LECTURE 13Appealing to tribes and individuals

What is the situation now ? By the 10th year after revelation, Prophet

Muhammad (SAWS) realized that Makkah was no more a suitable place for da‘wa (missionary activity).

By then, very few people embraced Islam, and the idea of assassinating the Prophet was becoming more and more imminent.

The solution lied in finding another land which would be more fertile for the message. 

Plan for immigration took 3 yrs. . .

Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) decided to make the best use of the pilgrimage season of that year, the 10th year.

Why?

In those 10 days he met

all tribes that came for pilgrimage to seek support and refuge in one of them. He made 26 unsuccessful attempts except for one.

Each had a different reaction . . .

Banu -Hanifa: their answer was the worst ever in the history of da‘wa. The Hadith narrators did not state their words, for it seems that their answer to the Prophet was very insulting [from them came Musaylimmah Al-Kadhaab—who later on would be killed in the battle of Yamama later]

Banu Kalb . . .

This tribe had a sub-branch called Banu- Abdullah. The Prophet targeted this branch of the tribe. On calling them to Islam, the Prophet (SAWS) said, “Allah has blessed you with a good name so worship Him alone.” However, the attempt was to no avail.

Banu-Amer Ibn-Sa‘sa‘a

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) read the Qur'an and informed them about Islam.

One of them, by the name of Bahira Ibn-Feras, who could foresee that the Prophet (saws) would surely triumph, pledged that by supporting this man they would “indisputably rule the Arabs.”

But one condition . . . "Should we give you allegiance and Allâh give you power over your

opponents, will you give us right to inheritance and succeed you in power?" The Prophet replied: "The whole affair lies in Allâh’s Hands. He gives the power to whomever He desires." The man commented: "Do you expect us to incur the wrath and vengeance of the Arabs without the least hope of leadership? We can in fact readily dispense with your offers."

The Prophet refused their offer because Islam needs to be built on sincerity, not on greed and lust for gain and power. Leadership is to make sure that the law of Allah is ruled in the land, and not for the sake of power struggles.

Banu Amir When Banu ‘Amer returned home and narrated the story to an

elderly man who had lingered behind because he was too old. They told him, "A young man of Quraish of Bani ‘Abdul Muttalib, claiming that he is a Prophet, contacted us, asked for support and invited us to embrace his religion.“

The old sheikh was struck by the news, and wondered if there was no way of making amends for the loss of that opportunity and swore, "He is really Ishmaelite (he descends from Ishmael). He is the Truth (he is a real Prophet). How did it happen that you misjudged his words?"

Bogra Ibn-Qais . . . He was not present when Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) met a

group of the tribe’s youth. The youth, on hearing about Islam, believed Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and welcomed him. When Bogra returned he asked, “Who is that man?” they answered, “Muhammad son of Abdullah from Quraysh who he claims to be the Messenger of Allah.” When Bogra knew that they had welcomed Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) he blamed them for making such a grave mistake, warning them against Quraysh's reaction—the principle that they operated on was “the tribe of Muhammad knows him best.”

He was harsh with the Prophet (saw)…

Bogra was so cruel to Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and asked him to leave. When Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) rode his she camel, Bogra hit it on the knee to make it jump and Prophet Muhammad fell down. Bogra kept laughing at him. A Muslim woman [DUBA’A IBNAT ‘AMER—’YA BANEE ‘AMER WA LA ‘AMER LAKUM’] from the tribe cried out to seek help for the Prophet and on her call, three young men from the tribe hurried to help him, and Bogra and two of his guards tried to prevent them by force.

Prophet (saw) prays . . . .

On seeing the fight, the Prophet (SAWS) prayed that Allah would bless the three young men, and take revenge from the others. The Prophet's supplication was accepted, as the three defenders embraced Islam and died as martyrs, while the attackers suffered a horrible death—said that they fell into wells.

Banu Shayban . . .

Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) met three of them: Mafrouq Ibn-Amer, Hani Ibn-Qubaisa, and Al-Muthana Ibn-Hareth. He learnt from Abu-Bakr (raa) that they were a tribe of deep rooted origins [your tribe was a your passport—who you were, and how you were to be treated] and that they were strong and competent.

