Part One: Before the Light (Pre-570 CE to 570 CE)
The history of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) does not begin with his birth, but with a divine light. This light, the Nūr-i-Muḥammadī, was the first creation of Allah. It passed from prophet to prophet, from Adam to Nuh (Noah), to Ibrahim (Abraham), manifesting as a radiant glow on their foreheads. Through a pure and unbroken lineage, this light descended through Isma’il (Ishmael), Adnan, Ma’ad, and finally to the Quraysh, the noblest tribe of Arabia. It rested in the forehead of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the venerable chief of Makkah, and was split between his two sons, ‘Abdullah and Amina, a celestial sign that their union was ordained to bring forth the Seal of the Prophets.
‘Abdullah, the most handsome and noble youth of his time, was married to Amina bint Wahb, the most chaste and respected lady of the Banu Zuhra clan. A light shone from his face. Shortly after the marriage, on a trading journey to Gaza, ‘Abdullah fell ill and passed away in Yathrib (Madinah), leaving his pregnant wife a widow. The unborn child was now an orphan, a state deeply significant, for the Almighty took it upon Himself to be his direct guardian. Amina, in her solitude, would hear celestial voices and see divine lights. When her time approached, a unique event occurred: every idol in the Kaaba fell prostrate on its face, and a tremor shook the palace of the Persian Kisra (Chosroes), extinguishing its sacred fire which had burned for a thousand years. The world was signaling the end of an era.
On the 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal, in the Year of the Elephant (570 CE), the blessed birth took place. As he entered this world, a radiant light burst forth, illuminating the heavens and the earth. He fell into prostration, his tiny finger raised towards the sky, declaring the oneness of God. His grandfather, ‘Abd al-Muttalib, overjoyed, carried him to the Kaaba, pressed him to his heart, and named him Muhammad (the Praised One) – a name unknown among the Arabs. On the seventh day, he was circumcised, and a grand feast was given.
As per the noble custom of the Quraysh, he was entrusted to a Bedouin wet-nurse, Halima Sa’diya, from the Banu Sa’d tribe. The moment this orphan child entered Halima’s impoverished household, blessings cascaded. Her barren land sprouted grass, her emaciated animals overflowed with milk, and prosperity embraced them. She witnessed the child’s unique nature: he suckled only from one side, leaving the other for his foster-brother. Two angels in white came to him, opened his chest, removed a black clot (the portion of Satan from his heart), and washed it with celestial snow, filling it with wisdom and faith. Fearing for his safety, Halima returned him to his mother.
At the tender age of six, his mother Amina took him on a journey to Yathrib to visit the grave of his father ‘Abdullah. On the return journey, at a desolate place called Abwa, she fell gravely ill and breathed her last in the arms of her young son. The six-year-old, having lost father and now mother, was taken back to Makkah by the faithful maid Umm Ayman, into the care of his grieving grandfather, ‘Abd al-Muttalib, who loved him with an intensity that surpassed his affection for all his own sons. He would seat the boy on his special mat near the Kaaba, a place no one else was allowed to sit. But this solace was short-lived. Within two years, when the Prophet was eight, ‘Abd al-Muttalib also passed away. The orphan was now entrusted to his paternal uncle, Abu Talib.
Abu Talib, a man of immense dignity but modest wealth, and his devoted wife, Fatima bint Asad, embraced him not as a nephew but as their own son. Their love for Muhammad became legendary. Fatima bint Asad would often go hungry to feed him first. Abu Talib would take him on his trading caravans to Syria. It was on one such journey, when Muhammad was twelve, that they met the Christian monk Bahira at Busra, who, seeing a cloud perpetually shading the boy and recognizing the seal of prophethood between his shoulders, urgently told Abu Talib, “Take your nephew back quickly to his land and guard him against the Jews, for by God, if they see him and know what I know, they will do him harm. Great things are in store for this nephew of yours.”
