The Prophet’s emigration to Yathrib
The Prophet (a.s.) was assured as to the homage of the Ansar and he trusted in their loyalty to him and their devotedness in defending the Islamic mission. Yathrib became inaccessible fort of Islam. Many believers emigrated to it and found protection, security, and comfort there. The Prophet (a.s.) decided to emigrate to it and this was one of the most important events in the history of Islam. It was the blessed beginning of the establishment of the Islamic state and the spread of Islam throughout the Arabia.
Worry of Quraysh
When the news of the Prophet’s intention to leave Mecca to Yathrib, which he would take as a center for his mission, reached the people of Quraysh, they got very worried and upset. They used to harm the Prophet (a.s.) with every means they could get at hand. They had home-arrested him in the defile and severely punished the believers who followed him. Therefore, they thought that if he left their country, he might come back to them with an army that they would be unable to stand against, and then he would avenge on them severely. Different thoughts came to their minds and they feared for their interests that the people of Yathrib might cut the ways of their trade to Sham. Anyhow, the Meccans counted the cost of the Prophet’s emigration to Yathrib and took many steps to prevent it.
The chiefs of Quraysh called each other to meet in Dar an-Nadwa which was a house of Qusayy bin Kilab that the people of Quraysh had taken as a place of consultation whenever they faced a problem. The meeting included Utbah, Shaybah, Abu Sufyan, Tu’mah bin Adiy, Jubayr bin Mut’im, al-Harith bin Aamir, an-Nadhr bin al-Harith, ibn al-Bukhturi, Zam’ah bin al-Aswad, Hakeem bin Hizam, Abu Jahl, Nabeeh and Munabbih sons of al-Hajjaj, Umayyah bin Khalaf, and others. Iblis joined the meeting in the form of an old man from Najd. One of them opened the meeting saying, “This man (Muhammad) has done as you already have seen. By Allah, we are not safe from his leaping on us with those who have followed him from other than us. Let you agree on one opinion toward him.”
Ibn al-Bukhturi suggested, “Tie him (the Prophet) with iron chains and confine him behind doors. See what had afflicted the poets like him before such as Zuhayr and an-Nabighah and others who died in this way. Thus, he shall meet the same fate.”
The attendants did not agree on this suggestion and they said, “Muhammad’s companions definitely will know about the place of his confinement. They will attack the place and set Muhammad free.”
Al-Aswad bin Rabee’ah al-Aamiry said, “We expel him from our country. When he leaves us, by Allah, we shall not mind wherever he goes or whatever he does. When he is away from us and we are free from him, we shall then repair our affairs and unity as they were…”
The old man of Najd refuted this suggestion saying, “No by Allah, this suggestion is not good for you. Do you not see his (the Prophet) nice speech and good reasoning and his prevailing over men’s hearts by what he says? By Allah, if you do that, you shall not be safe that he may live among a tribe of the Arabs and affect them by his sayings and speeches until they shall follow him. Then, he shall march with them until he shall defeat you in your country and subjugate you, and then he will do to you as he wants. So find an opinion other than this one…”
The attendants approved this saying and gave up al-Aswad’s suggestion. Then Abu Jahl bin Hisham addressed the men saying, “I have an opinion about him that I see you have not got to yet!”
They asked what it was and he said, “I see that we should take from every tribe a brave young man and we give each of them a sharp sword. They should together go and strike him as a strike of one man and kill him. Thus, we shall be relieved from him. If they do that, his blood (murder) shall be divided among all the tribes, and then Bani Abd Manaf (the Hashemites) shall be unable to fight against all their people…”
All the attendants approved and agreed on this opinion and said, “There is no (accepted) opinion other than this.”
The men, who would carry out this crime, were chosen and the time of the attack against the Prophet’s house was appointed, but the Divine Will disappointed them. (And they planned and Allah (also) planned, and Allah is the best of planners).
The Prophet leaves Mecca
Allah the Almighty instructed His messenger to leave Mecca and emigrate to Yathrib. Allah informed the Prophet (a.s.) of the plot of the polytheists to assassinate him.
On that night, the chosen men surrounded the Prophet’s house waiting for the dawn to let their swords eat the Prophet’s flesh. The people of Quraysh wanted to support their idols and recover their position among the Arabs by getting rid of the messenger of Allah (a.s.).
Imam Ali sleeps in the Prophet’s bed
The Prophet (a.s.) informed Imam Ali (a.s.) about what Quraysh had plotted and he asked him to put on his (the Prophet) green garment and sleep in his (the Prophet) bed that night to make those villains believe that he was the Prophet (a.s.), and thus the Prophet (a.s.) would be safe from killing. Imam Ali (a.s.) received the Prophet’s order with delight and pleasure. He was very happy to be a sacrifice for the messenger of Allah (a.s.).
The Prophet (a.s.) went out of his house. He took a handful of earth and threw it on the men of Quraysh and said, ‘How ugly, mean faces!’
He went on while reciting, (And We have made before them a barrier and a barrier behind them, then We have covered them over so that they do not see).
The sleeping of Imam Ali (a.s.) in the Prophet’s bed and sacrificing himself for him was a shiny page from his sacred jihad. Allah has revealed about him, (And among people is he who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah).
Historians mention, “Allah the Almighty vied in glory with Imam Ali (a.s.) before His angels. He revealed to Gabriel and Michael, ‘I have made you as brothers and made the old of one of you longer than the other. Which of you prefer his friend to himself in life?’ Each of them preferred himself to his friend. Allah revealed to them, ‘Would you not be like Ali bin Abi Talib? I have made him as a brother to Muhammad and he slept in his (Muhammad) bed sacrificing him by his self and preferring him to himself in life. Go, you both, down to the earth and protect him from his enemy.’ They came down to the earth. Gabriel was at the head of Ali and Michael at his feet while saying, ‘Who is like you O Ali bin Abi Talib! Allah prides Himself on you before the angels.’ Allah then revealed to His messenger while he was moving towards Medina (Yathrib) this verse about Ali, (And among people is he who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah).”
When the light of morning came, the men attacked Imam Ali (a.s.) thinking that he was the Prophet (a.s.). Imam Ali (a.s.) drew his sword towards them and they were terribly surprised. They shouted at him, “Where is Muhammad?”
He said to them, “Have you made me a guard on him?”
They retreated taking with them disappointment and loss whereas the Prophet (a.s.) had slipped away safely. While he was moving toward Medina, the Prophet (a.s.) supplicated Allah with this supplication,
“Praise be to Allah Who created me when I was nothing. O Allah, assist me in the terror of life, troubles of time, and disasters of nights and days!
O Allah, accompany me in my travel, be my successor to my family, bless what You have endow on me, make me submit to You, affirm me with my good morals, make me, my Lord, love You, and do not make me in need of people!
O Lord of the disabled! You are my Lord. I seek refuge by Your Honorable Face to which the heavens and the earth have shone, and darks have been removed, and the affairs of the firsts and the lasts have been repaired, not to afflict on me Your anger or send down on me Your wrath. I seek Your protection from the disappearance of Your blessing, from Your sudden punishment, the change of Your soundness (to me), and from all Your wrath. I beseech You as possible I can, and there is no power and might save in You.”
The Prophet with Suraqah
Quraysh offered one hundred camels for whoever would arrest the Prophet (a.s.) during his journey to Yathrib. Suraqah bin Malik set out looking for the Prophet (a.s.). When Suraqah found the Prophet (a.s.), the Prophet prayed Allah, “O Allah, save me from the evil of Suraqah bin Malik with whatever You will.” Allah responded to his supplication and the legs of Suraqa’s horse sank in the ground. Suraqa said to the Prophet (a.s.), “What has happened to my horse is from you. Pray Allah to release my horse. By my life, if no good from me came to you, no evil from me shall come to you.” The Prophet (a.s.) prayed Allah and Suraqa’s horse was released. However, Suraqa did not refrain and he chased the Prophet (a.s.) again. His horse’s legs sank in the ground, and he asked the Prophet (a.s.) again to pray Allah for him. This happened three times. In the third time, Suraqa said to the Prophet (a.s.), “O Muhammad, these are my camels. They are before you and my servant is with them. If you need a mount or milk, you can take from him. This is an arrow from my quiver as a sign, and I will go back to confuse those who will chase you.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said to him, “We are in no need of what you have.”
The Prophet (a.s.) headed for Yathrib after he was saved from the villains of Quraysh. Abu Bakr was with him. They remained in the cave of Thour
for three days. Allah the Almighty sent a couple of pigeons to lay eggs at the bottom of the opening of the cave and a spider to spin its cobweb on the opening. The men of Quraysh wasted no minute in chasing the Prophet (a.s.). They, headed by Suraqa bin Malik who was an expert tracer, reached the cave. When Suraqa saw the eggs of the pigeons and cobweb, he said to his companions that if anyone entered the cave the eggs and the cobweb would be damaged. The Prophet (a.s.) was seeing and hearing them. He prayed Allah saying, “O Allah, blind their sights!”
Allah blinded their sights and they could not find the Prophet (a.s.). Abu Bakr was afraid, but the Prophet (a.s.) calmed him down and said to him, “Do not be afraid, for Allah is with us.”
Then, this verse was revealed to the Prophet (a.s.), (If you will not aid him, Allah certainly aided him when those who disbelieved expelled him, he being the second of the two, when they were both in the cave, when he said to his companion: Grieve not, surely Allah is with us. So Allah sent down His tranquility upon him and strengthened him with hosts which you did not see, and made lowest the word of those who disbelieved; and the word of Allah, that is the highest; and Allah is Mighty, Wise).
When the men of Quraysh was desperate of finding the messenger of Allah, they went back to Mecca. The Prophet (a.s.) had hired two camels; one for him and the other for Abu Bakr. When the men of Quraysh no longer looked for the Prophet (a.s.), the two camels were brought to him. He and Abu Bakr mounted the camels and set out toward Yathrib.
Yathrib receives the Prophet
The news got to the people of Yathrib that the messenger of Allah had emigrated towards them. The masses longingly hurried to receive and welcome him. The women began chanting:
“The dawn has come to us
from the defiles of al-Wada’.
Gratefulness has become obligatory on us,
Whenever an inviter invites for Allah.”
Masses of people crowded in the streets crying out; ‘Muhammad has come’, ‘the messenger of Allah has come’, ‘Allahu akbar’.
The public, under a halo of ‘Allahu akbar’ gathered together to receive and welcome the Savior who had been sent by Allah to save mankind. It was a memorable day that Yathrib had never seen like before. On the other hand, the Prophet (a.s.) felt delight and satisfaction by that great welcome.
The chiefs of the tribes surrounded the Prophet (a.s.) and each of them looked forward to have the honor of hosting the Prophet (a.s.) in his house. The Prophet (a.s.) thanked them all and said that his she-camel had been ordered (by Allah) to stop at the place that Allah the Almighty had chosen. The she-camel walked being followed by the crowds of people until it reached the house of Abu Ayyoob Khalid bin Zayd. It knelt down and the Prophet (a.s.) dismounted. Abu Ayyoob received the Prophet (a.s.) with all regard and honoring, and he considered that as one of Allah’s favors and blessings on him.
The notables, the chiefs, and all classes of Yathrib came to the Prophet (a.s.) welcoming and assuring him of their protection to him and defending his religion. The Prophet (a.s.) thanked and said to them, “You are the most beloved people to me.” He repeated this three times.
The Prophet (a.s.) lived in the ground-floor and Abu Ayyoob lived in the upper floor. Abu Ayyoob felt embraced and very distressed. He said to the Prophet, “I never ascend a roof that you are under it!” It was from Abu Ayyoob’s great politeness, and so the Prophet (a.s.) turned to live in the upper floor.
