099 - Verse of Sword & Hajj of Abu Bakr

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We are winding up with the seerah now. Maybe two or three more lessons after this and we will be finished, alhamdulillah. Today, we'll do the very final incidents in the 9th and 10th years. Again, what we went through in the last few weeks was primarily delegations and family incidents. We had to break our chronology and we explained why. Now, however, we go back chronologically and talk about the next big incident that occurred in the 9th year of the Hijrah, and that is the Hajj of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq RA.

Sending Abu Bakr RA to Perform Hajj

Now, when was the Conquest of Makkah? Ramadan of the 8th year of the Hijrah. In the 8th year, could the Prophet PBUH and Muslims have performed Hajj? Yes, of course. Because they conquered Makkah in Ramadan. Yet there was no concerted effort to do so. Why? If we say the Prophet PBUH was too busy with delegations, then we are saying that a wajib/fard is being delayed because of delegations; so that is nonsensical. The Battle of Hunayn was in Shawwal of the 8th year, so they could have come back for Hajj in the 8th year if they wanted to. So why didn't they? Because Makkah is not yet fully safe. Remember the Thaqif; Ta'if is literally the next neighboring city with a huge population that is very hostile. Therefore, the reason why the Prophet PBUH did not make an effort to do Hajj in the 8th year was because it simply was not feasible. There were security threats. Thus, in the 8th year of the Hijrah, there was no special Hajj delegation coming from Madinah.

There were, however, a few Muslims who performed Hajj. Who were they? The books of seerah mention the Prophet PBUH placed one of the members of the Banu Abd Shams, Attab ibn Asid (عتاب بن أسيد), as the governor of Makkah — he converted at the Conquest of Makkah (side notes: so he's a late convert. Why then didn't the Prophet PBUH appoint one of the elites as the governor? Umar, Uthman, etc.? Why did all the elite sahaba go back? Because they *have to* go back. The Muhajirun are obliged to go back. One of the points of the Hijrah, because of which they were honored by Allah, is that the Muhajir cannot go back to where he came from, or else his Hijrah is nullified. So none of the Muhajirun were able to go back to Makkah, including the Prophet PBUH. This is only special for the actual Muhajirun — as for us in our times, if we do hijrah from a dangerous land, we can go back if it becomes safe in the future. But that group of Muhajirun had to promise to give up everything and never return. So there was no permission for the Muhajir to go back to Makkah. Thus who was allowed to stay in Makkah? Those who never left), and Attab never made Hijrah, thus he was allowed to stay in Makkah, so in the 8th year, as a newly appointed governor of Makkah, he led a small group of Muslims to perform Hajj. Thus for the first time, some Muslims publicly performed Hajj. This of course had not happened since the beginning of Islam.

As for the Prophet PBUH and the sahaba in Madinah, they did not perform Hajj in the 8th year. In the 9th year, what happens? Tabuk takes place, and that is taken care of. Najran is also taken care of at the end of the 9th year / beginning of the 10th. The main threat was Thaqif, and as we know, that is also taken care of in Madinah. We discussed their delegation [see episode 95]. So the tribe of Thaqif accepted Islam, and now in the 9th year of the Hijrah, the Prophet PBUH decides to send Abu Bakr with an official delegation from Madinah to Makkah. But the Prophet PBUH himself does not perform the Hajj. Why? He explicitly explains why; he says to Abu Bakr, "Verily, the mushrikun perform tawaf naked around the Ka'bah, and I do not wish to perform the Hajj until that is eliminated." So he gave the ultimate reason, that it is not befitting for the Prophet of Allah PBUH to participate in the Hajj where you have mushrikun acting in this vulgar and lewd manner.

