We pointed out that the Constitution of Madinah was unprecedented and forward-thinking. The Prophet PBUH gave each religious group nearly complete independence, and then put some bonds between them that were more political in nature.
Philosophical Tangent: Bonds of Religion vs. Bonds of Nationality
The modern world is divided into nation-states, and we are told to view each other based on our nationality: Americans, Canadians, British, Mexicans, Australians, Nicaraguans, etc., and we are told that this is the strongest bond. But if you really think about it, the bonds of the nation-state are actually pretty imaginary, because there is nothing that combines people of one nationality other than that nationality. E.g., what is the one thing common in all Americans? Is it language? Religion? Skin color? Ethnicity? Food? Hardly anything! In fact, the only thing that is common is the fact that we are American. Which is a circular conundrum. The modern world makes fun of religious people, saying, "You guys still view religion as being the primary factor?!" But wallahi, think about it logically: Religion gives you so many things in common: Ethics, values, philosophy of living, morality, language, qibla (which we are going to discuss today), etc., i.e., that which is genuinely important; not superficial things like skin color, ethnicity, etc. So it makes more sense to divide the system of governance based on religion rather than on nationality.
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The point is when the Prophet PBUH came to Madinah, he got rid of the "Aws vs. Khazraj" mentality, and retained the Yahud (يهود - Jews), Muslim, mushrik identity. And he put the Yahud as an ummah alongside the Muslims. Then he allowed each group to judge according to their own laws. He in fact gave each group semi-independence — even if murder occurs, "you guys deal with it internally" — unless it's the two groups that are fighting one another, then they had to go external. Otherwise, there was, for all practical purposes, complete independence. And this was completely unprecedented.
As we have said, after the Battle of Badr [episode 42], the pagans of Madinah fizzled off — so there were two ummahs left after that. And if the Jews had fulfilled their part of the bargain, they certainly would have become the most successful Jewish community in the whole world. But instead, they did not appreciate the freedom (even though they had never been given that much freedom — a complete semi-independent state) — so what happened to them happened, as we will see in the upcoming episodes.
And of course, non-Muslims in our time claim that the Prophet PBUH was antisemitic. But we completely reject this allegation and will prove (in fact, already have) that this was not the case.
The next major incident took place a few months after the promulgation of the Constitution of Madinah. During these 7-8 months, nothing major occurred. Recall the seerah is like a series of snapshots where only major events are recorded — and in between them, there isn't a running list of events.
Initially, the Prophet PBUH was told by Allah SWT to pray facing Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and he did so throughout his entire time in Makkah. It is reported in some of the books (e.g., Ibn Sa'd's Tabaqat, al-Hakim's Mustadrak) that whenever the Prophet PBUH prayed in Makkah facing Jerusalem, he would in fact put the Ka'bah in front of him — so he had a 'double qibla' basically. He would situate himself such that the Ka'bah was in front of him and Bayt al-Maqdis was also in that direction. Therefore, it's as if he wanted to pray facing the Ka'bah. Bayt al-Maqdis, as we previously mentioned, is a blessed land; and we know that the Prophet PBUH praised al-Sham many times. (Side notes: Ibrahim AS and Ismail AS made Makkah the holiest land — but this was not for the Jews. For the Jews, they thought Bayt al-Maqdis was the holiest, and they were not familiar with Makkah. To this day, they don't consider Makkah to be holy. By the way, many of the prophets —over 70 of them— including Musa AS, made hajj to Makkah, but not their followers — we know this because our Prophet PBUH told us.)
Now, when the Prophet PBUH came to Madinah, Allah AWJ wanted to show to the Jews that the Prophet PBUH was following the real religion of Ibrahim AS — so He wanted to resurrect the original qibla, because that is the first qibla. (Remember, "The first House [of worship] ever established for humanity is the one at Bakkah" [Quran, 3:96]. Also, when the Prophet PBUH was asked what is the first masjid ever built on earth, he said the Ka'bah. And when he was asked what is the next, he said Bayt al-Maqdis. When he was asked what was the time between them, he said 40 years [between the time Ibrahim AS built the Ka'bah and the time either Ishaq AS or Ya'qub AS built some kind of structure in Bayt al-Maqdis].)
