Muhammad ﷺ

Birth in the "Year of the Elephant"

Muhammad ﷺ ibn Abdullah was born in Mecca into the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh, the tribe that controlled the city and its central shrine, the Kaaba. His father, Abdullah, died on a trading journey before his son's birth. Tradition names this the "Year of the Elephant," after an Abyssinian army's failed attempt to attack Mecca using war elephants.

Genealogy and the setting of Mecca

Islamic tradition traces Muhammad's ﷺ lineage through the Banu Hashim back to Adnan, and through Adnan, by most genealogical accounts, to Ishmael, son of Abraham — a lineage significant because tradition holds that Abraham and Ishmael built (or rebuilt) the Kaaba as a house of monotheistic worship, later overtaken by the polytheism of the Jahiliyyah. His great-grandfather Hashim, ancestor of the Banu Hashim clan, was a prominent Meccan merchant credited with securing trade agreements that allowed Quraysh caravans to travel safely to Syria in summer and Yemen in winter — journeys later referenced in the Quran (106, Surat Quraysh). Mecca itself sat along this trade corridor, its economy and prestige built substantially on both commerce and its role as a pilgrimage center.

Fosterage, orphanhood, and guardianship

Following Meccan custom, infant Muhammad ﷺ was sent to live with a Bedouin wet-nurse, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, exposing him to the desert environment and pure Arabic dialect valued by Meccan nobility. His mother, Aminah, died when he was about six, making him a full orphan. His grandfather, Abdul Muttalib — a respected custodian of the Kaaba — took over his care, but died two years later. Guardianship then passed to his uncle, Abu Talib, who protected him for decades, including through the most dangerous years of persecution, despite never converting to Islam himself.

The Syrian caravan and the monk Bahira

As a boy, Muhammad ﷺ accompanied Abu Talib's trade caravan to Syria. Tradition holds that a Christian monk, Bahira, recognized signs in the boy matching descriptions of a coming prophet found in earlier scripture, and privately advised Abu Talib to guard him from potential threats, including Byzantine authorities.

The Hanifs: seekers before the revelation

Islamic tradition and pre-Islamic poetry both attest to a small number of Meccans known as hanifs — individuals who had rejected the idol worship of the Jahiliyyah in favor of a monotheism they associated with the religion of Abraham, without formally adopting Judaism or Christianity. Among those named in the sources are Waraqah ibn Nawfal (Khadijah's cousin, who would later confirm Muhammad's ﷺ prophethood), Zayd ibn Amr (who is said to have publicly refused to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to have prayed facing the Kaaba years before Islam), and the poet Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt, whose surviving verses reference resurrection and divine judgment. Their existence is often cited, both in traditional and academic scholarship, as evidence that Mecca's religious climate on the eve of Islam was not purely polytheistic, but included currents of monotheistic questioning that Muhammad's ﷺ message would later answer.

Shepherd, merchant, "Al-Amin"

Muhammad ﷺ worked first as a shepherd, then entered trade, eventually managing caravans for merchants. He became known across Mecca for his scrupulous honesty, earning the titles Al-Amin ("the Trustworthy") and As-Sadiq ("the Truthful") — reputations that would matter greatly once he began to preach.

Marriage to Khadijah

At around 25, Muhammad ﷺ was hired by Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, a wealthy widowed merchant some 15 years his senior, to lead a trading caravan to Syria. Impressed by his conduct and the venture's success, she proposed marriage — reportedly through an intermediary, her friend Nafisah bint Munabbih, after Khadijah's servant Maysarah, who had accompanied Muhammad ﷺ on the journey, reported his honesty and remarkable character. Their marriage lasted 25 years and was, by all accounts, deeply devoted and monogamous — he took no other wife while she lived, a notable fact in a society where polygyny among the wealthy was common. They had six or seven children by most accounts, including sons — Qasim and Abdullah (also called al-Tayyib and al-Tahir by some traditions) — who died in infancy, and four daughters: Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and, most notably, Fatimah, who later married Ali ibn Abi Talib. The couple also adopted a freed servant, Zayd ibn Harithah, who became one of Muhammad's ﷺ closest companions and the only companion named directly in the Quran (33:37).

Arbitrating the Black Stone dispute

When flood damage forced the Kaaba's reconstruction, Meccan clans quarreled bitterly over the honor of placing the sacred Black Stone in its wall. Asked to arbitrate, Muhammad ﷺ proposed a solution: representatives of each clan lifted the stone together on a cloth, and he personally set it in place — defusing a dispute that had threatened to turn violent.

The first revelation

At 40, during a period of solitary reflection in the Cave of Hira, Muhammad ﷺ experienced the first revelation of the Quran, delivered by the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Shaken, he returned home; Khadijah comforted him and became the first person to accept his prophethood.

Waraqah's confirmation

Khadijah consulted her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, a Christian familiar with earlier scripture, who affirmed that Muhammad's ﷺ experience matched the calling of earlier biblical prophets and warned that persecution would likely follow — a prediction that soon proved accurate. Waraqah reportedly told Muhammad ﷺ that, were he alive to see it, he would support him "with all my strength"; he died shortly afterward.

The Fatrah: a pause in revelation

Hadith sources describe a period — traditions vary on its length, from several months to roughly three years — during which revelation ceased after the initial encounter at Hira, known as the fatrah ("pause" or "interval"). Muhammad ﷺ is described as deeply distressed during this period, at times fearing the experience had ended or had not been genuine. Revelation resumed with the opening verses of what is now Surah 74 (Al-Muddaththir, "The Enshrouded One"), instructing him to "arise and warn" — understood as the effective beginning of his public mission, distinct from the initial private revelation at Hira.

Private teaching and the earliest converts

For roughly three years Muhammad ﷺ shared his message privately with family and close associates, often meeting at the house of an early convert, Al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam, near the Kaaba — a location later known as Dar al-Arqam. Early converts included Khadijah; his young cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, who had come to live in Muhammad's ﷺ household as a child during a period of financial hardship for Abu Talib's family and is counted by most traditions as the first male convert, still a boy at the time; his devoted friend Abu Bakr, whose own reputation and connections brought several further converts including Uthman ibn Affan, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah; his adopted son Zayd; and Umm Ayman, a servant who had cared for Muhammad ﷺ since his own infancy. By the end of this private period, tradition estimates roughly forty believers had joined the new faith — a core circle that would remain central to the movement for decades, several of whom (Abu Bakr, Uthman, Zubayr, Sa'd, Talha, and Abd al-Rahman among them) were later numbered among "the Ten Promised Paradise," companions specifically named in hadith as assured of salvation.

