Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, is the man loved by the world’s more than 1.5 billion Muslims. He is also respected by those of other faiths and beliefs. Throughout history and around the world non-Muslims have shown great respect and honour to Prophet Muhammad and he is considered influential in both religious and secular matters. It was to Prophet Muhammad that Allah revealed the Quran and Muslims are urged to imitate his behaviour and moral standards. This is because Prophet Muhammad’s life was the Quran. He understood it, loved it and he lived his life based on its standards. When Muslims declare their faith in Allah, they also declare their belief that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.
Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, is beloved by many, his behaviour is studied and emulated, but who exactly is this man? Where did he come from, where and when was he born, what exactly makes him a man esteemed above other men. Allah calls him a mercy to humankind thus it is wise for us to know as much as possible about this man. In this and the following lesson we will briefly discuss Prophet Muhammad’s life and times. The life of Prophet Muhammad can be divided into two distinct periods, the Meccan period and the Madinan period.
The Meccan Period
Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 CE (Common Era) in the city of Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula, part of modern day Saudi Arabia. His father, Abdullah had died shortly after his marriage to Aminah daughter of Wahb, thus Muhammad’s guardianship fell to his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib who was the respected and well liked leader of both the clan of Hashim and the influential tribe of the Quraish.
As was the custom in those days, after birth Muhammad was entrusted to a wet nurse named Halima from the nomadic tribe of Sa'd ibn Bakr. Thus he spent his early years in the hill country, learning the Bedouin ways and the pure Arabic language. When Muhammad was five or six his mother took him to Yathrib, an oasis town north of Mecca, to stay with relatives and visit his father's grave there. On the return journey, Amina became ill and died. At this point Muhammad was returned to Mecca and placed under the sole care and protection of his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib. In his grandfather’s care, Muhammad began to learn the rudiments of statecraft.
Mecca was Arabia's most important pilgrimage centre and Abdul-Muttalib its most respected leader. Abdul-Muttalib respected and honoured treaties and displayed the finest of morals. He loved the poor and fed them in times of famine; he helped the pilgrims and restrained wrongdoers. Muhammad learned at an early age that good manners and morals were possible even in a time and place where the strong trampled upon the weak, and the widow and the orphan were quite helpless.
When Muhammad was eight years old his grandfather also died leaving him in the care of his uncle Abu Talib. Abu Talib went on to protect, serve, defend and honour Muhammad through the testing times of Prophethood and until the day he died. It was under his tutelage that Muhammad grew up to become a fine young man known for his excellent manners and honesty. Muhammad was referred to as as-Sadiq (The Truthful One) and al-Amin (The Trustworthy One).
As a youngster Muhammad used to accompany his uncle on his business trips to Syria. He thus learned the art of buying, selling and trading, and hence by the age of 25 he was skilled in these matters. He was often hired by people to trade for them with the great caravans and cities. It was at this time that Muhammad was hired by the Meccan business woman Khadijah.
Khadijah recognised and admired Muhammad’s irreproachable character and skills and proposed marriage to him even though she was approximately 15 years older than he. Muhammad accepted and they lived together for almost twenty five years, until the death of Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, about 8-9 years after the revelation of the Quran. During this time, although it was permissible, Muhammad did not marry any other wives. Their life together is a beautiful love story that produced six children, two sons and four daughters.
Muhammad had always been a man inclined to think deeply and contemplate the wonders of the universe. At around the age of forty he began to frequent a cave on the outskirts of Mecca known as Hira. It was in this cave, in the year 610 CE, that the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him. The Quran in its entirety would continue to be revealed over the next 23 years, in different places and in different ways.
Over the next two to three years after the first revelation, Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, taught Islam secretly to those he trusted. However, when he started calling to Islam publicly the hostility from the idol worshippers increased and Prophet Muhammad and his followers were subjected to abuse and harassment. The Quraish tribe were the guardians of the Kabah, the holy house to which all Arabs made pilgrimage, and it was a source of great prestige and profit, therefore they became openly aggressive and Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, himself would have been killed except that his Uncle Abu Talib’s position and rank made it all but impossible.
