Muqadimmah / Introduction
All praise is for Allah, The Eternal, The Maker
- Al-Hamd : to praise
- Lillahi : Allah
- Barii :
followed by His salaah upon the chosen one.
Here is the Messenger’s biography
in poem form with succinct sections.
- Manzumat : Poem
- Poem helps with memorization
- Mujazat : Summarized
- Fusul : Segments
- Even though this text is in a packed poetry form, it still has segments (bab) like books.
The Birth of the Prophet
His birth was on the tenth of the distinguished (virtuous) month,
Rabee‘ al-Awwal, in the year of the elephant.
- Mawliduhu : hi birth
- Fi : in
- Asyiri : tenth
- Fadiili : virtuous month
- which is Rabiul Awal
- Aml : the year of
- Fiil : elephants
- The arabs would relate a particular year with a particular event, in this case it was the year when Abraha intended to destroy the Kaa’ba.
The Story of The Year of The Elephant
The land of Abyssinia (today’s Ethiopia) they had a king who was a christian. This guy had a representative in Sanaa’ in Yemen, Abraha. He wants to build a church, so that the people would turn away from the Kaa’ba (place of attraction/worship that is well known in the Arabian peninsula). He marched towards Makkah from Sanaa’ with an army of elephants. The leader of Makkah/Quraisy was none other than Abdul Muthalib (grandfather of Prophet Salallahualaihiwassalam). He conveyed a message to Abdul Muthalib through Hunafa, telling that he just wants to destroy the Kaa’ba & not fight the people. Abdul Muthalib told Hunafa that he does not want both. The two leaders met and had a conversation. He told Abraha that the house he wants to destroy has an owner tho will protect it (Allah), Abdul Muthalib does not need to protect it. Abraha got angry and prepared for his attack. Abdul Muthalib told the residents of Makkah to flee the houses and take refuge in the valley. When Abraha marched, his elephants stopped moving & sat down. Allah sent down birds carrying stones that burns through Abraha & his army.
Allah mentioned in QS Al-Fiil (105: 1-5)
أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصۡحَٰبِ ٱلۡفِيلِ ١ أَلَمۡ يَجۡعَلۡ كَيۡدَهُمۡ فِي تَضۡلِيلٖ ٢ وَأَرۡسَلَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ طَيۡرًا أَبَابِيلَ ٣ تَرۡمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٖ مِّن سِجِّيلٖ ٤ فَجَعَلَهُمۡ كَعَصۡفٖ مَّأۡكُولِۭ ٥
Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? Did He not make their plan into misguidance? And He sent against them birds in flocks, Striking them with stones of hard clay, And He made them like eaten straw.
However, the common view is that it was the twelfth,
- There is a difference of opinion on when is the exact date of his birth.
- This shows that knowing the date of birth of the Prophet is not something wajib from the sharia. Because this is unknown to us. There is no benefit in knowing that.
on a Monday at the break of dawn,
- Fi : in
- Yawmi itsnain : monday
- Tulua fajr : the break of dawn (the time when the sun starts rising)
- He was then asked about fasting on Monday, whereupon he said: It was the day on which I was born. on which I was commissioned with prophethood or revelation was sent to me. (Sahih Muslim 1162)
2 types of people will never learn
- Shy
- Arrogant
Benefits of Studying the Seerah
- Benefit for this dunya & the hereafter
- Knowing the history of the prophet from his birth till his death constitutes as knowing the prophet. If you do not know him how can you follow him? When his way is the only way to salvation in the hereafter.
- There are key events in the prophet’s life are a direct answer for a lot of things in the sharia.
The Parents of the Prophet
corresponding to the twentieth of April.
Prior to that, his father passed away
- 12th of Rabiul Awwal is in correspondence to the 20th of April in the Gregorian calendar.
- And before it (the birth of the messenger), his father passed away.
- Haynu : destruction, coming to an end (death)
Abdullah Ibn Abdul Muthalib
He was a noble man from a noble linegae.
- Aminah bint Wahbin
Also was a chaste & noble woman
- They were not muslims.
- How did the father of the prophet die?
- In Mecca, the people of Quraish, used to travel to 2 particular lands (As-Shams & Al-Yemen) to trade. The people would put everything that could be sold inside a caravan, and a group of people would be trusted with the journey.
- Allah told us in QS Al-Quraysh (106:2)
QS Al-Quraysh (106:2)
إِإِۦلَٰفِهِمۡ رِحۡلَةَ ٱلشِّتَآءِ وَٱلصَّيۡفِ ٢ Their accustomed security [in] the caravan of winter and summer -
- One of the benefit from this is that the Arabs only know 2 seasons.
- The father of the prophet would go on these travels.
- When they would make the travels from As-Shams, they would pass by Madinah. He became very sick, and he was left in Madinah while everyone carried on.
- Abdul Muthalib heard the news and became very worried, so he sent his eldest son to check up on Abdullah. However, before he ever got there, Abdullah has passed away.
- The scholars said that what occured to the prophet was the greatest degree of orphanage (yatim) because he wasn’t even born.
- Allah said in QS Ad-Duha (93:6)
أَلَمۡ يَجِدۡكَ يَتِيمٗا فَـَٔاوَىٰ ٦
Did He not find you an orphan and give [you] refuge?
- Not having a father/mother does not change fact that the prophet grew up to be honorable man, with great manners and character.
- A poet once said that the real yatim is not the one without a father, but the one who has lost ilm (knowledge) & adab (manners). At the end of the day you may lost a father or a mother but you can still move forward in life, but the thing that truly mattes is are you going to be a person of knowledge & adab or not.
The Prophet’s Birthmother
Two years later he was weaned
- Wa Ba’da : And after
- Amayni : 2 years
- Ghada : He became
- Fatiyma : a child who has completed his/her period of breastfeeding (weaned)
and brought back safe and sound by his wetnurse,
Haleemah, to his mother. She then returned
with him to her own family as she had desired.
As Allah mentioned in QS Al-Baqarah (2:233)
وَٱلْوَٰلِدَٰتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَٰدَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ
Mothers may breastfeed their children two complete years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing [period].
- the one who was breastfeeding him, brought him back to his mother in a good, healthy, condition.
- His wetnurse’s name was Haleematuh Sadiyah.
- There were disputes regarding who are the women who breastfed the prophet. Among those, there are 3 we are certain of:
- Aminah bint Wahbin (the mother)
- Tsuwaibah (the slave girl of Abu Lahab), she also breastfed Hamzah R.A (the uncle of the prophet)
- Haleematuh bint Abi Zuaibin AsSadiyah (breatfed the prophet up until his two years were up)
Why did the arabs would give their kids to other women to be breastfed?
