Muhammad ﷺ

The final Prophet and Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), born in Mecca in the Year of the Elephant (c. 570 CE) into Banu Hashim of Quraysh.

Names & specialties (khasa’is) — EP 001–002

• Names (Sahih Muslim): Muhammad & Ahmad (both from hamd, “praise”), al-Mahi (eraser of kufr), al-Hashir, al-Aqib (the last). Known before Islam as al-Amin (“the trustworthy”) and al-Sadiq.
• Among ~50 khasa’is: the seal of the prophets; sent to all mankind (and jinn); given the Quran as a living miracle; al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj; the largest ummah; al-Maqam al-Mahmud (the Praiseworthy Station) and the saved intercession he keeps for his ummah.
• Character: simple living, humility, mercy, generosity, humour, bravery — the seerah is itself proof of his prophethood (Seerah (and why we study it)).

Identity & lineage

• Full name: Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, of Quraysh — an Adnani Arab, 20th generation from Adnan (a descendant of Ismail as).
• Mother: Aminah bint Wahb of Banu Zuhra.

Childhood (EP 006–007)

• Born an orphan; wet-nursed by Halimah al-Sa’diyah among Banu Sa’d, where the opening of the heart (shaqq al-sadr) occurred (age ~4).
• Lost Aminah at ~6 (al-Abwa), then guardian Abd al-Muttalib at ~8; then raised by his uncle Abu Talib.

Young manhood (EP 008–010)

• Worked as a shepherd (“every prophet was a shepherd” — Bukhari), then an honest merchant.
• Attended the Fijar Wars (~15) and joined the Hilf al-Fudul pact of justice (~20).
• Married Khadijah at 25 (she initiated it); all his children came through her.
• ~35: set the Black Stone at the rebuilding of the Ka’bah.
• Freed and adopted Zayd ibn Harithah.

The mission begins

At ~40, the first revelation (Iqra) came in the Cave of Hira; Khadijah believed first and Waraqa confirmed it. The second revelation (Surah al-Muddaththir 74:1–7) then commissioned him to “arise and warn” — with Iqra a nabi, with qum fa-andhir a rasul (see Wahy (Revelation) & Prophethood).

The Meccan da’wah & persecution (EP 011–020)

• After 3 years of private da’wah, he went public — the proclamation on Mount Safa (c. 613 CE) — meeting the ten tactics of Quraysh: pressure on Abu Talib, ridicule, slander, bribery (Utbah), and torture of the weak (Bilal, Khabbab, the family of Yasir).
• He endured personal abuse — strangled at prayer, camel entrails cast on him in sajdah — and sent persecuted Companions on the two hijras to Abyssinia.
• The conversions of Hamzah and Umar (c. 616 CE) brought izzah; Quraysh retaliated with the Boycott (2½–3 yrs).

The lowest point → toward the Hijra (EP 019–020)

• The Year of Sorrow (c. 619 CE): within weeks he lost Abu Talib (his external protector) and Khadijah (his support at home).
• Left exposed, he sought a base at Ta’if and was stoned; his du’a there and his refusal to have the town destroyed epitomise his mercy (21:107). He re-entered Mecca under Mut’im ibn Adi’s protection.

Consolation & ascension (EP 021–023)

After the losses, Allah honoured him with the Night Journey & Ascension — from Mecca to Jerusalem, then through the seven heavens, leading the prophets in prayer and receiving the five daily prayers (50 reduced to 5). He saw Allah’s Veil of light, not Allah Himself (majority view). Abu Bakr believed it instantly — al-Siddiq.

The Hijra & the Madani phase (EP 024–030)

• With Mut’im’s protection precarious, he sought a new base; pilgrim tribes refused, but the Khazraj of Yathrib embraced Islam — the First and Second Pledges of Aqabah, with Mus’ab sent ahead to teach.
• Escaping the Dar al-Nadwa assassination plot, he made the Hijra with Abu Bakr via the Cave of Thawr (“Allah is the third of two”), reaching Madinah in Rabi’ al-Awwal, 1 AH (Sept 622 CE).
• He renamed Yathrib al-Madinah, lodged with Abu Ayyub, and built Masjid al-Nabawi first of all — beginning the first Muslim polity.

