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obdurate to the Islamic
Da‘wah
(Call). They were under the influence of the poet Qais bin Al-Aslat,
who managed to hold them at bay and screen off the Call of Islam from their ears until the year 5
A.H.
Shortly before the approach of the following pilgrimage season, i.e. the thirteenth year of
Prophethood, Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair returned to Makkah carrying to the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
glad tidings about the new fertile soil ofIslam in Madinah, and its environment rich in the prospects
of good, and the power and immunity that that city was bound to provide to the cause of Islam.
THE SECOND ‘AQABAH PLEDGE
The next year, thirteenth of Prophethood, June 622 A.D., during the pilgrimage season, over
seventy converts from Madinah came in the trail of their polytheist people to perform the rituals of
pilgrimage in Makkah. The oft-repeated question amongst them was “Isn’t it high time we protect
Muhammad instead of leaving him forsaken, deserted and stumbling in the hillocks of Makkah?”
Shortly after arrival, they conducted clandestine contacts with the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and
agreed to meet him secretly at night in mid
Tashreeq
Days (the 11th, 12th and 13th days of Dhul
Hijja) in a hillock at Al-‘Aqabah, the last year’s meeting place.
One of the leaders of the
Ansâr
(Helpers), Ka‘b bin Malik Al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him),
gave an account of the historic meeting which changed the whole course of the struggle between
Islam and paganism, he said:
We set out for pilgrimage and struck a rendezvous in mid
Tashreeq
Days
.
We were accompanied by
a celebrity and a notable of ours called ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Haram, who was still a polytheist. We
disclosed to him our intention of meeting Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and exhorted him to join
our ranks and give up polytheism lest he should serve as wood for Hell in the Hereafter. He
promptly embraced Islam and witnessed the serious meeting at Al-‘Aqabah.
That very night we slept with our people in our camps. After a third of the night had elapsed, we
began to leave stealthily and met in a hillock nearby. We were seventy three men and two women
Nusaibah bint Ka‘b from the Najjars and Asma’ bint ‘Amr from Bani Salamah. We waited for the
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) until he came in the company of his uncle Al-‘Abbas bin
‘Abdul Muttalib who (though himself not a Muslim), adjured us not to draw his nephew away from
the protection of his own kindred unless we were fully prepared to defend him even at the risk of
our lives. He was the first to speak:
“O you people of the Khazraj — the Arabs used to call the
Ansâr
(Helpers) Khazraj, whether from
Khazraj or Aws — you all know the position that Muhammad holds among us. We have protected
him from our people as much as we could. He is honoured and respected among his people. He
refuses to join any party except you. So if you think you can carry out what you promise while
inviting him to your town, and if you can defend him against the enemies, then assume the burden
that you have taken. But if you are going to surrender him and betray him after having taken him
away with you, you had better leave him now because he is respected and well defended in his own
place.”
Ka‘b replied: “We have heard your words, and now O Messenger of Allâh, it is for you to speak and
take from us any pledge that you want regarding your Lord and yourself.”
It was a definite stance showing full determination, courage and deep faith to shoulder the daunting
responsibility and bear its serious consequences.
The Messenger of Allâh then preached the Faith, and the pledge was taken. Al-Imam Ahmad, on the
authority of Jabir, gave the following details:
The
Ansâr
(Helpers) asked the Messenger of Allâh about the principles over which they would take a
pledge. The Prophet answered:
1. To listen and obey in all sets of circumstances.
2. To spend in plenty as well as in scarcity.
3. To enjoin good and forbid evil.
4. In Allâh’s service, you will fear the censure of none.
5. To defend me in case I seek your help, and debar me from anything you debar yourself,
your spouses and children from. And if you observe those precepts, Paradise is in store for
you.
In another version narrated by Ka‘b, he said:
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) began to speak, recited some Qur’ânic verses, called people unto
Allâh, exhorted them to enter the fold of Islam and concluded saying: “I give you my pledge that
you debar me from whatever you debar your women and children from.” Here Al-Bara’ bin Ma‘rur,
caught him by hand, and said: “Oh yes, we swear by Allâh, Who sent you as a Prophet in Truth, that
we will debar you from whatever we debar our women from. Have confidence in us, O Messenger of
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