A Brief and Complete Biography of the Prophet (ﷺ)
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الحمد رب العلمين والصلوة والسلام على رسوله محمد واله و اصحابه اجمعين. اما بعد!
On the 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal in the Year of the Elephant, corresponding to April 22, 571 CE, the birth of the Master of both worlds, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), took place in the home of Amina bint Wahb. His grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, named him Muhammad (ﷺ). On the seventh day, he performed the ‘Aqiqah and invited the people of Makkah. Due to belonging to the Banu Hashim branch of the Quraysh, his lineage is the most noble of all. His personal names are Muhammad (ﷺ) and Ahmad. There are many opinions regarding the number of his attributive names; the most famous view is that he (ﷺ) has 99 attributive names. His honorable father, Abdullah, had passed away before his birth. After his blessed mother, the first to nurse him (ﷺ) was Abu Lahab’s slave, Thawbiya, then this honor was given to Halima (رضي الله عنها), who nursed him (ﷺ) for four years, during which time he (ﷺ) was raised in her care. After the incident of the splitting of the chest (Shaqq al-Sadr), Halima (رضي الله عنها) brought him (ﷺ) back to his mother, and he (ﷺ) stayed with her for two more years. When he (ﷺ) was six years old, his mother also passed away from this world. Afterward, he (ﷺ) lived with his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. When he (ﷺ) reached the age of eight, his grandfather too passed away. After the death of his grandfather, he (ﷺ) came under the care of his uncle, Abu Talib. At the age of twelve, he (ﷺ) made his first journey to Syria. At the age of fifteen, he (ﷺ) participated in the Battle of Fijar, and after that, he (ﷺ) took part in the Hilf al-Fudul pact. Due to his utmost honesty, truthfulness, and piety, he (ﷺ) earned the title of ‘As-Sadiq’ (The Truthful) and ‘Al-Amin’ (The Trustworthy). At the age of twenty-five, he (ﷺ) made his second journey to Syria, carrying the trade goods of Khadija (رضي الله عنها). Upon his return, he (ﷺ) married Khadija (رضي الله عنها). At that time, his (ﷺ) blessed age was twenty-five years, and Khadija (رضي الله عنها) was forty years old. All his (ﷺ) children—Qasim, Abdullah (nicknamed Tayyib and Tahir), Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah—except for Ibrahim, who was born to Maria al-Qibtiyya, were from Khadija (رضي الله عنها). At the age of thirty-five, he (ﷺ) participated in the placement of the Black Stone (Hajr al-Aswad).
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to go to the Cave of Hira for worship. In the month of Ramadan, Angel Jibreel (عليه السلام) came to him in the Cave of Hira with the message from Allah, and the first revelation was revealed to him. At that time, the Prophet (ﷺ) was forty (40) years old. He first invited his relatives to Islam, and then with the intention of inviting the Quraysh tribes, he went to Mount Safa, where the public call to Islam began.
When the polytheists of Makkah began to persecute the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions due to the public preaching, the Prophet (ﷺ) made the house of Arqam bin Abi Arqam Makhzumi the center for secret preaching, worship, and education. Additionally, he permitted some companions to migrate to Abyssinia. As a result, in the 5th year of prophethood, a group of twelve men and four women migrated to Abyssinia. Shortly after, another group, consisting of eighty-two men and eighteen women, also migrated to Abyssinia. The polytheists of Makkah sent many gifts to the king of Abyssinia, Najashi, in an attempt to bring these people back, but the eloquent dialogue of Ja’far al-Tayyar caused the polytheists to return empty-handed.
In the 6th year of prophethood, Hazrat Hamza (رضي الله عنه) and Hazrat Umar (رضي الله عنه) embraced Islam, and gradually, the message of Islam continued to spread. When all their strategies failed, the polytheists of Makkah convinced all the tribes to cut ties with Banu Hashim. They wrote a pact to this effect and hung it in the Kaaba, resulting in Banu Hashim being confined to a valley. After three years of this confinement, the Prophet (ﷺ) informed a group of people that the pact written by the polytheists against the Muslims had been eaten away by termites, except for the name of Allah. When the polytheists saw that the matter was indeed as the Prophet (ﷺ) had informed, they ended the boycott against Banu Hashim.
A few days after this, Abu Talib became ill and passed away, and shortly after, Umm al-Mu’minin, Hazrat Khadijah (رضي الله عنها), also passed away. These two events caused this year, the 10th year of prophethood, to be known as the Year of Sorrow (Aam al-Huzn). In the same year, the Prophet (ﷺ) married Hazrat Sawdah (رضي الله عنها), and after Hazrat Sawdah, Hazrat Aisha (رضي الله عنها) came into the Prophet’s (ﷺ) marriage. The marriage of Hazrat Aisha (رضي الله عنها) took place in Shawwal, 11th year of prophethood.
