35 - The Siege of Ta'if
Although the Battle of Hunayn was won by the Muslims, those who fled from the battle and joined forces with other tribes hostile to Islam began to pose a new threat. At their head were the people of Ta’if. The people of Ta’if periodically demonstrated their hostility towards Islam to the point of impudence and effrontery. When the poets satirizing Prophet Muhammad and the Muslims, as well those wo...

36 - The Tabuk Campaign
In the ninth year after the Emigration (630 AD), news reached Madina that Byzantine Emperor Heraclius had begun preparations for war against the Muslims, gaining the support of allied Arab Christian tribes such as the Banu Lakhm, Djudham, ‘Amila and the Ghassan. Upon hearing of this, Prophet Muhammad started to make preparations for battle, despite the prevailing drought and famine. His aim was to...

37 - Relations with Arab Tribes
The ninth year of the Emigration (630-631) is known as the Year of Delegations (sanat al-wufud). The conquest of Makka, the subsequent acceptance of Islam by the large and powerful Hawazin tribe, the Thaqif tribe’s coming to Madina from Ta’if and pledging their commitment to the Prophet one year later, and northern Arabia’s falling under Muslim rule with the Tabuk Campaign caused Arab tribes livin...

38 - Last Call to the Polytheists
With the conquest of Makka, Muslims assumed control of the administration of the city and the Ka’ba, and many polytheistic Arab tribes entered Islam; however, there were still those who continued in their idolatrous beliefs. A certain number of these tribes were allies of the Muslims. After Makka’s conquest, Prophet Muhammad made agreements with polytheistic tribes such as the Khuda’a and Mudlij –...

39 - The Farewell Hajj and the Farewell Sermon
Prophet Muhammad’s meeting with Archangel Gabriel on each night of the month of Ramadan and his reciting the Qur’anic verses revealed up until then is well known. In the tenth year after the Emigration (December 631), Archangel Gabriel made him recite the entire Qur’an twice over. Prophet Muhammad saw this as an indication of his imminent demise and shared this with his daughter Fatima. While the ...

40 - The Last Days of the Holy Prophet, His Sickness and His De
After his return to Madina from the Farewell Pilgrimage, Prophet Muhammad’s health began to decline. During the days of his illness he visited the graves of the Uhud martyrs and performed the funeral prayer. Leaving his house on another night, he went to Madina’s graveyard and entreated God’s forgiveness for those buried there. During this time, Aswad al-Ansi from Yemen’s Madhhij tribe emerged wit...

The Chronology of the Era of Prophet Muhammad
The Meccan Period 569 Prophet Muhammad is born (12 Rabi’ al-Awwal 53 AH /17 June 569, a Monday, or 9 Rabi’ al-Awwal 51 AH/20 April 571, a Monday)  (1)  The Prophet is given to the wet nurse Halima. 574 Halima brings Prophet Muhammad to his mother in Mecca. 575 After the death of the Prophet’s m...

Months of the Islamic Calendar: Meanings
  There are twelve months in the Islamic lunar calendar. Since their names are in Arabic, their meanings might be somewhat difficult to grasp for a non-Arabic speaking audience. In this short piece, we briefly examine these terms. 1. Muharram: is named so because the Arabs used to prohibit fighting during it. 2. Safar: is named so because the Arabs used to leave their homes during that month...

Emergence of the Islamic Calendar
Calendar is an expression of the wish to perceive the precise time and to evaluate it in accordance with a certain plan. When calendars are examined within the historical process, it is understood that all the societies such as Mayans in the west and Egyptians in the east utilized the regular and periodic movements of the celestial bodies such as the sun and the moon for the measurement of time. ...

The Importance of the Science of Sirah


The development of the morals and soul of the human being is the most important endeavor a human being can undertake. Although a number of different methods have been followed to realize this aim in different eras, the most indispensable resource in this effort for all times and places is the human model that can be found in the personalities of leaders.

At the head of these historical personalit...

Was there Ritual Prayer before Islam?
The Prayer of the Monotheists before Islam (Hanif) We learn from information in the sources that some members of the Hanif religion – the small group of believers who refused to join in the general idol worship and remained attached to the worship of the One God in the period before Islam – performed ritual prayer (salat). According to Ibn Habib and Muslim, Abu Zar and Qus Saida were among those ...