Prophetic Era

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (c. 594–653 CE) was among the earliest converts to Islam, a close companion of the Prophet, and the scholar who carried the Quranic and legal tradition to Kufa. His teaching circle became the intellectual ancestor of the Hanafi school of law.

A wife of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), daughter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and the most prolific woman transmitter of hadith in Islam. The Prophet died in her apartment. She taught and issued legal rulings in Medina for more than four decades after him.

Ammar ibn Yasir (c. 567-657 CE) was among the earliest converts to Islam and the most severely persecuted, son of Sumayyah bint Khayyat, the first martyr of Islam. He governed Kufa under Umar and was killed at Siffin in 657 fighting for Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Anas ibn Malik (c. 612-712 CE) attended the Prophet Muhammad's household for about ten years from the age of roughly ten, and became one of the most prolific narrators of hadith in Islam. He settled in Basra, taught a generation of scholars, and was the last Companion to die there.

Asma bint Abu Bakr (595-692 CE), daughter of Abu Bakr and sister of Aisha, earned the title 'Woman of Two Belts' for her crucial role in the Prophet's migration to Medina, demonstrating extraordinary courage and faith throughout her 100-year life.

The first major military victory of the Muslim community on March 13, 624 CE, where 313 Muslims defeated a much larger Meccan army. This decisive battle established the military credibility of the Islamic state and marked the beginning of Islamic expansion.

The Battle of Khandaq (627 CE), also called the Battle of the Trench, was a twenty-seven-day siege of Medina by a coalition of some ten thousand Quraysh and allied tribes. On Salman al-Farsi's advice the Muslims dug a defensive trench, and the coalition withdrew without a decisive battle.

The Battle of Uhud (March 625 CE) was the second major engagement between Medina's Muslims and the Meccan Quraysh. After an early Muslim advantage, archers left their posts, enabling a Qurayshi cavalry attack that wounded the Prophet, killed Hamza, and ended in a strategic draw.

Bilal ibn Rabah (580-640 CE), the first muezzin of Islam and one of the most beloved companions of Prophet Muhammad, known for his beautiful voice, unwavering faith under torture, and his role in breaking racial barriers in early Islamic society.

The conquest of Mecca in 630 CE (8 AH) was the decisive event of the Prophetic era. After eight years of exile, Prophet Muhammad led ten thousand Muslims into the city, declared a general amnesty, purified the Kaaba of its idols, and transformed the Arabian political landscape.

The Constitution of Medina (622 CE) was a written agreement between Prophet Muhammad and the communities of Medina — Muslim emigrants, Muslim Medinan tribes, and several Jewish tribes — establishing mutual obligations, collective defense, and a framework for resolving disputes.

The youngest daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and Khadijah, and the only one of his children to outlive him. She married Ali ibn Abi Talib and was the mother of Hasan and Husayn, through whom the Prophet's line of descent continues.

Hafsa bint Umar, daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab and a wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), held the written compilation of the Qur'an made under Abu Bakr. Uthman borrowed it from her for the standardisation of the text. She was literate, transmitted hadith, and died in 45 AH.

Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib (d. 625 CE), paternal uncle and foster-brother of Prophet Muhammad, was among the strongest defenders of the early Muslim community in Mecca and was killed at the Battle of Uhud. His killer's own account of the day is preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari.

The Hijra (622 CE) was Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina, marking the Islamic calendar's beginning and establishing the first Islamic state. This pivotal event transformed Islam from a persecuted movement into a thriving autonomous community.

Juwayriyya bint al-Harith (c. 608-670 CE) was a wife of Prophet Muhammad whose marriage led to the liberation of her entire tribe, the Banu Mustaliq. Known for her beauty and profound devotion to dhikr, she is remembered as a great blessing to her people.

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (d. 619 CE) was the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and the first person to believe in his prophethood. A woman of independent wealth in the Meccan caravan trade, she reassured him after the first revelation and took him to Waraqah ibn Nawfal.

Maymuna bint al-Harith was the last woman Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) married, during the compensatory pilgrimage of 7 AH. Sister of the wife of al-Abbas and maternal aunt of Abdullah ibn Abbas, she transmitted hadith on ritual purification and died at Sarif.

Nusaybah bint Ka'ab, known as Umm Ammara, was an Ansari woman of Medina who took the Second Pledge of Aqaba, fought in defence of the Prophet at Uhud, and lost a hand at Yamama. Three hadith are transmitted from her.