In the same year, the Prophet (ﷺ) went to Ta’if to preach Islam, but the people of Ta’if caused him great harm. However, the Prophet (ﷺ) did not curse them. After this, the incident of the splitting of the moon (Shaqq al-Qamar) took place, and around the same time, the event of Mi’raj (the night journey) also occurred. During the period when the Islamic message was facing severe challenges in Makkah, some people outside of Makkah began to accept Islam. Initially, twelve people from Madinah came to the Prophet (ﷺ) during the days of Hajj and pledged allegiance to him. Then, in the 13th year of prophethood, during the season of Hajj, a group of 73 people pledged allegiance to the Prophet (ﷺ), an event known as the Second Pledge of Aqabah. After the completion of the pledge, the Prophet (ﷺ) appointed twelve leaders among them.
Shortly thereafter, the Muslims began migrating to Madinah, and finally, the time came when the Prophet (ﷺ) was commanded by Allah to migrate. The Prophet (ﷺ) set out for Madinah in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal with Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (رضي الله عنه). During the journey, they stayed in the Cave of Thawr for three days and then reached the area of Quba, where the Prophet (ﷺ) stayed for a while and laid the foundation of a mosque there, which is the first mosque in Islam.
Upon reaching Madinah, by the will of Allah, the Prophet (ﷺ) stayed at the house of Hazrat Abu Ayyub Ansari (رضي الله عنه). During this time, the foundation of Masjid Nabawi was laid. Then, two years later, during the month of Ramadan, the Battle of Badr took place. After the Battle of Badr, the events of the Battle of Banu Qaynuqa, the Battle of Sawiq, the assassination of Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf, and the raid of Qardah occurred. Then, in the year 3 AH, the famous Battle of Uhud took place. After that, there were the Battles of Hamra al-Asad, the incidents of Rajee‘ and Bir Ma‘una, the Battle of Banu Nadir, and the second Battle of Badr. Then came the Battle of the Trench (Khandaq), the Battle of Banu Qurayza, and the Battle of Banu Mustaliq (also known as the Battle of Muraysi‘). After this, in 6 AH, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was agreed upon. Immediately after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet (ﷺ) sent letters to different rulers and kings.
In 7 AH, as the Prophet (ﷺ) was preparing to set out to conquer the famous Jewish fortress of Khaybar, the incident of the Battle of Qardah occurred. Immediately after this, the Battle of Khaybar took place, which later resulted in the victory of Khaybar. After Khaybar, the Prophet (ﷺ) proceeded to Wadi al-Qura, where the people faced the same fate as the people of Khaybar. The same conditions were applied to them as well. After this event, the Prophet (ﷺ) married Hazrat Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها). Sometime later, the Battle of Dhat ar-Riqa‘ occurred, during which the prayer of fear (Salat al-Khawf) was established.
In Dhul-Qi’dah of 7 AH, the Prophet (ﷺ) set out to perform the ‘Umrah that was agreed upon in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. He stayed in Makkah for three days and, during this time, married Hazrat Maymunah (رضي الله عنها). After returning from the ‘Umrah of Qadha, the Prophet (ﷺ) sent out several expeditions to various regions, of which the most significant were the expedition to Mu’tah and then the expedition to Dhat as-Salasil. In Ramadan of 8 AH, Allah Almighty granted His Prophet (ﷺ) the honor of conquering Makkah. The Prophet (ﷺ) stayed in Makkah for 19 days and then set out on 6th Shawwal to confront the tribes of Thaqif, Hawazin, and others. On 10th Shawwal, the Muslim army reached Hunayn. A battle between the forces of truth and falsehood ensued, and ultimately, the Muslims were granted victory. Immediately after this, the Prophet (ﷺ) turned towards Ta’if and laid siege to the city for nearly 20 days. However, without engaging in combat, he gave the order to withdraw.
In the month of Dhul-Qi’dah, after performing the ‘Umrah at Ji’ranah, the Prophet (ﷺ) returned to Madinah. In Rajab of 9 AH, the Battle of Tabuk took place. Later, in Dhul-Qi’dah of the same year, Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) was sent with 300 riders to perform Hajj. After this, the verses of Surah al-Bara’ah were revealed, in which the command to break all treaties with the polytheists was given. In 9 AH, many delegations began arriving at the court of the Prophet (ﷺ), and thus, this year came to be known as the Year of Delegations (Aam al-Wufud).
Once the propagation of the message across the Arabian Peninsula was complete, and Allah had established a strong community of believers, Allah commanded His beloved Prophet (ﷺ) to perform Hajj. The Prophet (ﷺ) set out for Makkah on the 26th of Dhul-Qi’dah. After a week’s journey, he arrived in Makkah, and after staying for a few days, he performed the rituals of Hajj during the days of Hajj. During this time, he delivered the famous Farewell Sermon (Khutbah al-Wida‘). Then, he returned to Madinah.
In the last days of Safar, the Prophet (ﷺ) began to suffer from a severe headache, marking the onset of his illness. Gradually, the illness worsened. During these days, Hazrat Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) led the prayers in Masjid Nabawi. On Monday, the 12th of Rabi‘ al-Awwal, 11 AH, the Prophet (ﷺ) returned to his Creator. At that time, the Prophet (ﷺ) was 63 years old. The total number of his wives was eleven (رضي الله عنهن).
تمت بحمد الله تعالى