Public preaching begins

Muhammad ﷺ began proclaiming his message openly — monotheism (tawhid), care for the poor and orphaned, and moral accountability. This directly threatened Mecca's economy and status, much of which depended on pilgrimage traffic to its many idols. Quraysh leaders, including Abu Jahl and Muhammad's ﷺ own uncle Abu Lahab, responded with mockery and escalating violence, particularly toward converts without powerful clan protection — such as the enslaved Bilal ibn Rabah, whose enslaver Umayyah ibn Khalaf is reported to have staked him to the desert sand at midday with a boulder on his chest, demanding he renounce Islam; Bilal is said to have repeated only "Ahad, Ahad" ("One, One" — an affirmation of God's oneness) until Abu Bakr purchased and freed him.

The "Satanic Verses" episode

A number of early sources — including al-Tabari and, in briefer form, Ibn Sa'd — record a controversial episode in which Muhammad ﷺ is said to have recited verses acknowledging three Meccan goddesses (al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat) as intercessory figures, before retracting them shortly afterward as a satanic interpolation, replaced by Quranic verses (53:19–23) firmly rejecting the goddesses' status. If historical, the episode would have occurred at a moment when Muhammad ﷺ faced intense pressure to find common ground with Quraysh leaders.

Migration to Abyssinia

To shield his most vulnerable followers, Muhammad ﷺ advised roughly 80–100 of them to seek refuge in the Christian kingdom of Aksum (Abyssinia). Its ruler, the Negus, known for justice, granted asylum and refused Quraysh demands for their extradition — Islam's first migration. A Quraysh delegation led by Amr ibn al-As (who later became a companion and prominent general) petitioned the Negus to have the migrants returned, arguing they had abandoned the religion of their ancestors for a new faith. Tradition records that the migrants' spokesman, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (Ali's brother), recited verses from Surah 19 (Maryam) describing the virgin birth of Jesus, moving the Negus — himself a Christian — to weep and to definitively refuse the Quraysh request.

The Meccan boycott

The Quraysh imposed a social and economic boycott on Banu Hashim and Banu Muttalib, confining them for roughly three years to a mountain pass (Shi'b Abi Talib), cutting off trade and marriage alliances and causing severe hardship, including reported instances of the confined eating leaves and leather to survive. The terms were recorded in a formal document hung inside the Kaaba. Tradition holds that the boycott ended when several more sympathetic Quraysh leaders — including Hisham ibn Amr, a nephew of Abu Talib by marriage — worked to void the agreement, and that when the document was finally retrieved, it had been eaten through by insects except for the phrase "In your name, O God" (Bismika Allahumma), which some traditions read as a providential sign.

The "Year of Sorrow"

Khadijah and Abu Talib both died within a short span, stripping Muhammad ﷺ of his closest personal support and his principal tribal protector at once. With Abu Talib gone, leadership of Banu Hashim passed to another uncle, Abu Lahab, who — unlike Abu Talib — soon withdrew the clan's protection from Muhammad ﷺ, leaving him markedly more vulnerable. Seeking refuge, he traveled to the nearby town of Ta'if and was rejected — reportedly stoned by townspeople, with his freedman Zayd ibn Harithah injured shielding him — yet declined an offer (in tradition, from an angel) to destroy the town, praying instead for its future. He returned to Mecca only after securing the protection of a Quraysh clan leader, Mut'im ibn Adi, since Abu Lahab's withdrawal of protection technically left him exposed to being killed without tribal retribution.

Isra and Mi'raj

Muhammad ﷺ experienced a Night Journey (Isra) from Mecca to Jerusalem, followed by an Ascension (Mi'raj) through the heavens, during which the five daily prayers were established as an obligation. Tradition holds he met and led earlier prophets — including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus — in prayer at Jerusalem, and that Moses advised him to request a reduction from the original fifty daily prayers, resulting in the five ultimately prescribed. The episode is commemorated annually and holds deep theological significance regarding Jerusalem's sanctity in Islam.

The Pledges of Aqaba

Pilgrims from Yathrib, a city roughly 340 km north with a mixed population of Arab tribes and Jewish clans, encountered Muhammad ﷺ during the Hajj season, converted, and — in the First Pledge of Aqaba (621) — committed to monotheism and moral conduct. Muhammad ﷺ sent an early convert, Mus'ab ibn Umayr, to Yathrib to teach Islam and build support; his efforts are credited with substantial success, including the conversion of prominent clan leaders. The following year, a much larger delegation of around 75 pledged the Second Pledge of Aqaba, committing to defend Muhammad ﷺ "as they would their own women and children" — effectively an invitation to relocate and an offer of armed protection, transforming the nature of the movement from a persecuted minority into one with organized political and military backing.

The conversion of Umar ibn al-Khattab

Among the movement's fiercest early opponents was Umar ibn al-Khattab, known for his physical strength and temper. Tradition recounts that Umar set out intending to kill Muhammad ﷺ, but was diverted upon learning his own sister had secretly converted. Confronting her and hearing verses of the Quran she had been reciting, he was reportedly moved to tears and went directly to declare his own conversion. Umar's entry into the faith — given his standing in Mecca — marked a significant turning point, after which Muslims are said to have prayed openly at the Kaaba for the first time.

The Hijrah

Facing an assassination plot, Muhammad ﷺ and Abu Bakr slipped out of Mecca by night, hiding for three days in the Cave of Thawr before traveling to Yathrib — thereafter called Medina ("the City"). This migration marks Year 1 of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar. Emigrants (Muhajirun) and local converts (Ansar) together formed the new community.

The Constitution of Medina

Muhammad ﷺ drafted a charter uniting Muslim emigrants, Medinan converts, and local Jewish tribes under shared terms of mutual defense, religious tolerance, and legal cooperation — regarded by many historians as one of the earliest written constitutions.

