WARS OF APOSTASY
The consecutive victories of Muslims during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had the great impact of bringing many tribes that lived faraway from Madeenah to the fold of Islam. Some of these tribes embraced Islam in admiration of the victory achieved by Muslims, some embraced it in order to gain some worldly benefit, and some accepted Islam out of deep faith and profound conviction. This means that a great number of Muslims had not yet got rid of the remnants of Jahiliyyah, particularly the manners and behaviors which characterized the people before Islam. Some Muslims were still plagued with racism and pride, that gave rise to hatred and ill-feelings among tribes that brought them back to their pre-Islamic manners. Thus, the Islamic creed was not yet well- established in the hearts of some Muslims. Allah Almighty says:
“The desert Arabs say, “We believe. ” Say, “Ye have no Faith; but ye (only) say, ‘We have submitted our wills to Allah/ for not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught oft your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. “” (AI-Hujoraat: 14)
That is why when ‘ Uyaynah Ibn Hisn, the chief of the tribe of Bani Fazarah, said when he supported Tulayhah, who claimed Prophethood; “A Prophet from the two allies (i.e. the tribes of Asad and Ghatafaan) is far more better to us than a Prophet from Quraysh.”
The spirit of racism of Jahilliyah reached its climax in some people who went to extreme and claimed to be Prophets, in order to gain some pride and rank among their people not less than what Quraysh enjoyed when Islam prevailed in the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. This is attributed to their misunderstanding of Islam, the religion which does not distinguishes between Quraysh and other tribes, even if they are non-Arabs.
Thus, Al-Aswad Al-‘ Ansi, began to convince the tribe of Mudhajaj that lie was a Prophet who received revelation from Heaven, and was supported by some of his people; Musaylamah Al-Khadhaab (the liar) claimed Prophethood in the tribe of Banu Haeefah; and Tulayhah Al-Asadyy in the tribe of Banu Asad also claimed to be a Prophet; likewise, Sajaah claimed Prophethood in the tribe of Banu Tameem.
No doubt these false claims were one way or the other supported by Muslim enemies who lost their influence and status and failed to perceive the light of Islam and grasp the noble teachings it conveyed. Falling in this mistake also were Jews whose disloyalty and insincerity wreaked havoc on them.
The same thing happened in neighboring countries. The Romans and Persians felt threatened by the upsurging power of Islam on the international arena; thus they found it a great opportunity to pour fuel into the already flamed situation, in order to save themselves from being annihilated by Muslims.
Then came the death of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to encourage the false Prophets and their followers to cling to their claims and to sacrifice their lives for their sake. As for Arab tribes close to Madeenah such as ‘ Abs, Dhabyaan. and Ghatafaan, they demanded that they should be relieved of the obligation to pay Zakaah, because they claimed it was only a tax to be paid to Qnraysh.
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.)
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