of the second year of the Hijra to the battle of
Badr, in which Muhammad with a little over 300 followers
gained a victory over 900 Meccans. At his first coming
to Medina he had made advances to the Jews there, but
had found little acceptance. He now turned against them.
One after another their tribes were expelled; the last
was cruelly put to the sword. The Quraish of Mecca made
various attempts to check the growing power of their
emigrated kinsman, but though they gained one considerable
success at the battle of Uhud, they never succeeded
in wiping out the effect of the victory at Badr. Their
opposition was gradually undermined, and in the year
8 of the Hijra, Muhammad gained possession of Mecca
almost without a struggle. The Meccan sanctuary, the
Ka'ba, was cleansed from idolatry, and soon the ceremonies
of the Pilgrimage were incorporated into Islam. Muhammad's
power had by this time extended almost all over Arabia.
An expedition northwards in the year 8 came into conflict
with Roman troops at Muta and suffered defeat. Next
year the Prophet in person led an expedition to Tabuk,
which had no great result. A third expedition, meant
for the Syrian frontier, was gathering at Medina when
Muhammad died. This was in the year A.D. 632, less than
ten years after his leaving Mecca. His prophecies were
collected a year or two after his death, and form the
Qur'an. The final redaction of it was made in the caliphate
of Uthman, about twenty years after Muhammad's death.
When we inquire as to the development of |
