6.4 Seerat-un-Nabi, Major Ghazwat, Khulfa-e-Rashideen & Islamic History

6.4 Seerat-un-Nabi, Major Ghazwat, Khulfa-e-Rashideen & Islamic History

Source note: Dates, ages, force sizes, and campaign totals in classical Seerat literature can differ by historical report. This section identifies common Pakistani textbook conventions and flags major variations rather than treating every traditional number as uncontested.

Core Principle: Islamic-history preparation requires an organized chronology of biographical milestones of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the chronological sequence and tactical details of major Ghazwat, and the administrative innovations and historical events of the Khulfa-e-Rashideen era.

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Seerat-un-Nabi (PBUH): Makkan Period to Hijrah

Birth and Lineage

• Date and Place: Monday, 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal, in the Year of the Elephant (Amul Feel, approximately April 570 / 571 CE) in Makkah. The year coincided with the miraculous defeat of Abraha, the Christian viceroy of Yemen, whose elephant army was annihilated by flocks of Ababil birds carrying stones of baked clay (as narrated in Surah Al-Feel).
• Lineage: Born into the noble Banu Hashim branch of the Quraysh tribe, tracing descent directly back to Hazrat Ismail (AS) and Hazrat Ibrahim (AS).
• Family:
  • Father: Hazrat Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib, passed away in Yathrib (Madinah) before the Prophet's birth.
  • Mother: Hazrat Amina bint Wahb, passed away at Abwa (between Makkah and Madinah) when the Prophet was six years old.
  • Grandfather: Hazrat Abdul Muttalib, custodian of the Kaaba, cared for him until dying when the Prophet was eight.
  • Uncle: Hazrat Abu Talib, assumed guardianship, offering steadfast protection for four decades.
  • Foster Mothers / Nurses: Thuwaybah (freed maidservant of Abu Lahab) and Hazrat Halima Saadia of the Banu Sa'd bedouin tribe, with whom he spent his earliest years up to age four.

Youth and Pre-Prophetic Milestones

• Harb-ul-Fijar (The Sacrilegious War): Occurred in his youth; a conflict between Quraysh and Hawazin during sacred months. The Prophet (PBUH) did not bear arms but collected arrows for his uncles.
• Hilf al-Fudul (Pact of Chivalry): Convened at the house of Abdullah ibn Jud'an; an alliance to defend oppressed travelers, traders, and foreign visitors from Makkan commercial exploitation. The Prophet praised this justice alliance throughout his life.
• Titles: Renowned across the Arabian peninsula as Al-Sadiq (The Truthful) and Al-Ameen (The Trustworthy).
• Marriage to Hazrat Khadija (RA): At age 25, the Prophet managed a trade caravan to Busra (Syria) for wealthy merchant widow Hazrat Khadija bint Khuwaylid (RA) accompanied by her slave Maysarah. Impressed by his immaculate integrity, Khadija proposed marriage. Many traditional accounts give her age as 40, while other historical reports differ; their marriage remained monogamous until her death. Children born to them included four daughters (Hazrat Zainab, Hazrat Ruqayyah, Hazrat Umm Kulthum, Hazrat Fatima Zahra) and sons who died in infancy (Qasim and Abdullah; later son Ibrahim was born to Maria al-Qibtiyya and also died in infancy).
• Arbitration of the Black Stone (Hajr-e-Aswad): At age 35 (c. 605 CE), torrential rains damaged the Kaaba. Tribal chieftains disputed fiercely over who would lift the Black Stone into position. The Prophet resolved the feud by placing the stone on a mantle and having each tribal chief lift a corner, before placing it into the wall with his own hands.

