'Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it!'
(Sura 2.216)
The Life of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq
Appendix 1: Chronology of the Prophet's Life and Wars
The classic chronology
Here follows the traditional chronology of the Prophet Muhammad’s life based on the earliest biography, Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, as transcribed by Ibn Hisham. The main sequence of events listed here has been accepted and followed by most if not all successive biographers ever since, right up to the present day. However, there have always existed variations between the sources used by early Muslim biographers, such as al-Waqidi and al-Tabari, both as to the exact number of raids and assassinations ordered by the apostle, and the precise order in which they were carried out. Students interested in the details and history of the creation of the Islamic lunar calendar, and how it correlates with the Common Era solar calendar, should go to the notes at the foot of this appendix.
Muhammad in Mecca
610CE
Muhammad’s vision of Gibril and Allah’s first revelations of the Quran
The first converts to Islam among the Quraysh
613
Muhammad begins preaching publicly about Allah and the Last Day
The Quraysh reject Muhammad’s message
Muhammad rejects all attempts at compromise over religion
615
The Quraysh begin to persecute the Muslims
Muhammad orders the first emigration of Muslims to Abyssinia
616
The Quraysh boycott Muhammad’s family clans
619
Muhammad’s allies end the boycott
The death of Muhammad’s wife Khadija and his uncle Abu Talib
Muhammad goes to al-Taif to seek armed support, but is rejected
620
Muhammad’s first meeting with the Khazraj of Medina
The Khazraj believe that Muhammad may be the promised Jewish messiah
Muhammad makes the ‘Night Journey’ to Jerusalem and ascends to Heaven
Muhammad changes the Qibla (direction of prayer) to Jerusalem
621
The Khazraj meet Muhammad again to make the First Pledge of al-Aqaba
They become the Ansar (Helpers) and institute Friday prayers in Medina
622
Allah orders Muhammad to wage war against unbelievers
June. The Khazraj make the Second Pledge of al-Aqaba (The Pledge of War)
The Quraysh fear Muhammad now that he has armed support
Muhammad in Medina
The Events of the Year 1AH (16 July 622- 4 July 623)
July. Muhammad orders the Muslims to emigrate to Medina
September. The Hijra. Muhammad himself emigrates to Medina with Abu Bakr
Muhammad orders the building of a mosque at Medina
Muhammad’s followers suffer from fever in Medina
Muhammad institutes brotherhood among the Ansar and the Emigrants
Jewish rabbis of Medina refuse to accept Muhammd as a prophet
Muhammad draws up the Charter of Medina with the Jews
The Jews reject Muhammad as a prophet
Jews and ‘hypocrites’ are cursed in the Quran for mocking Muhammad
Muhammad accuses the Jews of not following the Torah
Muhammad reintroduces stoning for adultery
623
The Events of the Year 2AH (5 July 623-23 June 624)
August. Muhammad leads the first armed raid to Wadden, to attack a caravan
Muhammad sends Ubayda b. Al-Harith on an armed raid to the Hijaz
Muhammad sends Hamza on an armed raid to the coast
Muhammad leads an armed raid on Buwat
November. Muhammad leads an armed raid to al-Ushayra
Muhammad sends Sa’d b. Abu Waqqas on an armed raid to al-Kharrar
Muhammad leads an armed raid on Safawan
624
Muhammad sends Abdullah b. Jahsh on an armed raid to Nakhla
The Muslims attack and kill in the sacred month of Rajab
Allah absolves the Muslims and divides the spoils
Jan/Feb. Muhammad changes the Qibla back from Jerusalem to Mecca
Muhammad’s expedition to Badr to attack Abu Sufyan’s caravan
The Muslims destroy the wells of Badr
March. The Battle of Badr and the slaughter of the Quraysh
Muhammad rejoices over the death of the Qurayshi leaders
Muhammad leads the triumphant Muslims back to Medina
Muhammad divides the spoils
Muhammad executes al-Nadir b. al-Harith and Uqba b. Abu Muayt
Muhammad leads an armed raid on the Beni Sulaym at al-Kudr
The raid on Medina of Al-Sawiq (the Mealbags) led by Abu Sufyan