Abu Bakr asked them . . . How many warriors do you have? They said

over1000 What is your power like? We strive to win,

with the permission of Allah (SWT). What is the war like between you and your

enemy? Fierce, we prefer horses over children. We prefer our weapons over agriculture.

Mafrouq turns to the Prophet (saw)

Says, “Are you from Quraysh?” Abu Bakr responded, “He is the Messenger of Allah.” So Mafrouq answers, “We were told that he claims [alleges] to be the Messenger of Allah. What do you want?”

Prophet (saw) answers, “That you protect me so that I may convey the message of my Lord for Quraysh has ganged up on us. Allah will help me and grant me victory.”

Mafrouq asks, “What do you call for?”

So he answers with the Qur’an . . .

“Say, “Come (so that) I may recite what your Lord has prohibited you: that you do not associate anything with Him, and to show fairest (companionship) to (your) parents; and do not kill your children (out) of want.

We provide for you and for them too. And do not draw near obscenities (i.e., irregular sexual intercourse; shameful) whatever (of these) is outward and whatever inward; and do not kill the self that Allah has prohibited, except with the truth (i.e., by right, in the course of justice). That He has enjoined you with, that possibly you would consider.” (6:151-152)

They like what they hear, ask for more . .

“Surely Allah commands to justice and fairness and bringing (charity) to a near kinsman, and He forbids obscenity and malfeasance and iniquity. He admonishes you that possibly you would be mindful.”(16-90).  Mafrouq was silent.

Hani Ibn-Qubaisa

What you say is good, but it would be rash for us to take a decision on what you are asking for right away. So give us some time to think about it.

Ask for some time to think about it …Al- Muthana Ibn Al-Hareth told Prophet Muhammad

(saws) that their tribe is situated between the Arabs and Persia, and that they could protect him from Arabs but not from the Persians. Prophet Muhammad (saws) answered that this issue had to be taken comprehensively. It is a message to everyone. The Prophet thanked them for their cordiality and hailed their truthfulness. Before leaving, he asked them to promise that when Allah grants him victory over Persia, they would embrace Islam.

They pledged loyalty. The Prophet left them while he was narrating these ayahs, "O you Prophet, surely We have sent you as a witness, and a bearer of good tidings, and a constant Warner, And a Caller to Allah by His permission, and as an enlightening luminary." (33: 45, 46)

It is noteworthy that later on, after the death of the Prophet (SAWS), Al-Muthana embraced Islam and led an army to conquer Persia. However, he regretted that he was so late that he did not win the honor of being the Prophet’s companion [story of Abu Bakr not recognizing him, “Wallah if the Prophet saw you , He would be happy.”]

Swaid bin SamitHe was a poet, who read many books and collected

many sayings from them. When the Prophet (SAWS) invited him to Islam, swaid said that Luqman’s sayings were better than the Qur’an, and so he read them to him. The Prophet (SAWS) listened to him and did not interrupt him, then when he had finished, the Prophet read him some ayahs from the Qur’an. Swaid was deeply moved, and he embraced Islam.

Dhumad Al- Azdi. Dhumad Al-Azdi, was a man from a tribe

known as Azd Al-Shanu’a from southern Arabia. He came to Makkah and heard that there was a man among them obsessed with Jinn. They were referring to Muhammad (saw).

His occupation was to cure those who were thought to be possessed by the jinn.

With the right intentions he went to the Prophet (saw) and said, “I heard you are obsessed with Jinn and I am an expert. I can help you if you want.”

It was an insulting statement, but the Prophet (saw) was very compassionate and understood that this man had heard some wrong information.

How the Prophet (saw) said . . . “Praise be to God. We praise Him and seek His

help. Whomever God leads aright no one can lead astray. Whomever God leads astray no one can lead aright. I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship but God alone who has no associates ” Prophet (saw) used to open his speech.

Dumad interrupted the Prophet and asked him to repeat the words again. So he did.

Dumad comments . . .

