025 - The Covenant of Women & War Protection

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In the previous episode, we mentioned that the six people from the Khazraj had all embraced Islam. However, to be precise, it is not clear whether their conversion occurred on the spot or when they returned to Yathrib. What appears to be the case is it was not a simultaneous or 'formal' conversion of all six, but rather, they had a strong interest in Islam and there was an openness that, "Let us think about this affair, and we will come back the following year"—and when they returned to Yathrib, they actively shared the Message of Islam with their people.

The First Covenant of Aqaba (the Covenant of Women)

The next year, they sent a message to the Prophet PBUH, saying, "We are coming for hajj with 12 people, all of whom have converted." And this is amazing, as it represents the largest conversion of people from outside of Makkah since the beginning of the dawah. Never before had a group of 12 people converted from outside of Makkah/outside of Quraysh.

Therefore, in the 11th year of the dawah, 2 years before the Hijrah, 10 people from the Khazraj and 2 from the Aws came and met with the Prophet PBUH in the Plains of Aqaba. Note at this time, there was no need for secrecy (unlike the subsequent year) — it was simply 12 hujjaj having a conversation with the Prophet PBUH. It is also worth noting that for the first time, the Aws and the Khazraj appeared to set aside their historical conflicts and hostilities, and come together under the common platform of Islam. Never before have they come together for anything. For the first time, we see what will happen with this new religion: it will cement bonds and overcome that which disunited the people. No doubt, at this point, the bulk is still from the Khazraj (in a 5:1 ratio) —showing it will take some time for them to unite fully— nevertheless, Islam will slowly but surely bring them together.

This meeting with the Prophet PBUH marked the first time they 'formally' converted. And as per the practice during the Prophet's PBUH lifetime, whenever anyone converted, they would give an oath to the Prophet PBUH by placing their hand in the Prophet's PBUH hand and swearing a conversion.

Ubada ibn al-Samit (عبادة بن الصامت) was one of those who witnessed this first covenant called Bay'at al-Aqaba al-Ula (بيعة العقبة الأولى - the First Covenant of Aqaba). (Side note: What happened the year before is not called a 'covenant' or 'bay'ah' — we don't even know if those six accepted Islam on the spot; it was simply the opening up of their hearts to Islam.) Ubada ibn al-Samit said in Bukhari, "I was of those who took the First Covenant of Aqaba, and it was the Oath of the Women (or in Arabic: Bay'at al-Nisa [بيعة النساء])." This was an oath that had no political connotations — it was simply an oath of theology and morality (unlike the Second Covenant which will take place the next year — it will involve not just theology and morality, but also protection, alliances, and political support). Why is this First Covenant called the Oath of the Women? Because when women would convert, the Prophet PBUH would only ask them to live moral and righteous lives and be worshipers of Allah (i.e., it only involved theology and morality). So this oath was called this because there were no political connotations, even though the participants were all men.

Then Ubada said, "We swore to worship Allah alone, and not fornicate, steal, or kill our children. We will not live immoral and unrighteous lives. And we will obey the Prophet PBUH in all good matters." (Side note: At this time, the Pillars of Islam were not established besides salah and kalimah. As for Zakat, fasting, and Hajj, these were not obligatory yet. Not even alcohol was banned — it will be banned in the 3rd/4th year of the Hijrah [see episode 54].) So the aim was to worship Allah alone and live righteous lives. And the Prophet PBUH said, "Whoever fulfills this oath, his reward will be with Allah. And whoever falls short and repents, Allah will forgive you."

When these 12 converted to Islam, they requested some help in terms of teaching Islam. So the Prophet PBUH chose a Qureshi Muslim by the name of Mus'ab ibn Umayr (مصعب بن عمير) RA to go back with them to Yathrib to teach them the Quran and lead them in salah. And it is narrated that within a few weeks of Mus'ab reaching Yathrib, 40 people had converted. And therefore, the Prophet PBUH told them they may establish Salat al-Jumu'ah (صلاة الجمعة - Friday Prayer). And so the very first Friday sermon in the history of Islam was delivered by Mus'ab; NOT the Prophet PBUH (since the Muslims in Makkah could not pray in public). It was delivered in the house of As'ad ibn Zurarah who was hosting Mus'ab in Yathrib.

