Marr al-Zahran
مر الظهران
A major valley stage one stage north of Mecca (modern Wadi Fatima); there the ten-thousand-strong Muslim army encamped and lit ten thousand fires, Abu Sufyan was brought in by al-Abbas, and the tribes paraded in iron before the entry.
At a glance
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Sacred space and pilgrimageBattles
Summary
A broad valley one stage north of Mecca (known today as Wadi Fatima); the conquest army of ten thousand fighters camped in it, kindling ten thousand fires in a scene that struck terror into Quraysh; and in it Abu Sufyan declared his Islam 1.
In Ibn Hisham's Sira
Ibn Ishaq relates that the Prophet camped at Marr al-Zahran at evening and ordered his companions, and every man kindled a fire — ten thousand fires lighting the mountains and horizons 2. There al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib brought Abu Sufyan on the Prophet's white mule, and the tribes paraded their arms at the valley's narrows along the mountain's ridge 3.
For young visitors
A great valley near Mecca where the army kindled ten thousand fires at night — a sight dazzling and frightening to anyone watching from afar — making Mecca's leaders realise resistance was useless.
Connections
- Site of
- The conversion of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
- Located in
- Mecca
People and things also explored
The Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)Abu Sufyan ibn Harbal-Abbas ibn Abd al-MuttalibMuhammadUmar ibn al-Khattabal-Ji'ranaal-WatirDhu Tuwa
Sources
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/42-46
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/42
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/44-47
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Marr al-Zahran”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/marr-al-zahran/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.