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Muhammad in Medina
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History
Background
A delegation from Medina, consisting of the representatives of the twelve important clans of Medina, invited Muhammad as a neutral outsider to serve as the chief arbitrator for the entire community.Esposito (1998), p. 17. There was fighting in Yathrib (Medina) mainly involving its Arab and Jewish inhabitants for around a hundred years before 620. The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the Battle of Bu'ath in which all the clans were involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood-feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with authority to adjudicate in disputed cases.The Cambridge History of Islam (1977), p. 39 The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow-citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and physically protect him as one of themselves.Alford Welch, Muhammad, Encyclopedia of IslamMuhammad instructed his followers to emigrate to Medina until virtually all of his followers had left Mecca. Being alarmed at the departure of Muslims, according to the tradition, the Meccans plotted to assassinate him. He instructed his cousin and future son-in-law Ali to sleep in his bed to trick the assassins that he had stayed (and to fight them off in his stead) and secretly slipped away from the town.Moojan Momen, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shiʻism, Yale University Press, p. 5 By 622, Muhammad had emigrated to Medina, then known as Yathrib, a large agricultural oasis. Following the emigration, the Meccans seized the properties of the Muslim emigrants in Mecca.Fazlur Rahman (1979), p. 21Among the things Muhammad did in order to settle the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was drafting a document known as the Constitution of Medina (date debated), establishing a kind of brotherhood among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca, which specified the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina (including that of the Muslim community to other communities specifically the Jews and other "Peoples of the Book"). The community defined in the Constitution of Medina, umma, had a religious outlook but was also shaped by the practical considerations and substantially preserved the legal forms of the old Arab tribes. Muhammad's adoption of facing north towards Jerusalem when performing the daily prayers (qibla) however need not to necessarily be a borrowing from the Jews as the reports about the direction of prayer before migration to Medina are contradictory and further this direction of prayer was also practiced among other groups in Arabia.The first group of pagan converts to Islam in Medina were the clans who had not produced great leaders for themselves but had suffered from warlike leaders from other clans. This was followed by the general acceptance of Islam by the pagan population of Medina, apart from some exceptions. This was, according to Ibn Ishaq, influenced by the conversion to Islam of Sa'd ibn Mua'dh, one of the prominent leaders in Medina.Relationship with followers of Abrahamic religions
In the course of Muhammad proselytizing in Mecca, he viewed Christians and Jews (both of whom he referred to as "People of the Book") as natural allies, part of the Abrahamic religions, sharing the core principles of his teachings, and anticipated their acceptance and support. Muslims, like Jews, were at that time praying towards Jerusalem. In the Constitution of Medina, Muhammad demanded the Jews' political loyalty in return for religious and cultural autonomy in many treaties.See:- Esposito (1998), p.17
- Neusner (2003), p.153
Conflicts with the Quraish