Organising the Madani state (EP 031–034)

• Built Masjid Quba (the first masjid) then Masjid al-Nabawi; legislated the The Adhan (Call to Prayer) via a Companion’s dream; the five prayers grew to 2-4-4-3-4 (see Salah (the Five Daily Prayers)).
• Established the two founding institutions: the Muakha (pairing Muhajirun and Ansar) and the Constitution of Madinah — becoming the de facto ruler of a city of Muslims, Jews and pagans.
• Changed the qibla from Jerusalem to the Ka’bah (first abrogation); sheltered the People of the Suffa; instituted an interest-free Muslim souq and the fasts/zakat of the shariah of worship.

The road to Badr & the victory (EP 035–040)

• Jihad was legislated (Q 22:39); early expeditions (al-Abwa, al-Ushayra, Nakhla) targeted the Quraysh alone.
• At the Battle of Badr (17 Ramadan 2 AH) he led ~313 against ~1,000, taking counsel (Shura (Consultation)) and cheered by Sa’d ibn Mu’adh; Allah sent 1,000 angels (Q 8:9). The Quraysh chiefs — Abu Jahal, Utbah, Umayya, Uqba — were killed; the fiqh of ghanima (Q 8:41) and of prisoners (Q 8:67) came down.

Badr’s aftermath & the Jewish tribes (EP 041–044)

• Ransomed the Badr POWs (some by teaching children to read); executed only the two worst — al-Nadr and Uqba. Forgave Sawda’s blunder and set the tone of mercy toward prisoners.
• Survived the poisoned-sword assassination bid of Umayr ibn Wahb, disclosing (by revelation) his secret plot — at which Umayr converted.
• Expelled the treaty-breaking Banu Qaynuqa (sparing their lives at Abdullah ibn Ubayy‘s insistence), and sanctioned the killing of the treasonous poet Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf — as head of state, not for his religion.

The Battle of Uhud (EP 046–050)

• Took counsel on defending Madinah vs meeting the ~3,000 Quraysh in the open; yielded to the younger Companions and marched to Uhud with 700 — after Abdullah ibn Ubayy broke away with 300 (exposing Nifaq (Hypocrisy)).
• Posted 50 archers on Jabal al-Ruma with a strict order to hold; when they left for booty, Khalid ibn al-Walid struck from behind and the near-victory reversed. He ﷺ was wounded (a tooth lost, the helmet driven into his cheek), shouted the warning that gave away his position, and was shielded by Talha, Sa’d (“fidaka abi wa ummi”), Qatada, Abu Bakr and Abu Ubaydah; he killed Ubay ibn Khalaf himself.
• Grieved over Hamzah (Sayyid al-Shuhada), forbade mutilation (Q 16:126), and when he cursed his attackers was corrected by Q 3:128 (“you have no say in the matter”) — praying instead, “O Allah, forgive my people.”
• Pursued the retreating Quraysh at Hamra al-Asad the next day, ensuring Uhud was no rout.

Massacres, household & the trench (EP 051–060)

• The two massacres (4 AH). Sent the lone assassin Abdullah ibn Unays and then teachers who were betrayed at al-Raji and Bir Ma’una — ~80 Companions killed; he ﷺ prayed qunut al-nazila for a month and, not knowing the unseen, paid blood-money even for two men killed in error.
• His household. Around this time married Hafsa, Zaynab bint Khuzayma and Umm Salama (joining Sawda and Aisha); saw the birth of his grandson al-Hasan; the laws of hijab and the final ban on khamr were revealed. Modelled that the Prophet ﷺ is a man who marries, grieves, and jokes.
• Expelled the Banu Nadir after their rock-drop assassination bid (Jibril warned him); Surah al-Hashr revealed the law of fay’ and he gave their lands to the Muhajirun.
• Banu al-Mustaliq (5 AH). An almost bloodless victory; married Juwayriyya (her tribe embraced Islam). Bore the hypocrites’ near-mutiny (Surah al-Munafiqun) and the month-long Slander of Aisha (rha) with restraint — declining to kill Abdullah ibn Ubayy for the sake of Maslaha (Public Welfare) — until Allah cleared her in Surah al-Nur.
• Khandaq / al-Ahzab (5 AH). Adopted Salman’s trench; dug alongside the men (barakah of the food; the al-Sham/Persia/Yemen prophecies); withstood the ~10,000 Confederates and the treachery of Banu Qurayza; sent Hudhayfah to spy; and saw Allah scatter the enemy by wind and angels. Afterward: “Now we march on them; they will not march on us” — the tide had turned.