The Events of the Year 3AH (24 June 624 – 12 June 625)
Muhammad leads the raid of Dhu Amarr on the Ghatafan
Muhammad leads a raid on Bahran in the region of al-Furu
Muhammad orders the Beni Qaynuka to convert to Islam or die
The Beni Qaynuka refuse and are besieged by Muhammad’s troops
Muhammad sends the Beni Qaynuka into exile and seizes their weapons
Muhammad sends Zayd b. Haritha on an armed raid to al-Qarada
September. Muhammad orders the killing of Jewish poet Ka’b b. al-Ashraf
Muhammad orders his followers to kill Jews
625
The Quraysh plan revenge for Badr and set out for Medina
Muhammad leads the Muslims out of Medina to Uhud
Abdullah b. Ubayy deserts with a third of the army
March. The Battle of Uhud and the defeat of the Muslims
The Quraysh agree to meet Muhammad in battle at Badr next year
The defeated Muslims return to Medina and lament their dead
Muhammad pursues the Quraysh to Hamra ‘ul-Asad
Muhammad has al-Harith b. Suwayd executed for killing a fellow Muslim
Muhammad orders the assassination of aged chieftain Abu Afak
Muhammad orders the assassination of Asma b. Marwan
Muhammad sends Abdullah b. Unays to assassinate Khalid b. Sufyan
The Events of the Year 4AH (13 June 625 – I June 626)
July. The Beni Lihyan take revenge on Muslims at al-Raji
Muhammad sends Amr b. Umayya to assassinate Abu Sufyan b. Harb
Muslims are attacked and killed by tribesmen at Bir Ma’una
August. Muhammad besieges the Jewish tribe, the Beni al-Nadir
Muhammad sends the Beni al-Nadir into exile
626
June. Muhammad leads an armed raid on the Ghatafan at Dhat al-Riqa
Muhammad goes to the second Badr to meet the Quraysh in battle
Abu Sufyan’s ‘Porridge Army’ turn back before reaching Badr
The Events of the Year 5AH (2 June 626 – 22 May 627)
August. Muhammad leads an armed raid on Dumatul-Jandal
627
The Quraysh and their allies make a revenge attack on Medina
April. Muhammad orders a defensive trench to be built around Medina
Battle of the Trench/Siege of Medina
Muhammad sends Nuaym to cause dissension among the enemy
The Quraysh and their allies abandon the siege of Medina
Muhammad besieges the Jewish tribe, the Beni Qurayza
Muhammad supervises the massacre of the men of the Beni Qurayza
Muhammad divides the spoils and chooses Rayhana from the captives
Women of the Beni Qurayza sold as slaves in return for weapons
Muhammad authorises the assassination of Jewish leader Sallam at Khaybar
The Events of the Year 6 AH (23 May 627 – 10 May 628)
Muhammad’s revenge attack on the Beni Lihyan
Muhammad’s reprisal on the Ghatafan – the attack on Dhu Qarad
Muhammad sends Kurz b. Jabir to find and kill the camel-raiders
Muhammad attacks and defeats the Beni al-Mustaliq
Muhammad takes the captive Juwayriya to wife
Quarrel between Emigrants and men of Medina led by Abdullah b. Ubayy
Forced march back to Medina
The scandal surrounding Aisha
Allah condemns the scandal-mongers to 80 lashes
The Beni al-Mustaliq convert to Islam
Zayd’s raid on the Beni Fazara and the cruel death of Umm Qirfa
628
Muslims kill Yusayr b. Rizam, Jewish leader of Khaybar
March/April. Muhammad sets out on pilgrimage to Mecca
The Quraysh refuse Muhammad entry to Mecca
Muhammad agrees the Treaty of Hudaybiya with the Quraysh
The coming down of the Sura of Victory with its promise of spoils
The Events of the Year 7AH (11 May 628 – 30 April 629)
June. Muhammad attacks and conquers the Jews of Khaybar
Muhammad tortures Jewish leader Kinana to death
Muhammad takes Kinana’s captive widow, Safiyah, to wife
Zaynab d. Kharis of the Beni al-Nadir tries to poison Muhammad
Return of Muhammad’s cousin Jafar and those who had migrated to Abyssinia
629
March. Muhammad makes the ‘Fulfilled Pilgrimage’ to Mecca
Muhammad takes Maymuna to wife
The Events of the Year 8AH (1 May 629 -19 April 630)
Muhammad sends a Muslim army to attack Christian Syria
September. The Battle of Muta
Muslim defeat and the death of adopted son Zayd and cousin Jafar
Khalid b. al-Walid leads the defeated Muslims back to Medina
630
Allies of the Quraysh break the Treaty of Hudaybiya
Muhammad makes a surprise attack on Mecca with army of 10,000 men