Nevertheless plans were made to eradicate this so-called scourge and the followers of Islam were harassed, tortured and murdered. This period of persecution culminated in three years of social and economic sanctions resulting in severe deprivation and deaths from starvation. Approximately one year after the imposition of sanctions Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, died. Also in that year, that was to become known as the year of sorrow, Abu Talib died, leaving the Meccans free to plot and plan to exterminate the Muslims. In response to their dire situation Prophet Muhammad sent a group of the Muslims to Abyssinia to seek the protection of the just Christian king, Negus.
Persecution in Mecca grew ever fiercer, and Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, sought protection in the neighbouring city of Taif. Here he was met with great and open hostility and escaped beaten and bloody. However a turning point was at hand for in that year several people accepted Islam from the city of Yathrib and Prophet Muhammad met with them.
Having converted to Islam, the leaders of Yathrib made a secret pledge to protect the Prophet should the disbelievers try to kill him. Thus began the slow migration to Yathrib. Prophet Muhammad instructed his followers to leave Mecca individually or in small groups. This was very disturbing news for the Quraish, and they decided there was no other option but to kill Prophet Muhammad and put a stop to the changes taking place once and for all.
We will continue this brief biography in lesson 2, The Madinan Period, where we will discover that divine intervention thwarts the murderous plan and the city of Yathrib soon becomes known as al-Madina an-Nabawiyah (the Prophet’s city), or Madina.
The city of Yathrib, more than 200 miles north of Mecca was in need of a strong leader, and a delegation from Yathrib invited Prophet Muhammad to settle with them. In return, they pledged to worship Allah alone, obey Muhammad and defend him and his followers to the death. With this, Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, made plans to escape to Yathrib.
The Muslims left in small groups or individually and the Meccans realised the futility of trying to stop them all. They decided to put their plan to kill Prophet Muhammad into action. The tribes agreed to act as one and assassinate the Prophet while he was sleeping. In that way no one person or clan could be blamed thus sparking off a war of vengeance.
The plan was sabotaged by divine intervention; Allah informed His Prophet of the danger and ordered him to secretly leave Mecca and head to the city of Yathrib. Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his close friend Abu Bakr left Mecca under the cover of darkness and sought refuge in a cave. Their flight to Medina is an eventful and inspiring story that will be covered in detail in future lessons, God Willing. The city of Yathrib was soon to become known as Medina – the city of light, or the illuminated city. Possibly in recognition of the light the Islamic nation would bring to the world.
When Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr finally reached the city of Yathrib there was great celebration. This journey is known as the Hijrah and marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Many of the inhabitants of Yathrib had already converted to Islam and Prophet Muhammad paired the men of Medina with men who had travelled from Mecca in a bond of brotherhood. This was a perfect example of the great Islamic code, recognising every Muslim as one’s own brother or sister, being put into practice. Whatever the Muslims of Medina had, they shared it happily with the immigrants, the people of Mecca.
During the second year of the Hijrah, Prophet Muhammad drew up the document known as the Constitution of Medina. It defined the relationships between the various groups in the first Islamic community by integrating tribal groups and various social and economic classes. It was a document imbued with the Islamic concepts of social justice and religious tolerance. In that same year the direction of daily prayers was changed by divine order from Jerusalem to Mecca, thus marking Islam as a monotheistic religion quite distinct from Judaism and Christianity.
A few Medinan families and some prominent figures held back, but gradually all the Arabs of Medina embraced Islam. Nevertheless, tribal and religious divisions remained. As Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, integrated the new Islamic community (the Muhajiroon and the Ansar) the enmity between Medina’s Jewish community and the newly founded Islamic order grew, so too did the enmity between the Meccans and the Muslims. However Prophet Muhammad did not want to march against either group until permission from Allah was granted.
When the Muhajiroon migrated from Mecca to Madina, many of them were forced to abandon their homes and their properties were confiscated. The chiefs of Mecca used the confiscated money in trade and business. In 624 CE, Muslims came to know of a trade caravan belonging to the Meccan chiefs which would pass through a trade route close to Madina. Prophet Muhammad called upon the Muslims to take the caravan in return for their wealth that was confiscated in Mecca. This led to a decisive battle at a place called Badr where an army of 1000 Meccans fought against an ill-equipped and a much smaller force of 313 Muslims. The Battle of Badr was a very significant event in Islamic history. The Muslims achieved a remarkable victory; however nine of the Prophet’s closest companions were killed. Although seemingly an insignificant attack in a faraway desert, the battle changed world history.