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Tangent: Minimum Number of People Necessary for Friday Prayer

What is the minimum required people necessary for Friday Prayer? The scholars of fiqh have differed over this issue. Hanbali (حنبلي) madhhab (مذهب - school of jurisprudence/school of thought) says 40, based on this narration of Mus'ab and As'ad (above). They say the reason why Jumu'ah became obligatory upon them was because they reached the number 40. But if you think about it, was it really because they reached 40, or it just so happened coincidentally that they were 40 when the Prophet PBUH sent the letter to do Jumu'ah? It appears that the Prophet PBUH didn't even know how many people converted. He gave them the command to do Jumu'ah, and it just so happened they were 40. So this Hanbali opinion does not seem to have very strong academic merit. Other madhhabs say you need to have "a large group of people" (without a specified number). The fact of the matter is there does not seem to be any number specified in the shariah. Therefore, it goes back to what is the minimal congregation that you need to establish a congregational prayer. Most scholars say the minimal congregation consists of 3 people, 1 of whom is the imam. So according to this opinion, if you have 3 people, you should do Jumu'ah. And according to another opinion, even if there are only 2 people, one of whom is the imam, you should still do Jumu'ah.

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The Conversion of Usayd ibn Hudayr & Sa'd ibn Mu'adh

Eventually, every single subtribe of the Aws and the Khazraj had at least one household of Muslims — there was not a single locality of Yathrib except that there was one or more households that had embraced Islam. And the conversion of two people in particular led to a mass conversion. These two were the up-and-coming leaders of the Aws in the vacuum created by the Battle of Bu'ath: Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (سعد بن معاذ) and Usayd ibn Hudayr (أسيد بن حضير). (Side note 1: Sa'd ibn Mu'adh is the one who is mentioned in a famous hadith that when he died, the Throne of Allah shook out of anger that someone had killed him [see episode 59].) (Side note 2: Usayd ibn Hudayr is the one who whenever he recited the Quran, he would see the angels come down to listen to him — hadith is in Bukhari. He would see some light coming down and listening to him during the night. So he went to the Prophet PBUH and said, "Every time I recite, I see these lights. And my animal would get agitated and I get worried. What is happening?" The Prophet PBUH said, "These are the Peace [angels] of al-Rahman coming to listen to your Quran. So continue reciting" [see Sahih Bukhari & Jami' al-Tirmidhi].)

Sa'd and Usayd were close friends. They were talking, and Sa'd said, "This new religion has come to our city, and my cousin As'ad is housing the man who is spreading the faith (Mus'ab). But because he is my cousin, I feel awkward going. So why don't you go and expel this man (Mus'ab) from our city?" So Usayd went with his spear. And when As'ad saw him marching with his spear, he said to Mus'ab, "O Mus'ab, this is one of our leaders of the Khazraj." Usayd came and said in an angry voice, "Why have you come to our land? To brainwash those of us who don't have strong intellect? To take our women and children away from our ways? To convert them to the ways of this new prophet of yours? Go back to where you came from if you value your life!" And Mus'ab responded with a calmness and confidence that only Iman can bring — he said, "Why don't you sit and listen to what I have to say? If you find it agreeable, then good. If not, I will stop." And Usayd found this to be a very reasonable request, so he sat down and listened to Mus'ab preach to him the basic Message of Islam. It was only after listening to the basic teachings that his heart opened up to Islam, and he said, "What you have said makes complete sense to me. How does one embrace your faith?" Coming with a javelin to kill Mus'ab, 5 minutes later, he is willing to embrace the faith. Subhan'Allah. Mus'ab said, "Go do ghusl, say the shahada, and pray 2 rak'at." So Usayd did so. Then he said, "I have a person who has sent me (Sa'd ibn Mu'adh). If you can convince him of this, then you will have no opposition left." Mus'ab said, "Go send him to me."

So Usayd went back to Sa'd who was sitting with his friends. And as Sa'd saw Usayd, he said to his friends, "This is not the same man who has left us (i.e., something is different about him)." Indeed, when you embrace tawhid, you change completely. Sa'd asked him, "Did you succeed?" Usayd said, "I tried talking to them, but... Why don't you try?"—Usayd is basically trying to get Sa'd to go. And to add some salt and a sense of urgency, he said, "I have heard that the tribe of so-and-so has decided to kill As'ad because he is housing the man; and because he is your cousin and you are not doing anything."