As a youth, Muhammad (PBUH) stood apart from the society of Makkah, a city drowning in idolatry, gambling, and tribal feuds. He was known as Al-Amin (the Trustworthy) and Al-Sadiq (the Truthful). His integrity was such that during the rebuilding of the Kaaba after a flood, a dispute erupted among the clans over who would have the honor of placing the sacred Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad). The first person to enter the sanctuary the next morning was Muhammad. They all shouted, “This is Al-Amin! We are satisfied with his judgment.” He placed the stone on a cloak, asked a representative of each clan to hold a corner, and when they raised it to the proper height, he himself placed it in its position with his noble hands. He was thirty-five.
Part Two: The Proclamation and the Lonely Struggle (610-622 CE)
His truthfulness and wisdom led a wealthy noblewoman, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, to hire him to manage her trade caravans. Impressed by his integrity and the extraordinary profits her business made, and aware of his spiritual stature, she proposed marriage. He was twenty-five, and she was a forty-year-old widow. She was his first and dearest confidante, his pillar of strength, and the mother of his children, all his sons (Qasim and Abdullah) dying in infancy, and four daughters surviving: Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatima (AS).
As he approached forty, his yearning for solitude and contemplation intensified. He would retreat to the Cave of Hira on the Mountain of Light (Jabal al-Nur) for days and weeks, taking only simple provisions. It was here, in the desolate silence, that the universe was preparing for its greatest event. On the 27th of Rajab, while he was in deep meditation, the Archangel Jibra’il (Gabriel) manifested before him in a blaze of glory, filling the horizon. The angel commanded, “Iqra!” (Read/Recite!). The Prophet, terrified and illiterate, replied, “I am not a reader.” The angel squeezed him with a force that felt like death, then released him and repeated, “Iqra!” The Prophet again said, “I am not a reader.” A third time, the angel squeezed him and then transmitted the first verses of Divine Revelation:
“Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists). He has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not.” (Quran, 96:1-5)
Trembling, his heart pounding, the Prophet rushed down the mountain and home to Khadijah, crying, “Cover me! Cover me!” (Zammiluni, Zammiluni). As he calmed and recounted the terrifying experience, Khadijah, the first to believe, stood by him with unshakeable faith. She assured him, “By Allah, He will never disgrace you. You maintain ties of kinship, speak the truth, bear the burden of the weak, help the poor, serve your guests, and champion righteous causes.” She took him to her aged Christian cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who confirmed the divine nature of the visit, foretelling that the Namus (Angel of Revelation) who came to Musa (Moses) had come to him, and that he would be a Prophet for this nation, and that his people would drive him out and fight him.
The command for public proclamation came with the verse: “And warn your tribe of near kindred” (26:214). The Prophet invited the Banu Hashim clan to a meal. After they had eaten, he stood and declared, “I am the Messenger of Allah to you… Who among you will support me in this matter and be my brother, my executor (Wasi), and my successor (Caliph) among you?” Silence fell upon the assembly. No one stirred. Finally, a young boy, barely a teenager, stood up. It was Ali ibn Abi Talib (ASWS) , the cousin who had been raised in the Prophet’s own home. “I, O Prophet of God, will be your helper and your supporter in this matter.” The Prophet placed his hand on Ali’s neck and declared, “Verily, this is my brother, my executor, and my successor among you. So listen to him and obey him.” The elders, including Abu Lahab, scoffed, saying to Abu Talib, “He has commanded you to listen to and obey your own son!”
The public call from Mount Safa was met with outright hostility. The Prophet called, “O people of Quraysh! If I were to tell you that an army was behind this mountain about to attack you, would you believe me?” They replied, “Yes, we have never known you to lie.” He then said, “Then I am a warner to you of a severe punishment from Allah.” Abu Lahab, his own uncle, roared, “May you perish! Is it for this you gathered us?” and a Surah of the Quran was revealed condemning Abu Lahab and his wife to the flames.