The institution of the adhan

As the Medinan community organized communal prayer, Muhammad ﷺ sought a distinctive way to call believers together — reportedly rejecting suggestions to use a bell or horn, associated with Christian and Jewish practice, respectively. A companion described a dream of the call to prayer's wording, which Muhammad ﷺ approved. Bilal ibn Rabah, the formerly enslaved companion known for his powerful voice, was chosen as the first muezzin, a role of considerable honor.

The change of qibla

For roughly the first year and a half in Medina, Muslims prayed facing Jerusalem, as Jews and many earlier monotheists did. In 624, a Quranic revelation (2:144) instructed Muhammad ﷺ to turn instead toward the Kaaba in Mecca — the qibla (direction of prayer) observed by Muslims ever since. Tradition places this shift shortly before the Battle of Badr, and it is generally read, both traditionally and by historians, as marking a clearer religious and political distinction between the new Muslim community and Medina's Jewish tribes, alongside a reorientation toward Abraham's original sanctuary.

Battle of Badr

A small, poorly equipped Muslim force of roughly 313 defeated a Meccan army nearly three times its size at the wells of Badr. The victory, referenced in Quran 8 (Al-Anfal), was seen as decisive validation and transformed Muslim standing in Arabia.

Expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa

Shortly after Badr, tensions with one of Medina's three main Jewish tribes, Banu Qaynuqa — skilled goldsmiths and craftsmen — escalated following a marketplace dispute in which a Muslim woman was reportedly humiliated by a Qaynuqa goldsmith, leading to a killing on each side. Muhammad ﷺ besieged the tribe's stronghold for roughly two weeks; they surrendered and, after the intervention of their allied Medinan chief Abdullah ibn Ubayy on their behalf, were expelled from Medina with their movable property rather than killed, relocating north toward Syria. This was the first of the three Jewish tribes named in the Constitution of Medina to have its position in the city broken, followed later by Banu Nadir (625) and Banu Qurayza (627).

Battle of Uhud

Seeking revenge, the Quraysh met Muslim forces at Mount Uhud. Early success collapsed when a company of archers abandoned their defensive position prematurely; Muhammad ﷺ was wounded — losing a tooth and suffering a cut to his face — and his uncle Hamzah killed. Hamzah's body was reportedly mutilated after death, an act attributed to Hind bint Utbah, wife of the Meccan commander Abu Sufyan, in revenge for relatives lost at Badr. The episode became a lasting lesson in discipline, reflected in later Quranic verses. In the same period, the Jewish tribe Banu Nadir was expelled from Medina after accusations of conspiring against Muhammad's ﷺ life.

Battle of the Trench

A coalition of Meccan and allied tribes besieged Medina. On the advice of the Persian companion Salman al-Farisi, Muslims dug a defensive trench around the city's exposed side — an unfamiliar tactic in Arabian warfare — successfully repelling the siege without major battle.

Expedition against Banu al-Mustaliq

Muhammad ﷺ led a campaign against the Banu al-Mustaliq tribe after reports they were mobilizing against Medina, achieving a swift victory. Among the captives was Juwayriyya bint al-Harith, daughter of the tribe's chief; Muhammad ﷺ married her, and her tribe was subsequently released from captivity — an outcome sources describe as bringing about the tribe's peaceful incorporation into the Muslim community. It was on the return march from this expedition that the Event of Ifk, described below, took place.

The Event of Ifk (the slander)

Following a military expedition, Muhammad's ﷺ wife Aisha was briefly separated from the traveling group and was later escorted back to camp by a companion who had found her. Rumors of impropriety spread through Medina, causing Muhammad ﷺ and Aisha considerable distress over roughly a month before Quranic verses (24:11–20) declared her innocent and established a strict evidentiary standard — requiring four eyewitnesses — for accusations of adultery, a rule still foundational to Islamic law on the matter.

Marriages after Khadijah

Following Khadijah's death, Muhammad ﷺ married several women in Medina, most prominently Sawda bint Zam'a, Aisha bint Abi Bakr, and Hafsa bint Umar. Several later marriages — including to Umm Salama, Zaynab bint Jahsh, Juwayriyya bint al-Harith, Umm Habiba bint Abi Sufyan, Safiyya bint Huyayy, and Maymuna bint al-Harith — are described in early sources as serving to forge tribal alliances, provide for widows of fallen companions, or incorporate formerly opposing clans into the community. Aisha, in particular, went on to become one of the most significant transmitters of hadith and a respected authority on Islamic jurisprudence after Muhammad's ﷺ death.

Battle of Khaybar

Shortly after Hudaybiyyah, Muhammad ﷺ led a campaign against the fortified Jewish oasis of Khaybar, north of Medina, following reported hostilities from the settlement. After a series of engagements against its fortresses, Khaybar's inhabitants surrendered and were permitted to remain and farm the land under a tribute arrangement — an early model for how conquered non-Muslim communities were subsequently governed under Islamic rule. Among the captives was Safiyya bint Huyayy, a woman of Jewish nobility whose father and husband had been killed in the fighting; Muhammad ﷺ freed and married her.

Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

Marching toward Mecca to perform pilgrimage with over a thousand unarmed companions, Muhammad ﷺ halted at Hudaybiyyah on Mecca's outskirts after Quraysh scouts blocked the route. He sent Uthman ibn Affan, who had Meccan family connections, to negotiate entry; when a rumor spread that Uthman had been killed, Muhammad ﷺ gathered his companions and took a solemn oath of allegiance beneath a tree, pledging to fight if necessary — an event known as the Pledge of the Tree (Bay'at al-Ridwan), referenced approvingly in Quran 48:18. Uthman returned unharmed, and negotiations produced a ten-year truce — the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Its terms included Muhammad's ﷺ agreement to return that year without completing the pilgrimage, and a clause requiring the return of any Meccan who fled to Medina without guardian consent, without a reciprocal obligation on Mecca's side. Though some companions, including Umar, viewed these terms as humiliating at signing, the Quran (48:1) later described the treaty as "a clear victory," and the resulting peace allowed Islam to spread rapidly across Arabia over the following two years.

