Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 24 - Planting the seeds for Yathrib - Yasir Qadhi | February 2012
Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 24 - Planting the seeds for Yathrib - Yasir Qadhi | February 2012
Recall we discussed the death of Abu Talib after which the protection the Prophet PBUH enjoyed ceased to exist. Initially Abu Lahab felt obligated to give him the same protection but within a week or two he cancelled it. After this Mut'im ibn Adi offered protection to the Prophet PBUH. It was under the protection of Mut'im the Prophet PBUH lived.
However this was a very precarious and awkward situation. Why? Because the Prophet's PBUH own tribe had abandoned him. And the Quraysh were not happy with the situation. Also, Mut'im was a very old man (and in fact after the Prophet PBUH emigrated, Mut'im passed away within a year, before the Battle of Badr.) So the Prophet PBUH realizes he needs to leave Makkah. He tried Ta'if, but Ta'if had failed him. So what does he do?
Approaching Hujjaj
The Prophet PBUH tried presenting himself (ya'ridu nafsahu/يعرض نفسه) to the tribes that came for Hajj. And he asked them to sponsor him; to transfer allegiance. This was something known but very rare. The Arabs had this concept that sometimes someone changed tribes for a marriage or political reason. But this was rare. Nevertheless, the Prophet PBUH tried to utilize this concept by approaching the various people that came for Hajj. (Note: We've already mentioned Hajj was a phenomenon that continued from the time of Ibrahim AS.) In Mina, different tribes camp in different zones (just like in our times where people from different countries camp in different zones). So the Prophet PBUH would utilize the fact people came to him (to Makkah), and he went to each tribe asking for protection. There are records that even before Abu Talib died, the Prophet PBUH was doing this, but he was only doing it to preach Islam, not to ask them to adopt him. But this time he went to them to ask for political asylum.
And there are numerous reports from eyewitnesses reporting what the Prophet PBUH would say at the time. Of them is the story of Rabi'ah ibn Abbad who many years later said, "I remember when I was a young child, a young man (the Prophet PBUH) came and spoke to my father, telling him to embrace the worship of Allah, and to leave idolatry, and to accept him into his tribe. I also saw an elderly man standing behind him, wearing a Yemeni cloak, having two ponytails. When this young man finished and moved to the next tent, this elderly man came forward and said, 'O people, do not give up the way of your forefathers.'" So Rabi'ah says, "I asked my father who these two men were. And he told me, 'The first man is the man claiming to be a prophet, and the elderly man is his uncle Abdul Uzza (Abu Lahab).'"
In another narration reported in many books, the Prophet PBUH said, "Who will take (adopt) me so that I may preach the message of Allah? Because the Quraysh have stopped me from doing this." So the Prophet PBUH approached many tribes (e.g. Kindah/كندة, Banu Kalb/بنو كلب, Banu Hanifa/بنو حنيفة, Banu Amir ibn Sa'sa'a/بنو عامر بن صعصعة, etc.) but all of them rejected the message, some of them more harshly than others. There are several interesting stories with regard to this:
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The Tribe of Kindah (كندة)
The Prophet PBUH approached the chieftain of Kindah. Note, Kindah was a tribal kingdom that was very prestigious a few hundred years back. However, at the current time they lost this status, though they are still a big tribe. So the Prophet PBUH approached one of the chieftains of Kindah, and the chieftain listened very attentively, and then said, "This is a very interesting message. Come with me, I will grant you an audience with the other chiefs. What you said to me, say to them." So the Prophet PBUH followed him and preached the same message to them. Then the man who brought him in said, "O my fellow tribesmen, if we were to take this matter from this young man (late 40s) from the Quraysh and adopt him, we will have a message through which we can conquer the other Arabs." Notice he is thinking politically. He wants to regain the tribal kingdom of Kindah. And he realized the power of this message of Islam. So he is telling the other chiefs to think not in terms of theology, but in terms of politics and power. Then he said to the Prophet PBUH, "If we were to follow you, and then Allah gives us victory over your enemies, will you give us control of this affair after you?" Meaning, "Will we be the rulers after you?" So the Prophet PBUH said very accurately, "The kingdom belongs to Allah, and Allah gives it to whomever He pleases." Notice the beauty of the speech - he didn't say yes or no. He is seeing the reason they want to embrace the faith is not genuine Iman, but politics. So he's not attracted himself to this group. So the chieftain said, "So you are asking us to follow you, stick our necks out behind you in order to have them cut off (in war etc.), and then after we have spilled our blood to conquer the Arabs, you will take the kingdom? Go, we have no need of this!" So the whole point for them was politics. They did not find any use in a message that would not give them power. And look at the wisdom, sincerity, and firmness of the Prophet PBUH: the Kindah tribe is one of the heavyweights of the Arabs, yet the Prophet PBUH did not compromise the message of Allah. He gave up an opportunity many of us would have no problem compromising. He realized two things: (1) The message of Islam cannot be compromised, and (2) this group of people wouldn't be true believers.
