Muhammad Timeline

This is a timeline of Muhammad's life, compiled of events from the article "The Glorious Qur'an " and the TV documentary " Islam: Empire of Faith"

• Born 570AD in the Arabian Peninsula (in Mecca)
• From Mecca he was sent to live with the Bowdoin tribe in the desert
• Parents died at age six- orphaned
• taken in by his grandfather and later his uncle Abu Talib
• Very adaptable (child to everybody)
• Wars began to be waged over water
• The Caba was in Mecca; sacred stone that was worshipped and provided peace. Also they were economically important (place for trade)
• Muhammad traveled with his uncle who was a merchant and soon made the same journey in the service of a wealthy widow named Khadijah
• Khadijah became a mentor to Muhammad and soon afterward she married him.
• Disputes over the Caba began to occur.
• After settling disputes between the four leaders and the sacred black stone, Muhammad became known as Al-Amin
• In a cave above Mecca in a place called Hira, an angel in the form of a man cam to him and required him to recite to the Lord God almighty.
• This experience was the start of Muhammad's prophetic phase in 610AD
• Delivered message that there is only one God (one God meant one people; Muhammad delivered social justice)
• The Qur'an showed itself through Muhammad's followers recording his sermons/messages
• Muhammad's wife and uncle dies in 619AD
• A refuge opened to Muhammad (Yathrib) because he had no protection from the people who were trying to kill him
• Journey from Mecca to Yathrib became known as the Hirjah. 622 in Christian calendar; marks Muslim year 1
• When Muhammad was ruler over Yathrib, he did not challenge others faith
• Muhammad's house is considered the 1st mosque
• War (tried to wipe out the Muslims) between the Meccans
• 3 very bloody battles over 3 years
• When people heard about the war and that the Muslims had god on their side, they began to join the very small army.
• Muslims win the war; Muhammad embraces the Meccans instead of killing them
• When Muhammad entered Mecca, he destroyed all idols
•  After this, Islam quickly spread across North Africa and Eastern Asia and some parts of Southern Europe
• In 632AD Muhammad died (before he could see his empire flourish)

In my opinion I think that the wars greatly influenced Muhammad's life and the spread of Islam. During the beginning of the war, the Muslim army was very small and they didn't really have a chance of winning the war. But they did have something in common: faith in a higher power who could give them the strength to win. This faith was seen by other tribes and in no time the army grew exponentially. This allowed the to win the war and gain Mecca back. The wars also contributed to the spread of Islam because after Muhammad and his army conquered Mecca, they did not kill the citizens there as another leader might have done. Instead he embraced them and his compassion convinced them that whatever power is over this man can have a positive effect on us as well.