrival at Medina following the Hijra from Mecca. The document ensured freedom of religious beliefs and practices for all citizens of Medina. It also declared the role of Medina as a haram (“sacred place”), where no blood of the peoples included in the pact can be spilled. Among the many benefits specifies the following items: Article 25) Non-Muslim members will have the same political and cultural rights as Muslims. They will have autonomy and freedom of religion. Article 45) Non-Muslims will not be obliged to take part in religious wars of the Muslims.

 

623 (1 AH)

Aisha bint Abi Bakr (614-678) becomes the third wife of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Her father was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq from the clan of Taym of the Quraysh and her mother belonged to the Kinana tribe. Aisha was called Umm al-mu’minin “Mother of the Believers”) and she became Muhammad’s favourite wife. (Radi Allahu anha – May Allah be pleased with her).

 

624 (2 AH) February (Sha’ban): The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received a Divine command to change the Qibla from Jerusalem to the Ka’bah at Mecca. This moment took place during the prayer in a mosque at Medina. When the prophet Muhammad changed the direction in prayer, the entire congregation led by a companion follow the change. So that mosque was called Masjid al-Qiblatayn (Mosque of the Two Qiblas) and is the uniquely mosque in the world contained two prayer niches (maharib, sing. mihrab). Sahih Bukhari says: «Narrated Ibn Umar: While some people were offering Fajr prayer at Quba (mosque), some-one came to them and said, “Tonight some Qur’anic Verses have been revealed to the Prophet and he has been ordered to face the Ka’bah (at Mecca) (during prayers), so you too should turn your faces towards it.” At that time their faces were towards Sham (Jerusalem) so they turned towards the Ka’bah (at Mecca). The Muslims had this Qiblah during 13 years, from 610 until 623.

 

In late 623 and early 624 The Battle of Badr (Tuesday, 13 March; 17 Ramadan):

After several smaller skirmishes in late 623 and early 624 with the Meccans (like the Nakhla raid), the Prophet launched his first military operation. With 313 loyal companions and followers, including Abu Bakr, Umar Ibn al-Khattab, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Mus’ab ibn Umair, Az-Zubair bin Al-Awwam, Ammar ibn Yasir, and Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, he set out to intercept a caravan led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb (560-650), the chief of the Banu Abd-Shams clan of the Quraysh, on its return from Syria to Mecca. In the meanwhile, a large Meccan army of alleast one thousand warriors arrives in the zone to protect their financial interests in the caravan. When the word reached the Muslim army about the departure of the Meccan army, Muhammad immediately called a council of war, since there was still time to retreat and because many of the fighters there were recent converts (called Ansar or “Helpers” to distinguish them from the Quraishi Muslims), who had only pledged to defend Medina. Under the terms of the Constitution of Medina, they would have been within their rights to refuse to fight and leave the army. However, according to tradition, they pledged to fight as well, with Sa’d ibn Ubadah declaring, “If you [Muhammad] order us to plunge our horses into the sea, we would do so.” So the Muslims continued to march towards the wells of Badr, 110 kilometres southwest of Medina. Muhammad’s men routed the larger enemy force and captured the caravan. It was a great victory and many of the worst enemies of the Islam and Muhammad were killed: Abu Jahl, Utbah ibn Rabi’ah, Uqba ibn Abu Mu’ayt and Umayyah ibn Khalaf. Abu Lahab, who was not at Badr, died within days of the army’s return to Mecca.

The victory was achieved because of good generalship on Muhammad’s part, and good discipline and high enthusiasm among the Muslims.

In later days, the battle of Badr became so significant that Ibn Ishaq included a complete name-by-name roster of the Muslim army in his biography of Muhammad. In many hadiths, veterans who fought at Badr are identified as such as a formality, and they may have even received a stipend in later years.

The Muslim victory at Badr was taken by many as a sign that Allah was on Muhammad’s side, and this led to a large number of converts. The triumph is mentioned in the surah Al-Imran, the third chapter of the Qur’an: “And already had Allah given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were few in number. Then fear Allah; perhaps you will be grateful.” (3:123)

After Badr, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received a special revelation for the good treatment of the prisoners of war. We can read in Surah Al-Anfal (“The Spoils of War”): «O Prophet, say to whoever is in your hands of the captives, “If Allah knows [any] good in your hearts, He will give you [something] better than what was taken from you, and He will forgive you; and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”» (8:70)

