The Mushrikites ( or , singular ) were the Arab polytheists who committed shirk and opposed the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and his followers, the

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, in the early 7th century. Their leaders were mostly from the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

, but others also belonged to the

Qays Qays ʿAylān (), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe may not have functioned as a unit in pre-Islamic Arabia (before 630). However, by the ea ...

. After Muhammad's declaration of prophethood, the Mushrikites harassed members of the nascent Muslim community and were led by

Amr ibn Hisham Amr ibn Hisham (), better known as Abū Jahl (; ) was the Meccan Quraysh polytheist leader of the Mushrikites known for his opposition to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the most prominent flag-bearer of opposition towards Islam. A promine ...

("Abu Jahl"). Following the increase of tensions between the Mushrik and the Muslims, Muhammad and his companions () migrated to the neighboring city of

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

, where the Islamic prophet was offered sovereignty over the city. An Islamic state was formed in Medina, which received vehement opposition from the Mushrikites, and subsequently, both parties fought at the

Battle of Badr The Battle of Badr or sometimes called The Raid of Badr ( ; ''Ghazwahu Badr''), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ; ''Yawm al-Furqan'') in the Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan, 2 AH), near the pre ...

in 624, resulting in a defeat.

Etymology

The word Mushrikites is the English term derived from the Arabic , which itself is derived from . The term is sometimes translated as 'polytheists' as well. The Meccan polytheists who opposed Islam, were initially the ones to be referred to as the Mushrikites.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{cite book , last1=Watt , first1=Montgomery William , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLN2hNidLw4C , title=Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman , date=1961 , publisher=Oxford University Press , isbn=9780198810780 , location=London , author-link=W. Montgomery Watt Islamic terminology