Call to Prophethood and Early Preaching

• First Revelation (610 CE): At age 40, while engaged in spiritual retreats in Cave Hira (Ghar-e-Hira) on Mount Noor, Archangel Jibreel appeared with the first five verses of Surah Al-Alaq. Terrified, the Prophet returned to Hazrat Khadija, who enveloped him in a cloak and confirmed his noble character, consulting her Christian scholar cousin Waraqah bin Nawfal, who recognized him as the awaited Messenger.
• First Converts:
  • Adult Female: Hazrat Khadija (RA) (the first human to embrace Islam).
  • Free Adult Male: Hazrat Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (RA).
  • Child: Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) (aged approximately 10).
  • Freed Slave: Hazrat Zaid bin Harithah (RA).
  • Enslaved Person: Hazrat Bilal ibn Rabah (RA).
• Open Da'wah and Persecution: Secret preaching endured for 3 years until divine command (Surah Al-Hijr: 94). The Prophet stood atop Mount Safa calling Quraysh to Tauheed, facing mockery from his uncle Abu Lahab. Early converts were brutally tortured (Sumayyah bint Khayyat became the first martyr of Islam, killed by Abu Jahl; her husband Yasir also martyred).
• Migrations to Abyssinia (Habsha): In 615 CE (5th year of Prophethood), 11 men and 4 women migrated to Christian Abyssinia ruled by the just King Negus (Najashi Ashama), followed by a second migration of 83 men led by Hazrat Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (RA), who recited Surah Maryam to the King.
• Boycott in Shib-e-Abi Talib (7th–10th Nabawi): Quraysh instituted a total social and commercial embargo against Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib. Confined in the mountain gorge of Shib-e-Abi Talib for 3 agonizing years, Muslims survived on leaves and leather until termites devoured the unjust parchment hung inside the Kaaba (leaving only the name of Allah).
• Year of Sorrow (Aam-ul-Huzn, 10th Nabawi / 619 CE): Both his beloved wife Hazrat Khadija and his protective uncle Abu Talib died within months. Left vulnerable, the Prophet visited Ta'if to summon the Banu Thaqif tribe; he was stoned by street ruffians until his shoes were filled with blood, yet he refused the offer of the Angel of the Mountains to crush the city.
• Isra and Mi'raj (Ascension, 621 CE): Night journey on the celestial mount Buraq from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem (Isra), followed by ascension through the seven celestial spheres to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary (Sidrat al-Muntaha) and the divine presence (Mi'raj), where the five daily prayers were ordained.
• Pledges of Aqabah and Hijrah (622 CE): Pilgrims from Yathrib embraced Islam. In the First Pledge of Aqabah (621 CE), 12 men pledged allegiance; in the Second Pledge (622 CE), 73 men and 2 women invited the Prophet to Yathrib. Evading assassination by Quraysh assassins surrounding his house (where Hazrat Ali slept in his bed to return entrusted deposits), the Prophet departed Makkah with Hazrat Abu Bakr. They hid for three nights in Cave Thawr (Ghar-e-Thawr). Arriving at Quba, the Prophet founded Masjid Quba (first mosque in Islamic history), before entering Yathrib (renamed Madinat-un-Nabi), establishing year 1 AH of the Islamic calendar.

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Major Ghazwat of the Prophetic Era

                               CHRONOLOGY OF MAJOR GHAZWAT
                                             |
2 AH: Badr ---------> 3 AH: Uhud ---------> 5 AH: Khandaq ---------> 6 AH: Hudaibiya
(Decisive Victory)    (Discipline Test)     (Trench Defense)         (Peace Treaty)
                                                                           |
10 AH: Tabuk <------- 8 AH: Hunayn <------- 8 AH: Makkah <---------- 7 AH: Khaybar
(Last Expedition)     (Ambush Routed)       (Largely Peaceful Conquest)      (Khaybar Campaign)

Comprehensive Matrix of Major Ghazwat

Farewell Pilgrimage and Passing Away

• Hajjat-ul-Wida (10 AH / 632 CE): The Prophet's sole Hajj after Hijrah. Delivered the seminal Farewell Sermon (Khutbat-ul-Wida) on the plains of Arafat from Mount Rahmah, codifying universal human rights, racial equality ("An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab... except by piety"), sanctity of life and property, abolition of usury (Riba), and rights of women.
• Passing Away: Monday, 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal, 11 AH (June 8, 632 CE), at age 63 in the chamber of Hazrat Aisha (RA) in Madinah, buried where he passed away (now under the Green Dome inside Masjid-e-Nabawi).

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The Era of the Khulfa-e-Rashideen (11–40 AH / 632–661 CE)

Following the passing of the Prophet (PBUH), the righteous caliphate governed for 29 lunar years, institutionalizing Islamic democracy, legal jurisprudence, and rapid territorial expansion.

1. Hazrat Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (RA) (11–13 AH / 632–634 CE)

• Title: As-Siddiq (The Testifier to the Truth), bestowed after verifying the Mi'raj.
• Election: Chosen through consultative consensus at Saqifah Bani Sa'ida in Madinah.
• Key Accomplishments:
  • Dispatched the army of Hazrat Usama bin Zaid (RA) to the Syrian frontier, upholding the Prophet's final military directive.
  • Crushed the Riddah Wars (Apostasy Movements), defeating false claimants to prophethood: Musaylima al-Kadhdhab (slain at Battle of Yamama by Wahshi ibn Harb), Tulayha, Aswad Ansi, and false prophetess Sajah.
  • Enforced collection of Zakat against rebellious tribes, declaring: "By Allah, I will fight anyone who separates Salat from Zakat."
  • Initiated the formal compilation of the Holy Quran into a master codex under Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit.
  • Initiated military campaigns into Persian Iraq and Byzantine Levant; passed away after 2 years and 3 months, buried next to the Prophet (PBUH).