For the period after the hijrah, Ibn Ishaq includes a detailed “chronological frame narrative” that gives the dates for Mubammad’s military expeditions and for the time he spent in Medina. This narrative form is seen in the following example that covers the one-year period from the end of the battle of Badr until the beginning of the battle of Uhud: «The Messenger left Badr at the end of Ramadan or in Shawwal [of AH 2]. He stayed only seven nights in Medina before he led a raid against the Banu Sulaym. He got as far as their watering place called al-Kudr and stayed there three nights, returning to Medina without fighting. He stayed there for the rest of Shawwal and Dhu’l-Qa’da. Abu Sufyan made the raid of Sawiq [barley meal] in Dhu’l-Hijja. When the Messenger returned from the raid of al-Sawiq he stayed in Medina for the rest of Dhu l-Hijja, or nearly all of it. Then [in Muharram] he raided the Najd, making for [the tribe of] Ghatafan. This is the raid of Dhu Amarr. He stayed in the Najd through the month of Safar, or nearly all of it, and then returned to Medina without fighting. There he remained for the month of Rabi’ I or a day or two less…. Then he made a raid on Quraysh as far as Bahran, a mine in the Hijaz… He stayed there for the next two months and then returned to Medina without fighting. After his arrival from Bahran the Messenger stopped [in Medina] for the months of the Jumada II, Rajab, Sha’ban, and Ramadan. Quraysh made the raid of Uhud in Shawwal of AH 3.

 

625 (3 AH) Spring The Battle of Uhud, Saturday, March 23 (7 Shawwal): Abu Sufyan ibn Harb led another Meccan army north to Medina for revenge after Badr. The two forces met on the hill of Uhud, just north of the Medinan settlement, and Muhammad and his men suffered a near disaster. After a fatal mistake by a detachment of his archers, Muhammad was injured but able to rally his forces. Abu Sufyan, seeing that about seventy Muslims and their allies had been killed, declared a victory and returned to Mecca. Surah 3:121-179 addresses the battle of Uhud.

In Jabal Uhud, Muhammad had 754 loyal companions and followers, including Abu-Bakr, Umar ibn AI-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Musab ibn Umayr. The Meccan army was composed by 3,000 infantry and 200 cavalry led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, a very skilled commander belonged to the clan of Makhzum in the tribe of Quraysh.

The reason of the defeat was the bad conduct of the 50 Muslim archers when they left their strategic position on a nearby rocky hill at the west side of the Muslim camp looking to loot the Meccan camp. They been protecting the flanks of the Muslim army and the Meccans would not able to turn around the Muslim camp. When they abandoned their position disobeying Muhammad’s order, the Meccan cavalry was able to attack the Muslim army very easily. The Muslim suffered between 70-75 killed and many wounded. Among the killed companions was Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib. Indulging in unusual excess, Hind bint Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan, tore the liver from the body of the fallen Hamzah, Muhammad’s uncle and bit into it; for Hamzah, one of the heroes at Badr, had there killed her father, Utbah ibn Rabi’ah.

 

627 (5 AH) Battle of al-Khandaq. Spring, April (Dhu’l-Qa’dah) The Meccans, 10,000 men with six hundred horses, again under the command of Abu Sufyan, made their last attempt to stop Muhammad by force. This time the Muslims numbered 3,000 men. The defenders dug a trench or khandaq (Arabised form of the Persian word kandak), advised by Salman al-Farisi, across on exposed areas north of the oasis of Medina; this was sufficient to deter the Meccans and their allies, who withdrew after about two weeks of several and unsuccessful assaults. By this time Muhammad was in complete control of Medina, and Bedouin tribes in the surrounding area were making alliances with him and becoming Muslims. The defeat caused the Meccans to lose their trade and much of their prestige.

The Qur’an uses the term confederates in surah Al-Ahzab (also The Clans, The Coalition Forces, The Forces Combined) to denote the confederacy of non-believers against Islam.

After the Battle of the Trench ended, the Jewish tribe of the Banu Qurayza was besieged by the Muslims and charged with treason by a judge accepted by both parties. The Qur’an in surah al-Ahzab says: “He caused those of the People of the Book who helped them (the confederates) to come out of their forts. Some you killed, some you took prisoner.” There is no reference to numbers. The biographers of the Prophet, followed by later historians, tell us that the Jews tribe of the Banu Qaynuqa, and later Banu al-Nadir, provoked the Muslims, were besieged, and in turn agreed to surrender and were allowed to depart, taking with them all their transportable possessions. Later on Khaybar and Fadak the Jews were evacuated but not killed. The assertion that 600 or 800 or 900 men of Banu Qurayza were put to death in cold blood can not be true; that it is a later invention. Imam Malik ibn Anas (711-795) and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani rejected the stories in question in the strongest terms: “such odd tales as the story of Qurayza and al-Nadir” and “deviant tale”. Also Abd al-Rahman al-Awza’i (707-774), an expert of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), greatly objected to such a legend, stating: “As far as I know it is not a decree of God that God should chastise the many for the fault of the few; rather to reprimand the few for the fault of the many.”

