Early Islam · about 570-632

The Prophet Muhammad and the hijra

In 622 the Prophet Muhammad and his followers left Mecca for Medina. Students follow the hijra on the map and find out why this journey became year one of the Islamic calendar.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 610 to AD 632
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

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A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 622 the Prophet Muhammad and his followers left Mecca for Medina. Students follow the hijra on the map and find out why this journey became year one of the Islamic calendar.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe the main events of the Prophet Muhammad's life from about 570 to 632.
  • Locate Mecca and Medina on the map and explain what the hijra was.
  • Explain why the Islamic calendar begins in 622.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 610

Mecca and its mountains

Open the map in 610 and zoom in on Mecca. Muslims believe the first revelation came in a cave on a mountain just outside the town. What kind of landscape surrounds Mecca?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 622

The hijra, 622

Move the slider to 622 and turn on Historical Events. Find the Religious Event for the hijra. How far north of Mecca is Medina? Why was the journey dangerous?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 632

Out of Arabia

Open Stories and start The Islamic Caliphates. Stop at the first step, 632, the year the Prophet died. What does the story say happened next?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did the leaders of Mecca oppose the Prophet Muhammad's message at first?
  2. The Islamic calendar starts with the hijra in 622, not with the Prophet's birth. Why might Muslims have chosen that moment?
  3. In Medina, the Prophet agreed written rules for Muslims, Arab tribes and Jewish tribes living together. Why would a new community need such rules?
  4. Around 615 some early Muslims found safety with the Christian king of Aksum. What does that tell us about the region?
  5. Today about one in four people in the world is Muslim. Why do you think the hijra is remembered as a turning point?
4

Game round

10 min

Rule History has no ruler from 7th-century Arabia. Play one round as Wu Zetian, who ruled Tang China a few decades later. Then compare: how did the Prophet Muhammad gain support in Medina, and how did Wu Zetian gain support at the Tang court?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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