570 CE
Year of the Elephant
Abraha's army was reportedly destroyed near Makkah in the year of the Prophet's ﷺ birth.
63 Years. The life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Chapter 01 / 30
What if I told you one of history's most consequential transformations began in the most unlikely place — a desert peninsula with no army, no money, and no government?
Chapter 02 / 30
The year one of history's most consequential figures was born, an army of elephants tried to destroy his city — and tiny birds stopped them
Chapter 03 / 30
He lost his father before birth
Chapter 04 / 30
He had no degree, no title, no office — but the people of his city trusted him with their money and their secrets
Chapter 05 / 30
اقرأ
Among the most influential civilisations in human history began with one word
Chapter 06 / 30
He received a message of immense significance — and then the message paused
Chapter 07 / 30
Three years
Chapter 08 / 30
He called his entire tribe together and said: I am warning you
Chapter 09 / 30
He was offered money, power, and a kingdom — if he would just stop
Chapter 10 / 30
Outnumbered, enslaved, and tortured
Chapter 11 / 30
Muslim refugees
Chapter 12 / 30
He set out to kill the Prophet ﷺ
Chapter 13 / 30
An entire city decided to starve one family into giving up their faith
Chapter 14 / 30
In the same year he lost the two people who believed in him most
Chapter 15 / 30
He was bleeding
Chapter 16 / 30
After one of the hardest years of his life, the Seerah tradition records a journey of profound significance — and a gift given to all Muslims
Chapter 17 / 30
At a rocky mountain pass, in the middle of the night, a small group made a pledge that would reshape their world
Chapter 18 / 30
Their pursuers were close
Chapter 19 / 30
He built a community
Chapter 20 / 30
For 17 months they prayed facing Jerusalem
Chapter 21 / 30
Around 313 vs ~950
Chapter 22 / 30
They were winning
Chapter 23 / 30
A lie spread through a community
Chapter 24 / 30
A coalition of around 10,000
Chapter 25 / 30
He signed a treaty that looked like surrender
Chapter 26 / 30
He had no large army
Chapter 27 / 30
Everyone wanted to be chosen
Chapter 28 / 30
21 years
Chapter 29 / 30
For 50 days no one spoke to him
Chapter 30 / 30
Tens of thousands of pilgrims
Two histories were unfolding at the same time.
His life in Arabia. The world around him.
Arabia
570 CE
WorldScroll. Both histories move together.
610 CE
IQRA — The First Word
Among the most influential civilisations in human history began with one word. Not a battle cry. Not a political slogan. READ.
621–622 CE
The Pledges of Aqabah — A Movement Prepares
At a rocky mountain pass, in the middle of the night, a small group made a pledge that would reshape their world.
627–628 CE / 5-6 AH
The Slander — Allah Defended Her Name
A lie spread through a community. For a month it disturbed a person's peace. Then Allah revealed verses making clear: she is innocent.
630 CE / 8 AH
The Conquest — Go, You Are Free
21 years. Every humiliation. Every exile. Every martyr. And when he finally had the power to take revenge — he said: Go. You are free. All of you.
632 CE / 10 AH
The Farewell — Today I Have Perfected Your Religion
Tens of thousands of pilgrims. His last sermon. His last Hajj. And Allah said: Today I have perfected your religion. What do you do the day after perfection?
633 CE
Compilation of the Qur'an Begins
The Qur'an's compilation within months and standardisation within 18 years places it among the best-documented preservation histories of any ancient religious text.
644 CE
Caliphate of Umar Ends
By the end of Umar's caliphate, governance principles set in Madinah operate across a large region.
650 CE
Standardised Qur'anic Text
Caliph Uthman oversees a standardised codex distributed to major centres — a landmark step in textual transmission.
661 CE
Umayyad Caliphate Established
Political reorganisation of the early Muslim state under Mu'awiyah.
680 CE
Karbala
A defining and tragic event in early Muslim history; commemorated across many traditions.
572 CE
Byzantine–Sassanid Rivalry Deepens
Byzantine EmpireTwo of the era's leading empires were locked in decades of costly conflict.
602 CE
Emperor Maurice Assassinated
Sassanid PersiaTriggers a long, draining Byzantine–Persian war (often cited as 26 years).
