(d. 644) and U
thman
ibn
a
FFan
(d. 656). These
four men were to become the first four caliphs, or
successors to Muhammad, after his death in 632.
Many of the converts were young Arabs of mod-
est social standing, including women. There were
also freedmen and slaves such as b
ilal
ibn
r
abbah
(d. 641), an Ethiopian, who would become the
first
mUezzin
for the community. Muhammad’s
early prophetic pronouncements, together with
the growth of a religious movement that appealed
to diverse members of Meccan society, stirred
vehement opposition among the wealthy and
powerful, especially the leading clans of the
Quraysh. They felt that he was not only attacking
their religious and tribal values, but he was also
threatening their lucrative pilgrimage businesses.
By 615 their ire appears to have become so intense
that Muhammad was obliged to dispatch a group
of his followers to Ethiopia for protection under
that country’s Christian rulers. This was called the
first Islamic h
iJra
(emigration). Back in Mecca,
believers were subjected to verbal attacks, ostra-
cism, and an unsuccessful boycott.
Muhammad’s position became especially tenu-
ous when his uncle Abu Talib and his wife
Khadija both died in 619, leaving him without his
two most respected guardians. He began to search
for new allies outside of Mecca, and finally found
them in Yathrib, an agricultural settlement about
275 miles north of Mecca. In his negotiations
Muhammad agreed to serve as a mediator between
the two leading tribes in the town, the Aws and the
Khazraj, in exchange for their conversion to Islam
and permission to migrate there with his follow-
ers. His followers quietly began to leave Mecca.
Barely escaping a plot against his life, Muhammad
joined the rest of the Muslim emigrants, about 70
in number, in Yathrib around September 24, 622.
This was the second Hijra, but the one that would
be forever remembered by Muslims as the Hijra,
which was later proclaimed to mark the first year
on the Muslim lunar
calendar
. Yathrib eventu-
ally became known as the City (madina) of God’s
Prophet, or simply m
edina
.
MuhAMMAD IN MEDINA
After his arrival, Muhammad recruited his follow-
ers to help him build his house, which became
the main mosque for the early Muslim community
(
umma
), and Islam’s second most sacred mosque
after that of Mecca. He also established a cov-
enant, the so-called Constitution of Medina, that
affirmed the mutual rights and obligations of the
e
migrants
(
muhajirun) from Mecca and Muham-
mad’s Medinan converts, the “Helpers” (a
nsar
). It
affirmed the legal status of Jews and non-Muslim
Arab members in Medina, and prohibited any
alliances with the community’s enemies. It also
declared that any disputes were to be resolved by
referring them to God and Muhammad. The chap-
ters of the Quran that are traditionally ascribed
to this period of Muhammad’s career reflect the
changing fortunes of the young community. They
continue to affirm and expand upon key themes
from the Meccan period, but they also contain
rules and guidelines for the faithful concerning
worship, almsgiving, family law, relations with
non-Muslims, and incitements to act in defense of
the community against its enemies.
Soon after arriving in Medina, Muhammad
was drawn into open warfare with his opponents
in Mecca, the Quraysh and their allies. He also
had to contend with opposition from Jewish tribes
in Medina, namely, the Banu Nadir and the Banu
Qurayza, who refused to recognize his authority
as prophet and formed secret alliances with the
Quraysh. In 624 skirmishes with Meccan caravans
led to the Battle of Badr, which ended in victory
for the Muslims. This was a momentous event for
the young community, in which, according to the
Quran, 3,000 angels were sent to help the faith-
ful (Q 3:123–125). Another clash at Uhud in 625
ended in a nearly disastrous defeat for the Mus-
lims and the wounding of Muhammad. The Mec-
cans assembled a large force of 10,000 warriors (a
probable exaggeration) in April 627 and laid siege
to Medina for about a month. The confrontation,
known as the Battle of the Ditch, ended with the
withdrawal of the Meccan forces and the alleged
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