Abu Ayyoub and his wife served food and offered it to the Prophet (a.s.). They eagerly ate whatever remained in the dish that they might be blessed by it.
Then, the Prophet (a.s.) built a house near the mosque with adobes and roofed it with palm trucks and fronds.
The population of Yathrib
The Prophet (a.s.) asked Huthayfah bin al-Yaman to record the number of Muslims (in Yathrib), and Huthayfah wrote down to him one thousand and five hundred men.
Most of the inhabitants of Yathrib, which the Prophet (a.s.) took as the capital of his state, responded to embrace Islam. They entered violent wars against the powerful forces of the enemies of Islam that were armed with the most modern arms of that time whereas the Muslim army had no weapons except strong faith and fixed beliefs. Nevertheless, Muslims could defeat the powerful enemies and Allah assisted His religion and honored His messenger, and soon the light of Islam moved to all directions.
It is worth mentioning that the inhabitants of Medina were not the same in their beliefs. There were true believers, hesitant Muslims, and a group of hypocrites who were apparently Muslims whereas their hearts were full of disbelief and grudge against Islam. In Medina, as well, there were the Jews who were the most dangerous enemies to Islam in the past (and are still so in the present). No plot was prepared against Islam except that they supplied it with arms and money. When that was clear to the Prophet (a.s.), he waged wars against them and warned Muslims against their evils. The last one of the Prophet’s instructions was to expel the Jews from the Arabia as al-Waqidi has mentioned.
Anyhow, most of the inhabitants of Medina were from the tribes of al-Aws and al-Khazraj. Many wars had broken out between them, but the Prophet (a.s.) put an end to their enmity and made them as brothers to each other.
Friday Prayer
When the Prophet (a.s.) came to Medina, he offered Friday Prayer and made this speech before Muslims:
“Praise be to Allah Whom I praise, beseech His assistance, seek His forgiveness, request His guidance, believe and do not disbelieve in Him, feud with whoever disbelieve in Him, and bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no associate to Him, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger whom He has sent with guidance and the religion of truth, light, and admonition after a cessation of messengers, littleness of knowledge, deviation of people, elapse of time, approach to the Hour (Last Day), and nearness to the end. Whoever obeys Allah and His messenger is on the right way, and whoever disobeys them goes astray, neglect, and is deviant in absolute deviation.
I recommend you of being pious to Allah, for the best that which a Muslim should recommend a Muslim of is to enjoin him to be pious to Allah, so beware of what Allah has warned you against from Himself, and there is no better than this advice and no better than this reminding. It is piety to whoever follows it with fear and attention, and true assistance to what you intend from the affairs of the afterlife.
Whoever is true in that which is between him and Allah in secret and openness not intending by that except the Face of Allah shall be a (good) mention to him in his life and a provision to him after death when man is in need of what he has done afore, and whatever other than that he shall wish that between him and that (evil) there were a long duration of time; and Allah makes you to be cautious of (retribution from) Himself, and Allah is Compassionate to the servants.
By Him Who is truthful in His saying and has fulfilled His promise, there shall be no renege to that, for He the Great and Almighty says, (My word shall not be changed, nor am I in the least unjust to the servants).
Fear Allah as to your worldly life and afterlife in secret and openness, for He says, (and whoever fears Allah, He will remit from him his evil deeds and will enlarge his reward).
And whoever fears Allah shall win a great winning; surely the fear of Allah safeguards against His aversion, safeguards against His punishment, and safeguards against His wrath. And surely the fear of Allah honors the faces, pleases the Lord, and exalts the rank.
Be careful and do not fall short of your duty to Allah. Allah has taught you His Book and made clear to you His path to know those who are true and those who are liars. So do good as Allah has done good to you, feud with His enemies, and strive in the way of Allah in the striving that is His right. He has chosen you and named you Muslims (that he who would perish might perish by clear proof, and he who would live might live by clear proof)
and there is no power save in Allah. So increase the remembrance of Allah and work for that which is after death, for whoever repairs what is between him and Allah, Allah will suffice to him what is between him and people that is because Allah determines for people and they do not determine for Him, and He has authority over people and they do not have authority over Him. Allah is great and there is no power save in Allah, the High, the Great.”
The building of the mosque
After no long, the Prophet (a.s.) established the mosque (of the Prophet) to be a center for his government, a school for his teachings, and a place for his worship. The piece of land, which the Prophet (a.s.) wanted to build his mosque on, was called al-Mirbad. After asking about its owner, it was said to him that it belonged to Sahl and Suhayl sons of Amr. They were orphans secured by Mu’ath bin Afra’. After the owners of the land were satisfied, the Prophet (a.s.) built the mosque which was sixty cubits long and the same in wide. The Prophet (a.s.) himself was one of the workers who participated in the building of the mosque, and so was Imam Ali (a.s.). After establishing the mosque of the Prophet (a.s.) and his houses, Islam spread everywhere in Medina, and henceforth the great Islamic state was established.
The Prophet’s achievements in Medina
The Ansar were very happy with the coming of the messenger of Allah to their town and his taking it as the capital of his state. After the conditions had been orderly in Medina, the Prophet (a.s.) took very important steps such as:
Brotherhood among Muslims
The first step the Prophet (a.s.) took was that he made the Muhajireen brothers of the Ansar by a tie of true brotherhood that was confirmer than the tie of blood and kinship. From among the conditions of this brotherhood was that each one should participate his brother in every possession and every ease and hardship. The Prophet (a.s.) made himself a brother of Imam Ali (a.s.). There is another thing worth of being mentioned is that the Prophet (a.s.) reconciled the Aws Tribe with the Khazraj Tribe after their long enmities and wars.
Building the Islamic civilization
When everything was orderly in Medina and the Prophet (a.s.) found protection and security among its people, he started the establishing of the Islamic civilization that would save man from all that might degrade him and would take him toward perfection. The Islamic civilization has made an integral method of life for man that he can find in it security, ease, and all that he wishes for in life. Islam deals with all fields of life and throughout all ages. The following are some of the articles of this method:
Liberation of woman
Woman, in the pre-Islamic age, was the weakest of Allah’s creatures and the most suffering and oppressed creature. From the abominable injustice against woman in that age was that whenever a female was born for a man, that man would be very angry and distressed. Allah has said in the Qur'an, (When if one of them receives tidings of the birth of a female, his face remains darkened, and he is wroth inwardly).
The worst of that was that they buried their daughters alive. Allah has said, (And when the female infant buried alive is asked: for what sin she was killed?).
This bad habit was widespread among some tribes like Rabee’ah, Kindeh, and Tamim. From the sayings famous among them was “the killings of girls is from noble deeds”. Islam has liberated woman and built her a honorable, exalted entity, for she is the renewer of life and the educator of generations.
Another form of the injustice against woman was that she was deprived of her right in inheritance. She had no right to inherit her father, mother, or husband. However, Islam has equaled her to man in this concern. She has the right to inherit and to bequeath.
As for one’s father’s widow in the pre-Islamic age, she was considered as a part of inheritance. She was possessed by the elder son of that dead father. He could get married to her if he wanted, or otherwise, he married her to anyone and took her dowry to himself, or he would let her unmarried until she died.
As for the marriage of woman in general, it was controlled by the personal wishes of fathers, brothers, and other male relatives, whereas woman herself has no right to interfere in the affairs of her marriage. Males had full control on woman. They could, if they wanted, leave her unmarried until she died, or she would ransom herself.
Islam has liberated woman from all those ties and made no authority for anyone over her except her father (according to some jurisprudents) because he is more aware of men’s affairs than her, but on condition that he must realize her welfare; otherwise, he shall have no authority over her. This concerns a virgin, but as for a non-virgin, her father has no authority over her (as to her marriage).
Equality
From the high values that Islam has established is the equality among all human beings with all their different races, nations, and languages with no difference between a ruler and a subject, a wealthy one and a poor one. The Prophet (a.s.) has said, “All of you are from Adam and Adam is from earth.”
Jeeb says, “Islam is the only religion that still has the ability to be greatly successful in uniting the discordant human races and communities in one front based on equality. When the discords of the East and the West are put to be discussed, it must be resorted to Islam.”
Jawaharlal Nehru says, “The theory of the Islamic brotherhood and the equality that Muslims believed in and lived with it had had a deep influence in the Hindus’ mentalities. The wretched, whom the Indian society had deprived of equality and human rights, were the most in submitting to this influence.”
Thomas Carlyle says, “In Islam there is a characteristic that is one of the noblest and most beloved characteristics; it is the equality between people.”
It is not meant by the equality that Islam has announced the natural equality among people in color, intelligence, morals, and natures, for this is something impossible, as the equality in (the level and ways of) life is impossible as well. The Prophet (a.s.) has said, “If you are equal (in everything), you shall perish.” Anyhow, here are some aspects of the equality in Islam:
1. Social equality
Allah has said, (O mankind! Surely We have created you from a male and a female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Surely the noblest of you with Allah is the best in conduct).
Ibn Abbas narrated a tradition about the cause of the revelation of this verse that a freed slave had proposed to a woman from the Bani Bayadhah. The messenger of Allah (a.s.) asked the woman’s family to marry her to the freed slave, but they said, “O messenger of Allah, would we marry our daughters to our freed slaves?”
Then, this verse was revealed to destroy this notion that sowed differences between social classes. The infallible imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) were the first to follow the orders of Allah. Imam Zaynol Aabidin (a.s.) set his bondmaid free and then he got married to her. Abdul Melik bin Marwan blamed him for that in a letter to him saying in it, “I have been informed of your marriage to your freed slave. You know well that there are competent ones to you in Quraysh by whom you shall have glory in affinity and noble offspring. You have neither regarded yourself nor your offspring. With greetings.”
Imam Zaynol Aabidin replied to him saying, “Your letter has come to me where you blame me for my getting married to my freed slave and claim that there are in Quraysh well-qualified women by whom I shall have glory in affinity and noble offspring. There is no above the messenger of Allah an eminence in glory nor a nobility. She just was my bondmaid. She got out of me (out of bondage to me) by the order of the will of Allah the Almighty that I sought His reward by it, and then I got her back according to His laws. Whoever is pure in his religion nothing of his affairs shall harm him. Surely Allah has exalted by (the faith in) Islam the mean, repaired defects, and removed the blame. There is no blame on a Muslim, but the blame (in that matter) is the blame of the pre-Islamic age…”
This is the clear logic of Islam. It has annulled all differences and barriers among Muslims. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “All of you are from Adam and Adam is from earth. Let some men stop glorying on their fathers or they shall be to Allah lower than dung-beetles.” He also said, “Allah has removed from you the defect of the pre-Islamic age (of ignorance) and the glorying on fathers. People are two men (kinds); one is dutiful, pious, and honored to Allah, and the other is dissolute, wretched, and ignoble to Allah.”
Islam has established the rules of equality on the base of the sound nature preferring no people to others except by piety. Imam Zaynol Aabidin (a.s.) said, “Allah the Almighty has created the Paradise for whoever obeys Him even if he is an Abyssinian slave, and created the Fire for whoever disobeys Him even if he is a Qurayshi master.”
The Prophet (a.s.) addressed his family saying, “O Bani Hashim, let you not come to me with your lineage saying: we are the progeny of Muhammad…when people come to me with their deeds.”
