Most Read in the Category of Calling the Tribes to Islam, the Allegiances of Aqaba and Migration to Madinah

Muslims of Medina (the Ansar) embraced with love and sincerity the Muslim migrants who settled down in Medina, leaving everything they had behind for the sake of God. They (the Ansar) did not and would not begrudge any kind of help they could offer to them.

However, the migrants were not familiar with Medina’s climate, customs and working conditions. They did not bring anything with them while leaving Mecca. For this reason, they needed to be familiarized with Medina’s working conditions and with Muslims of Medina, who came to be called the Ansar (the helpers) because they offered all kinds of help to them.

Therefore, the Messenger of God gathered the Ansar and the migrants together five months after migrating to Medina. He appointed ninety Muslims, the forty-five of whom were from the Ansar and the other forty-five from the migrants, as brothers.

This foundation of brotherhood established by the Prophet was based on mutual economic and psychological support and the principle of being inheritors to each other, which in turn aimed to provide migrants with support to get over the sorrow and misery they felt because of homesickness. (1)

According to this foundation of brotherhood established, leaders of each family in Medina would provide a Muslim family from Mecca with accommodation and share their belongings with them, and they would work together.

The Prophet did not choose two Muslims to become brothers randomly. Contrarily, he investigated them carefully and appointed the best matches as brothers. For instance, there was an exact harmony between Salman al Farisi and Abu’d-Dardaa; Ammar and Khuzaifa; Mus’ab and Abu Ayyub, in terms of character, likes, and feelings. (2)

Thanks to this brotherhood, life expenses and accommodation problems of immigrants, who left everything behind except for their love for God and His Messenger, were solved. Each person from the Ansar put one immigrant up; and they worked together, sharing what they earned. This was a brotherhood that outpaced biological brotherhood. It was the brotherhood based on faith, religion. Muslims of Medina, the Ansar, shared everything they had with those sorrowful, miserable and homesick Muslims. When a person from Medina passed away, his immigrant brother would be one of his inheritors, together with his relatives. (3)

Again, thanks to this brotherhood, a large social charity was established. Muslim immigrants were saved from economic problems. Each Muslim of Medina would give half of their belongings to their brother from Muslims of Mecca. They enjoyed showing the zenith of hospitability, generosity, gratitude and humanity to their immigrant brothers.

However, this was not enough for Muslims of Medina. So, they came into the Prophet’s presence and made this proposal which showed how self-sacrificing they were:

“O Messenger of God! Share our date gardens between us and our immigrant brothers!”

However, the immigrants had not worked in agriculture till then. They did not know much about agriculture. Therefore, the Prophet refused the Ansar’s proposal in the name of the migrants.

Then, the Muslims of Medina found a solution to it. The migrants who were not familiar with agriculture would only be occupied with watering and grooming, and they would do the cultivating themselves. The harvest would be shared equally. The Honorable Messenger accepted this proposal. (4)

History has witnessed a lot of migrations. However, it had not witnessed such a meaningful and divine immigration, such sincere unity between immigrants and locals, such affectionate embracing and bonding until then; and it will not ever witness another one like this! This sincere embracing gave birth to a magnificent power, such a power that the whole Arabia would have to submit to entirely in a short time.

Efforts of Immigrants

The immigrants did not idle about thinking “The Ansar brothers gave us accommodation and subsistence.” This would contradict to studiousness arising from their belief. Each of them tried their best so as not to be a burden on anyone.

The most remarkable example of this is Abdurrahman bin Awf’s (one of the ten Companions who were heralded to enter Heaven) answer to Sa’d bin Rabi’s proposal.

“I am the richest of all Muslims of Medina in terms of money. I saved half of my wealth for you!” said Sa’d bin Rabi to Abdurrahman bin Awf, who were appointed as brothers.

Great Companion Abdurrahman bin Awf’s answer was as noteworthy as the proposal: “May God make your wealth auspicious for you! I do not need it. The greatest favor you can do me is to show me the way to the bazaar where you do shopping.” (5)

The next morning, Abdurrahman bin Awf, who was taken to Qaynuqa bazaar, bought some goods such as oil and cheese and started the trade business. After a while, he earned a fair income and then became one of the well-known tradesmen of Medina, as he was also honored with the Prophet’s prayer for “his wealth to increase and be abundant.” He used to say:

“Even when I take a stone, I see gold or silver under it!” (6)

Hazrat Abdurrahman bin Awf, who gained a lot of wealth due to the blessing of the Honorable Messenger’s prayers for him, donated seven hundred camels with their loads at once for charity, for the sake of God.

Many other Muslims of Mecca found appropriate jobs for themselves and lived happily by their own work, like Hazrat Abdurrahman bin Awf.

Abu Huraira’s Statement

We can also understand that Muslims of Mecca earned their living by elbow grease, without being a burden on Muslims of Medina from Abu Huraira’s statements.

One day, he was asked “how he could narrate more hadiths than the other Companions” and his answer to this question was illuminating:

“While Muslims of Medina were busy with planting and sowing, and migrants with shopping and trade in bazaar, I was always with the Messenger of God, listening to and memorizing his words. I received his blessing.” (7)

Positive Outcomes of the Brotherhood

The brotherhood established yielded positive outcomes in a short time. Various strata of society got closer to each other with the help of this brotherhood. This brotherhood also abolished tribalistic pride and enmity. As a result, a society with divine aims, supreme goals, and virtuous souls emerged.

Another positive outcome of this brotherhood was as follows:

The prophet would take one of the brothers with him and let the other one stay in order to provide both families’ living when he went on a battle. Therefore, their houses were not left unprotected.

God the Glorious praised this unique sincerity, hospitability, gratitude, generosity, and self-sacrifice which the Ansar showed to their immigrant brothers, declaring it in the following Quranic verse:

“But those who before them, had homes (in Medina) and had adopted the Faith,- show their affection to such as came to them for refuge, and entertain no desire in their hearts for things given to the (latter), but give them preference over themselves, even though poverty was their (own lot). And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls, - they are the ones that achieve prosperity.” (8)

This spiritual brotherhood, which was established, is a unique picture of honor which cannot be seen in history of any other nation. Cooperation, solidarity and charitableness which resulted from this brotherhood also played an important role as it happened during the times Islam was just beginning to grow. “Without any hesitation, it can be stated that it is all because of the power of this religious brotherhood that the light of Islam expanded all over the world in a quarter of a century, that Iran was entirely conquered and East Roman Empire was threatened” (9)

Brotherhood Established among the Migrants Themselves

The Honorable Messenger also established brotherhood among the migrants.

One day, Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar were walking hand in hand. Having seen this pleasant scene, the Prophet turned to the Companions near him and said to them: “Apart from prophets and messengers, if you would like to see two great people in their prime ages among the Heaven-worthy people who lived before and who are to come in the future, look at those who are coming up!   And he made them brothers. (10)

The Honorable Messenger was making Muslims of Mecca brothers with each other, one by one. Then, Hazrat Ali turned up. He said: “O Messenger of God!” in tears. “You made companions brothers to each other. But you did not make anyone brother with me!”

The Prophet wiped his tears, saying: “O Ali! You are my brother both in worldly and otherworldly life!” (11)

1. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 238; Suhayli, Rawdu’l-Unf, V. 2, p. 18.

2. Tecrid Tercemesi, V. 7, p. 76.

3. The decree of this brotherhood regarding inheritance was abolished by the following verse sent afte the Battle of Badr: “kindred by blood have prior rights against each other in the Book of God” (al-Anfal, 75).

4. Bukhari, Sahih, V. 3, p. 67.

5. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 3, p. 125.

6. Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 3, p. 126.

7. Tecrid Tercemesi, V. 7, p. 47.

8. Al-Hashr, 9.

9. Tecrid Tercemesi, V. 7, p. 77.

10. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 3, p. 174-175.

11. Tirmidhi, Sunan, V. 5. p. 300.

The allegiances and agreements made between the Muslims of Madina and our Holy Prophet (PBUH) opened a brand new arena before the Muslims. Living in their new community would allow them to talk about their beliefs openly, perform their religious duties freely, and fearlessly protect and spread their faith; the two most powerful tribes in Madina, the Aws and Kahzraj, promised to receive them with open arms, to protect them in all kinds of circumstances and not to withhold their help. It appeared as if the Sun of Islam (PBUH) would be shining with all his majesty in Madina very soon.

While the polytheists were concerned that the Muslims would move to this place of safety, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was exerting all his efforts into making this new homeland that was rapidly embracing Islam the capital of Islam.

Mecca was in a very sensitive situation. When the polytheists heard that God’s Apostle (PBUH) had contracted an agreement with the Muslims of Madina, they further tortured the Muslims to a much greater extent.

Life in Mecca was like a punishment for the Muslims; it was as if the drinking water and the air were a burning fire.

The Muslims explained their troublesome and painful situation to our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and requested permission to immigrate. At first, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) indicated that permission had not been granted to him. However, he was granted permission in the following days and happily notified the Muslims of having received the approval:

“I was shown and it was made known to me that the place you will immigrate to is a city in between two black rocks and is filled with dates. Those who want to leave Mecca should go there and unite with their siblings from among the Muslims of Madina. God, the Exalted, has made them your siblings and Madina a home in which you will find safety and peace.” (1)

As it is seen, when the threats and oppressions of Qurayshi polytheists on Muslims reached a point that did not allow Muslims to practice and spread Islam, the Messenger of God had allowed them to migrate. (2) The following word of Hazrat Aisha expresses this state: “The believer had to migrate to God or His messenger for his religion because he had the fear of being prohibited from practicing his religion.” (3)

“Then, migration, as it is sometimes expressed wrongly, is not an escape but a search. It is the search for a suitable environment for practicing the religion, which was in a point of elimination due to the threats and dangers. The religion determined its practice and application as its aim. If the conditions of the place a person lives in do not let this aim be practiced, it is a religious obligation for him to migrate from that place. The Quran does not regard those people as excused if they do not migrate and holds them responsible. (4) They are obliged to look for a place where they can practice their religion.” (5)

After this permission, the Messenger of God thought thoroughly about the act of migration, which was “a search for a suitable place to practice and spread the religion”. When it came time to immigrate, he continuously reminded the Muslims to act with caution and prudence and advised them to leave in small groups so as to not attract the polytheists’ attention.

In accordance to our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) advice, the Muslims proceeded on their way to Madina individually and in small groups, which sometimes included only two people.

The first companion who emigrated from Mecca to Madina was Abu Salama Ibn Abdi’l-Asad.

The polytheists realized what was going on; they made the Muslims they could catch turn back. They were doing all they could in hopes that the Muslims would abandon their faith. They were separating wives from their husbands and objecting to them immigrating with their husbands. Some of the Muslims were being imprisoned. However, they did not want to kill anyone fearing that a war could break. Nonetheless, they did their best to dissuade the Muslims from immigrating by subjecting them to all kinds of unimaginable torture and cruelty. However, the Muslims had made up their mind and were determined to move to Madina regardless of the costs. They were finally able to overcome all of the obstacles and continued with their departure.

The bright horizons were smiling at them already. They had escaped from the circle of torture and oppression and were now opening their wings towards the horizon. Besides, Madina and its inhabitants were anxiously awaiting their arrival.

MIGRATION OF HAZRAT UMAR

While the other Muslims were in the process of emigrating in secret, Hazrat Umar was girding on his sword. He took his bow, arrow, and spear and went to the Kaaba. He openly circumambulated the Kaaba seven times. He bravely called out to the ringleaders of the polytheists who were present:

“I am emigrating in the way of God so that I can protect my religion. If one wants to leave his wife as a widow, to make his mother cry, and to have his children orphaned, then come before me on this valley!” (6)

After this fearless cry, about twenty Muslims went towards Madina in broad daylight. None of the polytheists had any courage to track them down.

In a few months, a great percentage of Muslims had departed from Mecca to Madina. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH), Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Ali, the needy who could not afford a long journey, those who did not have the strength to endure a long crossing, and those imprisoned by the polytheists stayed behind.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) also had the intention to emigrate. However, he was awaiting God’s permission in this matter. In fact, when Hazrat Abu Bakr disclosed his wish to emigrate our Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “Be patient. It is hoped that God will grant you a companion” (to emigrate with.)

THE PANIC OF POLYTHEISTS

The tribes of Aws and Khazraj greeted the Muslims who gradually immigrated to Madina immensely well. They sheltered them and provided homes for them. Married immigrants stayed at the homes of those who were married whereas single immigrants stayed at the home of Sa’d bin Haythama, who was another unmarried companion.

The polytheists of the Quraysh panicked when they saw that the Muslims who had immigrated were being sheltered, helped, and uniting with the other Muslims in Madina. Their worries increased altogether when they thought about our Holy Prophet (PBUH) also emigrating, coming to the forefront, waging a war against them, and having the power to cut off the trade route to Damascus.

Meeting at Daru’n-Nadwa

They immediately convened at Daru’n-Nadwa to discuss how they could take measures.

Daru’n-Nadwa was a residence that faced the Kaaba and belonged to one of our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) forefathers, Qusay bin Kab. The leading figures of the Quraysh would always gather here to discuss matters and consult with one another.

They arranged to discuss the matter regarding our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and met at Dar’un-Nadwa one morning.

In the meantime, they saw a well-dressed, sharp-eyed elderly man standing in front of the door. They asked this man, “Who are you?” “I am an elder from Najid” answered the man, “I heard about this meeting so I came to explain my thoughts. I want to express my opinions regarding measures that I deem to be suitable and unsuitable!”

The Qurayshis welcomed him and said, “Alright, enter!” Actually, the old man was a devil that had entered into the form of a human.

The Terrible Decision They Made!

There were about 100 Qurayshis at the meeting however only Abu Lahab was accepted from among the Sons of Hashim so that the others would not be informed right away. They opened the topic by asking, “What kind of measures should we take in the matter regarding Muhammad?”

Some of them said, “Let us imprison him by tying him with a chain.” The devil that had entered into human form replied, “No. By God, your idea is not suitable. If you imprison him, then his companions will tread on you and pull him away. They will advance with his propaganda and indoctrination and prevail over you. Think of another measure.” Upon this, some of them said, “Let us drive him away from our community and country! After he separates from us, have him go wherever he wants.”

The old man spoke again, “No, by God, your thought is not in good taste. Do you not see that his message and the sweetness and beauty of his words take command in the hearts of the people? If you drive him away, he will circulate among the Arab tribes and then rule over them. Afterwards he will tread over you and order you to do what he wants. For that reason you should think of something else!” At last, Abu Jahl got the chance to speak, “By God, I thought of a measure that none of you would have been able to think of.”

They asked, “what is it?”

Abu Jahl disclosed his idea:

“We do not have any other choice but to kill him. For that reason, we will choose a strong young man from each tribe. Then we will give each of them a sharp sword. They will all strike and kill him at once. That way, we will be freed from him and no one will know who killed him. When it happens in this way, the Hashimis will not be able to risk having a battle with all the other tribes and will consent to receiving blood money whether they like it or not. We will pay off the blood money and resolve the matter.” The devil that had entered the form of the old man came forth and said, “This is the correct idea and the most suitable solution.”

The others accepted Abu Jahl’s view and dispersed. (7)

[1] Ibn Hisham, Sirah, c. 2, s. 111; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 226; Bukhari, Sahih, V. 2, p. 330; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 180.

[2] Doç. Dr. İbrahim Canan, Tebliğ Terbiye ve Siyasî Taktik Açılarından Hicret, p. 17.

[3] Bukhari, Sahih, V. 3, p. 65.

[4] See an-Nisa, 97.

[5] Doç. Dr. İbrahim Canan, ibid, p. 17-16.

[6] Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 183-184.

[7] Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 124-126; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 227; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 242-243; Suhayli, Rawdu’l-Unf, V. 1, p. 290-291; Ibn Sayyid, Uyunu’l-Athar, V. 177-178; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 189-190.

(2nd Year of Hijrah / AD 623)

In Madinah, the Messenger of God and the Muslims used to perform prayers by turning toward Jerusalem, that is, Bayt al-Maqdis, the place of prophets, upon the order of God. However, the Prophet wanted and desired in his heart to turn toward the Kaaba, which is an exceptional monument of the creed of oneness, the first worshipping place on earth and the qiblah of his ancestor Hazrat Ibrahim. The Muslims, especially, the Muhajirs had the same desire in their hearts because turning toward the Kaaba would be a means of remembering Makkah, their homeland. 

Their desire was strengthened because they were disturbed when Jews started to say, “Muhammad and his friends did not even know where their qiblah was when we showed it to them!” Therefore, the Messenger of God was waiting for the revelation for the change of the qiblah, watching Jibril and praying with the desire of the Kaaba.

As a matter of fact, he told Jibril (may God be pleased with him) about his desire: “I want my Lord to change the qiblah from the qiblah of Jews to the Kaaba!”

Jibril (may God be pleased with him), “I am a slave! Pray your Lord. Ask him!” (1)

Thereupon, when the Prophet was about to perform prayers turning toward Bayt al-Maqdis, he used to raise his head toward the sky. 

Finally, in 17th month of Hijrah, the following verse stating that the qiblah was changed to Majid al-haram was sent down:

 “We see the turning of thy face (for guidance) to the heavens; now shall We turn thee to a Qiblah that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque; wherever ye are turn your faces in that direction. The people of the book know well that that is the truth from their Lord nor is Allah unmindful of what they do!” (2)

When that verse was sent down, the Messenger of God was leading the noon prayer in his mosque. The first two rakahs of the prayer had been performed; the last two rakahs were about to be performed. The Prophet changed his direction slowly and turned his blessed face toward the Kaaba. The Muslims turned toward the Kaaba with the Prophet, too. (3)

The Mosque with Two Qiblahs

According to another narration, the Messenger of God went to the region of Bani Salama to visit Umm Bishr, the mother of Bish b. Bara, on a Monday in the month of Rajab. A meal was cooked for him. They ate it. Meanwhile, the time for the noon prayer started. The Prophet started to lead the noon prayer to the Muslims in the mosque there. After praying the first two rakahs, he was ordered to turn toward the Kaaba while performing the prayer. Thereupon, he turned toward Masjid al-Haram together with the Muslims following him at once. 

Therefore, the Bani Salama Mosque was given the name “Masjid al-Qiblatayn [Mosque with Two Qiblahs]”. (4)

Upon the order of the Prophet, all Muslims were informed that the qiblah was changed from Masjid al-Aqsa to Masjid al-Haram.

