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The Bamberg Introduction to the History of Islam (BIHI) 03

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3. The Prophet of Yathrib and the New Polity (622-630)

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The center of the new religion shifts to the oasis of Yathrib, with warfare taking center stage. Muḥammad and his followers engage in battles against pagan Mecca and increasingly come into conflict with the Jews of Yathrib, who are ultimately expelled from the oasis. As the leader of the nascent community, Muḥammad implements a series of legal, social, and ritual reforms.

3.1. Maghāzī – The Military Expeditions of Muḥammad

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3.1.1. The Provocation of the Quraysh

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Arab sources consistently report that Muḥammad arrived at the oasis of Yathrib on September 24, 622, following his emigration from Mecca. Having been expelled from his hometown, he considered it justifiable to engage in conflict against his former hometown. This is clearly reflected in two Qur'anic verses, widely recognized as the earliest revelations on the subject of warfare:

The war with Mecca, which Muḥammad waged from his new base in Yathrib, began with minor pinpricks. According to the chronology of al-Wāqidī, who composed a detailed account of Muḥammad's military expeditions (maghāzī) in the early 9th century, Muḥammad dispatched his uncle Ḥamza with a group of warriors seven months after his arrival in Yathrib to intercept a Meccan trade caravan returning from Syria under the leadership of Abū Jahl. However, no combat occurred because a man from the Juhaynah tribe, allied with both sides, intervened. During a second expedition in April 623, "the first arrow of Islam" was launched. The conflict with the Meccans soon disregarded traditional Arab religious norms, such as the obligation to maintain peace during the sacred months (see above 1.3.3.). For example, a unit commissioned by Muḥammad raided a Meccan caravan during the sacred month of Rajab near Nakhla, south of Mecca. According to tradition, this event prompted the following revelation:

From this Qur'anic verse, it is evident that the continued existence of the old religion in Mecca posed a constant temptation for Muḥammad’s followers to abandon their faith. Since many of them apparently found military combat (qitāl) undesirable, Muḥammad now declared it a duty (cf. Q 2:216) and elevated it to a religious level by designating it as jihād fī sabīl Allāh (“striving in the way of God”, as stated in the subsequent verse Q 2:218). This term has also been adopted into the English language in the form of Jihad.

 
Illustration of the Battle of Badr in a Persian manuscript, early 14th century

The first major confrontation between the Meccans and Muḥammad’s followers took place in March 624 near the site of Badr, approximately 130 kilometers southwest of Yathrib. Muḥammad had received information about a wealthy Meccan caravan returning from Syria. With 300 men, including members of the Muzaynah tribe allied with the Aws, he set out for Badr, situated along the coastal road, to intercept the caravan. A battle ensued between Muḥammad's forces and a Meccan army of approximately 950 men, which had rushed to the caravan's aid under the command of Muḥammad’s bitter adversary Abū Jahl. Muḥammad's forces achieved an unexpected victory. The Meccans suffered between 45 and 70 fatalities, with a similar number taken prisoner. Among the fallen Meccans were several prominent figures, including Abū Jahl. In contrast, Muḥammad’s followers lost only 14 men and captured substantial spoils of war.

Following the battle, Muḥammad had some of the prisoners beheaded, including his former adversary al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith. The victory at Badr was of immense military and religious significance for Muḥammad's followers. Apparently, however, not all of them contributed to this victory. This is evident from verses revealed after Badr, which clarify that those among the believers who “sit still” at home without a valid excuse are not equal in rank before God to the Mujāhidūn – those who engage in jihad (strive in the way of Allah) with their wealth and their lives (cf. Q 4:95f).

3.1.2. The Defense Against the Meccan Counterattack

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The defeat at Badr dealt a severe blow to the Quraysh of Mecca. They had long been regarded as one of the most powerful tribes in Arabia, and to some extent, their commercial success relied on this reputation. Their trade depended on cooperation with many other tribes, and now, insubordination from some of these tribes was to be anticipated. It was therefore of critical importance for the Quraysh to demonstrate that they still possessed the strength to exact revenge for the wrongs they had suffered. Ten weeks after the Battle of Badr, Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb, who had assumed leadership of Mecca following the battle, carried out a swift raid on Yathrib. After setting fire to two houses, however, he quickly withdrew.

