This paper will study the origins of slaves in the Hijaz during the lifetime of the prophet Muhammad, the various ways they were enslaved and acquired as reflected in historical chronicles, biographical, and geographical works of the medieval Islamic period. Even though the vast majority of slaves in pre-Islamic and early Islamic times were victims of inter tribal warfare of the ayyam al-’arab, large numbers of non-Arab slaves are also documented in the sources (esp. Tabari, Ibn Sa’d, Ibn Hisham, and Azraqi). Examining lists such as those of slaves and freed slaves that belonged to Muhammad or those that participated in the battle of Badr (2/624) offers a diverse range of slaves of various African origins, Persians, and Byzantines. The constellation of slaves was deeply rooted in the socio-political and economic life of the Hijaz. The question is how did these slaves get to Arabia, what role did the slave trade play, and how important was the role of Mecca as a major commercial center in providing slaves in the international slave trade during the lifetime of Muhammad. Was Mecca, "un des plus important marchés d´esclaves"? (Lammens, Arabie, p. 12) The sources would indicate, rather, that the arrival of most of the non-Arab slaves into the Hijaz was due to its geo-political role in the conflict between the Sasanid and Byzantine Empires as well as the latter’s vassal state in Abyssinia. This paper argues for a reconsideration of long-standing scholarly views of the slave trade and the role of Mecca in this trade during the first Islamic period.