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Exploring the origins of militant Islam

We have designed this website for Western readers to help them explore the origins of Islam, the militant religion that began with the revelations of the Arab prophet Muhammad in 610CE, and that soon afterwards became known to the rest of the world as ‘the Religion of the Sword.’

Swordsmanship played a major part in the life of the prophet Muhammad who led his warriors into no fewer than twenty-seven attacks and battles in his lifetime, and whose ardent followers, after his death in 632CE, spilled out of Arabia and went on to attack and conquer much of the known world and threaten the very existence of Christianity and Judaism in the Middle East.

It is important to understand that the religion of Islam, which Muslims are commanded in the Quran to impose on the rest of the world through jihad (armed struggle), is based solely on the actions and words of one man: the warrior prophet Muhammad himself.

The entire Quran, in which Muhammad claimed to be channeling the words of the god Allah, came out of his mouth in Arabic during his lifetime, and Allah in the Quran states that Muhammad is the perfect pattern for all Muslims to follow. Thus the entirety of Islamic law - Sharia - is based not only on Muhammad’s revelations in the Quran, but also on his own often violent words and deeds and instructions, as recounted in Muslim biographies and in the massive collections of Muslim anecdotes known as the hadith.

The year 2024 represents the 1400th anniversary of the Battle of Badr in 624CE, Muhammad’s first major victory over the so-called ‘enemies of Islam’ and the first battle in which he urged young Muslim warriors to throw themselves recklessly into the fray with the promise of achieving either victory and plunder on earth, or death as martyrs and houris in Paradise.

The Life of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq

There are no Western biographies of the prophet Muhammad that are not based on Muslim sources, for the simple reason that his existence was unknown to the world outside Arabia until after his death. So here on this website we provide a short easy-to-read version of the first original authentic biography of the warrior prophet Muhammad, The Life of Muhammad by eighth-century Muslim scholar Ibn Ishaq, who was born in Medina about 704CE, little more than 70 years after Muhammad’s death in 632CE.

1. Muhammad in Mecca

The Prophet Muhammad’s birth and early years in pagan Mecca. His marriage to wealthy widow Khadija. The first revelations of the Holy Quran and the apparition of the Angel Gabriel at age 40. His claims to prophethood, preachings, and warnings of hellfire. The first converts to Islam. Rejection and mockery by the Meccans. Early arguments, violence and conflicts with the Meccans. The first Muslim emigration to Abyssinia. The boycott of Muhammad’s family clans. The famous incident of the Satanic Verses. The ending of the boycott. [read more]

2. The Migration to Medina, 622CE

The Prophet Muhammad’s unsuccessful journey to al-Taif to get armed support against his own people. Hailed as a prophet by the pagan tribes of Medina. His Night Journey to Jerusalem on Buraq, and his Ascent to Heaven. The First Pledge of Aqaba in 621CE with the warriors of the Aus and Khazraj tribes. Allah’s command to wage war on unbelievers. The Pledge of War and the Hijra [the Emigration to Medina] in 622CE. Rejection by the Jews of Medina. The Charter of Medina. The re-introduction of stoning for adultery. [read more]

3. Muhammad's Raids on the Quraysh, 623CE

The first Muslim raids on Meccan camel caravans. The first successful armed raid at Nakhla. The first killing in the name of Islam and the first division of the spoils of war. The Prophet’s plans for an armed attack at Badr on a large Meccan camel caravan led by Abu Sufyan. [read more]

4. The Battle of Badr, 624CE

The march of the Meccan army to Badr to defend the caravan. Muslim destruction of wells at Badr. The Battle of Badr. The Prophet’s first incitements of young men to martyrdom with the promise of Paradise. The victory of the Muslims. The slaughter of the Meccans and the taunting of the bodies of his enemies in the night. The beheading of captive opponents on the way back to Medina with the spoils. The siege and exiling of the Jewish tribe, the Beni Qaynuka. The assassination of Jewish poet Ka’b b. Al-Ashraf and the order to kill Jews in Medina. [read more]

5. The Battle of Uhud, 625CE

The grief of the Quraysh. Their revenge attack on Medina at the Battle of Uhud. The death of Muslim warrior Hamza in battle. The rout of the Muslims. Mutilation of the bodies of Muslims in revenge for Badr. The Prophet’s escape. The beheading of al-Harith. The assassination of Abu Afak. The assassinations of Jewish poetess Asma b. Marwan and Jewish leader Khalid b. Sufyan and the reprisals. [read more]