We will delve into this topic in the upcoming episodes, but for a brief introduction to this concept:
Aisha RA narrates that when the Prophet PBUH first came to Madinah, he wanted to resemble the Jews as much as possible, to show them that "we are the same," i.e., to make them feel comfortable. But as the tensions increased, eventually, the Prophet PBUH began commanding the Muslims to dissociate from them, to be different from them. In the beginning, it was the opposite — but when it was clear that the Jews, through their arrogance, had made up their mind to never accept the Prophet PBUH, the Prophet PBUH gave completely opposite rulings. So much so that even where you part your hair, the Prophet PBUH said, "They part it on this side, [so] you part it on the other side." And in Bukhari, the Prophet PBUH said, "The Jews don't pray with their shoes on, so you pray with your shoes on." (But if in a mosque for example, of course, you must take your shoes off.) The Prophet PBUH further said the Jews don't touch their women in the menses, so to be different from them, he PBUH said to the Muslims: Eat with your women, sit with them, and do everything other than the actual act of intimacy.
1. The Prophet's PBUH treatment of the Jews
2. Accusation that the Prophet PBUH was always waging war as a military commander
3. Women's issues and the marriage to Aisha RA
We will discuss these topics in a way that will defend our Prophet PBUH, while being fair to our tradition.)
When the Jews began openly expressing their animosity, the Prophet PBUH began wanting to change the direction of the qibla. And of course, he could not change it of his own will. And it's narrated that once, when Jibril AS came down with some Quran, the Prophet PBUH expressed his hope to Jibril, saying, "O Jibril, I wish to pray facing Makkah." But Jibril said, "I am a slave just like you, and I only come by the command of Allah. If you want this, make du'a to Allah."
So the Prophet PBUH began making du'a earnestly —in tahajjud, at night, in the day— so much so that he was looking up to the sky — and looking up to the sky is only done in du'as at times of extreme distress. Normally, the Prophet PBUH would lower his head — but on specific occasions, when the situation called for it, he would raise his head up to the sky. (E.g., before the Battle of Badr [which will happen in a few months], he looked up to the sky and begged Allah for help — and this was the most famous time he did so in public. Very rarely did he look up to the sky — and doing so is a sign of extreme desperation.)
When these verses came down —roughly 15-16 months after Hijrah— this command proved to be a great source of confusion for everyone — the Muslims, the Jews, and the mushrikun. Why? Allah mentions in the Quran, "The foolish people will begin questioning, 'Why have they turned away from the qibla that they were upon?'" [Quran, 2:142]. One of the Jews said, "If this man is a prophet, why is he praying one day facing north and the other day south?" Another said, "Isn't our qibla good enough for him?" Of course, the issue of abrogation itself was new. Therefore, Allah revealed the concept of abrogation itself in Surah al-Baqarah. (Side note: Recall Surah al-Baqarah was the first major surah to be revealed in Madinah. So it provides us the first year and a half: It mentions Badr, the change of qibla, and a lot about the Jews. Think about that. Why does it talk so much about the Jews? Because this is when the Muslims needed to know all of this information. Surah al-Baqarah is full of the story of Bani Israel, Musa AS, etc.)
In Surah al-Baqarah, Allah mentions the concept of naskh: "Whenever We abrogate a ruling or We cause it to be forgotten, We then bring forth something better than it, or [at least] something equivalent" [Quran, 2:106]. So there is a wisdom behind abrogations in Islam. And Allah mentions, "We changed the qibla only to test those who followed the Prophet PBUH versus those who rejected the Prophet PBUH" [see Quran, 2:143]. So every commandment is a test.
There is an interesting theological point: When the qibla changed, the sahaba asked the Prophet PBUH, "What will happen to those who prayed facing Bayt al-Maqdis and then died before this verse came down? Will Allah accept their salah?" Of course, salah became obligatory after al-Isra wal-Mi'raj. So they are asking, for 3-5 years, were the Muslims been praying in the wrong direction? At this, Allah revealed in the same series of verses, "Allah will never cause your faith to be wasted away" [Quran, 2:143].
There is a common myth that the Prophet PBUH was praying one day and Jibril AS came down and told him to pray the other way so he turned around and the whole congregation turned around with him. But this is not true — this is a confusion later on that took place. The authentic reports are very clear: The Prophet PBUH prayed Fajr facing Jerusalem, and then he prayed Zuhr facing Makkah. So the commandment came down in the early morning; and when it came down, the Prophet PBUH announced it in his masjid; and so what used to be the front of the masjid became the back; and the previous back became the new front. Now those people who prayed Zuhr with the Prophet PBUH, they were supposed to go back and tell their people of the change of the qibla. But the sahabi who was tasked with telling the people of the famous masjid that we now call Masjid al-Qiblatayn, he arrived late. (Side note: This masjid was the masjid of the tribe of Banu Salama.) By the time he reached the mosque, the people were already praying Asr. So *while* they were praying, he cried out from the back of the mosque, "O people of the masjid! I have just come from the Prophet's PBUH Masjid, and I prayed with him Zuhr, and he was praying facing Makkah! The command has come to change direction!" Therefore, this was the masjid where the entire jama'ah (جماعة - congregation) turned around, and the imam walked straight through the entire sufuf (صفوف - lines/rows), changing direction. And this masjid, therefore, became known as Masjid al-Qiblatayn (مسجد القبلتين - Mosque of the Two Qiblas). This is why it's called this, and it was not something the Prophet PBUH himself did.
