Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 28 - Lessons from Hijrah Blessings of Madinah - Yasir Qadhi | March 2012
Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 28 - Lessons from Hijrah Blessings of Madinah - Yasir Qadhi | March 2012
So we talked about the journey of the Hijrah. And the miraculous story of Suraqa ibn Malik, of how he is told he will be wearing the bracelets of Kisra.
5. The Story of Ummi Ma'bad
The story of the Hijrah has a number of small stories. One of these is that of Ummi Ma'bad. It's narrated from her directly. And she converted to Islam at the end. She says that she's an elderly lady, a complete Bedouin, living in a tent in the desert wandering, finding food and water. One day when she was waiting for her husband to return, she heard the rustling of some travelers who ask her permission to come in, so she let them come in (because she's an elderly lady and is very poor and has nothing to be stolen, so she's not worried about anything). It turns out it's the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr RA. (But of course she doesn't recognize them.) This narration is significant because Ummi Ma'bad is one of the few sahabiyat who actually describes the physical looks of the Prophet PBUH. And she says he was handsome, had long hair, neither short nor tall, etc. which we already mentioned in episode 2.
This incident happened outside of Madinah by around 1.5 hour drive in our time, and the place is still called Qadid/Qudaid to this day.
The Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr entered and said, "May we purchase any food from you?" (This is of course their adab - even though if they had asked for free food, it's also customarily acceptable.) Ummi Ma'bad apologized and replied she had nothing to give them, and that in fact her husband had gone out in search for food. The Prophet PBUH saw in the tent an old goat in the corner, but it was apparent that it's too old to give milk or reproduce goatlings. But the Prophet PBUH still asked permission to milk it. Ummi Ma'bad replied, "That day has long gone," but the Prophet PBUH still asked, "But do you allow me to?" In her mind of course there was no question this was impossible, but looking at the insistence, she said, "If you want to, go ahead." The Prophet PBUH made du'a and mentioned the name of Allah SWT, moved his hand under the udder, and the udder instantly filled up with milk. Abu Bakr then milked it, and they drank to their full, and they left the remainder for Ummi Ma'bad and her husband. And of course Ummi Ma'bad was shocked, and when her husband got back, he was shocked too, and asked her where did the milk come from. She explained there were two travelers who came in and so on. And this is where Ummi Ma'bad described the physical looks of the Prophet PBUH. Upon this her husband said, "Those are the two the Quraysh are hunting." And he said, "Do you not know one of them claims to be a prophet?" When she heard this, she realized this is not just a claim, he must be a prophet, so they both accepted Islam.
We also know the Prophet PBUH converted two or three more people along the way to Madinah. But we don't know the details or their names. Even though it's insignificant, still the point is when he is running for his life, he is still inviting people to Islam and thinking about saving people. Any opportunity he gets to do good, he does, and gives dawah.
______________
6. Another Mini Story During the Hijrah
It's also narrated a caravan passed by the Prophet PBUH. Now in those days it was common when two caravans met, they stopped to say salam, find out any news etc. Indeed if you're in the middle of the desert and haven't seen anyone for days, any opportunity of meeting someone you would take. So when the caravan passed by the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr, they stopped, and by chance one of the people recognized Abu Bakr - he wasn't a Qureshi but from another Arab tribe. And so they greeted Abu Bakr. Note they haven't heard of the bounty here. They ask Abu Bakr, "Who is this man with you?" Abu Bakr responded in tawriya (double meaning). Tawriya is not a lie, it's a double meaning i.e. it doesn't give you an untruth. Abu Bakr RA said, "He is my guide, guiding me to the path." Of course what Abu Bakr meant was he (PBUH) is guiding him to the path to Jannah, and they understood this as a normal travel guide who's guiding him to another place. This also shows us Abdullah ibn Urayqit left them at a certain time and place prior this incident.