 
A depiction of the Battle of Uhud in a Siyer-i Nebi from 1594, now part of the David Collection in Copenhagen.

In the months that followed, Abū Sufyān succeeded in recruiting 3,000 well-equipped warriors. In March 625, he advanced toward Yathrib with this force, penetrating the oasis from its northwestern corner. At Mount Uhud, a battle ensued, with the momentum shifting back and forth between the two sides for a long time. As the tide of war began to shift in favor of Muḥammad’s followers, they started gathering the spoils. This prompted a group of Muḥammad’s archers to abandon their positions to turn their attention to the spoils. On the Meccan side, Khālid ibn al-Walīd, a prominent warrior, exploited the situation to sow confusion among the ranks of Muḥammad's followers and ultimately overpower them. However, in the end, Muḥammad’s followers succeeded in regaining critical positions, causing the Meccans to withdraw without permanently eliminating their adversary, Muḥammad. For Muḥammad’s followers, the Battle of Uhud was nevertheless a bitter disappointment: not only because they had lost 50 to 70 men, including Muḥammad’s uncle Ḥamza, and Muḥammad himself had been injured, but also because they came to realize that divine support was not as assured as it had seemed after their victory at Badr. Several Qur’anic verses from this period affirm that those who are killed “in the way of God” are not truly dead but living (Q 2:154), are provided for by their Lord (Q 3:169), have their sins forgiven (Q 3:157), and are admitted directly into Paradise (Q 3:195).

The conflict between Muḥammad and the Meccans was by no means concluded with the Battle of Uhud. As Muḥammad continued to disrupt Meccan trade and found an increasing number of allies among the Arabian Bedouins, the Meccans felt compelled to take action against him once more. In turn, they sought to recruit a number of Bedouin tribes to their side. These alliances demonstrate that the conflict between Mecca and Yathrib had by then extended to the surrounding regions of both cities. In July 625, the Banū Sulaym, a tribe allied with the Quraysh, massacred a large number of Muslims at Biʾr Maʿūna, located between Mecca and Yathrib. In response, Muḥammad is said to have cursed the Banū Sulaym for an entire month. This practice has been preserved in a modified form as part of the Qunūt, a supplication recited during the morning prayer or the nightly Witr prayer.

At the beginning of 627, the Meccans and their allies advanced to Yathrib with a force of 10,000 men. Muḥammad, however, had a trench (khandaq) excavated around the less fortified areas of the oasis settlement, making it wide enough that a horse could not leap across. This move took the Meccans by such surprise that they were unable to devise an effective strategic response. What had been intended as an assault instead turned into a siege. Due to intrigues, however, the Meccan alliance collapsed after only 14 days, forcing an end to the siege of Yathrib. The Meccans ultimately withdrew without having achieved anything.

3.1.3. The Military and Political Breakthrough

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Sasanian ruler Khosrow II (r. 590–628) depicted on a gold coin, Bode Museum

The Battle of the Trench was, essentially, Muḥammad’s final defensive campaign. From that point onward, his life entered an offensive phase, marking the beginning of an era of conquests for the community he had established. To understand Muḥammad's subsequent military success, it is necessary to contextualize the political dynamics of the Middle East during that period. At the beginning of the 7th century, a prolonged conflict erupted between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. Between 603 and 619, Sasanian forces initially conquered Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. In 622, however, the Byzantine emperor launched a counteroffensive. The conflict led to intense clashes in which the Sasanians suffered several defeats. It concluded in 628 with a peace treaty requiring Khosrow II to return all conquered territories. Subsequently, Khosrow was overthrown by his officers, initiating a period of political turmoil in the Sasanian Empire that persisted until 633. During this time, the Sasanian alliance network on the Arabian Peninsula collapsed. It was precisely during this five-year power vacuum that Muḥammad transformed his newly established state into a military and political success.

