When Allah willed to confirm and honor His messenger, make His religion prevail, and fulfill His promise of victory, the Prophet (a.s.) traveled to the tribes propagating his mission publicly. When he was in al-Aqabah, he met some men from the tribe of al-Khazraj who were followers to the Jews. He showed to them Islam and its principles and values and recited to them some verses from the Holy Qur'an which went deep into their hearts. What made them believe was that the Jews they lived with often propagated about the approaching advent of a new prophet. When Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) invited these men to Islam, they said to each other, “O men, he is the prophet that the Jews have promised you of. Let them not precede you to him!”
They responded to the Prophet (a.s.) and announced their faith. They said to the Prophet (a.s.),
“We have left our people while there was enmity and grudge among them which had no like among other than them. May Allah reconcile them by you that you invite them to Islam and show to them the same that we have responded to. If they respond to you, then no one shall be more honored than you.”
Those men went back to their country. They announced their faith in Islam and began propagating it. They were twelve men; Abu Umamah As’ad bin Zurarah, Owf bin al-Harith and his brother Mu’ath, Rafi’ bin Malik, Thakwan bin Abdil Qays, Ubadah bin as-Samit, Yazid bin Tha’labah, al-Abbas bin Ubadah, Uqbah bin Aamir, Qutbah bin Aamir, who were from al-Khazraj, Uwaym bin Sa’idah, and Abul Haytham Malik bin at-Tayyihan who were from al-Ows.[1] After that, Islam spread in Yathrib (Medina) and monotheism shone there.
The text of the homage to the Prophet (a.s.) was as the following: “Not to associate with Allah anything as a partner, not to steal or rob, not to commit adultery, not to kill their children, not to fabricate falsehood, not to disobey Allah in any good deed…if they fulfill that, they shall deserve to be in the Paradise, but if they do not, their affair shall be up to Allah the Almighty; if He wills, He will pardon, and if He wills, He will punish.”[2]
Sending Mus’ab a deputy to Medina
The people of Medina sent a delegation to the Prophet (a.s.) asking him to send them a religious instructor to teach them the teachings and rulings of Islam. The Prophet (a.s.) chose Mus’ab bin Umayr, who was from the best Muslim youth in virtue and jurisprudence as he was from the politest, most well-behaved, and most handsome youth of Quraysh, as his deputy to the people of Medina. Mus’ab traveled to Medina and began instructing the teachings of Islam among the people of the al-Aws and al-Khazraj (the biggest tribes of Medina) and reciting to them the Book of Allah. Islam spread so speedily, and no house remained there except that some of its men and women embraced Islam.[3] Mus’ab was so successful that he was the first deputy in Islam to be successful in his task.
The second homage of al-Aqabah
Mus’ab came back to Mecca carrying with him the good news of the spread of Islam in Medina and the response of the al-Aws and al-Khazraj to it and their devotedness to defend it with all material and moral abilities they had. The Prophet (a.s.) was so delighted and happy, and so were the Muslims in Mecca who suffered persecution and oppression there.
The Muslims of Medina sent a delegation headed by al-Bara’ bin Ma’rur and Ka’b bin Malik, to meet with the Prophet (a.s.) in Mecca. The delegation met with the Prophet (a.s.) in the mosque and offered to him their absolute reverence and conveyed to him the longing of the people of Medina to get the honor of receiving the Prophet (a.s.) in their town.
Al-Abbas, who was with the Prophet (a.s.), rose and made a speech before the delegation of Medina saying, “O people of the al-Khazraj, Muhammad among us is as you know; we have protected him from our people who are on the belief of ours (the polytheists),[4] so he is honorable among his people and secure in his country. He has refused except to incline to and join you. If you see that you will fulfill what you have promised him of and will defend him against his opponents, then it is you and what you have undertaken, but if you see that you will leave and betray him after his coming to you, then since now let him alone, for he is in honor and security among his people and in his country…”
The Prophet meets with the Ansar
The Prophet (a.s.) agreed with the delegation of Medina that he would meet with the people of Medina during the days of Tashriq.[5] A group of seventy men and two women, who were Umm Imarah Nusaybah bint Ka’b and Umm Manee’ Asma’ bint Amr, from the Muslims of Medina came to perform the hajj. They concealed the matter for fear of the polytheists of Quraysh. They waited until a third of the night elapsed, and then all these seventy-two persons sneaked away to al-Aqabah and had the honor of meeting the Prophet (a.s.) there. The Prophet (a.s.) welcomed and recited to them some verses from the Qur'an. They said to him, “We listen to you. Speak and take to yourself and to your Lord as you like.”
