The name "Muhammad" in traditional Thuluth calligraphy by the hand of Hattat Aziz Efendi.¹

Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh (Arabic: محمّد; Transliteration: Muḥammad;² IPA: [mʊħɑmmæd̪]; pronunciation (help·info); also spelled Mohammed or Muhammed)³⁴⁵ (ca. 570 Mecca – June 8, 632 Medina),⁶ is the central human figure of the religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: الله‎ Allāh), the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets of Islam. Muslims consider him the restorer of the uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus (Isa) and other prophets of Islam.⁷⁸⁹ He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, military general, and, for Muslims and followers of several other religions, an agent of divine action.¹⁰

Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca,¹¹ he was orphaned at a young age and was brought up under the care of his uncle. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn)¹² acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and other prophets in Islam.¹³¹⁴⁹

Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some tribes of Mecca; he was treated harshly and so were his followers. To escape persecution Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622 CE. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca. In 632 a few months after returning to Medina from his Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam and he united the tribes of Arabia into a singular Muslim religious polity.¹⁵¹⁶

The revelations (or Ayats, lit. "Signs of God"), which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Qur'an, regarded by Muslims as the “word of God”, around which his religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.¹⁷ While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern times have been far less so.¹⁴¹⁸ Besides this, his life and deeds have been debated by followers and opponents over the centuries.¹⁹

Names and appellations in the Qur'an

The name Muḥammad "Praiseworthy" and occurs four times in the Qur'an.²⁰ The Qur'an addresses Muḥammad in second person not by his name but by the appellations prophet, messenger, servant of God (‘abd), announcer (bashir), warner (nadhir), reminder (mudhakkir), witness (shahid), bearer of good tidings (mubashshir), one who calls [unto God] (dā‘ī) and the light-giving lamp (siraj munir). Sometimes Muhammad is addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address: thus he is referred to as the enwrapped (al-muzzammil) in Qur'an 73:1 and the shrouded (al-muddaththir) in Qur'an 74:1. ²¹ In the Qur'an, the believers are not to make a distinction among the messengers of God and are to believe in all of them (Surah 2:285). God has caused some messengers to excel above others 2:253 and in Surah 33:40 He singles out Muḥammad as the "Seal of the Prophets".²² The Qur'an also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad "more praiseworthy" (Arabic: أحمد‎, Surah 61:6).

Sources for Muhammad's life

Nakkaş Osman [c. 1595]. Prophet Muhammad at the Ka'ba, The Life of the Prophet Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul (Inv. 1222/123b).

Main articles: Historiography of early Islam and Historicity of Muhammad

Muhammad's life history is well documented within numerous records in historical texts, although like other premodern historical figures not every detail of his life is known. Because Muhammad is a highly influential historical figure, his life, deeds, and thoughts have been debated by followers and opponents over the centuries, which makes a biography of him difficult to write.¹⁴

The "most trustworthy source" for reconstruction of the life of the historical Muhammad is the Qur'an.¹⁴ The Qur'an has some, though very few, casual allusions to Muhammad's life,²³ however it reveals the most essential aspects associated with Muhammad.¹⁹ The Qur'an however responds "constantly and often candidly to Muhammad's changing historical circumstances and contains a wealth of hidden data."¹⁴ The Qur'an in its actual form is generally considered by academic scholars to record the words spoken by Muhammad because the search for variants in Western academia has not yielded any differences of great significance.²⁴

Next in importance are the historical works by writers of the third and fourth century of the Muslim era.²⁵ These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him (the sira and hadith literature), which provide further information on Muhammad's life.²⁶ The earliest surviving written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Ibn Ishaq's Life of God's Messenger written some 120 to 130 years after Muhammad's death. Although the original work is lost, portions of it survive in the recensions of Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari.²⁷²³ Another early source is the history of Muhammad's campaigns by al-Waqidi (death 207 of Muslim era), and the work of his secretary Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi (death 230 of Muslim era).²⁵ Many, but not all, scholars accept the accuracy of the earliest biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable.²³ Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. In the former sphere, traditions could have been subject to sheer invention while in the latter sphere, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been only subject to "tendential shaping".²⁸

