The Sealed Nectar (60 page)

Sadaqah
."

He also inquired about the time allotted to hospitality. "Three days," said he.

"What about the stray ewe?" The Prophet said: "It is either yours or your brother’s, otherwise it goes to the wolf." He inquired about the stray camel.

"It is not of your business. Leave it alone! Its owner will try to find it."

8.
Thaqif Delegation:
Their arrival was in Ramadan, the ninth year of Al- Hijra, after the return of the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] from Tabuk. As to how they became Muslims, this could be deduced from the following: Their chief ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ud Ath- Thaqafi came to see the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] after the latter’s return from At- Ta’if in Dhul- Qa‘dah in the year 8 A.H.

‘Urwah became a Muslim. He thought that when he will tell his people and call them to embrace Islam, they would obey him, because he had always been an obeyed Master. He was even more beloved to them than their own firstborn. But contrary to that, when he called them to Islam they shot arrows at him from everywhere and killed him. They remained as they were for months before they started discussing the situation again among themselves.

Upon realizing that they were incapable of fighting the neighbouring Arabs who had paid allegiance to the Prophet [pbuh] and converted to Islam, they made up their mind to dispatch a man to the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]. They concluded that ‘Abd Yalail bin ‘Amr would be the right messenger.

‘Abd refused to do such a thing lest they should kill him as they had killed

‘Urwah. "I will not do such a thing till you send some other men with me,"

said ‘Abd. So they sent two men of their allies and three others from Bani Malik. The six of them including ‘Uthman bin Abi Al- ‘As Ath- Thaqafi who was the youngest among them all.

When they entered into the Prophet’s [pbuh] audience, a tent was pitched up in a corner of the mosque so that they might listen to the Qur’ân and see people at prayer. During their stay they came again and again to the Prophet

[pbuh] who kept on calling them to embrace Islam, till their chief asked the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] to enter into a peace treaty between him and Thaqif by means of which he allows them to commit fornication, drink wine and deal with usury. They also asked him not to injure their tyrant idol "AlLat" or to oblige them to perform the prayer. Finally they insisted that they would not knock down the idols themselves. But the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh]turned down all their requests. They went aside to council. Realizing that there were no other alternatives they yielded and professed Islam. The only condition that they insisted on was that the demolition of Al- Lat should be dealt with and handled by the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] whereas Thaqif 288

MSA NIU

should in no way knock it down themselves. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]

agreed and took a pledge with them.

Being the most attentive and the keenest to study jurisprudence and learn Qur’ân, ‘Uthman bin Abi Al- ‘As was appointed by the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] a prince on his people. His keenness and carefulness to learn the Qur’ân and study jurisprudence were clearly discernible through his behaviour during their stay.

Everyday morning, the group of delegates used to go and see the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]. Being the youngest one, ‘Uthman bin Abi Al- ‘As was left behind with their camels and things to keep an eye on. At noon when they came back and slept, ‘Uthman used to go to the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]in order to learn the Qur’ân and inquire about religious matters. If it happened that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was asleep, he would then go to Abu Bakr for the same purpose. With the passage of time, he turned out to be a source of blessing to his people. For at the Apostasy Times (
Ar- Riddah
) when Thaqif were determined to apostatize, he addressed them saying: "O, folkmen of Thaqif! You have been the latest at embracing Islam, so do not be the first to apostatize." Consequently they gave up apostasy and clung fast to Islam.

The group of delegates returned home but they were determined to conceal the truth for a while. They told their people to expect fight at any moment.

They pretended to be grieved and depressed. They claimed that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] demanded that they should embrace Islam and abandon adultery, drinking wine and dealing with usury and some other things, or else he would fight them. Seized by the arrogance and zeal of
Al-Jahiliyah
(pre- Islamic traditions), Thaqif remained for days intent on fighting.

Then Allâh cast terror and dismay in their hearts in such a way that they gave up fighting and thought that the delegation should go back to him and announce their approval. It was until then that the group of delegates told them the truth and revealed the items of their peace- talk with the Prophet, consequently Thaqif embraced Islam.