The determination of the qiblah as the Kaaba caused some concerns among the Muslims because there were some Muslims who performed prayers by turning to Bayt al-Maqdis before the qiblah was changed and then died or were martyred. Therefore, they went to presence of the Prophet, expressed their concerns and asked him, “O Messenger of God! What will the state of the Muslims who died before the change of qiblah be like? They performed prayers by turning to Bayt al-Maqdis.”.

God Almighty eliminated their concerns by sending down the following verse: “We appointed the Qiblah to which thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels (from the faith). Indeed it was (a change) momentous except to those guided by God. And never would God make your faith of no effect. For God is to all people most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful.” (5)

When the Messenger of God had gone to Madinah and started to perform prayers by turning toward Bayt al-Maqdis, the Arab polytheists were offended. When the qiblah was changed to the Kaaba, the Jews were offended and started to talk against it and cause mischief. Some of their scholars asked the Messenger of God, “O Muhammad! What has turned you from the Qiblah to which you were used? Are you not the one who said he belonged to the nation and religion of Ibrahim?” Then, they made the following sly offer:

“If you return toward the qiblah that you used to turn, we will obey you and confirm you!”

The following verses narrate that event:

“The Fools among the people will say: "What hath turned them from the Qiblah to which they were used?" Say: To God belongs both East and West; He guideth whom He will to a Way that is straight.”

“Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced That ye might be witnesses over the nations and the Messenger a witness over yourselves.”

“...Even if thou wert to bring to the people of the Book all the signs (together) they would not follow thy Qiblah; nor art thou going to follow their Qiblah; nor indeed will they follow each other's Qiblah.”

 “If thou after the knowledge hath reached thee, wert to follow their (vain) desires―then wert thou indeed (clearly) in the wrong.” (6)

                                                                    Masjid al-Qiblatayn

The Qiblah of the Quba Mosque

After the qiblah was changed to Masjid al-Haram, the Messenger of God went to Quba and changed the qiblah of the Quba Mosque, which was the first mosque built in the history of Islam, to the direction of the Kaaba.

1. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 241; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 265.

2. al-Baqara, 144.

3. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 241-242.

4. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 241-242; Balazuri, Ansab, V. 1, p. 246.

5. al-Baqara, 143.

6. al-Baqara, 142-143, 145.

It was when the Qiblah was not yet changed to the Kaaba.

A shade and a shelter were built from date branches next to the northern wall of the Masjid an-Nabawi. This was named “suffa”. Muslims staying there were therefore named “Ashab as-Suffa (Suffa Companions)”.

These companions who stayed at the suffa of the Masjid had neither a house, a tribe, relatives nor anything else in Medina. They had a life away from their family, free from worldly issues and troubles and totally self-sacrificing. They learned the Qur’an and listened to the Honorable Messenger’s preaches and lessons. They were fasting most of the time.

This blessed group of people, who spent their time at the presence of the Supreme Messenger, was always inspired by the Prophet. They were self-sacrificing, eager-to-learn students who devoted themselves to the Honorable Messenger’s school for the sake of God. Teachers appointed by the Prophet would teach them the Qur’an. Those who completed their studies were sent to Muslim tribes in order to teach them the Qur’an and the sunnah of the Messenger of God. In this sense, they were called “qurra (readers).” Therefore, suffa was called “Dar al-Qurra (House of the Qur’an Readers).”

These unique companions, whose number was about four hundred or five hundred and who had a moderate yet enlightened life, were an army of knowledge. Although they devoted all their time to learn the Qur’an and the sunnah of the Messenger of God, they took part in battles when necessary as well.

The ones who got married would leave the suffa but others would join to take their place.

These unique companions were occupied neither with trade nor craft. Their living was provided by the Supreme Messenger and wealthy companions. Hazrat Abu Huraira, who was one of the outstanding students at suffa, expressed this situation very well in response to those who found the fact that he narrated a lot of hadiths strange: “Do not find that I have narrated too many hadiths strange! As our immigrant brothers were occupied with trade in bazaar and Ansar brothers with agriculture in gardens and fields, Abu Huraira was memorizing the Prophet’s blessed advices. (1)

The Prophet’s Close Relationship with Ashab as-Suffa

The Supreme Messenger was closely interested in both education and needs of Ashab as-Suffa. He always sat with them, talking with them and listening to their needs. And sometimes he reminded them that their studies are important and blessed to the utmost degree, saying to them: “If you knew what is being prepared for you in the Hereafter, you would like your poverty and needs to increase!” (2)  

The Honorable Messenger himself tried to meet their needs. When necessary, he would put his household’s needs on the back burner.

Once, when Hazrat Fatima asked for a maid, complaining about how dreadful it was to grind flour with hand-mill, the Prophet answered his dear daughter: “My daughter, what are you saying? I have not been able to prepare Ahl as-Suffa’s needs yet!” (3)

One day, he was with the Ashab as-Suffa to examine their situation. He saw their poverty, troubles they were going through and consoled them saying: “O Ashab as-Suffa! Good tidings to you! Whoever meets me as content with a situation and condition like yours s/he is in; s/he is one of my dear fellows!” (4)

The Supreme Messenger would ask: “Is it alms or gift?” when he was given something.

If they answered “it is alms”, he would give it to ashab as-suffa right away. If they answered “it is a gift”, he would accept it and give some of it to ashab as-suffa. The Prophet would never accept alms, but only gifts.

One day, a man brought a plate of dates. He asked the man: “Is it alms or gift?

The man said it was alms and therefore the Prophet sent it to the ashab as-suffa right away. The Prophet’s grandson Hazrat Hassan was in front of the Prophet at that time. When he took a date from the plate and put it in his mouth, the Prophet reacted right away and took it out from his mouth. And then he said: “We, Muhammad and his household, do not eat alms; alms is forbidden to us!” (5)

Moreover, it is said that the Quranic verse “(Charity is) for those in need, who, in God's cause are restricted (from travel), and cannot move about in the land, seeking (for trade or work): the ignorant man thinks, because of their modesty, that they are free from want. Thou shall know them by their (unfailing) mark: They beg not importunately from the entire sundry. And whatever of good ye give, be assured God knoweth it well” (6) was sent with reference to the ashab as-suffa. (7)

They would not Miss a Preach or Speech of the Prophet

These unique companions, who devoted themselves totally to the path of God, would not miss any of the Supreme Prophet’s advice and speeches. They were always present there and would narrate the speeches to other companions by memorizing them. In this sense, ashab as-suffa had a unique service and job in preservation and narration of Islamic judgments. This great group of knowledge had an important role in the Quran’s light reaching out to every corner of the world in a short time.

Abu Huraira Narrates

Abu Huraira, a good student of suffa, which was a foundation of knowledge, narrates an event about themselves:

“I was lying face down, because of starvation. And sometimes I tied a stone on my stomach.

“One day, I sat down on a path where people came and went. At that time, the Messenger of God was passing by. He understood my situation and called out to me: “O Abu Huraira!”

“‘Yes, o the Messenger of God!’ said I.

“‘Come on here!’ he said.

“We went together. He entered the house. I asked for permission to enter, too. They permitted and I entered. He found a jug full of milk.

“‘Where did this come from? Asked he.

“‘Such and such person gave it as a gift’ said they.

“Then, ‘O Abu Huraira! Go to Ashab as-Suffa, tell them to come here! Ordered he.

“Ashab as-Suffa were guests of Islam. They had no family, no money and no house. When the Messenger of God was given a gift, he would share it between himself and them. He would send all of the alms which was given to him to be given to the ashab as-suffa and would not take anything from it for himself.

“I was upset because the Messenger of God invited ashab as-suffa. I was hoping to drink the whole milk in the jug myself and I would live by it for some time. I said to myself: ‘I am a messenger. I will share the milk among the Suffa companions when they come.’ In this case, I knew no milk would be left for me. However, I had no other choice but follow the Messenger of God’s order.

“I went and called them. They came and sat after being permitted.

“The Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Abu Huraira, take the jug and offer them milk’

“I took the jug and started to give them the milk. Each of them, one by one, took the jug and drank until he was full and then passed it to the next person.

“After the last Suffa companion drank, I gave the jug to the Messenger of God. He took it. There was only a little milk left inside. He raised his head and looked at me, smiling: ‘Abu Huraira! He said.

“‘Yes, the Messenger of God, I said.

“‘Only you and I did not drink milk! said he.

“‘Yes, the Messenger of God, I said.

“‘Sit down and drink, he said. I sat down and drank.

“‘Drink some more, he said. I did. He insisted that I should drink more. ‘More, more!’ he said. At last, I said: ‘I swear by God who has sent you with the true religion that I am too full to drink any more!

“‘Then give met he jug, he said. I did. He gave thanks to God. Then he said the “basmalah” and drank the rest.” (8)

1. Tajrid Translation, V.. 7, p. 47.

2. M. Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili, V. 2, p. 941.

3. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 8, p. 25.

4. M. Hamdi Yazır, ibid, V. 2, p. 941.

5. Muslim, Sahih, V. 3, p. 117.

6. Al-Baqara, 273.

7. M. Hamdi Yazır, ibid, V. 2, p. 940.

8. Bukhari, Sahih, V. 4, p. 89; Tirmidhi, Sunan, V. 4, p. 648-649.

It was the twelfth year of the Islamic calendar (621 AD.)

During the eleventh Islamic year, the six individuals who had come from Madina and converted to Islam in a place called Aqaba, promised our Holy Prophet (PBUH) that they would return the following year and meet at the same place.

When it was time for the next hajj, which came a year after their first encounter with our Holy Prophet (PBUH), the six individuals set off in a caravan of twelve people towards Mecca. One night they met with our Holy Prophet (PBUH) in secret in the small and narrow valley named Aqaba. At the end of this meeting, they pledged their allegiance to God’s Apostle (PBUH) on the following conditions:

a) To not associate any partners with God,

b) To not steal,

c) To not commit adultery,                                           

d) To not kill their children,

e) To not slander anyone,

f) To not oppose an auspicious cause. (1)

After this allegiance was made, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) said to them:

“God has prepared Paradise and guarantees rewards for those of you who fulfill his pledge. If someone commits one of these misdeeds out of human error and is punished in this world, that punishment will be considered atonement. And whoever commits one of these out of human error and conceals what he has done and does not reveal it, then it is left to God to decide to forgive or punish him.” (2)

Furthermore, these Muslims made the following agreement with our Holy Prophet (PBUH):

“Obedience and submission come first and foremost during times of distress, pressure, prosperity, and happiness. We are under your command. We will not disobey you in any way.” (3)

The above-mentioned issues that those who were present in the first Aqaba Pledge promised not to do are the things that form a peaceful community life. There would definitely be no law and order in a community where those ugly deeds were prevalent.

The place where the Aqaba Pledge took place and the Aqaba Mosque 

Islam, which came to make humanity attain peace and bliss and to base the community life on law and order, would definitely adopt those principles as indispensable and would obtain a promise from its followers regarding the issue.

Those who were present at the Pledge

These were the first 12 Muslims of Medina who were present at the First Allegiance:

1) As'ad bin Zurara (r.a.), 2) Awf bin Harith (r.a.), 3) Muadh bin Harith (r.a.), 4) Rafi' bin Malik (r.a.), 5) Zakwan bin Qays (r.a.), 6) Ubada bin Samit (r.a.), 7) Yazid bin Sa'laba (r.a.), 8) Abbas bin Ubada (r.a.), 9) Qutba bin Amir (r.a.), 10) Uqba bin Amir (r.a.), 11) Uwaym bin Saida (r.a.), 12) Abu'l-Haytham Malik bin Tayyihan (r.a.). (4)

The Muslims of Medina returned to their homeland after this meeting. There, they continued to have their voices heard and spread the light of Islam.

Mus’ab b. Umayr is sent

Some time later, the Muslims of Madina requested from our Holy Prophet (PBUH) that a teacher of the Quran be sent to teach them Islamic manners and rules of conduct. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) immediately fulfilled their request in the most kind and civil way by sending Hazrat Mus’ab bin Umair, a young man with a handsome face from among the Quraysh. (5)

The Light of Islam Shines in Medina

Asad bin Zurara was the leader among the Muslims of Madina for some time. For that reason, when the young Quran instructor, Musab bin Umair (RA) came to Madina, he began to stay in Asad bin Zurara’s home; this home became the center in which the Muslims gathered.

Hazrat Musab had learned the Quran directly from our Holy Prophet (PBUH) ; he would make excellent use of opportunities and time. He devoted all of his efforts and work to spreading Islam in Madina. He would talk and meet with the esteemed figures of other tribes and explain Islam to them in a soft manner.

Usayd B.Khudayr and Sa’d B. Muadh adopt Islam

The Quran teacher of Madinah Muslims, Hazrat  Mus’ab b. Umayr, stayed in the house of As’ad b. Zurara (may God be pleased with him), who was their leader; he carried out the service of conveying and spreading the message of Islam there.

Many people in Madina had become Muslims; however, there were some obstacles to disseminating Islam more quickly. The chieftain of the Aws tribe, Sa’d bin Muadh, and another chieftain, Usaid bin Khudayr, had not yet become Muslims and this was affecting the community in turn.

Sa’d bin Muadh was the nephew of Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara’s paternal aunt.

One day Mus’ab and Hazrat Asad were sitting next to a well in the garden of a home that belonged to the Bani Zafar. There were many Muslims around them.

During this time, Usaid bin Khudayr came next to them with a spear in his hand. In a rageful tone he said, “Why did you come to us? You are fooling and leading several ignorant and weak people astray! If you do not want to be killed, then leave here immediately!”

Hazrat Musab answered very politely, “Wait a bit and sit down. Listen to what we have to say and understand our purpose; if you like what we have to say, then you’ll accept it and if not, you can oppose.”

Usaid replied, “You are correct,” thrust his spear into the ground, and sat down.

Hazrat Musab made a speech describing Islam and recited the Holy Quran.

Usaid was unable to contain himself, “This is such a beautiful and nice message.” He then asked, “How can one enter this religion?”

Mus’ab (r.a.) explained Islam to him in more detail. Usaid bin Khudayr then recited the oath of faith and joined the ranks of the privileged who accepted Islam. (6)

Following his conversion he said, “I’m going to go but I will send someone to you. If he testifies, then there will be no one left who has not converted,” and left. He went to Sa’d bin Muadh and his tribe.

Sa’d asked, “What did you do?”

Usaid replied:

“I told the two men what I had to say. By God, I did not see any stubbornness or noncompliance from them.”

Sa’d bin Muadh then said, “By God, you did not bring any satisfying news” and went straight to Mus’ab and As’ad (r.a.) He angrily reproved and threatened them, “O As’ad! If we were not relatives I would not tolerate nor show any patience towards the ugliness you have instilled into our tribe.”

In the same sweet manner, Hazrat Mus’ab (r.a.) said, “Please wait. Sit down and rest. Understand what we have to say; if you like our words then you can accept them, and if you do not like them then we will refrain from proposing what you deem as being ugly.”

Upon this Sa’d sat down and began to listen to Hazrat Mus’ab’s words.

Hazrat Mus’ab explained to him what the religion of Islam meant and recited the beginning of Surah az-Zukhruf.

While Hazrat Mus’ab was reciting the Quran, the expression on Sa’d’s face immediately changed. The mark of faith suddenly appeared on his face. He had never heard nor known such things till that moment. Upon hearing the incomparable eloquence and sweet wording of the Quran, he immediately said, “What must one do to join this faith?”

Mus’ab (r.a.) explained the fundamentals to him. He testified right there and became a Muslim. (7)

Afterwards he turned to his own tribe, the Bani Abdu’l-Ashhal and addressed them: “O Community! “What do you know of me?”

They answered, “You are our elder, our superior.”

Upon this Hazrat Sa’d said, “In that case, you must testify to God and His Apostle” and added:  “As long as you do not convert, may it be haram (prohibited) for me to speak with your men and women!

Upon these words, every single person from the Bani Abdu’l Ashhal converted that day.

Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara and Mus’ab (r.a.) returned to back Hazrat As’ad’s home together.

From then on, Hazrat Mus’ab was not alone in delivering Islam’s message. The chieftains of the Aws and Khazraj tribes had joined ranks with them. They tried spreading Islam with their utmost efforts.

Once again, the center through which Islam would be disseminated was Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara’s home. Here, Hazrat Mus’ab and Sa’d bin Muadh were occupied with inviting people to Islam.

In a short time, Islam greatly expanded in Madina, to such an extent that the only house that did not convert within the Aws and Khazraj tribes was Bani Umayya bin Zaid. Some time later, Islam began to shine in that house as well.

The Second Aqaba Allegiance

It was the 13th year of the Islamic calendar (622 A.D.)

During the Hajj season of this year, Hazrat Mus’ab bin Umayr came to Mecca with 75 people, two of them were women, of the Aws and Khazraj tribes.

This group went to our Holy Prophet (PBUH) who was sitting at the Masjid-al-Haram with his uncle Hazrat Abbas, and made the following offer:

Oh God’s Apostle! We are a rather big group. We agree to take you amongst us, to help you, to sacrifice ourselves for your sake, and to protect your inner-being as we do your physical being. Where should we meet with you to further discuss this matter?”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again deemed it suitable to meet at Aqaba.

This meeting was to be held at night and no one else was to know. In fact, in order not to attract any attention they would leave from their encampment in very small groups to go to Aqaba. (8)

As instructed, the Muslims from Medina gathered in the valley near Aqaba at nighttime without attracting anyone’s attention and without letting anyone else know.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) came with his uncle Hazrat Abbas who had not become a Muslim yet. Hazrat Abbas’ purpose was to not leave his nephew alone in this important matter and to hear the given promises himself.

At first, Hazrat Abbas began to speak. He made a speech saying that if the Muslims of Madina were confident they could protect our Holy Prophet (PBUH) that they should proceed and if they were not confident then they had to abandon this plan at once.

However, the Muslims of Medina wanted our Holy Prophet (PBUH) to speak: They said, “O Messenger of God! You talk, too! Obtain the promise that you want for you and for your Lord from us.”