In addition, the hadith collections are accounts of the verbal and physical traditions of Muhammad that date from several generations after the death of Muhammad.²⁹ Hadith compilations are records of the traditions or sayings of the Muhammad. They might be defined as the biography of Muhammad perpetuated by the long memory of his community for their exemplification and obedience.³⁰ Western academics view the hadith collections with caution as accurate historical sources.³¹ Some scholars such as Madelung do not reject the narrations which have been complied in later periods, but try to judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.³² Finally, there are oral traditions. Although usually discounted by positivist historians, oral tradition plays a major role in the Islamic understanding of Muhammad.¹⁹

There are also a few non-Muslim sources that, according to S. A. Nigosian, confirm the existence of Muhammad and are valuable for corroboration of the Muslim traditional statements.²³

Background

Main articles: Pre-Islamic Arabia and Jahiliyyah

Approximate locations of some of the important tribes of the Arabian Peninsula at the dawn of Islam (cities are indicated in white).

The Arabian Peninsula was largely arid and volcanic, making agriculture difficult except near oases or springs. Thus the Arabian landscape was dotted with towns and cities, two prominent of which were Mecca and Medina.³³ Communal life was essential for survival in the desert conditions, as people needed support against the harsh environment and lifestyle. The tribal grouping was thus encouraged by the need to act as a unit. This unity was based on the bond of kinship by blood.³⁴ People of Arabia were either nomadic or sedentary, the former constantly traveling from one place to another seeking water and pasture for their flocks, while the latter settled and focused on trade and agriculture. The survival of nomads (or bedouins) was also partially dependent on raiding caravans or oases; thus they saw this as no crime.³⁵³⁶ Medina was a large flourishing agricultural settlement, while Mecca was an important financial center for many of the surrounding tribes.³³

In pre-Islamic Arabia gods or goddesses were viewed as protectors of individual tribes and their spirits were associated with sacred trees, stones, springs and wells. There was an important shrine in Mecca (now called the Kaaba) that housed statues of 360 idols of tribal patron deities and was the site of an annual pilgrimage. Aside from these tribal gods, Arabs shared a common belief in a supreme deity Allah (literally "the god") who was however remote from their everyday concerns and thus not the object of cult or ritual. Three goddesses were associated with Allah as his daughters: al-Lāt, Manāt and al-‘Uzzá. Some monotheistic communities did also exist in Arabia, including Christians and Jews.³⁷Hanifs – native pre-Islamic Arab monotheists – are also sometimes listed alongside Jews and Christians in pre-Islamic Arabia, although their historicity is disputed amongst scholars.³⁸³⁹ According to the Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself was a Hanif and one of descendant of Ishmael, son of Abraham.⁴⁰

Life

Muhammad in Mecca

Main article: Muhammad in Mecca

Muhammad was born and lived in Mecca for the first 52 years of his life (570–622) which was divided into two phases, that is before and after declaring the prophecy.

Childhood and early life

See also: Year of the Elephant, Mawlid, and Family tree of Muhammad

Muhammad was born in the month of Rabi' al-awwal in 570. He belonged to the Banu Hashim, one of the prominent families of Mecca, although it seems not to have been prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime.¹⁴⁴¹ Tradition places the year of Muhammad's birth as corresponding with the Year of the Elephant, which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite king Abraha who had in his army a number of elephants. Recent scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as 568 or 569.⁴²

Muhammad's father, Abdullah, died almost six months before he was born.⁴³ According to the tradition, soon after Muhammad's birth he was sent to live with a Bedouin family in the desert, as the desert-life was considered healthier for infants. Muhammad stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until he was two years old. Some western scholars of Islam have rejected the historicity of this tradition.⁴⁴ At the age of six Muhammad lost his mother Amina to illness and he became fully orphaned.⁴⁵ He was subsequently brought up for two years under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe. When he was eight years of age his grandfather also died. Muhammad now came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of Banu Hashim.⁴² According to Watt, because of the general disregard of the guardians in taking care of the weak members of the tribes in Mecca in sixth century, "Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time."⁴⁶

While still in his teens, Muhammad began accompanying his uncle on trading journeys to Syria gaining some experience in commercial career; the only career open to Muhammad as an orphan.⁴⁶ According to the tradition, when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans' caravan to Syria, he met a Christian Monk or hermit named Bahira who is said to have foreseen the career of Muhammed as a prophet of God.⁴⁷

Little is known of Muhammad during his later youth, and from the fragmentary information that is available, it is hard to separate history from legend.⁴⁸ It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea."⁴⁹ Due to his upright character he acquired the nickname "Al-Amin" (Arabic: الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.¹⁴¹¹⁵⁰ His reputation attracted a proposal from Khadijah, a forty-year-old widow in 595. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one.⁴⁹

Beginnings of the Qur'an

See also: Origin and development of the Qur'an and Wahy

The cave Hira in the mountain Jabal al-Nour where, according to Muslim beliefs, Muhammad received his first revelation.

