Quraysh

Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (c. 566-653 CE) was the Prophet Muhammad's uncle who protected him from within Mecca, facilitated the conquest, and became the ancestor of the Abbasid dynasty that ruled the Islamic world for five centuries.

Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (c. 580-652 CE) was among the earliest converts to Islam and one of the Ten Promised Paradise. A renowned merchant who built great wealth in Medina and gave lavishly in charity, he served on the council that chose the third caliph, Uthman.

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.

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.

Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (767–820 CE) founded the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence and was the architect of Islamic legal theory. His Al-Risala established the first systematic framework for deriving law from its sources, resolving a crisis of conflicting legal opinions.

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.

The holiest city in Islam, birthplace of Prophet Muhammad, and site of the Kaaba. Located in Saudi Arabia's Hejaz region, it is the destination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage and the direction of prayer for Muslims worldwide.

Sa'id ibn Zayd (c. 600-671 CE) was an early convert to Islam and one of the Ten Promised Paradise. Son of the pre-Islamic monotheist Zayd ibn Amr and brother-in-law of Umar ibn al-Khattab, he helped spark Umar's conversion and fought in the conquest of Syria.

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.

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.

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.