So Sa'd became alarmed, and he took his weapons, went marching, and said to As'ad, "O As'ad, had you not been my cousin, these weapons would not be hanging at my side (i.e., they would be unsheathed and out at you). It is because of our blood relationship that I am not taking this more. Get rid of this guest of yours, and tell him to leave our land and stop spreading his 'pollution.'" At this, Mus'ab took over immediately and said, "At least listen to what I have to say. If you find it agreeable, then good. If not, I will stop." Subhan'Allah. This shows his immense confidence in Islam. And so the same thing happened — the calmness and confidence of Mus'ab made Sa'd think, "Okay, that is a valid point," so he sat down and listened. And this time, Mus'ab recited with beautiful recitation Surah al-Zukhruf (سورة الزخرف), and this completely changed Sa'd ibn Mu'adh. Indeed, the Quran is the miracle. Having heard it directly, Sa'd immediately said, "How do I convert?" And Sa'd as well converted.

With the conversion of Sa'd and Usayd, the entire tribe of Banu Abd al-Ashhal (بنو عبد الأشهل), a subtribe of the Khazraj, converted, as these two were their leaders. And this was the largest mass conversion ever up until this point in time. There was, however, one exception who did not convert:

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Usayrim of Banu Abd al-Ashhal

Usayrim (الأصيرم) was the only pagan of the tribe of Banu Abd al-Ashhal for the next three years. He refused to convert even while slowly but surely everyone else converted. And then he converted on one particular day:

Many decades later, Abu Hurairah quizzed his students: "Who can tell me the name of the man who entered Jannah without having prayed a single rak'ah?" Of course the tabi'un would not know. So Abu Hurairah answered, "He is Usayrim of the Banu Abd al-Ashhal. He remained firm on his paganism until the Day of Uhud. And on the morning of the Battle of Uhud, he decided to convert [see episode 48]. When he came to fight in the Battle, his people said, 'O Usayrim, we have no need of you (since you are not a Muslim).' But Usayrim said, 'I am here to fight.' They said, 'Are you going to fight out of tribal loyalty, or out of love for Allah and His Messenger?' Usayrim said, 'I am now a Muslim, and I want to fight for the sake of Islam.'" So they took him to the Prophet PBUH, and he embraced Islam after Salat al-Fajr (صلاة الفجر - Dawn Prayer) — and he became a shaheed (martyr) before Salat al-Zuhr (صلاة الظهر - Noon Prayer). And as we know, in Islam, there are no prescribed obligatory prayers between Fajr and Zuhr. So there was not a single fard salah for Usayrim to pray, and he was martyred without having a chance to pray a single rak'ah. And the Prophet PBUH is recorded to have remarked, "He (Usayrim) did very little, but he was rewarded a lot. And he is of the people of Jannah."

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The Second Covenant of Aqaba

So Mus'ab converts a good amount of people of Yathrib. Therefore, in the 12th year of the dawah, one year before the Hijrah, or to be more precise just a few months before the Hijrah (because the Hijrah takes place in the beginning of the 13th year), ±75 Muslims come to give their bay'ah (بيعة - covenant/pledge of allegiance) to the Prophet PBUH in Makkah. This bay'ah is called the Bay'at al-Aqaba al-Thaniya (بيعة العقبة الثانية - the Second Covenant of Aqaba). And note these are only the ±75 who went to do the hajj — and we can imagine that for each of these people, there must be at least 2 or 3 who are Muslims in Yathrib.

So Mus'ab comes with around 75 converts. In 1 year, he managed to convert a minimum of 250-300 people. This is the largest group of converts outside of Makkah, rivaling the quantity in Makkah. Subhan'Allah. Why did the people of Yathrib embrace Islam so quickly when the people of Makkah were so stubborn that in 13 years, the quantity of converts is just a little bit more than what it is in Yathrib? Many reasons: (1) No persecution. (2) Monotheistic tendencies of the people of Yathrib. (3) The main reason was that the tribal leadership had been decimated in the civil war. And so there was a younger, fresher generation who had not been raised up in paganism — rather, they had seen the foolishness of it which caused bloodshed and chaos; and they wanted a change.

So around 75 people came for hajj that year, and the Prophet PBUH communicated with them and said, "We shall meet up on the last night of the hajj before everyone returns home. Meet me before the Fajr Prayer in the valley next to Aqaba."

