The Muslims at Medina were extremely happy to receive the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his companions. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, first of all, bought a piece of land in Medina and laid the foundation of a mosque, called Masjid Nabawi (The Prophet’s Mosque).
The faithful at Medina extended their full co-operation and help to the Prophet and his companions. The Prophet called them Ansar (Helpers).
The Meccan Muslims, who left Mecca for the sake of Allah, leaving behind all their possessions, were called Muhajireen (Emigrants). The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, formally established ties of brotherhood between individuals of the two groups: Ansar and Muhajireen.
The Battles in Defence of Islam
When the Quraish of Mecca realised that the Muslims were trying to establish themselves in Medina, they decided to eliminate Islam. The Muslims were compelled to fight back in self-defence. Some of these battles are mentioned below:
The Battle of Badr
A well equipped army of more than 1,000 Meccan warriors set out from Mecca to fight the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, at a place called Badr, near Medina. There were 313 poorly equipped Muslims and in a fierce battle, the Meccans lost seventy men including their commander, Abu Jahl; the worst enemy of Islam. The Muslims, by the grace of Allah Almighty, were victorious and lost fourteen men in the fight.
The Battle of Uhud
A year later, the Meccans were again on the road to Medina, to avenge the humiliating defeat at Badr. This time they had a well armed force of 3,000 soldiers with Abu Sufyan as their leader. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, marched out of Medina with nearly 1,000 men. Before reaching Uhud, Abdullah Bin Ubayy, betrayed the Muslims and withdrew with his 300 men leaving only 700 men with the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
At first, the Muslims fought so bravely that the Meccans were on the run. Seeing this, a group of fifty Muslims, who were appointed to guard a mountain pass located in the rear, started leaving their position.
Khalid Bin Waleed, one of the Meccan commanders, spotted that the opening was now unguarded. Soon, he gathered his fleeting men and attacked the Muslims from their rear. The Muslims suffered heavy losses. Even the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was hurt when a stone hurled at him broke two of his teeth, and he fell down unconscious, among the heap of Muslims lying dead. But the Meccan army could not achieve its actual objective of defeating the Muslims, because soon the scattered Muslims gathered around the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. As a result the Meccans left the battlefield frustrated.
Battle of Khandaq (Ditch)
The Meccans once again marched upon Medina, under the leadership of Abu Sufyan. There were 10,000 Meccans against 3,000 Muslims. On the advice of Salman Farsi, may peace be upon him, the Holy Prophet ordered his men to dig a defensive trench, about one mile long, on the open side of Medina.
The Meccans were amazed to find their entry into the town blocked by the trench. They camped short of the trench and Medina was besieged for one month. They made continuous attempts to cross the trench, but failed. In the end, God’s help came in the form of a stormy night, when a fierce wind put out the bonfire in front of their camp. They considered it a bad sign which alarmed them so much that they started leaving the place in panic. The next morning, the Muslims were surprised to see that the plain was empty on the other side of the trench.
Bai’at-e-Rizwan and the Truce of Hudaibiyah
In 628 AD, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, after seeing in a dream that he visited the Ka’aba, made up his mind to perform ‘Umra. He left Medina for Mecca, with nearly 1400 of his companions. He camped at Hudaibiyah, a place near Mecca. The Quraish, were not willing to allow the Muslims to enter Mecca, and sent a strong force to intercept the Muslims.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, as his messenger to the Quraish, to inform them that the Muslims wanted to perform Umra only. But a rumour that Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, had been killed by the Quraish extremely disturbed the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his companions. He sat down under a tree and invited his companions to take an oath called Bai’at-e-Rizwan. They all took the oath in complete submission and resolved to sacrifice their lives for the cause of Islam.
The Quraish, on hearing of this pledge became flexible and an agreement for a period of ten years was reached between the two sides, known as the Truce of Hudaibiyah. The conditions of this truce were apparently one-sided and seemed even humiliating for the Muslims. But in fact this paved the way for final victory over Mecca.
