Basic HTML Version
75
Allâh. By Allâh, we are genuine fighters and quite reliable in war, it is a trait passed down to us from
our ancestors.”
Then ‘Abul Haitham At-Taihan interrupted and said: “O Prophet of Allâh! Between us and the Jews,
there are agreements which we would then s ever. If Allâh grants you power and victory, should we
expect that you would not leave us, and join the ranks of your people (meaning Quraish)?” The
Prophet (Peace be upon him) smiled and replied:
·
“Nay, it would never be; your blood will be my blood. In life and death I will be with you
and you with me. I will fight whom you fight and I will make peace with those with whom
you make peace.”
After the negotiations concerning the conditions of allegiance had ended, and all of the audience
were unanimously agreed to ratify it, two men of the early generation of converts who had
embraced Islam in the eleventh and twelfth years rose to their feet to apprise the others of the
serious step they were about to take so that they could give their pledge fully aware of the whole
affair and consequently be ready for the sacrifice they were expected to make. Al ‘Abbas bin Ubada
bin Nadlah, in this context, remarked: “O you people of Khazraj! Do you know the significance of the
pact that you are entering into with this man? You are in fact avowing that you will fight against all
and sundry. If you fear that your property will be at stake or the lives of your nobles will be
endangered, then leave him now, because if you do this after the pledge, it will be degrading for you
both in this world and the world to come. But if you think that you can carry out what you are called
upon to do in spite of the loss of precious lives and property, then undertake this heavy
responsibility, and I swear by Allâh, that herein lies the good of this world and that of the next.”
They replied, “We have already considered the loss of property and the murder of our notables, yet
we pay him allegiance. But what is our reward if we observe all the items of this pact?” The Prophet
replied: “Paradise is in store for you.” Then they asked him to stretch out his hand, and they all
stretched out their hands and took the pledge. Only at that time did As‘ad bin Zurarah come to
realize the people’s readiness for sacrifice in the cause of Allâh.
On the authority of Jabir, who said: “When we started to pay allegiance to the Prophet (Peace be
upon him) , As‘ad bin Zurarah stood up and gave the following short address: “Take it easy people
of Yathrib! We have not covered that long distance except because wehave had deep belief that he
(Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ) is the Messenger of Allâh. We are already convinced that
following him entails departure from the pagan Arabs even if it were at the risk of our life. Should
you preserve in this course, holdfast to it, and your great reward is placed in the Hand of Allâh, but
if you are caught in fear, I admonish you to give it up just now, and then you would be more
excusable by Allâh.”
With respect to the two women, the pledge was taken orally for the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
had never shaken hands with a strange lady.
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) then asked the group to appoint twelve deputies to preach Islam
to their people in Madinah, to shoulder the responsibility of implementing the articles of this pledge
and to guide the respective men of their own tribes in matters relating to the propagation of Islam.
The deputies elected were nine from Al-Khazraj: As‘ad bin Zurarah bin ‘Ads, Sa‘d bin Ar-Rabi‘ bin
‘Amr, ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah bin Tha‘labah, Rafi‘ bin Malik bin Al-‘Ajlan, Al-Bara’ bin Ma‘rur bin
Sakhr, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Haram, ‘Ubadah bin As-Samit bin Qais, Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah bin Dulaim
and Al-Mundhir bin ‘Amr bin Khunais. Three others were from Al-Aws: Usaid bin Hudair bin
Sammak, Sa‘d bin Khaithamah bin Al-Harith and Rifa‘a bin ‘Abdul Mundhir bin Zubair. Once again,
those twelvemen were sworn to act as surety over the affairs of their people just as the Christ’s
disciples did, and the Prophet would act as surety over his people, meaning all the Muslims.
Somehow or other, the news of these secret desert meetings with the Madinese leaked out. The
Prophet immediately knew that it was a certain pudgy ugly devil, inhabited in Al-‘Aqabah, who
discovered their meeting, and he threatened to settle his account with him as soon as possible.
On hearing this, Al-‘Abbas bin Nadlah said “By Allâh, Who has sent you in Truth, we are powerful
enough to put the people of Mina (the Quraishites) to our swords tomorrow, if you desire.” The
Prophet (Peace be upon him) said “We have not been commanded to follow that course. Now, back
to your camps.” They went back to sleep till morning.
No sooner did Quraish hear of this treaty than a kind of trouble-provoking tumult began to
mushroom in all directions. They realized quite fully that an allegiance of this sort is bound to
produce far-reaching ramifications of direct impact on their lives and wealth. The following day, a
large delegation comprising the leaders and arch-criminals of Makkah set out for the camp of the
Madinese to protest severely against the treaty. They addressed the Madinese: “O people of
Khazraj, it transpired to us that you have come here to conclude a treaty with this man
(Muhammad) and evacuate him out of Makkah. By Allâh, we do really hold in abhorrence any sort of
fight between you and us.”
The Madinese polytheists having known nothing about the secretly taken pledge, began to swear by
Allâh and answered in good faith that there was no truth in the report. ‘Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul,
Click on View to read this book online under free books www.islamicbulletin.com