13 - The Year of Sorrow
In the tenth year of Prophethood, the Prophet’s uncle Abu Talib, who had given him constant support, and his wife Khadija, with whom he had shared a happy life for twenty-five years, passed away only three days apart from one another (10 Ramadan/19 April 620). Their demise deeply saddened the Prophet and the Muslims. Thus, this year came to be known as the Year of Sorrow. Becoming the leader of th...

14 - Inviting the People of Ta'if to Islam
In line with developments in Makka, the Quraysh’s harsh treatment of Prophet Muhammad continued to increase. There was virtually nothing left for the Quraysh to do in terms of the communication of Islam. In the period spanning the tenth year of Prophethood until the Emigration, the Prophet turned his focus outside Makka in communicating the message of Islam to the people. Taking Zayd ibn Harith wi...

15 - The Night Journey and Ascension
Following both the death of loved ones who were always of great support to him and the cruelties inflicted by the Ta’if townspeople, God honored Prophet Muhammad with the Ascension, allowing him to travel to the spiritual realms. One night, accompanied by Archangel Gabriel, the Prophet was taken from the Sacred Mosque in Makka to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem; from there, he was raised to the gr...

16 - The 'Aqaba Allegiance
From the first years of his Prophethood, Prophet Muhammad showed great efforts to convey the message to those coming to Makka for pilgrimage as well as those coming to the city’s fairs for trade. The most fruitful of these contacts were those he made with the people of Yathrib (Madina). In the pilgrimage season of his eleventh year of Prophethood (620), the Prophet encountered a group of six peopl...

17 - The Emigration (Hijra)
The Emigration to Yathrib (Madina)

After the second 'Aqaba pledge to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), he gave permission to his Companions to immigrate (hijrah) to Yathrib. The first ones to immigrate to this city were Amir ibn Rabia and his wife Leila bint Hasma; then the other companions began to leave Mecca in groups. It should be pointed out that there were a few companions who went from Mecca to Medi...

18 - First Activities in Madina
The Emigration constitutes a very important event which allowed Prophet Muhammad to fulfill his duties of Prophethood under more auspicious conditions and which enabled the spread of Islam. The greatest aim of the Last Prophet was to convey the message of the Qur’an, to teach the religion through his lived example and to increase the number of believers, thus enabling the transmission of the relig...

19 - The Battle of Badr
Domestic and Foreign Threats – Military Expeditions

In the Makkan period, Prophet Muhammad did not act in response to the Quraysh who showed hostility to him and the Muslims, did not seek to avenge all that they had done against them, and advised patience for the Muslims subjected to insults, torture and hardship. The verses revealed in this period constantly enjoined patience. The first few years...

20 - The Banu Qaynuqa Campaign
At the time when Prophet Muhammad emigrated to Madina, virtually half of the city’s population consisted of Jews from the Banu Nadir, Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Qurayza tribes.

It is not known for certain when the Jews began to settle in the Arabian Peninsula or, more specifically, in Madina. There are also views holding that the Jews in the Arabian Peninsula did not come from outside, but were Arabs w...

21 - The Battle of Uhud
The Quraysh, who experienced a heavy defeat at Badr, were pressuring their leader Abu Sufyan to seek revenge from the Muslims and immediately begin preparations for battle. The goods of the caravan that had served as the catalyst for the Battle of Badr were being safeguarded in Dar an-Nadwa and were given to the command of Abu Sufyan, to be used against the Muslims. Alongside their feelings of ven...

22 - The Raj’i Incident
The Hamra' al-Asad Campaign

The following day after his return to Madina after the Battle of Uhud, Prophet Muhammad was informed that the Quraysh were to return and had planned to attack Madina. Upon hearing this, the Prophet decided to pursue the Qurayshi army both to prevent any possible attack and to show that the Muslims had not been weakened. He wanted only those who participated in the Battl...

23 - The Bi'r Al-Mauna Disaster
A short time after the Raj’i incident (4 Safar/July 625), chief of the Amir ibn Sa'sa' tribe Abu Bara' Amir ibn Malik came to Madina and obtained information about Islam from Prophet Muhammad. Despite not being Muslim himself, he requested that the Prophet send representatives to his tribe to teach them about Islam. After receiving assurances of their safety, the Prophet assigned a group of sevent...

24 - The Banu Nadir Campaign
The Banu Nadir, one of the three Jewish tribes in Madina and living in fortresses half-a-day’s distance from the city, possessed vast date gardens and were mostly occupied with agriculture. They had established a position of superiority in relation to the other Jewish tribes. For this reason, in cases of bloodshed, if someone was killed from the Banu Nadir, full blood money was paid, while only ha...