The Prophet of Mercy Website

 BACKGROUND OF THE CONQUEST

Some of the tribes were still trapped in the delusion that the rise of Islam was transient like a cloudburst, whose tide would be stemmed before long. It was therefore necessary to warn or even threaten such people before they device an opportunity to strike at the Muslims. The expedition of Tabuk had the desired effect on such lukewarm tribes much in the same way as the conquest of Mecca had gone a long way in clearing away the clouds of opposition.

  BANU QURAYDHA'S BREACH OF FAITH

Not long after his arrival in Madinah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) forged a covenant between the Ansaar and Muhaajirun to which the Jews were also included and were guaranteed protection of life and property as well as freedom of professing their faith. The covenant, which was reduced to writing, accepted certain rights of the Jews and also put them under certain obligations. Some of the important considerations of this covenant were as follows:

 In the second year of the Hijrah, during the month of Ramadan, the Muslims came up against the infidels in the decisive battle of Badr which was to prove the turning point not only in the destiny of Islam but of the entire human race.

 Abul hasan ‘Ali Nadwi

Muhammad r was now approaching his fortieth year. He felt a mystifying internal unrest, yet he did not know the rationale behind it. He was himself not aware what the inexplicable confusion meant to him; nor did the idea that God was about to honour him with revelation and Prophethood ever cross his mind. This was how the Prophet r felt, as has been attested by Allah in the Qur’an:

"Al-Isra' and Al-Mi'raj" means the Prophet's Miraculous Night Journey from Makkah to the Farthest Mosque in Jerusalem, and his Ascent through the Spheres of Heavens.

The last days of the Makkan phase of the Prophet's life are noted for alternate fortunes ranging between two extremes: gradual success and continual persecution. However, glimpses of propitious lights were looming on the distant horizon, to ultimately materialize in the event of the Prophet's Night Journey to Jerusalem and then Ascension through the spheres of the heavens.

 Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and was made obligatory in the tenth, ninth or sixth year, according to different reports. In the tenth year, the Prophet r announced that he intended to perform hajj; this was the only time that he performed hajj after the migration to Madinah.

The Muslims came from all over the Arabian Peninsula to perform hajj with him. He left Madinah five days before the end of Dhul Qa`dah (a lunar month).

When he r halted in Arafat, the following verse was revealed to him:

The Situation in Arabia Prior to Islam

Description: A brief look at the social and political state of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the birth of Prophet Muhammad r.

Arabia in that period was divided into three areas of influence. The north lived under the shadow of two great empires, the Christian Byzantium and the Zoroastrian Persian, empires in perpetual war, so evenly matched that neither could achieve definitive victory over the other. In the shadows of these powers lived the Arabs of the northern region with divided and shifting allegiances.

 From Birth to Adulthood

Description: A glimpse at the life of the Prophet prior to revelation.

The Prophet’s Birth

The First Revelations

Description: A detailed account of how the Prophet r, received his first revelations from God.