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Banu Shayban ibn Tha'laba (بنو شيبان بن ثعلبة)
Another story is that of the Banu Shayban ibn Tha'laba. Generally the Prophet PBUH would go with Abu Bakr to a tribe because Abu Bakr was an expert at tribal knowledge (genealogy). (Note: This shows us the Prophet PBUH took advantage of the knowledge of the people around him. If this is the case of our Prophet PBUH, where do we stand? This is something many Muslim groups find awkward, "How could the Prophet PBUH have benefited from the knowledge of other people?!" etc. But we keep on seeing in the seerah the humanity of the Prophet PBUH. Indeed he is Rasulullah but he doesn't have knowledge of all.) So when they go to this tribe, Abu Bakr says the salam and asks them, "من القوم؟" which is the polite way of asking, "Who are you?" They say, "We are the Banu Shayban ibn Tha'laba." Then Abu Bakr leans over to the Prophet PBUH and says, "Ya Rasulullah, the Banu Shayban are of the most noble, illustrious and intelligent tribes of the Arabs - and they have amongst them X, Y and Z, who are known for their generosity, sincerity, etc." So Abu Bakr is preparing the Prophet PBUH and introduces the Prophet PBUH. Then the Banu Shayban say, "What is your matter?" Then the Prophet PBUH spoke, "We have come here to invite you to the worship of Allah alone, and that you reject the false gods. And we also ask you to accept us, take us into your tribe because the Quraysh have been arrogant and evil and prevented us from spreading the speech of Allah; and Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy (i.e. I am asking for your help, but Allah does not need your help)." So the tribal leaders said, "Is there anything more?" The Prophet PBUH recited the famous verses of Surah al-Anfal:
قُلْ تَعَالَوْا أَتْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ أَلَّا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُم مِّنْ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ ۖ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ ۖ وَأَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ وَالْمِيزَانَ بِالْقِسْطِ ۖ لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۖ وَإِذَا قُلْتُمْ فَاعْدِلُوا وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَىٰ ۖ وَبِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ أَوْفُوا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
"Say, 'Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him; and to parents, good treatment; and do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them. And do not approach immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed. And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right. This has He instructed you that you may use reason. And do not approach the orphan's property except in a way that is best until he reaches maturity. And give full measure and weight in justice. We do not charge any soul except [with that within] its capacity. And when you testify, be just, even if [it concerns] a near relative. And the covenant of Allah fulfill. This has He instructed you that you may remember.'" [6:151-152] - verses about ethics and morality. The chieftains said, "Anything more?" The Prophet PBUH said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
"Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded." [16:90]
So the chieftain said, "You have indeed come with good, and you have called us to the best of morals. And the Quraysh have lied against you." Notice even before the Prophet PBUH has come, they're aware of the things Quraysh say about him. This shows the phenomenon of the Prophet PBUH has spread amongst the Arabs. When he presents the message, they say, "The Quraysh have lied, and your message is indeed righteous." So the elder, Hani ibn Qays, stood up and said, "I have heard what you have said, O member of Quraysh. And I feel if we leave our religion and embrace your ways after a first meeting, this will be a hasty decision, and it might cause us harm. We have also left people behind whose advice we haven't sought. So I think we should wait, and you should wait. And we shall return, and you shall return (i.e. next year)." And then this elder referred to their military leader, Muthanna ibn Harithah, "What do you say?" (Notice clearly Abu Bakr was right when he said they are wise, intelligent, and noble people.) Their military chief said, "What our elder, Hani, has said is true. We will not be hasty. Also there's another matter: We have treaties with two groups of people: One with our neighboring Arab tribes, and one with Kisra (Sassanid Emperor)." Note: We can see from this that these people are living in the bordering regions of the Persian Empire. Muthanna continued, "As for the Arabs, we don't have any fear or worry; but as for Kisra, we have a deal with him to be neutral in all affairs in the Arabian Peninsular. And this matter of yours does not seem to be something the kings would approve of. So if we were to accept it, it would only be on the Arabs side. Not with our dealings with Kisra."
