Islamic History

Islamic History Timeline

From the birth of the Prophet ﷺ to the Rightly-Guided Caliphs

c. 570 CE

Birth of the Prophet ﷺ

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdillāh is born in Makkah in the Year of the Elephant — the year Abraha's army was destroyed.

Ibn Hishām

c. 595 CE

Marriage to Khadījah

The Prophet ﷺ marries Khadījah bint Khuwaylid, a successful businesswoman, fifteen years before prophethood.

Ibn Hishām

610 CE

First revelation

The Prophet ﷺ receives the first revelation in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ — «Read in the name of your Lord» (Sūrah al-ʿAlaq 1–5).

Bukhārī & Muslim

613 CE

Open daʿwah

The Prophet ﷺ begins calling openly to Islam; the Quraysh intensify persecution of the early Muslims.

Ibn Hishām

615 CE

First migration to Abyssinia

A group of companions seek refuge under the just Christian king al-Najāshī, who refuses to surrender them.

Ibn Hishām

619 CE

Year of Sorrow

The Prophet ﷺ loses his wife Khadījah and his uncle Abū Ṭālib — the most difficult year of his life.

Ibn Hishām

620 CE

Isrāʾ and Miʿrāj

The night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem, and the ascension through the heavens — the five daily prayers are prescribed.

Bukhārī & Muslim

622 CE

Hijrah to Madīnah

The migration that marks year 1 of the Hijri calendar; the first Muslim community (Ummah) is established with the Constitution of Madīnah.

Bukhārī

624 CE

Battle of Badr

313 Muslims defeat ~1000 Quraysh — the day of criterion (al-Furqān), the first major victory.

8:41

625 CE

Battle of Uḥud

A setback due to the archers' disobedience — a lesson in discipline. The Prophet ﷺ was injured; Ḥamzah was martyred.

3:152

627 CE

Battle of the Trench (Khandaq)

Madinah defended by a trench on Salmān al-Fārisī's advice; the confederate tribes besiege then withdraw after a month.

33:9

628 CE

Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah

A peace treaty opening the way for daʿwah — «a clear victory» (fatḥ mubīn) that doubled the Ummah in two years.

48:1

630 CE

Conquest of Makkah

The Prophet ﷺ enters Makkah peacefully with 10,000 companions; the Kaʿbah is cleansed of 360 idols. He forgives his enemies.

Bukhārī & Muslim

632 CE

Farewell Ḥajj & passing

The Farewell Sermon at ʿArafāt — the Prophet ﷺ completes the message. He passes away in Madīnah on 12 Rabīʿ al-Awwal, 11 AH.

Bukhārī & Muslim

632–634

Caliphate of Abū Bakr

Preserves the community against apostasy (Riddah wars); compiles the Quran into one codex; sends armies to Persia and Syria.

Bukhārī

634–644

Caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb

Vast expansion — Persia, Egypt, Syria fall; establishes the Hijri calendar; renowned for justice that reached kings' doors.

Bukhārī & Muslim

644–656

Caliphate of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān

Unified the Quran into a single codex (the ʿUthmānic codex); expansion to the Atlantic and China; martyred while reciting the Quran.

Bukhārī

656–661

Caliphate of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib

A period of internal conflict (fitnah); capital moved to Kufa; the first civil wars (Ṣiffīn, the Camel) divide the Ummah.

Bukhārī & Muslim

661–750

Umayyad Caliphate

Capital moved to Damascus; expansion to Spain and India; Arabic becomes the administrative language of the Islamic world.

Ibn Kathīr

750–1258

ʿAbbāsid Caliphate

Capital moved to Baghdad; the Golden Age of Islamic civilization — translation, science, mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy flourish.

Ibn Kathīr, al-Ṭabarī

1258 CE

Fall of Baghdad

The Mongols sack Baghdad, ending the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate in the East; a turning point in Islamic history.

Ibn Kathīr

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