The Battles of the Prophet
According to Muslim sources, Muhammad is not only a prophet and messenger: he is also a war leader. In this regard, it is significant that the earliest biographical collections of the Prophet were titled kitab al-Maghâzi, or "book of expeditions." These writings recount in detail the military operations carried out by Muhammad, the assassinations of opponents he purportedly ordered, etc. In this section, we will review the accounts of these battles in order to clarify their modalities: who initiated the battles? For what purpose? What forces were involved? We will also question the historicity of these accounts, some of which are strongly challenged by specialists.