No doubt, the entire first page of the 2nd juz is relevant — but one particular ayah is especially relevant, which came down smack in the middle of these verses about the qibla. Allah says, "We have made you an ummatan wasata (أمة وسطا - outstanding nation)" [Quran, 2:143].
After the qibla change, the back of the Prophet's PBUH Masjid becomes the front, and the front becomes the back. The Prophet PBUH then commanded that the back of the masjid which used to be the front be covered up by a shade. (Note: Initially, there was no roof at all. Only later there were palm trees put up. But as mentioned in episode 30, this roof was not waterproof. Only after Umar's RA reign did the roof become watertight.)
There are many narrations on the difficulties faced by the People of the Suffa. They were so poor that the Prophet PBUH had to make a general commandment to the women, "O women, don't raise your heads up from sajdah until some time has passed" — because some of the People of the Suffa, when they went into sajdah, their awrah (عورة) would be exposed. It's an embarrassing hadith, but it shows how poor the People of the Suffa were. This is why the Prophet PBUH gave many hadiths about taking care of the People of the Suffa:
Most of the Companions went for two days in succession without food, so much so that when the Prophet PBUH came into the masjid to lead the congregational prayers, they would fall down due to weakness. Food given in charity to the Prophet PBUH was given to them — when the Prophet PBUH was offered food as a present, he would invite them to share it. Often, the Prophet PBUH would ask one of his other Companions to take some of the People of Suffa for supper and to entertain them as best they could. Sa'd ibn Ubadah (سعد بن عبادة) RA sometimes entertained as many as eighty men at once.
It is said that one of the sahaba said, "Why not anytime we get some food or harvest some dates, we give a portion to the People of the Suffa?" So a string was hung between the 2 pillars of the Suffa, and food (mainly dates) was put on it so that the people could eat without having to beg for it. By the way, this custom lasted up until the 1940s/1950s — so it lasted for 1300 years!
As we said, the most famous inhabitant of the Suffa was Abu Hurairah. His name was Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr (عبد الرحمن بن صخر), and he was from the tribe of Daws (بنو دوس) from Yemen. He came to Madinah after the Battle of Khaybar, i.e., the 7th year of the Hijrah. YET he is the number one narrator of hadith. He narrated so many ahadith that even some of the next generation said, "How can he know so much when some of the sahaba are longer Companions than him?" They began questioning him. And he explained himself how this is the case: Abu Hurairah said (in Bukhari and Muslim), "The people are complaining that I narrate too many ahadith. But were it not for the fact that Allah has criticized those who withhold knowledge (see Quran [2:159]), I would not have narrated one hadith! And I will tell you why I know more than our brothers of the Muhajirun and the Ansar. As for the Muhajirun, they were busy buying and selling in the marketplace. As for the Ansar, they were busy harvesting in the fields. As for me, I would stick to the Prophet PBUH with my hungry stomach. Therefore, I would memorize what they would not memorize."
By the way, Abu Hurairah was not poor; he was from what we would call a middle-class family. We know this because eventually, his mother who was in Yemen, when she moved to Madinah, she purchased a house in Madinah. But Abu Hurairah stayed in the Suffa. Why? Because not only was the Suffa a shelter, but it also became the first university of Islam. Because the Prophet PBUH spent significant time in his masjid. So Abu Hurairah stuck to the masjid to be with the Prophet PBUH and learn from him as much as he could. Abu Hurairah at this time gave up an easy life for the sake of knowledge. (Trivia: Some of the Sufi groups say the term 'Sufi' comes from Suffa — but this is not true.)
Interesting story: We learn that around this time, one of the elderly people in Madinah converted to Islam, and his name was Sirma (صرمة). And Sirma was the only hanif we know of in Madinah. Recall "hanifs" were people who abandoned idolatry and said they would follow the [monotheistic] religion of Ibrahim AS [see episode 4]. And Sirma was the hanif of Madinah. He was 100+ years old when the Prophet PBUH came. When he was a young man, he was just like the hanifs of Makkah — he openly rejected the idolatry of his people. And one day, he decided to accept Christianity. But right before he converted, he said Christianity doesn't make sense either. So he said he would remain on the way of Ibrahim AS. Ibn Ishaq mentions that he would even do ghusl after intercourse, tell his woman to do ghusl after their menses, etc. — so he had some idea about the shariah of Ibrahim AS. He had poetry that praised monotheism and criticized paganism and idolatry. And he stayed amongst the Quraysh in Makkah for many years before the coming of the Prophet PBUH — but he didn't find what he wanted, so he returned back and became a hanif. When the Prophet PBUH Emigrated, he was still alive (the very last few weeks or months of his life), and Allah blessed him to convert. And he passed away shortly afterward. It's a beautiful story. For 120 years, he waited for the Truth, and it's as if Allah stretched his life out to give him the blessing of being a sahabi and of those who saw and lived with the Prophet PBUH — because he was that sincere. This shows that those who are sincere, Allah SWT will bless them in that sincerity.