The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] sent some men to demolish the idol called "AlLat" under the command of Khalid bin Al- Waleed. Al- Mugheerah bin Shu‘bah, stood to his feet, held the hoe and the ax and said: "By Allâh, I will make you laugh at Thaqif." He struck with them, and pretended to fall down while running. The people of Thaqif trembled at that sight and said: "May Allâh dismay Al- Mugheerah off. The goddess has killed him." Hearing that Al-Mugheerah leapt up to his feet and said: "May Allâh bring shame on you. AlLat is nothing but a mass of dirt and stones." Then he struck the door and broke it. He mounted its highest wall, and so did the other men. They knocked Al- Lat down till they levelled it with the ground. Then they dug up its foundation and brought out its jewels and garments; to the great astonishment of Thaqif. Khalid bin Al- Waleed and his group came back to the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] carrying Al- Lat’s jewels and garments. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] distributed them and thanked Allâh for helping his Prophet and solidifying his religion. [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 3/26-28; Ibn Hisham 3/537-542]

9. The message of the Yemeni kings:
After the return of the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] from Tabuk, a message came to him from the kings of Himyar, 289

MSA NIU

Al- Harith bin ‘Abd Kilal, Na‘eem bin ‘Abd Kilal, An- Nu‘man bin Qeel Dhi Ra‘in, Hamdan and Mu‘afir. Their messenger was Malik bin Murrah Ar- Rahawi. They sent him in order to inform the Prophet [pbuh] about their embracing Islam and their parting with polytheism. In reply to their message, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] gave them the pledge of Allâh and the pledge of His Messenger provided they paid the tribute, which was still overdue. He sent to them some of his Companions under the command of Mu‘adh bin Jabal [R].

10.

Hamdan Delegation:
The arrival of this delegation was in the ninth year of Al- Hijra after the Messenger’s return from Tabuk. So the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] gave them a pledge to guarantee the fulfillment of their demands. He sent to them Malik bin An- Namt as their chief, and appointed him as an agent on those of his people who embraced Islam. Khalid bin Al-Waleed was appointed for them all with a purpose of calling them to Islam.

He stayed with them for six months calling them to Islam but no one responded to his call. Later on ‘Ali bin Abi Talib was dispatched there and Khalid was ordered to come back. Upon arriving at Hamdan, ‘Ali communicated to them a message from the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] and called them to Islam. They responded to the call and became Muslims. ‘Ali wrote to the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] informing him of the good tidings. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was briefed on the content of that letter, so he prostrated, then raised his head up and said: "Peace be upon Hamdan. Peace be upon Hamdan."

11.

The Delegation of Bani Fazarah:
Upon the Messenger’s return from Tabuk, the delegation of Bani Fazarah came to see him. That was in the ninth year of Al- Hijra. The group of delegates were over ten men. They came in order to profess Islam and complain about the drought of their region. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] ascended the pulpit, lifted his hands up and implored Allâh to send rain forth onto them and said:

"O Allâh let rain fall down, and water Your country and animals, and
spread Your mercy and bring to life the dead lands. O Allâh send rain
that would be saving, comforting, and sprouting grass, and
overwhelming vast areas sooner and later. Let it be useful rain and
not harmful. O Allâh let it be rain of mercy and not rain of torture and
chastisement. Let that rain not be destructive or floody. O Allâh send
us down water and help to fight the enemies."
[Za'd Al-Ma'ad 3/48]

12.

Najran’s Delegation:
Najran is rather a big area of land. It was at a distance of seven trip stages southwards of Makkah towards Yemen. It included seventy three villages. It took a fast- rider one day ride to get there.

[Fath Al- Bari 8/94] Its military forces consisted of a hundred thousand fighters.

Their arrival was in the year 9 A.H. The delegation comprised sixty men.

Twenty- four of them were of noble families. Three out of twenty- four were at one time leaders of Najran.
Al- ‘Aqib
, i.e. who was in charge of princehood and government affairs. His name was ‘Abdul Maseeh. The second was
As- Saiyid
(the Master) under whose supervision were the educational and political affairs; his name was Al- Aiham or Sharhabeel. Abu Haritha bin ‘Alqamah was the third. He was a bishop to whom all religious presidency and spiritual leadership belonged and were his charge.

