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Seerah · the timeline

The 23 years of prophethood

From the first revelation in the cave of Hira to his passing in Madinah — the events that shaped the message, each one dated and sourced.

23years of prophethood~610 – 632 CE
13years in Makkahcall, patience, persecution
10years in Madinah1 – 11 AH
44events marked12 turning points
The arc of 23 years — band width follows how many marked events fall in each stretch.
Makkah · the first years ~610–615 CEMakkah · the years of trial ~615–619 CEMakkah · sorrow and the turning ~619–622 CEMadinah · the community takes shape 622–626 CEMadinah · siege and truce 626–629 CEMadinah · the religion completed 629–632 CE

~610–615 CEbefore the Hijra

Makkah · the first years

Revelation begins in the cave of Hira, and the call is carried quietly before it is made public.

  1. ~610 CE approx.

    The first revelation in the cave of Hira

    Near the age of forty, in retreat on Jabal an-Nur, the Prophet ﷺ is told by the angel: “Read, in the name of your Lord who created.” Prophethood begins.

    Qur’an 96:1–5 · Sahih al-Bukhari 3

  2. ~610 CE approx.

    Khadijah believes; Waraqah recognises the sign

    Khadijah bint Khuwaylid comforts him and becomes the first to believe. Her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who knew the scriptures, says the same angel came to Musa.

    Sahih al-Bukhari 3

  3. ~610 CE approx.

    The pause in revelation, then Surah al-Muddaththir

    Revelation stops for a time (the fatrah). It resumes with “O you who covers himself, arise and warn” — the command to begin the mission in earnest.

    Qur’an 74:1–7 · Sahih al-Bukhari

  4. ~610–613 CE approx.

    The quiet call, and the house of al-Arqam

    For roughly three years the call is private, carried to those close and trusted. Believers gather discreetly at the house of al-Arqam near as-Safa.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  5. ~610–613 CE approx.

    Abu Bakr, ‘Ali and Zayd accept Islam

    Among the earliest to believe are Abu Bakr from the men, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib from the young of the household, and Zayd ibn Harithah from the freedmen.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa‘d

  6. ~613 CE approx.

    The public call from the hill of as-Safa

    Commanded to “warn your closest kindred,” the Prophet ﷺ climbs as-Safa and calls the clans of Quraysh by name. They grant his honesty, then reject his warning.

    Qur’an 26:214 · Sahih al-Bukhari 4770

~615–619 CEbefore the Hijra

Makkah · the years of trial

Open preaching brings persecution: the weak are tortured, believers cross to Abyssinia, and Banu Hashim are boycotted.

  1. ~614–616 CE approx.

    Quraysh turns to persecution

    The powerless suffer worst. Bilal ibn Rabah, enslaved, is pinned under a rock in the midday heat repeating “One, One,” until Abu Bakr buys and frees him.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq · Sahih al-Bukhari 240

  2. ~615 CE approx.

    Sumayyah and Yasir die under torture

    The family of Yasir is tortured for their faith. Sumayyah bint Khayyat is counted the first martyr of Islam; her husband Yasir also dies of his treatment.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  3. ~615 CE approx.

    The first migration to Abyssinia

    To spare the weak, the Prophet ﷺ sends a small party across the Red Sea to Abyssinia, whose Christian king, the Negus, was known for his justice.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  4. ~616 CE approx.

    The second migration, and Ja‘far before the Negus

    A larger group follows. Quraysh send envoys demanding their return; the Negus hears Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib recite from Surah Maryam and refuses to hand them over.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  5. ~616 CE approx.

    Hamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib accepts Islam

    The Prophet’s ﷺ uncle Hamzah, a respected fighter of Quraysh, enters Islam. His standing gives the small community a measure of protection in Makkah.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  6. ~616 CE approx.

    ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab accepts Islam

    One of the fiercest opponents of the message becomes one of its strongest defenders. The sirah records that after ‘Umar believed, the Muslims prayed openly at the Kaaba.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  7. ~616–619 CE approx.

    The boycott of Banu Hashim, and its collapse

    Quraysh bar all trade and marriage with Banu Hashim, penning the clan in a mountain valley for about three years until hunger and shifting opinion break the boycott.

    sirah: Ibn Hisham

~619–622 CEbefore the Hijra

Makkah · sorrow and the turning

Khadijah and Abu Talib die, Ta’if refuses him, the Night Journey comes, and Yathrib pledges itself.

  1. ~619 CE approx.

    The Year of Sorrow — Khadijah and Abu Talib die

    Within a short span the Prophet ﷺ loses his protector Abu Talib and his wife of twenty-five years, Khadijah. The biographers name it ‘Am al-Huzn.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  2. ~619–620 CE approx.