At some point Muhammad adopted the practice of meditating alone for several weeks every year in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca.⁵¹⁵² Islamic tradition holds that in one of his visits to the Mount Hira, the angel Gabriel began communicating with him here in the year 610 and commanded Muhammad to recite the following verses:⁵³

Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Qur'an 96:1-5)

According to some traditions, upon receiving his first revelations Muhammad was deeply distressed and contemplated throwing himself off the top of a mountain but the spirit moved closer and told him that he has been chosen as a messenger of God. Muhammad returned home and was consoled and reassured by his wife, Khadijah and her Christian cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal. Shia tradition maintains that Muhammad was neither surprised nor frightened at the appearance of Gabriel but rather welcomed him as if he had been expecting him.⁵⁴ The initial revelation was followed by a pause of three years during which Muhammad gave himself up further to prayers and spiritual practices. When the revelations resumed he was reassured and commanded to begin preaching: Your lord has not forsaken you nor does he hate [you] (Qur'an 93:1-11).⁵⁵⁵⁶

According to Welch these revelations were accompanied by mysterious seizures, and the reports are unlikely to have been forged by later Muslims.¹⁴ Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages.⁵⁷ According to the Qur'an, one of the main roles of Muhammad is to warn the unbelievers of their eschatological punishment (Qur'an 38:70, Qur'an 6:19). Sometimes the Qur'an does not explicitly refer to the Judgment day but provides examples from the history of some extinct communities and warns Muhammad's contemporaries of similar calamities (Qur'an 41:13–16).⁵⁸ Muhammad is not only a warner to those who reject God's revelation, but also a bearer of good news for those who abandon evil, listen to the divine word and serve God.⁵⁹ Muhammad's mission also involves preaching monotheism: The Qur'an demands Muhammad to proclaim and praise the name of his Lord and instructs him not to worship idols apart from God or associate other deities with God.⁵⁸

The key themes of the early Qur'anic verses included the responsibility of man towards his creator; the resurrection of dead, God's final judgment followed by vivid descriptions of the tortures in hell and pleasures in Paradise; and the signs of God in all aspects of life. Religious duties required of the believers at this time were few: belief in God, asking for forgiveness of sins, offering frequent prayers, assisting others particularly those in need, rejecting cheating and the love of wealth (considered to be significant in the commercial life of Mecca), being chaste and not to kill new-born girls.¹⁴

Opposition

See also: Persecution of Muslims by the Meccans and Migration to Abyssinia

According to the Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife Khadija was the first to believe he was a prophet.⁶⁰ She was soon followed by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, close friend Abu Bakr, and adopted son Zaid.⁶⁰ Around 613, Muhammad began his public preaching (Qur'an 26:214).⁶¹ Most Meccans ignored him and a few mocked him, while some others became his followers. There were three main groups of early converts to Islam: younger brothers and sons of great merchants; people who had fallen out of the first rank in their tribe or failed to attain it; and the weak, mostly unprotected foreigners.⁶²

According to Ibn Sad, the opposition in Mecca started when Muhammad delivered verses that condemned idol worship and the Meccan forefathers who engaged in polytheism.⁶³ The Qur'anic exegesis however maintains that it began as soon as Muhammad began preaching in public.⁶⁴ As the number of Muhammad's followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Kaaba, 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'aba.⁶² The powerful merchants tried to convince Muhammad to abandon his preaching by offering him admission into the inner circle of merchants, and establishing his position therein by an advantageous marriage. However, he refused.⁶²

Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment of Muhammad and his followers.¹⁴ Sumayyah bint Khabbab, a slave of Abu Jahl and a prominent Meccan leader, is famous as the first martyr of Islam, having been killed with a spear by her master when she refused to give up her faith. Bilal, another Muslim slave, was tortured by Umayya ibn khalaf who placed a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion.⁶⁵⁶⁶ Apart from insults, Muhammad was protected from physical harm due to belonging to the clan of Banu Hashim.⁶⁷⁶⁸

Location of Abyssinia (Aksumite Empire).