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The Concept of Naskh (Abrogation)
The next major incident took place a few months after the promulgation of the Constitution of Madinah. During these 7-8 months, nothing major occurred. Recall the seerah is like a series of snapshots where only major events are recorded — and in between them, there isn't a running list of events.
The next major incident mentioned in the books of seerah is the change of qibla — and it occurred around 15-16 months after the Emigration of the Prophet PBUH. And it caused a mini-crisis. Why? For many reasons:
Perhaps the main reason was that this was the first time Allah had abrogated a ruling. The concept of naskh (نسخ - abrogation) was new to both Muslims and non-Muslims. What is abrogation? Allah reveals a law, then He reveals a new law to abrogate the first law. This is a detailed topic of Usul al-Fiqh (أصول الفقه - Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence). Classic example that we all know: Allah revealed in the Quran that those women whose husbands die shall wait one year before getting remarried [Quran, 2:240]. A few months/years later, Allah abrogated the year and put in place "4 months and 10 days" [Quran, 2:234]. So there are two verses in the Quran that clash — and it's not a contradiction, but rather, a clear case of abrogation. It's not a contradiction because we no longer implement the abrogated ruling. (Side note: The Shia denies abrogation, the Mu'tazila denies abrogation, but we Ahl al-Sunnah affirms it.)
Perhaps the main reason was that this was the first time Allah had abrogated a ruling. The concept of naskh (نسخ - abrogation) was new to both Muslims and non-Muslims. What is abrogation? Allah reveals a law, then He reveals a new law to abrogate the first law. This is a detailed topic of Usul al-Fiqh (أصول الفقه - Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence). Classic example that we all know: Allah revealed in the Quran that those women whose husbands die shall wait one year before getting remarried [Quran, 2:240]. A few months/years later, Allah abrogated the year and put in place "4 months and 10 days" [Quran, 2:234]. So there are two verses in the Quran that clash — and it's not a contradiction, but rather, a clear case of abrogation. It's not a contradiction because we no longer implement the abrogated ruling. (Side note: The Shia denies abrogation, the Mu'tazila denies abrogation, but we Ahl al-Sunnah affirms it.)
The first time abrogation occurred was pertaining to the change of qibla:
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Change of the Qibla
1. Background
Initially, the Prophet PBUH was told by Allah SWT to pray facing Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and he did so throughout his entire time in Makkah. It is reported in some of the books (e.g., Ibn Sa'd's Tabaqat, al-Hakim's Mustadrak) that whenever the Prophet PBUH prayed in Makkah facing Jerusalem, he would in fact put the Ka'bah in front of him — so he had a 'double qibla' basically. He would situate himself such that the Ka'bah was in front of him and Bayt al-Maqdis was also in that direction. Therefore, it's as if he wanted to pray facing the Ka'bah. Bayt al-Maqdis, as we previously mentioned, is a blessed land; and we know that the Prophet PBUH praised al-Sham many times. (Side notes: Ibrahim AS and Ismail AS made Makkah the holiest land — but this was not for the Jews. For the Jews, they thought Bayt al-Maqdis was the holiest, and they were not familiar with Makkah. To this day, they don't consider Makkah to be holy. By the way, many of the prophets —over 70 of them— including Musa AS, made hajj to Makkah, but not their followers — we know this because our Prophet PBUH told us.)
Now, when the Prophet PBUH came to Madinah, Allah AWJ wanted to show to the Jews that the Prophet PBUH was following the real religion of Ibrahim AS — so He wanted to resurrect the original qibla, because that is the first qibla. (Remember, "The first House [of worship] ever established for humanity is the one at Bakkah" [Quran, 3:96]. Also, when the Prophet PBUH was asked what is the first masjid ever built on earth, he said the Ka'bah. And when he was asked what is the next, he said Bayt al-Maqdis. When he was asked what was the time between them, he said 40 years [between the time Ibrahim AS built the Ka'bah and the time either Ishaq AS or Ya'qub AS built some kind of structure in Bayt al-Maqdis].)