At that moment As’ad bin Zurara, the leader of the Muslims of Medina, received permission from our Holy Prophet (PBUH) to speak and said, “O God’s Apostle, every invitation has a way. That way can be either be or difficult! The invitation you make is a difficult one for the people of today to accept. You invited us to your religion and to abandon the religion we used to follow. This was a very difficult task. Despite this, we accepted your invitation. We were a community that protected our homeland with honor and against all kinds of invasion; nobody could dare to dominate us except us let alone a person who abandoned his tribe and whose uncles wanted to surrender him to his enemies. Although this was very difficult, we accepted your offer on this path! However, unless God bestows the resolve to discover the true path and the hope to reach beneficence, then none of this will appeal to the people. However, we accepted this by avowing with our tongues, testifying with our hearts, and reaching out our hands. We testify to you by knowing and believing all that you bring from God. We testify to our Lord and your Lord. God’s powerful hands are upon our own hands. Our blood is with your blood, our hands are you with your hands. We will protect you as we protect ourselves, our children, and our wives. If we break our promise, then let us be grief-stricken people who have broken God’s promise.”

Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara completed the final portion of his speech:

“O God’s Apostle! Take whatever promise from us that you desire for yourself and for the sake of God.”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) first recited some verses from the Holy Quran. Afterwards, he listed the conditions he wanted for himself and His Lord’s sake:

My request for the sake of God, the Exalted, is that you;

“Worship Him without associating any partners to Him, you perform your salah (daily prayers) and to pray your zakat (alms.)

“As for myself;

“Testify that I am God’s Messenger and protect me as you would yourselves, your children, and your wives.” (9)

This time Abdullah bin Rawaha received permission to speak; he said, “O God’s Apostle! If we fulfill what you say, then what is in it for us?”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) replied, “Paradise.”

Happiness brightly shone in their eyes as they all testified and said, “In that case this is a rewarding and beneficial exchange.” (10)

Afterwards, they asked our Holy Prophet (PBUH), “How should we pledge our allegiance to you?”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) answered, “You must promise me that you will testify to there being no god but Allah and that He sent me as His Apostle, to pray your salah (daily prayers), to pay your zakat (alms,) to obey me in times of joy and sorrow, to completely submit to my commands, to help me in every way, and when I go there, to protect me from the same things from which you would protect yourselves, wives, and children!” (11)

Twelve Representatives

Upon this, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) declared, “Choose 12 individuals from among yourselves who will stand by me in every matter as the representatives of their tribes. Moses also had 12 representatives from the Sons of Israel.” (12)

The Muslims of Madina chose nine representatives from the Khazraj tribe and three from the Aws.

The chosen individuals from the Khazraj were as follows:

1) Abu Umama As'ad bin Zurara, 2) Sa'd bin Rabi', 3) Rafi' bin Malik, 4) Abdullah bin Rawaha, 5) Abdullah bin Amr, 6) Bara' bin Ma'rur, 7) Sa'd bin Ubada, 8) Ubada bin Sâmit, 9) Mundhir bin Amr.

The representatives chosen for the Aws were:

1) Usaid bin Khudayr, 2) Sa'd bin Haythama, 3) Abu'l-Haytham Malik bin Tayyihan. (13)

All of these representatives were the leading figures of Madina, esteemed individuals, and literate scholars.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) said to these representatives, “Just as the disciples vouched for Isa (Jesus,) Son of Mary, against their tribes, you too are the disciples of yourselves. And I am the disciple of the immigrants from Mecca.” (14)

They confirmed by saying, “Yes.”

Furthermore, after the 12 representatives were chosen, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) appointed Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara as the head of the 12 representatives.

These representatives spoke to the groups they represented, explained the importance of the allegiance, and prepared their respective groups to also pledge their allegiance to our Holy Prophet (PBUH.)

Afterwards, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) extended his holy hand. The Muslims of Madina all pledged their allegiance one by one. Only the two women did not give their hands but he accepted them as having pledged.

In a sense, this allegiance was an alliance made between the Muslims of Madina and Mecca.

The Polytheists Sense Things!

The Allegiance took place in the darkness of the night in a secluded place that nobody other than those invited could see.

Despite this, as soon as the allegiance was complete, they all heard a sound: “O Quraysh! Muhammad and the Madinans who have left the religion of their fathers, have gathered and agreed to wage war on you!”

Where could this voice that tore the silence of the night be coming from? Concern and worry overcame everyone.

This voice resembled the voice of Munabbih bin Hajjaj. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) commanded: “Immediately return to your camps!”

At that time, Abbas bin Ubada said, “O God’s Apostle, if you would like, as soon as morning comes, we can sharpen our swords, tread upon the community of Mina, and slay them.”

However, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was commanded to use his sword of patience, he declared,

“No, no. We are not yet commanded to act in this way. Everyone, return to your spots.” (15)

Upon this, the Muslims of Madina returned to their camps.

When the morning came, the polytheists began to investigate this incident whose purpose was yet unknown to them. At first, they asked the polytheists of Madina. However, they swore they were uninformed of this matter, “Such a thing did not happen. We do not know of such a thing.”

The Muslims of Madina thought silence was the best way; and for that reason they did not say one word.

This time, the polytheists went to Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul and asked him. He said, “That is a grand work. Such a thing must not have happened. These must be empty words. The tribe did not consult with me. When I was in Yathrib they did not do anything without first consulting with me.”    

The polytheists then determined that the polytheists of Madina knew nothing about this matter.

If our Holy Prophet (PBUH) had not said, “Do not let anyone else know about this incident” and if the Muslims of Madina had not concealed this matter from their polytheist compatriots, then of course, this matter would have been heard by the polytheists of Mecca and a great trouble would have befallen upon the Muslims.

When the Season of Hajj came to a close, the Muslims of Madina set off to return to their homeland.

A short time after the Muslims of Madina had left, the polytheists learned what had happened. They immediately planned to keep a close watch on the Muslims from Madina. However, it had been a long time since they had left; thus, they were only able to capture two people: Sa’d bin Ubada and Mundhir bin Amr. These two individuals had somehow stayed behind when the caravan set off. Much later, Hazrat Mundhir was able to find a way and escape from their hands. The polytheists only brought Sa’d bin Ubada to Mecca. They took their anger and resentment out on him by torturing and subjecting him to all kinds of cruelty. At last, Hazrat Sa’d bin Ubada was released from this torture when he received the protection of two polytheists he had known from long before and who had been his guests in Madina.

Madinah Muslims who returned to their homeland were looking forward to welcoming muhajirs and the Messenger of God!

[1] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 75-76; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 235.

[2] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 75-76; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 220; Tabari, ibid, V. 2, p. 235.

[3] Doç. Dr. Sâlih Tuğ, İslam Vergi Hukukunun Ortaya Çıkışı, p. 27 (Ank. 1963).

[4] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 73; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 1, p. 220.

[5] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 76; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 1, p. 220.

[6] Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 77-78; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 3, p. 420; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 236.

[7] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 78-79; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 3, p. 420; Tabari, ibid, V. 2, p. 236-237; Ibn Sayyid, Uyunu’l-Athar, V. 1, p. 160; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 170-171.

[8] Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 83-84; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 221; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 228.

[9] Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 84; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 222; Tabari, ibid, V. 2, p. 238; Ibn Sayyid, Uyunu’l-Athar, V. 1, p. 163; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 174-175.

[10] Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 239; Halabi, ibid, V. 2, p. 175.

[11] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 97; Halabi, ibid, V. 2, p. 175.

[12] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 85; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 1, p. 222; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 239; Ibn Sayyid, Uyunu’l-Athar, V. 1, p. 164; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 176-177.

[13] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 86-87; Ibn Sayyid, ibid, V. 1, p. 164.

[14] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 88; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 1, p. 223.

[15] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 90; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 223.

The Muslims of Madinah heard that the Messenger of God had set off for Madinah from Makkah. Therefore, they went to the place called Harra after the morning prayer every day and waited there impatiently until the weather got very hot at noon.

One day, they waited for the arrival of the Prophet for a long time as usual and returned when they saw that it became very hot.

Meanwhile, a Jewish person who was on the roof of his house saw a few people in white clothes walking through the hot desert, mirages and fog. He knew that Muslims were waiting for the Messenger of God. He could not help shouting, “O community of Arabs! The person you have been waiting for is coming!” giving Muslims the good news. (1)

This good news traveled like lightning among the streets of Madinah. The city was like a place of festival because the person who offered peace and happiness to humanity was coming. Muslims took their weapons and ran toward that area.

They reached the Prophet and Hazrat Abu Bakr while they were resting in the shade of a date tree. Hazrat Abu Bakr was standing near the Prophet. They greeted the Master of the Universe, for whom they had been waiting excitedly, impatiently and longingly, who was in a white garment, and started to stare at his luminous blessed face.

After having a rest for a while in the shade of the date tree, the Messenger of God and his friends proceeded to the village of Quba, which was to the right of Madinah, together with the people who came from Madinah to welcome them.  

It was a very hot day in the month of Rabiulawwal.

The sun was sending its arrows made of fire down to the earth. The Messenger of God and the group of believers with him arrived at the village of Quba, which was an hour away from the city of Madinah, before noon. He went to the house of Kulthum b. Hidam, the leader of Banu Amr b. Awf. The fast journey on the scorching sand exhausted the Prophet. He decided to stay in Quba for a while due to the wishes of the people who wanted to talk to him. 

The Prophet stayed in the house of Kulthum b. Hidam, who was quite old, at night and went to the house of Sa’d b. Haythama, who was a single Companion, during the day in order to talk to the Muslims. Besides, the other single Companions stayed in his house, too. Therefore, his house was called “Daru’l-Uzab [the House of Bachelors]”. (2)

Hazrat Ali Rejoins the Prophet

Hazrat Ali had stayed in Makkah in order to return the valuables and goods that the Qurayshis entrusted to the Prophet to their owners due to the order of the Prophet.

Hazrat Ali fulfilled this duty and left Makkah three days after the Prophet left. He rejoined the Prophet when he was in Quba. His feet had swollen and blistered because he had walked all the way. The Prophet hugged him in tears, prayed for him so that his feet will recover and rubbed them with his hand. God Almighty cured his feet at once. The blisters and pains in his feet disappeared. (3)

CONSTRUCTION OF THE QUBA MOSQUE

The Messenger of God stayed for more than ten nights in the house of Banu Amr b. Awf. During this period, he established the Quba Mosque and performed prayers in it.   

Although some Muslims built a mosque for themselves before the mosque established by the Prophet, the first mosque built for the community of Islam is the Quba Mosque.

The Messenger of God himself worked in the construction of this lofty mosque, which was built on Kulthum b. Hidam’s land, where he dried his dates. Once, the Prophet was carrying a very heavy stone. One of the Companions approached him and said, “O Messenger of God! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Give it to me.” The Prophet said to him, “No, I won’t! Get another stone.”, expressing that he got pleasure from working. Thus, he served as a model with his efforts and hard work along with his other good attributes like, worship, taqwa, loyalty, mercy, resoluteness and courage.

                                                                                  Quba Mosque

Observing his efforts and hard work, Muslims worked enthusiastically without showing any signs of laziness or fatigue. The Prophet did not stop working until the construction of the mosque finished; he did not treat himself differently from other Muslims.

Importance and Superiority of the Quba Mosque

The Quba Mosque is a blessed monument of the luminous and magnificent period that started with the migration of the Messenger of God and that continued especially with his arrival at the village of Quba. Therefore, it was defined as a “mosque of taqwa” in the Quran. The following is stated in the relevant verse: 

“There is a mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety; it is more worthy of thy standing forth (for prayer) therein. In it are men who love to be purified; and God loveth those who make themselves pure!” (4)

The Respectable Prophet always went to the Quba Mosque on Saturdays during his life sometimes on foot and sometimes riding and performed prayers there. Besides, he encouraged believers to perform prayers there giving the good news that a person who performed prayers in that blessed mosque in a nice and clean way would receive the reward of an umra.

The Quba Mosque is significant and important because it was built in a period when the barriers in front of Islam started to be removed gradually and the development and advancement of Islam started.

Suhayb b. Sinan Goes to Quba

Suhayb b. Sinan was one of the helpless and lonely Muslims who were exposed to the tortures of polytheists. When the Prophet was given the permission to migrate to Madinah, he could not find an opportunity to leave Makkah. 

When he saw that Hazrat Ali was about to migrate, he packed his things, and set off. When some Makkans saw him, they followed him and said, “When you came here, you were poor; you became rich here. You want to take your wealth with you. We will not let you do it!”

Acting upon the courage based on his belief, Suhayb dismounted and took his arrows out of his bag. He said to the Qurayshis, who were trying to stop him from migrating, “You know that I am one of the best archers among you. I will shoot all of my arrows; if I run out of arrows, I will draw my sword! As long as I have one of them with me, I will not let you approach me!”

The polytheists could not answer this heroic call back. They knew that this hero of Islam would not surrender easily. On the one hand, there was Suhayb b. Sinan, who stood up with the courage supported by his belief; on the other hand, there were polytheists who were afraid due to the polytheism in their hearts. 

Then, Suhayb made them this offer:

“Will you let me go if I show you where all my wealth is and leave it to you?”

The polytheists, who loved worldly possessions so much, said, “Yes...”

Hazrat Suhayb left his wealth to them and migrated on the way of God in order to practice his religion and belief freely. 

He rejoined the Messenger of God in Quba in the middle of the month of Rabiulawwal. He had a pain in his eye on the way and he was very hungry. There was a bunch of fresh palms with leaves in front of the Prophet, Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar. Hazrat Suhayb started to eat the fresh dates immediately.

Hazrat Umar said, “O Messenger of God! Do you see Suhayb? He says he has a pain in his eye and he is eating fresh dates!”

When the Messenger of God said, “O Suhayb! You have a pain in your eye but you are eating fresh dates.”, he said,  “O Messenger of God! I am eating them with the sound part of my eye.” This witty answer made the Prophet smile. 

Then, Hazrat Suhayb said, “O Messenger of God! When you left Makkah, the polytheists imprisoned me. I gave them my wealth and bought (saved) my family and myself!”

The Messenger of God said, “Suhayb won! Suhayb won! Abu Yah¬ya! The sale turned out to be profitable! The sale turned out to be profitable!”  He gave the good news and made Suhayb very happy. (5)

Then, the following verse was sent down:

“And there is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of God; and God is full of kindness to (His) devotees.” (6)

They Leave Quba

After staying in Quba more than ten nights, the Messenger of God set off to Madinah on Friday. He was on his camel, Qaswa. Hazrat Abu Bakr was behind him; there were about one hundred people with weapons from Banu Najjar, from the tribe of his maternal uncles and many Muslims of Madinah on the right and on the left. 

The scene was challenging, pleasing and hopeful. The Messenger of God, who was left alone in Makkah, was being accompanied by hundreds of luminous people! They were uttering takbirs (Allahu Akbar); their hearts were full of joy. They had waited for the Prophet, who presented them with the real belief and Islam, which is the source of the happiness in the world and in the hereafter, impatiently for days. Now, they were experiencing and feeling the unmatched joy of meeting him.

FIRST FRIDAY PRAYER IN MADINAH

During the journey, the Messenger of God turned to the left side and reached the land of Banu Salim b. Awf. When they arrived at a place called Ranuna, it was time for the Friday prayer. The Prophet dismounted his camel in the middle of the Ranuna valley, the place of the Friday Mosque, and performed the Friday prayer there.

It was the first Friday prayer the Prophet performed in Madinah.

The Prophet recited two sermons, one after the other, there. After thanking and praising God, he addressed the Muslims as follows:

“O people! Make preparations for the hereafter when you are healthy. You know very well that every one of you will be asked about the sheep that you left without a shepherd on the Day of Judgment. Then, God Almighty will say to him, without any intermediary, directly, ‘Did My Messenger not come and inform you? I gave you property and I granted you many bounties. What did you prepare for yourself?’ That person will look to the right and left but will not see anything. When he looks to the front, he will see nothing but Hell! Then, anyone who can save himself from the fire even with a half date should give it away at once. If he cannot find a half date, he should save himself by kalima at-tayyiba [nice word]. Through it, one good deed is rewarded by ten to seven hundred times. May God’s peace, mercy and bounties be on you!” (7)

The Second Sermon

The Messenger of God stated the following in his second sermon:

“I praise God. I praise God and I ask His help. We took refuge in God from the evil of our souls and our bad deeds. He whom God guides is rightly guided; but he whom God leaves to stray,- for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the Right Way.

I witness that there is no god but Allah. He is One; He has no partners.           

                                                                                  The Friday Mosque

The best word is the word of God. A person whose heart God decorates with the Quran, whom God includes in Islam though he was an unbeliever, who prefers the Quran to other words will definitely be saved.

Doubtlessly, the Book of God is the most beautiful and eloquent word. Love what God loves. Love God heartily. Do not get tired of the word of God and mentioning the names and attributes of God. Do not let the word of God cause gloom in your heart because the word of God distinguishes the best ones among everything. It informs you about the best deeds, the prophets, who are the most distinguished people, and the best stories; it states what is halal and haram. Worship God and do not associate any partners with Him. Fear Him truly.   

Do good deeds and confirm them with your tongue.

Love one another with the word of God. Know very well that God punishes severely those who break their promise.

May God’s peace be upon you!” (8)

In the first pledge of Aqaba, the Muslims of Madinah had promised to protect the Messenger of God fully when he arrived in their land. 

After staying in Quba for a while, the Messenger of God was about to enter Madinah, the heart of their land; it was time for them to keep their promise.

Therefore, the Messenger of God finished the second sermon by stating that God Almighty would punish severely those who broke their promise.

1. Ibn Hisham, ibid., V. 2, p. 137; Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 1, p. 233.

2. Ibn Hisham, ibid., V. 2, p. 138; Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 1, p. 233.

3. Halabi, Insan, V. 2, p. 233.

4. at-Tawba, 108.

5. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 3, p. 227-229.

6. al-Baqara, 207.

7. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 146.

8. Ibn Hisham, ibid., V. 2, p. 147.

The Qurayshi polytheists had decided to kill the Messenger of God and started to do things to this end. Meanwhile, God Almighty gave the Messenger of God the order to migrate.

The Prophet used to visit Hazrat Abu Bakr in the morning or in the evening every day. However, when he received the order to migrate, he went to Abu Bakr’s house at noon, when it was very hot, by wrapping his head. When Abu Bakr was informed that the Prophet arrived, he was surprised and said, “By God, the Messenger of God never used to come at this time. There is something very unusual!” Then, he invited the Prophet inside and let him sit on the mattress and said, May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of God! What is the matter?”

The Prophet said, “God gave me the permission to leave Makkah and to migrate to Madinah.”

Hazrat Abu Bakr asked excitedly, “Will I be honored to accompany you, O Messenger of God?”

When the Prophet said “Yes...”, he became very happy and started to weep for joy.

Hazrat Aisha said, “Up to that time, I had never seen anyone to weep so much for joy!” (1), expressing the joy of her father at that time.

The Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr made an agreement with Abdullah b. Urayqit, who was a polytheist then but who was well-known as a trustable person who always kept his promise, to guide them to Madinah. They gave him two camels and agreed to meet at the foot of the Thawr Mountain.

Then the Prophet left the house of Abu Bakr and returned home. (2)

Information Given by Hazrat Jibril

Meanwhile, Jibril (pbuh), the angel of revelation, came to the Prophet, informed him about the decision of the polytheists and instructed him what to do:

“Tonight, do not sleep in the bed that you used to sleep up to now!”

Thereupon, the Messenger of God called Hazrat Ali and said to him, “Sleep in my bed tonight! Take this green cardigan of mine and cover yourself in it! Do not fear! Nothing will happen to you!”

He also told Hazrat Ali to stay in Makkah until he returned the goods trusted to the Prophet to their owners.

Makkans trusted the Prophet, whom they named “Muhammadu’l-Amin” very much and they entrusted their valuable goods, which they feared losing, to him. When the Qurayshi notables decided to kill him, there were many valuable goods entrusted to him. Despite this decision, he ordered Hazrat Ali to return the goods to their owners, showing his dignity and trustability.

The House of the Prophet is Surrounded

In accordance with the plan that had been made, about two hundred polytheists with their swords chosen from all of the tribes gathered in front of the house of the Prophet after one third of the night passed. Among them were protagonists and brutal people like Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab and Umayya b. Khalaf. The murderers were waiting for the night to end, the sun to rise and the Prophet to leave his house. According to their customs, it was a mean and cowardly act to kill someone in his house.

The Prophet leaves his House

The Messenger of God left his house while the murderers with swords were around his house. He picked a handful of soil and threw it toward their heads, reading the first eight verses of the chapter of Yasin. None of them could see him and he passed through them. 

After a while, some of their fellow citizens went over them and asked them, “Why are you waiting here?”

When polytheists said, “We are waiting for Muhammad”, they said, “Muhammad threw some soil toward your heads and left a long time ago. Look at your heads and clothes!”, virtually mocking the murderers!

They looked at one another. They were covered with dust and dirt. They were surprised. They entered the house at once. They saw someone lying covered with a cardigan. They said, “There he is; Muhammad is sleeping!” and continued waiting until it started to dawn.

When they saw that Hazrat Ali got up from the bed instead of the Messenger of God, they were astonished and said, “By God, what was said to us was true!”

Then they asked Hazrat Ali, “Where is Muhammad?”

When Hazrat Ali said, “I do not know!”, they were astonished and did not know what to do.

God almighty stated the following in the verse that He sent down upon this event:

“Remember how the unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out, (of thy home). They plot and plan and God too plans but the best of planners is God.” (3)

THEY GO TO THE CAVE OF THAWR

After leaving his house, the Messenger of God went straight to the house of Hazrat Abu Bakr. They prepared some things for the expedition and put some food in a leather bag. 

Then, the Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr left the house through the small door at the back of the house. They set off to Thawr Mountain, which is down in the southeast of Makkah, three miles (about an hour) away from the city. 

Hazrat Abu Bakr walked sometimes in front of and sometimes at the back of the Prophet. The Prophet asked him, “O Abu Bakr! Why do you do so?” Hazrat Abu Bakr said, “In order to watch and protect you, O Messenger of God!”

                                  The Thawr Mountain                                                  The Cave of Thawr

A Snake Bites Hazrat Abu Bakr

They arrived at the Cave of Thawr on Thursday night.

The cave was desolate. First, Hazrat Abu Bakr entered the cave. He cleaned the ground and leveled it. He blocked the holes in the cave with pieces of fabric torn off his garment. When the pieces were not enough, he blocked the last hole by putting his foot on it. Then, he called the Prophet inside the cave. The Messenger of God put his head on the knees of Abu Bakr and fell asleep.

After a while, Hazrat Abu Bakr felt a great pain in his foot that he had put on the hole. He realized that a snake had bitten him. However, he did not remove his foot. He did not even move lest the Messenger of God should wake up. He was in so much pain that tears fell down her face. When a few tears hit the face of the Messenger of God, he woke up and asked, “What is the matter, O Abu Bakr?”

Hazrat Abu Bakr, the symbol of loyalty, said, “O Messenger of God! Something bit my foot but it does not matter. May my father and mother be sacrificed for you!”

The Messenger of God rubbed the place that the snake bit with his spit. By the grace of God, the pain was eliminated and Hazrat Abu Bakr recovered.

A Spider Weaves a Web; Pigeons Build a Nest

Meanwhile, upon the command of God, a spider came to the entrance of the cave and weaved a web; and two pigeons came and built a nest. (4) Those animals started to keep guard in order to protect the Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr against Quraysh!

Makkah is searched thoroughly

When the polytheists could not find the Prophet in his house, they got very distressed and sad. They started to search Makkah thoroughly at once. They went to the house of Hazrat Abu Bakr. When they could not find them there, they got furious.

When they could not find the Messenger of God in Makkah, they hired a town crier, who shouted, “We will give one hundred camels to anyone who fetches or kills Muhammad or Abu Bakr!”

When the announcement was heard, all of the thieves, murderers and criminals took their swords and sticks; they went out of Makkah and started to run around.  

Some searchers hired two trackers from Banu Mudlij. They found the footprints of the Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr. They reached the foot of the Thawr Mountain by tracking. 

One of the trackers said, “By God, they did not go beyond that cave. The footprints cease here!”

Some of them went to the entrance of the cave together with Umayya b. Khalaf.

Hazrat Abu Bakr’s Sorrow

Meanwhile, the Prophet and Hazrat Abu Bakr could see the polytheists but the polytheists could not see them. 

Hazrat Abu Bakr was in panic and sorrowful. He said, “O Messenger of God! I would not feel sorry at all if they killed me. I am only an individual. However, if they harmed you, it would cause the destruction of your ummah!”

The Messenger of God said securely, “Have no Fear, for God is with us”, consoling him.

Hazrat Abu Bakr said, “O Messenger of God! If one of them bends down and looks, he will see us!”

The Messenger of God said in a safe and trusting voice, “O Abu Bakr! What do you think will happen if the third person who is present here along with two of us is God? Do you think you will be caught?” (5) Then, he prayed God to make Hazrat Abu Bakr relieved. (6)

God indicates the incident in the Quran as follows:

”If ye help not (your Leader) (it is no matter): for God did indeed help him; when the unbelievers drove him out: he had no more than one companion: they two were in the cave, and he said to his companion "Have no Fear, for God is with us": then God sent down His peace upon him, and strengthened him with forces which ye saw not, and humbled to the depths the word of the Unbelievers. But the word of God is exalted to the heights: for God is Exalted in might, Wise.” (7)

The Spider and the Pigeons Keeping Guard

The polytheists who came close the Cave of Thawr said, “Let us search this cave.”

The Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr could hear what they were talking.

One of them approached the entrance of the cave but he returned without looking inside the cave. 

The others asked, “Why did you not look inside?”

He said, “I saw two wild pigeons had built a nest on the entrance of the cave. I never think they can be inside!”

Umayya b. Khalaf, a ferocious polytheist, shouted at his friends furiously,

“Why do you still walk around that cave? Do you not see that a spider had woven a web? By God, I think that web had been woven before Muhammad was born!” (8)

Thereupon, they moved away from the cave.

Thus, God Almighty protected His Messenger against Quraysh through the spider and the wild pigeons He appointed!

Days in the Cave

Our beloved Prophet, who entered the cave of Thawr on Thursday night with Hazrat Abu Bakr, stayed in the cave on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. They stayed in the cave for three days and nights as a precaution. During this period, the polytheists would think that they had left Makkah and would loosen the search. And it happened like that. 

During the period when they hid in the cave, upon the instruction of the Prophet, Abdullah, the son of Hazrat Abu Bakr, walked among the Qurayshis during the day and found out what they were talking and thinking about; at night, he went to the cave and told the Messenger of God what he had heard. He stayed in the cave and returned to Makkah at dawn.

Meanwhile, Amir b. Fuhayra, the slave of Hazrat Abu Bakr, were herding sheep nearby and erasing the tracks of Abdullah; he also took some milk to them.

Thus, three days and nights passed. The search of the Qurayshis for the Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr had loosened. That was the news brought by Hazrat Abdullah.

Meanwhile, as they had agreed beforehand, Abdullah b. Urayqit arrived at the foot of the Thawr Mount with the two camels delivered to him beforehand and his own camel on Monday morning at dawn.

Hazrat Asma Brings Food for the Journey!

A sheep was slaughtered and cooked for the Prophet and the people on the journey. Asma (may God be pleased with her), the daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakr, put the meat in a leather bag and took it to the cave along with a leather bottle full of water. 

Hazrat Asma had forgotten to bring a band or rope to tie the mouth of the leather bag and bottle. She looked around but could not find anything to tie the bags. Then, she took off her waistband and divided it into two. She tied up the leather bag with one piece and the leather bottle with the other. Thereupon, the Messenger of God said, “There are two bands for Asma in Paradise!”

Therefore, Hazrat Asma is called “Dhat an-Nitaqayn [The One with two Waistbands]”. (9)

LEAVING THE CAVE OF THAWR

It was the fourth Monday of the month of Rabiulawwal.

It was time to leave the cave.

Hazrat Abu Bakr presented the better one of his two camels to the Prophet and said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of God! Get on it!”

The Messenger of God said, “I will not get on a camel that I do not own!”

Hazrat Abu Bakr said, “It is yours! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Get on it!” 

The Messenger of God said, “No, I won’t” “I will not get on it unless you tell me the price you have paid for it!”

Hazrat Abu Bakr had to tell the price of the camel and the Prophet accepted to pay for it.

The Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr got on the camels. Hazrat Abu Bakr also let his freed black slave Amir b. Furayha get on the back of his camel so that he will serve them on the way.

Abdullah b. Urayqit, who was very good at leading the way, was in front of them. They left the Cave of Thawr.

The Prophet Calls out to Makkah

The Prophet was about to leave the holy city he was born in and grew up. He stopped his camel near the place called Hazrawa. He looked at the holy city sadly and said, “By God, you are the best place that God created. You are the most beloved one in the sight of God. There is no city more beloved and beautiful than you for me. If I were not forced, I would never leave you and would not settle anywhere else.” , expressing his love toward Makkah. (10)

Thereupon, God Almighty sent down the following verse to console His Prophet:

“Verily He Who ordained the Qur'an for thee, will bring thee back to the Place of Return.” (11)

They followed an unusual way toward Madinah in order to make it difficult for the enemies to follow them and to deceive them. First, they rode south, toward Tihama, which is near the Red Sea. Then, they turned north. They proceeded on the way parallel to the coast. They rode the camels until Tuesday noon without stopping. They stopped to have a rest on Tuesday in a shade. The Prophet started to sleep. Hazrat Abu Bakr was waiting like a guard next to him. He also watched around. He saw a shepherd at a distance. He went over to him. He took some milk from the shepherd and brought it to the Prophet. He gave it to the Messenger of God when he woke up. The Prophet drank it thirstily. (12)

Milkless Goat Gives Milk

Strange incidents took place during the journey.

They went over to the shepherd and asked for some milk. He said, “I have nothing with me that can give milk except that goat. It is pregnant and went dry.”

The Messenger of God reached his hands out to the udders of the goat. He rubbed them with his hands. The udders got full of milk. They all drank the milk.

The shepherd was astonished. He said, “Tell me for God’s sake, who are you? I have never met someone like you!”

The Messenger of God said, “I will tell you if you keep it a secret!” 

When the shepherd said, “OK. I will.”, the Prophet said,  “I am Muhammad, the Messenger of God!”

The shepherd was more astonished now. He said, “So, you are the person that the Qurayshis say, ‘He went astray. Is that right?”

The Prophet said, “That is what they say!”

Thereupon, the shepherd said, “I witness that you are a prophet! What you have brought is true. Only a prophet can do what you are doing. I will follow and obey you.” Thus, he became a Muslim.

The shepherd said that he also wanted to go with them. However, the Messenger of God said, “You cannot do it today. When you hear that I become successful, then, come and join us.” (13)

An Infertile Goat Gives Milk

The Messenger of God arrived at Qudayd, their third place of resting. While they were passing by the tent of Abu Mabad, they asked, “Do you have any dates or other food?” in order to buy. 

Abu Mabad was not there. His wife, Atika Umm Mabad said, “No, there is no food.”

The Messenger of God saw a skinny goat around. He asked, “Does she not have any milk?”

Umm Mabad said, “She does not have any blood in her body; how can she give milk?”

The Prophet said, “If you let me, I will milk her.”

Umm Mabad knew very well that it was impossible for the goat which was too weak to go grazing to give milk. However, she thought it would not be a nice act to say no to a guest; so, she said, “OK. Milk her if you can!”

The Messenger of God touched the waist of the goat and rubbed her udder. Then, he said, “Bismillahirrah¬ma¬nir¬rahim” and prayed. After that, he said, “Bring a pan and milk her.”

They milked her. The big pan was full of milk!

The Prophet made Umm Mabad and the other people who were there drink as much as they wanted. Then, he drank himself. They milked again and drank it. They milked for the third time and left the milk to Umm Mabad.

Then, they set off.

After a while, Abu Mabad came. When he saw the milk in the pan, he asked, “What is this?”

Umm Mabad said, “A blessed person came here. He said this and that. He milked the goat like this.”, telling him about what happened in detail.

Abu Mabad said, “There is some wisdom behind it. What was he like, what was his face like?”

Umm Mabad said, “He was of medium height; he had black brows and eyes; he had a luminous face; he was a fine man.” She described him in detail. 

Thereupon, Abu Mabad said, “By God, the person you have described is the Prophet that emerged in Quraysh. If I had been here, I would have obeyed him and asked him to go with him!” (14)

Umm Mabad, who was ordered not to slaughter that goat (or sheep) by the Messenger of God, said,

“That goat (or sheep), whose udders the Messenger of God rubbed, lived until the drought that took place on the 18th year of Hijrah, during the caliphate of Umar. When the animals could not find to eat anything on the ground, we milked her in the morning and in the evening!” (15)

Things Happen to Suraka

That Quraysh promised one hundred camels to those who captured the Prophet was heard by Banu Mudlij belonging to the tribe of Kinana and living in that area. They heard that four people traveled through the way on the coast on camels.

Suraka b. Malik, who was very brave and a very good tracker, was impressed by the reward and started to follow the Messenger of God. Acting upon what he heard, Suraka found their footprints soon. He approached the Prophet on his horse, which was galloping. There was only a small distance left.  Hazrat Abu Bakr started to fear when he saw that Suraka was coming. 

The Prophet said, “Have no Fear, for God is with us”, as he said in the cave and looked at Suraka. The legs of Suraka’s horse sank into the sand up to its knees. When the horse got out of the sand, Suraka started to follow them again. However, the legs of Suraka’s horse sank deep into the sand again and something like smoke came out of the ground. Then, he understood that neither he nor anybody else could touch the Prophet!

He said, “O Muhammad! Pray for me so that I will be saved. I will not touch you! I will not tell about you to the people who follow you!” (16)

The Messenger of God prayed for him. God Almighty accepted his prayer and saved Suraka from that difficult situation.

Suraka went over to the Prophet and introduced himself. He wanted a written document of security since he felt that Islam would be sovereign in the future. The Messenger of God gave him a written document of security.

According to a narration, Hazrat Abu Bakr, (17) according to another narration, Amir Ibn Fuhayra wrote the document. (18)

When Suraka received the document, he said, “O Messenger of God! Give me orders! I will do whatever you want!”

The Messenger of God said, “Go and prevent others from following us!”

Upon this instruction, Suraka returned at once. He said to the followers from Quraysh, “I searched this part. There is nobody around. Let us search somewhere else.” Thus, he sent them away from that place. (19)

It was a manifestation of Qadar that Suraka, who mounted on his horse to capture or kill the Prophet and followed the Prophet in the morning, became a guard of the Prophet and tried to protect him from the enemies who were following him in the evening!

Afterwards, when Abu Jahl found out about what Suraka had done got furious and uttered a satirical stanza against him.

Suraka, who was a witness of the miracle of the Prophet, answered him back with this stanza: “If you had seen how the legs of my horse sank deep into the sand, you would have believed in the prophethood of Muhammad, too.” (20)

In the eight year of Hijrah, Suraka visited the Prophet while he was returning from the Battle of Hunayn with his document and became a Muslim; he received compliments from the Prophet!

A Shepherd

After Suraka left, the Messenger of God and his friends continued to ride in the hot desert. It was as if flames were coming down from the sky and sparks were coming out of the earth!

Meanwhile, a shepherd saw them. He rushed to Makkah to tell the Qurayshis about them. However, when he arrived in the city, he forgot why he had come to the city. No matter how hard he tried, he could not remember. Then, he had to return. Afterwards, he realized that someone made him forget about it! (21)

Hazrat Zubayr Meets the Prophet

Hazrat Zubayr b. Awwam was going to Makkah from Madinah with the trade caravan of Damascus. He met the Messenger of God on the way. He gave the Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr each a white Damascus mashlah (a kind of long garment) to wear. He told them that one of the Muslims of Madinah said, “The Messenger of God and his friends are late.” Thereupon, the Messenger of God started to move faster. (22)

Hazrat Zabayr b. Awwam, who went to Makkah to settle his business, migrated to Madinah after that.  

Buraydah becomes a Muslim

Traveling on the camel fast, the Messenger of God and his friends reached the place called Amim.

The homeland of Banu Sahm was near that place. Having heard that Quraysh promised one hundred camels for the Prophet, Bu¬raydah b. Husayb, approached the Prophet with about eighty men. 

The Messenger of God asked him, “Who are you?”

When he said, “I am Buraydah” the Prophet said to Hazrat Abu Bakr, “O Abu Bakr! Our state has become cool and nice.” (In Arabic, Buraydah is derived from the word ‘bard’, which means coolness, cold.)

The Prophet asked Buraydah again, “What is the name of your tribe?”

He answered “The tribe of Aslam”.

Thereupon, the Prophet said to Hazrat Abu Bakr, “O Abu Bakr! We have reached salvation (peace)!” (In Arabic, Aslam is derived from the word ‘silm’, which means peace.)  

The Prophet asked, “From which clan of Aslam?”

Buraydah said, “From Banu Sahm”.

Thereupon the Prophet said to Hz, Abu Bakr, “O Abu Bakr! Your arrow has come out.” (In Arabic ‘Sahm’ means arrow.)