In 615, some of Muhammad's followers emigrated to the Ethiopian Aksumite Empire and founded a small colony there under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Aṣḥama ibn Abjar.¹⁴ Some early traditions describe Muhammad's involvement at this time in an episode that has come to be known as the "Story of the Cranes" -- dubbed by some scholars as the "Satanic Verses." The account holds that Muhammad pronounced a verse acknowledging the existence of three Meccan goddesses considered to be the daughters of Allah, praising them, and appealing for their intercession. According to these accounts, Muhammad later retracted the verses at the behest of Gabriel.⁶⁹ Islamic scholars vigorously objected to the historicity of the incident as early as the tenth century CE.⁷⁰ In any event, the relations between the Muslims and their pagan fellow-tribesmen rapidly deteriorated.

In 617 the leaders of Makhzum and Banu Abd-Shams, two important clans of Quraysh, declared a public boycott against Banu Hashim, their commercial rival, to pressurize it into withdrawing its protection of Muhammad. The boycott lasted for three years but eventually collapsed as it failed to achieve its objective.⁷¹⁷²

Last years in Mecca

Road to Ta'if in the foreground, mountains of Ta'if in the background (Saudi Arabia).

In 619, both Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died, and was thus known as the "year of sorrows." With the death of Abu Talib, the leadership of the clan of Banu Hashim was passed to Abu Lahab who was an inveterate enemy of Muhammad. Soon afterwards Abu Lahab withdrew the clan's protection from Muhammad. This placed Muhammad in danger of death since the withdrawal of clan protection implied that the blood revenge for his killing would not be exacted. Muhammad then visited to Ta'if, another important city in Arabia, and tried to find a protector for himself there, but his effort failed and further brought him into physical danger.⁷²¹⁴ Muhammad was forced to return to Mecca. A Meccan man named Mut'im b. Adi (and the protection of the tribe of Banu Nawfal) made it possible for him safely to re-enter his native city.¹⁴⁷²

Many people were visiting Mecca on business or as pilgrims to the Kaaba. Muhammad took this opportunity to look for a new home for himself and his followers. After several unsuccessful negotiations, he found hope with some men from Yathrib (later called Medina).¹⁴ The Arab population of Yathrib were somewhat familiar with monotheism because a Jewish community existed in that city.¹⁴ Converts to Islam came from nearly all Arab tribes present in Medina, such that by June of the subsequent year there were seventy-five Muslims coming to Mecca for pilgrimage and to meet Muhammad. Meeting him secretly by night, the group made what was known as the "Second Pledge of al-`Aqaba", or the "Pledge of War"⁷³ Following the pledges at Aqabah, Muhammad encouraged his followers to emigrate to Yathrib. As before, with the migration to Abyssinia, the Quraysh attempted to stop the emigration. However, almost all Muslims managed to leave.⁷⁴

Isra and Mi'raj

Main article: Isra and Mi'raj

The Al-Aqsa Mosque congregation building, the site from which Muhammad is believed by Muslims to have ascended to heaven.

Islamic tradition relates that some time in 620, Muhammad experienced the Isra and Mi'raj, a miraculous journey said to have been accomplished in one night along with the angel Gabriel. In the first part of the journey, the Isra, he is said to have travelled from Mecca to "the farthest mosque" (in Arabic: masjid al-aqsa), which Muslims usually identify with the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In the second part, the Miraj, Muhammad is said to have toured heaven and hell, and spoken with earlier prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.⁷⁵Ibn Ishaq, author of first biography of Muhammad, presents this event as a spiritual experience while later historians like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir present it as a physical journey.⁷⁵ Some western scholars of Islam hold that the oldest Muslim tradition identified the journey as one traveled through the heavens from the sacred enclosure at Mecca to the celestial Kaʿba (heavenly prototype of the Kaʿba); but later tradition identified Muhammad's journey from Mecca to the abode of sanctuary (bayt al-maqdis) in Jerusalem.⁷⁶