    The journey to Ta’if

    Seeking a town that might receive the message, he ﷺ goes to Ta’if and is driven out with stones. Offered the destruction of the town, he asks instead for its children to be guided.

    Sahih al-Bukhari 3231 · sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  3. late Makkan years approx.

    Al-Isra wal-Mi‘raj, and the five daily prayers

    In one night he ﷺ is taken from the Sacred Mosque to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, then raised through the heavens, where the five daily prayers are made obligatory.

    Qur’an 17:1 · Sahih al-Bukhari 3887

  4. ~621 CE approx.

    The first pledge at al-‘Aqabah

    At the pilgrimage season twelve men from Yathrib meet the Prophet ﷺ at the pass of al-‘Aqabah and pledge themselves to him and to the faith.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Hisham)

  5. ~621 CE approx.

    Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr sent to teach in Yathrib

    The Prophet ﷺ sends Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr back with them as teacher. Islam spreads through the city’s two great tribes, Aws and Khazraj.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Hisham)

  6. ~622 CE approx.

    The second pledge at al-‘Aqabah

    The next season some seventy-three men and two women of Yathrib pledge to protect him as they would their own households. The city is ready to receive him.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Hisham)

  7. 622 CE

    Quraysh resolve to kill him

    As believers slip away to Yathrib in small groups, the leaders of Quraysh agree to be rid of the Prophet ﷺ outright — a plot the Qur’an recalls to him.

    Qur’an 8:30 · sirah: Ibn Ishaq

622–626 CE1–4 AH

Madinah · the community takes shape

A mosque, a brotherhood and a written covenant; the qiblah turns, Ramadan is made obligatory, and Badr and Uhud are fought.

  1. 622 CE · 1 AH

    The Hijra, and three days in the cave of Thawr

    He ﷺ leaves Makkah with Abu Bakr and the two hide three days in the cave of Thawr. “Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us.” This migration fixes year 1 AH.

    Qur’an 9:40 · Sahih al-Bukhari 3653

  2. 622 CE · 1 AH

    Arrival at Quba, then entry into Madinah

    He stops at Quba on the city’s edge, where the first mosque is built, then enters Yathrib — thereafter al-Madinah — welcomed by its people.

    sirah (standard accounts)

  3. 622 CE · 1 AH

    Masjid an-Nabawi is built

    On a plot where his camel knelt he builds the first Masjid an-Nabawi, of palm trunks and mud brick — at once the place of prayer, of teaching and of public affairs.

    sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  4. 622 CE · 1 AH

    The brotherhood, and the covenant of Madinah

    Each Makkan emigrant is paired as brother with a Madinan host, sharing home and wealth. A written covenant then sets the terms between the city’s Muslim and Jewish communities.

    Sahih al-Bukhari 3781 · covenant: sirah: Ibn Hisham

  5. ~623–624 CE · 1–2 AH approx.

    Permission to fight is given

    After thirteen years of enduring without reply, permission to fight is granted — to those who had been wronged and driven from their homes.

    Qur’an 22:39

  6. 624 CE · 2 AH

    The qiblah turns to the Sacred Mosque

    After praying toward Jerusalem, the believers are commanded to turn their faces to al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah — the qiblah they have kept ever since.

    Qur’an 2:144 · Sahih al-Bukhari

  7. 624 CE · 2 AH

    Fasting Ramadan is made obligatory

    Fasting the month of Ramadan is prescribed for the believers, “as it was decreed upon those before you” — the month in which the Qur’an was sent down.

    Qur’an 2:183–185

  8. 624 CE · 2 AH

    Badr

    At the wells of Badr in Ramadan, some 313 Muslims meet a Makkan force of about a thousand and prevail. The Qur’an recalls the day as a favour granted when they were few.

    Qur’an 3:123

  9. 625 CE · 3 AH

    Uhud

    Quraysh return in force. The Muslims hold the advantage until archers leave their posts and the Makkan cavalry turns the day; the Prophet ﷺ is wounded and Hamzah is killed.

    Qur’an 3:152

626–629 CE5–7 AH

Madinah · siege and truce

The Trench, the judgment on Banu Qurayzah, the truce of Hudaybiyyah, letters to the kings, Khaybar and the ‘umrah fulfilled.

  1. 627 CE · 5 AH

    The Trench (al-Khandaq)

    A coalition of tribes besieges Madinah. On Salman al-Farisi’s advice a trench is dug across the open approaches; after weeks of siege the coalition withdraws without a battle.

    Qur’an 33:9–27

  2. 627 CE · 5 AH

    The judgment on Banu Qurayzah

    Banu Qurayzah, bound to Madinah by treaty, sided with the besiegers. They surrendered and chose Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh as arbiter; he ruled that the fighting men be executed and the rest taken captive.

