The Sealed Nectar (20 page)

5.

To defend me in case I seek your help, and debar me from anything you debar yourself, your spouses and children from. And if you observe those precepts, Paradise is in store for you. [Mukhtasar Seerat Ar- Rasool p.155; Ibn Hisham 1/454]

In another version narrated by Ka‘b, he said:

The Prophet [pbuh] began to speak, recited some Qur’ânic verses, called people unto Allâh, exhorted them to enter the fold of Islam and concluded saying: "I give you my pledge that you debar me from whatever you debar your women and children from."

Here Al- Bara’ bin Ma‘rur, caught him by hand, and said: "Oh yes, we swear by Allâh, Who sent you as a Prophet in Truth, that we will debar you from whatever we debar our women from. Have confidence in us, O Messenger of Allâh. By Allâh, we are genuine fighters and quite reliable in war, it is a trait passed down to us from our ancestors."

Then ‘Abul Haitham At- Taihan interrupted and said: "O Prophet of Allâh! Between us and the Jews, there are agreements which we would then sever. If Allâh grants you power and victory, should we expect that you would not leave us, and join the ranks of your people (meaning Quraish)?" The Prophet [pbuh] smiled and replied:

"Nay, it would never be; your blood will be my blood. In life and death I will
be with you and you with me. I will fight whom you fight and I will make
peace with those with whom you make peace."
[Ibn Hisham 1/442]

After the negotiations concerning the conditions of allegiance had ended, and all of the audience were unanimously agreed to ratify it, two men of the early generation of converts who had embraced Islam in the eleventh and twelfth years rose to their feet to apprise the others of the serious step they were about to take so that they could give their pledge fully aware of the whole affair and consequently be ready for the sacrifice they were expected to make. Al ‘Abbas bin Ubada bin Nadlah, in this context, remarked: "O you people of Khazraj! Do you know the significance of the pact that you are entering into with this man? You are in fact avowing that you will fight against all and sundry. If you fear that your property will be at stake or the lives of your nobles will be endangered, then leave him now, because if you do this after the pledge, it will be degrading for you both in this world and the world to come. But if you think that you can carry out what you are called upon to do in spite of the loss of precious lives and property, then undertake this heavy responsibility, and I swear by Allâh, that herein lies the good of this world and that of the next."

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They replied, "We have already considered the loss of property and the murder of our notables, yet we pay him allegiance. But what is our reward if we observe all the items of this pact?" The Prophet replied: "Paradise is in store for you." Then they asked him to stretch out his hand, and they all stretched out their hands and took the pledge. Only at that time did As‘ad bin Zurarah come to realize the people’s readiness for sacrifice in the cause of Allâh. [Ibn Hisham 1/446]

On the authority of Jabir, who said: "When we started to pay allegiance to the Prophet [pbuh], As‘ad bin Zurarah stood up and gave the following short address:

"Take it easy people of Yathrib! We have not covered that long distance except because we have had deep belief that he (Muhammad [pbuh]) is the Messenger of Allâh. We are already convinced that following him entails departure from the pagan Arabs even if it were at the risk of our life. Should you preserve in this course, holdfast to it, and your great reward is placed in the Hand of Allâh, but if you are caught in fear, I admonish you to give it up just now, and then you would be more excusable by Allâh." [Musnad Ahmad]

With respect to the two women, the pledge was taken orally for the Prophet [pbuh]

had never shaken hands with a strange lady. [Muslim 2/131]

The Prophet [pbuh] then asked the group to appoint twelve deputies to preach Islam to their people in Madinah, to shoulder the responsibility of implementing the articles of this pledge and to guide the respective men of their own tribes in matters relating to the propagation of Islam. The deputies elected were nine from Al- Khazraj: As‘ad bin Zurarah bin ‘Ads, Sa‘d bin Ar- Rabi‘ bin ‘Amr, ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah bin Tha‘labah, Rafi‘ bin Malik bin Al- ‘Ajlan, Al- Bara’ bin Ma‘rur bin Sakhr, ‘Abdullah bin

‘Amr bin Haram, ‘Ubadah bin As- Samit bin Qais, Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah bin Dulaim and Al-Mundhir bin ‘Amr bin Khunais. Three others were from Al- Aws: Usaid bin Hudair bin Sammak, Sa‘d bin Khaithamah bin Al- Harith and Rifa‘a bin ‘Abdul Mundhir bin Zubair. Once again, those twelve men were sworn to act as surety over the affairs of their people just as the Christ’s disciples did, and the Prophet would act as surety over his people, meaning all the Muslims.