Muhammad in Medina

Hijra

Main articles: Hijra (Islam) and Muhammad in Medina

A delegation from Medina, consisting of the representatives of the twelve important clans of Medina, invited Muhammad as a neutral outsider to Medina to serve as the chief arbitrator for the entire community.⁷⁷⁷⁸ There was fighting in Yathrib mainly involving its Arab and Jewish inhabitants for around a hundred years before 620.⁷⁷ The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the battle of Bu'ath in which all the clans were involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood-feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with authority to adjudicate in disputed cases.⁷⁷ The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow-citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and physically protect him as one of themselves.¹⁴

Muhammad instructed his followers to emigrate to Medina until virtually all of his followers had left Mecca. Being alarmed at the departure of Muslims, according to the tradition, the Meccans plotted to assassinate Muhammad. With the help of Ali, however, Muhammad fooled the Meccans who were watching him, and secretly slipped away from the town with Abu Bakr.⁷⁹ By 622, Muhammad had emigrated to Medina, then known as Yathrib, a large agricultural oasis. Those who had migrated from Mecca along with Muhammad became known as muhajirun (emigrants).¹⁴

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Medina Charter

Establishment of a new polity

Main article: Constitution of Medina

Among the first things Muhammad did in order to settle down the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was drafting a document known as the Constitution of Medina, "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca, which specified the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina (including that of the Muslim community to other communities specifically the Jews and other "Peoples of the Book").⁷⁷⁷⁸ The community defined in the Constitution of Medina, Ummah, had a religious outlook but was also shaped by the practical considerations and substantially preserved the legal forms of the old Arab tribes.¹⁴ It effectively established the first Islamic state.

The first group of pagan converts to Islam in Medina were the clans who had not produced great leaders for themselves but had suffered from warlike leaders from other clans. This was followed by the general acceptance of Islam by the pagan population of Medina, apart from some exception. This was according to Ibn Ishaq influenced by the conversion of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, one of the prominent leaders in Medina to Islam.⁸⁰ Those Medinans who converted to Islam and helped the Muslim emigrants find shelter became known as the ansar (helpers).¹⁴ Then Muhammad instituted brotherhood between the emigrants and the helpers and he chose Ali as his own brother.⁸¹

With the early general conversion of Medinian pagans to Islam, the pagan opposition in Medina was never of prime importance in the affairs of Medina. Those remaining pagans in Medina were very bitter about the advance of Islam. In particular Asma bint Marwan and Abu 'Afak had composed verses taunting and insulting some of the Muslims. These two were assassinated and Muhammad did not disapprove of it. No one dared to take vengeance on them, and some of the members of the clan of Asma bint Marwan who had previously converted to Islam in secret, now professed Islam openly. This marked an end to the overt opposition to Muhammad among the pagans in Medina.⁸²

Beginnings of armed conflict

A map of the Badr campaign.

Main article: Battle of Badr

Following the emigration, the Meccans seized the properties of the Muslim emigrants in Mecca.⁸³ Economically uprooted and with no available profession, the Muslim migrants turned to raiding Meccan caravans for their livelihood, thus initiating armed conflict between the Muslims and Mecca.⁸⁴⁸⁵ Muhammad delivered Qur'anic verses permitting the Muslims to fight the Meccans (see Qur'an 22:39–40).⁸⁶ These attacks pressured Mecca by interfering with trade, and allowed the Muslims to acquire wealth, power and prestige while working toward their ultimate goal of inducing Mecca's submission to the new faith.⁸⁷⁸⁸ In March of 624, Muhammad led some three hundred warriors in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan. The Muslims set an ambush for the Meccans at Badr.⁸⁹ Aware of the plan, the Meccan caravan eluded Muslims. Meanwhile, a force from Mecca was sent to protect the caravan, continuing forward to confront the Muslims upon hearing that the caravan was safe. The battle of Badr began in March of 624.⁹⁰ Though outnumbered more than three to one, the Muslims won the battle, killing at least forty-five Meccans with only fourteen Muslims dead. They had also succeeded in killing many of the Meccan leaders, including Abu Jahl.⁹¹ Seventy prisoners had been acquired, many of whom were soon ransomed in return for wealth or freed.⁹²⁹³⁹⁴ Muhammad and his followers saw in the victory a confirmation of their faith.¹⁴ The Qur'anic verses of this period, unlike the Meccan ones, dealt with practical problems of government and issues like the distribution of spoils.⁹⁵