The Meccans however, did not give up their quest to destroy the Islamic community and in 625 CE they dispatched an army of 3,000 men; this force met the Muslims near the Uhud Mountain close to Medina. The Muslims had some success early in the engagement, but during the battle many of Prophet Muhammad’s followers fled thinking that the Prophet had fallen. This turned out to be untrue, although wounded, Prophet Muhammad was protected and led to safety, however a number of eminent Muslims lost their lives in the Battle of Uhud.
The Jews of Medina, who had been banished to the town of Khaybar after Uhud, urged the Quraish to continue the battle against the Medinan community. An army of 10,000 men marched on Medina but were thwarted by the ditch the Muslims dug around the city. Unable to cross the ditch, the Meccan army laid siege to the city without success. The invading army gradually began to disperse, leaving the Muslims victorious in the Battle of the Ditch.
In 628 CE, when the Islamic community had become more established, Prophet Muhammad led a large entourage and many animals meant for sacrifice, to Mecca intending to perform Umrah. Since a contingent of Meccans blocked his way to Mecca, he camped at a place called Al-Ḥudaybiyah and sent a companion to discuss a peaceful visit. Whilst waiting for the outcome of negotiations Prophet Muhammad assembled his followers and had them swear an oath of allegiance to follow him under all conditions unto death. The companion returned with a party of Meccan leaders and a compromise and a ten-year truce was established, later to be known as the Treaty of Hudaybiyah.
This treaty recognized the Muslims as a new force in Arabia and gave them freedom to move unharmed throughout Arabia. The Meccans breached the treaty one year later but by then the balance of power had shifted. In early 630, the Muslims marched on Mecca and were joined by tribe after tribe along the way. They entered Mecca without bloodshed and recriminations. Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, forgave the wrongs committed against the Muslim society and the Meccans, began to join the Islamic nation. This became known as the Conquest of Mecca.
In 632 CE, Prophet Muhammad made his first and only Islamic Hajj. At this time, on his journey to Mecca he gave his celebrated Farewell Sermon and the last verses of the Quran were revealed, thus completing the sacred book. “…on this day have I perfected for you your religion and fulfilled My favour unto you, and chosen Islam for you as your religion…” (Quran5:3). Later in that year Prophet Muhammad suffered from a high fever, and passed away in 632 CE. His death shocked the fledgling Islamic nation and his grief-stricken family and friends buried their beloved Prophet in the home of his wife Aisha, may God be pleased with her.
Within one hundred years of his death, Prophet Muhammad’s legacy, the establishment of a new religion and a new order, spread from the Atlantic to the China Sea and from France to India. Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, was a reformer, a politician, a military leader, a lawgiver, and a revolutionary. This humble, kind and tolerant man brought about a social revolution and established a religion that today has more than 1.5 billion followers.
The life of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, begins in Arabia, but his story begins thousands of years before his birth. The book of Genesis, which both Jews and Christians respect, mentions the story of Abraham and his two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Abraham was commanded by God to leave his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael there, all alone, as a test of their devotion to God. God sprang up a well for them and they survived in the barren desert.
Soon after, some of the surrounding tribes began to inhabit this valley, which became known as Mecca. Ishmael grew up with the Arab tribe of Jurhum, learned their language, and became known as Ismail.
Later, when Abraham, known in Arabic as Ibrahim, returned, he and his son were instructed by Allah to build a small place of worship dedicated to Him. This was the first structure entirely dedicated to the worship of Allah alone. The father and son invited the Arabs to worship Allah and renounce all other false gods.
Ismail eventually became a prophet like his father and remained in Mecca with his family. After Ismail, his descendants worshipped Allah and followed their moral teachings. The Kabah remained a center for worshipping Allah and believers would come from all over Arabia for the pilgrimage.
Age of Ignorance
Things changed with time and the Arabs forgot the true way of Ismail. The pilgrimage became an empty ritual rather than an act of worship. Around the 4th century, the tribe named Khuza’ah kicked the descendants of Ismail out of Mecca and one of their chiefs introduced idol worship. Within a few centuries, idolatry prevailed around Arabia and the House of Allah was turned into a House of Idolatry. It is not that they didn’t believe in a Creator; they did. However, they began to believe that Allah could not be approached directly and that these idols were the mediators between them and Allah. In order to appease these statues, they would even slaughter animals and dedicate the sacrifice to them. Idolatry became an organized religion with the invention of certain religious customs.
