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The Battle of Badr — 13 March 624 CE · 17 Ramadan 2 AH
The first major battle between the Muslims of Medina and the Quraysh of Mecca, fought at the wells of Badr on 17 Ramadan 2 AH. It began as a pursuit of Abu Sufyan's caravan and ended in the defeat of the Meccan army. The Encyclopaedia of Islam gives the date as 17, 19 or 21 Ramadan, estimates the Muslim force at about 300 and the Meccan at about 950, and judges that the victory strengthened Muhammad's position in Medina.
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The Battle of Uhud — March 625 CE · Shawwal 3 AH
A battle fought near Mount Uhud, about five kilometres north of Medina, between the Muslims under the Prophet and a Meccan force led by Abu Sufyan, after the defeat at Badr. Traditional accounts date it to Shawwal of year 3. The Muslims did well at first, but the archers left their position, Khalid ibn al-Walid's cavalry turned the battle, and perhaps 65 to 70 Muslims died, among them Hamza; the Meccans withdrew towards Mecca. The Encyclopaedia of Islam gives this synopsis and discusses how far the accounts can be relied on.
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The Battle of the Trench (al-Ahzab) — c. February 627 CE · Shawwal 5 AH
The Battle of the Trench was the siege of Medina by a Quraysh-led confederacy in the fifth year of the Hijra; the Muslims dug a trench across the exposed parts of the oasis and it stopped the attackers' cavalry. The sira tradition tells of a siege of about a month, Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud's stratagem and a violent night wind, while the Encyclopaedia of Islam dates it to Dhu al-Qa'da 5, April 627, with about 10,000 men and a fortnight of little fighting. The Prophet then besieged Banu Qurayza, and the Encyclopaedia counts the failure of the siege among the main turning points of Muhammad's life.
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The Battle of Hunayn — c. 630 CE · Shawwal 8 AH
A battle in a valley near Mecca against the tribes of Hawazin and Thaqif, shortly after the conquest of Mecca. The Muslims were ambushed in the valley's gorges and fell back at first; the Prophet stood firm and they rallied, as the sira tradition records. The Encyclopaedia of Islam puts the Muslim force at twelve thousand and the Muslim dead at about twelve, and notes that the accounts of the battle differ by school.
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Death: Haritha ibn al-Nu'man — c. 671 CE · 51 AH
Haritha ibn al-Nu'man al-Ansari of Banu al-Najjar, a Companion who fought at Badr, Uhud, the Trench and every campaign and stood firm at Hunayn. He kept moving out of his houses for the Prophet whenever he needed one, until the Prophet said he felt shy before him. In Fada'il al-Sahaba Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrates with sound chains Aisha's report that the Prophet heard him reciting in Paradise in a dream and said 'such is dutifulness' — he was the most dutiful of people to his mother — and Haritha's own report that he greeted the Prophet while Gabriel sat with him and Gabriel returned his greeting. He died in Mu'awiya's caliphate in 51 AH.
