Mosque of the Prophet

 Upon his arrival, they publicly welcomed the Prophet wholeheartedly and young girls even sang songs
for him. 
 Everybody wanted the Prophet to stay with them but the Prophet said that his camel was under divine
instructions so he would stay where the camel stopped. 
 The camel stopped at an open ground which belonged to two orphans, and the Prophet decided to
build a mosque on that place after paying the orphans its price. 
 Meanwhile, the Prophet stayed at Hazrat Abu Ayub Ansari’s residence. 
 This mosque was known as the Mosque of the Prophet – Masjid-e-Nabawi. 
 The materials used for the construction included unbaked bricks which were used to make the walls. 
 The roof was made of mud and date palm leaves. 
 Trunks of date palm were used as pillars. 
 A large platform with a thatched roof was built in one of the corners. It was known as Suffah. The
Prophet himself took part in building the mosque and was assisted by many of his companions. 
 It served as a residential place for the Prophet and his family. 
 It also became the political and military head quarter of the state and served as an institute of learning.

Brotherhood:

 The makkans had left their families and belongings in Makka and now they needed financial support. 
 Therefore, each emigrant was paired with an Ansar –the people of Medina – and they were declared as
brothers. 
 The Ansars shared all their wealth and property with the emigrants and they were even allowed to
inherit from them. 
 In some cases, they even shared wives. 
 The Ansar offered endless support to the emigrants and tried their best to facilitate them. 
 The emigrants, on the other hand, did not become a burden on the Ansar and soon started living
independently.

Covenant of Medina:

 In his attempt to achieve good relations with all the inhabitants of Medina, the Prophet devised the
Covenant of Medina. 
 He drew a covenant with the people of the town, whether Muslims or non Muslims (including Jews)
which clearly defined the duties and privileges of all the people. It said:

1. All people of Medina would defend the city collectively

2. There would be complete religious freedom for all
3.  If a conflict arises within the Medinites, the Prophet will be consulted for decision.

Battle of Badr:
  The trade caravans of the Quraish used to pass through Madinah,. 
 The Prophet decided to threaten the caravans which would hurt the Quraish economically. He started
sending parties to watch the caravans. 
 In 624 A.D, Abu Sufyan, the leader of Quraish was coming from Syria with a huge trading caravan. He
was afraid that the Muslims might intercept his caravan and therefore he summoned troops from
Makkah. 
 Hence an army of 1000 men came to escort the caravan. 
 Although the caravan safely reached Makkah, yet Abu Jahl insisted on fighting the Muslims. So,
Quraish, with an army of 1000 men marched towards Medina. 
 When the Prophet heard of this, he consulted his companions and decided to fight them outside
Medina. 
 The Muslims raised an army of 313 men. 
 Both the armies met at Badr. The Quraish had arrived first so they occupied all the important positions. 
 The area that Muslims got was sandy land. 
 That night, Allah sent down rain and not only were the Muslims able to collect ample water but their
land also got smooth. 
 The Quraish heavily outnumbered the Muslims and so the Prophet spent the entire night praying to
Allah. 
 Allah responded to his prayers by sending heavenly assistance. 
 Regarding this, the Quran says: “remember ye implored the assistance of thy Lord and he
answered I will assist you with a thousand angels, ranks on ranks”. 
 Initially whne the battle started; there was a single combat in which Hazrat Ali Hazrat Hamza and
Hazrat Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah fought against Utba, Sheeba and Waleed. 
 After the Muslim success in the single combat, general fighting began. 
 While the battle was going on, the Prophet prayed to Allah saying: “O Allah! If this small band of
men perishes today there will be no one left to worship you and your faith will be destroyed
forever”. 
 This shows that the Prophet was constantly seeking Allah’s help and Allah’s help did arrive for despite
being less in number, Muslims were able to defeat the Quraish. 
 Even Abu Jahl, the leader of Quraish was killed by Abdullah Bin Masood. 
 Overall, 70 pagans were killed and 70 were taken as captives, the Prophet treated the prisoners of war
humanely and many were freed. 
 On the other hand, only 14 Muslims were martyred. A large amount of booty was also captured which
was distributed among the Muslims.