Muhammad expelled from Medina the Banu Qaynuqa, one of the three main Jewish tribes.¹⁴ Following the battle of Badr, Muhammad also made mutual-aid alliances with a number of Bedouin tribes to protect his community from attacks from the northern part of Hijaz.¹⁴

Conflict with Mecca

Main article: Battle of Uhud

The attack at Badr committed Muhammad to total war with Meccans, who were now anxious to avenge their defeat. To maintain their economic prosperity, the Meccans needed to restore their prestige, which had been lost at Badr.⁹⁶ In the ensuing months, Muhammad led expeditions on tribes allied with Mecca and sent out a raid on a Meccan caravan.⁹⁷ Abu Sufyan subsequently gathered an army of three thousand men and set out for an attack on Medina.⁹⁸

Map of the Battle of Uhud, showing the Muslim and Meccan lines respectively.

A scout alerted Muhammad of the Meccan army's presence and numbers a day later. The next morning, at the Muslim conference of war, there was dispute over how best to repel the Meccans. Muhammad and many of the senior figures suggested that it would be safer to fight within Medina and take advantage of its heavily fortified strongholds. Younger Muslims argued that the Meccans were destroying their crops, and that huddling in the strongholds would destroy Muslim prestige. Muhammad eventually conceded to the wishes of the latter, and readied the Muslim force for battle. Thus, Muhammad led his force outside to the mountain of Uhud (where the Meccans had camped) and fought the Battle of Uhud on March 23.⁹⁹¹⁰⁰ Although the Muslim army had the best of the early encounters, indiscipline on the part of strategically placed archers led to a Muslim defeat, with 75 Muslims killed including Hamza, Muhammad's uncle and one of the best known martyrs in the Muslim tradition. The Meccans did not pursue the Muslims further, but marched back to Mecca declaring victory. They were not entirely successful, however, as they had failed to achieve their aim of destroying the Muslims completely.¹⁰¹¹⁰² The Muslims buried the dead, and returned to Medina that evening. Questions accumulated as to the reasons for the loss, and Muhammad subsequently delivered Qur'anic verses ^{Qur'an 3:152} which indicated that their defeat was partly a punishment for disobedience and partly a test for steadfastness.¹⁰³

Abu Sufyan now directed his efforts towards another attack on Medina. He attracted the support of nomadic tribes to the north and east of Medina, using propaganda about Muhammad's weakness, promises of booty, memories of the prestige of Quraysh and use of bribes.¹⁰⁴ Muhammad's policy was now to prevent alliances against him as much as he could. Whenever alliances of tribesmen against Medina were formed, he sent out an expedition to break them up.¹⁰⁴ When Muhammad heard of men massing with hostile intentions against Medina, he reacted with severity.¹⁰⁵ One example is the assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a chieftain of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir who had gone to Mecca and written poems that had helped rouse the Meccans' grief, anger and desire for revenge after the battle of Badr.¹⁰⁶ Around a year later, Muhammad expelled the Banu Nadir from Medina.¹⁰⁷ Muhammad's attempts to prevent formation of a confederation against him were unsuccessful, though he was able to increase his own forces and stop many potential tribes from joining his enemies.¹⁰⁸

Siege of Medina

Main article: Battle of the Trench

Abu Sufyan, the military leader of Quraysh, with the help of Banu Nadir, the exiled Jewish tribe from Medina, had mustered a force of size 10,000 men. Muhammad was able to prepare a force of about 3000 men. He had however adopted a new form of defense, unknown in Arabia at that time: Muslims had dug a trench wherever Medina lay open to cavalry attack. The idea is credited to a Persian convert to Islam, Salman the Persian. The siege of Medina began on March 31 627 and lasted for two weeks.¹⁰⁹ Abu Sufyan's troops were unprepared for the fortifications they were confronted with, and after an ineffectual siege lasting several weeks, the coalition decided to go home.¹¹⁰ The Qur'an discusses this battle in verses Qur'an 33:9-33:27.⁶⁴

Battle of Khandaq (Battle of the Trench)

