The Life of Prophet Muhammad - by Sheikh Azhar Nasser

The Campaign of Dhat Al-Salasil occurred soon after "defeat" at the Battle of Mu'tah, when various Ghassanid affiliated tribes sensed an opportunity to invade Medina. They thought the Muslims would be weak and demoralized. A bedouin learned about the gathering army and informed Prophed Muhammad, who designated an army and commander to go fight them. From here the Shia and Sunni narr...

The Roman army, with 10,000 soliders, outnumbered the Muslims 3:1 at the Battle of Mutah. Some of the Muslims feared the large army and wanted to retreat, but the senior companions bolstered their courage. Prophet Muhammad had appointed a leader for the army, with two backup leaders in case the first one was martyred. This was a hard battle. Jaffer ibn Abi Talib was the first leader, and he was ma...

The Battle of Mu'tah was triggered when a messenger Prophet Muhammad sent to Ghassani Shurahbil was murdered. This was a declaration of war. While Prophte Muhammad himself didn't participate in this battle, thanks to the treaty of Hudaybiyya he was able to send 3000 Muslims to fight without compromising the securit of Medina. As the army departed, the Prophet reminded them to maintain ta...

Prophet Muhammad led the Muslims on a second attempt at Umra, thet qazaa for the last one which they couldn't complete. Rumor spread among the Mushrikeen that the Muslims were weakened, so the Prophet instructed his followers to show extra strength and bravado to dispel that notion. During the Umra: - Meccans removed their idols from the kaba for the Muslims - Muslims stashed their weapons ne...

Prophet Muhammad had given the garden of Fadak to his daughter Fatima, but after his passing it snatched away from her by Abu Bakr and Umar. This lecture explains: - How Fadak became the Prophet's property - Why he gifted it to Lady Fatima - Fadak was a source of immense wealth, generating enough income to fund an army. - How Umar adviced Abu Bakr to take Fadak away from her, since it would s...

The victory at Khaybar changed the lives of the Muslim community and became a source of financial strength for them. The lecture includes: - The surrender treaty, where the Jews were allowed to remain on Khaybar in return for a share of the harvest - How the prophet distributed the khums from the war - The Muhajireen using their share of khums to return what the Ansaar had given them and become fi...

The Muslims marched to the Fort of Khaybar, attack and defeat it's treacherous occupants. Along the way, various miracles occur: - An assassin attempts to kill Prophet Muhammad, but he miraciously is suddenly mentally handicapped. - Imam Ali's unable to fight due to an illness in his eyes. Prophet Muhammad heals him and Imam Ali leads the Muslims to victory. - Imam Ali single handedly mo...

Khaybar was manned by Jewish tribes that had previously reacted treasonously against the Muslims and had been exiled from Medina in turn. They had already attacked the Muslims once, by participating in the Battle of Khandak, and Prophet Muhammad received intel that those Jewish tribes were again planning to ally with another pagan tribes to attack Medina. The Prophet again attempted a diplomatic o...

Prophet Muhammad continues his outreach to foreign leaders, sending messengrs to the Persian emperor Khosrow II and the Coptic ruler Muqawqis of Alexandria. The outreach teaches us: - Islam was always meant to be globalized, not just for the Arabs. We need to also think deeply about how to universalize the messaging - The way people respond to the Prophet had an impact on their dunya and akhira -...

With the repreieve provided by the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, Prophet Muhammad can focus on spreading Islam by doing dawah to surrounding leaders. This lecture covers encounters with two prominent leaders: 1. The Abysinnian king Najashi, who converted to Islam 2. The Roman emperor Heraclius, who questioned Abu Sufyan and acertained Prophet Muhammad's legitimacy, but did not openly convert Lecture...

The many of the Muslims had seen the Treaty of Hudaybiyya as a humiliating loss, yet Prophet Muhammad knew the treaty paved the way for their ultimate success. This lecture discusses the various ways this treaty helped the Muslims, along with how Allah sent Surah Al-Fath right afterwards to bolden the Muslims and help them understand the victory which had just been won. Lecture notes available at...

The Quraysh sent Suhayl ibn Amr to negotiate the Treaty of Hudaybiyya with Prophet Muhammad. Suhayl had a vested interest in the outcome since two of his sons had converted to Islam, one of whom he was keeping captive. The Muslim masses were surprised by the treaty though, which they saw as an insult. Umar ibn Al-Khattab was particularly outraged, later saying that on that day he "doubted the...