The Prophet (a.s.) resisted the vying in glory by ancestors that was widespread among the Arabs. One day, a black slave disputed with Abdurrahman bin Ouf (one of the chiefs of Quraysh) who was angry and said to the black man, “O son of the black woman!” When the Prophet (a.s.) heard that, he angrily said to Abdurrahman, “There is no preference for the son of a white woman to the son of a black woman except by the truth.”
2. Equality before the law
One of the clear manifestations in the Islamic politics is the equality of people before the law where there is no preference for the strong to the weak or the wealthy to the poor. Once, the Prophet (a.s.) was begged to pardon a thief because of her noble family, but he refused and said, “Surely, those who were before you had perished because if a weak person from among them committed a sin, they punished him/her, and if a noble one committed a sin, they left him free. By Allah, if Fatima daughter of Muhammad stole, I would cut off her hand.”
Imam Ali (a.s.), during his caliphate, lost his armor and then he found it with some Jewish man who claimed it was his. Imam Ali (a.s.) brought the case before the judge who judged for the Jew. Imam Ali (a.s.) simply submitted to the judgment.
During the reign of Umar, some Jewish man disputed with Imam Ali (a.s.). Umar said to the Imam Ali (a.s.), “O Abul Hasan, get up to stand up with your litigant.”
Imam Ali (a.s.) changed color. After the trial, Umar said to Imam Ali (a.s.), “O Abul Hasan, you might be angry that I asked you to stop with your Jewish opponent?”
Imam Ali (a.s.) said, “No, but I was angry because you called me by my surname (while it was not so with the Jew) and did not equal me to my opponent (did not regard the Jew equal to me). A Muslim and a Jew are equal before the truth.”
Islam has imposed on its followers to equalize the two opponents in courts. It is not right to prefer one to the other. It is worth mentioning to refer here to some wonderful pictures of equality in judgment.
1. Equalizing the litigants in greeting; a judge has no right to greet one of them and leave the other. If they both greeted him, he has to reply to them both.
2. Equalizing them in speaking; he is not to talk with one of them and give up the other.
3. Equalizing them in giving permission to come in to him; he is not to permit one of them and reject the other.
4. Equalizing them in regarding and respecting
5. Equalizing them in seating; it is not permissible to him to seat one of them in a good place and leave the other anywhere.
6. Equalizing them in cheerfulness
7. Listening to the speaking of both of them; he is not to listen to one of them carefully away from the other.
8. Equalizing them in justice and fairness.
9. A judge has no right to prefer one of the opponents to the other in anything.
This equality that Islam has adopted has no any like in the modern and all other systems.
3. equality in taxes
All Muslims are equal in paying the taxes that Islam has imposed like the zakat, the Khums, and others. They are not imposed on some people and some others are exempted from them.
4. equality in employment
Islam has equalized all citizens in employment and posts. Whoever is well-qualified to a certain post is worthier of occupying that post. No certain class of people is preferred to another concerning certain posts.
Individual responsibility
Man, in Islam, is responsible for his deeds, and no one other than him should be blamed in place of him for that. Allah says, (every man is responsible for what he shall have wrought),
and (That was a people that have passed away; they shall have what they earned and you shall have what you earn, and you shall not be called upon to answer for what they did).
This responsibility is one of the wonderful rules that Islam has fixed in its civilization that has announced the human rights.
Annulling the racial segregation
One of the high values in Islam is the annulling of the racial segregation among Muslims and among all human beings. A very poor black woman lived in the mosque. One day, the Prophet (a.s.) missed her. When he asked about her, it was said to him that she had died. He felt pain and said to his companions, “Would that you have told me of that!” He asked about the place of the woman’s tomb and he visited it.
The Prophet said about Salman al-Farisi (the Persian), “Salman is from us the Ahlul Bayt. Charity to Salman is impermissible.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said about Bilal al-Habashi (the Abyssinian) when some hypocrites criticized and mocked at him because he pronounced [s] as [sh], “The [s] of Bilal is [sh] to Allah. The [s] of Bilal is better than your [sh].”
There are many other examples showing that the Prophet (a.s.) cared too much for the equality among Muslims.
The Islamic brotherhood
The Islamic brotherhood was not just a slogan, but it was an eminent reality in the rulings of Islam. The Islamic brotherhood was not established on tribal, racial, or regional bases, but it was established as a part of the Islamic doctrine that every Muslim would be asked about and punished for. It supplies the society with the means of unity, mutual understanding, altruism, and cooperation, and it creates a unique example of social integrity and blocks the way before its enemies.
As for the reality of the Islamic brotherhood, the Prophet (a.s.) said, “No one of you is a true believer until he wishes to his brother what he wishes to himself.”
The Prophet (a.s.) described the Muslim society as one body saying, “The example of believers in their mutual love and mercifulness is like the body when one of its organs suffers a pain, the rest of the body falls in fever and sleeplessness for it.”
Islam has considered the Islamic brotherhood as better and stronger than the tie of blood and kinship. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim; he should not wrong, degrade,…him.”
The Islamic brotherhood is not just a mere passion, but it is a firm relationship extending to the deep of hearts and the inners of souls. It requires all Muslims to participate in joy and in sorrow. The Prophet (a.s.) had often declared that. Once, he sent some man to do something for him. The man was late. When he came back, the Prophet asked him why he was late and he said it was ‘clothlessness’.
The Prophet (a.s.) asked him, “Do you not have a neighbor who has two garments to lend you one?”
The man said, “Yes, O messenger of Allah.”
The Prophet (a.s.) was unpleased and said, “He is not a brother to you!”
Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim; he is his eye, mirror, and guide. He should not betray, wrong, cheat, backbite, or tell him lies…”
Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, “A believer is a brother to a believer; he should not abuse, anger, or mistrust him.”
Islam has recommended some acts that they encourage love and brotherhood among Muslims. The following are some of them:
1. Mercifulness and sympathy
Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “Fear Allah and be brothers loving each other for the sake of Allah, helping each other, and showing mercy to each other. Visit each other, meet, consider our matter (imamate), and liven it up.”
He also said, “Muslims are required to strive for interconnection and cooperation in comforting and showing mercy to the needy until you shall be as Allah has ordered you to be (compassionate among themselves), showing mercy to each other, caring for what is unknown to you from their (other Muslims) affairs like the community of the Ansar was at the time of the messenger of Allah (a.s.).”
2. The spread of greeting
One of the ties of the Muslim society is the greeting of each other. The Prophet (a.s.), when he arrived in Yathrib, ordered Muslims of some things saying to them, “Spread greeting (among you), speak good, offer food (to the needy), retain kinship, and offer prayers in the night while people are asleep, then you shall enter the Paradise peacefully.”
3. Mutual visiting
Islam encourages Muslims to visit each other because these mutual visits confirm the love and relation between them. Imam Ali (a.s.) said, “The meeting of brothers is a great gain even if they are few.”
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) said to one of his companions, “Give my regards to our followers and recommend them of the fear of Allah and that their wealthy should help their poor, their powerful should help their weak, their alive should attend the funerals of their dead, and to meet in their houses. If they meet each other, it shall be a life to our matter (imamate). May Allah have mercy on whoever livens up our matter.”
There are many other traditions transmitted from the infallible imams inviting Muslims to keep on visiting each other.
4. Satisfying the needs of people
Satisfying the needs of people causes more love and cordiality among people. The Prophet (a.s.) often and always encouraged that. He said, “Whoever moves to satisfy a need of his brother an hour in the night or in the day, whether he satisfies it or not, it shall be better to him than spending a month of worshiping in seclusion.”
Safwan al-Jammal narrated, “Once, I was with Imam Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (a.s.) when a man from Mecca, called Maymun, came to him. He complained to him that he could not pay the rents. He (Imam as-Sadiq) said to me, ‘Go and help your brother!’ I went to satisfy the need of the Meccan man, and when I came back, Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) asked me, ‘What did you do to the need of your brother?’ I said, ‘Allah has satisfied it, may my father and mother die for you.’ Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) was delighted and said, ‘Surely if you help your Muslim brother it is more beloved to me than circumambulating the House (the Kaaba) for a week.’”
5. Helping a Muslim
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Whoever relieves a Muslim from a distress from the distresses of this life, Allah will relieve him from a distress from the distresses of the Day of Judgment. Allah is in the assistance of a servant as long as that servant is in the assistance of his brother.”
Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, “Let no one of you think that when he pleases a believer that he pleases him only, but, by Allah, he pleases us, and in fact, by Allah, he pleases the messenger of Allah (a.s.).”
These are some of the means that increase love and strengthen the relations among the members of the Muslim society, and consequently they lead to the unity and solidarity of Muslims.
Factors of separation
Islam has closed all the doors through which separation may come in and affect the Islamic brotherhood and split the unity of Muslims. Here are some factors that lead to that:
1. Mocking and insulting each other
Allah says, (O you who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they (are), not let women (deride) women who may be better than they are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. Bad is the name of lewdness after faith. And whoso turns not in repentance, such are the evil-doers).
2. Backbiting
Islam has prohibited backbiting. Allah says, (…nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, surely Allah is Oft-returning, Merciful).
The Holy Qur'an has likened backbiting to the eating of one’s dead brother’s flesh. The Prophet (a.s.) often emphasized on the prohibition of backbiting. He said, “O folk of those who believed by their tongues and did not believe by their hearts! Do not backbite Muslims and do not look for their defects! Surely whoever looks for the defect of his brother Allah will look for his own defect until He will expose him in the heart of his house.”
The Prophet (a.s.) also said, “Backbiting is faster in (destroying) a Muslim’s faith than a canker in his inners.”
He also said, “No meeting is built by backbiting except that its religion is destroyed. Purify your hearings from the listening to backbiting, because the sayer and the listener to it (backbiting) are participants in sin.”
3. Talebearing
The Prophet (a.s.) has prohibited talebearing, for it leads to grudge, enmity, and quarrels among Muslims.
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “The most hated ones of you to Allah are those who practice talebearing, separate between lovers, and ascribe defects to the innocent.”
He also said to his companions, “Shall I inform you of the worst of you?” They said, “Yes, O messenger of Allah.” He said, “Those who practice talebearing, separate between lovers, and ascribe defects to the innocent.”
Many other traditions have been transmitted from the infallible imams about talebearing. Muhammad bin Fudhayl said to Imam al-Kadhim (a.s.), “May I be sacrificed for you! Something that I hate is informed to me about one of my brothers and when I asked him about it, he denies it, though those who inform about him are trustworthy.”
The imam said to him, “O Muhammad, do not believe your hearing and sight about your brother. If fifty witnesses bear witness (about him), and says to you something else, you should believe him and deny them. Do not spread about him something that defames him and destroys his status, and then you shall be from those about whom Allah has said, (Surely those who love that scandal should spread respecting those who believe, shall have a grievous chastisement in this world and the hereafter).
”
4. Irrelation
The Prophet (a.s.) based the Muslim society on interconnection and love and he prohibited the absence of relation. He said, “If any two Muslims desert each other and remain three days without making peace with each other, they shall be out of Islam and there shall be no guardianship between them. Whichever of them precedes in talking with his brother shall be precedent to the Paradise on the Day of Judgment.”
He also said, “It is not permissible for a Muslim to desert his brother more than three days.”
5. Non-cooperation
Islam has built the Muslim society on cooperation and prohibited the violation of it. Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, “Whoever refrains from assisting his Muslim brother and satisfying his need, he shall be afflicted by assisting one whom he shall be punished and not rewarded for.”
Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) asked his companions, “Why do you belittle us?”
A man from Khurasan said to him, “Allah forbids that we belittle you or anything of your matter!”
The imam answered him while being angry, “You are one of those who have belittled us”
The man said, “Allah forbid!”