Qutham ibn Abbas was a son of the Prophet's uncle al-Abbas and served as governor of Mecca under Ali ibn Abi Talib. Little else about him is firmly established. The Shah-i-Zinda shrine at Samarkand grew around a tomb attributed to him, on the basis of a tradition scholarship treats as legendary.

Ruqayyah bint Muhammad was a daughter of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and Khadijah. She married Uthman ibn Affan and migrated with him to Abyssinia, the only one of the Prophet's daughters to do so. She died in Medina in Ramadan 2 AH during the Battle of Badr.

Safiyya bint Huyayy was a wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and one of the Mothers of the Believers. Born into the Banu Nadir, one of the Jewish tribes of Medina, she entered the Prophet's household after the reduction of Khaybar in 7 AH.

Salman al-Farsi was a Persian who left Zoroastrianism for Christianity, was sold into slavery on his way to Arabia, and became a Companion of Prophet Muhammad. His own first-person account of that search survives, and he is credited in the biographical sources with proposing the trench at Khandaq.

Sawda bint Zam'a was a wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and one of the Mothers of the Believers. An early Muslim who emigrated to Abyssinia, she married the Prophet after Khadijah's death. Sahih al-Bukhari records her giving her allotted day and night to Aisha.

Suhaib ibn Sinan al-Rumi, an early companion of Prophet Muhammad, sacrificed his entire fortune to emigrate from Mecca to Medina. The Prophet declared him 'the profit of the trade' and the Quran praised those who sell themselves seeking God's pleasure.

Sumayyah bint Khayyat was an early convert in Mecca and the mother of the companion Ammar ibn Yasir. Killed under torture by Abu Jahl for refusing to renounce Islam, she is remembered as the first person to die for the faith.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) had seven children according to the majority of early sources: three sons, al-Qasim, Abdullah and Ibrahim, who all died in childhood, and four daughters, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah. Only Fatimah survived him.

The Farewell Pilgrimage (Hajjat al-Wada) of 632 CE was the only Hajj Prophet Muhammad performed after the Hijra. Its rites, recorded in detail by his companions, became the model for Hajj in Islamic law, and his addresses at Arafat and Mina set out enduring obligations.

The Meccan Period (610-622 CE) encompasses the first thirteen years of Prophet Muhammad's mission, from the first revelation to the Hijra. This period saw the establishment of Islamic monotheism and the formation of the early Muslim community.

The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (628 CE / 6 AH) was a ten-year truce between the Muslims of Medina and the Quraysh of Mecca. Though its terms seemed to favor the Quraysh and many companions opposed it, within two years it fueled the community's rapid growth and the near-bloodless entry into Mecca.

Umm Habiba, born Ramla bint Abi Sufyan, was a wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and daughter of the Quraysh leader Abu Sufyan. She accepted Islam early, emigrated to Abyssinia, and her marriage to the Prophet was contracted there by proxy through the Negus.

Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad was a daughter of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and Khadijah. After the death of her sister Ruqayyah she married Uthman ibn Affan, from which comes his epithet Dhu al-Nurayn. She had no children and died in Medina in Sha'ban 9 AH.

Umm Salama, born Hind bint Abi Umayyah of the Makhzum clan, was a wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). At Hudaybiyyah her counsel resolved the impasse when the Companions hesitated to comply with the treaty. She was the last of the Prophet's wives to die.

Zayd ibn Harithah (d. 8 AH / 629 CE) was enslaved as a boy, raised in the household of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and adopted by him, and known as Zayd ibn Muhammad until the Qur'an ended adoptive lineage. He is the only Companion named in the Qur'an, and died at Mu'tah.

Zaynab bint Jahsh (d. 20 AH) was a cousin and wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), and the only wife whose marriage is addressed directly in the Qur'an. Surah al-Ahzab treats the marriage together with the ruling that adoption does not create lineage.

Zaynab bint Khuzayma was a wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), known by the epithet Umm al-Masakin, the Mother of the Poor. Married in 3 AH, she died within months, one of only two of the Prophet's wives to die during his lifetime.

Zaynab bint Muhammad was a daughter of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and Khadijah. She married her maternal cousin Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi, who refused Qurayshi pressure to divorce her when she accepted Islam. She joined her father in Medina and died there in 8 AH.