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Jahili Arabs Used to Perform Tawaf Naked

Now, this concept of doing Hajj without your clothes is mentioned in the Qur'an in Surah al-A'raf verse [7:28]. Note right before this verse, Allah mentions how Adam and Hawa AS were persuaded by Iblis to eat from the Tree, which caused them to get rid of their clothes [7:27]. And Allah says before this in verse [7:26], "O children of Adam, We have sent down clothes [from the heavens]..." What does that mean? It means the concept of clothes is heavenly. We are the only creation in this world that wears something on our bodies. And in verse [7:28], in the context of clothes and covering oneself up, Allah says, "When they [the Quraysh] commit a shameful deed..." and the word used for "shameful deed" here is "fahsha (فحشاء)" or "fahisha (فاحشة)." Note, fahsha/fahisha is a sin of a sexual, lewd, or perverse nature. And Allah says when the Quraysh do a fahisha, "They say as an excuse, 'Our forefathers did it,' and, 'Allah commanded us to do it.'" Then Allah AWJ negates this and says, "Tell them, 'Allah does not command that which is fahsha.'" What specifically does the word fahsha refer to in this verse is not mentioned in the Quran, but it's discussed in the tafsir literature: The sahaba and tabi'un interpreted this verse and said, "The fahisha was to perform tawaf without your clothes."

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْآتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا ۖ وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

7:26. O children of Adam! We have provided for you clothing to cover your nakedness and as an adornment. However, the best clothing is righteousness. This is one of Allah's bounties, so perhaps you will be mindful.

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ لَا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ كَمَا أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُم مِّنَ الْجَنَّةِ يَنزِعُ عَنْهُمَا لِبَاسَهُمَا لِيُرِيَهُمَا سَوْآتِهِمَا ۗ إِنَّهُ يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا الشَّيَاطِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

7:27. O children of Adam! Do not let Satan deceive you as he tempted your parents out of Paradise and caused their cover to be removed in order to expose their nakedness. Surely he and his soldiers watch you from where you cannot see them. We have made the devils allies of those who disbelieve.

وَإِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً قَالُوا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهَا آبَاءَنَا وَاللَّهُ أَمَرَنَا بِهَا ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ ۖ أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

7:28. Whenever they commit a shameful deed, they say, "We found our forefathers doing it, and Allah has commanded us to do it." Say, "No! Allah never commands what is fahsha. How can you attribute to Allah what you do not know?"

The Quraysh gave 2 reasons for doing tawaf naked. Allah let go of the first reason because it was factual. Not because it was valid, but it was true, that their forefathers did it. However, Allah responded to the second accusation; He SWT negated the accusation and said, "Allah never commands what is fahsha."

What were their justifications for doing such a desecrated act? Ibn Kathir and others mention two:

1. They said, "We should do tawaf the same way our mothers gave birth to us." Meaning they are saying, "We should return to our original state that Allah created us in," i.e., "au naturel." Now, this is intriguing because this is exactly the same excuse we find today — there is this nudist movement, and they implement the exact same logic that, "God created us this way, our mothers gave birth to us this way, so why should we pervert nature?" Subhan'Allah, it's exactly the same excuse as the jahili Arabs. However, Allah says in the Quran, no, He sent down clothes for us.

2. The second excuse they give is, "How can we do tawaf in the exact same clothes we disobey Allah in? Isn't it shameful that in these garments we've disobeyed Allah we do tawaf in them?"

This really shows us how easy it is to find any logic for anything. Without any Divine guidance and shariah, anyone can justify anything. The notion that our intellect is all-powerful and guiding, is ridiculous. Our intellect can justify anything. You want to torture innocent people, your 'intellect' will give you reasons to do so. Whatever it is, you will find your justification. That's why you need a shariah from Allah to tell you right from wrong. Otherwise, if we are left to our own whims and desires, anyone can justify anything as we have indeed seen. Here we have people justifying doing tawaf —the greatest of deeds around the greatest of houses— fully naked. They too believe the Ka'bah is sacred like us; but somehow they say, "Let us be natural the way Allah created us."

Note not everyone did tawaf naked. It was something that, believe it or not, was a sign of piety amongst the jahili Arabs. And therefore, only the 'pious' among them did it. But it wasn't something that was uncommon either. The people of Makkah, by the way, did not follow this practice. Why? They view themselves as being elitists. They literally thought they were elite, so they reasoned, "These rules don't apply to us because we are people of the Haram, people of the holy place." So doing tawaf naked was the custom of the non-Qureshis. And that is why in Hajj season, this act increased, because that's when the non-Qureshis came. And there were ways out of this too. Even those who wanted to do it had ways out of it. They would either purchase brand new clothes (to get past excuse #2), or they would get a Qureshi to lend one of his garments, because his clothes for some reason are 'holy' since they are being used in Makkah. (In Sh. YQ's opinion, this notion of going around the Ka'bah naked unless you purchase from Makkah, must have been invented by a Makkan merchant or a clothes seller; because, of course, they will benefit a lot from such a thing. This is just Sh. YQ's random theory, and he told note-takers to not write this down.)