There were other Arabs who didn’t believe in Allah at all. Some were pure materialists who only believed that time eventually destroys everything. Others worshipped the sun, the moon, or certain stars and planets. Most of the idol worshippers had little or no concept of an afterlife.
The status of women can be seen from the fact that when a child was born, parents would openly express their discontent if it was a girl. Some fathers would even bury the girl alive, out of fear of poverty. Prostitution was common and became an accepted social norm.
Very few people could read or write, or had any type of formal education. The only science worth mentioning was poetry, of which the Arabs were masters.
Events Before his Birth
Around the 5th century, Qusayy ibn Kilab led a revolt against the tribe of Khuzaʿah and managed to retake control of Mecca. The members of his tribe, known as the Quraysh, were direct descendants of Prophet Ismail.
By the 6th century, the Quraysh enjoyed a position of honor among the several tribes scattered around Arabia because they took care of the Kabah and the pilgrims that would come to visit.
The tribe of Quraysh consisted of many different families or clans. The family of Hashim was now among the most prominent. Abdul Muṭṭalib, the chief of the clan, became the unofficial leader of the Quraysh in Mecca. He had many children, but one of his favorite was Abdullah. It was predicted that he would carry on the legacy of his father, but it was not to be. Abdullah married Aminah from the Zuhrah clan. A few months later, on his way to Yathrib in the north, he became ill and passed away, leaving his wife pregnant.
An Orphan Is Born
Aminah gave birth to a son in the year 570. The child’s grandfather named him Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, which meant ‘the praised one’, a rare name in Arabia.
It was the custom in Arabia that infants of noble families be brought up in the desert with the Bedouins. Muhammad grew up in the household of Halima who was his foster mother and learnt the ways of the desert. He would visit Mecca every few months to see his mother, only to return to the desert again. After a short while, when Muhammad was only six, his mother Aminah, became very ill and passed away while they were on a journey. His grandfather Abdul Muttalib took care of him and treated him like his own son. However, when young Muhammad was only eight, he also passed away. It was his uncle Abu Talib who would raise him from now on.
Abu Talib loved his nephew very much and would even take him along when he journeyed to Syria and other places for business.
As a Shepherd
However, Abu Talib was not very wealthy like his father, so Muhammad had to work to earn a living and help his uncle. He began his career as a shepherd, taking care of flocks of sheep and goats for the people of Mecca. A shepherd learns a great deal of responsibility. He must guide the sheep, together as a group, and protect them from predators at the same time.
It also teaches the shepherd patience and gives him much time to think and reflect, away from the excessive noise of the city.
Many of the prophets sent by Allah to other communities were known to be shepherds at some point in their life because a person’s occupation has a great effect on his personality.
His Reputation
Muhammad was one of the few who refused to worship idols from a very young age. He would visit the Kabah but direct his worship only to Allah. He also abstained from eating any meat that was slaughtered in the name of an idol. After shepherding for a few years, he took an interest in trade and became a businessman who would trade people’s goods on their behalf. Most noblemen among the Quraysh were merchants by profession. However, Muhammad stood out from the rest due to his honesty and sincerity. He quickly became known in Mecca as al-Amin, ‘the honest one.’ Also, he was known for his high morals, chaste character, and avoidance of wine, gambling, illicit relationships, and other vices.
A wealthy lady named Khadijah hired him to trade her merchandise in Syria for her. He was to receive a percentage of commission from the deals. He performed the task with such precision and honesty that she later proposed to marry him by sending one of her friends to ask him if he was interested. She had received many proposals after her second husband had died, but she refused all of them. However, she saw something special in Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, and was taken by him.
Muhammad had to raise the needed money to pay for her dower which was about 500 dirhams. He was twenty-five years old while Khadijah was not only quite older than him but she had been married twice before.
This did not deter him though since she had all the qualities he could ask for: a righteous character, noble lineage, beauty, and wealth. Muhammad and Khadijah were married and eventually had six children: two boys and four girls. Both boys died in their infancy while only one daughter outlived their father. Yet, the two boys were destined to be substituted by two others. A young boy named Zayd ibn Harithah was separated from his family and ended up in Mecca. Muhammad and Khadijah decided to adopt him and he became known as Zayd ibn Muhammad.