The imam said, “May Allah forgive you! Did you not hear so-and-so, when we were in Qarn al-Jahfah, saying: ‘carry me on the mount for a mile. By Allah, I have been tired.’? By Allah, you did not raise your head to him. You belittled us. Whoever belittles a believer from among us belittles and neglects the sanctity of Allah the Almighty.”
6. Harming and insulting
Islam has prohibited the harming and the insulting of a Muslim. Many traditions were transmitted from the Prophet (a.s.) and the infallible imams about that.
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “A (true) Muslim is he whom Muslims are safe from his tongue and hand.”
He said, “It is not permissible for a Muslim to point to his brother with a look that may hurt him.”
He said, “Allah the Almighty has said, ‘He, who degrades my believing servant, resists Me.’”
Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “Whoever abases and despises a believer for his neediness and poverty Allah will expose him (the despiser) before the creatures on the Day of Judgment.”
He also said, “Whoever despises a poor or not poor believer Allah the Almighty will be despising and hating him until he shall renounce his despising to him (the believer).”
7. Frightening and terrorizing
Islam has prohibited the terrifying and terrorizing of any Muslim. The messenger of Allah (a.s.) said, “Whoever looks at a believer with a look by which he intends to terrify him Allah will terrify him on the Day where there shall be no shelter except His.”
Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “He, who terrifies a believer by a ruler that a harm from him (the ruler) may afflict him but it does not afflict him, shall be in Fire, and he, who terrifies a believer by a ruler that a harm from him may afflict him and it does afflict him, shall be in the Fire with the Pharaoh and the family of the Pharaoh.”
Islam has prohibited terrorism and promised terrorists to be in the fire of the Hell forever.”
8. Revilement
From the high values of the Islamic education is the prohibition of revilement even toward the opponents of the religion. Allah says, (And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance).
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Abusing a believer is apostasy, eating his flesh (backbiting) is disobedience, fighting him is disbelief, and the inviolability of his property is like the inviolability of his blood.”
A man from Tamim asked the Prophet (a.s.) to recommend him of something. One of the Prophet’s recommendations to him was, “Do not revile people lest you earn enmity of them.”
9. Watching of others’ slips and defects
Islam has surrounded the Muslim society by a strong fence to protect it from splitting and separating. From that which causes separation in the society is the watching of others’ slips and faults which Islam has insistently prohibited. Allah the Almighty says, (Surely those who love that slander should be spread concerning those who believe, shall have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter).
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “O folk of those who have become Muslims by the tongue and not by the heart, do not watch the slips of Muslims, because whoever watches the slips of Muslims Allah watches his slips and Allah will expose whomever He watches his slips.”
Imam Abu Ja’far (al-Baqir) (a.s.) said, “The soonest of good in being rewarded for is beneficence, and the soonest of evil in being punished for is oppression. It is an enough defect for a man to see in people what he overlooks in himself, and to blame people for what he himself can not give up, and to hurt his companion with what does not concern him.”
Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said, “From that which makes one nearer to disbelief is that he befriends someone in religion and he watches his slips to censure him for them someday.”
10. Degrading a Muslim
It is not from Islam that a Muslim degrades and despises his Muslim brother. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “He, who spreads a vice, is as if he has committed it, and he, who censures a Muslim for something, shall not die until he shall be involved in it.”
11. Priding on lineages
Islam has prohibited the priding on lineages for it leads the split of the Islamic brotherhood. People in Islam are equal as the dents of a comb; no one has preference to another except by piety and good deeds.
Once Uqbah bin Basheer al-Asadi had the honor of meeting Imam Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (a.s.) and began praising himself and his lineage. The imam said to him, “Do not pride on your lineage before us. Allah has exalted by faith that whom people used to call ‘mean’ if he was faithful, and lowered by disbelief that whom people used to call ‘noble’ if he was an unbeliever. There is no preference for one to another except by piety.”
Instead of priding on one’s ancestors one should pride on good deeds and assistance to others.;
Lights from the Islamic civilization
The Prophet (a.s.) undertook the best and most appropriate systems that assured security and settlement to his nation. We have talked about some of them in the previous chapters and now we talk about some others.
Freedom
Islam has adopted full freedom for man because it is as the air to his lungs and without it a sound life cannot be realized. The freedoms that Islam has declared are the following:
1. The freedom of religion
The freedom of religion is a part from the Islamic mission. The Prophet’s plan was to inform of the principles and values of his mission to the society and they were free to believe in them if they wanted and to reject if they wanted. Allah has said addressing His prophet, (And say: The truth is from your Lord, so let him who pleases believe, and let him who pleases disbelieve),
and said, (Therefore, do remind, for you are only a reminder. You are not a warder over them),
and, (We know best what they say, and you are not one to compel them; therefore remind him by means of the Qur’an who fears My threat).
There would be no harm to Islam if the Jews and the Christians insisted to remain on their religions. Allah also has said to His messenger, (will you then force men till they become believers?)
Goldzieher says, “Islam, in order to be a universal power, followed an intelligent policy. In the first ages, embracing Islam was not obligatory. Those, who believed in monotheism and took their laws from Divine Books like the Jews, the Christians, and the Zoroastrians could, if they paid the certain tribute, enjoy the freedom of rites and the protection of the Islamic state. Islam had gone with this policy to far distances. In India, for example, the old rites were practiced in the temples under the Islamic rule.”
Dozy mentions the importance of the Islamic leniency when talking about the conquest of Andalusia. He says, “The conditions of the Christians under the Islamic rule did not lead to complaint as to what they were before. Add to that that the Arabs had much leniency. They did not weary anyone in the affairs of religion…and the Christians did not neglect this favor of the Arabs, but they approved the Arabs’ leniency and justice and preferred their rule to the rule of the Germans and the French.”
Islam has obliged all Muslims to regard the right of others in their beliefs. No one is permitted to force anyone to embrace Islam. Allah has said, (There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error).
If a Muslim wants to argue with someone of another belief, he has to show him irrefutable evidences on Islam and show him through logic and clear proofs the defects of that someone’s belief. Either he submits to the truth or otherwise a Muslim has no right to use pressure and force to impose his own beliefs on him.
From the manifestations of the full freedom that Islam has given to the followers of the other religions is that it does not impose on them the application of the Islamic rulings especially in the personal law, but they can refer to the rulings of their religions.
However, history has never mentioned that Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) had killed, punished, or imprisoned a follower of another religion or prevented him from practicing his rites.
2. The freedom of thought
Islam has opened all horizons of thinking before the mind and invited it to set out in the universe and use all its activities to ponder on everything there and think deeply of all what Allah had created which would lead to the absolute faith in Allah the Almighty.
The freedom of thought, which Islam has invited to, calls for the intellectual development and the release from every superstitions and illusions that were widespread in the society of Mecca where idolatry was the most significant thing in that life of deviation. Allah has said, (And certainly We have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; they have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are worse. These are the heedless ones).
The Prophet (a.s.) invited the Meccan people to waken their minds and free their thinking from all their bad habits and thought and from imitating their fathers blindly. Allah has said, (And when it is said to them: Follow what Allah has revealed, they say: Nay! we follow what we found our fathers upon. What! And though their fathers had no sense at all, nor did they follow the right way?)
Allah the Almighty ordered His prophet to address his people, who followed their idols in error, saying, (Say: Have you then considered that what you call upon besides Allah, would they, if Allah desire to afflict me with harm, be the removers of His harm, or (would they), if Allah desire to show me mercy, be the withholders of His mercy? Say: Allah is sufficient for me; on Him do the reliant rely).
3. Civil freedom
It means the giving of the full freedom to the individual in the field of work on condition that his work should not be impermissible in Islam such as the making of instruments of amusement, wines, and the like.
From the other fields of the civil freedom is the freedom of abode that every individual has the right to choose for himself an abode to live in on condition that it should not be ill-gotten. He is also free to live in any country he likes except that when his emigration is to non-Muslim country and that it is feared for him that he may lose his faith and become deviant; therefore, this emigration is impermissible to him.
Governors and officials
When Islam had become strong and its state firm, the Prophet began sending governors and officials to the provinces and the villages that had embraced Islam.
The task of governors
The task of the governors whom the Prophet (a.s.) sent to the Muslim towns was as the following:
1. To teach the rulings of Islam, like the rulings of prayer, fasting, hajj, zakat, the enjoining of good and forbidding of wrong, the Holy Qur'an, spreading the good morals and manners, and virtues among people.
2. Collecting the Islamic taxes and spending them on the poor of that town, besides the other public interests.
3. Deciding the disputes among people and solving their problems according to the rulings of Islam.
4. Watching the market; the Prophet (a.s.) paid much attention to the economic life of people. Those, who sold foods without weights or measures, were whipped at the time of the Prophet (a.s.), for the selling of foods must undergo certain measures and weights.
The Prophet (a.s.) employed Sa’eed bin al-Aas to watch the market of Mecca after the conquest
for fear of usurious dealings.
The Prophet’s covenant to governors
The Prophet (a.s.) had assigned to Amr bin Hazm, who was his governor on Yemen, this covenant in which he said,
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This a communiqué from Allah and His messenger. O you who believe be loyal to the covenant! This is a covenant from Prophet Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Amr bin Hazm when he sent him to Yemen. He ordered him of the fear of Allah in all his affairs for (surly Allah is with those who keep their duty unto Him and those who are doers of good). He ordered him to follow the truth as Allah had ordered him, and to bring good news about goodness, order them to do it (goodness), teach them the Qur'an and make them understand it, and forbid them that no man should touch the Qur'an except when he is pure, and to inform people of their rights and their duties, and to be lenient to them in the truth and severe to them in injustice (when one of them commits injustice) because Allah hates injustice and prohibits it. He says, (surely the curse of Allah is on the unjust).
And to bring people good news about the Paradise and its deeds and warn them against the Fire and its deeds, and befriend people until they fully understand the religion, and teach people the ruling of the hajj and its rites and obligation and what Allah has ordered, and the Major Hajj.”
The Prophet’s covenant to Mu’ath
The Prophet (a.s.) made a covenant to his governor Mu’ath and ordered him to fulfill its terms. It has been narrated in two forms. Here is the first one:
“O Mu’ath, I recommend you of the fear of Allah, the truthfulness in speaking, the fulfillment of covenants, giving deposits back (to their owners), avoiding betrayal, being merciful to the orphan, observance of neighbors, controlling of anger, being lenient, offering of greetings and soft speech, keeping to faith, understanding the Qur'an, the love of the afterlife, the fear of Judgment (of the afterlife), good deeds, and not relying on wishes, and beware of abusing a Muslim, disbelieving a truthful one, believing a liar, or disobeying a just ruler.
O Mu’ath, remember your Lord at every rock and tree, and make to every sin a repentance; secretly when secretly and openly when openly. Visit the sick, and hurry to satisfy the needs of widows and the weak. Sit with the poor and the wretched. Be fair to people against yourself, say the truth, and do not fear, in the way of Allah, a blame of any blamer.”
The second narration:
“O Mu’ath, teach them the Book of Allah, and educate them with the good morals. Regard people according to their positions whether good or bad. Apply the order of Allah to them and do not flatter anyone as to His orders and wealth, because it is neither your authority nor is it your wealth. Give deposits back to their owners in all cases whether little or much. Keep on leniency and pardoning except in the leaving of the truth that an ignorant one may say: you have left the right of Allah. Apologize to the people of everything that you may commit a fault in it until they pardon you. Deaden the affairs of the pre-Islamic age except that which Islam has passed, and show all matters of Islam whether small or big. Let the prayer be most of your attention because it is the head of Islam after the acknowledgment of the religion (faith). Remind the people of Allah and the Last Day and follow preachment for it is better to them in the doing of what Allah likes. Then, send among them educators, and worship Allah Whom you shall return to, and do not fear, in the way of Allah, a blame of any blamer.