290

MSA NIU

When that group of delegates arrived in Madinah, they met the Prophet

[pbuh], exchanged inquiries with him; but when he called them to Islam and recited the Qur’ân to them, they refused. They asked him what he thought about ‘Isa (i.e. Jesus), [AWS], he [pbuh] tarried a whole day till the following Qur’ânic reply was revealed to him:

"Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allâh is the likeness of Adam. He
created him from dust, then (He) said to him: ‘Be!’ — and he was.

(This is) the truth from your Lord, so be not of those who doubt. Then
whoever disputes with you concerning him (Jesus) after (all this)
knowledge that has come to you, (i.e. Jesus being a slave of Allâh,
and having no share in Divinity) say: (O Muhammad [pbuh]) ‘Come,
let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women,
ourselves and yourselves — then we pray and invoke (sincerely) the
Curse of Allâh upon those who lie."
[Al- Qur'an 3:59- 61]

When it was morning, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] told them what ‘Iesa (Jesus) was in the light of the recently revealed verses. He left them a whole day to consult and think it over. So when it was next morning and they still showed disapproval to admit Allâh’s Words about ‘Isa or to embrace Islam, the Prophet suggested
Al- Mubahala
that is each party should supplicate and implore Allâh to send His Curse upon him or them if they were telling lies.

After that suggestion of his, the Prophet [pbuh] came forward wrapping Al-Hasan and Al- Husain under his garment whereas Fatimah was walking at his back. Seeing that the Prophet [pbuh] was serious and prepared to face them firmly, they went aside and started consulting.
Al- ‘Aqib
and
As- Saiyid
(i.e. the Master) said to each other: "We shall not supplicate. For, I swear by Allâh, if he is really a Prophet and exchanges curses with us, we will never prosper nor will the descendants of ours. Consequently neither us nor our animals will survive it." Finally they made their mind to resort to the Messenger of Allâh’s judgement about their cause. They came to him and said: "We grant you what you have demanded." The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] then admitted that agreement and ordered them to pay
Al- Jizya
(i.e. tribute) and he made peace with them for the provision of two thousand garments, one thousand of them to be delivered in Rajab, the other thousand ones in Safar. With every garment they had to pay an ounce (of gold). In return they will have the covenant of Allâh and His Messenger. He gave them a covenant that provides for practicing their religious affairs freely. They asked the Prophet [pbuh] to appoint a trustworthy man to receive the money agreed on for peace, so he sent them the trustworthy man of this nation
Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al- Jarrah to receive the amounts of money agreed on in the peace treaty.

By the time Islam started to spread in Najran, naturally, they did not have to pay
Al- Jizya
that usually non- Muslims paid. Whatever the case was, it was said that
Al- Aqib
and
As- Saiyid
embraced Islam as soon as they reached Najran on their journey back home. It is also said that the Prophet [pbuh]

sent to them ‘Ali too, for the collection of charities and tribute. [Fath Al-Bari 8/94, 95; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 3/38-40]

13.

Bani Haneefa Delegation:
They arrived in Madinah in the ninth year of Al- Hijra. They were 17 in number and included the Master of Liars, Musailima [Fath Al- Bari 8/87] bin Thumamah bin Kabeer bin Habeeb bin Al-291

MSA NIU

Harith of Bani Haneefa The group of delegates were housed in a Helper’s house. They came to the Prophet [pbuh] and declared their Islamization. As for Musailima the liar, versions vary concerning his embracing Islam.

Contemplation of all these versions shows clearly that Musailima expressed disapproval and revealed haughtiness, boastful spirit and expectations to be a prince.

At first the Prophet [pbuh] attempted going on well with him. he dealt with him nicely and charitably but that did not do with him. The Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] perceived evil in his soul and recognized that he was one of those three evils he dreamt of while asleep.

The Prophet [pbuh] had already dreamt that he had been granted the treasures of earth. His hand fell upon two golden bracelets, which distressed and worried him a lot. He was taught by inspiration to blow them off, so he did that and they were gone off. They were interpreted to be two liars who would turn up after the death of Muhammad [pbuh]. So when Musailima acted that way and showed disapproval, he realized that he would be one of the two liars. However Musailima used to say, "If Muhammad appointed me a successor of his, I would be a Muslim. Later on the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]