Thus he's basically saying, "We won't help nor fight you against the Persians." Indeed Kisra is a superpower. The Sassanid Empire. A mighty power; a massive empire. The Prophet PBUH said, "Your response has been fair. But Allah's religion will only be helped by those who embrace it fully." Before leaving, the Prophet PBUH said, "What if I were to tell you that this matter of Kisra, Allah will grant you victory over their kingdom? And you will enjoy their land, money, and captive women? Would you accept?" One of the younger ones said, "Yes, of course." But the elders couldn't believe this. This is an amazing prophecy that even though the Prophet PBUH is in a dire situation, he is promising victory over the Persians. Subhan'Allah! What's amazing is the prediction was specific: it was for Kisra only (and not Qaisar).
(Tangent: Recall what happened [in later years] when the Prophet PBUH sent the king [Kisra] a letter? The king tore the letter up. And the Prophet PBUH said, "As he tore my letter up, Allah will tear their kingdom up." Indeed, for 400 years the Romans could not damage the Persians, but the Muslims destroyed it in 2 years. To this day historians are mystified, completely baffled, and astounded, "How could this have happened?" If anyone were to predict that the Persian Empire would collapse, you would be called crazy. If anything, the Romans were on the verge of collapsing, as Allah says, "Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been defeated." [30:1-2] The Persians won at one point. And there was this fear that the Roman Empire would have to give up Damascus. Little did they realize Damascus would come into Muslim hands, and the Persian Empire in its entirety would collapse. It was one of the most astounding incidents in history if you understand what the Persian Empire was. Just google the images of their massive palaces in Ctesiphon. But this was all conquered by literally a group of Bedouins who had converted to a new faith, who had no military power etc. We all know the story between Rib'i ibn Amir (ربعي بن عامر) and the Persian Emperor, Rustum (رستم), where Rustum basically said, "What are you guys doing here?" and Rib'i gave that brave response, "We have come out from our land to get people out of the worship of other people, and to embrace them into the worship of Allah SWT..." And it's amazing within 2 years the entire Sassanid Empire collapsed and became a nonexistent history of the past. All of these lands: Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc. became Muslim lands within a few years of the death of the Prophet PBUH. This prophecy is what the Prophet PBUH told to the Bani Shayban.)
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Small Tribe From Yathrib: The Khazraj (خزرج)
The main story of course is the story of a small group from Yathrib (يثرب) whom the Prophet PBUH was not too familiar with, even though he had visited the city once or twice as he had relatives there (his father's grandmother was a Yathribite).
The city of Yathrib was composed of three main groups of people. Two of whom were Arab, and one large group of Jews.
The Arab tribes:
1. Aws (الأوس)
2. Khazraj (الخزرج)
The Jewish tribes:
1. Banu Nadir (النضير)
2. Banu Qaynuqa (قينقاع)
3. Banu Qurayza (قريظة)
The city had been a flourishing oasis for about 100 years. It wasn't an ancient city, it was relatively modern. Yathrib and Khaybar were the only areas in the entire Hejaz where there were Jews. The other closest Jews were in Yemen.
The year that Abu Talib died (the 10th year of the dawah), the Prophet PBUH met the first group of the people of Yathrib whom would convert to Islam. The main thing that facilitated this conversion was the Battle of Bu'ath. This battle was the culmination of a civil war between the Aws and the Khazraj that lasted for over a decade. They were having minor skirmishes over typical Bedouin issues (e.g. land rights, watering rights, etc.), and this built up more and more until finally there was a major battle, the Battle of Bu'ath. This battle took place around 4-5 years before the Hijrah, i.e. around 2.5-3 years before the meeting with the Prophet PBUH.