“These words are so wonderful they will reach the depths of the ocean [meaning these words will have influence.” Then Prophet said, “Pledge allegiance to me.” And so Dumad extended his hand and did so– and the Prophet (saw) said, ‘How about you plead also for your people.” So, he said, “And for my people.”

Dumad was a man . . . Who came with one objective and

walked out with another-he came to heal the Prophet and the Prophet (saw) healed him.

Prophet had so much influence on people, that it completely changes ones life. Leadership quality that Allah gave him—he was able to influence others.

Subhan Allah years later . . .

The prophet (saw) sent an army that passed by the village of Dumad. The leader of the army asked his soldiers, “Did you take anything from these people?” And one of them said, “Yes, I took a strong camel.” He said, “Give it back. These are the people of Dumad and the Prophet of Allah has given them protection.”

‘Amr Ibn Absa Now a man from Makkah, but from Arabia. He speaks about himself in Sahih Muslim, “In the time

of ignorance, I had belief in my heart that the religion of my people was false. Then I came to know that there came a man in Makkah preaching a new religion. SO I immediately traveled on my camel. I had to sneak in and secretly meet him [conditions were difficult, you can’t meet Muhammad publicly]. I finally met him, and asked him, “Who are you? “ Prophet said, “I am a Prophet.” I said, “What does that

mean?” Prophet said, “I was sent by Allah.” “What did he send you with [notice the simplicity of a mind that is not corrupt with philosophy and argument]“ asked ‘Amr. Prophet said, “He sent me with a message, worshipping him alone. Associating no gods with him. And to destroy idols.” ‘Amr said, “Can I follow you.” Prophet said, “You cannot follow me, don’t you see my situation. When you hear that I have prevailed come and see me.”

‘Amr said I left and I would constantly ask about new related to Muhammad (saw) until one day he heard that he had migrated to Al Madinah. He said , “ I approached the Prophet (saw). Do you know me?” And the Prophet (saw) said, “Yes, you are the man who came to meet me in Makkah.” He said, ‘teach me of the knowledge that Allah has taught you. Teach me about Salaah” Prophet (saw) did . And he said, “teach me about Wudu” and the Prophet (saw) did.

Tufail bin ‘Amr Ad- DausiHe was poet and chief of Ad-Daus tribe. When he came to

Makkah : "O Tufayl, you have come to our town. This man who claims that

he is a Prophet has ruined our authority and shattered our community. We are afraid that he would succeed in undermining you and your authority among your people just as he has done with us. Don't speak to the man. On no account listen to anything he has to say. He has the speech of a wizard, causing division between father and son, between brother and brother and between husband and wife." 

They went on telling me the most fantastic stories and scared me by recounting tales of his incredible deeds. I made up my mind then not to approach this man, or speak to him or listen to anything he had to say. The following morning I went to the Sacred Mosque to make tawaf around the Kabah as an act of worship to the idols that we made pilgrimage to and glorified. I inserted a piece of cotton in my ears out of fear that something of the speech of Muhammad would reach my hearing.

As soon as I entered the Mosque, I saw him standing near the Kabah. He was praying in a fashion which was different from our prayer. His whole manner of worship was different. The scene captivated me. His worship made me tremble and I felt drawn to him, despite myself, until I was quite close to him.

I remained there until the Prophet left for his home. I followed him as he entered his house, and I entered also and said, "O Muhammad, your people have said certain things to me about you. By God, they kept on frightening me away from your message so that I even blocked my ears to keep out your words. Despite this, God caused me to hear something of it and I found it good. So tell me more about your mission." 

The Prophet, peace be upon him, did and recited to me Surah Al-Iklaas and Surah Al-Falaq. I swear by God, I had never heard such beautiful words before. Neither was a more noble or just mission ever described to me. Thereupon, I stretched out my hand to him in allegiance and testified that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. This is how I entered Islam. 

I stayed on for some time in Makkah learning the teachings of Islam memorizing parts of the Quran. When I decided to return to my people, I said, "O Rasulullah. I am a man who is obeyed in his tribe. I am going back to them and I shall invite them to Islam . . ." 

Goes back to his family . . .

When I returned to my people, my father, who was quite old then, came up to me and I said, 'O Father, let me relate my news to you. I am no longer from you and you are not of me.'' 