During the battle, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza, located at the south of Medina, had entered into negotiations with Meccan forces to revolt against Muhammad. Although they were swayed by suggestions that Muhammad was sure to be overwhelmed, they desired reassurance in case the confederacy was unable to destroy him. No agreement was reached after the prolonged negotiations, in part due to sabotage attempts by Muhammad's scouts.¹¹¹ After the retreat of the coalition, the Muslims accused the Banu Qurayza of treachery and besieged them in their forts for 25 days. The Banu Qurayza eventually surrendered and all the men, apart from a few who converted to Islam, were beheaded, while the women and children were enslaved.¹¹²¹¹³ In the siege of Medina, the Meccans had exerted their utmost strength towards the destruction of the Muslim community. Their failure resulted in a significant loss of prestige; their trade with Syria was gone.¹¹⁴ Following the battle of the trench, Muhammad made two expeditions to the north which ended without any fighting.¹⁴ While returning from one of these two expeditions (or some years earlier according to other early accounts), an accusation of adultery was made against Aisha, Muhammad's wife. Aisha was exonerated from the accusations when Muhammad announced that he had received a revelation confirming Aisha's innocence and directing that charges of adultery be supported by four eyewitnesses.¹¹⁵

Truce of Hudaybiyya

Main article: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

Although Muhammad had already delivered Qur'anic verses commanding the Hajj,¹¹⁶ the Muslims had not performed it due to the enmity of the Quraysh. In the month of Shawwal 628, Muhammad ordered his followers to obtain sacrificial animals and to make preparations for a pilgrimage (umrah) to Mecca, saying that God had promised him the fulfillment of this goal in a vision where he was shaving his head after the completion of the Hajj.¹¹⁷ Upon hearing of the approaching 1,400 Muslims, the Quraysh sent out a force of 200 cavalry to halt them. Muhammad evaded them by taking a more difficult route, thereby reaching al-Hudaybiyya, just outside of Mecca.¹¹⁸ According to Watt, although Muhammad's decision to make the pilgrimage was based on his dream, he was at the same time demonstrating to the pagan Meccans that Islam does not threaten the prestige of their sanctuary, and that Islam was an Arabian religion.¹¹⁸

Negotiations commenced with emissaries going to and from Mecca. While these continued, rumors spread that one of the Muslim negotiators, Uthman bin al-Affan, had been killed by the Quraysh. Muhammad responded by calling upon the pilgrims to make a pledge not to flee (or to stick with Muhammad, whatever decision he made) if the situation descended into war with Mecca. This pledge became known as the "Pledge of Acceptance" (Arabic: بيعة الرضوان , bay'at al-ridhwān‎) or the "Pledge under the Tree." News of Uthman's safety, however, allowed for negotiations to continue, and a treaty scheduled to last ten years was eventually signed between the Muslims and Quraysh.¹¹⁸¹¹⁹ The main points of treaty included the cessation of hostilities; the deferral of Muhammad's pilgrimage to the following year; and an agreement to send back any Meccan who had gone to Medina without the permission of his or her protector.¹¹⁸

A rendering of the seal attributed to Muhammad used in the letters sent to other heads of state.

Many Muslims were not satisfied with the terms of the treaty. However, the Qur'anic sura "Al-Fath" (The Victory) (Qur'an 48:1-29) assured the Muslims that the expedition from which they were now returning must be considered a victorious one.¹²⁰ It was only later that Muhammad's followers would realise the benefit behind this treaty. These benefits, according to Welch, included the inducing of the Meccans to recognise Muhammad as an equal; a cessation of military activity posing well for the future; and gaining the admiration of Meccans who were impressed by the incorporation of the pilgrimage rituals.¹⁴

After signing the truce, Muhammad made an expedition against the Jewish oasis of Khaybar, known as the Battle of Khaybar. This was possibly due to it housing the Banu Nadir, who were inciting hostilities against Muhammad, or to regain some prestige to deflect from what appeared to some Muslims as the inconclusive result of the truce of Hudaybiyya.⁹⁸¹²¹ According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad also sent letters to many rulers of the world, asking them to convert to Islam (the exact date are given variously in the sources).^12212314 Hence he sent messengers (with letters) to Heraclius of the Byzantine Empire (the eastern Roman Empire), Khosrau of Persia, the chief of Yemen and to some others.¹²²¹²³ In the years following the truce of Hudaybiyya, Muhammad sent his forces against the Arabs on Transjordanian Byzantine soil in the Battle of Mu'tah, in which the Muslims were defeated.¹²⁴