Letters to foreign rulers

Muhammad ﷺ sent envoys bearing letters to neighboring rulers — including the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, the Sassanian emperor Khosrow II, and Egypt's Muqawqis — inviting them to accept Islam, signaling the movement's ambitions beyond the Arabian Peninsula. Tradition holds that Khosrow II tore up the letter in anger, an act Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have said would lead to the ruin of his kingdom — a claim later Muslim historians connected to the Sassanian Empire's collapse within Muhammad's ﷺ companions' lifetimes. Heraclius reportedly treated the letter and its bearer with greater respect, though he did not convert.

First pilgrimage & Battle of Mu'tah

Muslims performed the agreed pilgrimage to Mecca peacefully (Umrat al-Qada). The same year, a Muslim expedition clashed with Byzantine and allied Arab Christian forces near Mu'tah, in modern Jordan, after a Muslim envoy was killed by a Byzantine vassal; despite heavy losses — including the deaths of all three successive commanders appointed by Muhammad ﷺ, Zayd ibn Harithah, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and Abdullah ibn Rawaha — the campaign, brought to an orderly withdrawal under Khalid ibn al-Walid's improvised leadership, marked a growing northward military reach.

The Conquest of Mecca

After Quraysh allies attacked a tribe under Muslim protection, breaching the Hudaybiyyah truce, Muhammad ﷺ marched on Mecca with a force reported at around 10,000. Abu Sufyan, the Meccan leader who had commanded forces against Muhammad ﷺ at Uhud, met him beforehand and accepted Islam. Muhammad ﷺ declared that anyone who entered Abu Sufyan's house, the Kaaba, or their own home and closed the door would be safe — a near-blanket amnesty. The city surrendered with little bloodshed; a handful of individuals were excluded from the general pardon over specific past offenses, though most of these were later forgiven as well. Muhammad ﷺ entered the Kaaba and removed the roughly 360 idols housed within it, reportedly reciting the Quranic verse "Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished; indeed, falsehood is bound to vanish" (17:81), rededicating the shrine to monotheistic worship.

Hunayn and Ta'if

Shortly after Mecca's fall, Muslims defeated the Hawazin and Thaqif tribes at the Battle of Hunayn, following an initial rout — triggered by a surprise ambush in a narrow valley that nearly overwhelmed the Muslim vanguard — that turned to victory once Muhammad ﷺ and a core group of companions held their ground and rallied the retreating force. A subsequent siege of Ta'if — the town that had once stoned Muhammad ﷺ — involving the use of catapults, proved inconclusive against the town's fortifications and was abandoned after roughly two weeks; Ta'if later submitted peacefully on its own terms the following year.

The "Year of Delegations"

Following Mecca's fall, tribes across Arabia sent representatives to pledge allegiance and accept Islam, rapidly consolidating Muhammad's ﷺ political and religious authority across the peninsula. Delegations arrived from as far as Yemen, Oman, and Bahrain; some came primarily for political alliance, others out of genuine religious conviction, and Muhammad ﷺ is recorded as receiving them with notable hospitality, often housing and feeding visiting delegations for days at the mosque in Medina while instructing them in the faith before their return home.

The Tabuk expedition

Muhammad ﷺ led a large expedition — by some accounts his largest, numbering 30,000 — north toward Byzantine territory in response to rumored threats of an imperial advance into Arabia. No major battle occurred; the rumored threat did not materialize, but the campaign extended Muslim influence over northern Arabian tribes, several of which submitted to Muslim authority or agreed to pay tribute during the march.

The Christian delegation from Najran

A delegation of Christians from Najran, in southern Arabia, traveled to Medina to discuss matters of theology with Muhammad ﷺ. Sources describe him permitting them to conduct their own prayers inside his mosque, and the visit concluded with a treaty guaranteeing their religious practice and property in exchange for tribute — an early example of the legal category later known as dhimmi status for non-Muslim communities under Islamic governance.

The Farewell Pilgrimage

Muhammad ﷺ performed his only complete Hajj as leader of the Muslim community, accompanied by an estimated 100,000 or more followers. At Mount Arafat, on the ninth of Dhu al-Hijjah, he delivered what is remembered as the Farewell Sermon (Khutbat al-Wada) — his most comprehensive surviving public address, preserved across several hadith collections (most fully in Sahih Muslim, with additional material in Musnad Ahmad, Sunan Abi Dawud, and Ibn Majah), each recording different portions of the same occasion. No single report preserves every line; the rendering below draws together the content found across these sources into one continuous address, in this site's own wording rather than any one translator's.

The crowd is recorded as answering, again and again, that he had; at each affirmation he is reported to have raised his finger to the sky and said, "O God, bear witness" (Allahumma fashhad). It was during this same gathering that the Quranic verse declaring the faith complete was revealed: "This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you, and have approved for you Islam as religion" (Quran 5:3).

Preparing the Usama expedition

Shortly before his final illness, Muhammad ﷺ ordered an expedition toward the Syrian frontier, appointing the young Usama ibn Zayd — son of his freedman Zayd ibn Harithah, killed at Mu'tah — as commander, a choice that drew some private grumbling over Usama's youth and inexperience relative to senior companions. Muhammad ﷺ rebuked the criticism, affirming his confidence in Usama. The expedition's departure was delayed by Muhammad's ﷺ worsening illness and ultimately set out only after his death, under Abu Bakr's continued authorization — one of the new caliph's first acts, intended partly to demonstrate the young state's stability.

Final illness and death

Shortly after returning to Medina, Muhammad ﷺ fell ill with fever and severe headache. He visited the Baqi cemetery to pray for the dead, then, as his condition worsened, obtained his wives' permission to be nursed in Aisha's apartment for the remainder of his illness. As he grew too weak to lead the congregation himself, he instructed that Abu Bakr lead the prayers in his place — a decision later cited by many Sunni sources as an informal indication of his preferred successor, though this reading is not shared by Shia tradition. He spent his final days largely silent or in prayer, reportedly repeating phrases seeking God's forgiveness and mercy, and is recorded as freeing his remaining slaves and distributing his few remaining coins to the poor shortly before death.

He died on the morning of 8 June 632 CE (12 Rabi' al-Awwal, 11 AH), at approximately 62–63 years of age, with his head reportedly resting in Aisha's lap. News of his death caused widespread shock and disbelief in Medina; Umar ibn al-Khattab is reported to have initially refused to accept it, threatening those who suggested it, until Abu Bakr addressed the gathered community with words remembered as decisive: "Whoever worshipped Muhammad ﷺ, let him know that Muhammad ﷺ is dead; whoever worshipped God, let him know that God is alive and does not die" — followed by the Quranic verse (3:144) noting that Muhammad ﷺ was but a messenger, before whom other messengers had also passed away.