"Why so, my son?" he asked. 

"I have accepted Islam and now follow the religion of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him," I replied. 

"My son," he said, "your religion is my religion." 

''Go and wash your sell and cleanse your clothes," I said. "Then come that I may teach you what I have learnt." 

This the old man did and I explained Islam to him and he became a Muslim. 

Then his wife . . . "Then came my wife and I said, "Let me relate my news

to you. I am no longer of you and you are not of me." 

"Good heavens! Why so?" she exclaimed. 

"Islam has separated us," I explained. "I have become a Muslim and follow the religion of Muhammad." 

"Your religion is my religion," she replied. 

'Then go and purify yourself, not with the water of Dhu Shara, the idol of the Daws, but with pure water from the mountain. " 

"Good gracious! Do you fear anything from Dhu Shara?" 

"Damn Dhu Shari. I told you, go and wash there, far away from people. I guarantee you that this dumb stone won't do a thing to you." 

She went and washed and I explained Islam to her and she became a Muslim. I then invited the Daws as a whole to become Muslims. They were all slow in responding, except Abu Hurayrah. He was the quickest to respond to the invitation of Islam. 

The next time I went to Makkah, Abu Hurayrah was with me. 

"What have you left behind?' the Prophet asked me. 

"Hearts with veils over them obscuring the Truth, and firm disbelief. Sin and disobedience have won over the Daws." 

The Prophet thereupon stood up, made wudu and prayed with his hands raised to the heavens. Abu Hurayrah remarked, "When I saw the Prophet like this, I was afraid that he was praying against my people and that they would be destroyed." 

But the Prophet, upon whom be peace, prayed, "O Lord, guide the Daws, guide the Daws, guide the Daws." Then he turned to me and said: 

"Go back to your people, befriend them, treat them gently and invite them to Islam." 

I stayed in the land of the Daws inviting them to Islam until after the hijrah of the Prophet to Madinah and after the battle of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq had taken place. Then I went to the Prophet. With me were eighty families who had become Muslims and who were strong in their faith. The Prophet was pleased with us and he gave us a portion of the booty after the battle of Khaybar. We said to him, "O Rasulullah, make us the right wing of your army in every battle and make our efforts acceptable." 

Tufayl stayed with the Prophet until the liberation of Makkah. After the destruction of the idols there, Tufayl asked the Prophet to send him to put an end to the worship of Dhu-l Kafayn, the chief idol of his people. The Prophet gave him permission. 

Back in Tihama among the Daws, men, women and children of the tribe had gathered and were agitated that the idol was going to be burnt. They were waiting to see if any evil would befall Tufayl should he harm Dhu-l Kafayn. Tufayl approached the idols with the worshipers around it. As he set fire to it, he proclaimed: 

"O Dhu-l Kafayn, of your worshipers I certainly am not.  Fire have I inserted into your heart." 

Whatever shirk remained in the Daws tribe went up in the flames that burnt the idol. The whole tribe became Muslims. 

Abu Dhar Al- Ghifari Said, “Me, my brother and my mother left

Ghifar because our people used to be disrespectable of the inviolable months [firm traditon among them to not break this sanctity, they were professional raiders of caravans, they were Bedouins who stole, raided, were corrupt—they have a bad reputation in Arabia, they did not abide by rules]

Abu Dharr

They went and visited an uncle of theirs, from another tribe, who was very hospitable to us. But eventually his family got very jealous or how he was treating us so well. So, they went up to the uncle of Abu Dharr and said that Unays [br of Abu Dharr] goes and visits your wife. He is interested in her.

The uncle quite naively goes and approaches them and mentions to them what he has heard, that Unays is interested in his wife. Abu Dharr was very upset because it was a false allegation. He told his uncle, “All the good that you have shown us you have cancelled it by this! All of your hospitality has gone after this accusation.” SO they packed and left.

Abu Dharr says, “My uncle was very regretful and he wrapped himself in a piece of cloth and sat crying.” But Abu Dharr said they were so angry, that they left. They went to Makkah, and settles outside of it. His brother Unays went into Makkah to do some business and came back and told Abu Dharr that he had met a man who claims that he is a Prophet (saw).