{{see also|Battle of Uhud}}The attack at Badr committed Muhammad to total war with Meccans, who were now eager to avenge their defeat. To maintain their economic prosperity, the Meccans needed to restore their prestige, which had been lost at Badr.Watt (1961), p. 132. The Meccans sent out a small party for a raid on Medina to restore confidence and reconnoitre. The party retreated immediately after a surprise and speedy attack but with minor damages; there was no combat.Watt (1964), pp. 124â125 In the ensuing months, Muhammad led expeditions on tribes allied with Mecca and sent out a raid on a Meccan caravan.Watt (1961), p. 134 Abu Sufyan ibn Harb subsequently gathered an army of three thousand men and set out for an attack on Medina.Lewis (1960), p. 45. They were accompanied by some prominent women of Mecca, such as Hind bint Utbah, Abu Sufyan's wife, who had lost family members at Badr. These women provided encouragement in keeping with Bedouin custom, calling out the names of the dead at Badr.Rodinson (2002), pp. 177, 180.A scout alerted Muhammad of the Meccan army's presence and numbers a day later. The next morning, at the Muslim conference of war, there was dispute over how best to repel the Meccans. Muhammad and many of the senior figures suggested that it would be safer to fight within Medina and take advantage of its heavily fortified strongholds. Younger Muslims argued that the Meccans were destroying their crops, and that huddling in the strongholds would destroy Muslim prestige. Muhammad eventually conceded to the wishes of the latter, and readied the Muslim force for battle. Thus, Muhammad led his force outside to the mountain of Uhud (where the Meccans had camped) and fought the Battle of Uhud on March 23."Uhud", Encyclopedia of Islam.Watt (1964) p. 137Although the Muslim army had the best of the early encounters, indiscipline on the part of tactically placed archers led to a tactical defeat for the Muslim army, with 75 Muslims killed. However, the Meccans failed to achieve their goal of destroying the Muslims completely.Watt (1974) p. 137 The Meccans did not occupy the town and withdrew to Mecca, since they were unable to attack Muhammad's position again, owing to military losses, low morale and the possibility of Muslim resistance in the town. There was also hope that Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy leading a group of Muslims in Medina could be won over by diplomacy.Watt (1974) p. 141 Following the defeat, Muhammad's detractors in Medina said that if the victory at Badr was proof of the genuineness of his mission, then the defeat at Uhud was proof that his mission was not genuine.Rodinson (2002), p. 183. Muhammad subsequently delivered Qur'anic verses 133-135 and 160-162 from the Al-i-Imran suraQURAN AYAH, 3, 133-135, y, , QURAN AYAH, 3, 160-162, y, indicating that the loss, however, was partly a punishment for disobedience and partly a test for steadfastness.Watt (1964) p. 144.The rousing of the nomads
In the battle of Uhud, the Meccans had collected all the available men from the Quraysh and the neighboring tribes friendly to them but had not succeeded in destroying the Muslim community. In order to raise a more powerful army, Abu Sufyan attracted the support of the great nomadic tribes to the north and east of Medina, using propaganda about Muhammad's weakness, promises of treasure, memories of the prestige of Quraysh and straight bribes.Watt (1956), p. 30.Muhammad's policy in the next two years after the battle of Uhud was to prevent as best he could the formation of alliances against him. Whenever alliances of tribesmen against Medina were formed, he sent out an expedition to break it up. When Muhammad heard of men massing with hostile intentions against Medina, he reacted with severity.Watt (1956), p. 34 One example is the assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a member of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir who had gone to Mecca and written poems that had helped rouse the Meccans' grief, anger and desire for revenge after the battle of Badr (see the main article for other reasons for killing of Ka'b given in the historiographical sources).Watt (1956), p. 18 Around a year later, Muhammad expelled the Jewish Banu Nadir from Medina.Watt (1956), pp. 220â221Muhammad's attempts to prevent formation of confederation against him were not successful, although he was able to augment his own forces and keep many tribes from joining the confederation.Watt (1956), p. 35Siege of Medina