The reaction of the Mushrikeen (polytheists) of Makkah evolved from ridicule to violent persecution. They tortured the powerless Muslim converts, like Bilal al-Habashi, an Abyssinian slave whose master would lay him on the burning desert sand under a massive rock, while he gasped the one word: “Ahad! Ahad!” (One! One!). The family of Yasir, Sumayyah, and their son Ammar, were tortured mercilessly. Sumayyah, an elderly woman, was bayoneted to death by Abu Jahl, becoming Islam’s first martyr. The Prophet’s own safety was secured only by the unwavering protection of his uncle, Abu Talib. Despite never officially abandoning the religion of his forefathers, Abu Talib’s political and moral support was the fortress of Islam.
The Quraysh, seeing Islam grow slowly despite their terror, imposed a complete social and economic boycott on the entire Banu Hashim clan, trapping them in the barren valley of Shi’b Abi Talib. For three excruciating years, they ate leaves and animal skins, the cries of starving children echoing in the valley, all for upholding their tribal duty to protect the Prophet.
The year the boycott was lifted was 619 CE, a year of unspeakable personal grief for the Prophet, known as the Year of Sorrow (Aam al-Huzn). His beloved wife, Khadijah, the first Muslim, the financier of Islam, his emotional refuge, passed away. A short time later, his stalwart protector, Abu Talib, also died. The Prophet was now without his two strongest earthly shields. The grief-stricken Prophet named that year the Year of Sorrow. With Abu Talib gone, the Quraysh became so bold that a ruffian threw dust on the Prophet’s head. He sought solace outside Makkah, going to Ta’if, but was met with ridicule, stoned by street urchins until his heels bled, and driven out. Bleeding and heartbroken, he prayed the famous supplication in an orchard, and an angel offered to crush the city between two mountains, but the Prophet of Mercy refused, hoping their progeny would one day believe.
In this darkest hour, the celestial journey occurred: the Isra and Mi’raj. From the Masjid al-Haram to the Masjid al-Aqsa (Jerusalem), and from there, a physical ascension through the seven heavens, past all the previous Prophets, to the Sidrat al-Muntaha, the Lote Tree of the Furthest Boundary, where he was in the direct presence of the Divine, receiving the gift of the five daily prayers.
Simultaneously, divine wisdom was at work. A delegation of six men from Yathrib (Madinah), a city riddled with tribal warfare between the Aws and Khazraj, met the Prophet at Aqaba during the Hajj season. They recognized the truth and believed. The next year, twelve delegates took the First Pledge of Aqaba, and the year after that, seventy-three men and two women gave the Second Pledge of Aqaba, a solemn oath to protect the Prophet as they would their own wives and children. This signaled a turning point. The Prophet instructed his followers in Makkah to make a quiet, painstaking emigration (Hijrah) to Yathrib. They left in small groups, leaving behind their homes, wealth, and families.
The final night was a masterpiece of human betrayal and divine protection. The Quraysh chiefs, in the Dar al-Nadwa (Council House), plotted to kill the Prophet. They decided that one young, strong man from each clan would strike him simultaneously, so his blood would be on all the tribes and the Banu Hashim could not seek revenge. Jibra’il revealed the plot. The Prophet told Ali (ASWS) , “Sleep in my bed, and wrap yourself in my green cloak. No harm will come to you.” Ali, whose life was to be the ransom for the Prophet, asked, “Will my life be safe if I do this?” The Prophet affirmed it. Ali slept peacefully, a young man willingly offering his soul for his master. The assassins surrounded the house. The Prophet, reciting the verse, “And We have put a barrier before them and a barrier behind them, and We have covered them so they see not” (36:9), threw a handful of dust at them and walked through their midst, unseen. He met Abu Bakr, and they began the perilous journey, hiding in the cave of Thawr for three days. A spider spun a web, and a dove nested at the entrance, fooling the search party that came within inches. Ali remained in Makkah for three more days to return the trusts people had deposited with the Prophet, the very people who had plotted his murder. He then undertook the Hijrah on foot, his feet blistered and swollen, joining the Prophet in Madinah.