______________
What We Learn From the Incident of the Hijrah
1. The real meaning of tawakkul (توكل)
Look at the meticulous preparations for the Hijrah. The Prophet PBUH told Abu Bakr, "Don't travel. I need a companion, and insha'Allah, it will be you." And upon hearing this Abu Bakr prepared diligently. He fattened up two camels, prepared food for the journey, etc. The Prophet PBUH then comes to him when everyone is asleep (taking qaylulah) i.e. midday so no one can see it's him. Also when he comes, he covered his face as an extra measure. On top of this, when he enters, he tells everyone other than Abu Bakr to leave the house. Now these preparations are coming from someone who has ultimate tawakkul in Allah. Still he takes precautions. This manifests the reality of our religion: "اعقلها وتوكل (TIE your camel, and THEN put your trust in Allah [that the camel won't run away])," i.e. we must do everything we can. The Prophet PBUH left Ali RA in his bed, leaving in the middle of the night, covering their tracks using the flocks of Amir ibn Fuhayra, finding a trustworthy guide, Asma giving them food, Abdullah ibn Abu Bakr listening in to conversations and news, etc. And what's beautiful is the Prophet PBUH on the journey is just walking straight in absolute peace reciting the Quran - as he knows he has done everything he can. This is the essence of tawakkul. You do everything you can but your heart is not attached to these preparations, but rather to Allah AWJ.
Again, in the cave, Abu Bakr RA said, "If they just look down, they will see us!" But the Prophet PBUH calmed him down. Indeed tawakkul is not standing and saying, "Here we are, O Quraysh! Come for us! Allah will protect us!" No! Tawakkul is hiding in the cave, doing as much as you can, and then trusting Allah, as they did. Allah will make sure they don't look down, and He did. So once we do our jobs, Allah will do His. There is a beautiful verse in Surah al-Tawba, one of the last surahs revealed. At a time when the Muslims were at the peak of their power, after the Conquest of Makkah (8 AH). Allah says to the sahaba:
إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا ۖ فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا السُّفْلَىٰ ۗ وَكَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
Sahih International: "If you do not aid the Prophet, Allah has already aided him when those who disbelieved had driven him out [of Makkah] as one of two, when they were in the cave and he said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us." And Allah sent down his tranquility upon him and supported him with angels you did not see and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the word of Allah - that is the highest. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise." [9:40]
i.e. "If you are not going to help the Prophet PBUH, don't worry, Allah has already helped him. When the kuffar expelled him (from Makkah), and he was the second of only two people, when they were in the Cave (of Thawr), when he said to his companion, "Don't worry, Allah SWT is with us," at that point, Allah sent his sakina (peace/tranquility) upon him, and Allah helped him with an 'army that you did not see' (a lot of mufassirun say the reference here is to the dove/pigeon, spider, etc.)."
2. Abu Bakr RA is the ONLY sahabi whose companionship has been testified for by Allah in the Qur'an.
The rest of the sahaba are inferred indirectly, but Abu Bakr is direct. In the same [9:40], Allah says, "إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ" i.e. Allah affirmed Abu Bakr as being a sahib. So if anyone denies Abu Bakr RA being a sahabi, he has gone against the Qur'an. And by unanimous consensus of all the groups of Islam (including even the non-Sunnis), it was indeed Abu Bakr RA who was in the cave with the Prophet PBUH. Not anybody else. So anyone who denies the companionship of Abu Bakr, he has gone against the Qur'an.
______________
The Name Madinah
So, right now we are just outside the city of Madinah (or Yathrib as it was first known) and the Prophet PBUH is going to come in. Before we get there, let us discuss about the name Madinah.
Madinah of course was originally called Yathrib. It's an ancient city surrounded by volcanic rock and it's blessed with an undercurrent of water (groundwater), and that allows for fertile date palms to grow. Khaybar and Yathrib were the only two places in Hejaz with these large date palms. In fact, the Prophet PBUH was shown Madinah in his dream by its date palms. In the 10th or 11th year of the dawah, 2 years before the Hijrah, when he was still in Makkah, he tells the Muslims:
رأيت في المنام أني أهاجر من مكة إلى أرض بها نخل فذهب وهلي إلى أنها اليمامة أو هجر فإذا هي المدينة يثرب
"I saw a dream that I will emigrate to a land with a lot of date palms. So I thought it might be al-Yamamah or Hajar (two cities far away, in Yemen). But it turned out to be Madinah." The Prophet PBUH found out it turned out to be Madinah when the Khazraj embraced Islam and invited him to come to their city. This hadith is found in Sahih Bukhari.