Battle of Uhad:

 After the defeat of Battle of Badr, the Quraish were waiting to take revenge. 
 They included those who had lost their family members at Badr and those who had invested their
profits in the war. 
 They instigated the Quraish leader, Abu Sufyan, to wage war. 
 Therefore, the Quraish prepared an army of 3000 men and marched towards Medina in 625 A.D under
the leadership of Abu Sufyan. 
 When the Prophet heard of this, he consulted his companions. 
 Although he himself was in favor of fighting inside Medina, upon the suggestion of most of the
companions it was decided that they would outside Medina. 
 Initially, the Muslim army consisted of 1000 men but 300 hypocrites left the army under the leadership
of Abdullah Bin Ubayy saying that their demand of fighting inside Medina was not fulfilled so they would
not fight. 
  Therefore, the remaining 700 people marched towards Uhad. 
 In the battlefield, the Prophet appointed 50 archers under the command of Abdullah Bin Jubair to guard
a pass. 
 The Prophet clearly instructed them to not leave the pass under any circumstances. 
 Initially, when the battle started, Muslims had an upper hand and they were successful in defeating the
Quraish such that the Quraish were began to flee, leaving behind a lot of booty. 
 When the archers saw this, they too left their posts and came to collect the spoils of war, assuming that
the war was over. However, when Khaild Bin Waleed saw the pass unguarded, 
 he along with his companions attacked from the rear. 
 At this point, the victory of Muslims turned into a near defeat. As the Quraish had attacked from the
back, Muslims did not know what to do and chaos & panic prevailed. 
 In this confusion, the Prophet himself was attacked and badly wounded. 
 He even lost two of his teeth, and became unconscious for some time. 
 The nearest of the Prophet’s companions formed a defensive ring around him, yet rumors spread that
the Prophet had been martyred. 
 However, the Prophet tried to control the situation and lessened the panic. 
 Over all, the Muslims suffered heavy losses and 70 of them were martyred. 
 These martyrs included Hazrat Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet, who had been killed by a slave
Wahshi, upon the instructions of Hinda, the wife of Abu Sufyan. 
 Hinda later chewed the dead body and mutilated it to avenge her father’s death at the hands of Hazrat
Hamza.

Battle of Trench:

 After the Battle of Uhad, the Muslims were able to regain their former position. 
 The Quraish could not reconcile themselves with the growing power of Muslims and felt threatened. 
 Meanwhile, the Jewish tribe of Banu Nazir who had settled at Khyber kept on plotting against the
muslims. Their chiefs went to Makkah and asked for help against the Muslims, which the Quraish
agreed to give. 
 Then they went to Ghatafan tribe and gained their support too. 
 Some other tribes also agreed to give full support against the Muslims, so with an army of 10,000 men
under the command of Abu Sufyan they marched to Medina in 5 A.H. when the Prophet came to know
of this, he consulted his companions. 
 Hazrat Salman Farsi, who was a Persian, suggested that a trench be built. 
 This suggestion was unanimously accepted by all. 
 As medina was safe from all other sides, a trench was built only in the north. '
 The Prophet himself took part in digging the trench. 
 It took 8 days to build a trench 15 feet deep and 3 km wide, 3000 companions took part in digging the
Trench. '
 When the Quraish arrived, they were shocked and did not know what to do as this trench was far
beyond their imagination. 
 Despite several attempts, the Quraish were unable to cross the trench and so they camped behind it. 
 Minor skirmishes took place for a couple of days in which Muslims had an upper hand. Whenever, a
person would attempt to cross the Trench, Muslims would hurl stones and arrows. 
 Muslims had to remain vigilant throughout and could not even assemble for prayer. Meanwhile, Banu
Qurayza, a Jewish tribe residing in medina violated the covenant of Medina and decided to attack from
inside Medina. 
 The Prophet sent a detachment to watch and this threat was successfully eliminated. 
 The siege of Quraish lasted for a month after which a terrible storm came which blew away their camps
and they were forced to flee. 
 Thus Muslims gained victory.
Treaty Of Hudaybia:

 In 628 A.D, the Prophet dreamt that he was entering the holy Ka’abah. 
 So, he planned to go to Makkah for the lesser pilgrimage. In the month of Dhul-Qadah, the Prophet
along with 1400 unarmed companions left for Makkah. 
 Although they had no intention of waging war and were unarmed yet their huge number surprised the
Quraish and so they weren’t allowed to enter Makkah. 
 Instead, to resist their entry they sent a force under Khalid Bin Waleed and Ukrama Bin Jahl. 
 The prophet did not want to fight so he diverted his route. 
 The Muslims camped at a place called Hudaybia about 3 miles from Makkah. 
 From here, the Prophet sent a messenger to the Quraish to tell them that they had not come to fight. 
 But that messenger never returned. 
 The prophet sent another messenger, who, too did not return and so eventually the prophet sent Hazrat
Usman due to his high reputation among the Quraish. 
 When the Quraish had detained Hazrat Usman for a while rumors spread that he had been killed. 
 Therefore the prophet called his companions to take a pledge to fight and avenge the blood of Hazrat
Usman. 
 This was known as Bait-e-Rizwan. 
 After this, Hazrat Usman returned, and negotiations started with the Quraish, eventually a treaty known
as the treaty of hudaybia was devised,. Its terms were as follows:

1. The Muslims would not enter Makkah this year, but would return the following year
2. Makkans taking refuge in Medina would be handed back but medinites talking refuge in Makkah would
not be returned
3. There will be no war for 10 years
4. Both makkans and Muslims would stay neutral if there was a war with another group
5. Agreements could be made with other tribes.

