CHAPTER 4: NEW MUSLIMS – PART 3
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not go easy on them in matters related to Oneness of Allah:
A delegation of the Thaqeef came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in Madinah, and amongst them was Kinaanah ibn ‘Abd Yaalayl, who was their leader, and ‘Uthmaan ibn Abu Al-’Aas, who was the youngest of them. They wanted conciliation when they saw Makkah was conquered and that the majority of the Arabs had become Muslim.
The delegation kept coming back to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, while he was trying to call them to Islam. Ibn ‘Abd Yaalayl said: “Will you make an agreement for us, so we can return to our families and people?” The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Yes, if you accept Islam I will do so, and if not then there is no conciliation between us.”
Ibn ‘Abd Yaalayl said: “How about fornication? For we are constantly travelling and we are not patient with being alone.” The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: “It is forbidden upon the Muslims, Allah has Said (what means): «And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way.» [Quran: 17:32] He then asked: “How about interest (and usury)?” The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “It is forbidden.” He said “But all of our wealth is interest (and usury).” The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “You may keep the principal amount. Allah Says (what means): «O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers.» [Quran: 2:278]
He then asked: “How about intoxicants? For it is the juice of our grapes and we cannot go without it.” The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Allah has forbidden it,” and then he read the verse (which means): «O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone altars [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.» [Quran: 5:90]
The people then left and spoke amongst themselves. Ibn ‘Abd Yaalayl said: “Woe to you! Will we return to our people with the forbiddance of these three things? By Allah, Thaqeef will never be patient without alcohol or fornication.” Sufyaan ibn ‘Abdullaah (one of the delegates) said: “If Allah wants good for them they will be patient, as those who are with him (the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to be the same way, but they were patient and left what they used to do. At the same time, we are afraid of this man who has conquered the world. We are in a fortress in part of the land, but Islam is surrounding us and spreading. By Allah, if he surrounded our fort for one month we would die of hunger! My only opinion is that we should become Muslims and I am afraid of a day like that of (the conquest of) Makkah.”
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to send food to them and they would not eat from it until the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ate with them. They asked the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “What about Ar-Rabbah (an idol), what will you do to it?” He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Destroy it.” They said: “Impossible! If Ar-Rabbah knows that we will destroy it, it will kill our people!” ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab said: “Woe to you, Ibn ‘Abd Yaalayl! Ar-Rabbah is only a rock, it does not know who worships it and who does not.” Ibn ‘Abd Yaalayl said to him, “We did not come to you, O ‘Umar.” Then they became Muslims and completed the treaty. After that, they asked the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to wait for three years before destroying the idol Ar-Rabbah, but he refused. They asked for respite for two years, but he refused again. Then they said one year, and he refused. Finally, they said one month, but he still refused to wait for a specific time.
They wanted to leave the idol Ar-Rabbah because they feared the reaction of their foolish people, women and children and they did not want to scare them by its destruction. They asked the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to exempt them from destroying it. The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “I will send someone to take care of its destruction.”
They agreed and sought permission to precede them back (i.e. the people who were sent to destroy the idol) to their people. When they reached Thaqeef, the people asked who was behind them. They acted sad and said that they had just come from a harsh man who rules by the sword with whatever he wishes, and he has forbidden interest, fornication, and alcohol and ordered the destruction of Ar-Rabbah. The people of Thaqeef said: “We will never obey him!” They prepared for battle, readied their weapons and stayed like that for two or three days. Then Allah placed fear in their hearts, and they repented and said: “Go back to him and agree with what he wants.” The delegation said: “We have already done so, and we have found him to be the most pure, true, merciful and honest of all people. We have been blessed in our travel to him and in our agreement with him.” The people said: “Why did you hide this at first?” They replied: “We wanted Allah to remove the pride of Satan from your hearts.” Thus, the people all became Muslim.