He was washed and shrouded by close family members, including Ali, and, after debate over an appropriate burial site, was buried where he died, in Aisha's apartment — following a saying attributed to Abu Bakr that prophets are buried where they die — a site now enclosed within Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, one of Islam's holiest sites.

Physical description

A distinct genre of hadith literature, known as shama'il (most famously collected by al-Tirmidhi in the 9th century), gathers companions' descriptions of Muhammad's ﷺ appearance and personal habits. He is described as of medium-to-above-average height, broad-shouldered, with a large head, a full beard, and thick, slightly wavy black hair worn to around shoulder length or earlobe length depending on the period, later flecked with grey. His complexion is described as fair, his face rounded, and his eyes large and dark. Companions frequently remarked on his smile, described as bright and disarming, and noted a habit of turning his whole body rather than only his head when addressing someone, alongside a purposeful, brisk walk.

Domestic simplicity

Despite becoming the political and religious leader of Arabia, Muhammad ﷺ is described as living modestly — mending his own clothes and sandals, helping with household chores, milking his own goats, and sleeping on a simple woven mat rather than a bed, which is said to have left marks on his side, prompting companions to offer him softer bedding, which he declined. Aisha reported that his house often had little food stored for more than a day at a time, distributing surplus to those in need; on some occasions, hadith record entire months passing in his household without a cooking fire being lit, the family subsisting on dates and water.

Prayer and private devotion

Beyond the five obligatory daily prayers, Muhammad ﷺ is described as regularly rising for lengthy voluntary night prayer (tahajjud), at times standing for so long that his feet reportedly swelled; when asked why he continued this given that he was assured of forgiveness, he replied, "Should I not be a grateful servant?" He observed voluntary fasting on various days, particularly Mondays and Thursdays, and is described in the final ten nights of Ramadan as intensifying his devotion, at times secluding himself in the mosque (i'tikaf) and staying awake through the night in worship.

The Prophet's humor: documented accounts

The "son of a she-camel." An old man came to the Prophet asking to be carried on a mount for a journey. Sworn only half-seriously, the Prophet replied, "I will carry you on the offspring of a she-camel." The man, puzzled, protested: "What would I do with the offspring of a she-camel?" — assuming he meant a useless baby animal. The Prophet answered, "Is any mount, other than the offspring of she-camels?" — pointing out that every camel, however large, is technically a she-camel's offspring. (Sunan Abi Dawud, Book of General Behavior; also recorded in al-Tirmidhi's Shama'il, graded hasan.)

Zahir ibn Haram, "dear to the Prophet." Zahir was a Bedouin companion who would bring produce from the desert as gifts and receive city goods in return; Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet said, "Zahir is our desert and we are his city." One day, finding Zahir selling goods in the market unaware of his presence, the Prophet embraced him from behind, and Zahir, without seeing who held him, called out to be let go. On recognizing the Prophet, he stopped struggling and stayed pressed back against him. The Prophet then called out, mock-auctioneer style, "Who will buy this slave?" Zahir replied, self-deprecatingly, "O Messenger of God, then you will find me a bad bargain." The Prophet answered, "But with God, you are not a bad bargain" — or, in another wording, "you are precious." (Musnad Ahmad; also cited in al-Tirmidhi's Shama'il.)

"O Abu Umayr, what happened to the Nughayr?" Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet had a particularly playful relationship with his young half-brother, whom he nicknamed Abu Umayr and who kept a pet bird, a nughayr (a small sparrow-like bird). When the bird died and the boy was upset, the Prophet would visit and gently tease him with a rhyming refrain — "O Abu Umayr, what happened to the little nughayr?" — a small kindness Anas remembered decades later as characteristic of how the Prophet engaged with children. (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim — among the most rigorously authenticated hadith collections.)

Racing Aisha. Aisha herself narrated that the Prophet raced her on foot during a journey early in their marriage, and she won. Years later, on another journey, after she had "put on some weight," as she put it, they raced again and he won; he remarked, laughing, "This makes up for that." (Sunan Abi Dawud; Musnad Ahmad.)

The old woman and Paradise. An elderly woman asked the Prophet to pray that she be admitted to Paradise. He replied, straight-faced, that no old woman would enter Paradise — and, watching her visible dismay, let the moment sit before explaining, smiling, that God would restore all the people of Paradise to youth, so she would not enter it "as an old woman," but young again — a brief, deliberate tease resolved into reassurance. (Recorded in al-Tirmidhi's collection of Prophetic character traits, with some variation in the woman's identity across narrations.)

General temperament

Beyond specific anecdotes, companions consistently describe Muhammad ﷺ as even-tempered in personal matters — Anas ibn Malik, who served in his household for a decade, reported that he was never scolded for a task left undone. He is described as capable of visible displeasure, but this is recorded almost exclusively in response to breaches of religious or ethical principle, rather than personal slights, consistent with the pattern across the anecdotes above: humor and patience in daily life, firmness reserved for matters of principle.

Grandchildren and family affection

Muhammad ﷺ is described as openly affectionate with his grandchildren by Fatimah and Ali — Hasan and Husayn — carrying them during prayer prostrations and, according to one widely cited hadith, kissing them in front of a Bedouin visitor who remarked he had never kissed his own children, prompting Muhammad's ﷺ reply that one who shows no mercy receives none. He is also recorded carrying his granddaughter Umama, daughter of Zaynab, on his shoulder during prayer, setting her down for prostration and picking her up again afterward. Fatimah in particular is described as receiving distinctive affection; Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have said that she was "a part of me," and to have risen to greet her whenever she entered a room.

Equality before the law

A frequently cited hadith recounts the case of a woman from the prominent Makhzum clan accused of theft, whose family sought Muhammad's ﷺ leniency through the intercession of his beloved companion Usama ibn Zayd. Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have grown visibly displeased, stating that earlier nations had been destroyed because they applied the law to the weak but exempted the powerful, and declaring that "if Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad ﷺ, were to steal, I would cut off her hand" — cited widely, in both classical and modern contexts, as a foundational statement on legal equality before the law regardless of status or family connection.

