Muhammad’s Missions and Campaigns to 632

After twelve years of persecution of his Muslim believers and the ostracism of his Hashemite clan, Muhammad led his followers on the Hijra, or ‘flight’ from Mecca to Medina. There he established a political and religious state governed in accordance with his Constitution of Medina. In 624 and 625, Muhammad fought battles against confederations of Arab tribes led by the Meccans, intent on crushing the nascent Islamic city-state, and conquered Arab tribes in Kufa and Al-Yamama, where they submitted to Muhammad as the prophet of God. By a mixture of proselytization and shrewd diplomacy, Muhammad grew in power and cut Mecca’s supply routes, eventually achieving the almost bloodless occupation of Mecca in 629. By 632, western Arabia was under Muslim control, as well as Muscat in the East. However, upon his death, a series of rebellions, the Ridda wars, occurred, often led by rival prophets, which were ruthlessly crushed by Muhammad’s successor, Abu Bakr.