When the Prophet PBUH Emigrated to Madinah, initially, the qibla was still Bayt al-Maqdis —and as we know, Madinah is due north of Makkah; and Bayt al-Maqdis is due north of Madinah; so if you are in Madinah and want to pray facing Bayt al-Maqdis, you have to turn your back to the Ka'bah in Makkah— so when the Prophet PBUH moved to Madinah, he had to turn his back to the Ka'bah when he was praying. (By the way, naskh/abrogation doesn't have to be Quran with Quran. All four logical possibilities can occur between the Quran and Sunnah: [i] the Quran can abrogate the Sunnah; [ii] the Sunnah can abrogate the Quran; [iii] the Sunnah can abrogate the Sunnah; and [iv] the Quran can abrogate the Quran. And the ruling to pray towards Bayt al-Maqdis, Allah had revealed it in the Sunnah — it's not in the Quran.)
2. Tensions Between the Prophet PBUH and the Jews
We will delve into this topic in the upcoming episodes, but for a brief introduction to this concept:
The tensions between the Prophet PBUH and the Jews began after his Emigration to Madinah.
Initially, when the Prophet PBUH Emigrated, he was very optimistic. Why not? After all, he is finally amongst a people who believe in the Abrahamic faith. He is amongst a large group of Jews who believe in the same God and line of prophets. The Quraysh didn't even know what a prophet is, nor did they believe in a Book. The Jews on the other hand believe in everything: Paradise, Hell, Judgment Day, etc. And they have been waiting for a prophet. And they know that the Prophet PBUH is *the* Prophet — indeed, Allah SWT said, 'They recognize the Prophet PBUH like they recognize their own children' [see Quran, 2:146]. And so, the Prophet's PBUH heart was very optimistic and hopeful. Also, Abdullah ibn Salam, their main rabbi, converted — so this is even more reason to be optimistic.
Aisha RA narrates that when the Prophet PBUH first came to Madinah, he wanted to resemble the Jews as much as possible, to show them that "we are the same," i.e., to make them feel comfortable. But as the tensions increased, eventually, the Prophet PBUH began commanding the Muslims to dissociate from them, to be different from them. In the beginning, it was the opposite — but when it was clear that the Jews, through their arrogance, had made up their mind to never accept the Prophet PBUH, the Prophet PBUH gave completely opposite rulings. So much so that even where you part your hair, the Prophet PBUH said, "They part it on this side, [so] you part it on the other side." And in Bukhari, the Prophet PBUH said, "The Jews don't pray with their shoes on, so you pray with your shoes on." (But if in a mosque for example, of course, you must take your shoes off.) The Prophet PBUH further said the Jews don't touch their women in the menses, so to be different from them, he PBUH said to the Muslims: Eat with your women, sit with them, and do everything other than the actual act of intimacy.
So our shariah came to be totally different from that of the Jews wherever Allah AWJ wanted it to be different. And one of those things to be different came down as the qibla.
(Note: We will discuss at length these tensions between the Prophet PBUH and the Jews in the upcoming episodes. In particular, there are three topics we will discuss in direct response to common attacks on Islam in our times:
1. The Prophet's PBUH treatment of the Jews
2. Accusation that the Prophet PBUH was always waging war as a military commander
3. Women's issues and the marriage to Aisha RA
We will discuss these topics in a way that will defend our Prophet PBUH, while being fair to our tradition.)
3. Revelation of the Verse
When the Jews began openly expressing their animosity, the Prophet PBUH began wanting to change the direction of the qibla. And of course, he could not change it of his own will. And it's narrated that once, when Jibril AS came down with some Quran, the Prophet PBUH expressed his hope to Jibril, saying, "O Jibril, I wish to pray facing Makkah." But Jibril said, "I am a slave just like you, and I only come by the command of Allah. If you want this, make du'a to Allah."
So the Prophet PBUH began making du'a earnestly —in tahajjud, at night, in the day— so much so that he was looking up to the sky — and looking up to the sky is only done in du'as at times of extreme distress. Normally, the Prophet PBUH would lower his head — but on specific occasions, when the situation called for it, he would raise his head up to the sky. (E.g., before the Battle of Badr [which will happen in a few months], he looked up to the sky and begged Allah for help — and this was the most famous time he did so in public. Very rarely did he look up to the sky — and doing so is a sign of extreme desperation.)
