After the second pledge of ’Aqaba, the Muslims in Mecca started to migrate to Yathrib, as advised by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

higra In the end, when only the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and some of his companions were left in Mecca, the Quraish decided to kill the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

The Quraish failed in their desperate efforts to arrest the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who escaped Mecca in the company of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and took refuge in the cave Thaur and later, safely reached Yathrib on the 27th June, 622 AD

The Islamic Calendar, called the Hijrah (from emigration), dates from the above event. Also, Yathrib changed its name to Medina-tun-Nabi (The city of the Prophet) and later it was shortened to Medina .

On his way to Medina , the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stayed at Quba (a village near Medina ) for a few days. There, he laid the foundations of the first mosque ever built by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him .

The Prophet at Medina

The Muslims at Medina were extremely happy to receive the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his companions. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, first of all, bought a piece of land in Medina and laid the foundation of a mosque, called Masjid Nabawi (The Prophet’s Mosque).

The faithful at Medina extended their full co-operation and help to the Prophet and his companions. The Prophet called them Ansar (Helpers).

The Meccan Muslims, who left Mecca for the sake of Allah, leaving behind all their possessions, were called Muhajireen (Emigrants). The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, formally established ties of brotherhood between individuals of the two groups: Ansar and Muhajireen.

The Battles in Defence of Islam

When the Quraish of Mecca realised that the Muslims were trying to establish themselves in Medina , they decided to eliminate Islam. The Muslims were compelled to fight back in self-defence. Some of these battles are mentioned below:

The Battle of Badr

A well equipped army of more than 1,000 Meccan warriors set out from Mecca to fight the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, at a place called Badr, near Medina. There were 313 poorly equipped Muslims and in a fierce battle, the Meccans lost seventy men including their commander, Abu Jahl; the worst enemy of Islam. The Muslims, by the grace of Allah Almighty, were victorious and lost fourteen men in the fight.

The Battle of Uhud

A year later, the Meccans were again on the road to Medina, to avenge the humiliating defeat at Badr. This time they had a well armed force of 3,000 soldiers with Abu Sufyan as their leader. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, marched out of Medina with nearly 1,000 men. Before reaching Uhud, Abdullah Bin Ubayy, betrayed the Muslims and withdrew with his 300 men leaving only 700 men with the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

At first, the Muslims fought so bravely that the Meccans were on the run. Seeing this, a group of fifty Muslims, who were appointed to guard a mountain pass located in the rear, started leaving their position.

Khalid Bin Waleed, one of the Meccan commanders, spotted that the opening was now unguarded. Soon, he gathered his fleeting men and attacked the Muslims from their rear. The Muslims suffered heavy losses. Even the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was hurt when a stone hurled at him broke two of his teeth, and he fell down unconscious, among the heap of Muslims lying dead. But the Meccan army could not achieve its actual objective of defeating the Muslims, because soon the scattered Muslims gathered around the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. As a result the Meccans left the battlefield frustrated.

Battle of Khandaq (Ditch)

The Meccans once again marched upon Medina, under the leadership of Abu Sufyan. There were 10,000 Meccans against 3,000 Muslims. On the advice of Salman Farsi, may peace be upon him, the Holy Prophet ordered his men to dig a defensive trench, about one mile long, on the open side of Medina.

The Meccans were amazed to find their entry into the town blocked by the trench. They camped short of the trench and Medina was besieged for one month. They made continuous attempts to cross the trench, but failed. In the end, God’s help came in the form of a stormy night, when a fierce wind put out the bonfire in front of their camp. They considered it a bad sign which alarmed them so much that they started leaving the place in panic. The next morning, the Muslims were surprised to see that the plain was empty on the other side of the trench.

Bai’at-e-Rizwan and the Truce of Hudaibiyah

In 628 AD, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, after seeing in a dream that he visited the Ka’aba, made up his mind to perform ‘Umra. He left Medina for Mecca, with nearly 1400 of his companions. He camped at Hudaibiyah, a place near Mecca. The Quraish, were not willing to allow the Muslims to enter Mecca, and sent a strong force to intercept the Muslims.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, as his messenger to the Quraish, to inform them that the Muslims wanted to perform Umra only. But a rumour that Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, had been killed by the Quraish extremely disturbed the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his companions. He sat down under a tree and invited his companions to take an oath called Bai’at-e-Rizwan. They all took the oath in complete submission and resolved to sacrifice their lives for the cause of Islam.

The Quraish, on hearing of this pledge became flexible and an agreement for a period of ten years was reached between the two sides, known as the Truce of Hudaibiyah. The conditions of this truce were apparently one-sided and seemed even humiliating for the Muslims. But in fact this paved the way for final victory over Mecca.