While camped outside Mecca at Hudaybiyya, the Prophet Muhammad sends an emissary into the city. The Quraysh kill his camel, and he's barely allowed to leave. The Prophet then tries to send Umar ibn Al-Khattab, but he refuses out of fear. Uthman, who had strong tribal ties with people in the city, is sent instead. However, he's prevented from leaving for three days, and Muslims fear the w...

Prophet Muhammad saw a dream of the Muslims entering the Ka'bah to worship, and he instructs his followers to begin preparations to go to Mecca. They would go in peace, without arms. The call to go for this pilgrimage turns into an opportunity to expose more of the Munafiqeen as they make excuses to avoid the seemingly dangerous journey. When the Quraysh get word of the Muslims arriving, they...

The tribe of Bani Mustaliq were planning to launch a surprise  attack against the Muslims, and rumor of it reached Prophet Muhammad. He sent a companion named Buraydah ibn al-Husayb to investigate. The rumor was confirmed. This lecture covers: - The attack Prophet Muhammad led in response - The secret hypocrites who joined this battle - The battle's outcome - The Prophet's political marr...

Sa'd was a very high ranking companion and a shaheed. Prophet Muhammad took much more care during his burial than he normally would, yet he still chided someone who said that he would go straight to heaven. Lesson: If you have bad akhlaq, even the prophet cannot help you against the consequences Later, Prophet Muhammad proposed Zaynab bint Jahash marry his adopted son and ex-slave Zayd ibn Ha...

After Bani Qurayzah surrendered, the punishment for their betrayal had to be decided. This lecture covers: - The penalty set by Bani Qurayzah's pre-Islamic ally, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, and Prophet Muhammad's reaction to it - Why the punishment was so harsh - How even Bani Qurayzah's tribal custom at the time was to treat treachery with a similar punishment - Rebutting claims tha...

After the enemy coalition gave up and retreated from Medina, the Muslims had to deal with the Banu Qurayzah's treachery during the seige. This lecture covers: - Events during the three weeks the Muslims beseiged Bani Qurayzah - Options Bani Qurayzah considered in response - Their attemps to find allies to support them during their surrender, who would be lenient despite their deadly betrayal...

Multiple factors came together to demoralize the Qurayshi coalition and got them to retreat, ending the battle: - Imam Ali's victory over Amr ibn al-Wadd - Shortage of food and fodder. They had prepared for quick battle, not a month-long seige - A violent storm that trashed the Qurayshi camp - Distrust sown between the kuffar and the jews by a secret convert - Some Arabs deciding they'd...

The Qurayshi army arrive in Medina and are stumped by the trench, and persuade the Jewish tribe of Banu Quraydha in Medina and convince them to betray their oath of neutrality The Muslims stand vigilant day and night to defend the trench, even missing their obligatory prayers. Surah 33, Al Ahzaab captures the tension, covering the hypocrites who exposed themselves when they saw the pagan army, and...

Prophet Muhammad led by example, digging the trench harder than anyone else. When Fatima cooked some bread and brought it to him, she learned that it was the first thing the prophet had eaten in three days. During the digging, Imam Ali also dug relentlessly and the Prophet praised him saying "May my father be ransomed for the one who digs", highlights Imam Ali's high position in his...

All the Muslim's enemies band together in a final attempt to defeat them. In the year 5 AH, the two banished Jewish tribes ally with the Meccans to mobilizing the masses for the ultimate battle against the Muslims, in what would later be known as the Battle of the Azhab, aka Battle of Khandaq. The Quraysh had been humbled by their constant failure to wipe out the Muslims, and now that Muslims...

Sheikh Azhar Nasser explores additional Sunni counter arguments to the Shia claim that the Verse of Purification (Quran 33:33) The discussion covers: - Claims that the wives were already purified - Claims that the actions of the wives had no impact on the prophetic household - Claims that the Quran uses "ahl" to refer to wives in other places - Questions about how the 12 imams were inclu...

Sheikh Azhar Nasser explores Sunni counter arguments to the Shia claim that the Verse of Purification (Quran 33:33) The discussion covers: - Claims that the context of the verse being different - Claims that the verses include all of Bani Hashim - Claims that the verse doesn't prove infallibility The Q&A also answers: - Why the Imams sometimes gave their children the same names as promine...

Continuing the identification of who is meant by the holy Ahl al-Bayt, Sheikh Azhar Nasser uses hadiths from Sunni sources that are accepted by both Shias and Sunnis to compare Shia and Sunni viewpoints. Hadith include: - (Jame-ut-Tirmidi) Hadith al Kisa - the hadith of the cloak - (Sahih Muslim) Zahid ibn Akram's explanation of why the wives are not part of the Ahlul Bayt - (Al Mustadrak ala...