The books of seerah mention even the women would sometimes do this. Can you imagine the vulgarity? For the women however, there was a license to wear a garment to cover their private parts; the rest of their body would be covered with their hands, and they would versify a poem: "Today, my body is apparent, but whatever is apparent, I don't allow anyone to stare at it." And allegedly, when she says this, nobody will be able to look at her. That's what they believed. Also, the books mention that it was more common for women to do this during the night in the dark.

The point is this was the custom that existed, and so the Prophet PBUH explicitly said he did not want to do Hajj in this environment. It's very interesting to note the Prophet PBUH made a very firm stand to not go for Hajj because of this. This is definitely the appropriate thing for him to do. So he sends Abu Bakr and 300 other people to first eliminate this custom.

(Side notes: For the first 53 years of the Prophet's PBUH life, without a doubt this custom must have been taking place in Makkah; obviously this must have been happening during his life, and of course he was lowering his gaze; but the point is that, merely being in an environment of fahsha is not in and of itself haram. The Prophet PBUH did not leave Makkah for 53 years of his life even though women were doing tawaf of this nature. And it is clear that it's public. Now, in our times, we do have a lot of young people who go through phases and think everything is haram, including living in the West. And if you ask them why, they say, "Because there is fahsha everywhere." In response we say, the east has probably the same if not even more fahsha. Especially with the internet, there is no place on earth where there is no fahisha; there is no more safe haven utopia. Secondly, this incident clearly shows, our Prophet PBUH, when he is the minority and oppressed, what did he do? What will you do? You lower your gaze and fight your own battle. Just because it's happening outside, doesn't mean your presence there is haram. This is especially true when there is no place to go, such as in our times. *As long as* we protect ourselves and fear Allah, insha'Allah, there is no sin for us to be in the West.)

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The Revelation of the Beginning of Surah al-Tawba incl. the 'Verse of the Sword'

So the Prophet PBUH sent Abu Bakr, and along with him 300 other Muslims, to lay the foundations for his first and last Hajj, Hajjat al-Wada'. There are no idols in Makkah, but there are still going to be pagans coming from all over Arabia with their weird and bizarre customs. So he sends Abu Bakr RA to make sure that there are no paganistic rituals, and further, no pagans from henceforth. As soon as Abu Bakr RA left the city of Madinah, within a few hours, Allah SWT revealed the first 2½ pages of Surah al-Tawba. And these verses are directed at the pagans of Arabia. Why did Allah delay it? Allah knows best, but maybe it was because of exactly what happened:

When someone said to the Prophet PBUH, "Why don't you send these verses to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq?" the Prophet PBUH said, "No one shall convey these verses on my behalf other than someone from my own household," and so he chose Ali ibn Abi Talib who wasn't part of the initial congregation to Makkah, and told him to take these verses, catch up to Abu Bakr, and announce them to the people during Hajj.

Of course this Surah was one of the very final surahs to be revealed (the final large surah to be revealed; the final surah was Surah al-Ma'idah). And Surah al-Tawba, of course, as we all know, does not start with Basmala (BismiLlah-ir-Rahman-ir-Raheem). There are a number of opinions on why this is, but here are the 2 most popular opinions:

1. Narrated from Ali ibn Abi Talib, he was asked why there is no Basmala, and he says (which makes sense for today's lecture): "BismiLlah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim is what you write at the beginning of a contract of protection; of rahma (رحمة - mercy). [But] Surah al-Tawba is about bara-a (براءة - cutting off of ties and dissociation). So you are not going to start the Surah of dissociation by saying, 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'" Because Allah is saying in the Surah, He has "nothing to do" with the pagans, so Ali RA is saying it's not befitting that such a Surah starts with "the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."