    Sahih al-Bukhari 4121

  3. 628 CE · 6 AH

    The truce of al-Hudaybiyyah

    Setting out for ‘Umrah with some 1,400 companions, he ﷺ is blocked at al-Hudaybiyyah and agrees a ten-year truce on hard terms. The Qur’an calls it a clear victory.

    Qur’an 48:1

  4. 628–629 CE · 6–7 AH approx.

    Letters to the kings beyond Arabia

    Envoys carry letters inviting rulers to Islam — Heraclius of Byzantium, Khosrow of Persia, the Negus, and the governor of Egypt. Bukhari preserves the scene at Heraclius’ court.

    Sahih al-Bukhari 7

  5. 628 CE · 7 AH

    Khaybar

    The fortified oasis of Khaybar, a base of tribes hostile to Madinah, is taken. The banner is given to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, told to call the people to Islam before fighting.

    Sahih Muslim 2406

  6. 629 CE · 7 AH

    The ‘umrah fulfilled

    Under the terms of the truce the Muslims return to Makkah and perform the ‘Umrah they had been turned back from the year before, the city emptied around them for three days.

    Qur’an 48:27 · sirah (standard accounts)

629–632 CE8–11 AH

Madinah · the religion completed

Makkah is taken, Arabia sends its delegations, the Farewell Hajj is performed, and the Prophet ﷺ passes in Madinah.

  1. 629 CE · 8 AH

    Mu’tah

    An army sent north meets a far larger Byzantine force. The banner passes from Zayd ibn Harithah to Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib to ‘Abdullah ibn Rawahah, each martyred; Khalid ibn al-Walid brings the army home.

    Sahih al-Bukhari 4262 · sirah: Ibn Hisham

  2. 630 CE · 8 AH

    The conquest of Makkah

    After the truce is broken he ﷺ marches with some ten thousand and Makkah surrenders almost without a fight. He enters with his head bowed, clears the idols, and pardons Quraysh.

    Qur’an 110:1–3 · Sahih al-Bukhari 4280

  3. 630 CE · 8 AH

    Hunayn, then the siege of Ta’if

    Weeks later Hawazin and Thaqif give battle at Hunayn; the ranks break at the first ambush before rallying. The army then besieges Ta’if and withdraws without taking it.

    Qur’an 9:25–26 · sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  4. 630 CE · 9 AH

    Tabuk

    Word of a Byzantine mobilisation brings the hardest march of all, north to Tabuk in summer heat. No enemy appears; Ka‘b ibn Malik tells how those who stayed behind were forgiven.

    Sahih al-Bukhari 4418 · sirah: Ibn Ishaq

  5. 630–631 CE · 9 AH

    The Year of Delegations

    Tribe after tribe sends deputations to Madinah to accept Islam and pledge loyalty — so many that the biographers call it ‘Am al-Wufud, the year of delegations.

    Qur’an 110:2 · sirah: Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa‘d

  6. 631 CE · 9 AH

    Abu Bakr leads the Hajj; Surah at-Tawbah

    The Prophet ﷺ sends Abu Bakr to lead the pilgrimage, and the opening of Surah at-Tawbah is proclaimed on the day of the greater pilgrimage.

    Qur’an 9:3 · sirah (standard accounts)

  7. 632 CE · 10 AH

    The Farewell Hajj and the Sermon at ‘Arafah

    He ﷺ leads his only Hajj before a vast gathering. At ‘Arafah he declares life and property sacred, ends the old blood-feuds and usury, and asks them to bear witness.

    Sahih Muslim 1218 · Qur’an 5:3

  8. 632 CE · 11 AH

    The final illness; Abu Bakr leads the prayer

    Back in Madinah he falls ill with a fever. He leads the prayer while he can, and when he cannot he instructs that Abu Bakr lead the people.

    Sahih al-Bukhari

  9. 632 CE · 11 AH approx.

    His passing in Madinah

    He ﷺ passes in Rabi‘ al-Awwal — commonly given as the 12th — at about sixty-three, his head on ‘A’ishah’s lap. Buried in her chamber, beside the mosque he built.

    Sahih al-Bukhari 4446

About the dates

Sirah dates are often approximate, and the early biographers themselves differ. Where a year is disputed or reconstructed it is marked with “~” or given as a range, and flagged as approximate.

Hijri years (AH) are counted from the Hijra of 622 CE, so the Makkan period before it has no AH date. Gregorian years given alongside AH years are conversions, and a Hijri year straddles two Gregorian ones.

This timeline keeps to what is well established: the Qur’an, the two Sahih collections, and biographical material named plainly as sirah. Where a hadith number could not be confirmed, the collection is cited without one.

Military events are stated briefly and neutrally; the fuller accounts, with the narrations in full, are on the Seerah page.