610 CE
Heraclius Becomes Emperor
Byzantine EmpireHeraclius and the Prophet ﷺ begin their public roles in the same year.
614 CE
Jerusalem Falls to Persia
Sassanid PersiaA major Byzantine reversal. The Qur'an's Ar-Rum prophecy is preserved against the apparent odds.
Jerusalem falls. In Makkah, a verse promises Rome will return.
618 CE
Tang Dynasty Founded
ChinaA cosmopolitan empire whose capital Chang'an would receive Arab envoys within decades.
622 CE
Heraclius's Counter-Offensive
Byzantine EmpireOne of the era's most remarkable military comebacks begins the same year as the Hijrah.
626 CE
Siege of Constantinople Fails
Byzantine EmpireA combined Avar–Persian assault on Constantinople fails — in the same year as the Battle of the Trench.
628 CE
Khosrow II Killed
Sassanid PersiaClassical Islamic sources report that Khosrow II tore the Prophet's ﷺ letter. He was killed in 628 CE amid internal Sassanid turmoil. Classical scholars connect this to the Prophet's reported response; academic historians also note the Persian civil war had broader structural causes.
629 CE
Heraclius Recovers Jerusalem
Byzantine EmpireThe Ar-Rum prophecy is fulfilled — Rome overcame 'within a few years'.
630 CE
Sassanid Empire in Free Fall
Sassanid PersiaMultiple rulers in a few years; a 400-year empire is disintegrating as Makkah is conquered.
632 CE
A World Transformed
AfricaAt the Prophet's ﷺ passing: Persia structurally broken, Byzantium financially exhausted, Tang China rising.
636 CE
Battle of Yarmouk
Byzantine EmpireSyria passes to Muslim forces. Within four years of the Prophet's ﷺ passing.
637 CE
Battle of Qadisiyyah
Sassanid PersiaA decisive engagement against Sassanid forces in Iraq.
638 CE
Jerusalem Enters Muslim Rule
MediterraneanCaliph Umar receives Jerusalem under terms preserving the religious communities of the city.
641 CE
Egypt Comes Under Muslim Rule
AfricaAlexandria's transition is one of late antiquity's most studied transitions.
642 CE
Battle of Nahavand
Sassanid PersiaOften described as the 'victory of victories' — effectively ends Sassanid military resistance.
651 CE
Sassanid Yazdegerd III Killed
Central AsiaThe last Sassanid emperor dies in flight — formal end of a 400-year empire.
655 CE
Battle of the Masts
MediterraneanAn early Muslim naval engagement — historians describe it as a notable maritime moment for the new community.
670s CE
Early Contact with the Indian Subcontinent
IndiaTrade and limited expeditions extend Muslim contact toward Sindh and the wider subcontinent.
711 CE
Muslim Forces Enter Iberia
MediterraneanBeginning of an Islamic civilisational presence in the Iberian peninsula.
Sit with the people who were there.
Tap a light to hear a companion's story.
Beyond the Prophet. Beyond the statesman.
The human being.
Companion witness (outsider)
Umm Ma'bad Al-Khuza'iyya
A Bedouin woman the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr visited on the Hijrah journey. She had never met him before.
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إدريس
Idris
Early MakkanEstablish continuity of prophethood from earliest times. Idris is mentioned as truthful and patient — qualities the Prophet ﷺ needed to embody against mockery.
Seerah context
Very early Makkah — small secret Muslim circle. Prophet ﷺ establishing identity of his message against Quraysh polytheism.
19:56 — 'And mention in the Book, Idris. Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet. And We raised him to a high station.'
Ibn Kathir: Idris was the first to write with a pen. He was the first tailor. He lived in Egypt according to some traditions. He was raised alive to heaven. The exact nature of his 'raising' is left vague in the Quran — Ibn Kathir cautions against speculation.
* This account includes material from Israelite traditions. Scholar review pending.
- TafsirTafsir Ibn Kathir — Al-Bukhari (Isra wal Miraj hadith — the Prophet ﷺ met Idris in the fourth heaven); Maryam commentary in IK Vol 6[Workbook mapped — review pending]
- QuranQur'an — Maryam 19:56-57; Al-Anbiya 21:85-86
Claim risk:Low
Review status:Needs scholar review
Scholar review:Required
Public-ready:No
Signs in the night.