6. Exile and Massacre of the Jews and The Battle of the Trench, 627CE

The siege and exiling of the Jewish tribe, the Beni al-Nadir. The Siege of Medina by the Meccans and their allies. The Battle of the Trench. The Prophet’s use of deceit to confound his enemies. The siege and massacre of the men of the Jewish tribe the Beni Qurayza. The Prophet’s choice of Rayhana. [read more]

7. The Killing of Sallam and the Assault on Khaybar

The assassination of Jewish leader Sallam. The Prophet’s attack on the Beni-al Mustaliq. The scandal concerning Aisha and the lashing of the slanderers.The Muslim raid on the Beni Fazara and the hideous death of their leader Umm Qirfa.The crucifixion and amputation of thieves. Muhammad’s pilgrimage to Mecca, the Pledge of al-Ridwan and the signing of the Treaty of Hudaybiya with the Meccans. The sending of envoys to neighbouring tribes and countries inviting submission to Islam. The Prophet’s dawn attack on the Jews of Khaybar. The torture and killing of Jewish leader Kinana. The Prophet’s choice of Safiya. The attempted cyanide poisoning of the Prophet by a captive Jewish woman. [read more]

8. The Conquest of Mecca and the First Attacks on Christian Syria

The Prophet orders the first Muslim attack on Byzantine Christian Syria at Muta. The Conquest of Mecca with 10,000 armed warriors. The destruction of idols at the Kabah. The Prophet’s death list. The Battle of Hunayn against the Hawazin and the Siege of al-Taif. The Prophet’s attack on Tabuk in Christian Syria with 30,000 men. The Proclamation of The Discharge of all Treaties and Obligations to Unbelievers and Allah’s command to wage jihad on Jews and Christians until they are utterly subdued. [read more]

9. The Death of the Prophet and the Origins of the Caliphate

The Year of Deputations from the tribes of Arabia. The rival prophet Musaylima. The Prophet’s farewell pilgrimage and sermon. His final orders as to the treatment of women. His last illness and his dying wish for the Muslims to attack Christian Syria and establish Allah’s reign throughout the world. [read more]

Appendix 1: Chronology of the Prophet's Life and Wars

The classically accepted and definitive chronology of the Prophet's raids, attacks, battles, assassinations, massacres and wars against unbelievers that took place between 622CE, the Year of the Hijrah (Migration to Medina), and the Prophet's death in 632CE. Also includes notes on the months of the Arabic lunar calendar. [read more]

Appendix 2: The Swords of the Prophet

An illustrated list of the nine named swords of the Prophet, including the famous battle-sword, Zulfiqar, as well as those seized as booty from the Beni Qaynuka. Also includes the names of the Prophet's spears including the Anaza later depicted on the first Islamic coins. [read more]

Appendix 3: The Top 20 Military Tactics of the Prophet Muhammad

The top twenty military tactics of the Prophet who started with a few impoverished companions in Mecca and ended with a 30,000 strong force of well-armed Islamic believers who after his death in 632CE would spill out of Arabia and go on to conquer much of the known world and threaten the very existence of Christianity and Judaism in the Middle East. [read more]

Appendix 4: The Charter of Medina

The full text of the Charter of Medina, an important treaty drawn up by Muhammad with the Jews and other tribes of Medina to defend the city from attack, and by which the Prophet first bound the Muslims of Mecca (the Emigrants) and the Muslims of Medina(the Ansar) into one umma (community) and religious fighting force 'to the exclusion of all (other) men.' [read more]

Appendix 5: Lists of the Prophet's Raids and Battles

Contains several lists from original sources: 27 attacks and battles in which the Prophet Muhammad took part including the nine military engagements in which he personally fought, 11 other Muslim expeditions and raiding parties, 18 more Muslim raids ordered by the apostle, and a supplementary list of six more attacks and assassinations described in Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah but not included in the previous lists. [read more]

Appendix 6: The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad

Introduction. Pre-Islamic infanticide in Arabia. Pre-Islamic freedom of women in Arabia. Early Islamic treatment of women in Medina: female genital mutilation, slavery, concubinage and polygamy accepted into the sunna of the Prophet. The beginnings of his harem. His re-introduction of stoning for adultery. The Divine Verse of the Hijab, or the ‘full covering of women’ as instigated by Omar. Islamic superiority of men over women. The rota system. Wife-beating commanded in the Quran. Ibn Hisham’s list of the Prophet’s wives and concubines. [read more]

Ibn Ishaq’s ‘Life of Muhammad’ is also available in booklet form from Widows Press. See below.