2. Hazrat Umar ibn al-Khattab Al-Farooq (RA) (13–23 AH / 634–644 CE)

• Title: Al-Farooq (The Distinguisher between Truth and Falsehood), nominated by Abu Bakr.
• Major Conquests:
  • Subjugation of Persian Sassanid Empire: Battle of Qadisiyyah (15 AH / 636 CE) under Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas; Battle of Nihawand (21 AH) (Fath-ul-Futuh - Victory of Victories).
  • Conquest of Byzantine Levant: Battle of Yarmouk (15 AH / 636 CE) under Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah and Khalid bin Walid; peaceful surrender of Jerusalem (Al-Quds) in 16 AH / 637 CE (keys received personally by Hazrat Umar from Patriarch Sophronius).
  • Conquest of Egypt (20 AH) under Amr ibn al-Aas (RA).
• Administrative Innovations:
  • Established Bait-ul-Mal (Public Treasury), the Diwan (Department of Pensions and Armed Forces Registry), independent civil judiciary (Qadis), regular police departments (Ahdath), and postal messenger networks (Barid).
  • Introduced the Hijri Calendar (commencing from the Hijrah year 622 CE).
  • Imposed agricultural land tenure systems (Kharaj and Jizya) and conducted urban municipal planning (founding garrison cities of Basra, Kufa, and Fustat).
• Martyrdom: Assassinated in the 23rd year of Hijrah while leading Fajr prayer in Masjid-e-Nabawi by Abu Lu'lu Feroze, a Persian slave; buried beside Hazrat Abu Bakr and the Prophet (PBUH).

3. Hazrat Usman ibn Affan Ghani (RA) (23–35 AH / 644–656 CE)

• Title: Zun-Nurain (Possessor of the Two Lights), because he married two daughters of the Prophet PBUH (Hazrat Ruqayyah, and following her death, Hazrat Umm Kulthum).
• Election: Chosen by a six-member consultative council (Shura) established on Hazrat Umar's deathbed (Ali, Usman, Talha, Zubayr, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, Abdur Rahman bin Awf).
• Key Accomplishments:
  • Territorial expansion into parts of North Africa, including Ifriqiya, and Cyprus, Central Asia (Khorasan, Herat, Merv, Balkh), and the Makran coast.
  • Commissioned the first Islamic naval armada under Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, defeating the Roman Byzantine fleet in the historic Battle of the Masts (Dhat al-Sawari, 34 AH).
  • Executed the definitive universal transcription and standardization of the Quran into universal official copies sent across the empire, earning the title Jami-al-Quran.
  • Extensively reconstructed and expanded both Masjid-e-Nabawi and Masjid al-Haram.
• Martyrdom: Martyred in 35 AH at age 82 inside his home in Madinah by rebel insurgents while reciting Surah Al-Baqarah; buried in Jannat al-Baqi.

4. Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib Asadullah (RA) (35–40 AH / 656–661 CE)

• Title: Asadullah (The Lion of Allah), Murtaza, and Abu Turab. Cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet (married to Hazrat Fatima Zahra; father of Hazrat Hassan and Hazrat Hussain).
• Judicial Renown: Celebrated as the greatest jurist among the Sahaba; the Prophet declared: "I am the city of knowledge, and Ali is its gate."
• Key Accomplishments & Civil Challenges:
  • Relocated the political capital of the Islamic Caliphate from Madinah to Kufa (Iraq) for geopolitical administration.
  • Emphasized strict administrative accountability and replaced several provincial governors.
  • Internal Civil Upheavals:
    • Battle of the Camel (Jang-e-Jamal, 36 AH / 656 CE): Fought near Basra against forces led by Hazrat Talha, Hazrat Zubayr, and Hazrat Aisha (RA) seeking immediate retribution for Caliph Usman's murder; ended in reconciliation and solemn escort of Hazrat Aisha back to Madinah.
    • Battle of Siffin (37 AH / 657 CE): Fought along the Euphrates against Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan; halted by arbitration (Tahkeem).
    • Battle of Nahrawan (38 AH / 658 CE): Fought against the extremist separatist faction known as the Kharijites (Khawarij).
• Martyrdom: Struck with a poisoned sword on 19th Ramadan, 40 AH (661 CE) inside the Great Mosque of Kufa during Fajr prayer by Kharijite zealot Abdur Rahman ibn Muljam; embraced martyrdom on the 21st of Ramadan; traditionally associated with a burial site in Najaf, Iraq; historical accounts of the burial place differ.