Islâm

by Syed Ameer Ali

Mohammed at Medîna.—At Yathreb the Teacher was received with wonderful enthusiasm; the city changed its name and was henceforth the City of the Prophet—Medînat-un-Nabi, or shortly Medîna. Special homes were allotted to the exiles—the Muhâjirîn; whilst the Medinites received the noble designation of Helpers—the Ansâr. A new brotherhood was created which united the Exiles and the Helpers by a tie stronger than the tie of blood—as many a later page in the history of Islâm proves.

Mohammed’s Charter.—Mohammed was now not merely a prophet, a preacher of glad tidings, but the unanimously elected chief magistrate of a prosperous city. His first act was to issue a charter defining the duties of the citizens, and the obligations of the allied Jews who lived in the neighbourhood, forbidding intestine warfare and bloodshed which had hitherto torn Yathreb to pieces, and requiring all disputes to be referred to the decision of the Prophet.[30]

Beginning of the Commonwealth of Islâm.—This was the beginning of the Commonwealth of Islâm. A humble, unpretentious place of worship was erected where Mohammed preached to enthusiastic throngs on charity, brotherhood, and the duty man owed to God and his fellow creatures.

In conjunction with other tribes the Meccans made several attempts to capture Medîna. They even seduced the neighbouring Jews to assist in the design. The attacks were repulsed, and the safety of Medîna and the progress of the new Gospel were permanently assured. The refractory and treacherous Jewish clans were ordered to quit the Medinite territories; one which had nearly brought destruction on the Moslems was more severely dealt with. Expeditions were now sent out to repress the raids of hostile tribes, and to punish crimes against unoffending people. They were enjoined ‘in no case to use deceit or perfidy, or to kill a woman or a child.’ They were told, ‘in avenging the injuries inflicted upon us, molest not the harmless inmates of domestic seclusion, spare the weakness of the female sex, injure not the infant at the breast or those who are ill in bed. Abstain from demolishing the dwellings of the unresisting inhabitants; destroy not the means of their subsistence, nor their fruit trees, and touch not the palm.’

Charter to the Christians.—In the ninth year of the Hegira, the Prophet granted to the Christians a charter which forms one of the noblest monuments of enlightened tolerance: ‘To the Christians of Najrân and the neighbouring territories the security of God and the pledge of His Prophet are extended for their lives, their religion, and their property—to the present as well as the absent and others besides; there shall be no interference with [the practice of] their faith or their observances; nor any change in their rights or privileges; no bishop shall be removed from his bishopric; nor any monk from his monastery, nor any priest from his priesthood, and they shall continue to enjoy everything great and small as heretofore; no image or cross shall be destroyed; they shall not oppress or be oppressed; they shall not practise the rights of blood vengeance as in the Days of Ignorance;[31] no tithes shall be levied from them, nor shall they be required to furnish provision for the troops.’

Truce with the Meccans.—After great difficulty, a truce of ten years was concluded with the Meccans. The Exiles seized the occasion to perform the time-honoured pilgrimage to the Kaaba. To avoid coming in contact with the hated Faithful, the heathen Koreish retired to the hills, whence they watched the large concourse that came with the Prophet to visit the Holy Shrine. The simple dignity and benevolence of Mohammed, the quietness and purity of behaviour of his followers perceptibly affected the Koreish; and before he left Mecca many came and accepted the Faith. The same old pledge which had been exacted from the early converts was taken from them. ‘They would not associate anything with God; they would not commit larceny, adultery, or infanticide; they would not utter falsehood, nor speak evil.’

Embassies to Heraclius and the Chosroes.—On his return from the pilgrimage, Mohammed sent envoys to Heraclius the Emperor of the Greeks, and to the Chosroes of Persia to invite them to Islâm. Heraclius returned a polite reply; whilst the proud Persian tore the missive to pieces and drove the messenger from his presence with contumely. ‘Thus will the empire of the Khusrû [the Chosroes] be torn asunder,’ remarked the Prophet on hearing of the incident. The fate of Persia is engraved on the pages of history.[32]

Hardly a year was over before the Meccans broke the truce by murdering a number of tribesmen allied to the Medinites. The reign of iniquity had lasted long enough, and the time had arrived when the paganism of Mecca should come to an end.

Conquest of Mecca.—In 630 A.C. the Prophet marched with ten thousand men on the city from which he and his followers had been so cruelly driven only nine years before. The proud Koreish were thoroughly demoralised at the rapid approach of the Moslems and offered slight resistance. The people who had pursued Mohammed with unrelenting hatred, had subjected him and his followers to a fierce persecution, and had all this time endeavoured by every means to compass their destruction, were now at his mercy. But in the moment of the Faith’s triumph every injury was forgotten, and the Koreish were treated with a kindness and generosity which have but few parallels in history. Not a house was robbed, not a citizen molested. The idols of the nation were, however, relentlessly struck down. Weeping the heathens stood round, fully hoping that the sacrilegious Moslems would be overwhelmed with some dire calamity. But as one idol after another fell to pieces and no help came from outside to stop the hands of the iconoclasts, they felt the force of the words at which they were used to scoff: ‘Truth has come and falsehood vanisheth, for verily it is evanescent.’ And they adopted Islâm in a body.

Year of Deputations.—The ninth year of the Hegira is famous in the annals of Islâm for the number of deputations that arrived at Medîna from all quarters to accept the Faith. They were received with consideration and treated with hospitality. A written treaty guaranteeing the privileges of the tribes was always granted to the deputies, who went back to their homes accompanied by a disciple to teach the newly converted people the duties of Islâm. To the missionaries whom he sent to the provinces, Mohammed always gave the following admonition. ‘Deal gently with the people, and be not harsh, cheer them, and contemn them not. And ye will meet with many people of the Book[33] who will question thee, ‘What is the key to Heaven?’ Reply to them, ‘The key to Heaven is to testify to the truth of God, and to do good work.’