Prophet Dead, Teachings Alive

It was during that last pilgrimage that the surah entitled “Succor” was revealed, which he received as an announcement of approaching death. Soon after his return to Al-Madinah he fell ill. The tidings of his illness caused dismay throughout Arabia and anguish to the folk of Al-Madinah, Makkah and Ta’if, the hometowns. At early dawn on the last day of his earthly life he came out from his room beside the mosque at Al-Madinah and joined the public prayer, which Abu Bakr had been leading since his illness. And there was great relief among the people, who supposed him well again.

Arrogance Defeated at Hunayn

The formidable Bedouin tribes, the Hawaazin, the Saqif and various others pastured their flocks on the territories bordering Mecca. Some of them possessed strongly fortified towns like Tayef, and were unwilling to render obedience to the Muslims without resistance. They formed a league with the intention of overwhelming Prophet Muhammad (SAW) before he could make preparations to repulse their attack.

It was the usual practice with the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that whenever he conquered a region, he personally looked after its political problems and the religious matters of its inhabitants, so long as he stayed there, and as and when he left that place he appointed there suitable persons on different posts. Its reason was that the people of these regions, who were acquainted with the old and wound-up systems, did not possess information about the system, which had replaced it. Islam is a social, moral, political and religious system, its laws emanate from revelation, and acquainting people with these laws and their enforcement amongst them needs distinguished, mature and learned persons, who should teach them correct principles of Islam intelligently and should also enforce Islamic system amongst them.

Conquest of Makkah

According to the terms of the treaty of Hudaybiyah, the Arab tribes were given the option to join either of the parties with which they desired to enter into treaty alliance, the Prophet's (peace be upon him) or the Quraysh's. As a consequence, Banu Bakr joined the Quraysh, and Khuza'ah joined the Prophet, (peace be upon him). According to the Treaty they could not attack one another for a period of ten years. But Banu Bakr developed an evil scheme against Banu Khuza'ah and they planned to take revenge on their rivals. The Quraysh of Makkah should have held Banu Bakr back from implementing their plan against Banu Khuzaa'ah making them uphold the Treaty. Instead of preventing them, the Quraysh, totally at variance with their obligation to the Treaty, came out in the open lending full and active support to Banu Bakr with men and material. They broke their covenant to the extent that Safwaan ibn Umayyah, 'Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl, and Suhayl ibn 'Amr joined the fighting along with Banu Bakr.

Impact of Treaty of Hudaybiyah

At the end of the sixth year after Prophet Muhammad’s migration to Al-Madinah, he (peace be upon him) wanted to perform pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah and visit Allah’s Sacred House (the Ka`bah). He went out accompanied by one thousand and four hundred Muslim men and he appointed `Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum to be in charge of Al-Madinah during his (peace be upon him) absence. When they reached a place called Thul-Hulayfah, the Prophet(peace be upon him) and those who were with him, assumed the state of Ihram (the state of ritual consecration). The Prophet (peace be upon him) moved on until he reached the creek of Thatul-Ashtat where he met Bishr Ibn Sufyan Al-Ka`bî, who told him: 

The Battle of the Trench

WHEN the Prophet (pbuh) first arrived in Medina, the Jews who were living there had welcomed him. The Prophet (pbuh) had returned their greeting, as he wished to be on good terms with them. An agreement was also reached between the Muslims and the Jews, which gave the Jews the freedom to practice their religion and which also set out their rights and their duties. Among these duties was that in the case of war with Quraysh, the Jews would fight on the side of the Muslims. Despite this agreement, however, some of the Jewish tribes, who resented the Prophet's presence in Medina, soon began to cause trouble amongst the Muslims. They tried to set the Muslim Emigrants from Mecca and the Ansar against each other. The troublemakers were given many warnings but they continued to be a nuisance. In the end, the Muslims had no choice but to drive them from Medina. A new agreement was offered those Jews who remained but the trouble did not end there. One of the Jewish tribes, the Bani Nadir, plotted to murder the Prophet (pbuh) but their plan was discovered and they, too, were exiled from the city.

The Battle of Uhud

WHEN the survivors of the defeated Quraysh at Badr returned to Mecca, they gathered to speak with Abu Sufyan. They said, ‘Muhammad has killed our best men, so help us to fight him so that we may avenge those we have lost.' In order to do this it was agreed that everyone who had had a share in the caravan should put his profits towards the cost of a new army, which would be three times as big as the one at Badr. Among those who joined the new army was an Abyssinian slave called Wahshi. Who was known for his accuracy with the spear. His master, Jubayr ibn al-Mut'im, said to him, 'Go with the army and if you kill Hamzah, the uncle of Muhammad, in revenge for my uncle's death, I will set you free.' When Hind, Abu Sufyan's wife, heard about this she sent a message to Wahshi to say that she would clothe him in gold and silk if he would carry out his master's wish, for she, too, wanted Hamzah dead because he had killed both her father and brother.