- A lot of these women lived in the desert
- The arabs saw a benefit of raising their child in the desert
- Life in the desert is tough & strong, and living there produces a tough nature inside a person.
- Pure condition for living (food, water) so that they grow up healthy.
Haleemah has a husband named Harits ibn Abdul Uzza. They were from Banu Sa’diyah. Not too far outside Makkah. They were quite poor. Yearly, they would go to prominent cities and search for children to be breastdfed. They would do this because the family would financially support them. The place where Haleemah lived experienced drought on the year of the prophet’s birth. Poverty struck & their animals became weak. She also had a son and she couldn’t produce breast milk.
One day the women of Banu Sa’diyah went to Makkah to find child to be breastfed, and Haleemah came along. It was narrated that all the women passed the house of the prophets, but no one would take him (since he is an orphan, they were afraid of not getting the financial support they needed). But at the end of the day, only Haleemah was left with no child, so she said to her husband that she was not gonna leave without a child. They came and picked up Muhammad from Aminah. She sat on her donkey & started to breastfeed the prophet right away. She said that there were so much milk that she was able to breastfed both Muhammad & her son until their thirst was quenched.
Once they came back, they started to see good things turning out for them upon bringing the prophet back with her :
- Her donkey became strong
- Her camel started to produce milk
When the two years came to an end, she really didn’t want to give him back. She explained to Aminah that she wanted to keep the prophet a bit longer, and Aminah then agreed on it.
The Angels Cut His Heart Open
Two months later his belly was cleaved open,
though some say it was when he was four years old
- This event took place 3 times over the course of the prophet’s life.
- Allah had the kalb (heart) of the prophet purified.
- The prophet sallalahualaihiwassalam mentioned that he was playing with his brother (the son of haleemah) and saw that two people (angels) came to him. He was taken & his chest was cut open, the heart of the prophet was taken out, they had zamzam water & a container made out of gold. They found two dark veins, and ripped the veins, and wash the heart with zamzam inside the gold container, then place it back.
- The bother saw this took place, and ran calling out for his mother Haleemah. She ran outside and saw the face of the prophet has changed (worried).
- Because of this incident her worriness about what might happen to the prophet, she decided to take him back to his mother.
Benefits from this incident
- The matters of the kalb in Islam holds a great importance.
- The prophet said “Verily in the body there is a flesh, if it’s right, then the entire body will be correct, and if there it is corrupted, then the whole body will be corrupted.”
- A person can easily see the condition of their heart by taking a look of their actions.
- Since the prophet will transmit the message of Allah, being the seal of the prophet, Allah wanted to make him pure from all evil.
- Allah took out the portion of the shaytan that lies inside the kalb of mankind for them to spread waswas (doubt) inside the hearts of the people from the prophet.
- As mentioned in QS An-Nas (114:4-5)
الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ
From the evil of the retreating whisperer - Who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind -
- Iftitah : O Allah cleanse my sins with water and ice and snow.
- Allah purified the heart of the prophet with the purest water of all, zamzam.
Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani said that the opening up of the chest of the prophet happened 3 times:
- When he was a child
- When he was about to be given prophethood, the first revelation
- When he was about to go for Isra Miraj
- The scars were visible
The Death of the Prophet’s Mother
At six years and one month, while returning,
- Wa ba’da : And after
- Sitsin : 6 years old
- Ma Asyhrin : and one month
- Jaiy : they returned (from a journey)
his mother passed away at al-Abwaa’.
- Him & his mother went on a journey from Makkah to Madinah. This is because the maternal aunts & uncles of the mother’s prophet lived in Madinah.
- As they were on their journey back, they reached to a place Al-Abwaa, his mother passed away there.
The Death of the Prophet’s Grandfather
And his paternal grandfather, ‘Abdul-Muttalib,
- Wajadduhu : the grandfather
- Lil abi : from the father side
passed away while he was eight, no lie.
- Abdul Muthalib loved the prophet more than his own children & other grandchildren.
- The fact that the Abdul Muthalib died when the prophet was 8 years old is an agreement among the scholars.
The Prophet’s Uncle Took Care of Him
Then his paternal uncle, Aboo Taalib, took on
Abu Thalib was someone very significant in the prophet’s life.
He gave victory to the prophet while he gave da’wah in Makkah.
The arabs used to worship other than Allah, so when the prophet started calling out to tawheed, the people became angry.
Allah said that he sent all messengers to the people to worship Allah alone. All messengers came with this sole message.
Abu Thalib gave the protection the prophet needed in Makkah, the kafeer Quraish could not harm the prophet while Abu Thalib was around.
When Abu Thalib died during the Makkah period, the prophet became an open target to the kafeer of quraish. So that he endured so much pain & abuses that he had to leave Makkah.
Unfortunately, he died upon shirk and never took the shahadah.
The year Abu Thalib passed away was also the year our mother Khadija passed away. Therefore the year was known as the year of the sadness.
Incident of the Monk in Baheera
his guardianship, and later to ash-Shaam he travelled
That was while he was twelve years old
and the well-known incident with Baheeraa took place.
Our prophet travelled 3 times over the course of his life.
He travelled to As-Shaam for business. He did not know who to leave the prophet with so he took him to As-Shaam.
The incident of the monk : a Christian monk saw the prophet and recognized that he is a prophet, so he started to give glad tidings.
There was a dispute during the trade & a man asked the prophet to take an oath by Latt & Uzza (idols in the Kaaba). The prophet said he never took an oath by Latt & Uzza. The the man said how truthful the prophet is.
Allah placed a lot of love for the prophet in the heart of Maysrah. Such that he will be the person who serves the prophet.
Traded for Khadijah
The best of mankind again travelled to ash-Shaam
at the age of twenty five - remember it -
as a trader for our mother, Khadeejah,
Khadijah bint Quwaidin, was a business women who was well respected. She would give her wealth to be traded on her behalf.
→ Fiqh term for such business model : Akad Mudharabah.
She heard how honest & honorable the prophet was, so he accept the request to go traded for her.
Why did the author refers to Khadijah as mother? Because Allah told us in the Qur’an that all the wives of the prophet are like mothers to the believers.
She sent a slave boy named Maysarah along with the prophet.
The prophet took a shade under a tree while resting. Not too far away was a place for monks of worship. A monk asked Maysarah about the prophet (since he is a familiar face, went back and forth to As-Shams).
The monk said that nobody has ever sat under that particular tree except for a prophet.
→ redness in his eyes
and he returned that year after profitable trade, happy.