Qurayza, Hudaybiyyah & Khaybar (EP 061–070)

• The judgment of Banu Qurayza (5 AH). Commanded by Jibril straight from Khandaq, he besieged the treacherous tribe 25 days and let their own ally Sa’d ibn Mu’adh judge — the fighting men executed for treason (“the judgment of Allah from above the seven heavens”), sparing Amr ibn Sa’da for his honesty (“punished for what they did, not who they were”). Then buried Sa’d, at whose death the Throne shook.
• The in-between year (EP 062). Won the chieftain Thumamah by gentleness, survived another assassin, and — with Zayd’s raids and the whale of Sariyya al-Khabat (grouped here) — bided the time to Hudaybiyyah. The hijab laws and his marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh (Q 33:37, abolishing the adopted-son’s-wife taboo) fall here.
• Hudaybiyyah (6 AH). Set out with 1,400 for Umrah; won a war of diplomacy (every honest envoy switched sides); took the Pledge of Ridwan when Uthman was thought killed; and accepted Suhayl’s harsh terms — sending back Abu Jandal — trusting Allah where the wisdom was hidden. Surah al-Fath called it “a clear victory”; he shaved his head on Umm Salama’s counsel; and Abu Basir proved it a victory.
• Khaybar (7 AH). Took the fortresses one by one; gave the banner to Ali; survived a poisoning he felt to his death; and settled a 50% sharecropping treaty. Rejoiced at Ja’far’s return, married Umm Habiba and Safiyyah bint Huyayy, and welcomed Abu Hurairah — the Muhajirun “never ate their fill until Khaybar.”
• Letters to the world kings (6–7 AH). Declared Islam a global message, writing to the Najashi (accepted; janazah prayed in absentia), Heraclius (“he preserved my letter, Allah will preserve his kingdom”), Khosrow (“he tore it, Allah will tear his kingdom”), and the Muqawqis — each short, tailored, wax-sealed.
• Umrat al-Qada (7 AH). Completed the make-up Umrah with 2,000 (raml, the bared shoulder); married his last wife Maymunah; then received the last great converts — Khalid, Amr ibn al-As, Uthman ibn Talha.
• Mu’tah (8 AH). Sent 3,000 north under three commanders; lost Zayd, Ja’far and Ibn Rawaha — narrating their deaths live and weeping — and named Khalid “a Sword of Allah.” Then Dhat al-Salasil secured the north.
• The Conquest of Makkah (Ramadan 8 AH). After the Banu Bakr broke the truce, marched 10,000 in secrecy (Hatib’s leak exposed and forgiven), won Abu Sufyan’s submission, and entered head bowed to his camel — clearing the idols, restoring the keys to Uthman ibn Talha, raising Bilal for the adhan, and granting general amnesty (“Go, you are free”). Took the pledge at Mount Safa, full circle to where the da’wah began.

Hunayn, Ta’if & the final ghazwa (EP 081–090)