Modern scholars have challenged the veracity of this incident, arguing that it was exaggerated or invented. For instance, Barakat Ahmad (died 1988), a scholar and Indian diplomat, doctorate in Arab history from the American University of Beirut, was the first Muslim scholar to deal with the Jews of Yathrib in the spirit of independent study and research. He questions the validity of the accepted accounts of Muhammad’s expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa and execution of Banu Qurayza: «The culpable leadership of a tribe of 600 to 900 men, especially when some of them have already been killed in the battle and one group has been taken captive would not normally exceed sixteen or seventeen accounted for in above analysis. The decision to help the Ahzab must have been taken by the leaders and the elders of the Banu Qurayzah. The whole tribe could not be given the same punishment that was in store for their leaders. The Apostle himself was bound by the Qur’anic maxim of just retribution: an eye for an eye and a life for a life” (Al-Baqarah, 178). This principle, as we have shown earlier, had been agreed upon both by the Muslims and the Jews, for we find it formalized in the Sahifah: “a person acquires guilt against himself’. (Ibn Hisham, p. 344) In the same way, Mohamad Jebara, Chief Imam and Resident Scholar at the Cordova Spiritual Education Center in Ottawa, Canada, has written an illuminating article, “Myth of the Medina Massacre” in June 14, 2016.

 

628 Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH) March (Dhu’l-Qa’dah): Guided by a dream or vision, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) led a huge group of Muslims on the 400 hundred kilometres journey from Medina to Mecca to perform the pilgrimage ceremonies. They camped at al-Hudaybiyah on the edge of the Haram, the sacred territory that surrounds Mecca. There Muhammad negotiated a treaty in which he agreed not to press his claim to complete the pilgrimage ceremonies that season, while the Meccan leaders promised to open the city to the Muslims the following year. They also agreed to a ten-year truce during which neither side would attack the other.

 

629 (7AH) May/June (Muharram/Safar) Battle of Khaybar: Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) led the first Muslim pilgrimage, an ‘umrah or “lesser pilgrimage” to Mecca. Later that year, a clan allied to the Meccans attacked a clan allied to Muhammad, thus breaking the treaty. Abu Sufyan and other Meccan leaders rushed to Medina to dissuade Muhammad from attacking their city, and they apparently agreed to surrender Mecca to him peacefully.

Muhammad’army attacked the well fortified oasis of Khaybar, located 150 kilometres from Medina in the north-western part of the Arabian peninsula. The Jews of Khaybar oasis, about ten thousand,were allied with the Jewish tribe of the Banu Nadir and with the Banu Ghatafan, an Arab tribe supporting the Quraysh of Mecca. The Jews of the strongholds of Khaybar finally surrendered and were allowed to live in the oasis on the condition that they would give one-half of their produce to the Muslims.

In the Battle of Khaybar in 629, against a group of Medinese Jews who, having reached agreement with the Muslims and then broken their word, had barricaded themselves in a fort, ʿAlī is said, according to a very popular legend, to have torn off the door of the fort with one hand and used it as a shield.

 

Raid on Mu’ta. September (1 Jumada al-awwal): Unsuccessful expedition against Byzantine territory, in Mu’ta, Palestine (modern Karak Governorate in Jordan). An Islamic raiding force of 3,000 under Ibn Zayd Ibn Harithah, the Prophet’s adopted son, set off northwards to avenge the murder of Muslim emissaries by the Ghassanids, a northern Arab tribe, who lived in the nominally Romano-Byzantine frontier zone of what is now southern Jordan.

However, the Muslims were defeated at Mu’ta and Zayd Ibn Harithah, Ja’far ibn Abi Talib Abd Allah ibn Rawaha were killed and Khalid ibn al-Walid was put in command. The defeat at Mu’ta is seen as the first armed clash between Muslims and the Byzantine world, and a foretaste of clashes to come. There are several reports of the Muslim historians about the battle of Mu’ta. Also Theophanes the Confessor (c. 758/760 – c. 817/818), a Byzantine monk and chronicler, described the episode in his Chronicle.

The defeat at Mu’ta pushed Muhammad to organise quickly a new force of 500 cavalry to attach Dhat al-Salasil in the southern region of Transjordan against the Arab tribes of Banu Bali, Banu Quda and Banu Udhra, allies of the Byzantines. This successful operation was led by Amr ibn al-As (c. 585-664), the future conqueror of Egypt.