In that year was his marriage to her,
and he later consummated his marriage with her.
He brought back many profit for Khadeeja.
In that same year, he also married Khadeeja.
She was 40, and the prophet was 25.
How did they come to get married?
She heard a lot of good things about the prophet from Maysarah.
She sent someone on her behalf to ask his hand in marriage.
Benefit :
a woman can approach a man fist for marriage through wali
The Prophet’s Children & Their Deaths
After coming back from the journey on her behalf, the prophet got married to Khadijah at the age of 25, and she was at the age of 40. From her they had children.
All his children were from her except Ibraaheem.
The first to earn that distinction was al-Qaasim.
Then came Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Faatimah,
and Umm Kulthoom, who was the last of the girls;
and At-Taahir, At-Tayyib, ‘Abdullaah;
but some say each name belonged to a separate beautiful child.
All of them tasted death during his lifetime,
except Faatimah who died half-a-year after him.
All the children of the prophet were from Khadijah except Ibraheem (from Mariyah al-Qibtiyah)and all of them except Fatimah died during his lifetime.
- Qassim died at a very young age
- Abdullah
- Zainab died on the 7th year of hijriyah
- Ruqayyah died during the battle of badr. She was married to usman, after she died, umm kultsum was married to usman.
- Umm kultsum died on the 9th year of hijriyah
- 1.5 year after the death of the prophet, fatimah aslo passed away.
The prophet was on his death bed and saw fatimah came in, she sat next to him and the prophet told a secret to her ear. She started to cry, and aisha was amazed by this. Then the prophet told something again and she started laughing. Aisha was confused and asked fatimah what did he say. But fatimah wasnt gonna tell the secret of the prophet
After the prophet passed away, aisha asked again and this time fatima answered.
Virtues of Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
The first person the prophet has ever married
He did not marry anybody else until she died. She used to be the source of comfort for the prophet.
She has many virtues
- She is the leader of the women in this world
- She is the mother of al qassim
- Allah made her complete, noble, religious, smart, chaste
- He would give her praises
- He would slaughter a sheep to the friends of Khadijah even after she passed.
- The prophet and khadija is the closest in lineage (from khusain? Khadijah and umm habiba)
- Even before Islam, the people even know her as the pure one ‘at thahirah’
- She was the first person who embraced islam. She was the first person who believed in what the prophet came with.
The relationship they had is the kind everyone would want with their spouses
Hadith narrated by Aisha :
Ibn Hajar said that because of Khadijah, Allah made the matters he was facing very easy. This is why when she died, he became very sad and when soon after, in the same year, his uncle died. This is known as the year of sadness. After her passing, things were much harder for the prophet.
Allah raised the status of Khadija by sending her salaam, and the angel too, through the prophet.
Rebuilding the Ka’bah and Placement of the Black Stone (Hajar Aswad)
At thirty five he participated
in rebuilding the House of Allaah after its dilapidation.
From the age 25-40 before his prophethood began some events took place.
When the prophet reached the age of 35, the rebuilding of the baitullah, the house of Allah took place.
The Ka’bah - a sign of islamic identity.
Was built by Ibrahim and Ismail Alayhissalam. The kuffar of Makkah really honored Ibraheem. To the extend they would say they were upon the religion of Ibraheem, despite being idol worships. Anyway they loved him, and that love is connected to the Ka’bah. They knew the nobility of the Ka’bah , hence many want to strip it away from the Arabs (for example, Abraha) . The Ka’bah holds a great importance in the life of the muslims. The Ka’bah today is smaller than the one built originally by Ibraheem & Ismaeel. In fact, the Ka’bah had two doors. The doors were originally from the ground up. The little semi circle area today is also part of the Ka’bah.
Hajar Aswad - The Black Stone
Umar ra one day spoke to the hajar aswad, there is nothing he could gain from kissing the stone, but he only do it because the prophet do it. Imam As Shafii spoke that we do things if and only if the prophet did it. Kissing the black stone will remove your minor sins (hadith grade hasad)
The prophet said to aisha, if it wasn’t for the fact that your people had recently accepted islam, i would have had the Ka’bah demolished and rebuilt in the way it was supposed to.
Why is the hijr ismail not connected to ke Ka’bah? The arabs would only purchase the materials from halal money. When building it, the quraish ran out of halal money.
Why the door of the Ka’bah is high? The quraish wants to control who can come in and who can come out.
Basically the prophet is saying that if he were to rebuilt the Ka’bah when the Quraish had just started to accept Islam, and when the Ka’bah is deeply rooted in their forefather’s beliefs and their culture, the people wouldn’t have taken it well. That’s why he let the Ka’bah be the way it is.
Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani mentioned that a leader should not say anything that will hasten the people to reject him. This is what the prophet did.
When nurturing and trying to give understanding to the people, you cant directly shove it into their head, rather you nurture and give understanding and encouragment slowly. One of the example is khamr. Allah didn’t prohibit khamr right away, first the people were prohibited to attend the salah when they are in a drunken state, then slowly it was made haram. Through this nurturing, the people were able to accept what is halal and what is haram right away later on without rejecting what the prophet had conveyed. How is this possible when back then there was not a single gathering except that there was khamr served on the tables. Drinking was a big part of the Arab culture.
Ibn Hajar also mentioned that if you want to bring a person’s heart closer to Islam, as long as you are not doing anything haram and not leaving anything wajib, its okay to do so.
The Placement of the Black Stone (Hajar Aswad)
They appointed him to arbitrate and accepted his solution
for putting the Black Stone into place.
After building the Ka’bah, comes the final part, which is placing the hajar aswad on the yamani corner back into the Ka’bah. However, everyone starts to argue about who was rightful to place the stone back. Some narrations mentioned that, Abu Umayyah proposed a fair solution, he told everyone that they should ask whoever enters the doors of the masjid next to judge the issue, and whatever he/she says they will do in accordance to it. It was none other than the prophet salallahualaihiwassalam. One of the people shouted ‘Al Aamin Al Aamin’, they were pleased that it was the prophet. Why? Because all his life he is known to be the trustworthy one, the truthful one, the honest one, the just one, the fair one. Then the prophet came closer and listened to the problem. He asked them to bring him a cloth, place the stone in the middle, and and he asked all representative of the tribes to hold the edges of the cloth and carry it together. As they reached the corner, the prophet was given the honour to place the stone.