Aisha RA said in Sahih Bukhari, "The Day of Bu'ath was a gift from Allah to the Prophet PBUH. It was because of Bu'ath that their unity had been fragmented (Aws, Khazraj); and their leaders completely decimated." The battle killed the bulk of the senior members of the Aws and Khazraj. And those that were left were generally the younger generation who had seen 10 years of blood and war and they were sick of it. So they were wanting something new, something that will give them meaning & purpose in life. Indeed youngsters are easier to change whereas elders are stuck on their ways. There was one senior member left after the battle, Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. (And it was his seniority that gave him arrogance. In terms of rank, he was the undisputed leader of Madinah were it not for Islam. Eventually of course, he became the leader of the munafiqs.)
Before the Prophet PBUH met these people, there are indications that the message of Islam had already reached Yathrib/Madinah. Of them is the story of Suwayd ibn al-Samit (سويد بن الصامت). He was the poet of the Khazraj. Before the Battle of Bu'ath, in the earlier stages of Islam when the Prophet PBUH was doing peaceful dawah, Suwayd went for Hajj and searched for the rumored Qureshi 'magician/poet' (i.e. the Prophet PBUH). And he says to the Prophet PBUH, "I have heard you have eloquent speech - I have something similar to you." The Prophet PBUH said, "What do you have? Let me listen to it." Clearly it's at advanced level, typical classical pre-Islamic poetry. The Prophet PBUH says, "What you have is good, but what I have is better." Indeed you cannot compete with the Quran. So Suwayd said, "Let me hear." And the Prophet PBUH began reciting the Qur'an and Suwayd was dumbstruck. And he said, "Let me think about this. This is deep." Suwayd returned to Yathrib and it was in that year that the Battle of Bu'ath took place, and he died in the battle. Later on his people said, "We are certain he died a Muslim."
There are also other references of a young man of the Khazraj whom the Prophet PBUH approached in the earlier days of dawah, and he almost converted were it not for the chief saying, "Mind your own business, don't worry about this guy." He also died in the Battle of Bu'ath and it's reported as he was dying he began reciting tasbih, tahmid and takbir. This is again before sajdah, salah, etc.
So there are references to Islam having reached Yathrib before anything (treaty etc.) happening. But the main conversion takes place in the 10th year of the dawah, the same year Abu Talib died. Abu Talib died around Ramadan or Shawwal, therefore the next month, say Dhu al-Qa'dah or Dhu al-Hijjah, the Prophet PBUH is making his rounds in Mina looking for help and protection. Of course he is concentrating on the big tribes (Banu Kindah, Banu Hanifa, etc.), but he didn't ignore the smaller ones. So when he sees a small tribe at Aqaba (place where the stones are thrown, close to what is now Masjid al-Khayf), he asked, "من القوم؟/Who are you?" They said, "We are from the Khazraj." So the Prophet PBUH thinks, "Which Khazraj?" And here Abu Bakr is not there to help him out. And he asks them, "Are you the neighbors of the Jews from Yathrib?" They said, "Yes." And then the Prophet PBUH said, "May I speak with you?" They said, "Yes." So the Prophet PBUH sat down and explained to them the teachings of Islam, recited the Quran, explained tawhid, warned against shirk, etc. all with the same passion, sincerity, and zeal as if he was speaking to one of the massive tribes like the Banu Hanifa, even though they were but six people without a tent. This isn't one of the rich tribes! (Note the Khazraj were a more poorer tribe, compared to the Aws. They consisted more of farmers and laborers while the Aws were more so the businessmen.)
And he moved on.
Subhan'Allah! Allah had willed that Islam would be helped by this 'obscure' tribe the Prophet PBUH hardly recognized. This shows us we are never meant to trivialize any opportunity that presents itself. Never ever. Indeed the Prophet PBUH is concentrating on the elites, but he doesn't ignore the others. When he passed by the Khazraj, he gave them the same dawah with the same zeal. And these six people converted to Islam as the first major converts from outside of Makkah.