Some signs were witnessed for a moment. The Quran remains.
Tap a star to read the sign.
● Quran● Water● Food● Healing● Nature● Knowledge
The world around Arabia was already in motion.
Scroll to watch the map change.
570 CE
Arabia stands between empires.
ByzantineSassanidAksumArabia
Breathing words. Du'as he taught.
Cave of Thawr — darkest moment of Hijrah
Lā tahzan, innallāha ma'anā
Do not grieve — indeed Allah is with us.
Before the Battle of Badr — all-night prayer
Allāhumma, in tahlak hādhihi al-fi'ah min ahl al-Islam, lā tu'bad fī al-ard
O Allah — if this group of Muslims perishes today, You will not be worshipped on earth.
After stoning in Ta'if — bleeding and alone
Allāhumma ilayka ashkū da'fa quwwatī wa qillata hīlatī wa hawānī 'alā al-nās...
O Allah, to You I complain of my weakness, my scarce resources, and my humiliation before the people. O Most Merciful of those who show mercy — You are the Lord of the weak. To whom will You leave me? To a distant person who will receive me with host
In prostration (sujud) — the closest to Allah
Subhānak Allāhumma Rabbana wa bi hamdik, Allāhumma ighfir lī
Glory be to You, O Allah our Lord, and praise be to You. O Allah, forgive me.
Morning du'a — entering the day
Allāhumma bika asbahna wa bika amsayna wa bika nahyā wa bika namūtu wa ilayka al-nashr
O Allah, by You we enter the morning, by You we enter the evening, by You we live, by You we die, and to You is the resurrection.
Du'a for distress and grief — Dua Karb
Lā ilāha illā Allāh al-'Azīm al-Halīm. Lā ilāha illā Allāh Rabb al-'arsh al-'azīm. Lā ilāha illā Allāh Rabb al-samāwāt wa Rabb al-ard wa Rabb al-'arsh al-karīm
There is no god but Allah, the Mighty, the Forbearing. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the Magnificent Throne. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the heavens and the earth and Lord of the Noble Throne.
Dua Yunus — from the depths
Lā ilāha illā anta subhānaka innī kuntu min al-zālimīn
There is no god but You — Glory be to You — indeed I have been among the wrongdoers.
Istikhara — seeking divine guidance in decisions
Allāhumma innī astakhīruka bi'ilmik, wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratik, wa as'aluka min fadlika al-'azīm...
O Allah, I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge, and I seek ability by Your power, and I ask You from Your great bounty. For You are capable and I am not, and You know and I do not, and You are the Knower of the unseen...
On entering the masjid
Allāhumma iftah lī abwāb rahmatik
O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy.
Farewell Pilgrimage — his final public prayer
Allāhumma hal ballaght? Allāhumma ishhad
O Allah — have I conveyed (the message)? O Allah — bear witness.
Search the constellation.
632 CE
He was gone.
What he built was tested.
Here is what happened.
