The Hijra (Muhammad and his Companions’ migration to Yathrib—better known by the new name of Medina) marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. A small number of the farmers who lived in the little town had accepted Muhammad’s message and become his Ansa (Helpers). They donated land for the first masjid or mosque where the faithful could gather. Stories of the society that Muhammad created there—often written centuries later under the patronage of vast Islamic empires—continue to shape Muslim debates about the ideal society and the relationship between religious and secular authority.

The “Constitution of Medina,” as recorded in these later sources, gave Muhammad sole authority to mediate disputes among all the clans in Medina and made him the war leader from the beginning. More likely, he came solely as a neutral arbitrator for disputes between the two major tribes and gradually gained more power. His small, immediate community of believers (the Ummah), however, saw him as the ultimate lawgiver. They would not have a stable religious identity as Muslims until the end of Muhammad’s life.

Muhammad’s absolute authority and the ability of any person to enter his community regardless of parentage, race, or social status made it unique in the tribal system.