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Why Did This Happen?
Why did the Khazraj convert to Islam?
1. Firstly, indeed it is up to Allah AWJ whom he chooses; and He had chosen the people of Khazraj to become the first Islamic republic.
2. The Khazraj [and Aws] were the only Arab group in the region that had knowledge of a monotheistic religion as they interacted with the Jews. So they understand the concept of tawhid, prophets, rituals, laws and ethics, a scripture from God, etc. These are alien concepts for most of the Arabs. They have never seen a prophet [see Qur'an, 32:3], let alone a revelation. But the Khazraj [and Aws] know what a prophet is, and understand what a book does. So they feel inferior to the Jews, because the Jews had a higher civilization than them. The Jews could read and write, had 'madrasahs', places of worship, etc. but the Khazraj and Aws didn't - and because of this they felt inferior. And indeed the Jews flouted this, "We are better than you. We have a book. We have prophets." etc. So basically for generations, the Jews used to flout their superiority and not giving the Aws and Khazraj any opportunity to convert. So this flouting of arrogance worked against them. The Khazraj now understands tawhid, what it means to have a book, a prophet, etc. So when the opportunity presents itself, to have the same civilization, law, ethics, morality etc., they embraced it. Additionally, the Jews were boasting against the Arabs in a way that Allah references indirectly in the Qur'an, "Although before, they used to pray for victory against those who disbelieved - but [then] when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it." [2:89] The Jews would say to the Aws and Khazraj whenever the civil wars took place, "It's only a matter of time before we win over you and massacre you down to the last person; because we are waiting for a prophet who is about to come, and as soon as he comes, it'll all be over." They would say they will win over the pagans (the Arabs) when this prophet comes. But Allah says, when the Prophet [PBUH] came from amongst the Arabs, "They disbelieved in it." [2:89] So this boasting & arrogance backfired. All of a sudden the tables are turned. The six people of the Khazraj saw an opportunity to embrace a religion with a book, a prophet etc. which they had been deprived of, and deep down inside knew got to be true, so they converted to Islam and returned back home spreading the message.
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Of the six were some of the famous Ansar: Uqba ibn Amir (عقبة بن عامر), Jabir ibn Abdillah (جابر بن عبد الله), and As'ad ibn Zurarah (أسعد بن زرارة). They converted and went back and spread the message until in the next few months everybody in the city of Yathrib had heard of the new message and knew some of their own that had converted.
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Lesson From the Dawah to the Khazraj
What's really amazing about this story is that the Prophet PBUH was being equally sincere to all the tribes. And he's literally just planting seeds - and Allah knows where the fruit will come from. The Prophet PBUH didn't expect anything to come from the Khazraj. He himself said that when he was in Makkah, Allah showed him (in a dream) that he will be migrating to another land with greenery & palm leaves, so he thought it would be Yemen (he was expecting the big tribes), but rather it turned out to be Yathrib (which was to be called Madinah later). The point is the Prophet PBUH did not expect it to be Yathrib, but he still gave his full attention to the people of Yathrib, and Allah SWT gave him back the fruit. And this is an important lesson for us - we should never trivialize any opportunity to do good, dawah, khayr, etc.
Indeed because our Prophet PBUH did not trivialize the dawah, this initial seed of six people gave fruit; and the next year, more than double the amount of people came back to Makkah; and the next year, more than 10x the amount; and by the third year, they demanded from the Prophet PBUH, "You are not going to live amongst those people who are persecuting you! You will come to us with izzah and honor! And we will give our lives and souls to protect you!" Indeed, "Whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out, and will provide for him from where he does not expect." [Qur'an, 65:2-3] And this is what happened with the Prophet PBUH.
We'll see how within just 2.5 years, an entire city could be demanding the Prophet PBUH to come and be their leader.
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Q&A
1. No reports of the Aws converted at this time. Only the Khazraj had converted.
2. Three basic conditions to make linguistic-hijrah from a Muslim country to a non-Muslim country:
1. There must be freedom in the land to practice the main pillars of Islam.
2. One must have enough Iman through which he feels confident to be able to avoid the major sins.
3. One must have enough ilm that he's not worried about becoming apostate (including his children).