[3][4][5] As relations deteriorated, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (the Hijrah) after negotiating with Banu Aws and Khazraj to mediate their conflict.

Unable to reach a peaceful resolution, Muhammad decided to confront the Quraysh through armed conflict, beginning with raids on Meccan caravans.

The Treaty of al-Hudaybiya, establishing a ten-year truce with the Meccans, allowed Muhammad to perform Umrah in Mecca the following year.

[11] At the end of 629 CE, a belligerent party within the Quraysh, against the advice of their chief Abu Sufyan, supported one of their client clans in a conflict against the Khuza'a, allies of Muhammad.

[12] Afterwards, leadership of the Muslim community traditionally passed to a member of the Qurayshi, as was the case with the Rashidun, Umayyad, and Abbasid Caliphates, and purportedly the Fatimids.

[15] The nisba or surname of the Quraysh is Qurashī, though in the early centuries of the Islamic Ummah, most Qurayshi tribesmen were denoted by their specific clan instead of the tribe.

[15] Thus, Fihr belonged to the Kinana tribe and his descent is traced to Adnan the Ishmaelite, the semi-legendary father of the "northern Arabs".

[15] All medieval Muslim sources agree that Qusayy unified Fihr's descendants, and established the Quraysh as the dominant power in Mecca.

According to Watt, by 600 CE, the leaders of Quraysh "were prosperous merchants who had obtained something like a monopoly of the trade between the Indian Ocean and East Africa on the one hand and the Mediterranean on the other".

They also formed political or economic alliances with many of the Bedouin (nomadic Arab) tribes in the northern and central Arabian deserts to ensure the safety of their trade caravans.

The Quraysh invested their revenues in building their trading ventures, and shared profits with tribal allies to translate financial fortune into significant political power in the Hejaz (western Arabia).

[23] In the words of Fred Donner: [By the end of the 6th century,] Meccan commerce was flourishing as never before, and the leaders in this trade [the Quraysh] had developed from mere merchants into true financiers.

[20] According to Watt, "In all the stories of the pre-Islamic period there is admittedly a legendary element, but the main outline of events appears to be roughly correct, even if most of the dating is uncertain.

In Medina, Muhammad received a divine revelation allowing Muslims to defend themselves, which included targeting Quraysh trade caravans in response to their ongoing hostility and persecution.

Instead, Muhammad encountered Quraysh troops led by Amr ibn Hisham,[25] and despite being outnumbered, won the Battle of Badr, gaining prestige and followers.

[26] Seeking to restore their honor, the Quraysh, led by Abu Sufyan, mobilized 3,000 troops to confront Muhammad, resulting in the Battle of Uhud.

Initially, Muhammad's forced had the upper hand, but a setback occurred when his archers abandoned their positions and pursued the fleeing Meccan soldiers.

[10] In Medina, some Jewish tribes expressed satisfaction at Muhammad's defeat, prompting him to target the Banu Nadir, driving them to Khaybar and other settlements, and seizing their property.

A short time later, Muhammad attacked the Jewish-inhabited Khaybar, where he instituted a practice that set a precedent for Muslims later on towards Jews and Christians, namely jizya.

[11] In early 627, Muhammad undertook the Umrah known as the 'fulfilled pilgrimage' in Mecca, during which time he reconciled with his family, the Banu Hashim, which was sealed by marrying Maymuna bint al-Harith.

Muhammad sought to consolidate the unity of his expanding Muslim community by "winning over this powerful group [the Quraysh]", according to Donner; to that end he guaranteed Qurayshi participation and influence in the nascent Islamic state.

[29] With Muhammad's death in 632, rivalry emerged between the Quraysh and the two other components of the Muslim elite, the Ansar and the Thaqif, over influence in state matters.

During the First Fitna, the Ansar, who backed Caliph Ali of the Banu Hashim against two factions representing rival Qurayshi clans, were defeated.

They were subsequently left out of the political elite, while the Thaqif maintained a measure of influence by dint of their long relationship with the Quraysh.