Part Three: The Era of Battles – The Lion of Allah Unleashed (624-630 CE)
Yathrib became Madinat-un-Nabi (The City of the Prophet). Here, the Prophet established the first Islamic state, built the Masjid an-Nabawi, and created a pact of coexistence with the Jewish tribes. He paired the Muhajirun (Emigrants) and Ansar (Helpers) in a bond of brotherhood, famously pairing Ali (ASWS) with himself, declaring, “You are my brother in this world and the Hereafter.”
The polytheists of Makkah, furious at the escape and the growth of Islam, seized the properties of the emigrants and sent a threatening letter to Madinah. The divine permission to fight back was then revealed: “Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory” (22:39). Thus began the armed struggle.
- The First Battle – Badr (2 AH / 624 CE):The Quraysh sent a richly-laden caravan from Syria, led by Abu Sufyan, whose goods were partly the plundered wealth of the Muhajirun. The Prophet set out with 313 ill-equipped men—only two horses and seventy camels—to intercept it, not intending full-scale war. Abu Sufyan, learning of the ambush, changed route and called for a Makkan army. An army of 1000 well-equipped warriors, including the chief villains of Quraysh like Abu Jahl, Utbah, and Shaybah, marched to crush the Muslims.
The two forces met at the wells of Badr. The night before the battle, the Prophet, after ensuring his men’s readiness, spent the entire night in fervent prayer, weeping and supplicating under a tree: “O Allah, if this small band of Muslims perishes today, You will not be worshipped on Earth!” On the morning of the 17th of Ramadan, the battle began with single combat. The Makkan champions—Utbah, his son Al-Walid, and his brother Shaybah—stepped forth. The Prophet sent forth three Ansari youths. The Makkans scoffed, “We have no business with you; send out our equals from our own tribe!” The Prophet then sent Hamza (the Prophet’s uncle, the Lion of Allah), Ubaydah ibn al-Harith, and Ali ibn Abi Talib (ASWS) . This was the first clash of the titans. Hamza killed Shaybah. Ali, with his legendary double-bladed sword, Zulfiqar, struck down Al-Walid in a single, devastating blow. The duel of Ubaydah and Utbah ended with both mortally wounded. Hamza and Ali then fell upon Utbah and killed him.
Then, the full battle erupted. Ali (ASWS) was a terrifying whirlwind of divine wrath. In the thick of the battle, his sword seemed to sing. He alone was responsible for slaying over twenty of the most prominent Quraysh warriors, including the standard-bearers. Among them was Abu Jahl, the “Pharaoh of this Ummah.” On that day, a voice from heaven proclaimed the famous message heard by Jibra’il: “La Fata illa Ali, La Saifa illa Zulfiqar” (There is no hero but Ali, there is no sword but Zulfiqar). The battle ended in a miraculous, decisive victory for the Muslims. The chief architects of persecution lay dead on the sands of Badr.
- The Battle of Uhud (3 AH / 625 CE):The defeat at Badr seared the Quraysh heart. A year later, under Abu Sufyan, they returned with 3,000 warriors to avenge their dead. The Prophet, after consulting with his companions, opted to meet them outside the city with a force of 1,000. The night march was the scene of the first betrayal. Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the leader of the hypocrites of Madinah, withdrew his 300 men, saying, “He obeyed the young ones and disobeyed me. Why should we get ourselves killed?” The Muslim force was now 700, facing a force over four times its size.
The Prophet positioned his army with the mountain of Uhud at their back and placed 50 archers on a rocky hill under Abdullah ibn Jubayr with the strictest command in military history: “Defend our backs with your arrows. If you see us being routed and the birds picking at our flesh, do not leave this position. And if you see us victorious and us collecting the spoils, do not leave this position. Your first duty is to secure this hill.”