The Prophet (a.s.) said to them, “I accept your homage on condition that you protect me as you protect your women and children.”
Al-Bara’ bin Ma’rur took the Prophet’s hand and said, “By Him Who has sent you with the truth, we will defend you as we defend our women. O messenger of Allah, accept our homage for, by Allah, we are people of war and arms. We have inherited that from one another.”[6]
Ibn Rawaha asked the Prophet (a.s.), “If we do that, what shall we have?”
The Prophet (a.s.) said, “You shall have the Paradise.”
Then, Abul Haytham bin at-Tayyihan informed the Prophet (a.s.) about the danger of the Jews there. He said, “There is between us and the men (the Jews) ropes (relations) that we will cut. If we do that and then Allah make you prevail, will you go back to your people and leave us?”
The Prophet (a.s.) smiled and said, “But it is the blood the blood, and the destruction the destruction! You are from me and I am from you; I fight whomever you fight, and make peace with whomever you make peace with.”
This situation of the Prophet (a.s.) and the Ansar[7] was as the declaration of war against the Jews. Before these men paid the homage to the Prophet (a.s.), al-Abbas bin Ubadah had said to his people, “O community of al-Khazraj, do you know what for you pay homage to this man? You pay homage to him that you will fight against the red and the black of people. If you see that when your monies are exhausted and your notables killed, you will give him up, then from now you should let him alone. If you do (give him up), it shall be disgrace on you in this life and in the afterlife, and if you see that you are loyal to what you have promised him of exhausting the monies and killing of notables, then it will be the goodness of this life and the afterlife.”
All of them cried out, “We take him in spite of the exhausting of monies and the killing of notables. O messenger of Allah, what shall we have if we fulfill that?”
The Prophet (a.s.) replied, “The Paradise.”
The text of the homage was as the following, “We have paid homage to the messenger of Allah that we listen and obey (him) in activity and laziness, and spend (money) in poverty and richness, and enjoin the good and prohibit the wrong, and say (the truth) for the sake of Allah fearing no blame of any blamer, and support the messenger of Allah when he comes to us in Yathrib as we defend our selves, souls, and children, and we shall have the Paradise.”[8]
This homage was called “the homage of ar-Radhwan”. Then, this verse was revealed, (Certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility on them and rewarded them with a near victory),[9] and this verse, (Surely those who swear allegiance to you do but swear allegiance to Allah; the hand of Allah is above their hands. Therefore, whoever breaks (his faith), he breaks it only to the injury of his own soul, and whoever fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, He will grant him a mighty reward).[10]
Women paid homage in Mecca by putting their hands in a vessel of water and taking them out. Allah has said about that, (O Prophet! when believing women come to you giving you a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah, and will not steal, and will not commit fornication, and will not kill their children, and will not bring a calumny which they have forged of themselves, and will not disobey you in what is good, accept their pledge, and ask forgiveness for them from Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful).[11]
When the blessed homage was completed, the Prophet (a.s.) asked the pledgers to choose from among themselves twelve chiefs to be guardians over their people. They chose nine men from al-Khazraj and three from al-Aws. The Prophet (a.s.) made As’ad bin Zurara a chief over these chiefs and said to them, “You are guardians over your people as they are, like the guardianship of the disciples to Jesus son of Mary, and I am a guardian over my people.”
This homage took place in the heart of night in the defile of al-Aqabah, and then the pledgers went to their beds until the morning wakened them.
Fear of Quraysh
When the people of Quraysh knew about the homage of the people of Medina to the Prophet (a.s.) and their promise to protect him and defend his religion, they felt great fear and were too worried. The people of Quraysh were certain that they were meant by this treaty, because it was they who disbelieved in this religion, tortured the weak who believed in it, and harmed the Prophet (a.s.) bitterly; therefore, he must avenge on them.