The Revelation of Prophethood - The beginning of Makkah Period
At the age of forty he was sent as a Messenger;
The prophet being marked as a messenger, is not only for him to convey messages of glad tidings and warnings of the hour, but also that he is a Rahmah. And he stayed in Makkah for 13 years after that. Then he was commanded to do hijrah, the migration, (when you migrate from a place of shirk to a place of islam).
on a Monday with certainty - so convey it -
He was appointed prophethood on a Monday, without a doubt.
during Ramadaan or Rabee’ al-Awwal,
However there is a difference of opinion of which month it was.
Ibn Qayyim said there was no difference of opinion in regards that the prophet was appointed on a Monday, however there is a difference of opinion in which month.
Arguments of both sides :
- Rabeeul Awwal : some narrations said it was 41 year after the year of the elephant which happened on this month.
- Ramadhan : because Allah said that this month is the month in which the Quran was revealed.
and Soorah “Iqra’ ” was the first of the revelation.
Surah Al-Iqra was the first one to be revealed.
Before the Revelation
- The prophet start to have dreams that will come true
- The prophet started to like to be in seclusion
- Objects would greet the messenger salallahualaihiwassalam, for example, rocks.
One of the key takeaway is that Allah is telling us the importance of reading and learning about Allah and their deen. Don’t be a person who is jahil/ignorant of their own religion. Also, we see that the first person he went to is his wife. We learn that a spouse should find comfort in one another.
Ibn Qayyim said, if you are in a position of someone who is giving advice to someone else, make your eyes shed tears because Allah could easily make you in the position of these people you are giving advice to, who are facing problems. Do not come to them so harsh, rather be merciful. You should be sad seeing the ummah in pain. The ummah is one body.
Prelude :
After the first revelation, there was a period of time where the revelation stopped coming to the prophet. He felt sad & depressed up until he wants to throw himself off the cave of Hira and comit suicide. Until, a revelation came and he was told to be relaxed. This was narrated in Sahih Al Bukhari.
The Command for Salah
Then wudoo’ and salaah he was taught
by Jibreel, as two complete units of prayer.
Jibril taught the prophet about wudhu & salah.
The first prayer Jibril taught was Zuhur.
All the 4 prayers was taught only in 2 rakaats except for Maghrib, it was already 3 rakaats from the beginning.
The Jinns were Forbidden to Hear the Affairs in the Skies
Then, after the passing of twenty full days,
enormous, terrifying stars pelted the Jinn.
The jinns, used to climb on top one another, in order to reach the sky, and they do that to hear the affairs of the heavens (Allah’s command to the angles). And if they hear about the affairs, they would increase it with 9 lies. They would pass down the message from top to bottom and each one will add a lie to it. And at the bottom of this is the toothsayer (magician), so they would tell lies to the magician. When the prophet was appointed his prophethood, the jinns were prevented to do this, angles & stars were the guardian of the sky. These jinns went to Iblees (king of bad jinns(shayateen)). And he said that something must be taking place, and sent out his army to find out what is happening in the world. They found the messenger of Allah was standing in salah between the two mountains. And when they came back to Iblees with the news, he said ‘this is it’.
20 days after the first revelation, an incident took place.
وَأَنَّا لَمَسۡنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ فَوَجَدۡنَٰهَا مُلِئَتۡ حَرَسٗا شَدِيدٗا وَشُهُبٗا ٨ وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقۡعُدُ مِنۡهَا مَقَٰعِدَ لِلسَّمۡعِۖ فَمَن يَسۡتَمِعِ ٱلۡأٓنَ يَجِدۡ لَهُۥ شِهَابٗا رَّصَدٗا ٩
And we have sought [to reach] the heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames. And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing,1 but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him.
Da’wah
Divided into 2 types:
-
Al-Jahriyah : da’wah done in secret (done for the first 3 years) During this period, he called upon the closest people in his lives. The first person to accept islam was none other than his wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylidin. After that, his slave boy, Zaid Ibn Harits. And from the children was Ali Ibn Abi Thalib (was around 8 years old at the time). And from among the men were Abu Bakar As-Siddiq Radiyallahuanhu (Abu Bakar’s real name is Abdullah Ibn Abi Kuhafa). Those who accepted Islam under Abu Bakar was Az-Zubair ibn Awwam, Usman ibn Affan, Thalhah ibn Ubaidillah, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, Abdurrahman ibn Auf . ← They were all among the 10 who were promised Jannah.
-
Al-Alaniyah : da’wah done in open (started on the 4th year)
The Open Call to Islam
Then, in the fourth year, he called
openly to Islaam as commanded.
When did the prophet became a Messenger?
QS Al Muddathir (74: 1-7)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلۡمُدَّثِّرُ ١ قُمۡ فَأَنذِرۡ ٢ وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرۡ ٣ وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرۡ ٤ وَٱلرُّجۡزَ فَٱهۡجُرۡ ٥ وَلَا تَمۡنُن تَسۡتَكۡثِرُ ٦ وَلِرَبِّكَ فَٱصۡبِرۡ ٧
O you who covers himself [with a garment], Arise and warn. And your Lord glorify. And your clothing purify. And uncleanliness avoid. And do not confer favor to acquire more. But for your Lord be patient.
Allah is saying that now you are about to undergo the hardships of messengerhood. If the hardships of what we, normal people go through is 1, double of that is what the prophets faced.
The prophet was known as Al-Amin long before his prophethood, thus, the people naturally believed in him i.e the story of the placement of hajar aswad. Abu Lahab is the paternal uncle of the prophet. The moment somebody insulted the prophet, Allah defended him straight away. Not only that, Allah took it upon Himself to respond on behalf of the prophet.
Allah then revealed in QS Al-Hijr (15:94) which changed the way of the prophet’s da’wah to be open
فَٱصۡدَعۡ بِمَا تُؤۡمَرُ وَأَعۡرِضۡ عَنِ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ ٤٩
Then declare what you are commanded and turn away from the polytheists.