Tabuk-The Test Of Faith

News of the growing power of the Muslims, as more and more of Arabia followed the Prophet (pbuh), eventually reached Heraclius, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Romans saw the uniting of the Arabs in Islam as a possible threat to their Empire and the Emperor's advisors and generals, therefore, decided that the best thing to do would be to attack the Muslims from the north and east at the same time and destroy Islam once and for all. 

The Battle Of Badr

THE Muslims, who had gone to Medina, had left all their belongings behind in Mecca and these had been taken by their enemies. Thus, when the Muslims heard that Abu Sufyan, one of the leaders of Quraysh, was on his way back to Mecca from Syria with a large caravan of goods, they decided that the time had come for them to retrieve some of their losses. The Prophet (pbuh) gave the Muslims permission for this attack and everyone began to get ready for the raid, for it had been revealed: In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Al-Hijrah

When the persecution of the people of Makkah against the Muslims grew intense, Allah commanded them to emigrate so that they could establish the religion of Allah in a land where they could worship Him.

Allah chose Madinah as the land of Hijrah (emigration for the sake of Allah). The Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, saw in a dream that he was immigrating to that city. It was narrated from Abu Musa that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I saw in a dream that I was emigrating from Makkah to a land in which there are date palms, and I thought that it was Al-Yamamah or Hajar, but it turned out to be Madinah, Yathrib.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Pledges at 'Aqabah

The First ‘Aqabah Pledge
Six Madinese embraced Islam in the pilgrimage season in the eleventh year of Prophethood. They promised to communicate the Message of Islam to their townsfolk.
The following year, on the occasion of the pilgrimage, there came a group of twelve disciples ready to acknowledge Muhammad as their Prophet. The group of men comprised five of the six who had met the Prophet the year before, the sixth who stayed away was Jabir bin ‘Abdullah bin Reyab, the other seven were:
1. Mu‘adh bin Al-Harith, Ibn ‘Afra, from Khazraj.
2. Dhakwan bin ‘Abd Al-Qais, from Khazraj.
3. ‘Ubadah bin As-Samit, from Khazraj.
4. Yazeed bin Tha‘labah, from Khazraj.
5. ‘Al-‘Abbas bin ‘Ubadah bin Nadalah, from Khazraj.
6. Abul Haitham bin At-Taihan, from Aws.
7. ‘Uwaim bin Sa‘idah, from Aws.

Plot to kill Muhammad (pbuh)

IN Yathrib there were two main tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj. Both were very powerful, they were always at war with one another, and both worshipped idols. Also in Yathrib were many Jews who, unlike the Arabs at that time, knew that there was only One God, and worshipped Him. They had told the Arabs many times that a Prophet would be coming to them. The time came for the pilgrimage to the Ka'bah, and several people from Yathrib were going, among them six men from the tribe of Khazraj. They had heard about the Prophet Muhammad's preaching and thought that this must be the Prophet the Jews had told them about. So they decided to go and speak to him during their stay in Mecca.

Year of Sorrow

The Prophet (pbuh) and his followers went back to a normal way of life but the years of hardship had made Khadijah very weak. She became ill and soon afterwards she died. Thus, the Prophet (pbuh) lost his beloved wife and friend, the first person to accept Islam and support him. She had been a refuge from all his troubles and, through her good-heartedness, the best company in his suffering. He had loved her very much. This happened in 619 A.D., the year which became known as the 'Year of Sorrow'.

Early years of the Prophet's mission

In his fortieth year, Muhammad (pbuh) left Mecca to spend Ramadan, the traditional month of retreat, in the cave. In the second half of Ramadan, Allah began to reveal His message for mankind through Muhammad (pbuh). This first Revelation occurred as follows. The Archangel Gabriel came to Muhammad (pbuh) in the cave and commanded him to 'Read'. Muhammad (pbuh) replied 'I cannot read.' At this the Archangel took Muhammad (pbuh) in his arms and pressed him to him until it was almost too much to bear. He then released him and said again 'Read.' ‘I cannot', replied Muhammad (pbuh),

The Prophet's (pbuh) youth

Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the son of Abd Allah, an Arab trader and Aminah, born in the year 570 A.D. After their marriage, Abd Allah spent several months with his wife but had to leave her and travel with one of the caravans to trade with Syria. He belonged to the well known Arab tribe called the Quraysh. On his way back to Mecca from Syria Abd Allah became ill and had to stop off in Yathrib to recover. The caravan, however, continued on its way and arrived back in Mecca without him.

Life before Prophethood

By the time Muhammad (pbuh) was twenty-five, he was well known for his honesty. He was respected by everyone, even the elders of Mecca. The purity of his nature increased with the years. It seemed he had an inner knowledge that other people did not have. He believed in one God-Creator of the world and he worshipped Him with all his heart and with all his soul. Muhammad (pbuh) was the finest of his people, the most kind, truthful and reliable person in Mecca. He was known among Quraysh as 'the trustworthy' (al-Amin) because of the good qualities God had endowed him with. He spent many quiet hours in a cave in Mount Hira, not far from Mecca, thinking about Allah.