Abu Sufyan, the military leader of the Quraysh, with the help of Banu Nadir, had mustered a force numbering 10,000 men. Muhammad was able to prepare a force of about 3,000 men. He had however adopted a new form of defense, unknown in Arabia at that time: Muslims had dug trenches wherever Medina lay open to cavalry attack. The idea is credited to a Persian convert to Islam, Salman. The siege of Medina began on 31 March 627 and lasted for two weeks.Watt (1956), p. 36, 37 Abu Sufyan's troops were unprepared for the fortifications they were confronted with, and after an ineffectual siege, the coalition decided to go home.Rodinson (2002), pp. 209â211. The Qur'an discusses this battle in verses 9-27 of sura 33, Al-Ahzab.QURAN AYAH, 33, 9-27, y, Uri Rubin, Quraysh, Encyclopaedia of the Qur'anFile:Battle of the Trench map.gif -During the Battle of the Trench, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza who were located at the south of Medina were charged with treachery. After the retreat of the coalition, Muslims besieged Banu Qurayza, the remaining major Jewish tribe in Medina. The Banu Qurayza surrendered and all the men, apart from a few who converted to Islam, were beheaded, while all the women and children were enslaved.Peterson, Muhammad: the prophet of God, p. 126Tariq Ramadan, In the Footsteps of the Prophet, Oxford University Press, p. 141 In dealing with Muhammad's treatment of the Jews of Medina, aside from political explanations, Arab historians and biographers have explained it as "the punishment of the Medina Jews, who were invited to convert and refused, perfectly exemplify the Quran's tales of what happened to those who rejected the prophets of old."Francis Edward Peters (2003), p. 77 F.E. Peters, a western scholar of Islam, states that Muhammad's treatment of Jews of Medina was essentially political being prompted by what Muhammad read as treasonous and not some transgression of the law of God. Peters adds that Muhammad was possibly emboldened by his military successes and also wanted to push his advantage. Economical motivations according to Peters also existed since the poorness of the Meccan migrants was a source of concern for Muhammad.F.E.Peters (2003), pp. 76â8. Peters argues that Muhammad's treatment of the Jews of Medina was "quite extraordinary", "matched by nothing in the Qur'an", and is "quite at odds with Muhammad's treatment of the Jews he encountered outside Medina." According to Welch, Muhammad's treatment of the three major Jewish tribes brought Muhammad closer to his goal of organizing a community strictly on a religious basis. He adds that some Jews from other families were, however, allowed to remain in Medina.In the siege of Medina, the Meccans had exerted their utmost strength towards the destruction of the Muslim community. Their failure resulted in a significant loss of prestige; their trade with Syria was gone.Watt (1956), p. 39 Following the battle of trench, Muhammad made two expeditions to the north which ended without any fighting. While returning from one of these two expeditions (or some years earlier according to other early accounts), an accusation of adultery was made against Aisha, Muhammad's wife. Aisha was exonerated from the accusations when Muhammad announced that he had received a revelation, verse 4 in the An-Nur sura,QURAN AYAH, 24, 4, y, confirming Aisha's innocence and directing that charges of adultery be supported by four eyewitnesses.ENCYCLOPEDIA, Watt, M, Aisha bint Abi Bakr, Encyclopaedia of Islam Online, P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs, Brill Academic Publishers, 1573-3912,
Truce of Hudaybiyya
Although Qur'anic verses had been received from God commanding the Hajj,QURAN AYAH, 2, 196-210, y, the Muslims had not performed it due to the enmity of the Quraysh. In the month of Shawwal 628, Muhammad ordered his followers to obtain sacrificial animals and to make preparations for a pilgrimage (umrah) to Mecca, saying that God had promised him the fulfillment of this goal in a vision where he was shaving his head after the completion of the Hajj.Lings (1987), p. 249 According to Lewis, Muhammad felt strong enough to attempt an attack on Mecca, but on the way it became clear that the attempt was premature and the expedition was converted into a peaceful pilgrimage.Lewis (2002), p. 42. Andrae disagrees, writing that the Muslim state of ihram (which restricted their freedom of action) and the paucity of arms carried indicated that the pilgrimage was always intended to be pacific. Most Islamic scholars agree with Andrae's view.Andrae; Menzel (1960) p. 156; See also: Watt (1964) p. 183 Upon hearing of the approaching 1,400 Muslims, the Quraysh sent out a force of 200 cavalry to halt them. Muhammad evaded them by taking a more difficult route, thereby reaching al-Hudaybiyya, just outside Mecca."al-Hudaybiya", Encyclopedia of Islam According to Watt, although Muhammad's decision to make the pilgrimage was based on his dream, he was at the same