The Messenger of God never associated things with inauspiciousness or bad luck (tatayyur). (23) He always associated things with good luck. Therefore, he regarded it as something good that he met Buraydah.

Admiring at the sedateness and dignity in the words and attitudes of the Prophet and his fluency, Buraydah asked him, “Who are you?”

The Messenger of God said, “I am Muhammad, the son of Abdullah who is the son of Abdulmut¬ta¬lib, and the Messenger of God.” He asked Buraydah to become a Muslim.

Buraydah accepted his invitation at once, embraced Islam together with the people around him, and uttered kalima ash-shahada. (24)

The Prophet stayed there at night.

In the morning, Buraydah said, “O Messenger of God! It is not appropriate to enter Madinah without a flag!”

Then, he removed his turban and tied it to the head of his spear. He carried it walking in front of the Prophet until they entered Madinah.

The Messenger of God stated the following about Buraydah: “One of my Companions will die in a country. On the Day of Judgment, he will be the light of that country and the leader of the people of that country.” (25)

In fact, Buraydah made great sacrifices for Islam, went to Khorasan with the warriors of Islam, and died in Merv. (26)

1. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 128-129.

2. Ibn Hisham, ibid., V. 2, p. 128-129; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 227-228; Bukhari, Sahih, V. 2, p. 332; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 245; Ibn Sayyid, Uyunu’l-Athar, V. 1, p. 181.

3. al-Anfal, 30

4. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 228; Balazuri, Ansab, V. 1, p. 260; Ibn Sayyid, Uyunu’l-Athar, V. 1, p. 182.

5. Muslim, Sahih, V. 7, p. 106; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, V. 1, p. 4.

6. Isfahani, Dalail, p. 278.

7. at-Tawba, 40.

8. Balazuri, Ansab, V. 1, p. 260.

9. Ibn Hisham, ibid., V. 2, p. 131; Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 1, p. 229; Bukhari, ibid., V. 2, p. 332; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 247.

10. Ibn Sayyid, Uyunu’l-Athar, V. 1, p. 181; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 176.

11. al-Qasas, 85.

12. Muslim, Sahih, V. 8, p. 236; Isfahani, Dalail, p. 279.

13. Isfahani, ibid., p. 279.

14. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 230-231; Balazuri, Ansab, V. 1, p. 259; Ibn Say¬yid, ibid., V. 1, p. 188.

15. Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 220.

16. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 134; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 232; Bukhari, Sahih, V. 2, p. 332-333; Ibn Sayyid, Uyunu’l-Athar, V. 1, p. 184-185.

17. Ibn Hisham, ibid., V. 2, p. 135; Qadi Iyad, ibid., V. 1, p. 687.

18. Bukhari, Sahih, V. 2, p. 333; Ibn Sayyid, ibid., V. 1, p. 185.

19. Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 1, p. 232; Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 219-22; Qadi Iyad, ibid., V. 1, p. 687.

20. Halabi, ibid., V. 2, p. 220.

21. Qadi Iyad, ibid., V. 1, p. 688; Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Mektubat, p. 145.

22. Bukhari, Sahih, V. 2, p. 333.

23. “Tatayyur” means to regard things especially the flight patterns and sounds of birds as inauspicious or unlucky.

24. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 4, p. 241-242; Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, al-Istiab, V. 4, p. 471; Ibn Athir, Usdu’l-Ghaba, V. 1, p. 176.

25. Ibn Esir, ibid., V. 1, p. 176.

26. Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 4, p. 242; Ibn Esir, ibid., V. 1, p. 175.    

When the Messenger of God migrated to Madinah, the period of thirteen years in Makkah ended. It will be useful to summarize this period, which has an important place in the history of Islamic tabligh (conveying the message), and especially to examine the tabligh of the Prophet in this period.

When the Messenger of God was appointed as a prophet in AD 610 by God Almighty, the Arab community of that time was undergoing the darkest and wildest period of history along with the rest of the world. The duty the save the community he lived in and the humanity from the oppression and savagery was given to the Prophet.

God Almighty, who sent him as a prophet, taught him how to act while spreading, living and making others live Islam. The Prophet acted in accordance with those instructions.

It was certain that conveying the message, which aimed to introduce a new system, was not going to be so easy. It was going to be especially difficult in the community of Arabs, who were extremely fanatical and stubborn about their savage customs, living at that time.   

The Messenger of God, who knew the properties, characteristics and thoughts of the community he was living in very well, did not start to convey the message as soon as he was appointed; he did not declare his prophethood and the religion of Islam openly. Some time had to pass and some favorable conditions had to occur for it.

The Messenger of God started to convey the message of Islam to the people who were closest to him first. He first informed Hazrat Khadija, his wife, about his cause. Hazrat Khadija confirmed his prophethood and became a Muslim. Then, he called Hazrat Ali, who was his relative and had been together with him since he was four or five, to Islam. He embraced Islam, too. After that, he conveyed the message of belief and Islam to some people that he trusted very much outside his family. The most important one among them was Hazrat Abu Bakr. Many people accepted Islam through Hazrat Abu Bakr.

The Prophet himself acted very cautiously during the period of secret call to Islam; he also urged the first Muslims to act very cautiously. When Abu Dharr al-Ghifari embraced Islam, the Prophet gave him this advice:

“O Abu Dharr! Now keep it a secret and return to your homeland! Come and join us when you hear that we have started conveying the message openly.” (1)

The Prophet gave Abu Dharr that advice because Abu Dharr openly declared that he was a Muslim in Masjid al-Haram too early due to the excitement originating from his belief; he was saved from the mortal blows of the polytheists by the help of Hazrat Abbas. (2)

The Messenger of God continued the secret call like that for three years. During this period, only about thirty people embraced Islam. 

This period ended when the following verse was sent down: “And admonish thy nearest kinsmen!” (3) After that, the Prophet started to call his close relatives to Islam and belief in accordance with the divine order. First, he brought Banu Muttalib together and informed them about Islam. 

Then, he expanded the circle of the people he called to Islam and addressed Makkans from Safa hill. He called them to believe in the oneness of God and to confirm his prophethood. They did not accept his call; besides, Abu Lahab dared to insult him. However, the Prophet continued to call people to believe in the oneness of Islam and to confirm his prophethood without a break with full effort.

God Almighty determined the style of the acts of the Prophet in the duty of spreading and practicing Islam with the verses He sent down.  

The verses that were sent down in Makkah had especially two main aims: To make people believe in their minds, hearts and spirits in 1) the existence and oneness of God, 2) resurrection, that is, reviving after death...

The Prophet concentrated on these two main aims and worked hard to realize them. He called people to believe in the existence and oneness of God and he told them that they would resurrect after death and that a new life would start after the grave.  

Apart from those mentioned above, the Prophet had some other issues to settle. However, those were the most important ones. Unless they were settled and unless these two fundamental issues were accepted by the people in their minds, hearts and spirits, it was not possible to settle the other social issues. As a matter of fact, he started to settle the other issues one by one after that and became successful.  

As a result of the commands he received from God, the Prophet used all of his energy to establish the fundamental understanding that was missing in the structure of the community, that is, to call people to believe in God and to obey Him absolutely. It was impossible to make the truth settle in the hearts of the people unless the belief of polytheism was eliminated from the minds of the people. The cause of Islam would not be successful when the foundations were not sound.

Therefore, the Messenger of God addressed the noblest feelings of the humanity and their sense of ethics, teaching them that the only Creator and Owner of this universe was God (Allah). He showed them that there was no power to obey and to surrender except His will. When he conveyed this message to the people, he did not feel the need to make some concessions or to depend on some dominant powers. He presented the belief of “oneness” to humanity directly. He addressed them as follows: “Say ‘La ilaha illallah’ (There is no god but Allah) and be saved.”

Naturally, this call of the Messenger of God was not liked and approved by the strong, rich and influential people that dominated the community. They did not want to abandon the illegitimate pleasures of the world that were like honey that was seemingly sweet but spiritually poisonous. Obviously, they wanted to keep their way of life in order to protect their worldly interests. Therefore, they started to oppose the Prophet.

At first, they tried isolating the Prophet from the community, leaving him alone, ignoring what he was telling them and making fun of him. However, the circle of the believers that was around him and the great truth was expanding day by day. They panicked when they saw it. This time, they changed their method. They started counter propaganda. They dared to slander him. They called him a “magician, soothsayer and poet”. However, none of them was effective. They saw that the number of the believers was increasing despite their slanders and accusations.

This time, they started open aggressive acts. They prevented the Messenger of God and Muslims from performing prayers in the Kaaba; they threw dirty things on them; they threw thorns on the places where they will sit and on the ways that they used. They persecuted the weak, poor and lonely Muslims by oppressing and torturing them. Some of them died due to their tortures and became martyrs.

It was difficult to put up with this situation. Besides, the number of the Muslims was very few and they were weak. Therefore, they could not oppose the tortures and insults. Such a situation could have destroyed them.

Despite all of those difficulties and unfavorable conditions, the Messenger of God continued to convey the message of the religion of Islam without a break. He was also exposed to the tortures and insults of the polytheists like the other Muslims. However, he showed patience in accordance with the command he received from God and never gave up conveying the message of Islam.

God Almighty always advised Muslims who were exposed to all kinds of tortures, oppression and insults to be patient through the verses that He sent. For instance, one of the chapters that were sent down first is the chapter of al-Asr. In this chapter, “those who teach one another the truth and patience” are praised.

Sometimes, God Almighty ordered and advised the Prophet to be patient directly: “So patiently persevere: for verily the promise of God is true: nor let those shake thy firmness, who have (themselves) no certainty of faith.” (4)

In another verse, the Prophet is addressed as follows:

“Therefore do thou hold Patience― a Patience of beautiful (contentment).” (5)

Due to those commands, the Prophet did not retaliate against the unjust treatment he received in the period of Makkah and he ordered and advised believers not to act impulsively and without thinking against the tortures they were exposed to and not to react physically. An obvious example for this situation is the advice he gave to the family of Yasir.

One day, the family of Yasir was exposed to tortures altogether. When the Prophet saw them, he said to them, “Show patience, O family of Yasir! Your reward is Paradise.” (6)  Once, Habbab b. Arat (may God be pleased with him), who had great difficulty in putting up with the tortures he was exposed to, complained to the Prophet; the Prophet said to him, 

“Among the nations before you a believing man would be put in a ditch that was dug for him, and a saw would be put over his head and he would be cut into two pieces; yet that torture would not make him give up his religion. His body would be combed with iron combs that would remove his flesh from the bones and nerves, yet that would not make him abandon his religion. By God, this religion will prevail till a traveler from Sana (in Yemen) to Hadramaut will fear none but God, or a wolf as regards his sheep, but you (people) are hasty!” (7)

During the second pledge of Aqaba, when one of the Muslims of Madinah said, “O Messenger of God! If you wish, we will draw our swords tomorrow and attack the people in Mina.”, the Prophet said, “No! We were not ordered to act like that.”

As it is seen, the greatest weapon of Muslims in the period of Makkah was “patience” despite everything. As a matter of fact, the positive results of the patience appeared in a short time. A positive atmosphere in favor of Muslims formed. Thanks to this positive atmosphere, some people became Muslims. Hazrat Hamza became a Muslim like that.

One day, Hazrat Hamza heard that Abu Jahl and some polytheists insulted the Prophet. He got very furious and went directly to Abu Jahl, who was sitting with a group of people near the Kaaba. He hit Abu Jahl’s head with his bow and said, “Did you curse and insult him? I am in his religion, too. I say what he says. If you have the courage, do what you have done to him to me!” Then, he went over to the Prophet and embraced Islam. (8)

At a certain time, the polytheists increased their oppression and persecution so much that the Prophet had to look for a place in Makkah to worship easily and to spread Islam freely. He used the house of Arkam b. Abi’l-Arkam as a center and continued to spread his cause there. Many people became Muslims there.

When the notables of polytheists saw that the Prophet did not give up conveying the message of Islam despite all what they had done, they wanted to settle the issue through Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle. They said to him, “O Abu Talib! Either make your nephew give up his cause and speaking ill of our gods or do not stand between us and him!” When Abu Talib went to the Prophet to tell him about what the polytheists said, the Prophet said,

“O uncle! By God, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left in return for my giving up this cause, I would not give it up. Either God spreads it all over the world and my duty ends, or I will die in this way!” (9)

The polytheists understood that they would not be able to make the Prophet give up his cause through threats, oppression and persecution. They changed their methods again. They offered goods, property, wealth, rank and leadership to the Prophet. However, they saw that the Prophet did not heed any of them and continued to spread Islam in the same way.

We had stated that the Messenger of God and Muslims showed patience against the persecutions, insults, tortures and assassinations of the polytheists. However, there was a limit for the patience, too. The persecutions and tortures that were inflicted upon Muslims had reached the limit. Therefore, the Messenger of God advised them to migrate to Abyssinia. He said, “Go to Abyssinia. There is a just ruler there. Nobody is persecuted there. It is a land of justice and honesty. Stay there until God creates a way out of this situation!” (10)

Thereupon, the Muslims migrated to Abyssinia in two groups in order to practice and spread their religion. In this phase, as usual, the Prophet gave importance to quality rather than quantity, in other words, to obtain qualified and influential people. His prayer, “O God! Strengthen this religion with Umar Ibn Khattab or Amr b. Hisham [Abu Jahl]” is an obvious example for it.

Both Umar Ibn Khattab and Abu Jahl were among the notables of the community and both were among the most severe enemies of Islam and the most ardent opposers of the Prophet. If one of them embraced Islam, most of the barriers in front of Islam would be eliminated. As a matter of fact, a short time after the Prophet’ prayer, Hazrat Umar became a Muslim; thus, Islam became known and got strength. The polytheists had to loosen some of the persecutions and tortures against Muslims. Muslims did not feel obliged to hide and to perform prayers in fear and secretly.

After a while, the polytheists used the death of Abu Talib, the Prophet’s uncle, who protected him, as an opportunity. They increased their persecution. The Messenger of God was in a very difficult situation due to the activities against him. He rarely left his house. Thus, he went to Taif in order to find a more secure place to spread the religion of Islam. However, he could not find a suitable environment in Taif despite his efforts. The people of Taif did not accept his call; what is more, they stoned him, harming his body. However, the Prophet, who was sent as a mercy for all creatures, did not curse them; instead, he prayed as follows: “I want from my Lord to create descendants who will serve Islam from them.”

Another important activity of the Prophet in Makkah in the first years of Islam was to meet secretly the tribes that came to Makkah for hajj, to read the Quran to them and to inform them about the principles of Islam. The Qurayshi polytheists followed him when he was visiting the tribes and tried to prevent the tribes from listening to him by slanders and accusations.

However, their efforts did not turn out to be successful. The cause of the Prophet that expanded through conquering the hearts spread outside Makkah and started to shine in the horizon of Madinah. 

Thanks to Hijrah, a new era started for Muslims.

1. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 4, p. 214-219; Muslim, Sahih, V. 7, p. 156.

2. Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 4, p. 219.

3. ash-Shuara, 214.

4. ar-Rum, 60.

5. al-Maarij, 5.

6. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 1, p. 342.

7. Bukhari, Sahih, V. 2, p. 321.

8. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 1, p. 311-312; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 3, p. 9-12.

9. Ibn Hisham, ibid., V. 1, p. 244-245; Suhayli, Rawdu’l-Unf, V. 1, p. 170-171.

10. Ibn Hisham, ibid., V. 1, p. 344; Tabari, V. 2, p. 222.

Death of the Companions As’ad bin Zurara and Kulthum bin Hidm

Kulthum bin Hidm was an important person from the Ansar. He was very old. He passed away in Quba while the Masjid an-Nabawi was still under construction. (1)

Hazrat Gulsum bin Hidm had converted to Islam before the migration. He received the honor of hosting the Supreme Messenger during migration in his house. The Prophet stayed for about fourteen days in his house.

Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara was one of the six people who talked to the Messenger of God during the Aqaba Pledge. He was among the nine people chosen to represent the Ansar during the last Aqaba Pledge.

Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara passed away shortly after the death of Kulthum bin Hidm. The Honorable Messenger was by his side when he passed away. He washed and enshrouded him, and conducted his funeral prayer. Then he buried him in Baqi, the cemetery of Medina. The first person from the Ansar to have been buried in Baqi Cemetery was Hazrat As’ad bin Zurara. (2)

Birth of Abdullah bin Zubair

Another happy event for Muslim migrants in the first year of the migration was that Hazrat Zubair bin Awwam had a child named Abdullah. Hazrat Abdullah was the first child to be born into a Muslim migrant family in Medina. His mother, Hazrat Asma the daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakr, gave birth to him in Quba village.

The birth of Abdullah made Muslim migrants very happy. As a matter of fact, the Jews used to say to them: “We have cast a spell on you! You will never have a baby boy from now on!”

And the migrants felt deeply upset because of this.

As soon as they heard Abdullah had been born, they showed their happiness by crying out “La ilaha illallah!”, as what the Jews had said was refuted.

The Prophet himself named him “Abdullah.”

1. Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, al-Istiab, V. 3, p. 1328.

2. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 3, p. 612; Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, ibid, V. 3, p. 1328.

The Prophet devoted all his time entirely to explaining the Fundamentals of belief in Mecca era which lasted for thirteen years. A lot of people found their place in the blissful bosom of Islam, thanks to this service of belief. The number of believers increased and Muslims gained an evident power. However, despite this, it was forbidden to react to enemies of Islam in this era. Muslims had only one weapon: “patience”.

However, they were in a new environment after migration. The conditions had totally changed. Muslims could do anything that was necessitated by their faith freely.

As it was mentioned before, the most important thing the Messenger of God did as soon as he arrived in Medina was to appoint migrants and the Ansar as brothers to each other. By doing so, the Prophet established a strong alliance among Muslims. Islam’s foundation of brotherhood that knew no differences pertaining to race, language, class and geography was put into practice for the first time in history.

Yet, this was not the end, of course. Muslims were not the only group living in Medina. There were also Jews, pagan Arabs and some Christians too and therefore, the scene was not homogeneous. And if we take into consideration the never-ending conflicts and rivalries between Arabian tribes, we can easily understand what a great chaos this new environment was in!

Moreover, there was another side to the issue, which could not be overlooked. It was the fact that polytheists in Mecca could advance towards Medina any time. The cold war which was going on between them could turn into hot war any time.

So, the Prophet had such important issues to be solved in ahead of him.

It was necessary to have an agreement with non-Muslim peoples, and to establish a spirit and atmosphere of unity in this new environment. It was crucial to determine some certain juridical, military and political principles.

