Table of Contents
TO THOSE WHO PERSEVERE IN THE FACE OF TYRANNY
Chronology of Muhammads life
(All dates are approximate)
Muhammad is born in Mecca
Muhammad marries Khadija, who later becomes the first Muslim
Muhammad receives what he comes to believe is his first visitation from the angel Gabriel and revelation from Allah
Muhammad begins preaching Islam publicly in Mecca
Friction with the Quraysh causes some Muslims to leave Arabia for Abyssinia
Khadija dies
The Satanic verses incident
The Night Journey: Muhammad reports that he has been carried to Paradise and has met the other prophets
The Hijra: Muhammad and the Muslims flee to Medina
Muhammad consummates his marriage to the nine-year-old Aisha
The Nakhla raid and the beginning of violence in the name of Islam
The Battle of Badr: the Muslims overcome great odds to defeat the pagan Meccans
Muhammad and the Muslims besiege the Jewish Qaynuqa tribe and exile them from Medina
The Battle of Uhud: the pagan Meccans defeat the Muslims
Siege and exile from Medina of the Jewish Nadir tribe
The Battle of the Trench: the Jewish Qurayzah tribe betrays Muhammad
Muhammad beheads the males of the Qurayzah tribe and enslaves the women and children
Muhammad concludes the Treaty of Hudaybiyya with the pagan Meccans
Muhammad and the Muslims besiege the Khaybar oasis and exile the Jews from it
Muhammad is poisoned at Khaybar
Muhammad and the Muslims conquer Mecca
The Muslims prevail in the Battle of Hunayn and conquer Taif; Muhammad becomes the master of Arabia
The Arabian tribes remaining outside Islamic rule accept Islam
Warfare against the Christians: the expedition to Tabuk
Muhammad dies in Medina on June 8
Names and places
Abdullah bin Jahsh: the Muslim warrior who carried out the first Muslim raid (at Nakhla) on Muhammads orders
Abdullah bin Salam: a Jewish rabbi who became an early convert to Islam
Abdullah bin Ubayy: a leader of the Hypocrites, insincere Muslims who opposed Muhammad
Abu Afak: A poet who mocked Muhammad in his verses and was assassinated on Muhammads orders
Abu Bakr: One of Muhammads earliest companions and his successor as leader of the Muslims (caliph)
Abu Jahl: A leader of the pagan Quraysh who opposed Muhammad
Abu Lahab: Muhammads uncle, who opposed him and was cursed in the Quran (111:1-5)
Abu Sufyan: A leader of the pagan Quraysh who opposed Muhammad, but who later converted to Islam
Aisha: Muhammads favorite wife; he married her when she was six and consummated the marriage when she was nine
Al-Aqaba: A city where the early Muslims pledged fealty to Muhammad
Al-Lat: One of the goddesses worshipped by the pagan Quraysh
Al-Uzza: One of the goddesses worshipped by the pagan Quraysh
Ali: Muhammads son-in-law, whom Shiite Muslims regard as his rightful successor; he reigned briefly as the fourth caliph, after Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman
Asma bint Marwan: A poetess who mocked Muhammad in her verses and was assassinated on Muhammads orders
Badr: An Arabian town about 80 miles from Medina where the Muslims won their first great military victory, against the Quraysh in 624
Bahira: A Syrian Christian monk who, according to Islamic tradition, recognized the boy Muhammad as a prophet
Bukhari: Ninth-century collector of traditions about Muhammad that Muslims generally consider reliable
Buraq: The winged horse with a human head that is supposed to have carried Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and thence to Paradise on his Night Journey
Chosroes: The Persian emperor in Muhammads day, whom Muhammad called to Islam
Gabriel: The angel who is supposed to have delivered Allahs revelations to Muhammad
Ghatafan: The pagan Arabian tribe that, along with the Quraysh, laid siege to Medina in the Battle of the Trench
Hafsa: One of Muhammads wives
Heraclius: The Byzantine emperor in Muhammads day, whom Muhammad called to Islam
Hudaybiyya: A town about nine miles from Mecca where Muhammad concluded a treaty with the Quraysh
Hunayn: A dry riverbed near Mecca where Muhammad defeated the last large-scale resistance to him in Arabia
Ibn Ishaq: Muhammads first biographer (704-773)
Ibn Sad: An early compiler of biographical traditions about Muhammad (d. 845)
Jerusalem: The city from which Muhammad is supposed to have ascended to Paradise on his Night Journey
Kab bin Al-Ashraf: A Jewish poet who mocked Muhammad in his verses and was assassinated on Muhammads orders
Kabah: A shrine and place of pilgrimage in Mecca that Muhammad emptied of its idols and transformed into a site for Islamic pilgrimage
Khadija: Muhammads first wife and first convert
Khalid bin al-Walid: A renowned Muslim warrior
Khaybar: An oasis near Medina which Muhammad attacked, exiling the Jews who inhabited it
Kinana ibn Rabi: A Jewish leader at Khaybar who was tortured and killed on Muhammads orders for refusing to disclose the location of treasure
Manat: One of the goddesses worshipped by the pagan Quraysh
Mary the Copt: Muhammads concubine and mother of his son Ibrahim, who died in infancy
Mecca: Muhammads birthplace; a principal city for trade and pilgrimage in pre-Islamic Arabia
Medina: An Arabian city north of Mecca, in which Muhammad first became a political and military leader after his flight there (Hijra)
Muhammad: the prophet of Islam (570-632)
Muhammad bin Maslama: An early Muslim who carried out several assassinations on Muhammads orders
Nadir: A Jewish tribe of Medina; Muhammad besieged and exiled them
Nakhla: An Arabian town where the Muslims carried out their first military raid against the Quraysh
Qaynuqa: A Jewish tribe of Medina; Muhammad besieged and exiled them
Quraysh: The pagan Arabs of Mecca; Muhammad belonged to this tribe, but they rejected his prophetic message
Qurayzah: A Jewish tribe of Medina; Muhammad supervised their massacre after they betrayed an alliance with the Muslims
Sad bin Muadh: The Muslim warrior who pronounced sentence, with Muhammads permission, against the Qurayzah tribe
Safiyya bint Huyayy: Wife of Kinana ibn Rabi; Muhammad took her as his own wife after killing Kinana
Tabuk: A northwestern Arabian city to which Muhammad led an expedition against the Byzantines
Taif: A city south of Mecca that initially rejected Muhammad and was later conquered by the Muslims
Uhud: A mountain near Mecca where the Quraysh defeated the Muslims after the Battle of Badr