time demonstrating to the pagan Meccans that Islam does not threaten the prestige of their sanctuary, and that Islam was an Arabian religion.Watt, W. Montgomery. "al- Hudaybiya or al-Hudaybiyya." Encyclopaedia of Islam.Negotiations commenced with emissaries going to and from Mecca. While these continued, rumors spread that one of the Muslim negotiators, Uthman ibn Affan, had been killed by the Quraysh. Muhammad responded by calling upon the pilgrims to make a pledge not to flee (or to stick with Muhammad, whatever decision he made) if the situation descended into war with Mecca. This pledge became known as the "Pledge of Good Pleasure" (, ) or the "Pledge of the Tree." News of Uthman's safety, however, allowed for negotiations to continue, and the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, scheduled to last ten years was eventually signed between the Muslims and the Quraysh. The main points of treaty were the following:- The two parties and their allies should desist from hostilities against each other.Lings (1987), p. 253
- Muhammad, should not perform Hajj this year but in the next year, Mecca will be evacuated for three days for Muslims to perform Hajj.Watt, al- Ḥudaybiya or al-Hudaybiyya, Encyclopaedia of Islam
- Muhammad should send back any Meccan who had gone to Medina without the permission of his or her protector (according to William Montgomery Watt, this presumably refers to minors or women).
- It was allowed for both Muhammad and the Quraysh to enter into alliance with others.
Conquest of Mecca and subsequent military expeditions
missing image!
- Siyer-i Nebi 298a.jpg -
Muhammad and the sahaba advancing on Mecca. The angels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil and Azrael, are also in the painting.
In Ramadan 8 AH (around October 629), Muhammad left for Mecca with approximately 10,000 of his sahaba aiming to capture the city from the Quraysh following a violation of the terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah by the Banu Bakr, who were allies of the Quraysh, after they attacked the BanÅ« Khuzaʽah, allies of the Muslims. The Treaty had called for a 10-year truce and ceasefire between the Muslims, the Quraysh and their respective allies. Muhammad arrived at Mecca a week from his departure, dividing the army into four regiments, each entering Mecca from one point of entry. The conquest was largely bloodless and the Quraysh eventually surrendered without putting up a fight.Khan (1998), pp. 274â5.BOOK, Mubarakpuri, Safi-ur-Rahman,weblink The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet, 2008, Darussalam, 978-1-59144-070-3, 2nd rev., Riyadh, 1148803557, Watt (1956), p. 66.Following the Conquest of Mecca, Muhammad was informed of a military threat from the confederate tribes of Hawazin who were readying an army twice as strong as Muhammad and the sahaba. They were joined by the Thaqif inhabiting in the city of Taâif who had adopted an anti-Meccan policy due to the decline of the prestige of Meccans. Both tribes were subsequently defeated in the Battle of Hunayn.Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, Oxford University Press, p.207 Muhammad subsequently launched an expedition against the Byzantine Empire and their Ghassanid allies in the north in the Expedition of Tabuk. Although Muhammad did not make contact with hostile forces at Tabuk, he received the submission of some of the local chiefs of the region.M.A. al-Bakhit, Tabuk, Encyclopedia of Islam Following this expedition, the Banu Thaqif and other Bedouins submitted to Muhammad in order to be safe from attack and to benefit from the bounty of the wars.Following the Conquest of Mecca and these events, Muhammad would perform the Farewell Pilgrimage and return to Medina, where he would fall ill for several days with a headache and weakness. He died on Monday, June 8, 632, in the city, being buried where the home of his wife Aisha had been. It has since been modified several times and is now enclosed under the Green Dome within Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.JOURNAL, signs (journal), Signs, Leila Ahmed, Women and the Advent of Islam, 11, Summer 1986, 665â91 (686), 10.1086/494271, 4, 0097-9740, 3174138, 144943406, - Siyer-i Nebi 298a.jpg -
Muhammad and the sahaba advancing on Mecca. The angels Gabriel, Michael, Israfil and Azrael, are also in the painting.
See also
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