The companions said that the situation became very difficult for the muslims, they started to be more cautious and feat of what might happen to them. They would pray hidden in the mountains. One time during the time when the prophet started to do da’wah in public, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas was a part of the people who went to pray in the mountains. Many people accepted Islam, among them are :
- Saad ibn Abi Waqqas
- Abu Bakr As Siddiq
- Bilal ibn Rahmah
- Zaid
- Ali ibn Abi Thalib
- Khadijah bint Kuwaylidin
- Ammar ibn Yasir
- Usman ibn Affan
- Zubair ibn Auf
- Thalalh ibn Ubaidillah
- Abu Ubaidah
- Abu Salamah ibn Abd Hasan
- Arkam ibn Abd Arkam
- Usman ibn Mas’un
- Said bin Zaid
- Khabbab
- Abdullah ibn Mas’ud
- Fatimah bint Khattab
The prophet started to fight the shirk that the people of Quraish came with. Khabab radiyallahuanhu, said there was a person who owed him money, he went to him to collect his money back, and he said he will not give anything back until he disbelieve in Muhammad. Khabab said ‘I would never disbelieve in him’. Allah mentioned in QS Maryam (19: 77-80)
أَفَرَءَيۡتَ ٱلَّذِي كَفَرَ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَقَالَ لَأُوتَيَنَّ مَالٗا وَوَلَدًا ٧٧ أَطَّلَعَ ٱلۡغَيۡبَ أَمِ ٱتَّخَذَ عِندَ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ عَهۡدٗا ٨٧ كَلَّاۚ سَنَكۡتُبُ مَا يَقُولُ وَنَمُدُّ لَهُۥ مِنَ ٱلۡعَذَابِ مَدّٗا ٩٧ وَنَرِثُهُۥ مَا يَقُولُ وَيَأۡتِينَا فَرۡدٗا ٠٨
Then, have you seen he who disbelieved in Our verses and said, “I will surely be given wealth and children [in the next life]“? Has he looked into the unseen, or has he taken from the Most Merciful a promise? No! We will record what he says and extend [i.e., increase] for him from the punishment extensively. And We will inherit him [in] what he mentions, and he will come to Us alone.
Many people want to stop the prophet’s da’wah. One of the incident that took place was when a group of leaders of Makkah went to Abu Thalib and said ‘O Abu Thalid, verily the son of your brother (Abdullah), is insulting our gods and he is discrediting our intelligence, and he is insulting our religion, and he is saying that our forefathers are misguided.’ Abu Thalid responded with a very good response. And they left and made Abu Thalib made his way to the prophet telling him to stop his da’wah, telling him, that he will disunite the people. The prophet did not response as he knows it is his duty and he knows his duty was haqq.
The reactions after the prophet openly call to da’wah
What the Prophet salallahualaihiwassalam came with is opposite to what the Quraish has been doing all this time. Naturally the people in Makkah started to hate the Prophet. The Prophet and the companions started to experience pain & hardships that were caused by these people. The scholars divided the pain (aza) that the Prophet faced into two types :
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Al Iza un An-Nasi un (Psychological Harm) Abu Lahab was the ‘flag bearer’ of this issue. Abu Lahab became very angry because of the previous incident in Al-Batha. He especially started to become very angry when the Prophet started to call out openly to Islam. Abu Lahab has 2 sons: Ut’bah and Uthaibah. The prophet has 2 daughters (Ruqayyah & Ummu Kultsum). He had married off his daughters to the sons of Abu Lahab before prophethood. Thus the Prophet was the father in law of Abu Lahab sons. He then forced his sons to divorce the daughters of the prophet. THis had a damaging effect to the Prophet. The wife of Abu Lahab, Arwa bint Harbin one night went outside of the house of the prophet and placed thorns on the pathway of where the prophet would walk on, so that he will be harmed. Besides that she also harm the prophet with her tongue. Thus when the verses of Al-Lahab were revealed, the punishemnt it talked about was not restricted to Abu Lahab himself, but also his wife. When she heard this, she decided to go and look for the messenger. She found him sitting by the Ka’bah with Abu Bakar radiyallahuanhu. In her hand was a rock, and she wanted to throw it to the prophet. When she came closer, she stopped. What happened? Alla Subhanawataala took away a part of her eyesight so that she couldn’t see the prophet. She said to Abu Bakar ‘O, Abu Bakar, where is your companion? It has reached me of what he said regarding my affairs. I swear by Allah, if I was to find him, I would catch him and I would throw his rock at him’. Then she recited some lines of poetry. After she left, Abu Bakar said to the Prophet, ‘Ya Rasulullah, were you able to see her and she couldn’t see you?’ The prophet then said “She could not see me, for verily Allah took away her eyesight to see me.‘
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Al Idza Un Jasadiy (Physical Harm)
This happened to both the prophet and the companions.
Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud said there is a 7th person but he did not remember the name. When the prophet said these, these Quraish were actually worried. They had known that Makkah is a place where duas were accepted and heard. And on top of that they know the prophet to be As-Siddiq (the turthful one). So they were scared of what might happen to them. Also, actually they know that the prophet is correct despite all the enimity and hatred they’ve shown. Note: the dua of the prophet is always head and accepted. The result of this dua was the battle of Badr.
QS Al-An’am (6 : 33)
دۡ نَعۡلَمُ إِنَّهُۥ لَيَحۡزُنُكَ ٱلَّذِي يَقُولُونَۖ فَإِنَّهُمۡ لَا يُكَذِّبُونَكَ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ يَجۡحَدُونَ ٣٣
We know that you, [O Muḥammad], are saddened by what they say. And indeed, they do not call you untruthful, but it is the verses of Allah that the wrongdoers reject.
Some of the hardships faced by the companions :
- Usman, He was so beloved to the prophet that he married off his daughter one by one to Usman who were previously married to the sons of Abu Lahab.
- Mus’ab ibn Umair, when his mother found out him accepting Islam, she locked him & tied him up. She would get a family member to beat Mus’ab.
- Bilal ibn Rabbah, the muadhin of the prophet, before Islam used to be the slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf. He found out Bilal had accepted Islam and started to punish him by taking Bilal outside when the sun was at the top. The heat was scorching hot, and he would place rock on top of Bilal. He gave Bilal two options either to stay there till he dies or disbelieve in Muhammad and worship Lat & Uzza. Bilal, with his strength looked at Umayyah and all he said was ‘One, One, One..’ (‘Ahadul Ahad’). One day, Abu Bakkar passed them and he freed Bilal.
- The family of Ammar ibn Yasir, His father is Yasir, and his mother is Sumayyah, the heads of quraish used to take this family and torture them. When the prophet would pass them he used to pass them he said ‘Patience O family of Yasir! For verily you are promised Jannah.’ Both Ammar’s parents passed away. His mother is known to be the first woman to be martyr in Islam.
When the torture became so severe, the prophet realized that he needs to go back into doing da’wah secretly. So what happened was when Al Arkam ibn Abi Arkam accepted Islam, his house became somewhat of a basecamp for the prophet to do his da’wah to those who had accepted Islam.
The Hijrah to Habasyah (Abyssinia, modern day Etiopia)
Four women along with twelve
men among the Companions all migrated
to the lands of Habashah in the fifth year.
The prophet commanded the companions to make hijrah to Habasyah,
Hijrah in the language means from one place to another.