Somehow or other, the news of these secret desert meetings with the Madinese leaked out. The Prophet immediately knew that it was a certain pudgy ugly devil, inhabited in Al- ‘Aqabah, who discovered their meeting, and he threatened to settle his account with him as soon as possible.

On hearing this, Al- ‘Abbas bin Nadlah said "By Allâh, Who has sent you in Truth, we are powerful enough to put the people of Mina (the Quraishites) to our swords tomorrow, if you desire." The Prophet [pbuh] said "We have not been commanded to follow that course. Now, back to your camps." They went back to sleep till morning.

[Ibn Hisham 1/448]

No sooner did Quraish hear of this treaty than a kind of trouble- provoking tumult began to mushroom in all directions. They realized quite fully that an allegiance of this sort is bound to produce far- reaching ramifications of direct impact on their lives and wealth. The following day, a large delegation comprising the leaders and archcriminals of Makkah set out for the camp of the Madinese to protest severely against the treaty. They addressed the Madinese: "O people of Khazraj, it transpired to us that you have come here to conclude a treaty with this man (Muhammad) and 97

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evacuate him out of Makkah. By Allâh, we do really hold in abhorrence any sort of fight between you and us." [Ibn Hisham 1/448]

The Madinese polytheists having known nothing about the secretly taken pledge, began to swear by Allâh and answered in good faith that there was no truth in the report. ‘Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul, a Madinese polytheist, refuted their allegations denouncing them as null and void, claiming that his people would never initiate anything unless he gave them clear orders.

The Madinese Muslims, however, remained silent neither negating nor confirming.

The Quraishite leaders seemed to be almost convinced by the arguments presented by the polytheists, and went back home frustrated. However, they did not fully acquiesce in the words they heard. They began to scrutinize the smallest details, and trace the minutest news till it was established beyond a shadow of doubt that the pact did take place, but that was after the Madinese pilgrims had left Makkah. In a fit of rage, they pursued the pilgrims but did not succeed in catching hold of anyone except Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah. They subjected him to unspeakable tortures, but he was later rescued by Al- Mut‘im bin ‘Adi and Harith bin Harb bin Omaiya with whom he had trade relations. [Za'd Al- Ma'ad 2/51,52; Ibn Hisham 1/448- 450]

That is the story of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge, later known as the Great ‘Aqabah Pledge, effected in an atmosphere of love, allegiance and mutual support between Madinese believers and weak Makkan Muslims. This new spirit of affection, rapport and cooperation could never be attributable to a fleeing whim, on the contrary, it totally derived from an already deeply- established approach, viz. Belief in Allâh, His Messenger and His Book. It was a Belief so rooted in the selves that it managed to stand immune to all powers of injustice and aggression, and could be translated into miracles in the practical aspects of action and ideology pursuit. That sort of Belief was the real instrument for the Muslims to record in the annals of history unprecedented breakthroughs. We are also sure that the future will always remain wanting as regards those great achievements carried out by those great men.

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The Vanguard of Migration

(in the Cause of Allâh)

After the endorsement of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge and the establishment of a petite Muslim state in a vast desert surging with disbelief and ignorance — the most serious gain in terms of Islam —, the Prophet [pbuh] gave his leave for the Muslims to migrate to Madinah, the nascent Muslim state.

Migration to Madinah, in terms of personal interests, was no more than material waste and sacrifice of wealth, all in return for personal safety only. Even here, the migrant could not expect full security; he was liable to be robbed or even killed either at the beginning or end of his departure. The future was foggy, pregnant with various unpredictable sorts of sorrows and crises.