2. There is a hadith in Tirmidhi which says Uthman ibn Affan was asked by one of his students why he didn't put Basmala at the beginning of Surah al-Tawba, and also why did he combine al-Anfal and al-Tawba even though the former is early Madinah, while the latter is late Madinah. Recall al-Anfal is a surah that mainly talks about the Battle of Badr, and al-Tawba is mainly about the Battle of Tabuk and post-Tabuk (all 9th year). So the student is asking why Uthman combined these two surahs. Uthman replied, "The content of the two is similar, and al-Tawba was revealed very late, and we didn't know whether it was a separate surah or not, so we just put it with al-Anfal. And because we didn't know if it's a separate surah, we didn't write Basmala."

Now let us go over a few verses of Surah al-Tawba:

بَرَاءَةٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ إِلَى الَّذِينَ عَاهَدتُّم مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

9:1. [This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allah and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists.

— It's a very powerful beginning from Allah. That He begins by declaring a bara-a (براءة); there is no such word in English like bara-a in Arabic. There were treaties made in the 6th, 7th, and 8th year, and now this is the declaration that all of those treaties are going to be made null and void. Note any time you have a treaty with somebody, before you break it off, you have to tell the other party that you are going to break it off. It's against Islam and etiquette to surprise break off a treaty [see also: episode 43]. This is the way our shariah operates, that if you have a peace treaty with someone, you cannot break the treaty as you attack them. You have to tell them beforehand, e.g., "Look, we have one month left and then that's it." So this is what is happening: Allah is revealing this Surah to break any and all treaties. And He SWT then gives the conditions and details:

فَسِيحُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ غَيْرُ مُعْجِزِي اللَّهِ ۙ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ مُخْزِي الْكَافِرِينَ

9:2. So travel freely, [O disbelievers], throughout the land [for] four months, but know that you cannot cause failure to Allah and that Allah will disgrace the disbelievers.

— The time clause given is 4 months, and then all treaties will come to an end. So for these 4 months, they are completely safe and free to go anywhere and do whatever they want (e.g., pack their stuff, take care of business, visit family).

وَأَذَانٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ إِلَى النَّاسِ يَوْمَ الْحَجِّ الْأَكْبَرِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ بَرِيءٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ۙ وَرَسُولُهُ ۚ فَإِن تُبْتُمْ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَإِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ غَيْرُ مُعْجِزِي اللَّهِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

9:3. And [it is] an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to the people on the day of the greater Hajj that Allah is disassociated from the disbelievers, and [so is] His Messenger. So if you repent, that is best for you; but if you turn away — then know that you will not cause failure to Allah. And give tidings to those who disbelieve of a painful Punishment.

— So Allah is saying this shall be a declaration on the Day of Sacrifice (10th Dhu al-Hijjah), which is the day after the Day of Arafah, that Allah and His Messenger have cut off all relationships from the pagans.

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ عَاهَدتُّم مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنقُصُوكُمْ شَيْئًا وَلَمْ يُظَاهِرُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَحَدًا فَأَتِمُّوا إِلَيْهِمْ عَهْدَهُمْ إِلَىٰ مُدَّتِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ

9:4. Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term [has ended]. Indeed, Allah loves the righteous [who fear Him].

— Here Allah gives an exception. He is saying if there is a pre-set specific time clause already in place, and they have not broken their promise at all, then in that case, Allah is telling the Prophet PBUH to fulfill that treaty to the end of the agreed time. For some tribes, the Prophet PBUH put a time clause, and Allah, in his fairness, puts an exception to these treaties.

فَإِذَا انسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَاحْصُرُوهُمْ وَاقْعُدُوا لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍ ۚ فَإِن تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

9:5. And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakat, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

— THEN, the 5th verse comes. This is the MOST misinterpreted verse by Islamophobes. It is called 'the Verse of the Sword.' And you have to understand this verse in the context of the 9th year of the Hijrah, in the context of post-Conquest when paganism is being eliminated. All of this needs to be understood. Now what are the "sacred months" being referred to in this verse? Some scholars say the famous Sacred Months of the Hijri calendar. Others say Allah called the four months in verse 2 the "sacred months" because those are the four months you cannot fight for this particular year. So basically, when those months finish, then what? Then there is an open license to attack, kill, take them prisoner, and do whatever needs to be done.

— Here's the point: This verse was revealed for the Haram and the Arabian Peninsula. To ensure there is not going to be paganism and idol worship in that sacred land anymore. You cannot worship an idol in the lands of the Haram. So they were given four months, and two options: Either get rid of paganism and accept Islam (which is exactly what Allah says in verse 5), or leave; otherwise, face war. Because it is not allowed in our shariah for idolatry to be practiced openly in the Arabian Peninsula.