Therefore, the Prophet PBUH did this; and he did it at night when no one was looking. How do we know he did it? Because Allah revealed it in the Quran, "Indeed, We see you [O Prophet] turning your face towards heaven. Now We will make you turn towards a direction [of prayer] that will please you" [see Quran, 2:144]. Notice the way the verse is phrased — instead of saying, 'Allah had already decreed the qibla is going to change to Makkah,' He SWT said, 'Because you want it, I am giving it to you.' This is to show that the desire of the Prophet PBUH is indeed one that Allah wants to fulfill and give. Allah says, "We will cause you to turn to a direction that will please you. So from now on, turn your face in the direction of Masjid al-Haram; and wherever you are, turn your face in that direction" [see Quran, 2:144]. And Allah AWJ then revealed multiple verses dealing with the change of the qibla — which are all now in the first two pages of the 2nd juz (جزء - part) of the Quran.
4. Wisdoms of the Change of the Qibla
When these verses came down —roughly 15-16 months after Hijrah— this command proved to be a great source of confusion for everyone — the Muslims, the Jews, and the mushrikun. Why? Allah mentions in the Quran, "The foolish people will begin questioning, 'Why have they turned away from the qibla that they were upon?'" [Quran, 2:142]. One of the Jews said, "If this man is a prophet, why is he praying one day facing north and the other day south?" Another said, "Isn't our qibla good enough for him?" Of course, the issue of abrogation itself was new. Therefore, Allah revealed the concept of abrogation itself in Surah al-Baqarah. (Side note: Recall Surah al-Baqarah was the first major surah to be revealed in Madinah. So it provides us the first year and a half: It mentions Badr, the change of qibla, and a lot about the Jews. Think about that. Why does it talk so much about the Jews? Because this is when the Muslims needed to know all of this information. Surah al-Baqarah is full of the story of Bani Israel, Musa AS, etc.)
In Surah al-Baqarah, Allah mentions the concept of naskh: "Whenever We abrogate a ruling or We cause it to be forgotten, We then bring forth something better than it, or [at least] something equivalent" [Quran, 2:106]. So there is a wisdom behind abrogations in Islam. And Allah mentions, "We changed the qibla only to test those who followed the Prophet PBUH versus those who rejected the Prophet PBUH" [see Quran, 2:143]. So every commandment is a test.
1. For the Muslims, it was a test to see whether they implemented this new ruling from Allah SWT — and of course, they did.
2. For the Jews, there was a clear sign/message: 'This Prophet came in the line of your prophets, so he is facing your qibla (and indeed, for the first year and a half of the Prophet's PBUH time in Madinah, he faced Bayt al-Maqdis); but he shall now supersede your prophethood line, and he shall take it back to the original.' i.e., The purpose primarily was to demonstrate to the Jews that this prophet is from the same tradition as their religion, but he is not just a Jewish prophet; he is more than this (i.e., he is a prophet for mankind). Remember, the Jews think they are the chosen people (and we Muslims indeed believe they *were* a chosen people, because Allah says in the Quran that they were a chosen people [see Quran, 2:47 & 2:122].) But Allah wanted to demonstrate that this status would now cease, primarily through the change of the qibla.
The Jews then began saying, "Anyone who faces any direction other than Bayt al-Maqdis, Allah will never be pleased with him, and He will not accept from him." And they said, "It's a part of piety to face Jerusalem." At this, Allah revealed, "Piety is not in which direction you face; real piety is to believe in Allah and the Final Day and..." [see Quran, 2:177]. (This also shows that those groups of Jews whose main emphasis is the observance of the law with very little spirituality have got it wrong. The emphasis of rituals should be about what's inside the heart — along with the observance of the law.) And Allah SWT consoled the Prophet PBUH: "Even if you were to bring every proof to the People of the Book, they won't follow your qibla; and you will not follow their qibla; and they themselves don't follow each other's qibla" [Quran, 2:145].
The Jews then began saying, "Anyone who faces any direction other than Bayt al-Maqdis, Allah will never be pleased with him, and He will not accept from him." And they said, "It's a part of piety to face Jerusalem." At this, Allah revealed, "Piety is not in which direction you face; real piety is to believe in Allah and the Final Day and..." [see Quran, 2:177]. (This also shows that those groups of Jews whose main emphasis is the observance of the law with very little spirituality have got it wrong. The emphasis of rituals should be about what's inside the heart — along with the observance of the law.) And Allah SWT consoled the Prophet PBUH: "Even if you were to bring every proof to the People of the Book, they won't follow your qibla; and you will not follow their qibla; and they themselves don't follow each other's qibla" [Quran, 2:145].
3. And even for the mushrikun (pagans), there is a message: They are not worthy of being the custodians of the Ka'bah; rather, the Prophet PBUH is more worthy — he will be the one who inherits the Ka'bah and resurrects the prestige that it had in the time of Ibrahim AS.
