The Preliminary
Measures taken by the Prophet (SAW) in Madina
When
the Prophet (SAW) migrated to Medina the tribes of Aus and Khazraj had already
accepted Islam. On the other hand the party coming from Makkah consisted of a
100 to a 150 people who had faced the worst of ordeals and hardships. Hence,
the Prophet decided to go ahead with the stage of Active Resistance after the
Hijrah. But in first six months, in order to fortify his position, the Prophet (SAW)
did three things: Firstly, the construction of Masjid-i-Nabawi was started
which was a place of worship, a sanctuary, a school, a parliament and a counsel
house. In fact it held the status of a government house and it was here that
delegations were received. Thus it became a multi-purpose centre for the
Muslims and headquarter of the movement.
Secondly,
the Prophet (SAW) initiated "Mowakhat" i.e. brotherhood between the
Mohajirs and the Ansaars and declared each Mohajir to be a brother of an
Ansaar. Thereafter, the Ansaars of Madina shared not only their homes and shops
but also their economic means. In this brotherhood there are unprecedented
examples where the Ansaars raised walls in their houses thereby dividing them
in two halves and handed over one half to their Mohajir brothers. So much so
that one Ansaari had two wives. At that time the order for the observance of veil
had not yet been enforced; this order was imposed some five years later after
the revelation of 'hijab' verses. This Ansaari took his Mohajir brother to his
house and showed him his two wives and said, "You can point to the one
that you like and I will divorce her so that you can marry her. The Prophet (SAW)
has declared you to be my brother and I cannot bear the situation that you
remain unmarried while I have two wives". This was the highest example of that
brotherhood.
Within
six months after the Hijrah, the third important thing that the Prophet (SAW)
did was to enter into joint defence pacts with the Jews settled in Madina. Both
Montgomery Watt and Toynbee have greatly appreciated this measure taken by the Prophet
(SAW) and have declared it to be the greatest proof of the Prophet's sound
diplomatic planning and statesmanship. There were three tribes of the Jews: the
Bannu Qanq'a, the Bannu Nazeer, and the Bannu Qureza that were residing in
Madina, and settled at very strategic positions. Just outside Madina were their
forts and small castles. The Prophet (SAW) entered in a joint defense pact with
them that is known as "Meesaq-i-Madina" i.e. Madina Agreement. Today,
some people glibly consider the "Meesaq-i-Madina" to be the
constitution of the Islamic state whereas it was actually a sort of joint
defense pact that if Madina is attacked, the Jews would fight alongside the
Muslims to defend Madina against the attackers. It was due to this pact that
the Prophet's position was stabilized in Madina and Muslims became a
considerable power group.
To be continued ....
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