The first year of migration (the hijrah) was not over yet.

The Honorable Messenger gathered the representatives of all Medina peoples in Hazrat Anas bin Malik’s house, in order to agree on some social principles. Certain principles were agreed upon at the end of the meeting and put into practice right away. Important principles were written down and signed by the parties.

These principles were the first constitution of the Islamic State which was being formed at the helm of the Messenger of God. Indeed, it was not only the first constitution of the first Islamic State, but also the first written constitution in the whole world.

With this constitution agreed upon, people of Medina were distinguished from other people as a nation on their own.

The Constitution of the City-State

The first and second items of the first written constitution of Islamic State, which included fifty-two provisions, said:

“1. This book (inscription) is arranged by Muhammad the Messenger of God (pbuh) for the people of Quraish, believers and Muslims of Yathrib, people who are and who will be later under their sovereignty and those who join jihads with them.

2. Those people constitute a different nation from others.” (1)

According to this constitution, people of Medina, regardless of faith, did form a different “nationality” from others and a separate community on its own.

Hazrat Messenger of God also established friendship with tribes living around Medina, especially those living along Damascus trade road of Mecca right away and made contracts with them.

Moreover, Muslims had to be in contact with Jews and others who were city locals. For this reason, they were also given rights in this constitution of the state.

“Accordingly, they were also regarded as the citizens of the state together with Muslims: “Muhammad’s great sagacity and political attentiveness is seen in the rescript he provided for the Jews. It was written, apart from other issues, in this rescript that they were the citizens of the state just like Muslims, that the two tribes of Yathrib were regarded as one nation, that the crimes would be punished based on the judgments of their own religions, that both parties (Muslims and Jews) would be called to defend the new state and that the Messenger of God would decide on the issues to come out in the future, when necessary.” (2)

Moreover, the provision pertaining to war in this constitution is quite interesting. In case of any possible wars, Jews would join the defense of Medina on condition that they covered war expenses themselves.

According to the sixteenth provision of the constitution, it was decided that they would benefit from Muslims’ charity and legal aid on condition that they paid homage to Muslims. In addition, they would defend the city-state together (Muslims and Jews) in case of an external attack and they would help each other, no matter who was in need of help, whether Muslims or Jews.

We see Muslims’ alliance with Jews, who are one of “the People of the Book”, under the light of these provisions. Jews and Christians, who are the People of the Book, were given utmost freedom of belief and religious liberty. This way, the People of the Book were united against the idolaters, who did not have a divine belief, in common grounds; by mentioning Jews and Muslims together as “one group” in the first constitution.

The Prophet, in addition to allying and making contracts with non-Muslim people of the book, who were the locals of the city, in order to defend the newly-founded state against enemy, tried to establish an alliance based on belief. He wanted to unite them with the belief of “tawhid” (oneness), a mutual word among them, and found “the pact of believers” against idolaters. As a matter of fact, he tried to follow this policy for other countries whose people were the People of the Book, in addition to that, he did the same for the People of the Book in Medina. In the letters he sent to the Byzantine emperor Heraklius and other Christian princes, he addressed them with the following Quranic verse:

 “Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but God; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than God." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to God's Will).” (3)

The People of the Book, who were provided with protection and assistance due to the constitution prepared by the Honorable Messenger himself, violated the conditions of the contract themselves unfortunately, and therefore caused the conditions which were favorable for them to be abolished. They rebelled during a very critical period when Medina was subject to attack by idolaters and began to make games against a state which was newly founded and had not yet fallen into place although it was written in the constitution that “those who lived in the city-state would not work against each other” and “would not ally with enemies of each other.” Of course, this directly caused them to be deprived of Muslims’ protection.

Apparently, this constitution included provisions pertaining to many concerns of the new state and drew reasonable lines for every issue: “A new stage of Islamic life had begun with this constitution. Including material and corporeal together with spirituality and inwardness gained it a unique style. A policy that does not include spirituality and ethics leads us to materialism and a degree lower than lives of wild animals. And a spirituality apart from affairs of the world we are living in can take us up to a degree higher than the degree of angels. However, this is only possible for a quite limited group of people. The majority of people will be excluded from the circle of those who put this ideology into practice. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) thought especially of the average man and taught him how to balance both sides of human life and how to make a composition including both material and non-material aspects together at the same time. This religious doctrine selects some fundamental points that are necessary in the least for everyone yet leaves the choice of whether to devote oneself more to non-material life to individuals. In this sense, Hazrat Prophet’s companions became the management group of an autonomous country, while the Prophet was its leader in all fields.” (4)

1. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 147. For other items,see: Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 147-150.

2. Prof. Harun Han Şirvanî, İslam’da Siyasî Düşünce ve İdare, TerV.; p. 18.

3. Aal-i Imran, 64.

4. Prof. Muhammed Hamidullah, İslam Peygamberi, V. 1, p. 148.

After performing the Friday prayer in Ranuna, the Prophet got on his camel and put the halter around the head of the camel. Hazrat Abu Bakr was behind him and the people of Banu Najjar and the Muslims of Madinah were around him. Some of them proceeded on foot; some on animals; their shouts of joy and takbirs resounded everywhere.

The Messenger of God proceeded toward the center of Madinah slowly. The city was full of joy. This holy city, which will have the honor of being the center of Islam, was virtually dancing with joy. It was experiencing the happiness of embracing the Messenger of God and being the place of abode for him.

The women and children were livening up the scene with the poems they were reciting. They continuously recited the following lines:

O the White Moon rose over us from the Valley of Wada'

And we owe it to show gratefulness where the call is to God

O you who were raised amongst us

coming with a work to be obeyed !  (1)

The people of Madinah were in the streets in order to see the Prophet’s blessed face, which was sending out bright lights. The children who were wearing their best clothes were playing happily.

The women on the roofs and the men in the streets were calling out to him, “Welcome!” “Muhammad has come! O Muhammad, O Messenger of God! O Muhammad, O Messenger of God!” (2)

Accompanied by this hearty and emotional cheering, the Prophet continued to proceed on his camel, Qaswa, with an exceptional style that combined modesty and sedateness.

The People of Madinah Invite Him

While the Messenger of God was proceeding, the owner of the every house that he rode past wanted to have the honor of entertaining him and held the halter of his camel, saying, “O Messenger of God! Please come to our house!”

The Prophet answered them by smiling and saying, “Let the camel; She was instructed where to stop.” The blessed animal proceeded by looking to the right and left.

Qaswa Crouches!

With its halter around its neck, Qaswa proceeded toward the houses of Banu Malik b. Najjar and crouched on her knees on an empty plot of land.

The Prophet did not dismount at once. After a while, the camel got up, walked a few meters and returned to the same place where it had crouched. This time, it did not stand up. She put her neck and chest on the ground and started to bray lightly and move to the right and left.  

Everybody was looking at Qaswa. Was the Messenger of God going to be a guest in the place where she crouched or somewhere else? Nobody had any idea about it.  

Meanwhile, little innocent girls of Banu Najjar were playing tambourines, welcoming him:

“We are the daughters of Banu Najjar.

The relation and neighborhood of Muhammad is so nice!” (3)

The Messenger of God answered the sincere feelings and joys of the innocent children with smiles and asked them, “Do you love me?”

They all said, “Yes, we love you, O Messenger of God!”

The Master of the Universe said, “God knows that I love you, too! By God, I love you, too! By God, I love you, too! By God, I love you, too!”

Each one of the Muslims of Madinah wanted heartily the Messenger of God to honor their house. When Qaswa crouched, Jabbar b. Sahr kicked her in order to make her stand up. When Hazrat Abu Ayyub al-Ansari noticed it, he got very angry and said to him, “O Jabbar! You kicked her to make her stand up in front of my house. I swear by God, who sent Muhammad with the true religion, that I would hit you with my sword if Islam did not prohibit it!”

The Prophet honors the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari!

When Qaswa crouched for the second time and did not get up, the Prophet said, “With the permission of God, this is the place where I will stay.” and dismounted his camel.

Thus, the migration of Muhammad (pbuh), which was one of the brightest events of the history of Islam and the world, ended with the dismounting of the Prophet.

The Muslims were waiting in curiosity and excitement. Whose house was the Messenger of God going to honor? Everybody was joyful and happy. They wanted to increase the joy and happiness by entertaining the Prophet in their houses.

The Prophet asked the people around him. “The house of which relative of us is nearest?”

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari from Banu Najjar said with joy and excitement, “O Messenger of God! My house is the nearest! That is my house. That is the gate.”, showing his house. Then, he said, “Will you let me carry the things on the camel there?” He removed the things on the camel and carried them to his house.

Thereupon, the Prophet said, “A person stays where his animal and things are.” Then, he said to Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, “Go and prepare a place to entertain us!” (4)

Meanwhile Asad b. Zurara, one of the notables of the Muslims of Madinah, took Qaswa to his house to bring good luck.

Hazrat Abu Ayyub al-Ansari went to his house and prepared it. Then he returned and said, “O Messenger of God! I prepared places for both of you. Please proceed to your place with the blessings of God.” (5)

Among cheers, the Messenger of God stood up and went to the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. Thus, this beloved Companion had the honor of entertaining the master of the Universe. 

With the arrival of the Messenger of God in Madinah, the Muhajirs (Migrants), who were sad because they were away from their homeland, became very happy and joyful. Madinah was full of joy and excitement, like a place of festival.

Bara b. Azib, a Companion, describes the joy and excitement on that exceptional day as follows: 

“I have never seen the people of Madinah rejoice so much as they rejoiced when the Messenger of God (pbuh) came to Madinah. I saw the women and children shout enthusiastically, ‘The Messenger of God has come. Muhammad (pbuh) has come!’” (6)

Anas b. Malik from Ansar, who was a child then, attracts attention to the magnificence and brightness of that day: 

“I have never seen a finer, brighter and more magnificent day than the day when the Messenger of God (pbuh) arrived in Madinah!” (7)

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Narrates...

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the host of the Messenger of God narrates:

“When the Messenger of God honored our house, he stayed on the ground floor. My wife Umm Ayyub and I were on the first floor.

I said, ‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of God! I do not want to be upstairs when you are downstairs. I cannot feel well. Please, move upstairs, and we will stay downstairs.’

The Messenger of God said, ‘O Abu Ayyub! It is better and more appropriate for us to live downstairs.’ and continued to stay downstairs. We were over them in the house. Meanwhile, our pitcher, which was full of water, broke. We feared that the water drops would fall on the Prophet and disturb him. Therefore, we tried to stop the water by putting our velvet quilt on the water at once.” (8)

The Messenger of God found it more appropriate to stay downstairs because many people would visit him and he would be able to meet and talk to them more easily downstairs.

However, Abu Ayyub, the great believer, and his wife, felt disturbed and restless. They thought, ‘How come? The Messenger of God is downstairs and we are upstairs.’

One night Hazrat Abu Ayyub woke up and could not sleep again due to that feeling. He moved some of the things of the house to another part of the house and sat up all night.

In the morning, Hazrat Abu Ayyub told the Prophet what had happened. However, the Prophet said, ‘Downstairs is better for me.’

However, the great Companion could not put with it any more and said, ‘O Messenger of God! It is impossible for me to stay upstairs while you are downstairs!’

Thereupon, the Messenger of God moved upstairs and Abu Ayyub and his wife Umm Ayyub moved downstairs. (9)

The Messenger of God stayed in the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari for seven months. During this period, the Muslims of Madinah (Ansar) virtually competed with one another to offer food to the Prophet and to meet his needs.

The Messenger of God does not like the Smell of Onion and Garlic

The Muslims of Madinah brought food regularly every day to the Messenger of God, who settled in the house of Hazrat Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.

Hazrat Abu Ayyub and his family always prepared dinner for him and ate what the Prophet left.  

One evening, they sent him a dish containing onion or garlic.

The Messenger of God returned the dish!

When Abu Ayyub (may God be pleased with him) did not see any change in the dish, he went to the Messenger of God hurriedly and said, “O Messenger of God! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! You returned the dish without eating anything last night!”

The Messenger of God said, “I felt a smell in that dish and I did not eat it. I do not want to disturb my friend, Jibril. Angels are disturbed by the things that humans are disturbed.”

Thereupon, Abu Ayyub said, “O Messenger of God! Is that food haram?”

The Messenger of God said, “No. However, I did not like it due to its smell” (10)

Abu Ayyub said, “Then, I do not like what you do not like, either!” (11)

A Miraculous Feast

One day, when the Messenger of God was staying in the house of Hazrat Abu Ayyub, Hazrat Abu Ayyub brought food that was enough for two people to the Messenger of God and Hazrat Abu Bakr.

The Prophet said to him, “Go and invite thirty people from the notables of Ansar!”

Hazrat Abu Ayyub fulfilled his order. Thirty people came and ate from that food.

Then, he said, “Invite sixty more people!”

Hazrat Abu Ayyub invited sixty more people. They came and ate, too.

Then, the Messenger of God said, “Invite seventy more people!”

Hazrat Abu Ayyub fulfilled his order, too. Seventy people came and ate.

Hazrat Abu Ayyub said,

“There was still some food in the pot. Those who came to eat became Muslims when they saw that miracle. One hundred and eighty people ate the food that I had prepared for two people!” (12)

It was a miraculous feast of the Messenger of God. Those miracles concerning the blessings of abundance illustrate that “Muhammad (pbuh) is such an honored servant, and such a beloved envoy, of the Merciful and Munificent One Who provides his sustenance and creates the sustenance of all beings, that He changes His own custom for his sake and sends for him in case of need such banquets from the Unseen as He created from nothingness.” (13)

HIJRI CALENDAR

When the Messenger of God migrated to Madinah, the Muslims did not have a calendar peculiar to them. Therefore, they accepted the migration of the Prophet as the beginning of the calendar and started to use phrases like, “one month after the migration of the Messenger of God, two months after the migration of the Messenger of God...”

It was used like that until the Messenger of God died. However, after that, it stopped. The caliphate of Hazrat Abu Bakr and the first four years of the caliphate of Hazrat Umar passed like that. There was a need for a calendar for the formal transactions and civil relations.

Thereupon, Hazrat Umar had a meeting with the Companions regarding the issue.

Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas suggested the death of the Prophet, Talha b. Ubaydullah suggested the beginning of the prophethood, Hazrat Ali suggested the migration of the Prophet to Madinah and some others suggested the birthday of the Prophet being accepted as the beginning of the Muslim calendar. 

As a result of the negotiations of this committee that convened in the seventeenth or sixteenth year of Hijrah, the offer of Hazrat Ali was accepted. However, there was not an agreement on the first month of the calendar. Abdurrah¬man b. Awf suggested the month of “Rajab” because it was the first one of the forbidden months; Talha b. Ubay¬dullah suggested the month of Ramadan because it was the blessed month of Muslims; Hazrat Ali (may God be pleased with him) suggested the month of Muharram because it was the beginning of the year. 

Thus, Muslims designed a calendar peculiar to them based on the lunar months and starting from the year when the Prophet migrated to Madinah. (14)

1. Halabi, Insanu’l-Uyun, V. 2, p. 58.

2. Muslim, Sahih, V. 8, p. 236; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 248.

3. Ibn Majah, Sunan, V. 2, p. 612.

4. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 235; Bukhari, Sahih, V. 2, p. 335.

5. Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 1, p. 236; Bukhari, ibid., V. 2, p. 335.

6. Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 1, p. 234; Bukhari, ibid., V. 2, p. 337.

7.Ibn Sa’d, ibid., V. 1, p. 234.

8. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 143-144.

9. Muslim, Sahih, V. 6, p. 127.

10. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 144.

11. Muslim, Sahih, V. 6, p. 126-127.

12. Qadi Iyad, ash-Shifa, V. 1, p. 563; Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Mektubat, p. 117.

13. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, ibid., p. 123.

14. az-Zabidi, Tajrid-i Sarih, Trns., V. 10, p. 120-121.

Ghazwa : (Military expeditions in which the prophet took part)

Sariyya : (Military expeditions in which the prophet did not take part)

Ghazwah of Buwat

(Month of Rabiulawwal, 2nd Year of Hijrah)

The Prophet left Madinah with two hundred Muhajirs. His aim was to walk against and intimidate the big caravan of Quraysh consisting of 2500 camels controlled by one hundred guards, among whom was Umayya b. Khalaf, the ferocious polytheist.

The Prophet proceeded up to the Buwat Mount but did not see anyone; so he returned to Madinah. (1)

Ghazwah of Safawan

(Month of Rabiulawwal, 2nd Year of Hijrah)

Kurz bin Jabir al-Fihri, one of the Makkan polytheists, attacked the meadows of Madinah with his friends and stole many animals belonging to the people of Madinah and Muslims.

Upon this attack, the Prophet appointed Zayd b. Haritha as his deputy in Madinah and set out to follow the plunderer. He proceeded to the Safawan valley of Badr region. However, Kurz was informed that he was being followed; so, he fled through a far away road.

Thereupon the Prophet returned to Madinah.

This ghazwa is also called “Badr al-Ula”; that is, “the first Ghazwa of Badr”. (2)

Ghazwah of Ushayra

(Month of Jumada al-awwal, 2nd Year of Hijrah)

Three months after the Ghazwah of Safawan, the Messenger of God left Madinah with a military unit consisting of 150-200 muhajirs. They had thirty camels with them. The soldiers rode the camels in turns. 

The aim was to follow the caravan of trade sent by Quraysh to Damascus.

However, when they reached the plain of Ushayra, belonging to Banu Mudlij and which was nine halting places away from Madinah, they found out that the caravan of Quraysh had passed two or three days earlier.

The Prophet who gave great importance to securing the surroundings of Madinah signed a treaty of friendship with Banu Mudlij, who were the allies of Banu Damra, with whom the Prophet had agreed a similar agreement before, there. Then, he returned to Madinah. (3)

Sariyya Led by Abdullah b. Jahsh

(Month of Rajab, 2nd Year of Hijrah)

The Prophet called Abdullah b. Jahsh to his presence and ordered him to go to the Valley of Nahla with a team of eight Muslims. He addressed that team as follows: “I will appoint someone as your leader; he is not the best of you but he can put with hunger and thirst the most.” (4)

The Messenger of God gave a letter to Abdullah b. Jahsh, whom he appointed as their leader. He told him to open the letter after proceeding for two days and to act accordingly. 

After a journey of two days, Abdullah b. Jahsh opened the letter and read it as he was commanded. He saw that the following was written in the letter:

“When you read the letter, go down to the Valley of Nahla, which is between Makka and Taif. Watch the Qurayshis there and inform me about them.” (5)

Then, the aim of the sariyya was to watch the Qurayshis and find out about their preparations.