So in the change of the qibla, there were multiple messages being given.
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Theological Tangent: The Status of Salah in Islam
Now this verse was primary evidence for many of our classical scholars when they talked about the status of salah, that praying is a requirement of being a Muslim. This was their main evidence always. Why? The question that the sahaba asked was, "Will Allah accept their SALAH?" And Allah revealed, "Allah won't cause your IMAN to waste away" [Quran, 2:143]. So Imam Bukhari says, "Allah called their SALAH their IMAN." Thus without salah, you don't have Iman. Therefore, salah is a necessary requirement of being a Muslim — not a luxury (i.e., NOT something if you do it you are good and if you don't do it you are bad). [Quran, 2:143] is the primary verse used for evidence. Ibn al-Qayyim wrote a whole book about this — see "Hukm Tarik al-Salah (حكم تارك الصلاة - Ruling on Neglecting Prayer)"; in it, he mentioned 22 verses to support this, along with dozens of ahadith. Of the verses that are used are [9:11], [74:42-43], [75:31], [77:48], and [30:31]. And many scholars say salah is a necessary part of being a Muslim. In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet PBUH said, "Whoever abandons the salah is a kafir."
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Masjid al-Qiblatayn (Mosque of the Two Qiblas)
There is a common myth that the Prophet PBUH was praying one day and Jibril AS came down and told him to pray the other way so he turned around and the whole congregation turned around with him. But this is not true — this is a confusion later on that took place. The authentic reports are very clear: The Prophet PBUH prayed Fajr facing Jerusalem, and then he prayed Zuhr facing Makkah. So the commandment came down in the early morning; and when it came down, the Prophet PBUH announced it in his masjid; and so what used to be the front of the masjid became the back; and the previous back became the new front. Now those people who prayed Zuhr with the Prophet PBUH, they were supposed to go back and tell their people of the change of the qibla. But the sahabi who was tasked with telling the people of the famous masjid that we now call Masjid al-Qiblatayn, he arrived late. (Side note: This masjid was the masjid of the tribe of Banu Salama.) By the time he reached the mosque, the people were already praying Asr. So *while* they were praying, he cried out from the back of the mosque, "O people of the masjid! I have just come from the Prophet's PBUH Masjid, and I prayed with him Zuhr, and he was praying facing Makkah! The command has come to change direction!" Therefore, this was the masjid where the entire jama'ah (جماعة - congregation) turned around, and the imam walked straight through the entire sufuf (صفوف - lines/rows), changing direction. And this masjid, therefore, became known as Masjid al-Qiblatayn (مسجد القبلتين - Mosque of the Two Qiblas). This is why it's called this, and it was not something the Prophet PBUH himself did.
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"Ummatan Wasata"
No doubt, the entire first page of the 2nd juz is relevant — but one particular ayah is especially relevant, which came down smack in the middle of these verses about the qibla. Allah says, "We have made you an ummatan wasata (أمة وسطا - outstanding nation)" [Quran, 2:143].
Note the Arabic word used is "wasat (وسط)" — and its meaning is commonly thought to be 'the middle/moderate' — and this is valid, but this is actually its secondary meaning. The primary meaning of the word is 'the highest' — classically, the term wasat meant this. So for example, the highest point of a mountain is its wasat. (And note the highest for the mountain is usually also the middle.) And wasat does not just mean highest in stature, but also highest in excellence, character, and honesty. And Allah uses the term in the Quran primarily for this meaning. E.g., in Surah Nun (سورة ن), a.k.a., Surah al-Qalam (سورة القلم) [68:28], in the story of the garden, the word is used to say 'the best one / the wisest one / the most knowledgeable one.' Therefore, in Surah al-Baqarah, when Allah says "ummatan wasata," it primarily means, 'the best nation.' And yes, it does have another meaning which is, 'the middle (not extreme) nation' — but this is secondary.
Allah is saying that Muslims are the pinnacle of all nations. And it is the perfect time to demonstrate this, because, 'You won't face the qibla of the Jews or Christians; rather, We have given you the best qibla, which is Makkah, the true original qibla of mankind.'
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The Roof of Masjid al-Nabawi
After the qibla change, the back of the Prophet's PBUH Masjid becomes the front, and the front becomes the back. The Prophet PBUH then commanded that the back of the masjid which used to be the front be covered up by a shade. (Note: Initially, there was no roof at all. Only later there were palm trees put up. But as mentioned in episode 30, this roof was not waterproof. Only after Umar's RA reign did the roof become watertight.)