Abu Bakr RA
11–13 AH / 632–634 CE
4 events
Islamic — Internal
632 CE · 11 AH
The First Test: Riddah Wars — Arabia fractures immediately
Within weeks of the Prophet's ﷺ death, a significant portion of the Arabian tribes that had declared Islam refused to pay Zakah, and many followed false prophets — Musaylimah Al-Kadhdhab in Yamama, Tu…
Islamic — Internal
632 CE · 11 AH
Compilation of the Qur'an — first written collection
After the Battle of Yamama (633 CE) in which approximately 70 Huffaz (memorisers of the Quran) were killed, Umar RA approached Abu Bakr RA with urgency: 'I fear that the fighting will intensify and mo…
Islamic — Military
633 CE · 12 AH
First campaigns into Iraq — entering the Sassanid frontier
Khalid ibn Al-Walid RA — the general the Prophet ﷺ called 'the sword of Allah' — led the first Muslim campaigns into the Sassanid-controlled territory of Iraq. He took Al-Hira (near modern Kufa) — a m…
World — Sassanid Persia
633 CE · 12 AH
Sassanid Empire in terminal civil war — 9 rulers in 4 years
Between 628 and 632 CE — the final years of the Prophet's ﷺ life — Persia had already had 6 different rulers. By 633 CE it has had 9. The Sassanid administrative system, which had governed a vast empi…
Umar RA
13–23 AH / 634–644 CE
10 events
Islamic — Military
634 CE · 13 AH
Battle of Ajnadayn — first major Muslim-Byzantine clash in Syria
The Muslim forces under Abu Ubayda ibn Al-Jarrah RA and Khalid ibn Al-Walid RA met a Byzantine army in Palestine. The Muslim victory at Ajnadayn (634 CE) opened the road into Syria. Heraclius — the em…
Islamic — Military
636 CE · 15 AH
Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah — Sassanid Persia broken
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas RA — one of the earliest Muslims and the maternal uncle of the Prophet ﷺ — commanded approximately 30,000 Muslim soldiers against a Sassanid army of 100,000–150,000 at Al-Qadisiyya…
Islamic — Military
636 CE · 15 AH
Battle of Yarmouk — Byzantine Syria falls
The Battle of Yarmouk (August 636 CE) was a 6-day engagement in which approximately 25,000–40,000 Muslim soldiers defeated a Byzantine force of 80,000–100,000 in the Yarmouk River valley (modern Jorda…
Islamic — Diplomatic
637 CE · 16 AH
Umar RA enters Jerusalem — the Covenant of Umar
Umar ibn Al-Khattab RA personally travelled from Madinah to receive the surrender of Jerusalem. The Patriarch Sophronius had specified that he would only hand the city to the Caliph personally. Umar e…
Islamic — Social
637–638 CE · 16–17 AH
The Hijri Calendar officially established
Umar RA, in consultation with the companions, established the Islamic lunar calendar with the Hijrah as Year 1. The proposal came from Ali ibn Abi Talib RA. The companions agreed unanimously. They bac…
World — Sassanid Persia
638 CE · 17 AH
Ctesiphon falls — the Persian capital is taken
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas RA entered Ctesiphon (Mada'in) — the Sassanid capital, one of the largest cities in the world with a population of possibly 500,000. The Sassanid Emperor Yazdegerd III had fled. Th…
Islamic — Military
639–641 CE · 18–20 AH
Egypt — the breadbasket of the ancient world
Amr ibn Al-As RA — a companion who had been a wealthy merchant and diplomat before Islam — led approximately 4,000 soldiers into Egypt. He took Alexandria (641 CE) — the second city of the Byzantine E…
World — Byzantine
640 CE · 19 AH
Heraclius dies — the emperor who privately believed
Heraclius (born c. 575 CE) died on 11 February 641 CE in Constantinople, having witnessed in the final decade of his life: the loss of Syria (636 CE), Palestine and Jerusalem (637 CE), Egypt (641 CE).…
World — Sassanid Persia
641–642 CE · 20–21 AH
Battle of Nihawand — the final Persian stand
The Battle of Nihawand (641/642 CE) in western Iran was the last organised Sassanid military resistance to the Muslim armies. The Persian forces — assembled from across the remaining empire under the…
Islamic — Internal
644 CE · 23 AH
The martyrdom of Umar RA — the second Caliph
Umar ibn Al-Khattab RA was stabbed while leading Fajr prayer by Abu Lu'lu'ah Al-Majusi (a Persian slave with a personal grievance) and died 3 days later. He was 63 years old — the same age as the Prop…
Uthman RA
23–35 AH / 644–656 CE (to 650 CE)
3 events
Islamic — Internal
644–646 CE · 23–25 AH
Standardisation of the Qur'an — the Uthmanic Codex
As Islam spread across diverse linguistic communities from Egypt to Persia, variant recitations of the Quran began causing confusion and disagreement. Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman RA returned from campaigns…
Islamic — Military
645–650 CE · 24–29 AH
The Muslim fleet — Islam reaches the Mediterranean
Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, governor of Syria under Uthman RA, requested permission to build a Muslim naval fleet — a completely new development, as Arabia had no significant naval tradition. Uthman perm…
World — China
648–650 CE · 27–29 AH
First official Muslim diplomatic contact with Tang China
In 651 CE (just outside this sheet's period but documented as beginning c. 648–650 CE), the first official Muslim diplomatic mission reached the Tang Emperor Gaozong in Chang'an. The Arab envoys were…
Four Proofs
What 18 years proved.