The battle began. The Lion of Allah, Hamza, fought with the fury of a cornered lion, killing several Makkan standard-bearers. Ali (ASWS) once again stood as an impenetrable shield and a devastating sword, slaying the enemy’s champions. The Muslim onslaught was so intense that the Quraysh broke ranks and fled. Victory seemed certain. The Muslim warriors on the front lines began to collect the spoils of war.
It was at this critical moment that the defining tragedy occurred. The archers on the hill, seeing the enemy retreat and the spoils being collected, fell into a fatal error. Despite their commander’s desperate pleas to obey the Prophet’s order, about forty of the fifty archers argued, “The battle is won! Why stay here?” They deserted their post and ran down for the spoils.
Khalid ibn al-Walid, then an astute enemy commander, saw the gaping hole in the Muslim defense. He immediately wheeled his cavalry around, attacked the hill, and killed the remaining ten archers, including the steadfast Abdullah ibn Jubayr. Now, the Muslim army was attacked from the rear, trapped in a pincer movement. The tide turned into a massacre.
Panic engulfed the Muslim ranks. In the chaos, a shout was heard: “Muhammad has been killed!” The morale shattered completely. The Prophet, however, was in the thick of it with a small, tight circle of his most loyal. He himself was wounded; two links of his chain mail were driven into his cheek, a stone broke a lower tooth, and he fell into a pit bleeding.
This is the moment that separates the true believers from the false. While the majority fled in utter disarray—some climbing the mountain, some running past the wounded Prophet without stopping—a handful held the line. Ali (ASWS) , along with Abu Dujanah, Talha, and a few others, formed a human shield. Ali brought water in his shield to wash the Prophet’s wounds. Fatima (AS) came to the battlefield and burned a mat to press its ashes into the wound to stop the bleeding. Ali continuously repelled the waves of enemy attackers, his sword shattering, and the Prophet gave him Zulfiqar. The arch-villain Wahshi, an Abyssinian slave, had been promised freedom if he killed Hamza. Taking aim with his javelin from a distance, he speared the Lion of Allah, Hamza, who fell as a glorious martyr. The Quraysh women, led by Hind (Abu Sufyan’s wife), mutilated the bodies of the Muslim dead, Hind ripping out Hamza’s liver and chewing it. When the Prophet saw his uncle’s desecrated body, he wept and named him Sayyid ash-Shuhada (the Chief of the Martyrs). The Battle of Uhud was a bitter lesson in the cost of disobeying the Prophet.
- The Battle of the Trench (Ahzab) (5 AH / 626 CE):The Quraysh, smarting from the near-miss at Uhud, now orchestrated the greatest military coalition Arabia had ever seen. They allied with the powerful Ghatafan tribe and other Bedouin groups, and crucially, incited the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza in Madinah to break their treaty with the Muslims and attack from within. A confederate force of 10,000 men marched on Madinah.
This time, on the brilliant suggestion of Salman al-Farsi, the Muslims dug a massive, strategic trench across the exposed northern approach to the city. When the massive confederate army arrived, they were stunned. This was an “un-Arabic” form of warfare. They were forced into a prolonged siege that lasted over two weeks, their numbers rendered useless by the trench.
A small band of the enemy’s boldest horsemen, led by the legendary warrior Amr ibn Abd Wudd, managed to find a narrow point and force their horses across. He stood on the Muslim side, issuing a thunderous challenge for single combat, his veins bulging with pride. He was a warrior considered equal to a thousand. Silence fell on the Muslim camp. No one dared step forward to face him.
The Prophet issued the call three times: “Who will stand before this man and relieve the Muslims of his evil?” Every time, only Ali (ASWS) stood up. The first two times, the Prophet told him to sit, hoping someone else would volunteer. The third time, the Prophet himself girded Ali with his own sword, Zulfiqar, tied his battle turban with his own hands, and sent him forth with the prayer: “O Lord, he is my brother and my cousin; do not leave me alone.” He then uttered the profound statement: “All Faith (Al-Iman Kulluhu) is going to confront all Disbelief (Al-Kufr Kulluhu).”
