Conquest of Mecca

The conquest of Mecca (Arabic: فتح مكة ‎ fatḥ makkah) is the historical event when Mecca was opened for and conquered by Muslims on 11 December 629 CE (Julian), 18 Ramadan, 8 AH in the ancient (intercalated) Arabic calendar. Muhammad started the journey on 6 Ramadan and entered Mecca on 18 Ramadan.

Background

In 628, the Meccan tribe of Quraysh and the Muslim community in Medina signed a 10-year truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyah.

According to the terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Arab tribes were given the option of joining either of the parties, the Muslims or Quraysh. Should any of these tribes face aggression, the party to which it was allied would have the right to retaliate. As a consequence, Banu Bakr joined Quraysh, and Khuza'ah joined Muhammad. They thus lived in peace for some time; but ulterior motives stretching back to the pre-Islamic period, ignited by unabated fire of revenge, triggered fresh hostilities. Banu Bakr, without concern for the provisions of the treaty, attacked Banu Khuza'a in a place called Al-Wateer in Sha'ban, in 8 AH. Quraysh helped Banu Bakr with men and arms, taking advantage of the dark night. Pressed by their enemies, the tribesmen of Khuza'ah sought the Holy Sanctuary, but here too, their lives were not spared, and, contrary to all accepted traditions, Nawfal, the chief of Banu Bakr, chased them in the sanctified area — where no blood should be shed — and massacred his adversaries. Khuza'ah at once sent a delegation to Medina to inform the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, of this breach of truce and to seek help from Muslims of Medina being their allies.

Muhammad after the occupation of Mecca

The period of Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca started with the Conquest of Mecca in 630 and ended with his death in 632.

History

This period was preceded by the period of Muhammad in Medina.

630

Occupation of Mecca

The Muslim army entered and occupied Mecca in the year 630 CE. In 628 the Meccan tribe of Quraish and the Muslim community in Medina signed a truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyya. Despite improved relations between Mecca and Medina after the signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, a 10-year peace was to be broken by Quraish who, with their allies, the tribe of Bakr, attacked the tribe of Khuza'ah who were allies of the Muslims. However, Muhammad considered the treaty broken. Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Quraish in Mecca, was aware that the balances were now tilted in Muhammad's favour, went to Medina to restore the treaty but Muhammad refused to accommodate him and Abu Sufyan returned to Mecca empty-handed. When he learned that a Muslim army of 10,000 soldiers was marching towards Mecca, he converted to Islam and negotiated Mecca's transfer of power to avoid a conquest. Muhammad acted generously to the Meccans, demanding only that the pagan idols around the Kaaba be destroyed.

Muhammad

Muḥammad (Arabic: محمد‎; c. 570 CE – 8 June 632 CE), is the central figure of Islam and widely regarded as its founder. He is known to Muslims as the "Holy Prophet", almost all of whom consider him to be the last prophet sent by God to mankind to restore Islam, which they believe to be the unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings, practices, and the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed to him by God, formed the basis of Islamic religious belief.

Born approximately in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, Muhammad was orphaned at an early age; he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. After his childhood Muhammad primarily worked as a merchant. Occasionally, he would retreat to a cave named Hira in the mountains for several nights of seclusion and prayer; later, at age 40, he reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave and received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" (lit. islām) to him is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, similar to the other prophets in Islam.

Muhammad (name)

Muhammad (Arabic: محمد‎) is the primary transliteration of the Arabic given name, مُحَمَّد‎, from the triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D; Praise and becomes conjugated to Muhammad, which means "The Most Praised One". It is the name of the Islamic prophet. Throughout the Muslim world, it is popular to name a male child after him. This name and its variant transliterations are among the most popular names in the world.

Lexicology

The name Muḥammad is the strictest and primary transliteration of the Arabic given name, محمد, that comes from the Arabic passive participle and triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D (Praise); hence Praised, or praiseworthy. However, its actual pronunciation differs colloquially, for example, in Egyptian Arabic: IPA: [mæˈħæmmæd], while in exclusively religious contexts, talking about Islam: IPA: [moˈħæmmæd].

The name has one of the highest spelling variants in the world. Other Arabic names from the same root include Mahmud, Ahmed, Hamed, and Hamid.

Transliterations

Muhammad (disambiguation)

Muhammad is an Islamic and Baha'i prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam.

Muhammad (various spellings) may also refer to:

Persons with the name Muhammad and no other name

Other uses

Mecca

Mecca (/ˈmɛkə/) or Makkah (Arabic: مكة‎ Makkah) is a city in the Hejaz in Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of that kingdom's Makkah Region. The city is located 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was roughly 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during the hajj ("pilgrimage") period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.

As the birthplace of Muhammad and the site of Muhammad's first revelation of the Quran (specifically, a cave 3 km (2 mi) from Mecca), Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam and a pilgrimage to it known as the Hajj is obligatory for all able Muslims. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, by majority description Islam's holiest site, as well as being the direction of Muslim prayer. Mecca was long ruled by Muhammad's descendants, the sharifs, acting either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger polities. It was conquered by Ibn Saud in 1925. In its modern period, Mecca has seen tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure, home to structures such as the Abraj Al Bait, also known as the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel, the world's third tallest building and the building with the largest amount of floor area. During this expansion, Mecca has lost some historical structures and archaeological sites, such as the Ajyad Fortress. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj. As a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan and diverse cities in the Muslim world, despite the fact that non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the city.

Mecca (musician)

Keen Cotter better known by his stage name Mecca or Young Mecca, is a St. Lucian Hip Hop artist and songwriter. Growing up on the island, he was one of the brave to defy norms and to move towards a more urban musical art form despite the dominance of other genres like Soca and Calypso. Part of his early popularity arose from his performances at stage shows opening for regional and international acts.

Early life and career beginnings

Mecca was born Keen Cotter on July 22, 1983. He grew up in the southern fishing village of Laborie, St. Lucia and While in secondary school, Mecca began to pursue a music career. He started off by performing dancehall tracks by Red Rat and then moved on to hip hop tracks by Puff Daddy, Mase and Biggie Smalls. He was invited to perform alongside toasting champion Dj Grinch and this led to a healthy songwriting relationship for a few years. Mecca's first original single and release was "Punk Daddy" in 1998.

2001-02: Riddim Rydez

Teaming up with fellow Laborian artist Shepp Dawg, the duo formed Rhymaz Inc and released two mixtapes within six months - Riddim Rydez Vol. 1 & 2. These mixtapes allowed for Mecca and Shepp to open for Elephant Man, Wayne Marshall, Kyprich and Assassin.