And I recommend you of the fear of Allah, the truthfulness in speaking, the fulfillment of covenants, giving deposits back (to their owners), avoiding betrayal, (I recommend you of) soft speaking, offering of greetings, observance of neighbors, being merciful to the orphan, doing good deeds, not relying on wishes, the love of the afterlife, the fear of Judgment (of the afterlife), , keeping to faith, understanding the Qur'an, controlling of anger, and being lenient.
Beware of abusing a Muslim, obeying a sinner, disobeying a just ruler, disbelieving a truthful one, or believing a liar. Remember your Lord at every rock and tree, and make to every sin a repentance; secretly when secretly and openly when openly.”
Deposing of governors
The Prophet (a.s.) was too careful in watching the conducts of his governors. When he saw that the public complain at a governor for his bad administration or bad morals, he deposed him. Once, he deposed his governor on Bahrain, al-Ala’ bin al-Hadhrami, because the delegation of the bani Abdul Qays complained against him, and he appointed in place of him Aban bin Sa’eed and said to him, “Be kind to Abdul Qays and regard their notables.”
The Prophet (a.s.) often called his governors and officials to account. Once, he appointed a man from al-Azd on charities.
The man said, “This if for you and this has been given to me as gift…”
The Prophet (a.s.) was angry at the man’s saying and he said to him, “What about one whom we employ in what Allah has entrusted us with and he says: this has been gifted to me? Would he not sit in his father and mother’s house and see whether it is gifted to him or not? By Whom in His hand my soul is, we do not employ a man in something of what Allah has entrusted us with except that he shall come on the Day of Judgment carrying it on his neck; if it is a camel, it shall grumble, and if it is a cow, it shall moo, and if it is a yew, it shall bleat.” Then the Prophet (a.s.) raised his hands toward the heaven and said two or three times, “O Allah, I have informed him.”
When the Prophet’s attention to the honesty of governors and officials was spread among Muslims, they (governors and officials) refrained from accepting gifts. Historians mention that the Prophet (a.s.) sent Abdullah bin Rawahah every year to the Jews of Khaybar to estimate the fruit of their date-palms. Their villages were from the most important villages in Hijaz as to production. The Jews wanted to bribe him. They collected to him some of their women’s jewels and said to him, “This is to you, but you lessen (the estimation) to us and overlook in division.”
He angrily said, “O community of Jews, you are the most hated of Allah’s people to me, but this does not make wrong you. And as for the bribe you offer to me, it is ill-gotten that we do not eat.”
The Jews were astonished at his honesty and they said, “On this the heavens and the earth have been established.”
The salaries of officials
Islam has cared much for the conditions of the state officials. It has paid much attention to make them in no need of what people possess. The Prophet (a.s.) appointed Etab bin Usayd a wali on Mecca and gave him one dirham a day where one dirham equaled the price of a sheep and a bottle of oil or honey. Etab declared his satisfaction saying, “…the messenger of Allah gives me one dirham a day, and now I am in need of no one.”
The Prophet (a.s.) also assigned certain quantities of food instead of money for some of his governors. When he appointed Qays bin Malik al-Arhabi on Hamadan, he assigned to him two hundred sa’s
of the corn of Nasar, and two hundred sa’s of raisins of Khaywan (in Yemen) and to be paid for his children after him as well.
The Prophet (a.s.) sent governors to all the towns and villages that had believed in Islam. For example, he sent al-Muhajir bin Umayyah a wali on Sana’a’, Ziyad bin Labeed on Hadhramaut, Adiy bin Hatim on Tay, Etab bin Usayd on Mecca, Sa’d bin Abdullah bin Rabee’ah on Ta’if,
Amr bin Hazm al-Ansari on Najran, Bathan, the deputy of Khosrau, on Yemen, and after his death, the Prophet (a.s.) appointed his son Shahr bin Bathan a wali on Sana’a.
The Prophet’s deputies
At the beginning of establishing his state in Yathrib, the Prophet (a.s.) began sending deputies to kings and rulers inviting them to monotheism and to believe in Islam that Allah had determined as a perfect religion for all His people. The Prophet’s letters to those kings and rulers were the best form of media at that time. He warned Khosrau of Persia and Caesar of Rome who had possessed most of the world, and many prominent personalities of that time. He was certain that his religion would prevail over the whole globe and all the nations would enjoy its blessings.
The Prophet (a.s.) chose the deputies from among his companions and advised them saying, “Be loyal to Allah as to His people, for whoever is entrusted with any of people’s affairs, and then he is not loyal to them, Allah will keep him away from the Paradise. Set out and do not do as the messengers of Jesus son of Mary did.”
His companions asked, “O messenger of Allah, what they did?”
He said, “He (Jesus) asked them to do the same as I have asked you to do. As for those whom he sent to near places, they submitted and were pleased, but as for those whom he sent to far places, they hated the task and hesitated. Therefore, Jesus complained that to Allah.”
Dr. Taha Husayn says, “Islam wants the caliphs and the governors to be loyal and be guards for people on their rights, properties, and interests to run them after consultation and agreement and to fulfil them neither haughtily, proudly, or selfishly, and to run them not as if they are masters preferred to the rest of people by any kind of preference, but as leaders whom people trust and see them reliable in running their affairs, and then they entrust them with these affairs optionally and satisfactorily but not forcedly and unwillingly. So whoever wants to refer to them in these affairs can refer to them, and if they find that they have erred, their duty requires them to go back to straightness, and if they find that they have deviated, their duty requires them to go back to the right path…in this way the Prophet (a.s.) acted until Allah chose him to his neighborhood.”
The following are some of his letters to important personalities of that time.
1. To Khosrau
The Prophet (a.s.) sent Abdullah bin Huthafah as-Sahmi a deputy to Khosrau the king of Persia and give him this letter to deliver it to the king:
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Khosrau the great king of Persia. Peace be on whoever follows guidance and believes in Allah and His messenger. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no associate to Him, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. I invite you by the invitation of Allah that I am the messenger of Allah to the whole people to warn whosoever lives, and that the word may be fulfilled against the disbelievers. Be Muslim and you shall be safe, and if you refuse, the sin of the Magi shall be on you…”
When the Prophet’s deputy came in to Khosrau, Khosrau ordered his men to take the letter from him, but he refused except that he himself would deliver the letter to the king. The king responded and received the letter from the deputy. The king ordered the letter to be recited to him. When he heard “From Muhammad to the great king of Persia”, pride occupied him because the Prophet (a.s.) had begun his letter by his name before the name of the king. King Khosrau took the letter and tore it before having known what there was in it. He ordered the deputy to get out of his palace. When he came back to Medina, the deputy told the Prophet (a.s.) about what had happened, and the Prophet (a.s.) prayed Allah against King Khosrau saying, “May Allah tear his authority.”
Allah responded to the Prophet’s prayer and the authority of Khosrau was torn up by the Muslim armies after no long.
2. To Caesar
The Prophet (a.s.) sent Dihyah bin Khalifah al-Kalbi a deputy to the king of Rome and gave him this letter to him. The letter reads:
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad son of Abdullah to Hercules the great of Rome. Peace be on whoever follows guidance. Then, I invite you by the invitation of Islam; believe in Islam and you shall be safe and Allah will reward you twice, but if you refuse, the sin of your people shall be on you. (Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims).
”
When the King of Rome read the letter, Dihyah said to him, “O Caesar, the one, who sent me, is better than you, and the One Who sent him is better than him and than you. Listen submissively and then respond, and thus you shall be loyal (to Allah). If you do not submit, you shall not understand, and if you are not loyal, you shall not be just.”
The king said, “Here I am!”
Dihyah said, “Do you know that Jesus offered prayer?”
The king said, “Yes, I know.”
Dihyah said, “So I invite you to the One Whom Jesus offered prayers for, and I invite you to the One Who has managed the creation of the heavens and the earth while Jesus was in his mother’s abdomen. And I invite you to this illiterate prophet whom Moses brought good news about and so did Jesus the son of Mary after him. Surely you have knowledge of that that does not need seeing or telling news. If you respond, you shall have this world and the afterworld; otherwise, you shall lose the afterworld and shall be participated in this world. Know well that you have a Lord Who destroys tyrants and change blessings.”
The king asked the deputy, “Is there anyone from the people of this man who claims he is a prophet here?”
Abu Sufyan, who was not Muslim then, was among the attendants in the king’s meeting. The attendants referred to Abu Sufyan and said, “He is closer to the Prophet.”
Abu Sufyan came before the king who asked him (through his translator) the following questions:
“How is his ancestry among you?”
Abu Sufyan said, “He is of a high ancestry.”
The king asked, “Was anyone of his fathers a king?”
Abu Sufyan said, “No.”
The king asked, “Did you accuse him of lying?”
Abu Sufyan said, “No.”
The king asked, “Do the notables or the weak of people follow him?”
Abu Sufyan said, “The weak.”
The king asked, “Do they increase or decrease?”
Abu Sufyan said, “They increase.”
The king asked, “Do anyone apostatize after embracing his religion?”
Abu Sufyan said, “No.”
The king asked, “Did you fight him?”
Abu Sufyan said, “Yes.”
The King asked, “How was your fight against him?”
Abu Sufyan said, “The fight between us has its ups and downs; sometimes he wins and sometimes we win.”
The King asked, “Do he betray?”
Abu Sufyan said, “No?”
The king asked, “How about his reason and mentality?”
Abu Sufyan said, “We could not defeat him in reason or opinion.”
The king asked, “On what does he enjoin to you?”
Abu Sufyan said, “He enjoins on prayer, zakat, chastity, and to worship Allah alone with no partner, to be loyal to covenants, and to give trusts back to their owners.”
The talk went on between the King and Abu Sufyan who, at last, was angry and he said painfully, “Abu Kabsha
has become so important that the king of Rome began revering him.”
The king of Rome welcomed and regarded the Prophet’s deputy. He offered Islam to the Romans, but they refused to believe in it. Then, he wrote the Prophet (a.s.) a letter in which he declared his faith in Islam and the denial of the Romans. He said in his letter:
“To Ahmed the messenger of Allah whom Jesus had brought good news about, from Caesar the king of Rome. Your book has come to me with your messenger. I bear witness that you are the messenger of Allah. We find you in the Bible where Jesus the son of Mary has brought us good tidings about you. I invited the Romans to believe in you, but they refused, and if they obeyed me, it would be better for them. I wished I were near you to serve you and wash your feet.”
The king of Rome announced his faith in Islam and that caused a deep influence in strengthening the morals of Muslims, besides that it found reverence to Islam in the Roman palace and in the church as well.
3. To al-Muqawqas
The Prophet (a.s.) sent Hatib bin Abi Balta’ah to al-Muqawqas the ruler of the Copts who was Christian. The letter to him reads in this way:
“From Muhammad the son of Abdullah to al-Muqawqas the great of the Copts. Peace be on whoever follows guidance. Then, I invite you by the invitation of Islam; believe in Islam and you shall be safe and Allah will reward you twice, but if you refuse, the sin of your people (the Copts) shall be on you. (Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims).
The letter to the ruler of the Copts has been narrated in another way:
“From the messenger of Allah to the ruler of Egypt. Allah the Almighty has sent me as a messenger and revealed to me a Book, a clear Qur'an, and ordered me to give proofs and warning and to confront the unbelievers until they believe in my religion and until all people embrace it. I invite you to acknowledge the oneness of Allah. If you do, you shall be happy, and if you deny, you shall be wretched. With greeting.”