— Historically speaking, all the Muslim rulers tolerated paganism outside the Arabian Peninsula. And by unanimous consensus, Jews and Christians are allowed to live in an Islamic state if they pay the jizya. The ikhtilaf comes over non-Jews, non-Christians, and non-Zoroastrians. (Side note: Question: Why are Zoroastrians also excluded? Answer: Because Umar RA decided to treat them like the People of the Book. When he conquered Persia, there were Zoroastrians, and the sahaba differed what to do; Umar RA said, "Treat them like you treat the People of the Book, except you cannot marry their women or eat their meat"; so based on this, all of the madhhabs agree that Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians can live in Dar al-Islam if they pay jizya. There is no ikhtilaf at all — they can practice their faith, have their churches, etc. As long as they pay the jizya, they are protected by the state. But of course there are conditions, e.g., they are not allowed to proselytize. We aren't painting early Muslim society to be a 'post-liberal,' 'post-modernist,' 'post-humanistic,' 'secular' society. You are allowed to be a Jew, Christian, or Zoroastrian, but you cannot convert others.) The ikhtilaf came what if you're not Jew, Christian, or Zoroastrian? This is where the madhahib differed. Some madhahib say only these are allowed to live in an Islamic state; others say, "No, it's okay, what Umar said of the Zoroastrian applies to every other religion."

— And we have to understand that fiqh is one thing, history and reality is another. The khulafa basically allowed every single religious group to be who they are as long as they didn't proselytize or cross the line [see also: episode 87]. Classic example: The Yazidis have existed under the Abbasids, under the Umayyads, under the Mamluks, for hundreds of years. They have bizarre beliefs which go back to ancient times. They are called "satan worshipers" which isn't technically true, but the point is they were tolerated. Another example is the Mughals who were the largest empire in India — the Muslim states had no problems with the Hindus being there.

— The point is, this verse cannot be taken as a carte blanche execution order of all non-Muslims. One simple historical fact: Not a single person lost his or her life because of this verse. This verse is a threat: they have four months to leave or else they will die. It's a threat and it was meant to be a threat to scare the people. And indeed, because of it, paganism disappeared from Arabia, which was exactly what Islam wanted. So to take this verse, "Kill the infidels wherever you find them," and to ignore the entire context, or even more so the very next verse, is just plain wrong. Allah says in verse 6:

وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّىٰ يَسْمَعَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ

9:6. And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah. Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know.

— Subhan'Allah, verse 6 clearly says if anyone wants protection, give him protection, explain Islam to him, accompany him to the borders and let him go. He goes his own way safely. Not one person was killed or executed as a result of these verses. They were meant to threaten the pagans. Either accept Islam or leave. And that's exactly what happened. Paganism was wiped out of Arabia, and that was the goal of Islam. And we will not sugar-coat this at all: We do not want idolatry to be taking place in the Arabian Peninsula.

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Sunni-Shia Controversy:

"Are You Being Sent to Be a Commander Over Me?" Asked Abu Bakr to Ali

Another major controversy is the issue of Ali ibn Abi Talib being chosen to convey the message to the pagans during the Hajj of the 9th year. (Side note: The 9th year is the only year ever where Muslims and pagans performed tawaf and Hajj simultaneously. Never before did an official delegation of Muslims and pagans perform tawaf together. That there were pagans from far north, south, east, and west, that came to do Hajj.) Ali RA is sent to announce to the pagans, "Go back to your people and tell them, either leave or convert to Islam, you have four months. If you don't, we will attack you." The question is why was Ali RA chosen? As we said, Ali RA was given the first 2 pages of Surah al-Tawba. Then he rushes to Dhu al-Hulayfah, and Abu Bakr sees him riding on the personal camel of the Prophet PBUH, which shows he is being sent by the Prophet PBUH as his representative, so immediately Abu Bakr asks him, "Are you being sent to be a commander over me? Or am I still the commander?" Ali RA said, "No, you are still the commander, but I have come to recite Surah al-Tawba." Of course this causes huge tension between Sunni and Shia groups.