Abdullah b. Jahsh, the heroic Companion, said, “Sa¬mi’na wa ata’na [We have listened to it and obeyed it]”. Then, he turned toward his soldiers and said, “If you want to be a martyr and desire martyrdom, come with me; if you do not want to be a martyr, return. I will fulfill the order of the Messenger of God.” (6)

The self-sacrificing warriors stated without hesitation that they were ready for the orders of their leader.

The warriors reached the Valley of Nahla by riding the camels in turns. They stopped there for the night.

Meanwhile, they saw a Quraysh caravan that was carrying raisins and some other kinds of food. They stopped over at a place near them.

The warriors discussed about what to do. They could not decide whether to attack or not at first. They were hesitant whether the month of Rajab, in which it is haram to shed blood, had started or not. Then, they decided that it was one day before the month of Rajab; thereupon, they agreed unanimously to capture the caravan. Meanwhile, Waqid bin Abdullah killed Amr bin Khadrami, the leader of the caravan, with an arrow. The Muslim warriors attacked the others. They took two people captives and captured the caravan.

Those who were not killed or captured ran away toward Makkah to inform the Qurayshis about the incident. The Muslim warriors returned to Madinah with two captives and the caravan.

When Abdullah b. Jahsh, the leader of the Sariyya, informed the Messenger of God what had happened, the Prophet got angry and said, “I did not order you to fight in a haram month!”; he did not take anything from the booty. 

The warriors who were on the expedition were astonished by the act of the Prophet. When the other Companions did not approve of what they had done, they were in great distress and trouble.

They explained the situation to the Messenger of God. They said, “O Messenger of God! We killed him on the last day and night of the month of Jumada al-akhir! We sheathed our swords when the month of Rajab started!”

However, the Messenger of God did not take the booty allocated to him because there was a doubt about the situation.

As a matter of fact, the Makkan polytheists kept harping about the incident. They said, “Muhammad and his Companions rendered what was haram as halal and shed blood in a haram month, captured bounties and took our men captives.”

Those rumors were heard in Madinah, too.

Besides, the Jews in Madinah started to talk about it, too.

The warriors that were on the expedition were very sorry; on the other hand, Makkan polytheists and Jews in Madinah were talking against them. The Prophet did not accept the booty allocated for him.

After a while, a verse was sent down regarding the issue and the issue was settled down. The following is stated in the verse: 

“They ask thee concerning fighting in the Prohibited Month. Say: "Fighting therein is a grave (offence); but graver is it in the sight of God to prevent access to the path of God, to deny Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members. Tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they turn you back from your faith if they can.” (7)

The warriors who joined the sariyya were relieved of the troubles and spiritual agonies. The Prophet accepted his share of the beauty. The polytheists paid ransom for the captives. One of the captives, Uthman b. Abdullah went to Makkah but the other one, Ha¬kam b. Kaysan became a Muslim and stayed in Madinah. (8)

How did Hakam b. Kaysan become a Muslim?

We would like to state how Hakam b. Kaysan, one of the captives, became a Muslim to draw lessons here.

When he was taken captive by the warriors, Abdullah b. Jahsh, the commander, wanted to kill him; however, the other Companions prevented it by saying, “No. Let us take him to the Messenger of God.” Thus, Hakam was saved from being killed. 

When they returned to Madinah, they took him to the Prophet. The Messenger of God asked Hakam to become a Muslim. However, he did not accept it and started to say bad things.

Having got furious due to Hakam’s talk, Hazrat Umar said, “He will not become a Muslim, O Messenger of God! Let me kill him!”

The Messenger of God did not let him do it and asked Hakam to become a Muslim again. Hakam asked, “What is Islam?”

The Messenger of God said, “Islam is belief in the existence of one God, who has no partners and worshipping Him, and witnessing that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.” Thereupon, Hakam said, “I have become a Muslim.” and uttered kalima ash-shahadah.

The Messenger of God turned toward the Companions and said, “If we had killed him as you wanted, he would have gone to Hell!” (9), teaching us all a lesson.

The desire, patience and steadfastness about calling people to Islam saved a person from Hell and elevated him to the honorable rank of Companionship.

1. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 2, p. 8-9.

2. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 251; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 9.

3. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 248-249; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 9-10.

4. Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, al-Istiab, V. 3, p. 878.

5.  Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 252; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 2, p. 10.

6. Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 252; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 10.

7.  al-Baqara, 217.

8.  Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 255; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 2, p. 11.

9. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 4, p. 137-138.

The Prophet had to leave his wife Hazrat Sawda, his daughters Ummu Kulthum, Fatima and Zainab, and his fiancée Hazrat Aisha behind in Mecca when he migrated to Medina.

After Masjid an-Nabawi was completed and the House of Bliss was built next to it, he sent Zaid bin Haritha and Abu Rafi to Mecca to bring them to Medina.

These two companions went to Mecca and took the people mentioned to Medina. Yet they could not take Hazrat Zainab because her husband, who was not a Muslim then, did not allow her to go. Nevertheless, she migrated to Mecca after a while, too. And her husband converted to Islam later.

.When they arrived in Medina, people from the Prophet’s household settled in their own rooms and Hazrat Aisha moved into her father’s house. (1)

Hazrat Aisha’s Wedding

The Honorable Messenger and Hazrat Aisha got married in Mecca but the wedding ceremony was postponed.

They had their wedding ceremony in the month of Shawwal (2) in the first year of Hijrah after coming to Medina. (3) At that time, the Prophet was fifty-five years old.

Hazrat Aisha was different from the Honorable Messenger’s other wives to him.

One day, Amr bin As asked: “O Messenger of God! Who is the dearest one to you among people?” The Honorable Messenger answered: “Aisha!”

He asked again: “How about men, O Messenger of God?” He answered: Aisha’s father!” (4)

Hazrat Aisha had a strong sagacity and subtle wit. She memorized many hadiths of the Prophet in a short time and learnt a lot of Islamic judgments. Therefore, she rose to a privileged place among the companions. The number of the hadiths narrated by her is 2210. A lot of Companions learnt the Prophet’s practice on various issues and Islamic judgments from her.

Hazrat Aisha’s command in religious knowledge was made clear when the Honorable Messenger said: “Learn the half of your religion from this fair woman (Hazrat Aisha).”

The following confession of Abu Musa al-Ash’ari points to the same issue:

“We, the Companions of the Messenger of God, would ask Aisha when we had difficulties with understanding a hadith because we saw that she had the knowledge of hadiths.” (5)

Hazrat Aisha’s deep knowledge of Islamic judgment contributed a lot to Islamic Law. She has been the source of many issues regarding women.

Today’s Muslim women should aim at trying to resemble Hazrat Aisha in all aspects!

1. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 8, p. 62.

2. Wedding between two eids was thought to be ill-omened in the era of Ignorance. The Honorable Messenger abolished this groundless practice by having his wedding in the month of Shawwal. Seeing this, many others got married at the same time.

Also, the Prophet’s hadith “One may not marry between two eids” is misunderstood by people. This means: If the eid is on Friday, it is not appropriate to get wed between Eid Prayer and Friday prayer; because eid is a very hectic time. It will not be appropriate to rush wedding between Eid prayer and Friday prayer in all the fuss. However, if anyone does it, it is not haram.

3. Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 8. p. 58.

4. Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 8, p. 67.

5. Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 8, p. 67.

Despite everything, the idolaters of Mecca did bothered and harassed the Prophet and Muslims. They were pursuing their activities relentlessly, cooperating secretly with Jews and hypocrites of Medina in order to cease the light of Islam and to murder the Great Prophet.

The Honorable Messenger, who organized people of Medina, began taking actions against them. Of course, it was impossible not to take actions while enemies were resorting to all kinds of tricks and intrigues.

First of all, the Prophet wanted to apply economical warfare method. Therefore, he chose to keep the trade route leading from Quraish to Syria under control.

Another precaution they considered was making peace treaty with tribes living nearby. This would prevent them from being a part of insidious aims of Mecca idolaters and leave Quraish without assistance.

He started to send sariyyas around in the first year of the Hijrah, for this purpose. (1) These sariyyas were not sent for attacking anywhere or shedding blood. As a matter of fact, the first sariyyas (except for one) did not shed even a single drop of blood and did not plunder any tribes; as it will be seen later.

Main characteristic of these sariyyas which were sent was to keep the Quraish under financial pressure; which was a sort of warning for them. It meant to say “If you continue pursuing this violence policy, we know what to do. We have the trade route which is your vital point. Behave!”

Another important task these sariyyas carried on was to control the neighborhood around Medina to investigate and inform if there was any sort of danger and what sort of preparations the enemy was making.

The First Sariyya

Seven months after the migration to Medina, in the month of Ramadan, the Honorable Messenger sent his uncle Hazrat Hamza as the leader of cavalries consisting of thirty people in order to watch a trade caravan which was on its way from Damascus to Mecca, escorted by a trop three hundred idolaters of Quraish. (2)

There was not a single Muslim from the Ansar among the cavalries because they promised the Prophet to protect them only within Medina. For this reason, the Honorable Messenger had not sent anyone from the Ansar to military expeditions until the Battle of Badr. (3)

Hazrat Hamza, having set out from Medina, came across the Quraish caravan, which included Abu Jahl, in Sayf al-Bahra, a sub-district of Iys. While two rivalries were preparing to fight, the leader of Juhanis, who was an ally and friend of the both parties, prevented the fight by stepping in.

The Quraish kept on going towards Mecca with their caravan, while Hazrat Hamza returned to Medina with Muslims who were with him. (4)

The Prophet was pleased to hear that no fighting happened.

The Sariyya of Ubaydah bin Harith

After Hazrat Hamza returned to Medina, the Prophet sent Ubaydah bin Harith to the valley of Nabigh in the month of Shawwal. There were sixty cavalrymen from migrants with him. (5)

Arriving in the valley of Nabigh, Hazrat Ubaydah came across two hundred people from the Quraish idolaters. They shot arrows at each other. The first arrow on the Muslims side was shot by Hazrat Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas. This was the first arrow shot for the sake of God. (6) Both parties went away from each other, without making any other fight. (7)

In the meantime, Miqdad bin Amr and Utbah bin Ghazwan, who had converted to Islam but could not find any chance to join the Muslims, took advantage of this situation and left the idolaters and joined Mujahids. (8)

THE EXPEDITION OF ABWA

It was the last month of the first year of the Hijrah…

The Honorable Messenger assigned Sa’d bin Ubadah as his deputy and set out from Medina, with a troop of sixty migrants, for the first time. (9)

The reason why the Prophet went into this battle (10) was to encounter the idolaters of Quraish who attacked people nearby and intimidate them, and to make a treaty with Damra bin Sons of Bakr at the same time. (11)

The Honorable Messenger’s white flag was being carried by Hazrat Hamza.

The Prophet did not encounter the idolaters at this battle; however, he made a treaty with the sons of Bakr, which was the second reason why he set out.

According to the written treaty made with the chief of Damra Tribe:

a) Neither they, nor the Prophet would engage in a combat with the other side.

b) None of the parties would help the other party’s enemy, not even secretly.

c) They would have the Messenger of God’s assistance as long as they would not work against Islam, and they would respond positively when the Messenger of God called them for assistance against his enemy. (12)

The Prophet returned to Medina fifteen nights later. (13)

These peace treaties made with neighboring tribes had many advantages. Especially, the peace treaty made with tribes living on the Damascus trade route of Mecca was an implementation of the plan to demolish the Quraish financially.

As it can be seen, the Prophet made some treaties with other tribes which did not dispute with the Muslims against the enemy, provisionally though.

1. "Sariyya" is the military unit which the Prophet himself did not take part in but which was sent under the command of any of his Companions. A sariyya consists of at least five and at most 300-400 people.

2. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 245; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 2, p. 6.

3. Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 6.

4. Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 6

5. Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, s 241; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 7.

6. Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 241; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 7.

7. Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 241-242; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 7.

8. Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, 242.

9. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 2, p. 8.

10. A military expedition in which the Prophet himself took part is called a ghazwa.

11. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 241; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 8.

12. Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 1, p. 274-275, V. 2, p. 8.

13. Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 2, p. 8.

After the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had been a target to the unscrupulous and ignoble treatments in Taef, he then got back to Mecca, where he received far worse reaction and opposition from polytheists. Nevertheless, he never in the slightest hesitated to convey his message. On the contrary, after he returned from Taef, he made the field of calling-to-Islam even broader and began to invite peoples into Islam.

Certainly, the rapid spreading of a cause is directly proportional to its firm adherents of merit and with good standing. Knowing the importance of this fact, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) often went to the Arabian tribes in order to both call them to Islam and use them as a force to the Quraishian polytheists.

Each one of the tribe chiefs refrained from entering Islam by using different pretexts. There were some people among them who showed their desire to become Muslims; they were prevented from joining the ranks of Islam.

Moreover, some of them even insulted the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), let alone become Muslims.

Polytheists went to the places where the Messenger of God wandered and follwed him like a shadow. Doubtlessly, the fact that the polytheists were spreading a nasty propaganda based on lies and slanders played an important role in the tribesmen’ not choosing Islam.

The Messenger of God never gave up visiting the fairs of Ukaz, Majanna and Dhul-Majaz; he met and talked to the tribes that came there, recited the Quran to them and invited them to Islam. However, while he wandered among people with this sacred aim, Abu Lahab always followed him and said, “Muhammad converted from the religion of his ancestors; he is telling lies; do not believe him!”, trying to prevent people from talking to him. 

The Noble Prophet (pbuh) did not preach Islam among the tribesmen in general, but he often talked to their chiefs about Islam. For tribesmen had a huge reverence and loyalty to their chiefs. A chief’s choosing Islam would have meant his whole tribe’s choosing Islam. Because of this reason, the Noble Messenger (pbuh) followed the way, which would lead him to the achievement as soon as possible.

We see that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in conveying a message carried out a significant principle: to start with the respected ones if possible. If the respected ones of any community accepted and adopted a belief, that would lead an easy way for the ordinary man to accept and adopt it as well.

FIRST MUSLIMS OF MADINAH

It was the eleventh year of the Islamic calendar and the season for Hajj.

Many pilgrims came to Mecca from various parts of the peninsula and among them were individuals from Medina.

While our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was circulating among the tribes and inviting them to testify to Islam, as he always did, he came across a group of six individuals from Medina who also came near the area of Aqaba. He asked them, “Who are you?”

They answered, “We are from the tribe of Khazraj.”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) again asked, “Are you the neighbors and allies of the Jews?”

They replied, “Yes.”

Upon this our Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “Could you sit down so we can talk?”

They agreed and sat down.

Our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) invited them to testify to the Oneness and Existence of God. He recited a section from Surah Ibrahim and invited them to convert to Islam. (1)

They had heard from their elders that a Prophet would come from the progeny of Ghalib ibn Fihr (our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) ninth great-grandfather.)

Furthermore, a disagreement dating back to two brothers existed between the Jews of Madina and the Tribes of Khazraj and Aws. They would sometimes make peace and would quarrel at other times.

The Jews were from the People of the Book and possessed knowledge whereas the Aws and Khazraj were idol worshippers.

Whenever they had a falling out with the Jews, the Jews would say, “The awaited Prophet is about to come. We will testify to him when he arrives and will kill you off like the tribes of Irem and Ad.”

When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) invited them to Islam, they looked at one another and said, “By God, this must be the Prophet the Jews have spoken of. Beware the Jews surpassing us in believing in him.” They quickly testified and recited the oath of faith in the presence of our Holy Prophet (PBUH.) (2)

Afterwards they addressed our Beloved Messenger (PBUH):

“Members of our tribe foster animosity toward one another and towards another tribe. It is hoped that God will unite them through your assistance. We are immediately going to go back and invite them to testify to your message. If God brings and unites them together upon this religion, then there cannot be anyone more glorious and honorable than you.” (3)

The individuals who accepted and were honored through our Holy Prophet (PBUH) invitation were:

Abu Umama As’ad bin Zurara,

Awf bin Harith,

Rafi’ bin Malik,

Qutba bin Amir,

Uqba bin Amir,

Jabir bin Abdullah bin Riab. (4)

These six individuals were esteemed and beloved among their tribe. When they returned to Medina, they described our Holy Prophet (PBUH) to their relatives and invited them to Islam, Islam resonated within the city. The voice of God and His Messenger (PBUH) encircled the city’s horizon. It was as if there was no home left remaining in Madina that did not mention our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) name.

Thus, those six people had the honor of taking gleams from the light of Islam to people. The eternal light, whose gleams reached Madinah, would glare suddenly and make the city the center of the Islamic state.

[1] Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 70; Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 217; Tabari, Tarikh, V. 2, p. 234.

[2] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 70; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 1, p. 217; Tabari, ibid, V. 2, p. 234.

[3] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 71; Tabari, ibid, V. 2, p. 234.

[4] Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 71; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, V. 1, p. 218-219; Tabari, ibid, V. 2, p. 234-235.

Medina had become “the center of Islam” after the migration of the Honorable Messenger. Therefore, it would be useful to give concise information about Medina of that time and its people.

Medina was regarded as one of the important cities of Arabian Peninsula in those times, as it still is in our day. It has a valley with a quite wide area. The valley is all surrounded by mountains. Its climate is favorable, and its soil is fertile. It has got beautiful weather, cool and abundant water. It receives more rain than Mecca.

The city was called “Yathrib” until the migration of the Messenger of God. It is said to have taken this name after the Amaliqan called Yathrib, who was the first settler of the place. (1) However, the Prophet disliked this name because it meant “sinister” and changed it to Medina. Although it was called “Medinatu’n-Nabi” for a while, it began to be called by the name Medina alone later. Historians record that Medina has got ninety-four names, mentioning them all one by one. (2)

Apart from Muslims, there were Jewish people and Christians residing in Medina, too. In this sense, the city was highly populated. It is assumed that the city population in that time was about ten thousand.

Muslims in this city were from Aws and Khazraj tribes. As it is in the nature of Arabs, disputes, fights and collisions followed one another between these two tribes, which generated from two brothers named Aws and Khazraj. The last one of these civil fights, Battle of Buath, had continued for a hundred-and-twenty years until it ended five years ago before the migration of the Prophet. In this bloody battle, the most honorable warriors of both sides were either killed or left disabled. The immigration of the Messenger of God took place at that time when the Ansar (people of Medina) were in this pitiful situation.