Bearing all this in mind, the Muslims began to migrate, while the polytheists spared no effort in hindering and debarring them, knowing beforehand that such a move implied unimaginable threats and unthinkable destructive dangers to their whole society:

1. The first one to migrate was Abu Salamah, a year before the Great ‘Aqabah Pledge. When he had made up his mind to leave Makkah, his in- laws, in a desperate attempt to raise obstacles, detained his wife and snatched his son and dislocated his hand. Umm Salamah, after the departure of her husband and the loss of her son spent a year by herself weeping and lamenting. A relative of hers eventually had pity on her and exhorted the others to release her son and let her join her husband. She then set out on a journey of 500

kilometres with no help whatsoever. At a spot called At- Tan‘im, ‘Uthman bin Talhah came across her and offered to give her a ride to Madinah. She, along with her son, joined Abu Salamah in the village of Quba’, a suburb of Madinah. [Ibn Hisham 1/468]

2. Another instance of the atrocities of the polytheist Makkans, as regards migration, is Suhaib. This man expressed his wish to migrate and of course this was a source of indignation to the disbelievers. They began to insult him claiming that he had come into Makkah as a worthless tramp, but their town was gracious enough and thanks to them he managed to make a lot of money and become wealthy. They gave orders that he would not leave. Seeing this, he offered to give away all his wealth to them. They eventually agreed to release him on that condition. The Prophet heard this story and commented on it saying:

"Suhaib is the winner, after all." [Ibn Hisham 1/477]

3. Then, there was the story of ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab, ‘Ayyash bin Abi Rabi‘a and Hisham bin Al- ‘Asi, who agreed to meet at a certain place one morning in order to leave for Madinah; ‘Umar and ‘Ayyash came but Hisham was detained by the Makkans.

Shortly afterwards Abu Jahl, and his brother Al- Harith came to Madinah to see their third brother ‘Ayyash. They cunningly tried to touch the most sensitive area in man, i.e. his relation with his mother. They addressed him claiming that his mother had 99

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sworn she would never comb her hair, nor shade herself off the sun unless she had seen him. ‘Ayyash took pity on his mother, but ‘Umar was intelligent enough to understand that they wanted to entice ‘Ayyash away from Islam so he cautioned him against their tricks, and added "your mother would comb her hair if lice pestered her, and would shade herself off if the sun of Makkah got too hot for her." These words notwithstanding, ‘Ayyash was determined to go and see his mother, so ‘Umar gave him his manageable docile camel advising him to stick to its back because it would provide rescue for him if he perceived anything suspicious on their part. The party of three then set forth towards Makkah. As soon as they covered part of the distance, Abu Jahl complained about his camel and requested ‘Ayyash to allow him to ride behind him on his camel. When they knelt down to the level of the ground, the two polytheists fell upon ‘Ayyash and tied him. They rode on into Makkah shouting at people to follow their example with respect to ‘fools’. [Ibn Hisham 1/474; Bukhari 1/558]

These are just three self- explanatory models of the Makkans’ reaction towards anyone intending to migrate. Nevertheless, the believers still managed to escape in successive groups and so rapidly that within two months of the Second ‘Aqabah Pledge, entire quarters of Makkah were deserted. Almost all the followers of Muhammad had migrated to their new abode, except Abu Bakr, ‘Ali, the Prophet

[pbuh] himself, and those helpless noble souls who had been detained in confinement or were unable to escape. The Prophet [pbuh], together with Abu Bakr and ‘Ali, had made all the necessary preparations for migration but was waiting for leave from his Lord. [Za'd Al- Ma'ad 2/52]

It is noteworthy that most of the Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), came back to Madinah to join the rest of the Muslims there.

The situation was no doubt critical in Makkah but Muhammad [pbuh] was not at all perturbed. Abu Bakr was, however, urging the Prophet to depart from that town. He was also eagerly waiting for an opportunity to accompany Muhammad [pbuh] on this eventful journey. But the Prophet told him that the time had not yet come; the Lord had not given him the command to migrate. In anticipation of the Command of Allâh, Abu Bakr had made preparations for the journey. He had purchased two swift camels and had fed them properly for four months so that they could successively stand the ordeals of the long desert journey. [Bukhari 1/553]

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In An-Nadwah (Council) House

The Parliament of Quraish

The polytheists were paralysed by the carefully planned and speedy movement of Muhammad’s followers towards their new abode in Madinah. They were caught in unprecedented anxiety and got deeply worried over their whole pagan and economic entity. They already experienced Muhammad [pbuh] as an influential leader; and his followers as determined, decent and always ready to sacrifice all they had for the sake of the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]. Al- Aws and Al- Khazraj tribes, the would- be-hosts of the Makkan Muslims, were also known in Arabia for their might and power in war, and judicious and sensible approach in peace. They were also averse to rancour and prejudice for they themselves had had bitter days of inter- tribal warfare.