Unays said, “ I met a man who is preaching the worship of Allah alone.” Abu Dharr said, “And at that time I had already worshipped Allah for three years and revoked the worshipping of idols [his fitra guided him that it was wrong].” So, he was asked, “How would you pray to Allah.” He said, “I would pray in whichever direction Allah would point me to and whichever way Allah would guide me to and I would pray in the night until I would fall asleep until the sun would wake me up in the morning.”

He did not know how to pray, but he would pray. Abu Dharr asked, “What does he order us to do?” And Unays told him. And then he asked, “How have his people received him” Unays said, “They call him a sorcerer and liar [and he went down the list]” Abu Dharr said, “You have not satisfied my hunger. I want to go and investigate the matter myself [the media of the day, the CNN of the day, I don’t trust them] and I want to go and hear it from the message himself.”

We are asked to verify—that is how the science of hadith emerged, scholars wanted to know the names of those who narrated it because we do not follow hearsay.

So, he went and inquired about Muhammad (saw), so he asked a man who immediately started calling me names and pelting me with stones until I fell unconscious. When he woke up he was like a NUSUB AHMAR [like the idols they used to slaughter near, soaked with blood]

He got up and washed himself with the water of Zamzam at the Ka’abah. In the narration of Ahmed it says, that Abu Dharr stayed there for 3 days not knowing where to meet the Prophet. He said, “I did not have any food but the water of Zamzam [not surprising because health officials tells us we can live on water for a few days] and I realized that I was picking up weight, until I was getting folds on my stomach [Bedouins had flat stomachs]. I then saw two women come to the Ka’abah and do Tawaf and on every turn touch Isaaf and Naila [who were the two idols?

Isaf and Naila were in love and they could not get married and they had an appointment/date to meet at the kaabah and they had intended to fornicate there and Allah (SWT) turned them into stones on the spot. Quraysh took these two stones and started worshipping them, and it shows you the floodgates of Shaytan. When he throws you in dungeons of darkness, spiral out of control—idol worship start after erecting statues of righteous mean and shaytan came to tell them to do so, and generations later they worshipped them]

Abu Dharr, despised idol worshipper so he threw a comment, “Why don’t you make one have intercourse with the other.” Either the woman did not understand what he said, or did not believe that they heard. They continued. When he realized that they it did not deter them, he threw out a cruder comment. They started wailing down the streets of makkah.

Who did they run into? Abu Bakr and Muhammad (saw) who asked them what was

the matter. They said, “That heretic over there spoke words that fill the mouth [in other words, he was very rude].” Rasool Allah went to meet this man, and they started a conversation. Rasool Allah asked him, “Where are you from?” He said, “From Ghifaar.” Rasool Allah (saw) placed his hand on his forehead—surprised and amazed to see someone from Ghifar who don’t follow any rules and customs, and here searching for the truth whereas Makkah rejects it.

Abu Dharr said that I sensed that he hated the fact that I was from Ghifar. So I extended my hand to pull his hand from his forehead, Abu Bakr told him to put his hand down. The conversation continued, and Abu Dharr became Muslim.

Prophet (saw) told him to keep his faith secret. Abu Dharr he went out the next day, he went out in front of the people of Quraysh and said the SHAHADHA, they gathered around me and beat me up so bad that he thought he would die. Until Al Abbas came and said, ‘Do you know where this man is from? He is from Ghifar. None of your caravans will make it safely to Syria’ They fled! He did same thing the next day, and the following day and he would be beaten and Al Abbas would rescue him.

Rasool Allah told him to go back to his people and call them to Islam [how long did Abu Dharr stay with the Prophet (saw)? Not very long. How much did he know about Islam? Not a lot]. He went back and started giving them dawa—slowly they accepted. By the time the Prophet (saw) settled in Madinah, half of his tribe had accepted Islam, and the rest said that they would accept Islam when they met the Prophet (saw). They set out to meet him—the whole tribe Muslim and non-Muslim—Al Madinah saw a dust cloud, sign of an army approaching or so it seemed.