And in Sahih Bukhari as well, the Prophet PBUH said:
أمرت بقرية تأكل القرى يقولون يثرب وهي المدينة
"I have been commanded to emigrate to a city that shall devour all other cities. They call it Yathrib, but it is Madinah." From this hadith, we learn that Islamically, we are not allowed to call this city Yathrib anymore. The Prophet PBUH changed its name. And it's clear that the Qur'an also emphasizes this point. We see that whenever the Qur'an mentions the name Yathrib, it ONLY comes from the tongues of the munafiqs. E.g.:
وَإِذْ قَالَت طَّائِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَا أَهْلَ يَثْرِبَ لَا مُقَامَ لَكُمْ فَارْجِعُوا
"And when a faction of them said, 'O people of Yathrib, there is no stability for you [here], so return [home].'" [Qur'an, 33:13] They still called it Yathrib because they didn't like the name Madinah (as it was given by the Prophet PBUH).
In one hadith, the Prophet PBUH said, "Whoever calls Madinah Yathrib should say istighfar, because it is Taba." (We will get to this name "Taba" in a while.)
Allah and the Prophet PBUH always call the city Madinah. For example, in Surah al-Tawba:
وَمِمَّنْ حَوْلَكُم مِّنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مُنَافِقُونَ ۖ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ
"And among those around you of the Bedouins are hypocrites, and [also] from the people of Madinah." [Qur'an, 9:101]
The name yathrib, some scholars say, it comes from "tathrib (تثريب)" which means "to criticize," (as found in [Qur'an, 12:92]). Others say it comes from "tharb (ثرب)" which means "evil/corruption." And we know that the Prophet PBUH did not like bad names. E.g. When a number of people who converted to Islam had bad names, the Prophet PBUH changed them. In one example, a lady had the name (in Arabic) 'sour' so the Prophet PBUH changed it to 'sweet.' The jahili Arabs had a superstition that if someone says something good about someone, you must say something bad, allegedly, to counter the 'nazar.' E.g. if someone says, "Your son is handsome," they would say, "No, no. He is ugly!" to, allegedly, counter the evil eye. But in Islam, this is not how we counter evil eye. In any case, the point is we should not choose bad names.
So the Prophet PBUH called it "al-Madinah" i.e. "the City." And the longer name is "Madinatu Rasulillah SallAllahu Alayhi wa-Sallam (the City of the Messenger of Allah Peace Be Upon Him)," but he primarily called it al-Madinah. And it has many other names; one scholar listed over 100 names for Madinah. However, our Prophet PBUH only called it Madinah (مدينة), Taba (طَابَة), and Tayyiba (طَيْبَة). Taba and Tayyiba both mean "the Pure," and "the Source of Purity." In one hadith, e.g. in Musnad Imam Ahmad, the Prophet PBUH said, "Whoever says Yathrib should say istighfar, because it is al-Taba, because it is al-Taba, because it is al-Taba." And this actually shows that Yathrib meant evil and corruption, because the opposite of Tayyib/Taba is evil.
______________
Blessings of Madinah
The Prophet PBUH said Madinah had many blessings:
1. In Sahih Bukhari, it's narrated that the Prophet PBUH made du'a for Madinah, "اللهم حبب إلينا المدينة كحبنا مكة أو أشد (O Allah, cause us to love Madinah as much as we love Makkah, or even more)." And Ibn Abbas narrates that whenever the Prophet PBUH would come back from an expedition and he would see the silhouette of Madinah in the distance, he would become excited and tell his camel or his horse to go faster.
2. It has the mountain of Uhud where the Prophet PBUH said, "هذا جبل يحبنا ونحبه (This is a mountain we love and it loves us)." So we believe that the mountain of Uhud loves the Muslims. It's a blessed mountain. And further the Prophet PBUH said, "Uhud is one of the mountains of Jannah."
3. The Prophet PBUH told us that Dajjal will try to enter and destroy Madinah, but he will not be able to, as it will be guarded by two large angels. So in the early tradition, we are told that if we hear of Dajjal, we should go to Madinah.