When al-Muqawqas read the Prophet’s book, he said to Hatib, “What prevented him, if he was a prophet, from praying Allah against whoever opposed and exiled him from his country to another one?”
Hatib intelligently answered, “Do you not bear witness that Jesus the son of Mary is a messenger of Allah, so why did he, when his people took him and wanted to kill him, not pray against them that Allah might destroy them, until Allah raised him to Him?”
The ruler of the Copts was astonished at this argument and he said to Hatib, “You are a wise man (coming) from a wise man!”
In ar-Rawdh, it has been mentioned that Hatib said to al-Muqawqas, “There was a man before claiming that he was the highest god (he meant the Pharaoh), but Allah destroyed him as the punishment of this life and the afterlife. Allah had avenged by him (on others) and then He avenged on him. So learn a lesson from others and do not let others learn a lesson from you.”
Al-Muqawqas said, “Here you are! Say what you want to say.”
Hatib said, “You have a religion that you should not give up except for what is better than it; it is Islam that Allah has made sufficient. This prophet invited people, but the severest of them against him were the people of Quraysh, and the most hostile to him were the Jews, and the nearest to him were the Christians. By my life, the good tidings of Moses about Jesus is not but like the good tidings of Jesus about Muhammad, and our call to you toward the Qur'an is not but like the call of the people of the Torah toward the Bible. Every prophet comes to a people from his nation, they have to obey him, and you are one of those who have attained this prophet, so you have to obey him…”
Al-Muqawqas approved these words of Hatib that had a great influence on him. Al-Muqawqas sent to the Prophet (a.s.) some precious gifts among that was a bondmaid called Mariya whom the Prophet (a.s.) got married to and she bore him his son Abraham.
Among the gifts there was a physician to treat sick Muslims, but the Prophet (a.s.) asked him to go back to his country saying to him, “We are people that do not eat until we feel hungry and when we eat, we do not satiate (do not exceed in eating).”
Al-Muqawqas sent the Prophet (a.s.) a letter saying in it,
“To Muhammad the son of Abdullah from al-Muqawqas the ruler of the Copts. Peace be on you. I have read your book and understood what you have mentioned in it and what you invited to. I have known that a prophet has remained. I thought he would appear in Sham. I was kind to your messenger…”
Hatib went back to Medina with the gifts and the letter of al-Muqawqas. When the Prophet (a.s.) read the letter, he said, “He adhered to his rule, and his rule shall not last long.”
Al-Muqawqas with a delegation from Thaqif
A delegation from the tribe of Thaqif came to al-Muqawqas among whom was al-Mugheerah bin Shu’ba before being a Muslim. Al-Muqawqas asked them some questions about the Prophet Muhammad (a.s.). He asked, “What did you do to what he had invited you to (Islam)?”
They said, “No man from us has followed him.”
He asked, “What about his people”
They said, “The youth followed him and his opponents confronted him on many occasions.”
He asked, “What does he invite to?”
They said, “That we should worship Allah alone and give up what our fathers worshipped. He also invites to prayer and zakat and he enjoins on the retaining of kinship and the loyalty to covenants and he prohibits adultery, usury, and wines.”
Al-Muqawqas admired these values and said, “This is a prophet sent to the whole peoples. If he met the Copts and the Romans, they would follow him, for Jesus had ordered them of that. These attributes that you have described him (Muhammad) with were the attributes of the prophets before him. He shall prevail that no one shall be able to contend with him, and his religion shall prevail everywhere.”
These words struck the delegation of Thaqif like a thunderbolt. They said, “If all people enter (with him), we will not enter with him (in this religion).”
Al-Muqawqas said, “You are in the play.”
Al-Muqawqas did not believe in Islam until the Muslim armies invaded and occupied his country that submitted to the rule of Islam then.
4. To Negus
The Prophet (a.s.) sent his cousin Ja’far with a group of his companions to Negus inviting him to Islam. The Prophet (a.s.) said in his letter to Negus,
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to great Negus, the king of Abyssinia. Peace be on you. I praise Allah Whom there is no god but He, the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace, the Faith, the Guardian over all, and I bear witness that Jesus the son of Mary is the spirit of Allah and His word which He has bestowed on good, chaste, Virgin Mary and she bore Jesus. So He created him from His spirit and inspired him as He created Adam by His hand and inspired him. I invite you to the worship of Allah alone with no partner and the keeping on His obedience, and to follow and believe in me and in what has been revealed to me for I am the messenger of Allah. I have sent to you my cousin Ja’far with a group of Muslims. When they come to you, you submit and give up haughtiness. I invite you and your soldiers to Allah the Almighty. I have informed and been loyal, so respond! Peace be on whoever follows guidance.”
Negus welcomed and revered the delegation. He put the Prophet’s letter on his eyes and announced his faith in Islam. He put the letter in a box of ivory. He sent the Prophet (a.s.) some precious gifts and a letter in which he declared his embracement of Islam. When the delegation went back to Medina, the Prophet (a.s.) became so pleased for Negus’s behavior towards the Muslims and his faith in Islam, and the Muslims’ morale was so high and firm for that. Negus sent a letter to the Prophet (a.s.) as a reply saying in it,
“Peace and Allah’s mercy and blessings be on you, O prophet of Allah. Peace be on you from Allah Whom there is no god but Him Who has guided me to Islam.
Your book has come to me, O messenger of Allah, concerning that which you have mentioned about Jesus. By the Lord of the heaven and the earth, Jesus is not different from what you have mentioned; he is as you have said. We have known what you have sent to us. We did welcome your cousin (Ja’far bin Abi Talib) and his companions. I bear witness that you are the messenger of Allah; truthful and confirming (of Allah’s decrees). I have paid homage to you and to your cousin and his companions, and submitted (become Muslim) at his hands to the Lord of the worlds.
I have sent to you my son Arha bin al-Adhkham bin Abjar. I do not own but myself and if you like me to come to you, I shall do O messenger of Allah, for I bear witness that all what you say is true. Peace be on you O messenger of Allah…”
5. To the King of Ghassan
The Prophet (a.s.) sent Shuja’ bin Wahab to the king of Ghassan, al-Harith bin Abi Shimr inviting him to Islam and saying in his letter to him,
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to al-Harith bin Abi Shimr. Peace be on whoever follows the guidance and believes in and accepts it. I invite you to believe in Allah alone with no partner to Him so that your authority may be preserved…”
When the king of Ghassan read the Prophet’s letter, he became too angry and he said to the Prophet’s deputy, “Who can deprive me of my authority? I will march to him even if he is in Yemen.”
He ordered his armies to parade before the deputy and he said to him, “Tell your friend about the armies and the horsemen you are seeing and tell him that I will march to (fight) him.”
He wrote a letter to the king of Rome informing him that he had decided to fight the Prophet (a.s.). It happened that the Prophet’s deputy Dihyah bin Khalifah al-Kalbi was with the king of Rome who when read the letter replied to him to give up his intention. When Caesar’s reply reached al-Muqawqas, he was terrified. He sent for the Prophet’s deputy and treated him kindly. He offered him some presents and monies.
6. To the king of Yamama
The Prophet (a.s.) sent Saleet bin Amr to the king of Yamama Hawtha bin Ali inviting him to Islam. He wrote him a letter saying in it,
“In the Name, of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Hawtha bin Ali. Peace be on whoever follows the guidance. Know well that my religion shall prevail everywhere, so be Muslim that you shall be safe, and I will make you the ruler over what you have in your hands now…”
The Prophet’s deputy advised him too saying, “O Hawtha, a master is he who is endowed with faith and then is supplied with piety. Let the people, who have been happy by your reason, not be wretched by it. I enjoin you on the best of all that is enjoined on, and prohibit you from a prohibited thing; I enjoin you on the worship of Allah and prohibit you from the worship of Satan. In the worship of Allah there shall be the Paradise, and in the worship of Satan there shall be the Fire. If you respond, you shall gain what you wish and be safe from what you fear, but if you deny, there shall be between us and you terrible and horrible end.”
The king of Yamama asked the deputy to give him some days to decide, and then he wrote a letter to the Prophet (a.s.) saying in it, “To the messenger of Allah; how good and fine is that which you invite to. I am the poet and orator of my people and all the Arabs revere my position, so grant to me some of the authority and I will follow you.”
He thought that the Prophet (a.s.) wished for rule and authority. He did not know that the Prophet (a.s.) had been sent by Allah to spread the word of Islam and its high values.
When the deputy came back to Medina and informed the Prophet (a.s.) of what had happened, the Prophet (a.s.) said, “If he asked me for a bit from the earth, I would not give him. May he perish and perish all that in his hands.”
And it was really so. The Muslim armies occupied his kingdom and the banner of Islam was raised in it.
7. To the kings of Oman
In the eighth year of hijra, the Prophet (a.s.) sent Amr bin al-Aas to Ja’far and Abd the two kings of Oman inviting them to Islam and saying to them in his letter,
“In the Name, of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the son of the slave of Allah and His messenger to Ja’far and Abd the sons of al-Julandi. Peace be on whoever follows the guidance. I invite you by the call of Islam; be Muslims and you shall be safe, for I am the messenger of Allah to the whole people to warn whosoever is alive and that the word may be fulfilled against the disbelievers. If you both acknowledge Islam, I will entrust you with (your very) authority, and if you refuse to acknowledge Islam, your authority shall be deprived of you and my horses (armies) shall cover your field and my prophethood shall prevail over your kingdom.”
The task was successful and they both declared their faith in Islam willingly and satisfactorily and so the banner of Islam fluttered in Oman with no war or blood.
8. To the people of Hajar
The Prophet (a.s.) sent a letter to the people of Hajar (Bahrain) saying in it:
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From the Prophet Muhammad the messenger of Allah to the people of Hajar; I praise Allah Whom there is no god but Him. I recommend you of Allah and of yourselves not to be deviate after you have been guided or to go astray after you have followed the right path. Your delegation has come and I did not receive them except with what pleased them. If I tried my right on you, I would drive you away from Hajar, but I pardoned your absents and preserved your presents, so remember the blessing of Allah on you.
It has been informed to me what you have done. Whoever of you does good shall not be blamed for the sin of a bad doer. When my emirs come to you, you should obey and support them in the matter of Allah and in His way. Whoever of you does a good deed shall not be deviant near Allah nor near me.”
9. To al-Munthir bin al-Harith
The Prophet (a.s.) sent to al-Munthir bin al-Harith al-Ghassani the ruler of Damascus this letter saying in it,
“Peace be on whoever follows the guidance and believes in Allah. I invite you to believe in Allah alone with no partner to Him, and so your authority shall remain to you.”
His letters to the notables
The Prophet’s invitation was not limited to the kings and rulers but it included famous chiefs and notables of the tribes. He sent his messengers to some famous chiefs in the Arabia.
Aktham bin Sayfi
Aktham bin Sayfi was one of the well-known wise men and chiefs of the Arabs. The Prophet sent him a messenger inviting him to Islam through this letter:
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Akhtham bin Sayfi; I praise Allah Who has ordered me to say: ‘there is no god but Allah’ and to enjoin people on it…and the whole matter is up to Allah; He created, made die, and will resurrect them and to Him is the return. He has educated you with the morals of the messengers, and you shall be asked about the great event; and certainly you shall come to know about it after a time.”