• Closing the Conquest (EP 081). Spent ~19 days in Makkah teaching fiqh and reinstating its sanctity; upheld Umm Hani’s grant of protection; enforced equal justice in the Makhzumi-thief case (“if Fatima stole, I would cut her hand”); and, when Khalid killed the Banu Jadhimah in error, disowned the act (“O Allah, I am innocent of what Khalid did”), sent Ali with blood-money, and taught “Do not curse my Companions.”
• Hunayn (Shawwal 8 AH). Ambushed with ~12,000 by ~20,000 Thaqif+Hawazin; he ﷺ alone held firm, rallying them with “I am the Prophet, no lie — I am the son of Abd al-Muttalib!” and his uncle al-Abbas’s call; threw dust, and Allah sent the sakina and unseen angels (Q 9:25–26). Won the largest ghanima of the seerah.
• Ta’if & Ji’ranah. Besieged Ta’if unsuccessfully (catapult, testudo) and prayed for Thaqif, not against; gave record fortunes to the Mu'allafat al-Qulub (winning Safwan and Malik ibn Awf), kept nothing, and reassured the Ansar (“…you go home with the Messenger of Allah”); spared the kharijite prototype for Maslaha (Public Welfare); entered ihram for his third Umrah.
• Converts & household (EP 084). Accepted the poet Ka’b ibn Zuhayr (the cloak) and Adi ibn Hatim; his daughter Zaynab bint Muhammad died and his son Ibrahim was born; the brief non-consummated marriage to Fatima bint al-Dahhak.
• The miracles (EP 085). His life produced 1,200+ recorded miracles — crowned by the eternal miracle, the Quran.
• Tabuk (Rajab 9 AH). Led the Jaysh al-Usrah ~650 km north in extreme heat as a test from Allah; no battle; praised Uthman (“nothing he does will harm him”) and Abu Bakr; deferred the case of the three who stayed behind until Allah forgave them (Q 9:117–119); and, returning, razed Masjid al-Dirar (Q 9:107–109). His last ghazwa.

Delegations, the Farewell Hajj & the passing (EP 091–101)

• The Year of Delegations (9 AH). Received 110+ tribal delegations as Arabia consolidated; brought Thaqif to Islam and destroyed al-Lat; met the Christians of Najran with the Mubahala (Q 3:61); rebuffed the false prophet Musaylimah; and sent Mu’adh and others to govern and teach Yemen (“make things easy…”).
• His household (8–10 AH). Fathered Ibrahim by Maria the Copt, then buried him — correcting the “grieving sun” at the eclipse (“the eye weeps, the heart grieves, but we say only what pleases our Lord”). In the Ila’ he withdrew from his wives for a month, having chosen to be an abdan-rasula (servant-messenger) over a king, and offered them the takhyir (Q 33:28–29) — all chose him.
• Abu Bakr’s Hajj (9 AH). Purged the pilgrimage of naked tawaf and paganism; sent Ali to proclaim the opening of Surah al-Tawba — the four-month ultimatum and the Verse of the Sword (Q 9:5), a dated ultimatum, not a standing kill-order (Q 9:6).
• The Farewell Hajj (10 AH). His only Hajj — “take your rites from me” — and the Farewell Sermon: the sanctity of blood, property and honour; women’s rights; abolition of riba and blood-feuds (beginning with his own family); racial equality; “I have left you the Book of Allah.” Q 5:3 (“this day I have perfected your religion”) came down at Arafah; and Ghadir Khumm.
• The passing (12 Rabi’ al-Awwal 11 AH). Dispatched Usama’s army north; foretold his death by many signs; in his final illness commanded Abu Bakr to lead the salah, closed all Masjid doors “except Abu Bakr’s,” gave away his last seven dirhams, and died on Aisha’s chest with “O Allah, al-Rafiq al-A’la.” His closing wish was to meet his ikhwan — “those who come after you and believe in me without ever seeing me.”