4. The Prophet PBUH said, "No plague shall ever infest Madinah." And since then, there has never been a plague. Even the infamous 1918 Spanish influenza which killed 1/3 of the population of the world did not touch Madinah. It's amazing because people come to Madinah from all over the world, but the plague did not enter. Masha'Allah.
5. The Prophet PBUH made du'a that Madinah be blessed. He said, "اللهم بارك لنا ... في مدينتنا (O Allah, give us barakah... in this city of ours)." And in Bukhari, he said, "O Allah, Your servant Ibrahim declared Makkah a Haram; and I too am Your servant, so I make du'a that You make Madinah a Haram." Thus Madinah is considered the second Haram in our religion.
6. Also in Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet PBUH said,"O Allah, bless us in our weights and measurements of Madinah." In those days, when you purchase grain, barley, dates, etc. you would weigh it. So the Prophet PBUH is saying, "Bless us in our units of measurement," i.e. the food that you buy in Madinah will be a blessed food. Barakah means it will suffice more people.
7. In one hadith, the Prophet PBUH said, "اللهم اجعل بالمدينة ضعفي ما جعلت بمكة من البركة (O Allah, make Madinah double the blessings you have given to Makkah)." This hadith has proven a little bit problematic for some scholars because does this mean Madinah is more blessed than Makkah? There has been a lot of discussions. Some of the classical scholars e.g. Imam Malik, who was a Madani, considered Madinah to be the holiest land, even if Makkah has more reward for praying [Makkah = 100,000x reward. Whereas Madinah = 1,000x reward.] Still, for Imam Malik and others, they said the city of Madinah is more blessed because of this hadith. And other scholars have said each city is blessed in its own way. We don't compare the two. No doubt Makkah has superiority in some angles; and of them is that (according to majority opinion) Makkah was blessed the day Allah created the heavens and earth, and Ibrahim AS announced its blessedness; whereas Madinah, it became blessed with the emigration of the Prophet PBUH to it. Another superiority of Makkah is that it has the first house of worship meant to worship Allah (the Ka'bah) to ever be built on earth. So the scholars say it's not appropriate to compare; each one has its fadila and blessings.
8. The Prophet PBUH said, "إن الإيمان يأرز إلى المدينة كما تأرز الحية إلى جحرها (Iman returns to Madinah like a desert animal returns to its hole)." It's a beautiful analogy. When the desert animal feels threatened, it immediately jumps into its hole. So subhan'Allah, when the people of Iman are attacked, or when Islam is facing a crisis, Madinah will be the place where Iman is protected. Madinah will be the bastion of Islam.
9. Madinah will be protected against the plots of its enemies. The Prophet PBUH said in Bukhari, "No one shall plot to harm Madinah except that Allah will dissolve him like salt is dissolved in water."
10. The Prophet PBUH said in Sahih Bukhari, "Whoever does a crime in Madinah (i.e innovate something), or helps a criminal in Madinah, he shall have the la'na of Allah, the angels, and all of mankind, and Allah will not accept from him any obligatory or nafl deed." This is a huge blessing but at the same time a very dangerous warning for anybody who wishes to harm Madinah.
11. It's a blessed place to live in. The Prophet PBUH said in Bukhari, "والمدينة خير لهم لو كانوا يعلمون (And Madinah is better for them, if they only knew)." "No one leaves it not wanting to live there except that Allah replaces him with someone better. And he who is patient with the difficulties of Madinah (it's very hot/cold; and before the advent of modern technology, the food was only seasonal, etc.) I will be an intercessor for him on the Day of Judgement."
12. It's a blessed place to die in. The Prophet PBUH said in Musnad Imam Ahmad, "Whoever amongst you is able to die in Madinah, let him do so, because I will intercede for him on the Day of Judgement." (Du'a to die in Madinah: "أَللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ المَوْتَ فِي مَدِينَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَدَّفْنَا فِي بَقِيعِ الْغَرْقَدْ [O Allah, we ask You to cause us to die in the City of the Prophet PBUH, and cause us to be buried in Baqi' al-Gharqad.]") It's a huge blessing to just die in Madinah. And we all know Umar RA used to make a strange du'a, "O Allah, I want to die a shaheed, and I want to die in Madinah." And his own son Ibn Umar would scoff at this and say, "O my father, how can you combine these two things?" - as Madinah at that time was no longer a land of jihad - there was no war. But Allah accepted this du'a - Umar RA died a shaheed IN Madinah.