Treatment of others

Hadith collections repeatedly emphasize gentleness toward children, respect for servants and the enslaved (whom he consistently urged followers to free and treat as equals), and patience with critics. He is recorded advising against harming animals unnecessarily, including specific instructions on humane treatment during slaughter and care for pack animals during travel. His servant of ten years, Anas ibn Malik, later reported that Muhammad ﷺ never once scolded him for a task left undone or asked why something had or had not been done in a particular way.

Food and daily habits

Muhammad's ﷺ diet is described as simple, centered on dates, barley bread, and milk, with meat eaten occasionally rather than regularly; honey is mentioned as a particular favorite. He is recorded as disliking excessive praise of food and eating what was available without complaint, while also instructing that food not be wasted. Hadith describe him eating with his right hand and from the portion of a shared dish nearest to him, and washing his hands before and after meals.

Recording the revelation

Though Muhammad ﷺ could not read or write, he dictated the Quran's verses to a group of scribes, most notably Zayd ibn Thabit, who recorded them on available materials — palm leaves, flat stones, and parchment — while other companions committed the verses to memory. This dual process of oral and written preservation formed the basis for the Quran's compilation into a single text shortly after Muhammad's ﷺ death, under the first two caliphs. For correspondence with foreign rulers, Muhammad ﷺ is said to have adopted a signet ring inscribed "Muhammad ﷺ, Messenger of God," used to seal official letters once he learned that foreign courts would not accept unsealed correspondence.

Physical appearance

A genre of hadith literature known as shama'il gathers companions' descriptions of Muhammad's ﷺ appearance in detail: of medium-to-above-average height, broad-shouldered, with a large head, a full beard, and thick, slightly wavy black hair worn to around shoulder length or earlobe length depending on the period, later flecked with grey. His complexion is described as fair, his face rounded, his forehead broad, and his eyes large and dark, with long eyelashes. Companions frequently remarked on his radiant smile, described as bright enough that some said "as though a lamp shone in his face," and a habit of turning his whole body, not only his head, when addressing someone — considered a mark of full attentiveness. His walk is described as purposeful and brisk, "as though descending a slope," and companions noted they had to hurry to keep pace with him despite his unhurried manner.

Clothing

Muhammad's ﷺ clothing was simple but deliberately clean and well-kept; hadith record him saying that God is beautiful and loves beauty, and that neatness in dress was not in conflict with humility. He commonly wore a waist-wrap (izar) with an upper wrap (rida), and later a long shirt-like garment (qamis); he owned a woolen striped cloak from Yemen that companions particularly remembered, and is recorded gifting a treasured mantle (burda) to a companion who admired it. He is reported to have shown a preference for white garments, reportedly saying they were among the best clothes to wear and to shroud the dead in, though he also wore and accepted garments in other colors, including green.

Personal hygiene

Muhammad ﷺ is described as meticulous about cleanliness, summarized in a hadith attributed to him that "cleanliness is half of faith." He used a tooth-stick (siwak, cut from the arak tree) so consistently — before each of the five daily prayers, upon waking, and before entering his own home — that Aisha reported he treated it as almost obligatory. He kept his nails trimmed, combed and oiled his hair regularly, trimmed his mustache while leaving his beard to grow, and treated bathing (ghusl) before Friday communal prayer as a near-obligation for every adult believer, given the close, crowded setting of congregational worship in a hot climate.

Fragrance

Muhammad ﷺ is widely reported to have loved perfume. A hadith attributed to him states, "Three things of your world were made dear to me: women, perfume, and the comfort of my eyes in prayer." He is recorded as never declining a gift of perfume when one was offered, regularly used musk and other scents, and companions reported being able to tell that he had recently passed through a place by the fragrance left behind — Anas ibn Malik remarked that he had never smelled musk or ambergris finer than Muhammad's ﷺ own scent. He particularly encouraged perfume before the Friday congregational prayer, given how closely worshippers stood together.

Presentation as faith, not vanity

Hadith preserve a direct exchange on this point: a man told Muhammad ﷺ he loved fine clothes and fine sandals, and asked whether this counted as forbidden pride. Muhammad ﷺ replied that God is beautiful and loves beauty, and clarified that pride (kibr) meant rejecting the truth out of arrogance and looking down on other people — not caring for one's appearance. In this framing, cleanliness, good clothing, and pleasant scent were treated as part of presenting oneself with dignity, for prayer and for others, rather than as indulgence to be avoided.

An overview

Muhammad ﷺ had six or seven children by most accounts, all but one with Khadijah: three or four sons, all of whom died in infancy or early childhood, and four daughters, all of whom reached adulthood. Infant and child mortality was extremely high in seventh-century Arabia, and the loss of his sons — including one born late in his life, when he was in his sixties — is recorded as having caused him visible, unconcealed grief, alongside a firm rejection of superstition in how that grief was interpreted, described below.

Qasim, Abdullah, and Ibrahim

Muhammad ﷺ and Khadijah's first child was a son, Qasim, who died as a toddler — his birth gave Muhammad ﷺ the honorific by which he was often known, Abu al-Qasim ("father of Qasim"). A second son, Abdullah — referred to in some traditions by the additional names al-Tayyib and al-Tahir ("the good," "the pure") — also died in infancy. Decades later, in Medina, his son Ibrahim was born to Mariyah al-Qibtiyya around 630, the only child born to Muhammad ﷺ after Khadijah's death; Ibrahim died at about eighteen months, in 630 or 631.

Zaynab, the eldest

Zaynab married Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi, a Meccan merchant who did not convert to Islam until years later. She remained in Mecca with her husband after the Hijrah, joining Muhammad ﷺ in Medina only some time afterward; sources describe her as injured in a fall from her camel during a tense journey, pursued part-way by hostile Meccans trying to prevent her migration — an injury from which she reportedly never fully recovered before her death a few years later. Her daughter, Umama, is the grandchild Muhammad ﷺ is recorded carrying on his shoulder during prayer.

Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum

Both daughters were married, in succession, to Uthman ibn Affan. Ruqayyah migrated with Uthman first to Abyssinia and later to Medina; she fell ill around the time of the Battle of Badr, and Muhammad ﷺ permitted Uthman to remain behind to care for her rather than join the battle — she died as the victory news reached Medina. After her death, Muhammad ﷺ gave Uthman his other daughter, Umm Kulthum, in marriage, earning Uthman the honorific Dhun-Nurayn ("Possessor of Two Lights") for having married two of the Prophet's daughters in turn. Umm Kulthum died in 630.

Fatimah, "a part of me"

Muhammad's ﷺ youngest daughter and, by nearly all accounts, his most beloved child. She married Ali ibn Abi Talib and was the mother of Hasan, Husayn, and two daughters, Zaynab and Umm Kulthum (the younger). Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have said of her, "Fatimah is a part of me; whoever angers her angers me," and to have risen from his seat to greet her whenever she entered a room, seating her in his own place. She survived her father by only around six months, and is reported to have been the first of his family to join him in death.

Hasan and Husayn

Fatimah and Ali's two sons were, by all accounts, doted upon. Muhammad ﷺ would get down on his hands and knees so they could climb onto his back, prolonged his prostration in prayer if one of them climbed onto him rather than disturb the child, and carried them on his shoulders, setting them down for each prostration and lifting them again afterward. He is reported to have said, "Hasan and Husayn are my two sweet basils in this world," and, on being asked why he kissed his grandchildren so often — a Bedouin visitor once remarked he had never kissed his own children — replied, "Whoever does not show mercy will not be shown mercy."

Further grandchildren

Beyond Hasan, Husayn, and Umama bint Zaynab, sources record other grandchildren who died young, including Ali, a son of Zaynab, and Abdullah, a son of Ruqayyah and Uthman — reflecting the same high child mortality that claimed Muhammad's ﷺ own sons. Hasan and Husayn's descendants (the sadah or sharifs) are traced by many Muslim genealogical traditions down to the present day, and Husayn's death at the Battle of Karbala in 680 became a foundational event in Shia Islam, commemorated annually on Ashura.

A tender, unhurried father

Across these accounts, companions consistently describe a man who made unhurried time for his children and grandchildren despite his responsibilities as a political and religious leader — playing with them on the floor of his home, interrupting his own routine to greet them, and treating open affection toward them as entirely compatible with his public role, at a time and place where public displays of affection toward children were not universally the norm among adult men.

A note on context

Muhammad ﷺ married once, to Khadijah, for the first 25 years of his adult life, taking no other wife while she lived. Nearly all his subsequent marriages took place in Medina after her death, during the last decade of his life, and — as described individually below — are presented in the earliest Islamic sources as serving specific social, political, or humanitarian functions: forging tribal alliances during a period of active conflict, providing for the widows of companions killed in battle, and incorporating formerly hostile clans into the Muslim community through kinship ties, a common practice among Arabian leaders of the era. The Quran (33:50) describes a specific dispensation permitting Muhammad ﷺ more wives than the limit of four later set for Muslim men generally (Quran 4:3), a distinction classical scholarship treats as unique to his prophetic role.

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid

Muhammad's ﷺ first wife and, for 25 years, his only wife — a wealthy Meccan merchant roughly 15 years his senior who proposed marriage after he successfully led her trading caravan to Syria. She was the first person to accept his prophethood and his principal source of emotional support through the difficult early years of revelation. Mother of all his surviving children except Ibrahim. She died in 619, during the "Year of Sorrow."

Sawda bint Zam'a

A widow of an early Muslim who had migrated to and returned from Abyssinia; her first husband died shortly after their return. Muhammad's ﷺ marriage to her, not long after Khadijah's death, is described as primarily a means of providing for her, since she had no other protector. Later tradition holds that in her old age she gave her allotted night with Muhammad ﷺ to Aisha.

Aisha bint Abi Bakr

Daughter of Muhammad's ﷺ closest companion, Abu Bakr. She became Muhammad's ﷺ favorite wife by most accounts and, after his death, one of the most important sources for hadith — over 2,000 hadith are attributed to her — and a respected authority on Islamic jurisprudence, later playing a significant political role during the early caliphate, including leading forces at the Battle of the Camel in 656.

Hafsa bint Umar

Daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab, widowed when her husband was killed at the Battle of Badr. She was later entrusted with the primary written compilation of the Quran assembled under Abu Bakr, which was kept in her custody until it was used as the basis for Uthman's standardized text.

Zaynab bint Khuzaymah

Known as Umm al-Masakin ("Mother of the Poor") for her charitable reputation before marriage. She died only a few months after marrying Muhammad ﷺ, making her marriage among the shortest of his household.

Umm Salama (Hind bint Abi Umayya)

Widow of a companion who died of wounds sustained at Uhud. Known for her intelligence and counsel; during the Hudaybiyyah negotiations, when Muhammad's ﷺ companions were reluctant to comply with the treaty's terms, it was Umm Salama's advice — that he simply begin the ritual shaving and sacrifice himself, prompting the others to follow — that resolved the impasse.

Zaynab bint Jahsh

Muhammad's ﷺ cousin, previously married to his adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah. Their marriage, discussed further in Era IV, is presented in the Quran (33:37) as establishing that adopted sons are not equivalent to biological sons in marriage law. She was known for her piety and charitable works, and reportedly took particular pride that her marriage, unlike the others, was described in the Quran itself.

Juwayriyya bint al-Harith

Daughter of the chief of the Banu al-Mustaliq, taken captive after the campaign against her tribe. Muhammad's ﷺ marriage to her led to her tribe's release from captivity and their incorporation into the Muslim community.

Umm Habiba (Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan)

Daughter of Abu Sufyan, then still a leading Meccan opponent of Islam. She had migrated to Abyssinia with her first husband, who converted to Christianity there; after his death, the Negus is said to have arranged her marriage to Muhammad ﷺ on his behalf. The marriage connected Muhammad ﷺ to the family of his most prominent Meccan adversary, some years before Abu Sufyan's own conversion.

Safiyya bint Huyayy

A woman of Jewish nobility, daughter of a Banu Nadir leader, captured at Khaybar after her father and husband were killed in the fighting. Muhammad ﷺ freed and married her; her marriage is recorded as facing some prejudice from other members of the household over her Jewish origin, which Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have firmly rebuked, telling her to respond to any taunts by noting that her father was Aaron the prophet, her uncle Moses, and her husband Muhammad ﷺ.

