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The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
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The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

His life ﷺ

Sixty-three years, from a birth in Mecca to a death in Medina: forty years before the message, thirteen in Mecca, ten in Medina. Here is his life ﷺ in dates, and the pages that tell it.

His life ﷺ in dates

The sources date by the Year of the Elephant, by his age ﷺ, then by the Hijra. The Christian-era years are calculated from their dates, to within a year before the Hijra.

  • Around 571: birth in Mecca, on a Monday, in the Year of the Elephant.
  • Around 577: death of his mother, Amina. He ﷺ is six.
  • Around 579: death of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib. His uncle Abu Talib takes him in.
  • Around 595: at twenty-five, he travels to Syria for Khadija, then marries her.
  • Around 610: at forty, the first revelation, in the cave of Hira.
  • 622: the Hijra, from Mecca to Medina. Start of the Muslim calendar.
  • 624 (2 AH): the battle of Badr.
  • 625 (3 AH): the battle of Uhud.
  • 627 (5 AH): the siege of Medina, known as the battle of the Trench.
  • 628 (6 AH): the truce of Hudaybiya.
  • 630 (8 AH): the conquest of Mecca, then Hunayn.
  • 630 (9 AH): the expedition of Tabuk.
  • 632 (10 AH): the Farewell Pilgrimage.
  • 632 (11 AH): his death in Medina, on a Monday in Rabi’ I, at sixty-three.

Each date is sourced on its own page, with its divergences where the sources have them.

Before the message

  1. Overview: what this period establishes, and what it does not guarantee.
  2. Lineage and family: from Ishmael to Abd Allah and Amina.
  3. The Year of the Elephant and the birth.
  4. Childhood: nursing, the opened chest, the orphan.
  5. Bahira and his youth: the journey to Syria, the shepherd.
  6. Khadija, the Ka’ba and al-Amin, up to Hira.

The message and the Hijra

  1. Overview: thirteen years in Mecca, ten in Medina.
  2. The revelation and the first believers: Hira, Waraqa, Khadija.
  3. The preaching in Mecca and the opposition: the public call, Abyssinia, the boycott, Ta’if.
  4. The Isra and Mi’raj: the Night Journey.
  5. Aqaba and the Hijra: the two pledges, the cave, Quba.
  6. Medina: the community and the pact.
  7. From Badr to Tabuk: the great milestones, from 2 AH to 9 AH.
  8. The Farewell Pilgrimage and his death.

How this page connects to the others

Sources for this page

This page gathers the dates from the pages cited, where each has its source.