In the year following the Battle of the Trench, he led several smaller military expeditions, the most significant being those against the oasis of Dumat al-Jandal and the Muṣṭaliq tribe, situated west of Yathrib. In March 628, accompanied by a group of believers, he set out for Mecca to perform the ʿUmrah pilgrimage. The Meccans, suspecting hostile intentions, ensured that he did not approach the city. From his encampment at al-Ḥudaybiya, on the outskirts of the Ḥaram, Muḥammad initiated negotiations with the Meccans, resulting in a treaty. The treaty imposed what appeared on the surface to be humiliations, which in turn created tensions among his followers. For instance, the Meccan envoy refused to recognize him as “Muḥammad, the Messenger of God,” acknowledging him only as “Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdallāh.” However, the terms of the agreement were of greater significance: they included a ten-year truce and a promise from the Meccans to allow Muḥammad and his followers to enter the city the following year for a three-day ʿUmrah. In return, Muḥammad refrained from performing the ʿUmrah that year and withdrew with his men to Yathrib.

The Treaty of Ḥudaybiya was a triumph for the Prophet and his followers. The Qur'an reports that God sent down His sakīna into the hearts of the believers, increasing their faith (Q 48:4, 48:18). The term sakīna originates from the Jewish concept of Shekhinah, which denotes the “presence” of God among His people. In this context, however, it also refers to a psychological state of tranquility and serenity. Following the Treaty of Ḥudaybiya, several Arabs from other regions of Arabia who had already pledged allegiance to Muḥammad previously completed their Hijrah—that is, they migrated to Yathrib—to provide military support to Muḥammad. Among them were, for example, the two Yemenis, Abū Hurayra and Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī. The following year, in March 629, Muḥammad traveled to Mecca with approximately 2,000 followers to perform the planned ʿUmrah. On this occasion, he married Maymūnah, the sister-in-law of his uncle ʿAbbās, who at that time had assumed the leadership of the Banū Hāshim in Mecca. An increasing number of Meccans began to acknowledge Muḥammad as a prophet and left the city to join him, including those who had fought against him only a short time earlier, such as Khālid ibn al-Walīd, who had been on the opposing side during the Battle of Uhud (see above 3.1.2.). The Qur'an specifies a distinct procedure for women who sought to join the Muslim camp: They were to be examined, and if recognized as true believers, they were not to be sent back to the disbelievers; the Muslim community was required to reimburse the disbelievers for their dowries, after which it was permissible to marry these women (Q 60:10).

In the course of 629, Muḥammad oversaw additional military campaigns. In September, he dispatched his former slave and adopted son, Zayd ibn Ḥāritha, with an army to Muʿtah, in present-day Jordan, east of the southern tip of the Dead Sea. A series of events then unfolded, ultimately leading to the peaceful capitulation of Mecca. Muḥammad married Umm Ḥabība, the daughter of Abū Sufyān, who had embraced Islam years earlier and whose Muslim husband had passed away. Shortly thereafter, a clan of the Khuzāʿah tribe, which had allied with Muḥammad after Ḥudaybiya, was attacked by a clan of the Kināna tribe, who were allied with the Meccans. Under duress, the Khuzāʿah clan appealed to Muḥammad, who regarded the Treaty of Ḥudaybiya as breached due to this incident.

To avoid a military confrontation, Abū Sufyān traveled to Yathrib under the pretext of visiting his daughter and conducted negotiations with Muḥammad. Although the exact course of the subsequent events remains unclear, it is certain that gifts were exchanged between Muḥammad and Abū Sufyān following the latter's return to Mecca. In the matter itself, however, Muḥammad was unwilling to make any concessions and gave the command to prepare for a campaign to capture Mecca. With an army of approximately 10,000 men, comprising not only his followers from Mecca and Yathrib but also fighters from neighboring tribes such as the Banū Sulaym and Muzayna, he marched toward Mecca. Abū Sufyān met him on the way and engaged in negotiations. In return for his conversion to Islam, he was granted a guarantee of safety for all Meccan residents who refrained from armed resistance. These extensive assurances resulted in Muḥammad's army facing only minimal resistance as they advanced into the city from multiple directions in January 630. In Arabic sources, the conquest of Mecca is referred to as fatḥ, “opening”, serving as an archetype for subsequent Muslim conquests (futūḥ) of cities and lands under Muḥammad's successors. Separate texts and works were later dedicated to documenting these events.

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