The Shia interpret this and say this is explicit evidence that Ali RA should have been the [first] khalifa. Of course their main evidence is the incident of Ghadir Khumm which we will discuss later on [see episode 100]. But here, they say the Prophet PBUH clearly chose Ali RA (as his successor) when he said, "No one shall represent me other than my family member." But this is very easy for us Sunnis to understand in the proper way: Al-Baghawi and other mufassirun mention that it was the custom of pre-Islam that when a ruler wants to make a treaty or break a treaty, they have to send someone from their family to do so. And because the Prophet PBUH is dealing with the jahili Arabs, to whom lineage and family is everything, he wants to provide no excuse for the pagans that they can say, "Oh, you sent the wrong person," that is why he sends Ali RA to break the treaties. And the simplest correct understanding for us is that Abu Bakr and Ali are both in the same convoy of Hajj, and Ali RA literally says to Abu Bakr, "No, you are still the amir (leader)."

In this incident, you have two of the greatest sahaba together, and the Prophet PBUH sends the both of them, but Ali RA is not sent as the amir (leader). He is sent for a task which is to break the treaties; Abu Bakr is the overall amir. For us, this is very clear. No doubt, we have no problems giving every blessing that is given to Ali RA; this is indeed a great honor to be chosen by the Prophet PBUH to break the treaties; and we have no stinginess in saying he is Ahl al-Bayt and that he represents the Prophet PBUH; BUT that doesn't mean he should have been the [first] khalifa over Abu Bakr RA.

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Four Major Announcements During the Hajj

As we said, it was the only Hajj performed by both pagans and Muslims simultaneously. It was also the only Hajj wherein the rites of Hajj were performed according to the old ways. The Prophet PBUH did not show the correct way of Hajj, so Abu Bakr does it in the old way.

Abu Bakr RA performs the Hajj, and Ali RA along with Abu Hurairah RA make four major announcements throughout Mina (منى). They first recite Surah al-Tawba (first 2 pages), so now people are aware of the 4 months period. Then they announce:

1. No one shall enter Jannah other than a Muslim/Mu'min (or in another version: "The kafir shall not enter Jannah")

2. No one shall perform tawaf naked

3. No mushrik shall ever perform tawaf again (after this year)

4. Any contract that exists with the pagans with any tribe shall exist for four more months. After this, there is no treaty (unless there's a pre-set time clause)

So these were the four major announcements in the Hajj of Abu Bakr RA.

The first point is very interesting. Why mention no kafir shall enter Jannah? This is now perhaps the final dawah being given to groups of people that might decide to leave Arabia forever. They know they have two options: Convert or leave. (It's never convert or die, by the way.) So they are being told the most important thing, which is that there is no way to Jannah other than Islam. And for Sh. YQ, this is a very important point in modern times, because this principle of Islam is being watered-down, and many youths find it difficult to swallow. But the fact that the Prophet PBUH made this the first point to announce in the final Hajj that the pagans will ever attend really demonstrates that Quranic-wise and logic-wise, if you believe in a religion, it better be the one that saves you from Allah's anger and punishment. If other religions also save you, why believe in a specific one? The purpose of Islam is to guide us to Jannah and the pleasure of Allah. If we say many other religions do that, why even follow one religion? Religion by its nature, logically, should be exclusive in terms of Allah's pleasure. No doubt, in terms of this world, the fiqh is clear: we have our way and they have theirs. But in the akhira, not all religions can simultaneously be valid. So in this final opportunity, the Prophet PBUH is telling the mushrikun that you only have one way to get to Jannah, and that is through Islam. [Further reading: Salvific Exclusivity, by Sh. Yasir Qadhi]

As for the issue of doing tawaf naked, the prohibition was enforced even during the Hajj of Abu Bakr RA. So even in the 9th year, no one did tawaf naked. Because that was immediately enforced.

As for the prohibition for pagans to do tawaf, that was not enforced yet since they were already there. That started from the 10th year onward.

Last, they are told they have four months left.

Therefore, this was a clear signal that Islam had triumphed over idolatry. This was the final nail in the coffin for idolatry. And as we've said many times, it's one of the most amazing U-turns in human history. That in just 20 years, an entire civilization gives up its heritage of over 3,000 years and accepts a new religion. There are no pagans anymore that are Arabs. There are still Arab-Christians, and there used to be Arab-Jews up until 1948, Islam tolerated this, but nowhere were there Arab-pagans anymore. Why? Because of these verses. And subhan'Allah, it's one of the most interesting miracles of Islam, that it eliminated idolatry completely amongst an entire civilization. And our Prophet PBUH saw the culmination of his efforts.