When he read the Prophet’s letter, he sent two men from the best men of his tribe to know well about the Prophet (a.s.) and his mission. When these two men arrived in Medina, they got the honor of meeting the Prophet (a.s.) who said to them, after they had asked him who and what he was and what his mission was,
“I am Muhammad bin Abdullah and I am the slave of Allah and His messenger.” Then he recited this verse, (Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful).
”
The two messengers went back to their master after they had believed the Prophet (a.s.) and believed in his mission. When they told Akhtham about what they saw and heard, he said to his people, “O people, I see that he enjoins on the nobilities of character and forbids indecencies. So be, in this matter, heads and not tails, and be in it first and not last!”
Then, his people announced their faith and embraced the religion of Allah collectively.
Ziyad bin Jumhoor
The Prophet (a.s.) sent one of his companions to Ziyad bin Jumhoor who was one of the notable personalities of the Arabs. He said in his letter to him,
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the messenger of Allah to Ziyad bin Jumhoor; I praise Allah Whom there is no god but Him. I remind you of Allah and the Last Day. Let every religion that people have embraced be given up except Islam.”
The Prophet (a.s.) sent many delegations to Some Arab personalities inviting them to Islam and he was confident that the Word of Allah must raise in the earth and Islam prevail allover the world. Prof. Muhammad Abdullah Anan says about these deputies and delegations,
“The Prophet’s delegations and letters were a wonderful act of diplomacy. In fact, it was the first act that Islam had achieved in this field. Those delegations were clear as a proof that this Arab Prophet’s soul was full of faith and courage, though he was not saved yet from the persecution of his people, and he had no considerable authority yet or forces that might be feared. He dared confidently and courageously to invite Caesar the emperor of Rome, the great king of Persia, and other contemporaneous kings and rulers to embrace a mission that was still in its cradle then.
This intelligent diplomacy the Prophet (a.s.) undertook in addressing the kings of his time was not useless in all, and the Prophet (a.s.) undoubtedly did not expect that those powerful kings would respond to his mission while he was still struggling to spread it among his own people and tribe. However, those delegations were a complementary act to the prophetic mission where the old world that the Prophet (a.s.) turned to in his mission was based on very weak bases that were about to collapse in a time or another, besides that the old religions were loaded with corruption and weakness. Therefore, the Islamic mission, in its newness, simplicity, and powerfulness, was a phenomenon deserving to be studied and inquired into, and it was difficult for those of deep insight to perceive from behind this new mission powers that warned of explosion. And really that explosion was very soon that just a few years after those delegations Islam prevailed over the Arabia and the flow of the Islamic conquests moved to the heart of the Roman and the Persian empires, and the Arabs, the children of this new religion and the carriers of the Muhammadan mission, began working so rapidly in establishing the great Islamic state.”
The Prophet’s sending of deputies and delegations to the foreign countries and the local chiefs in the Arabia had a deep and active influence on the development of the Islamic state and it had a great influence in terrifying the great powers that were enemies to Islam. The meetings and clubs of Quraysh began talking about that and their fear of the Prophet and Muslims grew more and more.
The delegations to the Prophet
A delegation of seventy or eighty men from the bani Tamim including their chiefs, notables, poets, and orators came to vie in glory with the Prophet (a.s.). When they were near the Prophet’s house, they cried out, “O Muhammad, come out! We have come to vie in glory with you. We have brought our poets and speechers.”
When the Prophet (a.s.) came out to them, al-Aqra’ bin Habis said harshly, “My praising is good and my blaming is bad.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “That is Allah the Almighty.” It means that whomever Allah praises it will be pride and honor to him, and whomever Allah dispraises it will be disgrace to him.
Anyhow, one of them cried out priding before the Prophet (a.s.), “We are the noblest of the Arabs.”
The Prophet (a.s.) replied, “Joseph the son of Jacop is nobler than you.”
They asked the Prophet (a.s.) to permit their speecher Utarid bin Hajib to made a speech and the Prophet (a.s.) permitted him to do that. The speecher said, “Praise be to Allah who has favor and grace on us and He is due of that. It is He Who has made kings and made us the most glorious of the people of the East, and granted to us abundant monies which we spend in good ways. There is none among people who is like us. Are we not the heads of people and the men of favor on them? Whoever vies in glory with us let him mention like what we have mentioned. If we want, we would say much more, but we feel shy to descant on what Allah has given and entrusted us with. I say this, and can you say better than our saying or show a matter better than our matter?”
Thabit bin Qays (who was a Muslim) replied to him saying, “Praise be to the Lord Whom the heavens and the earth are from His creation and Who has determined His decree on them, Whose Throne has held His knowledge, and Who has not decreed a thing except out of His favor and power. Then, it was from His power that He chose from His creatures a messenger who is the noblest of them in lineage, the most truthful in speaking, and the best of them in reason. Then, Allah the Almighty revealed to him a Book and entrusted him with His creatures, and so he was the choice of Allah from among all mankind. Then, the messenger of Allah called for faith and responded to him from his people and kin the Muhajirin who are the noblest of people in lineage, the kindest of them, and the best of them in deeds. Then, the first of the Arabs, who followed the messenger of Allah and responded to him, were we the people of the Ansar. We are the supporters of Allah and the ministers of the messenger of Allah. He (the Prophet) fought people until they would say: there is no god but Allah; so whoever believed in Allah and His messenger his properties and blood would be inviolable to us, and whoever disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, we would fight him for the sake of Allah and this fight would be easy to us. I say this and I ask Allah to forgive the believing men and the believing women.”
Then, az-Zabriqan bin Badr recited a poem in which he glorified his tribe. After that, the Prophet (a.s.) asked his poet Hassan bin Thabit to reply to az-Zabriqan and he recited an eloquent poem where he praise Muslims and mentioned their virtues, courage, and mercy even to their enemies, and said it sufficed them that their leader was the Prophet (a.s.) who was the best one Allah had ever created. The argumentation between the poets of both sides kept on, and at last the delegation became Muslims and stayed with the Prophet (a.s.) learning the Qur'an and the teachings of the religion. The Prophet (a.s.) was very kind and liberal to them all that time.
It is worth mentioning that many delegations came to the Prophet (a.s.) and most of them turned Muslims at his hand.
Education
The Prophet (a.s.) paid too much attention to education. He cared much for the spread of knowledge and sciences and for the struggle against illiteracy. He made the seeking of knowledge an obligation on Muslims and ordered knowledge to be written down lest it would be forgotten.
He blamed those who did not learn saying, “What about some peoples who do not learn from their neighbors or acquire knowledge?!” He imposed punishment on those who did not try to know or learn.
He did not differentiate between men and women in education because no nation could develop under ignorance.
Among Muslims there were some famous teachers whom the Prophet (a.s.) ordered to teach Muslims writing, reading, the Qur'an, and the teachings of Islam. Sa’eed bin al-Aas, who was a scribe of nice handwriting, taught the people of Medina by the Prophet’s order.
Ibadah bin as-Samit taught writing and taught the Qur'an to some people of as-Suffah.
Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah was also a teacher. Ibn Tha’laba narrated, “Once, I met the messenger of Allah and said to him, ‘O messenger of Allah, would you send me to a man of good teaching?’ He sent me to Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah and said to me, ‘I am sending you to a man who will teach you well.”
The Prophet (a.s.) imposed a certain ransom on the prisoners of the battle of Badr, and whoever was unable to pay the ransom had to teach writing and reading to ten children from the children of Medina. A prisoner was not to be released except after teaching the children, and thus writing and reading were widespread in Medina.
Education of women
The Islam’s situation toward education and literacy is clear and it does not concern men away from women. As an example, the Prophet (a.s.) ordered ash-Shifa’ the mother of Sulayman bin Abi Hatmah to teach Hafsah the Ant
Spell as she had taught her writing.
As for the tradition “Do not teach them (women) writing, do not make them live in rooms, and teach them the Sura of an-Noor” is a fabricated tradition.
Lady Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter, (a.s.) taught the Muslim women the principles of Islam and the rulings of religion. Lady Zaynab, Imam Ali’s daughter, did not only teach women, but she also was an authority in fatwas that the companions and other Muslims came to her asking about the religious rulings and the laws of Islam, and when her brother Imam al-Husayn (a.s.) was martyred, she was the only authority as to the religious rulings.
Once, Asma’ bint Yazid al-Ansariyyah came to the Prophet (a.s.) and said to him, “I am a messenger of a group of Muslim women; they say as I say and have the same thought as mine. Surely Allah has sent you to men and women equally. We have believed in and followed you. We, the women, are confined to houses, are the place of men’s lusts, and the bearers of your children, and men are preferred to us in congregational prayers and escorting the dead. When they go for jihad, we keep their properties and bring up their children; so do we participate with them in the reward, O messenger of Allah?”
The Prophet (a.s.) admired her speech and he said to his companions, “Have you heard a woman asking about her religion better than this one?”
They said, “No, O messenger of Allah.”
The Prophet (a.s.) kindly said to the woman, “O Asma’, you may go and inform the women, who have sent you, that one’s good wifing to her husband, her seeking of his satisfaction, and doing according to his acceptance equal all that which you mentioned.”
The woman left while she was delighted by the Prophet’s saying.
The house of hospitality
The Prophet (a.s.) built a house for guests called ad-Dar al-Kubra (the big house).
It was the first house in Medina to be taken for this concern. The delegations that came to the Prophet (a.s.) to announce their faith in Islam or for other things stayed in this house. Habib bin Amr narrated, “We were seven persons that once came to Medina. We met the Prophet (a.s.), who was going to escort a dead person after being invited to that. We greeted him and he replied to our greeting. He asked who we were and we said, “We are from Salaman coming to pay homage to you as Muslims with all our tribe that we have left there.”
The Prophet (a.s.) asked his servant Thowban to take those men to the guest-house that Habib described as a big house with a garden of date-palms and that there were some Arab delegations in it.
The Prophet (a.s.) also had assigned a house, which belonged to Makhramah bin Nawfal,
for the reciters of the Qur'an who came to Medina from other places.
The Islamic economy
Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) established for Muslims a developed economy that would be able to remove poverty and put an end to deprivation. The following are some of the Prophet’s means in his economy:
1. The encouraging of agriculture
In the first Islamic age and later, agriculture was the main pillar of the general economy of Muslims. The Prophet (a.s.) encouraged Muslims to practice agriculture and often asked them to plant date-palms. Once, the Prophet (a.s.) entered Umm Mubashshir al-Ansariyyah’s garden of date-palms and said, “No Muslim seeds a seed or plants a plant and a man or an animal eats from it, except that it shall be as charity for him.”
Ibn Shihab narrated, “One day, Umar bin Abdul Aziz, when he was the caliph, sent for me and said, ‘Sa’d bin Khalid bin Amr bin Uthman came and said to me ‘O Ameerul Mo'minin, give me a bare piece of land for I was informed that the messenger of Allah said: ‘No man plants a plant except that Allah will give him reward as much as the plants (he has planted) and the fruits.’ Have you heard this?’ I said, ‘Yes.’”
There are many traditions transmitted from the Prophet (a.s.) encouraging Muslims to practice agriculture. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “No man plants a plant except that Allah will record for him rewards as much as the fruit that comes out of that plant.”
2. The encouraging of labor
The Prophet (a.s.) encouraged labor in all permissible fields and he invited people to it because it is the most important element in production. Once, he took a worker’s hand and began kissing it before his companions saying, “This is a hand that Allah and His messenger love.”
The Prophet (a.s.) considered labor as honor and sacred struggle for the sake of Allah, and that Allah had not sent a prophet except that he was a laborer. Anyhow, Islam insistingly invites its followers to work and it dispraises unemployment and laziness.