 

630 (8 AH) The Conquest of Mecca. January (Ramadan): A Muslim army of 10,000 men marches on Mecca which surrenders. Muhammad takes the city from the Quraysh without fighting and makes it the spiritual center of Islam.

 

Battle of Hunayn. 30^th of January (the tenth of Shawwal): Just weeks after the surrender of Mecca, with Muhammad now in command of all of west-central Arabia, a large confederation of tribes from south and east of Mecca, among them The Hawazins and the Thaqifs of Ta’if made one last attempt to stop him by force. Muhammad’s 12,000 men fought an army twice that size at Hunayn (mentioned by name in the Qur’an, 9:25), and once again the Muslims and their allies defeated a much larger force of polytheists. Muhammad’vanguard was led by Khalid Ibn al-Walid. After dividing up the spoils, Muhammad and his followers from Medina returned home, where he consolidated his position.

February: Siege of Ta’if: Muhammad begins to besiege Ta’if and brings battering rams and catapults to suppress the fortress city, but is unable to penetrate it. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb lost his first eye in the Siege of Ta’if. He told Muhammad of his loss for God to which Muhammad said “Which would you prefer: An eye in heaven or shall I pray to Allah that he brings it back?” To this Abu Sufyan said he would rather have his eye in heaven. He lost his other eye in the Battle of Yarmouk (modern Jordan, 15-20 August 636) fighting against the Byzantines under the command of his son, Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan.

Campaign of Tabuk. From mid-October to mid-December: Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) undertook his largest and last military expedition, with a force said to number 30,000 men, to Tabuk, about 400 kilometres northwest of Medina, near the Gulf of Aqaba. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  intention was to show this force to challenge the Byzantines for control of the northern part of the caravan route from Mecca to Syria. The Byzantine army, a huge force under emperor Heraclius who was stationed in Homs (Syria), also had the support of the regional Arab Tribes (Lakhm, Judham, Ghassan, Amila).

«On their route, they passed through the Jewish settlements of Wadi al-Qura, who honoured the Prophet serving him with their typical dishes. The Prophet and the Muslims remained in Tabuk for twenty days; the entire campaign lasting two months, from approximately mid-October to mid-December 630. Taking into consideration that Heraclius had abandoned his plans to attack, the Prophet decided to return to Medina as well, on the advice given him by Umar. At this juncture, it should be pointed out that there were individuals within the Muslim camp itself who from he very outset were opposed to the expedition into Byzantine territory.

The Prophet return from Tabuk in Ramadan.

There is a reference in the Qur’an, in the surah At-Tawba (The Repentance) about those individuals within the Muslim camp of the Tabuk expedition: “O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allah, you adhere heavily to the earth? Are you satisfied with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But what is the enjoyment of worldly life compared to the Hereafter except a [very] little.” (9:38)

 

630/631 (9 AH)

The ninth year of the Hijrah (630-631) is known in Islamic historiography as the Year of Delegations or Deputations (sanat al-wufud). The Arab delegations coming to Medina on behalf of their tribes and meeting with Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  declared their acceptance of Islam, pledged allegiance both in their own name and in the name of their tribes, wanted to the learn the religion from the Messenger conveying it himself, and sometimes requested that teachers be sent to members of their tribes.

Meeting with Christians of Najran. The most important interaction between the Christians and the Prophet was the visit of the Najran delegation to Medina. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  had been sending official letters to different countries and their rulers, inviting them to Islam. Among these were two different invitations that had been sent to Najran with Khalid ibn al-Walid and Ali ibn Abi Talib. At that time the Najran Christians had a highly organized religious life. Before Islam, foreign teachers had even visited the town, such as the Italian priest Gregentius of Himyaritia (died 552) who was a missionary for over thirty years in the region, which had deepened their religious knowledge.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) sent a representative to the Christians of Najran, Mughira ibn Shu’ba, who was sent to explain the invitations and the religion of Islam. After discussions with Mughira, the Christians of Najran decided to send a group of people to visit the Prophet. The delegation was made up of about 60 well-educated Christians: A bishop, his 45 scholars, and 15 men. Their intention was to learn the nature of the revelations Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was receiving. When the Najran delegation reached Madina, they debated with the Prophet in an investigatory dialogue for two or three days in the mosque of Madina. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) allowed them to pray in the mosque (Masjid al-Nabawi) where the Muslims prayed. The whole incident was the first occurrence of peaceful dialogue between Christians and Muslims; it was the first time that Christians prayed in a mosque.