As Ali walked to the duel, Amr, who was a friend of Ali’s father Abu Talib, said condescendingly, “Go back, young man. Your father was my friend, and I do not wish to kill you.” Ali’s reply was a declaration of the two choices of Islam: “But I wish to kill you. I invite you to the oneness of God and the Prophethood of Muhammad, or to return to your land.” Amr charged. A cloud of dust rose, obscuring them. The Muslims heard the clang of steel and the cry of “Allahu Akbar!” from Ali. When the dust settled, Ali (ASWS) was seated on the chest of the decapitated Amr ibn Abd Wudd. This single act of valor broke the morale of the confederates. A severe, freezing windstorm then uprooted their tents, overturned their cauldrons, and threw their camp into chaos. Abu Sufyan, declaring the siege over, retreated in humiliation. The defeat was so comprehensive that the Prophet declared, “This is the day of the final strike. No more will the Quraysh attack us. Now we will go to them.”
- The Conquest of Khaybar (7 AH / 628 CE):After the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah brought a temporary truce with the Quraysh, the Prophet turned to the northern threat: the formidable fortresses of Khaybar, a nest of Jewish tribes who were constantly conspiring against the Islamic state. These were a series of impenetrable citadels, the strongest being Qamus, Na’im, and the almost mythical fortress of Al-Qamus.
The first day, the Prophet gave the standard to Abu Bakr, who led a force but returned unsuccessful. The next day, he gave it to Umar ibn al-Khattab, who returned in a similar state, with the men complaining of the strength of the enemy’s champion, a giant named Marhab, whose martial poem boasted of his invincibility. After these unsuccessful attempts, the Prophet made a historic declaration that evening: “Tomorrow, I shall indeed give the standard to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him. He will not flee from the battlefield. He will not return except with victory.”
That night, every chief of the Muhajirun and Ansar hoped to be that man. The next morning, the Prophet asked, “Where is Ali?” They said he had an eye infection and was lying down in pain. The Prophet went to him, applied his blessed saliva to Ali’s eyes, and they were instantly healed. He handed him the standard.
Ali (ASWS) advanced to the fortress of Khaybar. The first to emerge was the giant Marhab, clad in impenetrable armor, his head covered with a stone helmet, singing his war challenge. Ali replied with his own verse. As Marhab struck, his blow was so heavy that Ali’s shield was split. But Ali held firm. As Marhab prepared a second strike, Ali’s lightning-fast sword Zulfiqar descended, cleaving Marhab’s stone helmet, his head, and descending to his teeth in a single, devastating blow. The sound of the impact was heard across the camp. Ali was now faced with a heavy iron gate of the fortress. Several companions could not even move it. In an unparalleled display of superhuman strength granted by divine favor, Ali (ASWS) ripped the massive gate from its hinges, single-handedly, and used it as a shield to cross the moat. Later, after the conquest, forty men could not lift that gate. Khaybar was conquered, not by numbers, but by the sheer, divinely-assisted might of Ali-ul-Murtaza (ASWS).
- The Final Conquest and the Forgotten Promises:
The truce was broken by the Quraysh, and in 8 AH, the Prophet marched on Makkah with a 10,000-strong army. The conquest was almost bloodless, a testament to the mercy of the Prophet, who declared a general amnesty: “Go, you are all free!” He entered the Kaaba and, with Ali (ASWS) standing on his shoulders, personally smashed the 360 idols, reciting, “Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is bound to vanish” (17:81).
This was followed by the crucial but often painful Battle of Hunayn. The Muslims, proud of their large numbers, were initially ambushed in a narrow valley. Panic set in, and once again, the vast majority fled, leaving the Prophet alone on his white mule. The scene of Uhud repeated itself. A handful of men stood their ground. Abbas (the Prophet’s uncle) held the mule’s bridle. On his right was Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith. And on his left, in the thick of the flying arrows and spears, repelling every attack, was Ali-ul-Murtaza (ASWS) . The Prophet was calling his fleeing men back, while Ali was cutting down any enemy who dared approach. It was this small, steadfast core that turned the tide and secured victory.
