In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
An Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah),
authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid Al-'Azimi,
may Allah preserve him.
The Departure of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
from Medina and His Breaking of the Fast.
The narrators differed regarding the exact day on which the Messenger of Allah departed,
from Medina, as previously mentioned.
What the scholars of Seerah are agreed upon
is that he set out when ten nights had passed of Ramadan,
and entered Mecca when nineteen nights had elapsed of it.
Imam Al-Nawawi said:
"What is well-known in the books of military expeditions (maghazi)
is that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
set out for the Conquest of Mecca from Medina
after ten nights had passed of Ramadan,
and entered it when nineteen nights of it had elapsed."
The Messenger of Allah set out
from the prophetic city of Medina,
accompanied by ten thousand warriors.
The Messenger of Allah appointed
as his deputy over Medina Abu Ruhm,
Kulthum ibn Al-Husayn Al-Ghifari, may Allah be pleased with him.
He fasted on that day,
and the people fasted with him,
until he reached Al-Kadeed—
a watering place between 'Usfan and Qudayd—
where he broke his fast, and the people broke their fast with him.
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad,
Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak,
and Ibn Ishaq in the Seerah with a good (hasan) chain of transmission,
and the wording is that of Al-Hakim,
from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, set forth
with his Companions in the Year of the Conquest,
until he encamped at Marr Al-Zahran
among ten thousand Muslims.
Sulaym reached seven hundred,
and Muzaynah numbered a thousand;
meaning Sulaym reached seven hundred warriors,
while Muzaynah reached one thousand,
and in every tribe there were numbers and devotion to Islam.
There marched forth fully with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
the Emigrants (Muhajirun) and the Ansar,
such that not a single one of them remained behind.
News was entirely hidden from Quraysh,
so no report reached them concerning the Messenger of Allah,
nor did they know what he was doing."
The two Shaykhs narrated in their Sahih collections, and the wording is Al-Bukhari's,
on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
"The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
set out in Ramadan from Medina
accompanied by ten thousand men,
and that was at the end of eight and a half years
following his arrival in Medina.
He and the Muslims with him marched towards Mecca,
with him fasting and them fasting,
until he reached Al-Kadeed—
which is a spring between 'Usfan and Qudayd—
whereupon he broke his fast, and they broke their fast."
Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih,
as did Abu Dawud in his Sunan,
and the wording is that of Abu Dawud,
from Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"We set out with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in Ramadan during the Year of the Conquest.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
used to fast, and we fasted along with him,
until he reached a certain halting place,
whereupon he said:
'You have drawn near to your enemy,
and breaking your fast will make you stronger.'
So the morning came, and some of us were fasting while others were not.
Then we marched on and descended at another halting place,
and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
'You will confront your enemy in the morning,
and breaking your fast will make you stronger,
so break your fast.'
And this was a binding order from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
The Acceptance of Islam by Abu Sufyan ibn Al-Harith
and 'Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, continued
on his way toward Mecca,
and when he reached Neeq Al-'Uqab,
which lies between Mecca and Medina,
he was met by his paternal cousin and foster brother,
Abu Sufyan ibn Al-Harith ibn 'Abd Al-Muttalib,
along with the son of his paternal aunt 'Atikah bint 'Abd Al-Muttalib—
who was also the paternal brother of Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him—
'Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah ibn Al-Mughirah,
both coming as Muslims.
Al-Hakim narrated in his Mustadrak,
as did Ibn Ishaq in the Seerah with a good (hasan) chain of transmission,
from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
"Abu Sufyan ibn Al-Harith ibn 'Abd Al-Muttalib
and 'Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah ibn Al-Mughirah
met the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, at Neeq Al-'Uqab,
midway between Mecca and Medina,
and they sought permission to enter his presence.
Thereupon Umm Salamah spoke to him regarding them, saying:
'O Messenger of Allah,
your paternal cousin, the son of your paternal aunt, and your brother-in-law!'
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
'I have no need of them.
As for my cousin, he tore down my honor,
and as for the son of my aunt and brother-in-law,
he is the one who said to me in Mecca what he said.'
He said:
When this response was conveyed to them outside,
Abu Sufyan had a young son with him,
so he said:
'By Allah, he must surely grant me permission,
or else I shall take this young boy of mine by the hand,
and we will wander aimlessly through the land until we perish of thirst and hunger.'
When that reached the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
his heart softened toward them,
and he subsequently granted them permission to enter.
They entered upon him and embraced Islam."
The Emigration of Al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd Al-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him, with His Family.
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, reached Al-Juhfah,
he was met by his paternal uncle, Al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd Al-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him, emigrating with his family.
He was the last person to emigrate to Medina,
because the Conquest of Mecca took place after their emigration,
and 'there is no emigration after the Conquest,'
as stated by the infallible Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Imam Al-Dhahabi said:
"Al-'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, was ever compassionate toward the Prophet, peace be upon him,
loving him and enduring persecution with patience,
even before he had embraced Islam;
so much so that on the night of Al-'Aqabah he made himself known,
standing alongside his nephew, peace be upon him, in the dead of night,
and securing firm pledges for him from the seventy Companions.
Then he went out to Badr alongside his people under compulsion, where he was captured,
and he then disclosed to them that he had secretly accepted Islam.
Afterward, he returned to Mecca,
and I do not know why he remained residing there.
Moreover, there is no mention of him on the day of Uhud or the day of the Trench,
nor did he march out with Abu Sufyan,
nor did Quraysh reproach him for that in any way, as far as I know.
Then he finally came to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
as an emigrant shortly before the Conquest of Mecca;
thus, the exact timeline of his coming has not been definitively determined for us."
An Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).
Though the longing of creation for one another may endure,
the depth of yearning for you cannot be bounded.
May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
and as long as lips move with remembrance of the Everlasting.