 

632 (10 AH) Farewell pilgrimage (Hijjat l-Wada). The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  went on pilgrimage to Mecca on the 25^th of Dhu’l-Qa’da. The Farewell Pilgrimage was the last Hajj pilgrimage of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), participated before his death.

The Farewell Sermon (Khutbatu 1-Wada) was at in the Uranah valley of Mount Arafat, the 9th of Dhu’l-Hijjah, 10 AH (6 March 632). In that occasion the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said among many other things: “Know that every Muslim is a Muslim’s brother, and that the Muslims are brethren.”

As part of this sermon, the Prophet recited a Revelation from Allah which he had just received and which completed the Qur’an, for it was the last passage to be revealed: “This day the disbelievers despair of prevailing against your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me (Allah)! This day have I perfected for you your religion and fulfilled My favor unto you, and it hath been My good pleasure to choose Islam for you as your religion.” (Surah 5, Al-Maidah, Ayah 3). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  al-Bukhari refers to the sermon and quotes part of it in his Sahih al-Bukhari. Part of it is also present in Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abu Dawud.

 

Ghadir Khumm - The 18th of Dhu’l-Hijjah, (632).

After the Hajj, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  set off on the return journey from Mecca towards Medina, accompanied by an entourage of Muslims. The announcement at Ghadir Khumm took place among a congregation of these Muslims during the return journey.

At Ghadir Khumm, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  called the Muslim caravan to a halt ahead of the noon congregational prayer, before the pilgrims parted to go their separate ways, asking for a dais to be raised, shaded by palm branches.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  then delivered a sermon to a large number of Muslims in which, as described in the Hadith al-Thaqalayn, he emphasized the importance of two things: the Qur'an, and his ahl al-bayt ('people of the house', his family).                  

Sahi Muslim Hadees No.6228

Then, taking Ali by the hand, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  asked if he was not closer (Mawla) to the believers than they were to themselves, which they affirmed.^[1] The prophet then declared:

"He whose mawla I am, Ali is his mawla."                  Jame Tirmizi Hadees No.3713

 

(11 AH) Expedition of Usama Ibn Zayd to Palestine. May (Safar): Usama ibn Zayd was appointed as the commander of an expeditionary force which was to invade Palestine on the orders of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He set out with 3000 men on the same day Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) died. Most of the first emigrants (Muhajirun) went with him.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  invited Usama b. Zayd to the mosque and ordered him to act as the commander of an army which was to invade Palestine again, and in the words of Ibn Ishaq, ‘to spur on his horses to the Takhum of al-Balqa which was in Palestine’, that is the border area of Moab. Some weeks later, the Prophet began to suffer from the disease which was to end his life. Already ill, he again announced with stubborn determination from his seat (the minbar) in the mosque that Usama should head the expeditionary-force, and rebuke those who thought that he did not merit this honour as being too young for the appointment, while the best commanders of the Muslim army, from Mecca and from medina, were available. The Prophet’s orders to Usama were unequivocal: he was to go out to the very place where his father had fought and fallen together with the other Muslim commanders. Usama managed to visit the Prophet before going into battle. He was exceedingly weak and even unable to speak, but he was still able to lift his hand to the heavens, afterwards pointing Usama, as a sign that he was praying for him. The following day, as the army was preparing to leave, the Prophet died. It was Monday, towards evening, on 8 June 632.

The expedition was successful and it demonstrated the strength and cohesiveness of the Muslims even in the absence of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) . The army reached Palestine and became the first Muslim forces to defeat the Byzantines in battle, thus paving the way for the subsequent conquests of the Syrian and Egyptian regions, both of which were captured during Usama’s lifetime.

Ibn Ishaq and al-Waqidi record twenty-seven expeditions, including pilgrimages to Mecca and the expulsions of the three Jewish clans of Medina, that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  led himself, but they say he actually fought in only nine: Badr, Uhud, al-Kandaq, Banu Qurayza, Banu al-Mustaliq, Khaybar, the occupation of Mecca, Hunayn and al-Ta’if. In addition to these, he organized and sent out more than fifty other expeditions.

 

 

Monday 8 June (the twelfth of Rabi al-Awwal, 11 AH): Prophet Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)  (Peace be upon him), Khatam an-Nabiyyin (Seal of the Prophets), dies at Medina at the age of 63 after an illness and fever, while planning expedition against Byzantium; his leading followers elect his father-in-law Abu Bakr aI-Siddiq as Khalifat Rasul Allah (Vice-regent for the Messenger of Allah), ‘Caliph’, the First of Rashidun (al-Khilafah ar-Rashidah or the “Rightly Guided” caliphs).

Youtube: Imp. Events in the life of Prophet Muhammad - (PBUH) - Yearwise (570 - 632) in English