Maymuna bint al-Harith

Muhammad's ﷺ last wife, married during the peaceful pilgrimage of 629 (Umrat al-Qada). Her marriage connected Muhammad ﷺ by kinship to several prominent Meccans, including his future general Khalid ibn al-Walid, her nephew.

Mariyah al-Qibtiyya

A Coptic Christian woman sent as a gift, along with her sister, by the Muqawqis of Egypt in response to Muhammad's ﷺ letter inviting him to Islam. Mariyah bore Muhammad ﷺ a son, Ibrahim, who died in infancy around 630 — the only child born to Muhammad ﷺ after Khadijah's death. Her precise status — as a wife or as a concubine (umm walad, a status granting her freedom and inheritance rights for her son) — is treated differently across classical sources; most jurists classify her under the latter category rather than as a formal wife, though she is honored in tradition as the mother of Muhammad's ﷺ son.

Ghazawah and Sariyyah

Islamic military historiography distinguishes between a ghazwah (plural ghazawat), an expedition Muhammad ﷺ personally commanded, and a sariyyah (plural saraya), one he authorized and dispatched under another commander without joining himself. Classical sources such as Ibn Sa'd and al-Waqidi enumerate 27 ghazawat, of which roughly nine involved actual combat, and anywhere from 38 to over 50 saraya, depending on how minor reconnaissance or diplomatic parties are counted. The table below lists the major named campaigns in chronological order; smaller reconnaissance patrols and single-purpose diplomatic missions are omitted for readability.

Early reconnaissance expeditions

In the months following the Hijrah, Muhammad ﷺ dispatched several small reconnaissance and patrol expeditions (saraya) to monitor Quraysh caravan movements and establish alliances with neighboring tribes, including expeditions led by Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Ubaydah ibn al-Harith — none resulting in major engagement, but establishing the pattern of active monitoring that preceded Badr.

Battle of Badr (Ghazwah)

The first major battle, fought while intercepting a Quraysh caravan led by Abu Sufyan; a relief force from Mecca arrived instead, resulting in a decisive Muslim victory. Traditionally opened, per Arabian custom, with single combat between champions — Hamzah, Ali, and Ubaydah ibn al-Harith for the Muslims defeating their three Meccan opponents — before the general engagement. Around 70 Meccans were killed and a similar number taken prisoner; most prisoners were later ransomed or released, with some, unable to pay ransom, granted freedom in exchange for teaching literacy to Medinan children.

Expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa (Ghazwah)

Siege and expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa tribe from Medina; described in Era IV.

Battle of Uhud (Ghazwah)

Meccan retaliation for Badr; a costly tactical setback for the Muslims after archers broke formation, though Medina itself was not taken. Described fully in Era IV.

Expulsion of Banu Nadir (Ghazwah)

Siege of the Banu Nadir following accusations of a plot against Muhammad's ﷺ life; the tribe was expelled rather than killed, relocating largely to Khaybar, where some later helped organize the coalition that besieged Medina at the Trench.

Expedition against Banu Mustaliq (Ghazwah)

Campaign against the Banu al-Mustaliq, described in Era IV, resulting in Muhammad's ﷺ marriage to Juwayriyya bint al-Harith and the tribe's peaceful incorporation.

Battle of the Trench / Siege of Medina (Ghazwah)

Defense of Medina against a large coalition of Meccan and allied tribes using a defensive trench, followed by the siege and defeat of the Banu Qurayza. Described fully in Era IV.

The killing of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf (Sariyyah)

Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a poet of mixed Jewish-Arab descent allied with the Banu Nadir, had traveled to Mecca after Badr and composed verses mourning the defeated Quraysh and, by most accounts, verses insulting Muslim women — activity Islamic sources treat as incitement against the Medinan state during a period of active conflict. Muhammad ﷺ authorized his killing; a small party led by Muhammad ﷺ ibn Maslamah, a companion personally acquainted with Ka'b, gained access to him under pretense and killed him. This episode, along with a small number of similar sanctioned killings of vocal opponents during this period (including the poet Abu Afak and, by some accounts, Asma bint Marwan), is treated by historians as reflecting the harsh norms of inter-tribal conflict in the period, and is discussed by both classical and modern scholars in the context of the Medinan state's precarious security situation rather than as an isolated act; it remains one of the more scrutinized episodes in assessments of the era's conduct of conflict.

Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (diplomatic, not a battle)

Described fully in Era IV.

Battle of Khaybar (Ghazwah)

Campaign against the fortified Jewish oasis of Khaybar, described in Era IV, resulting in the settlement's surrender under a tribute arrangement.

Battle of Mu'tah (Sariyyah)

A dispatched expedition, not personally led by Muhammad ﷺ, against Byzantine and allied forces near Mu'tah in modern Jordan; described in Era IV. Notable for the sequential deaths of its first three commanders and Khalid ibn al-Walid's improvised leadership of the withdrawal.

Conquest of Mecca (Ghazwah)

The largest campaign of the period by force size, resulting in Mecca's surrender with minimal fighting. Described fully in Era V.

Battle of Hunayn (Ghazwah)

Engagement against the Hawazin and Thaqif tribes immediately following the conquest of Mecca; described in Era V.

Siege of Ta'if (Ghazwah)

Inconclusive siege using catapults against the fortified town of Ta'if, abandoned after roughly two weeks; described in Era V. Ta'if submitted peacefully the following year without further conflict.

Destruction of remaining idol shrines (Saraya)

Following the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad ﷺ dispatched several small parties to destroy the remaining major idol shrines of Arabia associated with hostile tribes, including the shrine of al-Uzza (led by Khalid ibn al-Walid) and of Manat near the coast — actions consistent with, and following directly from, the removal of idols from the Kaaba itself.

Tabuk expedition (Ghazwah)

Muhammad's ﷺ largest and final personally led expedition, a march toward Byzantine territory that resulted in no major battle but secured the submission of several northern tribes; described in Era V.

Usama ibn Zayd's expedition (Sariyyah, dispatched posthumously)

Planned in Muhammad's ﷺ final days and launched shortly after his death under Abu Bakr's authorization; described in Era VI.