 Apparently the terms did not favor the Muslims and many of the leading companions like Hazrat Umar
had objections, bur Allah himself says: “verily have we granted thee a manifest victory”.

Conquest of Makkah:

 Two years after the treaty of Hudaybia, trouble arose. Banu Bakr, which was an ally of the Quraish,
attacked Banu Khuza, an ally of Muslims. 
 Quraish provided Banu Bakr with weapons and some Quraish also took part in fighting. 
 As this was against the terms of treaty of hudaybia, so the leader of Banu Khuza went to the Prophet to
seek justice. 
 On hearing this, the prophet laid down 3 alternatives before the Quraish:
 1. Pay blood money to Banu Khuza
2. Break alliance with Banu Bakr
3. Dissolve treaty of Hudaybia

 The Quraish chose the 3rd option and thus the treaty was dissolved. 
 However, later they realized that they had made the wrong decision so their leader went to medina for
negotiations. 
 He guaranteed peace to the Prophet but the Prophet rejected his offer. 
 In 630 A.D, the prophet with an army of 10,000 men marched towards Makkah; he kept his plans a
secret so that news wouldn’t reach Makkah. 
 On reaching Makkah, he told his men to light their torches to show the Quraish their strength. 
 The Quraish were horrified to see such a large number of Muslims and Abu Sufyan, immediately came
to the Muslim camp and embraced Islam. 
 The prophet divided his army into 4 squadrons and told them to conquer different areas. 
 He gave them special instructions to not shed innocent blood and not be the first one to fight. 
 He also said that anybody who took refuge in his own home or Abu Sufyan’s home or Ka’abah was
safe. 
 Thus all the squadrons peacefully captured their areas although there was some trouble in the south
where Khalid Bin Waleed’s squadron was attacked by the people of Banu Bakr. After this the Prophet
entered the Kabah and purified it by breaking the idols. 
 Hazrat Bilal then said the Azaan and the prophet performed tawaaf. 
 The prophet then gathered all the people on the mount of safa and declared a general pardon for all
except the 4 fiercest enemies of Islam, seeing the magnanimity of the prophet many pagans accepted
Islam. 
 The prophet stayed in Makkah for 20 days and after making administrative arrangements he went back
to medina.

The Importance of his actions as examples for Muslim communities in their relations with other states:

Relation with the Quraish: 

 In 624 A.D, the first encounter between the Muslims and Quraish took place, when the Quraish with an
army of 1000 people marched to Medina. 
 The Prophet, too, raised an army of only 313 people, and the battle began at Badr. 
 Despite being heavily outnumbered the Muslims were victorious and the Quraish had to face a
shameful defeat. 
 This had negative impacts on their relations because the prestige of Quraish was hurt and many of
them were taken as captives.
 The very next year, the Quraish vowed to avenge their defeat at Badr and so with an army of 3000
men, marched towards Medina. 
 When the Prophet learnt of this, he consulted his companions and it was decided that they would fight
the enemy outside Medina, though the Prophet had contrary views.  
 The Muslims were initially 1000 in number but were reduced to 700 when 300 hypocrites under the
leadership of Abdullah bin Ubayy left the army. 
 In the battlefield, at first the muslims were victorious, but when the archers appointed by the Prophet to
guard a narrow pass left their post, the retreating Quraish attacked from the rear and turned the Muslim
victory into a near defeat. 
 This battle had adverse effects on the relations as hostility increased even further.
 After their victory at Uhad, the Quraish were confident that they could now crush the Muslims. 
 So, in 627 A.D they allied with various Jewish tribes and with an army of 10,000 men, proceeded
towards Medina. 
 The Muslims built a trench as a defensive measure upon the suggestion of Hazrat Salman Farsi. 
 When the Quraish saw this trench, they were bewildered and since they could not cross the trench,
they laid siege behind it. 
 The siege lasted a month after which a storm blew away the Quraish camps and they were forced to
flee. 
 This event again hurt the prestige of Quraish and was proof that hostilities were at their peak.
 In 628 A.D, the Prophet dreamt that he was entering the holy Ka’abah. 
 So, he planned to go to Makkah for the lesser pilgrimage. In the month of Dhul-Qadah, 
 the Prophet along with 1400 unarmed companions left for Makkah. 
 Although they had no intention of waging war and were unarmed yet their huge number surprised the
Quraish and so they weren’t allowed to enter Makkah. 
 The Muslims camped at a place called Hudaybia about 3 miles from Makkah. 
 From here, the Prophet sent 3 messengers to the Quraish to tell them that they had not come to fight. 
 But those messengers never returned. 
 Rumors spread that they had been killed. 
 Therefore the prophet called his companions to take a pledge to fight and avenge the blood of their
fellows. 
 This was known as Bait-e-Rizwan. 
 After this, Hazrat Usman returned, and negotiations started with the Quraish, eventually a treaty known
as the treaty of hudaybia was devised,. Its terms were as follows:

1. The Muslims would not enter Makkah this year, but would return the following year
2. Makkans taking refuge in Medina would be handed back but medinites talking refuge in Makkah would
not be returned
3. There will be no war for 10 years
4. Both makkans and Muslims would stay neutral if there was a war with another group
5. Agreements could be made with other tribes.

 This was a very positive development as it encouraged peace in the region.

 Two years after the treaty of Hudaybia, trouble arose. 
 Banu Bakr, which was an ally of the Quraish, attacked Banu Khuza, an ally of Muslims. Quraish
provided Banu Bakr with weapons and some Quraish also took part in fighting. 
 As this was against the terms of treaty of hudaybia, so the leader of Banu Khuza went to the Prophet to
seek justice. 
 On hearing this, the prophet laid down 3 alternatives before the Quraish:

1. Pay blood money to Banu Khuza

2. Break alliance with Banu Bakr
3. Dissolve treaty of Hudaybia

 The Quraish chose the 3rd option and thus the treaty was dissolved. 
 This meant that cordial relations between Muslims and Quraish were short-lived and hostility once
again prevailed.
  In 630 A.D, the prophet with an army of 10,000 men marched towards Makkah. 
 The Quraish were horrified to see such a large number of Muslims and Abu Sufyan, immediately came
to the Muslim camp and embraced Islam. 
 The prophet divided his army into 4 squadrons and told them to conquer different areas. 
 He gave them special instructions to not shed innocent blood and not be the first one to fight. 
 The prophet then gathered all the people on the mount of safa and declared a general pardon for all
except the 4 fiercest enemies of Islam, seeing the magnanimity of the prophet many pagans accepted
Islam. 
 This event finally put an end to Quraish hostility as many Quraish accepted Islam.

Relations with Hypocrites:

 There was another group living in Medina, who were apparently Muslims but not from the core of their
hearts. 
 They were called the Hypocrites. 
 They showed enmity for Muslims at the Battle of Uhad, when 300 of them deserted the Muslim army,
under the leadership of Abdullah Bin Ubbay, saying that since their suggestion of fighting inside Medina
was not considered, they will not fight. 
 Even during the Battle of Trench, they did not fight, saying that their homes were unsafe. They built a
mosque named Al-Darrar where they used to conspire against Muslims. 
 This was later demolished on the orders of the Prophet under divine instructions. The hypocrites also
played a major role in the slander of Hazrat Aisha.

Relations with Jews:

 In his attempt to achieve good relations with all the inhabitants of Medina (which were primarily Jews),
the Prophet devised the Covenant of Medina. 
 He drew a covenant with the people of the town, whether Muslims or non Muslims which clearly defined
the duties and privileges of all the people. It said:

1. All people of Medina would defend the city collectively

2. There would be complete religious freedom for all
3. If a conflict arises within the Medinites, the Prophet will be consulted for decision.

 Initially, this charter was accepted by the Jewish tribes of Medina, namely Banu Qainuqa, Banu
Qurayza and Banu Nazir. 
 It acted as the constitution for Medina. However, gradually, the Jews distanced themselves from the
Prophet. 
 They started doubting his claims of Prophet Hood and mocked his revelations. 
 This was why all tribes broke the covenant one after another and were exiled. 
 The Table below shows the details of each tribe violating the covenant:

TRIBE YEAR REASON HOW FUTURE

Banu Qaynuqa 2 AH/ 624 AD - Insulted and Prophet laid Exiled from
 harmed the siege to their Medina, settled
Prophet fortress for 15 in Khyber.
 - Disgraced a days, after which
Muslim woman they surrendered
- A Jew and a unconditionally
Muslim were
killed in fighting
Banu Nazir 4  AH/ 626 AD - Plotted to Prophet sent Exiled from
murder the them a message Medina, settled
Prophet to leave Medina at Khyber.
- planned to rise within 10 days.
against the They rejected it
Muslims at the and shut
instigation of themselves up in
Quraish a fortress.
Prophet laid
siege and they
surrendered in 2
weeks.
Banu Qurayza 5 AH / 627 AD - helped enemies Prophet Accepted the
in Battle of surrounded their decision of Saad
Trench fortresses in a Bin Muaz
siege which according to
lasted 1   month, which men were
after which they slain, women
surrendered. and children
taken as captives
and their
properties were
distributed
among the
Muslims.