Anyhow, the chiefs of Quraysh hurried to the caravan of Medina and said to them, “O people of al-Khazraj, we have been informed that you came to our friend (the Prophet) to take him out of us and pay him homage to fight us. By Allah, there is no tribe from the Arabs that is more hated to us that a war may break out between us and them than you.”
Some men from al-Khazraj, who had not yet embraced Islam, swore before the people of Quraysh that nothing of that had taken place, while the people, who had paid homage to the Prophet (a.s.), hurried to leave Mecca soon to be safe from Quraysh’s harms.
However, the people of Quraysh were certain of the homage of the people of Median to the Prophet (a.s.), and so they followed after them but they only could reach Sa’d bin Ubadah in Athakhir (a place near Mecca) and al-Munthir bin Amr who both were from the chiefs (nominated over the people of Medina). As for al-Munthir, he could run away, whereas Sa’d was taken and his hands were tied to his neck with the ropes of his mount. They brought him back to Mecca while beating and drawing him by his hair.
Muslims’ emigration to Medina
After the homage of al-Aqabah, Yathrib became a strong center for Muslims, for the Ansar (the Muslims of Medina) undertook their protection and defense. There, Islam spread everywhere and people of all classes talked about its high principles and rulings in their meetings and clubs.
Muslims of Mecca, after suffering much from Quraysh, asked permission to emigrate to Yathrib, and the Prophet (a.s.) permitted them. He gave them a general permission of immigration to Yathrib by saying, “I have been informed that the place of your emigration is Yathrib, so whoever wants to emigrate let him emigrate to it.”[12]
The Prophet (a.s.) encouraged Muslims to emigrate to Yathrib (Medina) saying to them “Allah the Almighty has made to you brothers and an abode that you shall be safe in it (there).”
Muslims began emigrating to Yathrib secretly[13] for fear of the oppression of Quraysh. This emigration was based on a deep thought that made the Ansar more active and determined to support Islam besides its great influence on the Muhajireen (emigrants) who felt safe and free there. The first one from the Prophet’s companions, who emigrated to Yathrib, was Abu Salamah Abdullah bin Abdul Asad al-Makhzumi, and then his wife Umm Salamah joined him after suffering too much from Quraysh. From among the other first emigrant was Aamir bin Rabee’ah with his wife Layla bint Abu Hathmah, Abdullah bin Jahsh bin Ri’ab with his wife and his brother Abu Ahmed Abd bin Jahsh, Ammar bin Yasir, Bilal al-Habashi, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, Umar bin al-Khattab, with Ayyash bin Abi Rabee’ah, Hisham bin al-Aasi and other twenty riders.
The Muhajireen in the hospitality of the Ansar
The Ansar (Muslims of Yathrib) received and welcomed the Muhajireen (emigrants) and made them live in their houses and they spent on them. Umar bin al-Khattab and his companions lived in Rifa’ah bin Abdul Munthir’s house,[14] Mus’ab bin Umayr lived in Sa’d bin Mu’ath’s house, Hamza bin Abul Muttalib and Zayd bin Harithah lived in Kulthum bin al-Hadm’s house.[15]
The people of Yathrib received the Muhajireen too welcomely. They were too generous to them; they spent on them and offered their own houses to them and to their families. They participated with them in all what they had.
[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Katheer, vol. 2 p. 178.
[2] Ibid., p. 179.
[3] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 2 p. 76.
[4] Al-Abbas (the Prophet’s uncle) was still a polytheist then.
[5] Three days following the Day of Immolation during the hajj.
[6] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 1 p. 332.
[7] They were the Muslims of Medina who assisted and supported the Prophet (a.s.) and so they were called ‘Ansar: supporters’.
[8] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Katheer, vol. 2 p. 203.
[9] Qur'an, 48:18.
[10] Qur'an, 48:10.
[11] Qur'an, 60:12.
[12] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 1 p. 226.
[13] Nihayat al-Irab, vol. 6 p. 322, Tareekh at-Tabari, vol. 2 p. 342.
[14] As-Seerah al-Halabiyyah, vol. 2 p. 208.
[15] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 1 p. 226.
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