13. And the Jannat al-Baqi' graveyard (Baqi' al-Gharqad) is in Madinah. It's the most blessed graveyard in the world. Ibn Hajar says over 10,000 sahaba including all the 9 wives of the Prophet PBUH are buried there (except Khadija RA); the Prophet's PBUH son, grandson, and great-grandson, the Prophet's PBUH aunt Safiyyah, Uthman ibn Affan, many scholars including Imam Malik and other tabi'is, etc., are all buried in Baqi' al-Gharqad. One time Aisha woke up and found that the Prophet PBUH wasn't there. When he comes back, he told her, "Jibril came to me in the middle of the night and told me to go and pray for the people in Baqi' al-Gharqad."
______________
Fiqh Tangent: What Exactly is a Haram?
From a fiqh perspective, Madinah is something we call a Haram. What exactly is a Haram? It comes from the word haram which of course means forbidden. Now Haram is an area of land that certain things halal outside of it become haram inside. For example, carrying weapons is haram in the Haram (except for a necessity for the ummah e.g. the armed guards that are protecting the imams in our times. But this is an exception.) Armies do not come in - even when the Prophet PBUH conquered Makkah, he said Allah has given him special permission to enter it with an army for a little bit of time in the day. Otherwise, it is not allowed. It's such a haram (it's so sacred) that you can not even pluck a grass/leaves/fruits. Any living object is protected. Everything is safe. Allah says in the Qur'an:
وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا
"Whoever enters it [the Haram] shall be safe." [3:97] Therefore Ibn Umar says, "In the days of Jahiliyyah, a man would see the murderer of his father doing tawaf around the Ka'bah, and he wouldn't do anything to harm him." Why? Because Makkah was a Haram from Ibrahim's AS time, and the Arabs knew this. (And Islam came and affirmed this fact.) Thus in short, a Haram means everyone and everything is protected. If you even find a lost item, you have to leave it.
And Allah says:
وَمَن يُرِدْ فِيهِ بِإِلْحَادٍ بِظُلْمٍ نُّذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
"And whoever intends therein [in the Haram] [a deed] of deviation [in religion] or wrongdoing, We will make him taste of a painful punishment." [Qur'an, 22:25]
There are only two Harams in the world: Makkah and Madinah i.e. al-Haramayn al-Sharifayn (الحرمين الشريفين). How about Bayt al-Maqdis (Aqsa)? It is a blessed land, it is the first qibla, it is a place where you get extra reward (250x) if you pray in - all of these blessings are there, but it's not a Haram from a fiqh standpoint. Even though people of Jerusalem call it al-Haram al-Sharif, still it's not a Haram from a fiqh standpoint. You can hunt the animals of Jerusalem; you cannot of Makkah and Madinah. And none of the scholars or ulama ever said Jerusalem is a Haram. Yes it's a land of large blessing, but it's not a Haram. Every Haram is a blessed land, but not every blessed land is a Haram.
______________
Wisdoms of Why Madinah was Chosen
Now why was Madinah chosen? Out of all the cities in the world, if Allah had wanted, he could have sent the Prophet PBUH to Abyssinia for example. So why Madinah? Note this is from what we understand, from what our scholars have derived, but Allah knows the real reasons.
1. Strategic location. It is reasonably close to Makkah without being too close, and not too far either. From Makkah to Madinah, an average caravan takes 7-8 days, and a fast rider takes around 3 days. Thus it's a distance not threateningly close, and at the same time not too far, unlike Abyssinia.
2. It's an amazing city from a military standpoint. It has natural protection from three sides around it. On the two sides (east and west), it has two volcanic foundations. (Note: The Prophet PBUH said, "Madinah is a Haram between its two labba (ما بين لابتيها حرام)" i.e. between its two volcanic foundations. There was volcanic activity in Madinah maybe a few thousand years ago—Allah knows when—and it formed a type of material that's neither sand nor rock nor gravel i.e. it's not something you can walk on easily; and thus the east and west of Madinah are naturally protected by these large labba.) The southern side (closest to Makkah) is generally a luscious cultivation of date palms. It's densely populated with such date palms and as such you cannot take an army through this forest of date palms. Thus the only part exposed is the northern side which is why the Prophet PBUH only had to dig a trench there in the Battle of Khandaq [later in 5 AH]. All that was needed was a trench a few miles long. And it was possible because of this geological structure.
