Hijrah
In 622, after increased persecution of his followers and the decision was made to assasinate him, Muhammad and his Meccan followers left Mecca for Medina, where he had gained many converts. This Hijrah or emigration (traditionally translated into English as "flight") marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The Medinans apparently hoped that Muhammad would unite them and prevent incidents such as the 618 Medinan civil war in which many had lost their lives. A document known as the Constitution of Medina (circa 622-623) established a confederation between Muhammad's Makkan followers and the neighboring Arab clans of Mecca. Madinah and its suburbs, after the ratification of this treaty, turned into a coalition state, with Madinah proper as capital and Muhammad as ‘president’; authorities lay mainly in the hand of the Muslims, and consequently it was a real capital of Islam. To expand the zone of peace and security the Prophet started to enter into similar treaties with other tribes living around ‘his state’.
Medina
The quraish in response to the escape of Muhammad to Medina formed an alliance with other polytheist tribes in Makkah to harass those Muslims in Medina and in Makkah, they also threatened the death of any Muslim returning to their homeland. In Medina with the muslims under alert, a few emigrant Muslim Makkans, set out on military attacks against Makkan caravans on their way to Syria, thus striking at the Makkan economy. About the same time Muhammad changed the direction of the Qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca. In March of 624 Muhammad led about 300 men in a military expedition on a Makkan caravan led by Abu Sufyan, the head of the Umayyah clan. The caravan managed to escape but Abu Jahl (the head of the Makhzum clan), who had previously opposed Muhammad and organized a boycott against Muhammad's Hashim clan, had command of a supporting force of around 800 men and wanted to teach Muhammad a lesson.
On March 15, 624 near a place called Badr, the two forces clashed. Though outnumbered 800 to 300 in the battle, the Muslims met with success, killing at least 45 Makkans, including Abu Jahl, and taking 70 prisoners; whereas only 14 Muslims died. To the Muslims this appeared as a divine vindication of Muhammad's prophethood, and he and all the Muslims rejoiced greatly. Following this victory, the victors expelled a hostile Jewish clan, the banu Quainuqa, who had violated the non aggression pact, and had a few minor skirmishes before the next major battle in Uhud. Virtually all the remaining Medinans converted and Muhammad became de facto ruler of the city.
Several important marriage alliances also occurred. Of Muhammad's daughters, Fatima married Ali (later fourth caliph) and Umm Kulthum married Uthman (the third caliph). Muhammad himself, already married to Aisha (whom Muhammad married at the age of 6 and consummated at the age of 9) daughter of Abu Bakr (first caliph) now also married Hafsah daughter of Umar (second caliph). On March 21, 625 Abu Sufyan, hoping for revenge, entered Medina with 3,000 men. On the morning of March 23 fighting began. The battle produced no obvious winner or loser, though the Makkans claim victory. For two years after the Battle of Uhud both sides prepared for a decisive encounter.
In April 627 Abu Sufyan led a great confederacy of 10,000 men against Medina. The Jews of Medina had to participate in the fighting to protect the city of Medina, as they had agreed in the Medina Charter. The Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza did not participate in the fighting and they made an agreement with Abu Sufyan to attack the Muslims from the rear after he had entered the city. Some people among the Muslims also had made such an agreement under the leadership of Abd Allah ibn Ubayy: later accounts refer to them as "those that profess beliefs and opinions that one does not hold" (or "one who pretends to pious", munafiqun).
Between the strong forces of Abu Sufyan and the forces of Banu Qurayza - which would consist of all their men of fightinging age - and the forces of the munafiqun the Muslims would have faced a massacre if Abu Sufyan had triumphed. Islam might have ceased to exist.
To the traitors inside Medina it must have come as a surprise when the 10,000-strong force of Abu Sufyan failed to cross a trench dug around Medina by order of Muhammad, as the Persian scribe Salman e-Farsi had suggested to him. After the retreat of Abu Sufyan and his forces, the Muslims directed their attention towards the groups that had committed treason to the Charter of Medina. The munafiqun quickly crumbled, and their leader Abd Allah ibn Ubayy pledged allegiance to Muhammad. The Muslims then besieged the Banu Qurayza, who had intrigued against them. They had the opportunity of choosing Muhammad as an arbitrator, but instead the Banu Qurayza chose Saad ibn Muadh, the leader of their former allies, the Aus.
Saad had suffered a deadly wound in the battle against Abu Sufyan's forces and he invoked the rules of the Jews' own scriptures the Torah, ordering the execution of the active forces of the tribe, which would consist of all their grown men. He permitted the non-combatant women and children to live, though having no men to support them and the Muslim community not having the resources to support them either, they were sold into captivity.
By 627 CE Muhammad had united Medina under Islam with protected privileges for the Jews and Christians who lived there. Word of the new religion, and of the peace and prosperity it brought, spread by trade. The Bedouin became keenly interested in this new faith; they saw its potential to bring peace and plenty to their wandering tribes, and, after much negotiation, they became allied with Muhammad. Also, after much contact with the town and with Muslims, some gradually converted. At this stage the reported revelations that had visited Muhammad had almost reached completion. Divine inspiration told him to return to Mecca and to reclaim the Kaaba.
Mecca
Muhammad put economic pressure on the citizens of Mecca; but aimed primarily to gain their willing adherence to Islam. In March 628 he set out to perform a pilgrimage in Mecca, with 1,600 men accompanying him. The Makkans however halted Muhammad on the edge of their territory at al-Hudaybiyah. After some days the Makkans made a treaty with Muhammad. With negotiation and assent of the elders of the Quraysh he made an unarmed pilgrimage to the Kaaba. Hostilities would cease and the Muslims would have permission to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in the following year. Muhammad's marriage to Habiba, daughter of Abu Sufyan (Muhammad's former enemy) further cemented the treaty.
After a period, though, the agreement broke down, and war broke out. In November 629, however, allies of the Makkans attacked an ally of Muhammad, leading Muhammad to denounce the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah. After secret planning, Muhammad marched on Mecca in January 630 with 10,000 men. But no bloodshed occurred. Abu Sufyan and other leading Makkans formally submitted. Muhammad promised a general amnesty (with some people specifically excluded). When he entered Mecca, 20 years after having to flee, virtually no resistance occurred. Though he did not insist on their becoming Muslims, most Makkans converted. In Mecca, Muhammad destroyed the idols in the Kaaba and various small shrines.
Unification of Arabia
After the hijrah Muhammad began to establish alliances with nomadic tribes. At first these probably consisted of non-aggression pacts, but as his strength grew he insisted that the prospective allied tribe should become Muslim. While in Mecca, Muhammad received word of a large concentration of hostile tribes and he set out to confront them. A battle took place at Hunayn in which the enemy was defeated. Some now viewed Muhammad as the strongest man in Arabia, and most tribes sent delegations to Medina seeking alliance. Before his death, rebellions occurred in one or two parts of Arabia but the Islamic state had sufficient strength to deal with this.
Muhammad went to Medina (at that time known as "Yathrib") where he was invited to become arbiter between the two rival tribes of Medina (the Aws and Khasraj). He set up a welfare state, collected taxes for the needy, organised town defences against numerous raiding parties from Mecca and beyond, and entered numerous trade agreements. Muhammad built Source | Copyright