Jabir ibn Abdillah, one of the most famous of the Ansar (or to be more precise, the people who were *to become* the Ansar), was an eyewitness to this bay'ah. He narrates, "The Prophet PBUH stayed for more than 10 years in Makkah, preaching to the people in the hajj season. And he would ask the other tribes, 'Who will support me so that I can spread the Message of my Lord?', and he would not find anyone embracing his faith except for a man or two from Egypt, Yemen, etc. (i.e., the converts were not en masse), until finally, Allah SWT sent some of us from Yathrib, and we accepted Islam and learned the Quran, returned to our people and preached the Message, until not a single subtribe of Yathrib were there except that some amongst them had embraced Islam. And then Allah SWT caused us to come together, and we spoke to one another, and we said, 'For how long will we allow the Prophet PBUH to be repelled from one valley to another outside of Makkah and live in fear?' (i.e., the idea came that we should now take in the Prophet PBUH and protect him.)" And Jabir says, "Allah gave us this idea."^{[1: p. 681-682]}

Ka'b ibn Malik (كعب بن مالك) —the one whom Allah revealed his tawba in the Quran [9:118] in 9 AH [see episode 88]— also witnessed this bay'ah; and he said, "When we went for hajj, we hid our Islam from our pagan relatives. And we all agreed to meet at a particular place (the valley behind Aqaba) in the last third of the night. And we snuck out of our tents at nighttime, one by one, so as not to arouse suspicion (among the Khazraj), to meet with the Prophet PBUH. And we waited for him. And eventually, he came with his uncle al-Abbas, even though al-Abbas was still upon the religion of his people." Interesting. Abbas is coming even though he is still a pagan at this time.

Going back to Jabir's narration: Jabir says, "And when his (the Prophet's PBUH) uncle Abbas came, he said to the Prophet PBUH, while looking at all of us, 'O my nephew, I don't know any of these men, and I don't feel comfortable.'" Remember, Abbas is a trader — he knows many of the elders of Yathrib from his traveler's days; but these elders have now died in the Battle of Bu'ath, and Abbas doesn't know any of these 'youngsters' — so he didn't feel comfortable. Because he is thinking in terms of jahili tribalism.

And this shows why Abbas is coming. He feels a sense of loyalty out of tribalism and thinks he needs to negotiate the Prophet's PBUH release to the people of Yathrib as the seniormost member of the Quraysh who still acknowledges him. This shows that just like Abu Talib, Abbas genuinely loved the Prophet PBUH with a natural love. (And eventually, he will convert to Islam — but much later on [see episode 78].) Also, Abbas and the Prophet PBUH were foster brothers and of a similar age (with a 3-year difference), so there was a strong bond of friendship, even though they were uncle and nephew. The Prophet PBUH trusted al-Abbas.

Continuation of Jabir's narration: "We came in front of the Prophet PBUH, and Abbas was the one who stood up to speak on his behalf PBUH. He said, 'O people of the Khazraj (even though there were some Aws as well), you know the status of this man (the Prophet PBUH) amongst us (the Banu Hashim). And we have protected him from his own people (the Quraysh) even though we agree with our people (i.e., we agree with the religion of our people, but we have prevented them from harming this man). He has izzah and honor amongst us; and he has protection. But he has decided to leave us to go over to you. So if you are sure that you can live up to your conditions with him and protect him from those who disagree, then you shall bear this responsibility. Otherwise, let him be from now. And realize that he is honored amongst his people.'" Abbas is clearly not trusting of the Khazraj; very hesitant at what is happening; and he feels a sense of embarrassment that his own nephew has to depart from the Banu Hashim due to their failure to fulfill their protective role. So in a sense, he is trying to overcompensate by emphasizing the Prophet's PBUH continued izzah and protection among the Banu Hashim, even though the dynamic has shifted after the death of Abu Talib.

The people replied, "O Abbas, you have spoken; now let the Prophet PBUH speak. Ya Rasulullah, put up the conditions." The Prophet PBUH stood up and began preaching about fearing Allah AWJ, recited the Quran, and then said, "I shall [allow you to] give the bay'ah in return for mun'ah (protection) — you shall protect me like one of your own." And without hesitation, one of the future-Ansar, al-Bara ibn Ma'rur (البراء بن معرور), said, "We are experienced in the arts of war — this is an easy condition. We will protect you, and no one will touch you. Stretch forth your hand and we will give you the allegiance." This was a hasty response; but also one of Iman.