Cross-references

Mecca · The Ka'bah · Abd al-Muttalib · Abu Talib · Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (rha) · Zayd ibn Harithah (ra) · Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (ra) · Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) · Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (ra) · Da'wah & Its Five Stages · Wahy (Revelation) & Prophethood · The Declaration of Prophethood (Public Da'wah) · The Migrations to Abyssinia · The Boycott of Banu Hashim · The Year of Sorrow ('Am al-Huzn) · The Incident of Ta'if · The Year of the Elephant · The Beginning of Revelation (Iqra) · Al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj (The Night Journey & Ascension) · The Hijrah (Emigration to Madinah) · Madinah (Yathrib) · The Ansar (the Helpers of Madinah) · The Muhajirun (the Emigrants) · Masjid al-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque) · Masjid Quba · The Muakha (Brotherhood of Muhajirun & Ansar) · The Constitution of Madinah · The Change of the Qibla · Jihad (and the Legislation of Fighting) · The Battle of Badr · The Expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa · The Assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf · The Battle of Uhud · Mount Uhud · The Expedition of Hamra al-Asad · Khalid ibn al-Walid (ra) · Nifaq (Hypocrisy) · Ghanima (Spoils of War) · The Incident of al-Raji · The Incident of Bir Ma'una · The Expulsion of Banu Nadir · The Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq · The Slander of Aisha (rha) · The Battle of Khandaq (al-Ahzab) · Aisha bint Abi Bakr (rha) · Hafsa bint Umar (rha) · Umm Salama (rha) · Juwayriyya bint al-Harith (rha) · al-Hasan ibn Ali (ra) · Salman al-Farisi (ra) · Fay' (Spoils Without Fighting) · Maslaha (Public Welfare) · The Judgment of Banu Qurayza · Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (ra) · Expeditions Between Khandaq and Hudaybiyyah · Thumamah ibn Uthal (ra) · Zaynab bint Jahsh (rha) · The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah · Bay'at al-Ridwan (The Pledge of the Tree) · Uthman ibn Affan (ra) · Suhayl ibn Amr (ra) · Abu Jandal ibn Suhayl (ra) · Abu Basir (ra) · The Battle of Khaybar · Khaybar · Safiyyah bint Huyayy (rha) · Umm Habiba — Ramla bint Abi Sufyan (rha) · Abu Hurairah (ra) · Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (ra) · The Letters to the Kings · The Najashi (Negus) — As'hama ibn Abjar · Umrat al-Qada · Maymunah bint al-Harith (rha) · Amr ibn al-As (ra) · Uthman ibn Talha (ra) · The Battle of Mu'tah · Zayd ibn Harithah (ra) · Abdullah ibn Rawaha (ra) · The Sariyya of Dhat al-Salasil · The Conquest of Makkah · Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah (ra) · Abu Sufyan ibn Harb (ra) · Bilal ibn Rabah (ra) · Mu'allafat al-Qulub · The Battle of Hunayn · The Siege of Ta'if · The Expedition of Tabuk · The Story of Ka'b ibn Malik (The Three Who Stayed Behind) · The Incident of Masjid al-Dirar · Hunayn · Ta'if · Tabuk · Mu'jiza (Miracles of the Prophet ﷺ) · Sidq (Truthfulness) · Ka'b ibn Zuhayr (ra) · Adi ibn Hatim al-Ta'i (ra) · Umm Hani' bint Abi Talib (rha) · Malik ibn Awf al-Nasri · The Year of Delegations · Najran · Mubahala (Mutual Invocation of the Curse) · Musaylimah al-Kadhdhab · Mu'adh ibn Jabal (ra) · Maria al-Qibtiyya (rha) · Ibrahim ibn Muhammad (ra) · The Ila' — the Prophet's ﷺ Withdrawal From His Wives · The Hajj of Abu Bakr & the Verse of the Sword · The Farewell Hajj · The Death of the Prophet ﷺ · Fatima bint Muhammad (rha) · Usama ibn Zayd (ra) · Seerah (and why we study it) · Seerah Timeline

Sources

• S003 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 001–010. S004 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 011–020 (Meccan da’wah → Ta’if). S005 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 021–030 (Isra’ & Mi’raj → Hijra → Madinah). S006 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 031–040 (Madinah organised → Badr). S007 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 041–050 (Badr’s aftermath → the Battle of Uhud → Hamra al-Asad). S008 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 051–060 (al-Raji & Bir Ma’una → the wives → Banu Nadir → Banu al-Mustaliq & the Slander → the Battle of Khandaq). S009 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 061–070 (Banu Qurayza → Hudaybiyyah → Khaybar). S010 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 071–080 (letters to the kings → Umrat al-Qada → Mu’tah → the Conquest of Makkah). S011 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 081–090 (Hunayn & Ta’if → the miracles → the Expedition of Tabuk, Ka’b ibn Malik & Masjid al-Dirar). S012 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 091–101 (the Year of Delegations → Maria & Ibrahim → the Ila’ → Abu Bakr’s Hajj → the Farewell Hajj → the passing of the Prophet ﷺ). S001 — Ar-Raheeq. S002 — Lings.