Proof 1 of 4
The Quran survived intact
The Quran was compiled (Abu Bakr, 632 CE) and standardised (Uthman, c. 644–650 CE) within 18 years of the Prophet's ﷺ death. The text Muslims recite today is identical to the standardised Uthmanic Codex. No other religious scripture from the ancient world has a comparably documented and unbroken chain of preservation. The Quran that exists today is the Quran the Prophet ﷺ recited — verified throug
Prophetic Connection
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Indeed, it is We who have sent down the Reminder and We will be its guardian.' (15:9). The preservation of the Quran is Quranic prophecy fulfilled — within the generation of those who received it.
Source: Mustafa Al-Azami, 'The History of the Quranic Text' (UK Islamic Academy, 2003); Behnam Sadeghi and Mohsen Goudarzi, 'Sana'a 1 and the Origins of the Q
Proof 2 of 4
The prophetic predictions were fulfilled precisely
In the 18 years after the Prophet's ﷺ death, the following specific prophetic statements were fulfilled: 1. 'You will conquer Persia' — Qadisiyyah 636 CE, Ctesiphon 637 CE, Nihawand 641 CE ✓ 2. 'You will conquer the white palaces of Kisra' — fulfilled, Ctesiphon ✓ 3. 'Khosrow will be torn [as he tore the letter]' — Khosrow II murdered 628 CE ✓ 4. 'The first naval campaign of my nation will be assu
- ✓'You will conquer Persia' — Qadisiyyah 636 CE, Ctesiphon 637 CE, Nihawand 641 CE ✓
- ✓'You will conquer the white palaces of Kisra' — fulfilled, Ctesiphon ✓
- ✓'Khosrow will be torn [as he tore the letter]' — Khosrow II murdered 628 CE ✓
- ✓'The first naval campaign of my nation will be assu
Prophetic Connection
The Prophet ﷺ made these predictions at specific moments of weakness — at the Trench when the Muslims were besieged, at Badr before the battle, in Madinah when the community had no army, navy, or state. The predictions were not made from a position o
Source: Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim for each prophecy; cross-referenced with: Kennedy (Persia/Egypt), Kaegi (Byzantine/Syria), Daryaee (Persia), Howard-
Proof 3 of 4
The model of governance held
The governance model the Prophet ﷺ established — Shura (consultation), covenant protection of non-Muslims, separation of personal wealth from public treasury, merit-based appointments, accountability of rulers — was implemented by his companions in territories ranging from Arabia to Persia to Egypt within 18 years. Umar RA refused to appoint his own son. He established a state pension. He was pers
Prophetic Connection
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The Caliphate after me will be 30 years, then hereditary kingship.' (Abu Dawud — Hasan). The 30 years covers Abu Bakr (2 years), Umar (10 years), Uthman (12 years), Ali (approximately 5 years) — then Muawiyah established the Umay
Source: Hugh Kennedy, 'The Great Arab Conquests' (Weidenfeld, 2007), Ch. 8 — 'The Nature of the Conquests'; also Abu Dawud (the 30-year Caliphate hadith)
Proof 4 of 4
The speed without parallel
Within 18 years of the Prophet's ﷺ death — one human generation — the Muslim state had absorbed: the entire Arabian Peninsula, the entire Sassanid Persian Empire (400 years old), Syria and Palestine from Byzantium, Egypt from Byzantium, and was beginning campaigns into North Africa and Central Asia. This is the fastest large-scale territorial and civilisational transformation in recorded history.
“The speed of the conques”
Prophetic Connection
The Prophet ﷺ said at Hudaybiyyah — when the Muslims appeared weakest, outnumbered, and forced to sign a humiliating treaty — 'We have been given a clear victory.' What looked like defeat was the beginning of the fastest civilisational transformation
Source: Hugh Kennedy, 'The Great Arab Conquests' (Weidenfeld, 2007) — Introduction; Fred McGraw Donner, 'Muhammad and the Believers' (Harvard UP, 2010) — Ch.
اقرأ
The circle completes.