Companions rushed to their weapons, but the Prophet (saw) said, “Be like Abu Dharr.” And it was him and his ENTIRE tribe coming to pledge allegiance to the Messenger of Allah.

Now the rival tribe of Ghifar was Aslam. When they heard that Ghifar had accepted Islam they went and accepted Islam and pledged allegiance to him (saw). Prophet said, “Ghifar may Allah forgive them and Aslam may Allah give them peace.” All of it started with the work of ONE man! Later on he learned a lot! The last people of the desert to accept Islam became Muslim.

Lessons . . . The ones who search for guidance Allah will give it to them. He

investigated the matter, and Allah showed him the light. Prophet says, “Convey even one verse about me.” Don’t keep it to yourself. He had courage, and he was proud and he paid for it dearly and he

preached the message to his people without any hesitation. Verifying the truth—you have to go to the source to verify the information.

Allah has given you a mind, intelligence so use them. Do not belittle any good deed—even if it was a smile in the face of your

brother or sister. It could be the criteria that would mean tipping the scales in your fever. Abu Dharr learned very little—did he know that this small effort would mean the Islam of two major tribes becoming Muslim. You throw the seed, and Allah will make it grow.

10th day . . .

After 10 days of Hajj (Pilgrimage), the Prophet (SAWS) passed through 26 fruitless trials, yet he did not despair. He waited until the last days possible for success.

Taking to six young men . . . He met six young men from al-Ansar, from

the tribe of al-Khazraj, who came to perform Hajj. The oldest one of them was 21 years old, and his name was Assa’d Ibn-Zorarah. The Prophet (SAWS) found the young men at the barber, cutting their hair, and he decided to speak to them.

Dialog between them and Prophet (saw)

"Of what tribe are you?" asked the Prophet. "Of the tribe of Khazraj," they replied. "Are you the allies of the Jews?" The Prophet enquired. They said: "Yes." "Then why not sit down for a little and I will speak to you." The offer was readily accepted for the fame of Muhammad [saw] had spread to Madinah and the strangers were curious to see more of the man who had created a stir in the whole area. The Prophet [saw] presented to them an expose of Islam, explained its implications, and the responsibilities that fell upon the men who accepted it. When the Prophet [saw] concluded his talk, they exchanged among themselves ideas to the following effect: "Know surely, this is the Prophet with whom the Jews are ever threatening us; wherefore let us make haste and be the first to join him."

The six young men embraced IslamThey asked the Prophet (SAWS) to let them go back to

their people to try to settle the disagreements between al-Aws and al-Khazraj.

They, therefore, embraced Islam, and said to the Prophet, "We have left our community for no tribe is so divided by hatred and rancor as they are. Allâh may cement our ties through you. So let us go and invite them to this religion of yours; and if Allâh unites them in it, no man will be dearer than you."

Decided to meet the following year …

The Prophet (SAWS) agreed, and they promised to meet him the following year at the same place [without ANY reminders—they came back]. After one year, they came, but twelve: eight from al-Khazraj and four from al-Aws.

First Pledge of Al-Aqabah. The Prophet (SAWS) agreed on an oath of allegiance

with them. It was known as the First Pledge of al-‘Aqaba.

"We will not worship any one but one Allah; we will not steal; neither will we commit adultery, nor kill our children; we will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood and we will not disobey you in any just matter."

To ensure When they had taken the pledge, Muhammad [saw]

said: "He who carries it out, Allâh will reward him; and who neglects anything and is afflicted in this world, it may prove redemption for him in the Hereafter; and if the sin remains hidden from the eyes of the men and no grief comes to him, then his affair is with Allâh. He may forgive him or He may not."

Notice that Prophet (SAWS) chose these terms particularly in

order to reform the society in al-Madinah. He realized that the society suffered from serious problems because of the war. So, wanted to increase good manners, thus making them a good example for other people to follow, so that more people would admire these manners and embrace Islam. 

Asked to return to their tribes and

meet again after one year to settle the agreement of al-Hijrah (the migration from Makkah to Madinah)—but he sends someone with who will be the cause of the Islam of Al Madinah.