Another future-Ansari stood up: Abu al-Haytham ibn al-Tayhan (أبو الهيثم بن التيهان), the famous one who [later in the seerah] fed the Prophet PBUH, Umar RA, and Abu Bakr RA when they were all hungry wandering the streets of Madinah with a stone tied to their stomach. This is a man of intelligence. He said, "Ya Rasulullah, we have ties (political treaties) with the Jews. By accepting you, those ties will be broken and we know it. So once you come over to our side and then Allah gives us victory, will you then leave us and go back to your people?" He firmly believes this is the Messenger of Allah, and that victory will come — but he is saying his fear is once they have victory, will the Prophet PBUH go back to Makkah, leaving them in a very difficult situation in Madinah after breaking their ties with the Jews? To which, the Prophet PBUH smiled and replied, "No. My blood is your blood, and my destruction is your destruction," i.e., 'We will live together and die together.' A very beautiful response. The Prophet PBUH is saying he will now permanently be a Madani (Madinan). And this was the condition they wanted (meaning they were satisfied with the response). Subhan'Allah, look at their Iman. And contrast this with those of Kindah who wanted leadership after victory.

Note the Aws and the Khazraj are the Qahtani Arabs, a totally different branch than the Quraysh. They are Yemeni Arabs. And in the books of hadith, we find so many ahadith where the Prophet PBUH praised the people of Yemen. Of them, "The people of Yemen are the softest in their hearts, and the gentlest in their chests," i.e., they are very good people. Another is, "Iman is Yemeni, and wisdom is Yemenite." So in the Aws and the Khazraj, we see this wisdom and Iman.

Notice also the bravery of Abu al-Haytham; he asked a very direct question that could even be seen by some of us as sacrilegious. The openness and freedom is truly remarkable.

And it is also worth noting that once the Prophet PBUH gave his word ("My blood is your blood, and my destruction is your destruction"), obviously, he lived up to it: When he conquered Makkah [later in 8 AH] and he was with his entire tribe all of whom had accepted Islam —and there was the house of Khadija where he lived for 20 years and the house of Abu Talib where he grew up and lived for 40 years and he could have moved back if he wanted to— what did he do? Eventually, he turned his back to Makkah and walked back to Madinah, and he lived in Madinah, and he died in Madinah, and he is buried in Madinah. Subhan'Allah.

They said, "O Messenger of Allah, what is the phrase of the bay'ah we should give?" The Prophet PBUH said, "You must give the bay'ah that you-hear-and-you-obey in times of difficulty and ease, and that you spend (of your money) in the Way of Allah SWT, and that you command the good and forbid the evil, and that you speak the truth no matter what the consequences, and that you help me once I come to Yathrib just like you help your own family." These are the political conditions along with Islamic conditions. And once he said this, a voice cried out from amongst them, "And what shall we get in return?" To which, the Prophet PBUH said the one word they wanted to hear: "Al-Jannah." So they all stood up to give the bay'ah.

But before anyone could embrace the Prophet's PBUH hand, As'ad ibn Zurarah held on to the Prophet's PBUH hand and kept it down; and said, "Wait." (And recall As'ad is one of the six; one of the first converts; the one who housed Mus'ab.) He said, "O people of Yathrib, we have not traveled this whole distance except that we know this man is the Messenger of Allah. And once his people expel him, then you will be asking for war (i.e., once the Prophet PBUH leaves the Quraysh, the Quraysh will try to kill him). So, if you are ready that your necks meet swords (i.e., if you are ready to die), then go and give him the oath of allegiance. And realize that the best of you will be killed — fathers will lose their sons, and sons will lose their fathers, and you will cause death amongst yourselves. If you are prepared to do this, then give him the oath. If not, then stop now, perchance Allah will forgive you"—meaning, 'This isn't a joke. This is the last chance. Once you put your hand in his hand, end of story, there is no going back.' This is the intelligence of As'ad — he did not want the punishment of Allah to come if his tribe eventually said they could not do it, it was too much, etc. But they said, "O As'ad, you have spoken enough. Get your hand off the hand of the Prophet PBUH. We want to put it." And so one by one, all 72 men amongst them gave the bay'ah to the Prophet PBUH, and in return, he PBUH promised each one of them Jannah. One by one. — What a beautiful, blessed group that is. — And among them were 2 women; and the Prophet PBUH accepted their oath of allegiance verbally without physically taking their hands. As we know, the Prophet PBUH never touched the hand of a woman who was not related to him.

Abbas was looking along in great worry. And when the entire oath was finished, he said to the Prophet PBUH, "These are people I don't know any of them. And all of them are young kids"—he was very worried about the Prophet PBUH. However, if Abbas did not know them, then Allah AWJ knew them. If Abbas did not recognize them, then Allah and His Messenger did indeed recognize them.

[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, September 2023]