The final campaign was the Expedition of Tabuk against the Byzantine Empire. This was a time of extreme hardship. The Prophet ordered all to prepare. This was the expedition where many hypocrites made excuses. The Prophet left Ali (ASWS) in charge of Madinah as his deputy (Caliph), telling him, “Are you not content that you are to me as Harun (Aaron) was to Musa (Moses), except that there is no prophet after me?” This firmly established the bond of brotherhood, deputyship, and succession.
Part Four: The Farewell and the Final Stand
In 10 AH, the Prophet performed his Farewell Hajj (Hajjat al-Wida’) . On the return journey, at a crossroads called Ghadir Khumm, the final, public, and most explicit proclamation was made. A divine verse came down: “O Messenger! Proclaim that which has been sent down to you from your Lord; and if you do not, you have not conveyed His Message” (5:67). The caravan of over 100,000 pilgrims was halted. A pulpit was made of camel saddles. The Prophet, with Ali beside him, took Ali’s hand and raised it so high that the whiteness of their underarms showed. He asked the assembly, “Do I not have more authority (Awla) over the believers than they have over themselves?” They cried, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah!” He then declared, “For whomever I am his Master (Mawla), Ali is his Master (Mawla). O Allah, befriend whoever befriends him, and be hostile to whoever is hostile to him. ” The revelation was then completed: “This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My Favor upon you” (5:3). Umar ibn al-Khattab was among the first to congratulate Ali, saying, “Congratulations, O son of Abu Talib! This morning you have become my Mawla and the Mawla of every believing man and woman.”
A few months later, the Prophet fell ill. In his final days, an immense tragedy unfolded in his own house—the Calamity of Thursday. As he lay on his bed in pain, surrounded by his companions, he made a request that could have altered history: “Bring me a shoulder blade and ink-pot so that I may write for you a document, after which you will never go astray.” A clamor erupted. Instead of obedience, an argument broke out. Umar ibn al-Khattab declared, “The man is overcome by the pain of illness! The Book of Allah is sufficient for us!” Some supported him, while others, including the household, insisted on bringing the writing materials. The noise and dispute pained the Prophet. He finally dismissed them all in grief, and the opportunity for that written, eternal guidance was lost forever.
His health faded rapidly. He sought his final moments in the chamber of his beloved daughter, Fatima Zahra (AS) . He whispered something to her that first made her weep, and then smile. He told her, “Jibra’il has informed me that I am to depart this world,” making her weep. Then he told her, “You will be the first of my family to join me, and you are the chief of the women of Paradise,” making her smile.
In his final moments, his head was resting on the chest of Ali (ASWS) . The Angel of Death asked permission to enter. The Prophet of Mercy, the Seal of the Prophets, whom all creation was created for, uttered his final words in this world, “With the Highest Companion, with the Highest Companion.” His soul was taken on the 28th of Safar, 11 AH. Ali (ASWS), his brother, his executor, his gate of knowledge, performed the ritual washing (Ghusl) of his blessed body, accompanied by the angels. He was buried in the very spot he passed away, in the chamber of Ayesha, the soil of Madinah embracing the final resting place of the Mercy to the Worlds.
The life that began with a divine light and a prostrating infant ended with a grief-stricken successor washing his body, a testament to a loyalty that spanned from the cradle of Islam’s call to its final breath. The history of the Holy Prophet is inseparable from the unwavering, divinely-ordained support of Maula Ali-ul-Murtaza, even as the human frailty of lesser men repeatedly cost the Muslim community, leaving the Prophet alone at Uhud and Hunayn, and finally, denying him even a pen and paper on his deathbed.