Invitation to Kings to accept Islam
After the Truce of Hudaibiyah, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent his envoy, with letters from him to various kings such as: Heraclius, the Roman Emperor, the Emperor (Kisra) of Iran, the Ruler of Egypt, Najjashi, the King of Abyssinia, the Chief of Bahrain and many other rulers and tribal chiefs.
Through these letters, all the rulers were invited to accept Islam. Many rulers, like the Heraclius of Rome and Najjashi of Abyssinia showed great respect and understanding for the letters. The chief of Bahrain even accepted Islam. There were some rulers, especially the Emperor of Iran, who received these letters with great arrogance and hostility. He tore the letter into pieces and issued orders for the arrest of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. But he was soon overthrown and murdered by his own son, who cancelled these orders.
The Conquest of Mecca
In the year 629 AD, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the company of nearly 2,000 companions, performed Umra at Mecca, according to the terms of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah. However, the following year, the Quraish committed a serious breach of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, by attacking the Khuza’a, a tribe in alliance with the Muslims. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had no choice but to fight the Quraish. In January 630 AD, he advanced towards Mecca with a large force of 10,000 men, and camped just outside Mecca.
The Meccans were alarmed at the news of the Prophet’s advance. Feeling helpless, they sent Abu Sufyan and two others to the Muslim camp, to see if some negotiations were possible. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, allowed them to pass the night in the camp. Abu Sufyan was so much impressed by the love of the Muslims for the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that by sunrise, he and his companions accepted Islam.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, accepted Abu Sufyan’s proposal that the Meccans could have peace if they did not fight. Thus the Muslims forces marched victoriously into Mecca. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, proceeded straight to the Ka’aba and cleared it of all the idols. At this moment he recited the Qur’anic verse (17:82)
“Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away. Falsehood does indeed vanish fast.”
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then addressed the Meccans and declared a general amnesty for all of them and said (12:93)
“No retribution shall be exacted from you this day”
These were the same Meccans who had inflicted immense hardship, suffering and torture on the devoted followers of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and yet at this moment of triumph, he was extremely generous and forgave them all. Thus his enemies became his devoted followers. This was undoubtedly a unique act of forgiveness in the history of mankind and signified the victory of love over hatred. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had thus conquered not only Mecca but also the hearts of the Meccans.
The Holy Prophet’s Demise
Within a short span of time, nearly the whole of Arabia became 
Muslim. In the year 632 AD, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, which became known as Hajjatul Wida’ – the farewell pilgrimage. He delivered an address, called the Farewell Address, to a large gathering of Muslims in the valley of ‘Arafaat. Some historians report that up to 124,000 Muslims were present.
Almost two months after the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, fell ill. After some days, he became too weak to lead the prayers in the mosque. He directed Hadhrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, to lead the prayers. One day, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was feeling a bit better. He stood by the window from where he could see the Muslims saying their Fajr prayers behind Hadhrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. He was extremely happy to see for himself that the Muslims were performing their duties in accordance with the commandments of God. Soon afterwards, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, breathed his last with these words:
“Towards the Exalted Companion”
The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, always impressed upon his followers that he was nothing but a human being to whom God had granted revelations for the guidance of mankind. But the news of his death was no less than a dreadful calamity for the Muslims. Some of his close companions like Hadhrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, could not believe it. It was Hadhrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who persuaded him that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had really passed away, by reciting the following Qur’anic verse (3:145)
“And Muhammad is only a Messenger
Verily Messengers have passed away before.
If then he dies or is slain,
will you turn back on your heels?”
The Holy Prophet’s body was bathed and laid out in the chamber of Hadhrat A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, where he had died. The next morning, the inhabitants of Medina came and visited it, praying over his remains. In the evening, the final rites were performed and the body was buried in a grave dug in Hadhrat A’isha’s chamber, at the same place where the Holy Prophet had breathed his last. Later on, when Hadhrat Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, died, he was buried in the same chamber and, in due time, Hadhrat Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, as well.