After a few days, the messengers of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came to them. Their leader was Khaalid ibn Al-Waleed and amongst them was Al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah. All of Thaqeef came out to see them, the men, women and children. Most of them thought that the idol could not be destroyed and that it would defend itself. Al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah took his axe and said to his companions, “By
Allah, I will make you laugh at Thaqeef.” He took the axe and hit it, and then he fell down and started kicking his legs. All the people screamed in one voice and were very happy. They said: “May Allah keep Al-Mugheerah away, he has been killed by Ar-Rabbah!” They said to his companions, “Whoever dares amongst you, come close to it!” Al-Mugheerah stood up at this point and said: “O Thaqeef, the Arabs used to say that there is no Arab tribe more intelligent than Thaqeef. But (I say) there is no tribe from the Arabs more foolish than you! Woe to you, what are (the idols) Al-Laat, Al-Uzza, and Ar-Rabbah? They are rocks just like this rock, ignorant of who worships it and who does not.”
He struck the door and broke it, and then he climbed the wall with his companions. They continued to strike it, rock by rock, until it was completely levelled with the ground. The caretakers of the idol said: “When you reach its foundation, it will become angry and swallow you into the Earth.” When Al-Mugheerah heard that, he asked Khaalid, “Allow me to dig its foundation.” So they dug until they took out all the dirt. When Thaqeef saw that, they were shocked. Then they returned to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he distributed its wealth on the same day, and they praised Allah for making His religion and Messenger victorious.(Dala’il Al-Nubuwwa by Al-Bayhaqi (386/5), As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Katheer (62/4) and Zaad Al-Ma’aad by Ibn Al-Qayyim (521/3).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would assist them and encourage the Companions to teach them:
‘Urwah (a Companion) narrated:
“When the polytheists returned to Makkah from Badr, and many of them had been killed, ‘Umayr ibn Wahb went to Safwaan ibn Umayyah by the Ka’bah. Safwaan said: ‘What a terrible life after those killed in Badr!’ ‘Umayr said: ‘Yes, by Allah, there is no good in life after them. Were it not for the debt upon me that I cannot pay, and my children that no one will take care of, I would kill Muhammad whenever I see him for I have an excuse to meet him, as I can say my son is a prisoner and I want to release him.”’ (His son Wahb ibn ‘Umayr was amongst the war captives from the battle of Badr.)
Safwaan became happy at this and said: ‘I will take care of your debt, and I will spend on your children like I spend on mine.’ Then Safwaan made preparations for him and gave ‘Umayr his sword, after he had sharpened and poisoned it. ‘Umayr said to Safwaan, ‘Keep my affair a secret for a few nights.’ He then left until he reached Madinah. He tied his animal by the door of the Prophet’s mosque, and took his sword to go inside. ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab looked at him, while he was sitting with the Ansaar, speaking about the Battle of Badr, and praising Allah for His favour upon them. When ‘Umar saw ‘Umayr
with the sword, he became worried and called out, ‘Look out for this dog, this enemy of Allah!’
‘Umar then stood up and entered upon the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said: ‘This is ‘Umayr ibn Wahb, he has entered the mosque with his weapon. He is a vile traitor, O Messenger of Allah, do not trust him.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Allow him to enter.’ So ‘Umar entered with ‘Umayr, and he told his companions to be with the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and guard him from ‘Umayr. They then came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam, and ‘Umar had his sword ready with him. The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to ‘Umar: ‘Move away from him.’
‘Umayr then came close to him and greeted him, saying: ‘Good morning,’ as they used to say before Islam. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Allah has honoured us with a better greeting than that, he made our greeting Salaam (peace), and it is the greeting of the people of Paradise.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then asked: ‘What has brought you, O ‘Umayr?’ He said: ‘I came because of my prisoner (his son). Remember my relation to you, for you are from my tribe and people.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Then why do you have the sword with you?’ ‘Umayr said: ‘May Allah curse this sword, did it help us at all?’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Tell me the truth, why did you really come?’ He said: ‘I only came because of my captive.’
