Detailed Biography of Prophet Muhammad - Madinan Period (part 3 of 3)

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Description: A three-part lesson detailing the life of Prophet Muhammad after migrating to Madina until his passing away. Part 3: Treaty of Hudaybiya and the spread of Islam after that, the expedition of Mu’tah, the conquest of Makkah, and finally the passing away of the Prophet.

Published on 26 Sep 2016 - Last modified on 25 Jun 2019

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Objectives

·To learn about the treaty of Hudaybiya.

·To understanding the consequent spread of Islam.

·To learn about the expedition of Mu’ta.

·To learn about the conquest of Mecca and the Farewell Pilgrimage.

·To learn about the death of the Prophet.

Arabic Terms

·Kabah - The cube-shaped structure located in the city of Mecca. It serves as a focal point towards which all Muslims face when praying.

·Adhan - an Islamic way of calling Muslims to the five obligatory prayers.

·Hajj – A pilgrimage to Mecca where the pilgrim performs a set of rituals. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which every adult Muslim must undertake at least once in their life if they can afford it and are physically able.

Treaty of Hudaybiya

Detailed_Biography_of_Prophet_Muhammad_(Madinan_Period)__Part_3_of_3_._001.jpg In 6 AH, the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him, received a revelation from Allah, in the form of a dream, that he was visiting the Kabah with his head shaved. He set out with 1400 Muslims to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca. It was one of the sacred months.

Whenever any other tribe wished to visit Mecca, they would usually go during the sacred months in which fighting was prohibited, travelled without carrying any special weapons for war, and take with them animals intended to be sacrificed in Mecca.

As soon as the Quraysh found out about this, they faced a dilemma. They could not allow their sworn enemy to enter Mecca, but at the same time they couldn’t stop or harm them and risk losing their honor in Arabia.

The Muslims reached a plain known as Al-Hudaybiya, just outside Mecca. The Prophet dispatched a man to inform the leaders of Quraysh that they did not come to fight but to visit the Kabah only. He also indicated that they wished to sign a peace treaty. The Prophet decided to send Uthman ibn Affan, who still had many tribal connections in Mecca, to negotiate an agreement with the Quraysh. A rumor arose that Uthman was killed, which meant an open declaration to prepare for battle. The Prophet sat under a tree where every companion pledged that they would support the Prophet to the death. However, the rumor proved to be false.

The Meccans sent a delegate who made an agreement with the following conditions:

1.The Muslims and Quraysh would not fight each other for a period of ten years.

2.The Muslims would return to Madina and not be allowed to visit the Kabah this year. However, they would be allowed to visit the Kabah next year for three days only.

3.If any Muslim from Madina decided to leave Islam and return to Mecca, they would be allowed to do so. However, if anyone from Mecca decided to accept Islam and go to Madina, he would be returned to the Quraysh.

4.Both parties could make alliances with any tribes they wished, and they would also be bound by the treaty.

The Spread of Islam

After this treaty, Muslims and idolatrous Arabs began to interact freely and regularly meet each other. Within the next two years, more people would accept Islam than in the past eighteen years.

The following year, the Messenger of Allah sent envoys with letters addressed to the leaders of all the major powers in and around Arabia. Most of the letters were similar: they began in the name of Allah, declared that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, invited the leaders to accept Islam and warned them that if they rejected they would have to bear the responsibility of preventing the message from reaching their followers. The king of Abyssinia and the king of Bahrayn accepted Islam while Kisra, the emperor of Persia, angrily tore the letter to pieces and killed the Muslim envoy. The ruler of northern Arabia also responded with hostility and threatened to attack Madina.

The king of Egypt, Muqawqas, politely declined to accept Islam but sent gifts to the Prophet as a gesture of good will. The Prophet accepted such gifts and maintained friendly relations with him.

Expedition of Mu’tah

A group of Muslims traveling towards Syria were murdered by the Ghassan tribe, who were allied with the Romans. The Prophet had to respond, so he sent 3000 soldiers led by Zayd ibn Thabit. He knew that this was near Roman territory and was fully aware of the massive forces that the Romans had at their disposal. Therefore, he announced that if Zayd died, Jaʿfar ibn Abi Talib would be put in charge and, if he was killed, Abdullah ibn Rawaha would take over. Their army numbered over a hundred thousand fully equipped soldiers. The fighting began and all three leaders were killed. Afterwards, the Muslims appointed Khalid ibn al-Walid to take charge of the army who was able to retreat without much further loss of life. When they reached Madina, the Prophet was very sad that his own adopted son and cousin had been killed. But the Prophet was very proud of Khalid’s genius strategy and nicknamed him ‘the sword of Allah’.

Conquest of Mecca

In 8 AH, the tribe of Bakr attacked a tribe who was allied with the Muslims, a violation of the treaty of Hudaybiya. The tribe immediately asked the Prophet for help, since the Bakr were allied with the Quraysh. It later turned out that the Quraysh had supplied their ally with weapons to launch the attack. The Quraysh knew they were guilty so they sent Abu Sufyan to Madina to try and renegotiate a treaty. A few weeks later, the Prophet ordered the Muslim army to surround Mecca hoping they would surrender without a fight. He forgave all the people and many accepted Islam influenced by his leniency. The Prophet removed every idol from the Kabah and Bilal gave the Adhan from its roof.

Farewell Pilgrimage

Near the end of 9 AH, the Prophet informed the tribes around Arabia that he was planning to personally perform Hajj.

While performing the rituals associated with the pilgrimage, the Prophet stood on a mountain in the plains of Arafat and delivered a speech to an audience of about 150,000 Muslims, known as the ‘farewell sermon’. The speech consisted of the following revolutionary points:

·All interest on loans are cancelled.

·All tribal retaliation for past murders are cancelled.

·Women have rights over men, and men must be careful to fulfill those rights.

·The blood and property of a Muslim is sacred, so no one should violate that sanctity unjustly.

·No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, and vice versa.

·The color of your skin does not determine superiority.

Prophet’s Death

About two months after returning from Mecca, the Messenger of Allah was hit with high fever and headache. After a few days, he was too ill to even get up to go to the mosque. Every time he washed himself and tried to get up, he fainted. Therefore, upon waking up again, he signaled that Abu Bakr should lead the people in prayer, while he prayed in his room. This continued for several days until he finally passed away on the morning on the 12^th of al-Rabi al-Awwal. His mission was complete. He had conveyed the message of Islam and uprooted idolatry and social vices from the entire Arabian Peninsula.

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