A few years later, there was a famine in Mecca and this proved to be very difficult, especially for Abu Talib who had to support a large family. In order to ease the burden on him, Muhammad and Khadijah took one of his sons, Ali, into their household and raised him as their own child. Thus, they became a happy family of eight.
His Aversion to Polytheism
Muhammad continued his profession as a merchant for many years and lived a simple life with his wife and children. He was disturbed by the immorality present in his society. But the most despicable of all the vices of his people was their idol worship. They paid lip service to Allah while they worshipped statues and pictures made with their own hands. He could see right through the façade of the dry rituals that the Arabs engaged in, even during the pilgrimage.
In fact, he was not alone in his aversion to idol worship. There was Waraqah ibn Nawfal who had abandoned idolatry and become a Christian. He was able to read the scriptures of the Jews and Christians in Hebrew and decided to follow this path. It is unknown what form of Christianity he followed, but since he was a scholar, he probably had his own idea about what Prophet Jesus really taught.
Revelation
One night, near the end of the month of Ramadan, Muhammad was praying and meditating when he felt another presence in the cave. “Read!”, commanded a voice. “I cannot read,” Muhammad responded honestly, for he was unlettered like most Arabs. Something grabbed him and squeezed him so hard until he couldn’t endure the pain anymore, then released him. “Read!”, the voice demanded again. “I cannot read,” responded Muhammad once more.
It grabbed him a second time and clenched him. This was no dream. A mere pinch would have been sufficient to wake him up if it was.
When he couldn’t stand the pain anymore, he was let go. “Read!”, the voice demanded the third time. Muhammad was frightened. What is this? What was happening? There were so many questions but no time to think. He had to respond quickly, “I cannot read.” Again he was grasped with an overwhelming force, then let go. The voice recited the following words: “Read in the name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clinging form. Read! Your Lord is Most Generous. He taught by means of the pen. He taught man what he did not know.” (Quran 96:1-5)
This was the Angel of Revelation, Gabriel (Jibreel). It was clear that he was being told to repeat what he had heard, and he complied fully. Those words were entirely etched in his memory. Then the presence left, and he was alone again.
What just happened? What were those verses? Muhammad, being an Arab, was familiar with poetry, but this was neither poetry nor prose. There was no time to reflect. He was frightened and ran down the mountain. He went straight home to his wife, who could comfort him the most. “Cover me! Cover me!” Khadijah placed a blanket over him until he calmed down. Then he told her about his experience and admitted that he was scared. He recalled the verses to her, letter by letter. She immediately consoled him saying, “Allah will not disgrace you. You are kind to your family, you aid the weak, you help people in need, you are generous with your guests, and struggle for the truth.” She firmly believed that Allah would not allow anything bad to happen to a righteous man.
Secret Call
The Prophet continued to receive revelations for the remainder of his life. He initially only confided in those people he knew could be trusted. Mecca was the heart of idolatry and it would not be easy to change things overnight. The mission required long-term planning and thus began with a secret call to only those who would likely be interested. The Prophet began with his own household. After the meeting with Waraqah, Khadijah was already convinced that her husband was indeed a prophet. She knew her husband in and out for the last fifteen years and it was crystal clear to her that he was neither a liar nor possessed. She was thus considered the first believer. Then his cousin Ali and his adopted son Zayd followed suit. They were both young adults and could tell the difference between an imposter and a truthful man. Young people sometimes have the ability to see things that even experienced elders are unable to perceive.
The first man outside the family to accept the message was Abu Bakr. He had been the Prophet’s best friend for many years. He was a merchant of noble lineage and was respected throughout Mecca for being both a philanthropist as well as an expert genealogist. Abu Bakr immediately began to tell his close associates about the Prophet. Quite a few responded such as ʿuite n, al-Zubayr, ʿAbd al-Rahman, Saʿd and Talha. The message was beginning to spread in Mecca, albeit covertly.
Rejection of the Message
There were several different reasons why people refused to accept the message of Islam.
First, most of them were so attached to their tribal customs that they could not imagine abandoning the ways of their ancestors.
Second, the leaders among the Quraysh were fearful of losing their position and power.