3. The people of Madinah had never been conquered, thus they had a strong determined spirit. They had always been independent since the beginning, so they had an izzah that was necessary to take Islam forward.
4. Aisha RA said the Civil War of Bu'ath that had been going on in Madinah, according to some scholars for 100 years, and others 40-50 years, was a gift that Allah gave to the Prophet PBUH. How so? The wars did many things: most importantly, it eliminated the stubborn, power-hungry senior members of the community. This left Madinah to the young blood who were tired of the bloodshed, who want change, who want a new leader from outside the bloodied tribes, i.e. they want a fresh, neutral leader—and they found this in the Prophet PBUH.
5. Another divine wisdom is that the Prophet PBUH had a blood connection with the people of Madinah (Khazraj). Allah chooses his place of emigration to be a land where he is a second cousin to some of them. How so? A few decades ago, his great-grandfather Hashim would go through Madinah (of course was called Yathrib at the time) on his way from Makkah to Syria, and one time he saw a very energetic, dynamic, beautiful lady called Salma (سلمى) who was a business lady. And so he married her, and she set some conditions: She will stay in Madinah, keep all the children, and remain a businesswoman. And they were only able to be together for a short time, but she was pregnant with his son Shayba (شيبة). And Shayba grows up. Initially the Quraysh had no idea about this. But one day, the brother of Hashim, al-Muttalib, saw Shayba in the streets of Madinah, and he recognized him as one of his blood by the features of his face, so he asked him, "Who is your father?" and he proudly said, "My father is Hashim." And long story short, so he took Shayba back to Makkah. And when the Quraysh saw Shayba, they assumed he was al-Muttalib's new slave, so they called him Abdul Muttalib - and this is how Shayba got his new name Abdul Muttalib. And of course, as we know, Abdul Muttalib is the grandfather of the Prophet PBUH. So this is how the Prophet PBUH is related to the people of Madinah. Is this not a divine miracle? The very streets the Prophet PBUH will live in, his own grandfather was raised there. It's clearly Allah's plan. Salma is from the tribe of the Banu Adi ibn Najjar from the Khazraj, thus the Prophet PBUH to them was not a stranger. To be frank, somebody related through a female (akhwal/أخوال) is not the same as somebody related through a male (a'mam/أعمام) for that culture (and even in Islamic law), but it was a relation nonetheless.
6. The Arabs of the Yathrib were the Aws and the Khazraj. And they were Qahtanis. Recall there were two Arabs: Qahtan and Adnan. And aside from the Aws and the Khazraj, all other surrounding Arab tribes were Adnanis. And it's not a coincidence that Qahtanis and Adnanis will be merging together to form the new Islamic state. For the Adnanis and Qahtanis to come together to form the early Islamic state, nobody could oppose them on nationalistic grounds anymore. This is a sign of what's going to happen: Islam will come to obliterate ethnic differences and tribalism.
7. Both the Aws and the Khazraj are Yemenite. And the people of Yemen has a special blessing. The Prophet PBUH praised them, "الإيمان يمان والحكمة يمانية (Iman is Yemeni, and wisdom is Yemenite)."
8. The unique combination of the Jews and the Arabs in Yathrib was very necessary. Of the greatest benefit: the Aws and the Khazraj had rubbed shoulders with monotheistic people for two centuries. So they were familiar with the concept of Books, prophets, shariah, etc. The Jews had always been flouting it in their face (as we discussed in Episode 26, under "Lessons From the Incident of the Bay'ah," point #2). So the Aws and the Khazraj learned about the truth of monotheism from this. And so when Islam—the real truth—comes, they embraced it. And those who were flouting it ended up rejecting it, out of arrogance.
______________
Next time we will discuss where the Jewish tribes come from. In the middle of the Arabian Peninsula, where did they come from?