Taif is a city and governorate in the Province of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of 1,879 m (6,165 ft) in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat Mountains, the city has a population of 563,282 people in 2022, making it one of the most populous cities in the kingdom.
The Quraysh was an Arab tribe that inhabited and controlled Mecca and its Kaaba. Comprising 10 main clans, it included the Hashim clan, into which the Islamic prophet Muhammad was born. By 600 CE, the Quraysh had become wealthy merchants, dominating trade between the Indian Ocean, East Africa, and the Mediterranean. They ran caravans to Gaza and Damascus in summer, and Yemen in winter. They also mined and pursued other enterprises on these routes. They were known for their hilm, which refers to 'steadiness' or 'absence of hotheadedness'. In practice, this meant that they placed business interests first and maintained a measure of unity despite their rivalries.
The Banu Thaqif is an Arab tribe which inhabited, and still inhabits, the city of Ta'if and its environs, in modern Saudi Arabia, and played a prominent role in early Islamic history.
The military career of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet, encompasses several expeditions and battles throughout the Hejaz region in the western Arabian Peninsula which took place in the final ten years of his life, from 622 to 632. His primary campaign was against his own tribe in Mecca, the Quraysh. Muhammad proclaimed prophethood around 610 and later migrated to Medina after being persecuted by the Quraysh in 622. After several battles against the Quraysh, Muhammad conquered Mecca in 629, ending his campaign against the tribe.
This is a timeline of major events in the Muslim world from 601 AD to 700 AD.
Ṣafwān ibn Umayya was a sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
The Battle of Hunayn was a conflict between the Muslims of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the tribe of Qays in the aftermath of the conquest of Mecca. The battle took place in 8 AH in the Hunayn valley on the route from Mecca to Taif. The battle ultimately ended in a decisive victory for the Muslims, and it is one of the few battles mentioned by name in the Qur'an, where it appears in Surat at-Tawbah.
The siege of Ta'if took place in 630, as the Muslims under the leadership of Muhammad besieged the city of Ta'if after their victory in the battles of Hunayn and Autas. One of the chieftains of Ta'if, Urwah ibn Mas'ud, was absent in Yemen during that siege. However, the city did not succumb to the siege. Muhammad brought trebuchets and testudos to use against the fortress, but was unable to penetrate it with these weapons.
The first Islamic State or the State of Medina was the first islamic state established by Islamic prophet Muhammad in Medina in 622 CE under the Constitution of Medina. It represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah (nation). After Muhammad's death, his companions known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Rashidun) founded the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), which began massive expansion and motivated subsequent Islamic states, such as the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) and Abbasid caliphate (750–1258).
Abu Abd Allah al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba ibn Abi Amir ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi ; c. 600–671), was a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was known as one of the four 'shrewds of the Arabs'. He belonged to the tribe of Thaqif of Ta'if, who were part of the early Islamic elite. He served as governor of Kufa, one of the two principal Arab garrisons and administrative centers of Iraq, under Caliph Umar in 642–645. In his old age, al-Mughira was again made governor of Kufa, serving under the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I from 661 until his death in 671. During his second governorship, he ruled with virtual independence from the caliph.
The Battle of Autas or Awtas was an early battle involving Muslim forces, fought in the year 630 in Awtas, after the Battle of Hunayn, but prior to the siege of Ta'if. Muhammad came with 12,000 fighters against a coalition of tribes. An ambush took place and a rain of arrows were fired on the Muslims. The Muslims, however, came out victorious.
The Banu Sulaym is an Arab tribe that dominated part of the Hejaz in the pre-Islamic era. They maintained close ties with the Quraysh of Mecca and the inhabitants of Medina, and fought in a number of battles against the Islamic prophet Muhammad before ultimately converting to Islam before his death in 632. They took part in the Muslim conquest of Syria, and established themselves in the Jazira, while part of the tribe remained in the Hejaz. During the early Muslim period, the tribe produced notable generals such as Safwan ibn Mu'attal, Abu'l-A'war and Umayr ibn al-Hubab. Those who remained in Arabia were largely absorbed by the Banu Harb of Yemen beginning in the 9th century, while those in Syria and the Jazira were expelled to Upper Egypt by the Fatimid Caliphs in the late 10th century for supporting the Qarmatians. In the mid-11th century, a prolonged famine in Egypt prompted the tribe to migrate westward with the Banu Hilal into Libya. There, the Sulaym and its sub-tribes established themselves mainly in Cyrenaica, where to the present day, many of the Arab tribes of that region trace their descent to the Sulaym.
The diplomatic career of Muhammad encompasses Muhammad's leadership over the growing Muslim community (Ummah) in early Arabia and his correspondences with the rulers of other nations in and around Arabia. This period was marked by the change from the customs of the period of Jahiliyyah in pre-Islamic Arabia to an early Islamic system of governance, while also setting the defining principles of Islamic jurisprudence in accordance with Sharia and an Islamic theocracy.
Qays ʿAylān, often referred to simply as Qays were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe appears to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic Arabia. However, by the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750), its constituent tribes consolidated into one of the main tribal political factions of the caliphate.
The Hawazin were an Arab tribe originally based in the western Najd and around Ta'if in the Hejaz. They formed part of the larger Qays tribal group. The Hawazin consisted of the subtribes of Banu Sa'd, and Banu Jusham, as well as the powerful Banu Thaqif and Banu Amir, which were both often counted separately from the Hawazin.
Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in service to Muhammad and the first two Rashidun caliphs: Abu Bakr and Umar. Khalid played the leading command roles in the Ridda Wars against rebel tribes in Arabia in 632–633, the initial campaigns in Sasanian Iraq in 633–634, and the conquest of Byzantine Syria in 634–638.
Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya, commonly known by his kunyaAbu Sufyan, was a prominent opponent-turned companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the father of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I and namesake of the Sufyanid line of Umayyad caliphs which ruled from 661 to 684.
Malik ibn Awf was a companion of Muhammad and a leader of the Hawazin tribe of Ta'if. Before he converted to Islam, he was one of the commanders in the Battle of Hunayn against the Muslims. His tribe, the Ta'if, fought in the battle along with the Thaqif tribe. He was a prominent knight who commanded armies and held a high rank among his people. He converted to Islam before Muhammad's death.
The Muslim–Quraysh War was a six-year military and religious war in the Arabian Peninsula between the early Muslims led by Muhammad on one side and the Arab pagan Quraysh tribe on the other. The war started in March 624 with the Battle of Badr, and concluded with the Conquest of Mecca.