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked: ‘What did you agree to with Safwaan ibn Umayyah near the Ka’bah?’ At this he became scared and said: ‘What did I agree to?’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘You agreed to kill me if he would take care of your children and your debt. But Allah will stop you from that.’ ‘Umayr said: ‘I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah, and there
is no one worthy of worship but Allah. We used to deny your revelations, O Messenger of Allah, and what comes to you from the sky, but this conversation between Safwaan and I near the Ka’bah was exactly as you said. No one heard it but he and I, and then Allah informed you of it. So I believe in Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and all praises are due to Allah Who has brought me here.’
The Muslims were overjoyed when Allah guided him. ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab said: ‘A pig was more beloved to me than him when he first came, but now I love him more than some of my own children.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to him: ‘Sit down and we will take care of you.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then said: ‘Teach your brother the Quran,’ and he freed his son from the captives.’
‘Umayr said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I used to struggle to put out the Light of Allah, but all praises are due to Allah Who has brought me to this path. Allow me to go to the Quraysh and call them to Islam, perhaps Allah will guide them and save them from destruction. The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave him permission to go back to Makkah.’
Safwaan in those days would tell the Quraysh in their gatherings, ‘Get ready for a victory that will make you forget about Badr.’ He would ask every person coming from Madinah if anything had happened there, hoping to hear what ‘Umayr had promised. Finally, a man came from Madinah and Safwaan asked him about his news, so the man said: ‘He has become Muslim,’ and the polytheist met him and said: ‘You have changed your religion.’ Safwaan said: ‘I swear I will never spend anything on him, and I will never speak to him again.’ ‘Umayr then returned to them and called them to Islam, and many became Muslim at his hands.’ (Reported by Al-Tabarani in his book Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer (13586) and Al-Bayhaqi in his book Ad-Dala’il (1009).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered them to teach what they learned to their people:
Maalik ibn Al-Huwayrith narrated: “We came to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and we were all youths of a similar age. We stayed about twenty days, and the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was merciful and kind. He realised that we were missing our families, so when he saw that he asked us about our families and we informed him about them. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘It would be good if you returned to your land to teach them, and order them to pray this prayer on such and such time, and that prayer at such and such time. Then when the time for prayer comes, one of you should make the call for prayer, and the oldest of you should lead the prayer.’” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (631) and Muslim (674).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would not withhold a messenger who wanted to enter Islam:
Abu Raafi’ (a Companion) narrated: “Quraysh sent me (as a messenger) to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and as soon as I saw him, Allah placed the religion of Islam in my heart. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I will never go back to them!’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘I do not break the agreement, nor do I keep the messengers.(The wisdom behind not keeping the sent messengers, is so that they would return and convey his message to those who had sent them.) Rather, go back, and if you feel the same way that you do now, then come back.’ So I went back and then returned to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and became Muslim.” (Reported by Abu Dawood (2758).)
Al-’Atheem Abaadi (a scholar) said: “This shows that an agreement must be honoured with a disbeliever just as it must be honored with a Muslim.” (‘Awn Al-Ma’bud (203/6).)
Ibn Al-Qayyim (a scholar)) said: “From the Prophetic guidance is that he would not keep a messenger with him if he chose the religion of Islam, and forbid him to go back. Rather he would return him to them.”(Zaad Al-Ma’ad (126/3).)
Conclusion:
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not “customise” religious teachings for the new Muslims who found the rulings of Islam difficult or daunting. Instead, he considered that to be an introductory stage that was given to a particular person in their new journey in Islam. Such exceptions were not given publicly during a Friday sermon, for example, and were not taught and spread by other Companions. All these incidents and others teach us that those who call towards Allah following the example of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam should have wisdom in inviting people to Islam. Sometimes and in certain situations with certain people, raising the bar and challenging people will produce the best out of them. On other occasions, we have to understand the human weaknesses and give people a gradual plan while they get up to speed, of course without compromising the basics and essentials of religion.
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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