Final years

Conquest of Mecca

Main articles: Conquest of Mecca and Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca

The Kaaba in Mecca held a major economic and religious role for the area, it became the Muslim Qibla, or direction for Salah

The truce of Hudaybiyya had been enforced for two years.¹²⁵¹²⁶ The tribe of Banu Khuza'a had a friendly relationship with Muhammad, while on the other hand their enemies, the Banu Bakr, had an alliance with the Meccans.¹²⁵¹²⁶ A clan of the Bakr made a night raid against the Khuz'aah, killing a few of them.¹²⁵¹²⁶ The Meccans helped their allies (i.e., the Banu Bakr) with weapons and, according to some sources, a few Meccans also took part in the fighting.¹²⁵ After this event, Muhammad sent a message to Mecca with three conditions, asking them to accept one of them. These were that either the Meccans paid blood money for those slain among the Khuza'ah tribe; or, that they should disavow themselves of the Banu Bakr; or, that they should declare the truce of Hudaybiyya null.¹²⁷

Muhammad and his companions advancing on Mecca. The angels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil and Azrail, are also in the painting

The Meccans replied that they would accept only the last condition.¹²⁷ However, soon they realized their mistake and sent Abu Safyan to renew the Hudaybiyya treaty, but now his request was declined by Muhammad.

Muhammad began to prepare for a campaign.¹²⁸ In 630, Muhammad marched on Mecca with an enormous force, said to number more than ten thousand men. With minimal casualties, Muhammad took control of Mecca.¹²⁹ He declared an amnesty for past offences, except for ten men and women who had mocked and ridiculed him in songs and verses. Some of these were later pardoned.¹³⁰ Most Meccans converted to Islam and Muhammad subsequently destroyed all of the statues of Arabian gods in and around the Ka‘bah without exception.¹³¹¹³² The Qur'an discusses the conquest of Mecca.¹³³⁶⁴

Conquest of Arabia

Main articles: Battle of Hunayn and Battle of Tabouk

Soon after the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad was alarmed by a military threat from the confederate tribes of Hawazin who were collecting an army twice the size of Muhammad's. The Banu Hawazin were old enemies of the Meccans. They were joined by the tribe of Banu Thaqif inhabiting in the city of aṭ-Ṭā'if who had adopted an anti-Meccan policy due to the decline of the prestige of Meccans.¹³⁴ Muhammad defeated the Hawazin and Thaqif tribes in the battle of Hunayn.¹⁴

Muhammad prohibits intercalary months during the Farewell Pilgrimage. 17th century Ottoman copy of a 14th century (Ilkhanate) manuscript (Edinburgh codex). Illustration of Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī's The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries.

In the same year, Muhammad made the expedition of Tabuk against northern Arabia because of their previous defeat at the Battle of Mu'tah as well as the reports of the hostile attitude adopted against Muslims. Although Muhammad did not make contact with hostile forces at Tabuk, but he received the submission of some of the local chiefs of the region.¹⁴¹³⁵

A year after the battle of Tabuk, the Banu Thaqif inhabiting aṭ-Ṭā'if sent emissaries to Medina to surrender to Muhammad and adopt Islam. Many bedouins submitted to Muhammad in order to be safe against his attacks and to benefit from the booties of the wars.¹⁴ The bedouins however were alien to the system of Islam and wanted to maintain their independence, their established code of virtue and their ancestral traditions. Muhammad thus required of them a military and political agreement according to which they "acknowledge the suzerainty of Medina, to refrain from attack on the Muslims and their allies, and to pay the Zakat, the Muslim religious levy."¹³⁶

Farewell pilgrimage and death

Pilgrims circumambulating the Kaaba during the Hajj.

Main article: The Farewell Pilgrimage

At the end of the tenth year after the migration to Medina, Muhammad carried through his first truly Islamic pilgrimage thereby teaching his followers the regulations of the various ceremonies of the annual Great Pilgrimage (hajj).¹⁴

After completing the pilgrimage rituals, Muhammad delivered a famous speech known as the Farewell Speech (Arabic: Khutbat al-Wadaa'). In this sermon, Muhammad advised his followers not to follow certain pre-Islamic customs such as adding intercalary months to align the lunar calendar with the