3. The forbidding of usury
Islam is too strict in forbidding usury and in determining severe punishment for whoever practices it. It has been mentioned in some traditions that “a dirham out of usury that a man knowingly eats is worse, near Allah, than thirty-six commitments of adultery.”
Islam has prohibited usury to build its economy on sound scientific bases that have no kind of injustice. Surely, usury is one of the worst means of gaining wealth and accumulating it by a certain group of people with no exertion or effort.
4. The prohibition of cheating
Islam has prohibited cheating whether against the seller or the buyer. When cheating takes place in dealings, Islam gives the option to repeal the dealing and to give the cheated one his dues.
5. The prohibition of monopoly
Monopoly leads to the confusion of markets, excessive prices, and poverty. Therefore, Islam has prohibited it. Many traditions in this concern have been transmitted from the Prophet (a.s.); here are some of them:
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Whoever monopolizes the foods of Muslims Allah will afflict him with leprosy.”
He said, “No one monopolizes except a wrongdoer.”
He said, “How bad a monopolizer is! When Allah cheapens prices, he will be grieved and when Allah makes them high, he will be delighted.”
He said, “The importer to our market is like a mujahid in the way of Allah, and the monopolizer in our market is like a disbeliever in the Book of Allah.”
Islam has legislated to confiscate monopolized goods and to price them in a way that does not disadvantage citizens. Jurisprudents have mentioned the period of monopoly and the (monopolized) goods that should be confiscated.
6. The watch of the market
From the important actions in the Islamic economy is the watch of the market lest cheating happens or prices go high that may affect people.
7. Taxes
Islam has imposed taxes to be paid to the poor and the needy such as the zakat of fitr that must be paid after the end of Ramadan by every Muslim; young or old, male or female. It is about three kilos of food or their price.
8. The zakat of monies
This tax is obligatory on four kinds of food; wheat, barley, dates, and raisins when they reach a certain quantity (nisab; the definite minimum value) that is about eight hundred and fifty-five kilograms, and whatever exceeds that must be taxed. If the crops are irrigated by rainwater or flowing water, the amount of the tax is one tenth and if they are irrigated by a means, the amount of the tax is a half of the tenth. This tax is also obligatory on sheep, cows, and camels when they reach the nisab. It is also obligatory on (gold) dinars and dirhams. This tax is to be given to the poor of the same area and not to be taken abroad.
9. The Khums
There are many true traditions transmitted from the infallible imams of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) on the khums (fifth) that is obligatory on minerals, the treasures taken out of seas, and the monies mixed with ill-gotten monies.
10. The government’s responsibility
The government is responsible for the struggle against poverty through some means like the preparation of jobs and equal opportunities for the citizens lest unemployment and neediness spread in the society, and the subsidy to those whose incomes do not cover their living, besides the payment of the debts of those who can not pay their debts. Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “Whoever dies while there is a debt on him and his heirs cannot pay it, we are responsible for paying his debt.”
The change of the qibla to the Kaaba
The Prophet (a.s.) used to offer his prayers towards Jerusalem, but on Tuesday the fifteenth of Sha’ban in the second year of Hijra the qibla was changed (by Allah’s order) to the Kaaba. The place where the Prophet (a.s.) offered prayers was called the mosque of the two qiblas.
The Prophet (a.s.) offered prayers towards Jerusalem for sixteen months.
And in the second year of hijra too, the Prophet (a.s.) was ordered to fast during the month of Ramadan and to pay the zakat of fitr a month after the change of the qibla.
The Prophet consults with his companions
Though he was an infallible prophet sent by Allah, Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) consulted with his companions about most political and social affairs following the saying of Allah to him (and consult with them upon the matter).
Abu Hurayra narrated, “I have never seen anyone more consulting with his companions than the messenger of Allah.”
Surely, the Prophet (a.s.) was in no need of anyone’s opinion, but he consulted with his companions to unite and spread love among them. Historians say, “He (the Prophet) consulted even with women and he regarded their opinions.”
The Prophet’s scribes
The Prophet (a.s.) depended on some of his companions to record the Qur'an that was revealed to him and to write, by his dictation, the letters he sent to the kings and rulers, besides the documents of treaties and truces and other concerns. The following were the Prophet’s clerks:
1. Imam Ali (a.s.): he recorded most of the revelation
and he wrote for the Prophet (a.s.) his agreements, truces, and other affairs.
2. Ubay bin Ka’b al-Ansari: he was the first one who recorded for the Prophet (a.s.) after his emigration to Medina.
3. Zayd bin Thabit al-Ansari: he recorded the revelation besides his writing letters to the kings. Some letters that came to the Prophet (a.s.) were in Syriac, and so the Prophet (a.s.) ordered Zayd to learn Syriac and he learned it, and then he began writing to the kings in Syriac.
4. Abdullah bin Arqam: he wrote the letters to the kings and he wrote for ordinary people their contracts and dealings.
5. Ala’ bin Uqbah: he sometimes wrote for the Prophet (a.s.).
6. Az-Zubayr bin al-Awwam: some historians mention that he was among the Prophet’s scribes.
7. Mu’ayqeeb bin Abi Fatima: he recorded for the Prophet (a.s.) the spoils.
8. Khalid bin Sa’eed: he scribed for the Prophet (a.s.) all affairs taking place before him. The Prophet (a.s.) sent him as an official on the charities of Yemen.
9. Handhalah bin Rabee’: al-Ya’qubi mentioned him as one of the Prophet’s scribes.
It has been mentioned that the Prophet’s scribes were about forty-two ones. Al-Mugheerah bin Shu’bah, Mu’awiya bin Abi Sufiyan, and Khalid bin al-Waleed were mentioned among the Prophet’s scribes, but we do not trust or rely on that, for these persons had a black history full of vices and sins and the Prophet (a.s.) knew well what there was in their inners and souls that were full of hypocrisy. So was it possible that the Prophet (a.s.) neared them to him and entrusted to them the writing of his letters?
The Prophet’s seal
The Prophet (a.s.) took for himself a seal made of silver impressed on it ‘Muhammad the messenger of Allah’.
The reason behind that was that one of his companions said to him that those whom he sent letters to would not read them if they were not sealed with his seal, and thus he made a special seal for himself.
The political document
When the Prophet (a.s.) settled in Yathrib and took it as his capital, he began writing down a political document that was very important and has been described by the orientalists as ‘the constitution of the people of Medina’. This document assigned private and public laws for the people of Medina and their brothers of the Muhajireen (who had come from Mecca to live in Medina). It also determined for the Jews who lived in Medina their courses and made them free in practicing their rites besides some obligatory conditions. Here is the text of the document:
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
1. This is a book from Muhammad the Prophet, the messenger of Allah, to the believers and Muslims from Quraysh and the people of Yathrib and whoever follow, joins, and struggles with them.
2. They are one nation among people.
3. The emigrants from Quraysh are as they are;
they pay among themselves (to each other) blood-monies and ransom their prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
4. And Banu (family or tribe of) Ouf are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
5. And Banu al-Harith from al-Khazraj are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
6. And Banu Sa’idah are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
7. And Banu Jusham are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
8. And Banu an-Najjar are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
9. And Banu Amr bin Ouf are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
10. And Banu an-Nabeet are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
11. And Banu al-Ous are as they were; they pay among themselves blood-money as before and every tribe ransoms its prisoners in a good manner and justice among the believers.
12. And the believers should not turn their backs to a needy, indebted one of a big family among them and they should give him in a good manner in ransom or blood-money, and that a believer should not ally with another believer’s ally.
13. And the pious believers should be together against anyone from them who oppresses, commits injustice, a sin, aggression, or corruption among the believers, and they all should be united against him even if he is the son of one of them.
14. And let a believer not kill another believer for an unbeliever, and let no an unbeliever be supported against a believer.
15. And the protection of Allah is one (the same); the farthest of them (the believers) is to be protected, and the believers are guardians to each other from among people.
16. And whoever from the Jews who follow us shall be supported and comforted, and shall not be wronged or aggressed by helping others against him.
17. And the peace of the believers is the same; no believer should make peace away from another believer in a fight for the sake of Allah except equally and justly among them.
18. And every troop that fights with us should be replaced by another.
19. And the believers are equal to each other as to their bloods in the way of Allah.
20. And the pious believers should be in the best and straightest guidance…and that no polytheist should protect a property or a person of Quraysh and he should not be protected against a believer.
21. And whoever kills a believer for no guilt and intendedly, shall be bind by him until he satisfies the killed one’s guardian by reason, and that the whole believers should be against him and it is not permissible for them except to rise against him.
22. And it is not permissible for a believer, who has acknowledged what there is in this document and believed in Allah and the Last Day, to support or give protection to a heretic, and whoever supports or protects him then the curse and wrath of Allah shall be on him on the Day of Resurrection and no compensation shall be accepted from him (shall not be pardoned).
23. And whatever you disagree on you should refer it to Allah the Almighty and to Muhammad.
24. And the Jews should spend with the believers as long as they are in fighting.
25. And the Jews of bani Ouf are a nation with the believers; the Jews have their religion and Muslims have their religion, adherents, and themselves except he who wrongs or commits a sin that he shall not harm except himself and his family.
26. And the Jews of Bani an-Najjar shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.
27. And the Jews of Bani al-Harith shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.
28. And the Jews of Bani Sa’idah shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.
29. And the Jews of Bani Jusham shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.
30. And the Jews of Bani al-Ous shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have.
31. And the Jews of Bani Tha’labah shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have except he who wrongs or commits a sin that he shall not harm except himself and his family.
32. And that (bani) Jafnah are a sept from (the tribe of) Tha’labah and they are like them.
33. And Bani ash-Shutaybah shall have the same as the Jews of bani Ouf have and piety is not like sin.
34. And the adherents of Tha’labah are like them.
35. And the retinue of the Jews are like them.
36. And that no one should go away except by the permission of Muhammad, and a vengeance of a hurt is not to be prevented, and whoever ravages he shall ravages but himself and his family, except he who wrongs, and Allah shall be satisfied with that.
37. And the Jews should undertake their spendings, and they should support each other against who fights the people of this document…and they should be loyal and benevolent to each other avoiding sin, and no one should sin against his ally, and support should be for the wronged.
38. And Yathrib is inviolable for the people of this document.
39. And one’s neighbor is like oneself that he should not be harmed or sinned against.
40. And no woman should be given protection except by her family’s permission.
41. And whatever event or dispute taking place among the people of this document that it is feared to cause corruption should be referred to Allah the Almighty and to Muhammad the messenger of Allah.
42. And that neither Quraysh nor those who support it should be given protection.
43. And they (the people of the document) should support against whoever attacks Yathrib.
44. And if they are invited to peace, they should respond to it, and if they are invited to like that, then they should get it from the believers except those who fight the religion…every people should undertake their share that is before them.
45. And that the Jews of al-Ous, their adherents and themselves, have to undertake the same as that of the people of this document with piety from the people of this document, and piety only and no sin. No one commits except against himself and Allah shall be satisfied with what there is in this document.
46. And this book does not protect any unjust one or a sinner, and whoever goes away shall be safe, and whoever stays in Medina shall be safe except he who wrongs or sins, and Allah shall reward whoever is pious and fearing Allah, and (so shall) Muhammad the messenger of Allah.”
This document organized the social relations between the Muhajireen and the Arab tribes living in Medina and the Jews and the other tribes. Wellhausen has analyzed this document and said, “It has come down to us from the heaven.”
Prof. Lutfi Jum’ah, as well, has analyzed this document and discussed its contents and values.
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Author: Baqir Sharif al-Qarashi