January. Muhammad’s Conquest of Mecca
The destruction of the idols at the Kabah
Muhammad sends Khalid to destroy the shrine of al-Uzza
February. Muhammad attacks the Hawazin with 12,000 men
Defeat of the Hawazin at the Battle of Hunayn
Muhammad besieges al-Taif
Muhammad divides the spoils of the Hawazin among Meccan leaders
March. Muhammad makes the Lesser Pilgrimage to Mecca
The Events of the Year 9AH (23 April 630 – 8 April 631)
October. Muhammad leads an armed raid on Tabuk in Christian Syria
The submission of the Christian governor of Ayla
The submission of the people of al-Taif
Muhammad orders the destruction of the shrine of Al-Lat
Muhammad presides over the funeral of Abdullah b. Ubayy
631
February/March. Abu Bakr leads the Pilgrimage to Mecca
Muhammad’s ‘Discharge’ of all obligations to unbelievers
The apostle orders the submission of all Christians and Jews
The Events of the Year 10AH (9 April 631 – 28 March 632)
The Year of Deputations from all the tribes of Arabia
The ‘false’ prophets Musaylima and al-Aswad
632
March. Muhammad’s farewell pilgrimage and sermon
The Events of the Year 11AH (29 March 632 – 17 March 632)
Muhammad orders Osama to attack Syria in revenge for the defeat at Muta
Muhammad orders the death of rival prophet Al-Aswad in the Yemen
June. Final illness and death of Muhammad
Abu Bakr declared first Khilafa (Caliph)
December. Muslim army marches to al-Yamama
Rival prophet Musaylima and his followers massacred at al-Yamama
Abu Bakr subdues all tribes who rise against Islam after the apostle’s death
NOTES ON THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR
Formation of the Islamic lunar calendar
In contrast to the calendar adopted by the West, which divides into BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, meaning ‘in the year of Our Lord’), and which is a solar calendar based on the yearly cycle of the sun, the Islamic lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon. It was formalised retrospectively by Caliph Omar in 639CE, seven years after the apostle’s death. Omar decided that the Islamic lunar calendar should begin on the first day of the first month of the lunar year in which the Prophet’s Hijrah (Emigration to Medina) took place.
The twelve lunar months of the Islamic calendar
The twelve lunar months of the Islamic calendar are: 1. Muharram, 2. Safar, 3. Rabi I, 4. Rabi II, 5. Jumada I, 6. Jumada II, 7. Rajab, 8. Shaban, 9. Ramadan, 10. Shauwal, 11. Dhul-Qada, 12. Dhul-Hijja. The Islamic lunar calendar therefore begins on the date, 1 Muharram 1AH (Anno Hegira), which corresponds to 16 July 622CE.
The date of the Hijrah
According to Ibn Ishaq, the Prophet’s Hijrah (Emigration to Medina) took place on the first or second day of Rabi 1, the third month of Year 1 of the Islamic lunar calendar, known as 1AH (Anno Hegira). Scholars have therefore calculated the Hijrah as having taken place in September 622CE.
Difference between the lunar and solar calendars
The twelve Arabic months are lunar months, thus making the lunar year about eleven days shorter than the solar year. Before Muhammad’s time, the lunar year was always corrected by the intercalation (insertion into the calendar) of a month every third year so that it corresponded to the Romano/Egyptian solar year that had been calculated and designed in such a way that the same months of the year correspond to the same season every year.
Muhammad forbids intercalation
At the Farewell Pilgrimage in 632CE, Muhammad proclaimed that the solar calendar was blasphemy against Allah. He abolished intercalation and made the Muslim year a purely lunar one. This is why the Arabic months move forward in time each year and never coincide with the calendar months or seasons of successive Western calendars.
Over the centuries this has caused arguments between authors and scholars concerning the historical dates on which these events in Islamic history are said to have taken place. The dates given in this chronology have been collated from several sources including The History of al-Tabari Volumes VI – IX. State University of New York Press.