After the conquest of Mecca, hundreds of thousands of Arabs came to the prophet to convert and pledge their allegiance. This lecture covers why they joined now and reflects the verses of Surah An-Nasr which predicted this.
The Prophet also sent various small expiditions to the surrounding tribes to invite them to Islam.
The last of the pagan tribes decided to attack the Muslims in a final stand, setting the stage for the Battle of Hunayn.
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
Prophet Muhammad destroys all the idols in the Kaaba with Imam Ali’s help and washes the images that had been drawn inside.
He then introduced Islam to the Meccans, discarding their ideas of nationalism and tribalism, and offered a general amnesty regardless of if they convert to Islam.
Prophet Muhammad told Bilal to climb on top of the Kaaba to give the Azaan. Ikrima bin Abu Jahl saw that and made disparraging remarks about it, with a couple other pagans agreeing. They were soon shokced when Prophet Muhammad came over and said “I know what you said about Bilal” and repeated their words verbatim, revealing his miraculous knowledge.
The Prophet stayed in Mecca for 19 more days and during that time many prominent Meccans who had initially resisted conversion would end up converting instead of fleeing, including Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl, Suhayl ibn Amr, and Safwan ibn Umayyah.
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
Prophet Muhammad had promised safety to any Meccan who either remined in their own home during the invasion or went to Abu Sufyan’s home.
After seeing the Muslim’s strenght, Abu Sufyan saw the futility of struggle and urged the Meccans to surrender. Some Meccans remained defiant, notably his wife Hind and Ikrimah, the son of Abu Jahl.
After taking over Mecca, Prophet Muhammad granted general amnesty to all Meccans save for about a dozen who had been the most defiant.
The Prophet then went to the Ka’bah and destroyed all the idols there.
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
Prophet Muhammad kept the attack on Mecca a closely guarded secret. However Hatib ibn Abi Balta’ah sent a letter to the Quraysh warning them of the attack. The Prophet was informed of this by revelation and he sent Ali and Zubayr to retrieve it.
The Muslim army eventually marched to Mecca, where they were instructed to spread out and display their numbers. Under the cover of night, Abu Sufyan and two other senior leaders of Quraysh were brought to the Prophet to surrender and were granted amnesty.
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
The Treaty of Hudaybiyya had included a vow of there being no fighting between the Quraysh and the Muslims. However, when the tribe of Banu Bakr asked the leaders of Quraysh for help in a raid against their long time foe Banu Khuza’ah, a tribe with many Muslims and who were longtime allies of Prophet Muhammad, the Quraysh joined in.
The raiders killed 23 members of Banu Khuza’ah. The tribe went to Prophet Muhammad for help and the Prophet pledged to attack Mecca in resopnse.
Meanwhile Abu Sufyan learned about the raid and panicked realzing that it meant the Quraysh had violated the treaty. He went to Medina, to try to apologize. The same Abu Sufyan who used to be relentless in persecuting the Muslims was now begging for protection.
But the deaths and the violated treaty could not be taken back.
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
The Campaign of Dhat Al-Salasil occurred soon after “defeat” at the Battle of Mu’tah, when various Ghassanid affiliated tribes sensed an opportunity to invade Medina. They thought the Muslims would be weak and demoralized.
A bedouin learned about the gathering army and informed Prophed Muhammad, who designated an army and commander to go fight them.
From here the Shia and Sunni narratives diverge sharply. Sheikh Azhar Nassers explains both the different views and shares ideas for why they may have ended up with such drastically different versions.
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
The Roman army, with 10,000 soliders, outnumbered the Muslims 3:1 at the Battle of Mutah. Some of the Muslims feared the large army and wanted to retreat, but the senior companions bolstered their courage.
Prophet Muhammad had appointed a leader for the army, with two backup leaders in case the first one was martyred.
This was a hard battle. Jaffer ibn Abi Talib was the first leader, and he was martyred in the battle. Zayd ibn Haritha was the second leader, and he also became martyred. Abdullah ibn Rawaha was the final designated leader, and fell as well. Overall, about 11 Muslims were martyred in the battle, and the Muslims eventually ended up retreating.
Back in Medina, the prophet was witnessing the battle through his ilm ul ghayb (knowledge of the unseen) and narrated the battle in realtime, both the heroics and the shahadats.
The final verdict on the battle is mixed. Some historians called it a defeat since the Muslims retreated, others call it a draw due to the insignificant numer of casualties, where neither side took over the other’s land, and some historians called it a strategic victory since fighting a non-arab army put htem on the map on a global stage and gave them experience to fighting non-arab armies.
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
The Battle of Mu’tah was triggered when a messenger Prophet Muhammad sent to Ghassani Shurahbil was murdered. This was a declaration of war.
While Prophte Muhammad himself didn’t participate in this battle, thanks to the treaty of Hudaybiyya he was able to send 3000 Muslims to fight without compromising the securit of Medina.
As the army departed, the Prophet reminded them to maintain taqwa, keep to treaties kept, and to not attack women or children. He also insturcted them to offer the enemy three different surrender conditions
As they marched closer to the enemy, the Muslims realized that despite their large numbers, the opposing army outnumbered them more than 3 to 1.
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
Prophet Muhammad led the Muslims on a second attempt at Umra, thet qazaa for the last one which they couldn’t complete.
Rumor spread among the Mushrikeen that the Muslims were weakened, so the Prophet instructed his followers to show extra strength and bravado to dispel that notion.
During the Umra:
– Meccans removed their idols from the kaba for the Muslims
– Muslims stashed their weapons nearby, under guard, in case the Meccans tried to attack them
– The Prophet’s Uncle Abbas, who had secretly converted to Islam and stayed in Medina, openly revealed his conversion
– Bilal, the ex-slave, was instructed to recite the Adhan on top of the kaba, which outraged the class conscious Meccans
– The prophet married Maymuna ibnt al-harith, most likely to establish a kinship with some of his fierce opponents
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com
Prophet Muhammad had given the garden of Fadak to his daughter Fatima, but after his passing it snatched away from her by Abu Bakr and Umar.
This lecture explains: – How Fadak became the Prophet’s property – Why he gifted it to Lady Fatima – Fadak was a source of immense wealth, generating enough income to fund an army. – How Umar adviced Abu Bakr to take Fadak away from her, since it would strip Imam Ali of his strength and make people less likely to follow him – Abu Bakr’s twisting of Fiqh laws to create an excuse to take Fadak away – Fadak’s history of being alternatively taken away from and being given back to the Ahlul Bayt, based on whether the ruler of the time needed to look like he supported the Ahlul Bayt, or if he needed to deprive them of their source of funding.
The lecture also describes: – How the Prayer of Jafar al-Tayyar came to be, it being a special gift Prophet Muhammad gave to Jaffer ibn Abi Talib. – During a severe drought, Prophet Muhammad sent gold nuggets from the spoils of Khaybar to the Meccans (who were still pagan) to be distributed among the poor
Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com