In the sharia, hijrah can mean of many things, for example, moving from bad place to good place, but the most common meaning of hijrah is moving from the land of kufr to a land of islam.
At the time, it seems like hijrah was the only solution.
Hijrah is not something that is easy. There is so many sacrifices you have to make. Family, friends, safe place, wealth, culture, environment, food. Thus, there is a big reward connected to Hijrah.
Why Abyssinia? There was a king named As-Hama. An-Najashi is a title given to the kings of Abyssinia. He was known to be just, the prophet instructed the companions to stay in Abyssinia until Allah has made a way out to leave from there. This hijrah happened on the 5th year of his prophethood. The number of companions who migrated are 16. 4 women and 12 men.
The same year, they returned, but went back without blame.
They were eighty three men
accompanied by a group completing their total number;
and they were eighteen women. Later on,
In the same year, they returned to Makkah again. But they went back again for the second time to Habasyah.
One day in Ramadhan of that year, he went to the Haram, and he saw a huge crowd of the people of Quraish. He came closer, and started to recite the Quran on them. He recited the whole surah of Surah An-Najm. When he reached the last verse : So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him]. And he got into prostration (this is one of the ayah sajadah). All of those Quraish who listened to the prophet’s recitation, all came into prostration. This news reached the 16 companions who have migrated and they were told that the entirey of Quraish has entered Islam. So they considered this as a sign that they should come back, that they will be safe. So they made their way back.
Once they reached Makkah, it turned out that the matter was not as they were informed. It turned out that the Quraish only prostrated because they affirm that this is the words of Allah, but they do not prostrate acknowledging Prophet Muhammad’s teaching.
So what happened was the companions made their way back to Habasyah again, but this time a lot more came to migrate. 83 men and 18 women.
Among the men & women who were part of the first hijrah was :
- Ja’far ibn Abi Thalib
- Usman ib Affan
- Khalid ibn Said ibn Ass
- Abdullah ibn Ja’far
- Abu Salamah ibn Abdl Asad
- Hatib Ibn Harits
- Abdullah ibn Syihab ibn Abdullahb ibn Harith
- Ma’mar ibn Abdillah
Hamzah & Umar ibn Khattab Accepted Islam
in the sixth year, Hamzah - al-Asad - accepted Islaam.
Hamzah was the uncle of the prophet by lineage, but also his brother by nursing by the woman named Tsuwaibah. When Hamzah accepted Islam it was a victory & honour to the Muslims. Why? Because the hardships the Muslims faces were terrible up to the point where the prophet could only do da’wah and pray inside a companion’s house (Al-Arkam ibn Abil Arkam) out of fear of being harmed by the Quraish.
Allah Subhanawataala gave victory to the Muslims through the Islam of 2 individuals, yakni: Hamzah & Umar.
One day the prophet was at As-Shafaa, and Abu Jahal passed by and started to harm and insulted him. The prophet was quiet. Abu Jahal then grabbed a stone and threw it to the head of the prophet, to the point that blood started to come out. Abu Jahal then turned away and walked towards a place of gathering, and the prophet left.
A young slave girl witnessed the incident, and when she encountered Hamzah, she informed him about the event that had taken place. He became very angry. He was known to be someone to be very firm & strong, hence the nickname lion. Despite not being in the same stance in terms of religion, he knows that Muhammad is still his nephew and brother. He then made his way towards Abu Jahal and spoke to him “Are you harming and insulting my nephew when I’m up on his religion?” When he said this, Hamzah started to insult & hit Abu Jahal, the people around started to fight one another until Abu Jahal told the people to stop. He acknowledged that he had insulted his nephew with a terrible insult.
Hamzah then left and started to ponder upon the incident. He said to himself, “Why did I say I’m up on his religion? And I hadn’t accepted Islam”. At this point, Allah started to open up his heart towards Islam. Hamzah then met with the prophet and asked: “O my nephew, I said such and such, what should I do?“. The prophet started to make dua for his uncle for Allah to open up his heart towards Islam. Hamzah then accepted Islam.
In the same year, shortly after (some narrations mentioned it was a couple of days) Hamzah, Umar accepted Islam.
The prophet made dua to Allah “O Allah, I ask you to give me izzah to Islam from one of the two that you loved the most.” The men here are Abu Jahal and Umar ibn Khattab. And the one that was more beloved to Allah was Umar.
Regarding the story of how Umar accepted Islam, there are many narrations. In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, Umar said that one day he went out seeking the prophet (before he accepted Islam), and he found the messenger praying in front of the Kaaba, he then heard him recite Surah Haq, and he listened carefully. He thought to himself that there is no way that this person wasn’t a poet. When the thought came to his mind, the Prophet recited the verse :
QS Al-Haqah (69) : 40-41
إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوۡلُ رَسُولٖ كَرِيمٖ ٠٤ وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوۡلِ شَاعِرٖۚ قَلِيلٗا مَّا تُؤۡمِنُونَ ١٤
[That] indeed, it [i.e., the Qur’ān] is the word of a noble Messenger. And it is not the word of a poet; little do you believe.
Umar was amazed, and he said to himself “This person is a magician.” Then the prophet recited the very next lines.
QS Al-Haqah (69) : 42-43
وَلَا بِقَوۡلِ كَاهِنٖۚ قَلِيلٗا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ ٢٤ نزِيلٞ مِّن رَّبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ٣٤
Nor the word of a soothsayer; little do you remember. [It is] a revelation from the Lord of the worlds
Hearing this, Islam came into his heart.
Abdullah ibn Masud mentioned in Hadith narrated by Bukhari that the Muslims never had the ability to pray by the Kaaba until Umar accepted Islam. In another narration, he said that the Muslims remained people with izzah from the moment Umar accepted Islam. Why? because he is one of the people the Quraish were most afraid of. In a narration mentioned the physique of Umar to be very tall, as tall as a person sitting on top of a horse. He is known to be so strong that yakni shaytan wouldn’t take the path Umar took. The prophet said if shaytan sees Umar walking on one side, he would take the opposite side.
After this, the prophet then was able to start da’wah in open again without fear.