With the immigration of the Prophet, the enmity between these two tribes developed into brotherhood and love. Resentment and discontent came to an end entirely. Undoubtedly, heroic legends told by poets and memorized by women and children from both sides, which tell about how this enmity of a century turned into brotherhood is a gift blessed upon our dear Prophet from God, the Glorious. (3)

Hazrat Aisha says:

“The day of Buath is a day which God prepared for His own Messenger, and as a result of this battle, the Messenger of God (pbuh) migrated to Medina. Before the migration, the unity of Aws and Khazraj, which had fought each other, had been disrupted; their elite people had been killed and wounded. Because of this miserable situation, God prepared this day for the Prophet (pbuh) so that Ansar, who had fought each other, would convert to Islam.” (4)

Jews living there were members of three tribes: Bani Qaynuqa, Bani Quraiza and Bani Nadr…

Christians held the smallest portion of the population. They could not tolerate the rapid spread of Islam throughout Medina and left Medina after a short time. These Christians, who fought against Muslims in the war of Uhud, took refuge in Byzantine later.

As for the political life of Medina, it was at a primitive level at those times. Tribal lifestyle still prevailed. Just like that of the polytheist Arabs, each tribe of Jews were regarded a community on its own. They did not obey any other authority than their own chiefs.

A lifestyle which was not familiar with the notion and practice of equality was adopted at that time. For instance, the blood money paid to weak tribes was half the blood money paid to strong and powerful tribes. Community life was deprived of laws. Arbiters were appointed when necessary and judgments were made based on those arbiters’ personal decisions and views.

The number of literate people was quite few.

So, our reverend Prophet migrated to such a city which we have told roughly about in geographic, political and social terms. He had important missions ahead and a lot of difficult situations to be solved awaited him.

Conversion of Abdullah B. Salam to Islam

Abdullah Ibn Salam, who was from the progeny of Prophet Joseph, was one of the prominent scholars of Medina Jews.

He had learnt a lot of things from his father Salam, who was a great scholar, including the Torah and its interpretation. Moreover, his father told him about the prophet to come in the last days of the world, his attributions, signs and what he would do. He also said to his son “If he (the last prophet) comes from progeny of Aaron, I will pay homage to him. Otherwise, I will not.” Salam had died before the Prophet came to Medina.

Abdullah Ibn Salam was also one of those who heard the voice of the Jew who gave Muslims the happy news of the reverend and supreme Messenger’s arrival to Medina and, he could not help saying “Allahu Akbar!”

His aunt, upon hearing this, scolded him saying, “May God not let you find what you seek! I swear by God, you would not be happier if you heard Moses was coming!”

And Abdullah said: “O aunt! I swear by God, the one who is coming is his brother! He is a prophet, too, just like him.”

In return, his aunt asked: “So, is this the prophet who was told us to come before the end of the world?

Abdullah answered: “Yes…” And then she said: Then, you are right to behave like this!” (5)

Abdullah Ibn Salam went to see the reverend and supreme Messenger when he honored Medina with his arrival and when he saw the shining, blessed face of the Messenger, he said to himself: “There is no lie in this face! There can be no fraud in this face!” (6)

His Question to the Prophet and His Conversion to Islam

The Honorable Prophet was a guest at Hazrat Abu Ayyub al-Ansari’s house.

Abdullah Ibn Salam went there to visit the Prophet and asked him some questions. When he received answers in compliance with the Torah to his Torah-based questions, he said the sentence of Shahadah and converted to Islam. (7) Then, he said: O Messenger of God! Jewish people are slanderers and liars. When they find out that I converted to Islam tomorrow, they will make up many lies about me and slander me. Before my conversion is heard by them, ask them about me and have my place confirmed!”

The reverend Prophet let him hide somewhere, invited some of the notable people of Jews and said to them: “O Jewish community! You know very well that I am a prophet sent by God! I have come with the true religion; Convert to Islam!”

The Jews responded, repeating the same sentence three times: “We do not know whether you are a prophet or not!”

After that, the Honorable Messenger asked: There is among you someone named Abdullah Ibn Salam. What kind of a person is he?       

The Jews witnessed saying: He is a decent son of a decent father among us. Both he and his father are the most virtuous and most knowledgeable of us.

The Messenger of God asked: “What would you say if Abdullah Ibn Salam converted to Islam?”

The Jews said: “God forbid! Ibn Salaam would never convert to Islam!”

The Prophet asked the same question three times.

And they repeated the same answer of refusal.

Upon seeing this, the Reverend and Supreme Messenger called out to Abdullah Ibn Salam: “O Ibn Salam! Come out!”

Abdullah came out of where he was hiding and declared that he converted to Islam, saying

 اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَٓااِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَاَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ  And he invited Jews to convert to Islam by saying: “O Jewish community! Fear God! Accept what you have been given! I swear by God that you also know that he is the prophet whose name and attributions you find written in the Torah.” (8)

However, Jews said “You are lying! You are the most evil son of the most evil father among us!” and blackened him making up various faults and misdeeds about him.

Abdullah b. Salam said: O Messenger of God! This is what I was actually afraid of! Have I not told you they are cruelpeople, liars, sinners and slanderers? I was right!

The reverend Prophet let the Jews leave his presence.

Abdullah Ibn Salam returned his home. Upon his call to Islam, his all household and his aunt converted to Islam. (9)

Although some of the notable Jews tried to make Abdullah Ibn Salam leave Islam with various intrigues and words, they failed.

A lot of Jewish scholars converted to Islam and persevered living as Muslims sincerely, following Abdllah b. Salam. And Jewish scholars who did not convert to Islam began to sound off saying: Only the evil ones among us paid homage to Muhammad! If they were decent, they would not have left their ancestors’ religion.”

Thereupon, God the Glorious stated the following in the honorable verse He sent:

“Not all of them are alike: Of the People of the Book are a portion that stands (For the right): They rehearse the Signs of God all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration.” (10)

Polytheists Threaten

Seeing that the Prophet and Muslims had a free and peaceful life in Medina, polytheists felt very annoyed and started to worry.

They did not want to leave them alone in Medina. They wanted to put the strategy of “keeping people away from the Honorable Messenger of God”, which they adopted in Mecca, into practice in Medina as well. For this reason, they sent two letters as a memorandum, one after the other, written in harsh, threatening language, to the Ansar who promised to protect the prophet. In those letters, the Ansar were asked to quit protecting the Prophet and otherwise, they were told to be prepared for anything that might happen to them.

However, these two memorandum letters by the polytheists of Quraish failed to put any negative pressure on Muslims of Medina. Contrarily, the letters received harsh answers. So, the polytheists of Mecca understood that they could not turn anyone in Medina against the Messenger of God by terrorizing and threatening them.

Frightening Days in Medina

The Prophet found out about the threatening letters sent to the people of Medina. As a result, Medina was always on full alert. In case of any possible “sudden attack by polytheists”, the Honorable Messenger was always careful and asked Muslims to be careful and precautious, too. They did not even sleep some nights for this reason.

Indeed, Muslims of Medina were in a real critical situation because their migration to Medina put them in the target of polytheistic Arab tribes. Of course, they had to be alert all the time in this situation. Muslims would gather together even for the slightest commotion.

One day, they heard a noise. Whoever heard the noise cried out. The Honorable and Supreme Messenger, who was the zenith of any positive trait, was the zenith of courage as well. He girded himself with his sword and got on his horse at once, and rode off to the crowd; and consoled them.

Anas b. Malik says:

“Whenever an outcry was heard, we would see the Messenger of God arrive there on horseback!” (11)

The efforts of Meccan polytheists on making Medina Muslims quit protecting the Honorable Messenger were not limited to sending memorandum-like letters. They also took some economic precautions in this sense. Moreover, they were systematically plotting mischief and causing disorder among Muslims, by using unbelievers and some Jews in Medina.

Despite all these, Muslims of Medina did not hesitate at all or refrain from embracing the Messenger of God, living Islam and helping Muslim immigrants at any cost. On the contrary, they continued with their service more seriously and more sincerely.

1. Suhayli, Rawdu’l-Unf, V. 2, p. 16; Muslim, Sahih, V. 4, p. 120.

2. See Âsım Köksal, Hz. Muhammed ve İslamiyet: Medine Devri, V. 1, p. 30.

3. Tecrid Tercemesi, V. 10, p. 123.

4. Bukhari, Sahih, V. 2, p. 309.

5. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 163; Balazuri, Ansab, V. 1, p. 266.

6. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 235; Ibn Abdi’l-Barr, al-Istiab, V. 3, p. 922; Badiüzzaman Said Nursi, Mektûbat, p. 92.

7. Bukhari, ibid., V. 2, p. 335; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, V. 3, p. 108.

8. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 164; Bukhar, Sahih, V. 2, p. 335.

9. Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 164.

10. Aal-i Imran, 113.

11. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, V. 1, p. 373; Muslim, Sahih, V. 7, p. 72

(1st year of the Hijrah / AD 622)

While in Mecca, Muslims used to pray secretly and perform salah in places out of everyone’s sight. Therefore, it was out of question to call people to prayer openly there.

However, the picture totally changed in Medina. There was religious freedom, then. Muslims could perform their prayers and worship freely. Their faith and conscious were not under pressure. Polytheists’ cruelty, oppression and insults were out of question.

Masjid an-Nabawi was built. However, a way of calling Muslims to come together in prayer times was not decided yet. So, Muslims used to come and wait for the prayer time and perform prayer when it was the time. (1)

The Prophet’s Consultation with the Companions

One day the Honorable Messenger gathered his companions and consulted with them “what kind of a calling they needed to decide on.” Some companions suggested that they tolled a bell like Christians did; some suggested that they blew a horn like the Jews did and some suggested that they made a fire like Zoroastrians and took it up to somewhere high in prayer times.

The Prophet did not like any of these suggestions. (2)

Then, Hazrat Umar took the floor and said: “O Messenger of God! Why do you not send a man to call people to prayer?”

The Honorable Messenger found Hazrat Umar’s suggestion appropriate and said to Hazrat Bilal: “Stand up, O Bilal, call out for prayer!”

.Upon this; Hazrat Bilal wandered streets of Medina, calling Muslims to prayer, shouting “As salah! As salah!” for a while. (3)

Abdallah b. Zaid’s Dream

Abdallah bin Zaid from the Companions had a dream after a while. In his dream, he was taught the adhan the way it is today.

Hazrat Abdallah went up to the Prophet happily and told his dream as soon as the morning broke. The Honorable Messenger approved the call saying, “Inshaallah, this is a true dream! (4)

Hazrat Abdallah taught the adhan (call to the prayer) to Hazrat Bilal by the order of the Honorable Messenger. Hazrat Bilal began to fill Medina skies with the adhan with his strong and loud voice:

اَللّٰهُاَكْـــبَرُاَللّٰهُاَكْـــبَرُ

اَللّٰهُاَكْـــبَرُاَللّٰهُاَكْـــبَرُ

اَشْهَدُاَـنْـلَٓااِلٰهَاِلَّااللّٰهُ

اَشْهَدُاَـنْـلَٓااِلٰهَاِلَّااللّٰهُ

اَشْهَدُاَنَّمُحَمَّدًارَسُولُاللّٰهِ

اَشْهَدُاَنَّمُحَمَّدًارَسُولُاللّٰهِ

حَىَّﱰالصَّلٰاةِ

حَىَّﱰالصَّلٰاةِ

حَىَّﱰالْفَلٰاحِ

حَىَّﱰالْفَلٰاحِ

اَللّٰهُاَكْـــبَرُاَللّٰهُاَكْـــبَرُ

لَٓااِلٰهَاِلَّااللّٰهُ

Hazrat Umar Has the Same Dream

Having heard this voice echoing in Medina skies, Hazrat Umar got out of his house and appeared before the Honorable Messenger. When he learnt about the situation, he said: O Messenger of God! I swear by God who has sent you with the true religion that I saw the same dream as Abdallah!”

The Prophet praised God because two people had seen the same dream. (5)

We can see that what a natural and decent religion Islam is from the determination of the way of call to prayer, too. The difference between tolling bells - so spiritless, meaningless, emotionless and flat -, blowing a horn or making a fire and “the adhan” - so meaningful and divine - which declares the divine truth of “tawhid” on earth, exclaiming the prophethood of the Honorable Messenger and therefore announcing all fundamentals of the belief to people is so great that they cannot even be compared.

Just as there are two sort of rights, ‘personal rights’ and ‘general rights,’ which are considered to be a sort of ‘God’s rights,’ so too  are there two kinds of matters concerning the Shari‘a: Matters concerning individuals, and matters concerning the public; the latter ones are called ‘the marks of Islam.’

One of the greatest Islamic signs is the adhan which was legalized in the first year of the Hijrah and which declares the fundamentals of the religion. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi has got very significant explanations and evaluations on “Islamic Rules.” In the 29th Letter of his work named The Letters, he says: “There are certain matters of the Shari‘a concerning worship which are not tied to the reason, and are done because they are commanded. The reason for them is the command. There are others which have ‘reasonable meaning.’ That is, they possess some wisdom or benefit by reason of which they have been incorporated into the Shari‘a. But it is not the true reason or cause; the true reason is Divine command and prohibition.

Instances of wisdom or benefits cannot change those matters of ‘the marks of Islam’ which pertain to worship; their aspect of pertaining to worship preponderates and they may not be interfered with. They may not be changed, even for a hundred thousand benefits. Similarly, it may not be said that “the benefits of the Shari‘a are restricted to those that are known.” To suppose such a thing is wrong. Those benefits may rather be only one out of many instances of wisdom and purposes.” And then he records the following about the adhan which is an important mark of Islam:

“For instance, someone may say: “The wisdom and purpose of the call to prayer is to summon Muslims to prayer; in which case, firing a rifle would be sufficient.”

However, the foolish person does not know that it is only one benefit out of the thousands of the call to prayer. Even if the sound of a rifle shot provides that benefit, how, in the name of mankind, or in the name of the people of the town, can it take the place of the call to prayer, the means to proclaiming worship before Divine dominicality and the proclamation of Divine Unity, which is the greatest result of the creation of the universe and the result of mankind’s creation?” (6)

1. Ibn Hisham, Sirah, V. 2, p. 154; Bukhari, Sahih, V. 1, p. 114.

2. Buharî, ibid, V. 2, p. 3; Abu Dawud, Sunan, V. 1, p. 134.

3. Bukhari, ibid, V. 1, p. 114.

4. Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 155; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, V. 4, p. 43.

5. Ibn Hisham, ibid, V. 2, p. 155; Abu Dawud, Sunan, V. 1, p. 117.

6. Badiüzzaman Said Nursî, Mektûbat, p. 371.

The Honorable Messenger was not allowed to make war or jihad in Mecca. He devoted all his time and effort to put the fundamentals of belief in hearts, souls and minds, according to the commands of God. He was continuing his service there with preaching, sermons, warning and guidance to the true path. He was supposed to behave patiently and peacefully against all kinds of cruelty of the era. This could clearly be seen in the verses that were sent in earlier times in Mecca.

As a matter of fact, the principle in Islamic Law is peaceful interaction among people. War and Jihad are resorted to only in case of an obligation. (1) There could be no other reality than this among people whom God the Glorious created from one mother and one father. However, dividing people into branches and tribes was for the purpose of mutual interests such as recognition of generation and purity of posterity. (2)

The Prophet and Muslims were not allowed to make war or Jihad in Mecca but were advised to be patient and deliberate despite all the cruelty and tortures they were exposed to; similarly, they were not allowed to make war or Jihad right after migration to Medina.

Islam was gaining power day by day and advancing rapidly in Medina. The sun of the Quran was starting to embrace souls with all its glory; nevertheless, the Honorable Messenger and Muslims were not in an atmosphere of certain safety. Muslims of Medina had greeted the Prophet in a festival-like enthusiastic atmosphere but hypocrites and Jews were developing a deadly grudge and enmity against him in their hearts. Although the Jews signed a contract with the Prophet, it was obvious from all of their behavior that they were disclaiming this contract.

Hypocrites were posing even a greater danger.

An ornamented crown had been prepared for Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul, the chief of Khazraj tribe, before the Prophet migrated to Medina. When he was about to wear it like a head of a state with a magnificent ceremony, the migration took place. As a result of this, all people of Khazraj converted to Islam. Therefore, they did not pay homage to the crown or kaftan (signs of sovereignty) any more.

Abdullah bin Ubai converted to Islam in appearance because of his tribe, but he founded a sect of hypocrites, for he was upset as he was deprived of leadership. He started sowing discord and plotting mischief secretly. And sometimes he even went too far, daring to interfere with the Honorable Messenger’s service of summons and advice. Events plotted by this sect of hypocrites in order to sow discord spread mischief among Muslims will be mentioned as the occasion arises.

Moreover, idolaters of Mecca were trying to provoke hypocrites and Jews of Medina, and even tribes near Medina persistently and preparing for taking action to kill the divine light, which they failed to kill in Mecca, in Medina this time.

It was now impossible to behave patiently and peacefully against all these external and internal enemies. Most of the Muslims wished to stand up to the people of Quraish and square accounts with them. Sa’d bin Muadh, a notable person from the Ansar, put this desire into words as follows:

“O God! You know that there is nothing lovelier than fighting against the Quraish tribe for Your sake! The Quraish disclaimed the Messenger’s prophethood. And they obliged him to leave his homeland in the end. O God! I presume that you will let us fight against them!” (3)

Apparently, Muslims were not safe in Medina.

Then, in the meantime, the Prophet was allowed to fight for self-defense and reaction. The Quranic verse which was sent pertaining to this issue said:

 “To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, God is most powerful for their aid;- (They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right,- (for no cause) except that they say, "our Lord is God".” (4)

As it can be understood from the statement of the Quranic verse, the permission of jihad is restricted and it is permitted only in case of “being attacked and subjected to torture.” That is to say; Muslims would not attack in any way. If they are subjected to cruelty or if they are attacked, they will fight back in order to defend themselves. It is also clear from this verse that Islamic wars depend not on attack but on defense.

These verses had given Muslims “the right to self-defense and protection against attacking enemies”. When political conditions and financial capability of Muslims improve and the first conditions disappear, jihad will be made fard (obligation) for Muslims, with the verses to be sent later. (5)

1. Tajrid Translation, V.. 10, p. 130.

2. Al-Hujurat, 13.

3. Tajrid Translation, V.. 10. p. 134.

4. Al-Hajj, 39-40.

5. see Al-Baqara, 190-191; at-Tahrim, 9; at-Tawba, 5-29; al-Anfal, 39.