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Sending Out Governors and Religious Teachers to Various Places

Also toward the end of the 9th year, our Prophet PBUH sent many sahaba as either governors or teachers of Islam to various places around Arabia, especially in the north and south. Mu'adh ibn Jabal was sent to Yemen — and we know the story of how the Prophet PBUH walked with him [see episode 96]. Others were also sent down south, and it seems people there accepted Islam very quickly and easily.

One final incident of accepting Islam also took place in the 9th year in the province of Najran. And Najran is a little bit above Yemen and south of Hejaz. It's the southernmost province of modern Saudi Arabia. To this province, our Prophet PBUH sent Khalid ibn al-Walid in the beginning of the 10th year. And he told Khalid, "Do not attack them until you give them three days and tell them they have the option of accepting Islam, or if they're Christian or Jew, they pay jizya, or they have to leave." So three days. This shows us again the mercy of the shariah that the Prophet PBUH gave three days. So Khalid ibn al-Walid sent criers to inform the people of Najran, and lo and behold, the entire province of Najran accepted Islam. And so Khalid ibn al-Walid was really confused since he brought an army but there's no fighting. So he sent a letter to the Prophet PBUH to tell him the people have all accepted Islam and asked what he should do next. The Prophet PBUH said, "Send a delegation up to me," i.e., he wants to test them.

So a delegation comes from Najran, and Ibn Ishaq mentions an interesting conversation that took place. The group enters in and the Prophet PBUH did not recognize them, so he asks them the equivalent of "who do I have the pleasure of welcoming?" And it's reported that he said, "You look like the people of Hind (i.e., Indians)." Why would the Prophet PBUH say this? We don't know of any Indians (Hind) that the Prophet PBUH ever met, so this is interesting. Perhaps the Prophet PBUH said this because the people of Najran have a complexion that is different from other Arabs. Also, it's known that the people of Najran had a different hairstyle (round and curly), so maybe this is why he said what he said, but Allah knows best. When the group said, "We are from the Najran," the Prophet PBUH had some back-and-forths with them, a little bit of it is harsh, but he is testing their Iman. He wants to see if they are genuinely Muslim. In the end, they pass the test with flying colors, so the Prophet PBUH asks, "Tell me what was the secret/reason that you are always the victors against anyone who attacks you?" They say two things: "(i) We are always united (once we make a decision, we never fight amongst ourselves); and (ii) we never do wrong to other people." Subhan'Allah, this shows us, if you want to be successful, ensure teamwork and don't take the rights of other people.

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The Prophet's PBUH Letter to Amr ibn Hazm al-Ansari RA

The Prophet PBUH then sent Amr ibn Hazm al-Ansari (عمرو بن حزم الأنصاري) to be the religious leader and governor over Najran. And he PBUH sent a letter to Amr one month before he passed away, instructing him how to be a religious leader. Maybe we will discuss the letter itself next time. But it is one of the most famous letters in the seerah. Why? Because it was the last letter our Prophet PBUH dictated in his life. And it's over a page long, and it's directed to Amr ibn Hazm, and it's basically a whole bunch of wasiyyat (وصيات - commandments) telling him how to teach the people. It is one of the very last things he PBUH did. Note the people of Najran accepted Islam four months before he PBUH passed away.

There is one phrase in the letter that the fuqaha discuss so much about, and that is, "No one should touch the Qur'an except if he is tahir (طاهر - pure)." From this, the majority of the madhahib all say, to touch the Qur'an you need to have wudu. This is the number one evidence, the hadith of Amr ibn Hazm.

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Q&A

Q: Did the sahaba have the ihram before Islam?
A: There is no evidence that suggests this. Rather, our Prophet PBUH explicitly commanded the Muslims to wear the ihram, and therefore, it is estimated that ihram is something that the Prophet PBUH came with. Because he clearly says, "Don't wear this, don't wear that, but instead wear this" — the fact that he has to make this command seems to indicate that the ihram is not known to those before.

[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]

safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, March 2022]