The Year of Sadness
The Death of Abu Thalib
Nine years after his Messengership
came the death of Aboo Taalib, his guardian
3 years after Hamzah & Umar accepted Islam, the 9th year of prophethood, the person who took care of the Prophet ever since the death of his grandfather, passed away. He used to protect the Prophet from harm from the Quraish because of his position among the Quraish. Unfortunately, when death came to him, the Prophet came and found Abu Jahal and Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah were with him. The Prophet knows his uncle hadn’t accepted Islam. So the prophet said to him, “O my uncle say Laa Ilaa Ha Ilallah, so I can argue your case in front of Allah.” Why did the Prophet try to make his uncle say this? Because Laa Ilaa Ha Ilallah, is a statement, if said with certainty, makes the person enters the fold of Islam, and in another hadith, the Prophet mentioned that anybody whose last statement is Laa Ilaa Ha Ilallah will enter Jannah. As the prophet tried to convince him, Abu Jahal & Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah said: “Ya Abu Thalib, are you going to turn away from the religion of your father Abdul Muthalib?” The prophet kept going “Qul Laa Ilaa Ha Ilallah”, but both men still kept convincing Abu Thalib of his forefather’s religion. Both sides kept doing this back and forth up until Abu Thalib uttered his last words which were “Ala millati Abdul Muthalib (I am upon the religion of Abdul Muthalib)“. After that, he died, and the prophet still wants to make a dua to Allah for his forgiveness. Allah then revealed the ayah:
QS At-Tawbah (9 : 113)
مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَن يَسۡتَغۡفِرُواْ لِلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ وَلَوۡ كَانُوٓاْ أُوْلِي قُرۡبَىٰ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمۡ أَنَّهُمۡ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡجَحِيمِ ٣١١
It is not for the Prophet and those who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of Hellfire.
Allah also revealed in another verse
QS Al-Qasas (28: 56)
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهۡدِي مَنۡ أَحۡبَبۡتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَهۡدِي مَن يَشَآءُۚ وَهُوَ أَعۡلَمُ بِٱلۡمُهۡتَدِينَ ٦٥
Indeed, [O Muḥammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.
Benefits :
- You can’t live your whole life doing haram and not abide by Laa Ilaa Ha Ilallah and expect to utter the words on your death bed.
- You can’t ask for the forgiveness of the kuffar.
- You can’t force a person’s heart to accept Islam, only Allah can.
The Death of Khadijah
followed by Khadeejah who passed away
after three days had elapsed.
Some narrations mentioned it was 3 days, some mentioned it was a month later, that Khadijah, the most beloved to the Prophet, passed away.
With the two’s passing, it became very hard for the Prophet. With the death of Abu Thalib, the Prophet and the Muslims became an open target, and with the death of his wife, he lost a source of comfort.
After fifty and a quarter years, Islaam was embraced
by the Jinn of Naseebeen, who then departed - let it be known.
After the prophet has reached the age of 50 years and 3 months. The jinns from Naseebeen accepted Islam, and returned to their kaum and started to teach about tawheed.
The Story of the Jinns Accepting Islam
The prophet left Taif and made his way back to Makkah. He stopped for a night and came across a palm tree and he prayed while reciting the ayahs of the Qur’an. The Jinns from Naseebeen was present, and heard the recitation. Upon hearing this, they accepted Islam and made their way to their people and started to calling them upon Tawheed.
Naseeben is basically a land between Turkey and Syria.
Allah said in QS Al-Ahqaf (46) : 29-31
وَإِذۡ صَرَفۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ نَفَرٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ يَسۡتَمِعُونَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ فَلَمَّا حَضَرُوهُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنصِتُواْۖ فَلَمَّا قُضِيَ وَلَّوۡاْ إِلَىٰ قَوۡمِهِم مُّنذِرِينَ ٩٢ قَالُواْ يَٰقَوۡمَنَآ إِنَّا سَمِعۡنَا كِتَٰبًا أُنزِلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مُوسَىٰ مُصَدِّقٗا لِّمَا بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡهِ يَهۡدِيٓ إِلَى ٱلۡحَقِّ وَإِلَىٰ طَرِيقٖ مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ ٠٣ يَٰقَوۡمَنَآ أَجِيبُواْ دَاعِيَ ٱللَّهِ وَءَامِنُواْ بِهِۦ يَغۡفِرۡ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمۡ وَيُجِرۡكُم مِّنۡ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٖ ١٣
And [mention, O Muhammad], when We directed to you a few of the jinn, listening to the Qur’an. And when they attended it, they said, “Listen quietly.” And when it was concluded, they went back to their people as warners. They said, “O our people, indeed we have heard a [recited] Book revealed after Moses confirming what was before it which guides to the truth and to a straight path. O our people, respond to the Messenger of Allah and believe in him; Allah will forgive for you your sins and protect you from a painful punishment.”
Benefit:
- The obligation to follow Islam is not limited to just humans, but also the Jinns. Therefore, there are the believing & the non believing jinns just like humans.
- Because the prophet were experiencing so much distress, it was as if Allah was telling him that ‘you haqq is true, and it doesn’t matter if a group of people wasn’t ready to accept Islam, another group will’. This is pleasing to the prophet, because there is nothing more that he wants other than for the masses come to the path of Allah and worship Allah alone.
The Prophet’s Marriages
Marriage to Sawdah
Thereafter, he married Sawdah
in Ramadaan; followed by
After reaching Makkah, the prophet got married to Sawdah in the month of Ramadhan. Sawdah was among the people who migrated to Al-Habsyah. She actually migrated along with her husband, As-Saqran ibn Amr. When they came back from Al-Habsyah, they remained in Makkah, and after sometime passes her husband passed away. Years later, the prophet married her, and this way 3 years prior to the hijrah to Madinah.
Sawdah was older than the prophet. Due to her age, she understood that there was not much that she could give to the prophet. So, she gave up her day and gave it to the other wives of the prophet, and she chose to give it to Aisha, because she knows how much Aisha was beloved to the prophet. She does this because she does not want the prophet to divorces her, since she wants to be his spouse in the hereafter.
Marriage to Aisha
his marriage to the daughter of as-Siddeeq in Shawwaal
At the age of fifty one
In the same year on the month of Shawwal, he got married to the daughter of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, which is Aisha. However, he did not enter upon her until they reached Madinah when she was 9 years of age.
- She was from the most beloved of all the wives of the Prophet.
- He did not marry any other of his wives that were at the age of Aisha.
- The revelations would come down to the Prophet when he was with Aisha.
- When the accusasions was made towards Aisha, Allah revealed an ayah in the Quran in defense of Aisha’s honour.
- She was the most knowledgeable out of all the wives of the Prophet, even more so she is the most knowledgeable woman of this ummah.
- He died while being in the hous of Aisha.
Al-Isra wal Mi’raj (The Night Journey)
he was taken by night, and the salawaat were obligated;
five with the reward of fifty, as authentically preserved.
The prophet made his way to Baitul Maqdis from Makkah. And in that same night, he ascended above the 7th sky and he reached Allah Subhanawataala. There the 5 daily prayers were made obligatory upon the Muslims.