Third, the Arabs loved their freedom to indulge in all types of immoral behavior.
The Meccan opposition began in the form of insults and accusations. Some resulted to character assassination, calling the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, a magician, a poet or insane.
Persecution
Islam was making progress, slowly but surely, despite the negative propaganda. People began to make fun of the believers openly, laughing at them as they walked by. So the Quraysh stepped up their persecution and began torturing several Muslims, especially the slaves and the poor ones.
Bilal ibn Rabah, a black slave from Ethiopia who had accepted Islam, was dragged out into the burning hot desert by his owner and forced to lie with his back on the scorching sand. Then, a giant boulder was placed on his chest and he was told, “You will stay like this until you die or until you reject Muhammad and worship our idols.” He would respond by saying, “One! One!” meaning that he will only worship Allah alone. One day, during the torture process, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq passed by, purchased Bilal, and set him free, as he did with six other Muslim slaves who were being persecuted.
In Abyssinia
In the 5th year of prophethood, the Messenger of Allah recommended that some of the believers migrate to Abyssinia. This land, which is across the Red Sea in Africa, was run by a just king known as Negus. Over a dozen Muslims, both men and women, migrated, including even the Prophet’s own daughter, Ruqayyah, with her husband.
Relief Comes
In the sixth year of the mission, Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib, one of the uncles of the Prophet, had a change of heart and sincerely accepted Islam. His acceptance of Islam came as a great shock to Mecca. Hamza’s Islam proved to be a great source of strength for the Muslims and would help ease the persecution.
Later, Umar ibn Al-Khattab also accepted Islam and did not keep it a secret. He went to the enemies of Islam and told them that he had become a Muslim. They were enraged but there was nothing they could do, because they feared Umar. Because of both Hamza and Umar, the Muslims were able to worship openly at the Kabah without fearing the Quraysh.
Sanctions
Quraysh were getting frustrated. They had tried every possible way to stop the message of Islam. But the more they tried, the more Islam continued to spread. Something more drastic had to be done. Some particularly Islamophobic leaders of the Quraysh held a secret meeting in which they decided to boycott the clan of Prophet Muhammad until they agree to hand the Prophet over to them. An agreement was signed that both the clan of Hashim and their close allies, the Muttalib clan, would be boycotted by the Quraysh. No one would be allowed to buy, sell or intermarry with them. The situation lasted for three years until some of the Meccans decided that it was enough.
Year of Sadness
Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet, was ill and nearing his last days. Before he breathed his last, the Prophet would try one last time to get him to reconsider Islam, but he refused. It became open season to target the Prophet, now that his clan protection was virtually gone. Shortly after his death, his hostile uncle Abu Lahab took this opportunity to target his nephew. He forced his own two sons to divorce their wives, both of whom were the daughters of the Prophet.
Visit to Taif
After ten years of spreading Islam in Mecca, the Prophet traveled to a nearby town called al-Taif, about fifty miles to the east. He visited the leaders from the tribe of Thaqif, only to be insulted and rejected by them.
Calling Tribes to Islam
For several years, the Prophet called the different tribes of Arabia to Islam during the pilgrimage season. Since most of the tribes would have at least some of its members go to Mecca every year, most of Arabia had already at least heard about the message of Islam. In the eleventh year of prophethood, a few men from the tribe of Khazraj accepted Islam. They lived in a town called Yathrib which had recently been plagued with constant civil wars.
Pledges at Aqabah
The following year, the men from Yathirb returned to Mecca with a delegation of twelve people. The Prophet met them secretly at night at a place called Aqabah. This time, the Prophet made them take a pledge of loyalty: “you will not ascribe any partners to Allah, you will not steal, you will not commit adultery, you will not kill your children, you will not slander others and you will not disobey me in any good that I order you.”
It was now the thirteenth year of prophethood and this time seventy-three men and two women went to Mecca to meet the Prophet during the pilgrimage season. They met again secretly at Aqabah, but this time they specifically requested that the Prophet come to Yathrib and serve as their new leader.
Before accepting their offer, he took a pledge from each one of them: “you will listen and obey me whether it is easy or difficult, you will donate whether you are well-off or otherwise, you will encourage others to good and warn against evil, you will not fear any censure when you do something for the sake of Allah and you will protect me the way you would protect your own families.”