Ibn Kathir said the prophet made the night journey in his physical form from Masjidil Haram to Baitul Maqdis, he was riding a specific beast called Al-Burrak, and he was in the companionship of Jibreel Alayhissalam. When he reached there he met with all the other Anbiyaas, and they prayed together. The prophet then ascend above the 7th sky. Once he reached there, he saw the angel Jibreel in his true form and Allah Subhanawataala made the prayers obligatory. Originally, he was told to pray 50 times a day, when the prophet left, he passed Musa Alayhissalam, and he told the Prophet to asked Allah to lighten it for him because his ummah was not going to be able to do so. So, the prophet went back and asked Allah, Allah then reduced it to 5 prayers a day. Despite it only being 5 times a day, Allah still allowed for us to attain the rewards of 50 prayers, because Allah is Ar-Rahman (Most Merciful).
The Splitting of the Moon
The Quraish asked the Prophet for proof of the signs of Allah. They requested for the Prophet Salallahualaihiwassalam to split open the moon in 2 halves. He said something to them, “If Allah Subhanawataala splits the moon into 2 halves, and you see it, are you going to believe?“. They said, “What would be a reason to not believe?“. The prophet then made a dua to Allah, and Allah answered his prayer. The kuffar of Quraish then looked at the moon, and said “He has come with magic.”
Allah then said about this incident in QS Al-Qamar (54 : 1-5)
ٱقۡتَرَبَتِ ٱلسَّاعَةُ وَٱنشَقَّ ٱلۡقَمَرُ ١ وَإِن يَرَوۡاْ ءَايَةٗ يُعۡرِضُواْ وَيَقُولُواْ سِحۡرٞ مُّسۡتَمِرّٞ ٢ وَكَذَّبُواْ وَٱتَّبَعُوٓاْ أَهۡوَآءَهُمۡۚ وَكُلُّ أَمۡرٖ مُّسۡتَقِرّٞ ٣ وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَهُم مِّنَ ٱلۡأَنۢبَآءِ مَا فِيهِ مُزۡدَجَرٌ ٤ حِكۡمَةُۢ بَٰلِغَةٞۖ فَمَا تُغۡنِ ٱلنُّذُرُ ٥
The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two]. And if they see a sign [i.e., miracle], they turn away and say, “Passing magic.” And they denied and followed their inclinations. But for every matter is a [time of] settlement. And there has already come to them of information that in which there is deterrence. Extensive wisdom - but warning does not avail [them]. So leave them, [O Muḥammad]. The Day the Caller1 calls to something forbidding,
Shaykh Al-Albani used to say that for someone, if 1 clear evidence does not suffice them, then if they are given 100 evidence they would always find a way to get out of it. Therefore a benefit we can take as muslims here is that we should be able to accept signs as they come.
The Bay’ahs (The Pledege of Allegiances)
The First Bay’ah - The Pledge of Aqabah
The first bay‘ah was with twelve
of the people from Taybah, as has been mentioned.
The people of Taybah = the people of Madinah.
Recall Taif.
Whenever there a time comes where the Arabs would gather around (festivals etc.), the Prophet would use this time as an opportunity to give da’wah. On one of these occasions, he was out and met a group of people from Ansar. He started to present himself to the different tribes of the Arabs. He would do this in all situations. From them, a handful of people (6 men) from the tribe of Al-Khazraj, and they were jew accepted Islam. These people went back to Madinah and started to inform the people of Madinah about the prophet to the extent that there was no one who didn’t know the prophet. This continued until the following year, where an event took place again. The previous 6 men came with additional 6 and met with the Prophet. These 12 men met the Prophet at Mount Aqaba accepted Islam and gave their pledge of allegiance. Then he did the bay’ah of An-Nis (the bay’ah of the women).
Allah mentioned this in QS Al-Mumtahanah (60:12)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنَٰتُ يُبَايِعۡنَكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن لَّا يُشۡرِكۡنَ بِٱللَّهِ شَيۡـٔٗا وَلَا يَسۡرِقۡنَ وَلَا يَزۡنِينَ وَلَا يَقۡتُلۡنَ أَوۡلَٰدَهُنَّ وَلَا يَأۡتِينَ بِبُهۡتَٰنٖ يَفۡتَرِينَهُۥ بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِنَّ وَأَرۡجُلِهِنَّ وَلَا يَعۡصِينَكَ فِي مَعۡرُوفٖ فَبَايِعۡهُنَّ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُنَّ ٱللَّهَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ ٢١
O Prophet, when the believing women come to you pledging to you that they will not associate anything with Allah, nor will they steal, nor will they commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor will they kill their children, nor will they bring forth a slander they have invented between their arms and legs,1 nor will they disobey you in what is right - then accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
From the original 6 was :
- Mu‘adh bin Al-Harith, Ibn ‘Afra, from Khazraj.
- Dhakwan bin ‘Abd Al-Qais, from Khazraj.
- ‘Ubadah bin As-Samit, from Khazraj.
- Yazeed bin Tha‘labah, from Khazraj.
- ‘ Al ‘ Abbas bin ‘Ubadah bin Nadalah, from Khazraj.
- Abul Haitham bin At-Taihan, from Aws.
When they accepted Islam, the Prophet did something powerful, he sent with them Mush’ab ibn Umair. Why?
- To teach the new muslims about the religion
- To call the other residence of Madinah to Islam
Benefit : Preparing and planning something for new muslims who can guide and aid them.
At the age of fifty two came
seventy in the Hajj season - and this is confirmed
from Taybah. They pledged allegiance, and he later left
The Second Bay’ah
After the 70 men came and did bay’ah, Allah gave the permission for the Prophet to make Hijrah to Madinah. Note that the Prophet wasn’t the first person to migrate, there were already companions who migrated to Madinah before him, among them:
- Abu Salamah
- Suhaiba Ar-Rumi
- Mush’ab
- Amr ibn Umi Maktoum
- Amr ibn Yasir (the son of the first shahid)
Makkah on a Monday in the month Safar.
Then came the time for the prophet who left with his friend, Abu Bakar As-Siddiq on Monday.
- Al Muthalib ibn Azar
- Sufyan ibn Ma’mar
- Amr ibn Said ibn Ass
- Ubaidillahi
- Asma
- Ruqayyah ibn Muhammad
- Umm Salamah
- Umm Habiba
- Saad ibn Abi Waqqas
- Abdullah ibn Mas’ud
- Bilal bin Rabbah
- Umar ibn Khattab → left with 20 other men
- Zainab bint Muhammad