The Prophet PBUH ordered what used to be the front be covered up. Why? Because the number of people who were Emigrating to Madinah became too much to absorb by the people of Madinah — so they needed a shelter. The first batch of Emigrants, of course, every one of them was given a household (and the household basically adopted him for a while, took care of him until he got on his own feet, and then sent him his way) — however, as the number of Muhajirun and converts increased, the Prophet PBUH could not handle all of them — so what happened? A public shelter was built inside the masjid. And the shelter became known as the Suffa. And the people who stayed there became known as Ahl al-Suffa:
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Ahl al-Suffa
Ahl al-Suffa (أهل الصفة - the People of the Suffa) have a special status in our seerah books. They have entire chapters dedicated to them. Why? Because they are —in many cases— the elite of the sahaba — they possessed exemplary Iman. They had basically given up everything and lived in a public shelter in the masjid of the Prophet PBUH. Note, the Suffa was probably built around Ramadan; and it was only after Badr this concept of the People of the Suffa became known. Up until Ramadan, every Muhajir or convert could be accommodated — the Prophet PBUH assigned them to the sahaba, and they took those people on as their guests. But eventually, it got too crowded — the houses that could cater for multiple people were saturated. And so, the Prophet PBUH built this Suffa. He PBUH spent a lot of energy on these people.
There are many narrations on the difficulties faced by the People of the Suffa. They were so poor that the Prophet PBUH had to make a general commandment to the women, "O women, don't raise your heads up from sajdah until some time has passed" — because some of the People of the Suffa, when they went into sajdah, their awrah (عورة) would be exposed. It's an embarrassing hadith, but it shows how poor the People of the Suffa were. This is why the Prophet PBUH gave many hadiths about taking care of the People of the Suffa:
When his grandchild was born (Hasan RA), he PBUH said to Fatima RA, "Give some charity to the People of the Suffa."
And some years later, when the Prophet PBUH got a whole batch of prisoners of war who were going to become slaves, and when Fatima RA came complaining to the Prophet PBUH saying, "O my father, I have so much housework to do. Can you give me one servant?", the Prophet PBUH said, "How can I give you a servant when the People of the Suffa, their stomach have collapsed? They have nothing to eat. By Allah, I will sell all of them (i.e., the prisoners of war) and spend the money on the People of the Suffa." The People of the Suffa were on his mind at all times.
There is a semi-humorous tradition about Abu Hurairah (أبو هريرة) RA, who was the most famous person of the Ahl al-Suffa. Abu Hurairah narrated this himself. He says, "Many times, I would ask a Companion (sahabi) a question when he went out of the masjid; and wallahi, I knew the answer better than him. But the only reason I'm asking is to drag out the conversation until I get to his doorstep [in hopes that] perhaps he might invite me in for a meal."
There is a semi-humorous tradition about Abu Hurairah (أبو هريرة) RA, who was the most famous person of the Ahl al-Suffa. Abu Hurairah narrated this himself. He says, "Many times, I would ask a Companion (sahabi) a question when he went out of the masjid; and wallahi, I knew the answer better than him. But the only reason I'm asking is to drag out the conversation until I get to his doorstep [in hopes that] perhaps he might invite me in for a meal."
Further, Abu Hurairah is the one who narrated that, "Once, the Prophet PBUH saw me so hungry that I was weak with exhaustion. So he PBUH invited me to his house. And he asked Aisha RA, 'Is there anything to eat or drink?' Aisha RA said, 'Yes, one of the neighboring Ansar has given us a glass of milk.'" Of course, Abu Hurairah became happy. But the Prophet PBUH said to him, "Go and call the [other] People of the Suffa." And there were like 30-40 people! He is narrating the hadith, and he said: "I HAD to obey the command" — and so he gathered together all of them. The Prophet PBUH handed Abu Hurairah the cup and said, "Go to every one of them and give them the cup." (And so it's as if he was their servant, serving them.) And he continued narrating, "So I went to every one of them giving the cup, and I thought to myself, 'What will be left for me?' Every single one of them finished, until finally, there was only me and the Prophet PBUH left who had not drunk from the cup. And the Prophet PBUH said to me, 'Sit down.' So I sat down. He said, 'Drink.' So I drank." And Abu Hurairah said the cup was brimming as if it was more than the first time the Prophet PBUH handed it to him. And the Prophet PBUH said again, "Drink" — so Abu Hurairah drank again. And the Prophet PBUH kept saying, "Drink, drink, drink," until Abu Hurairah said, "Wallahi, O Messenger of Allah! There is not a single space left in my stomach for this milk." (The Prophet PBUH knows exactly what's happening — it's a type of joke, playing with Abu Hurairah RA.) Then, after all of the 30-40 people had drunk, the Prophet PBUH took the cup the last, and he drank from it.
Most of the Companions went for two days in succession without food, so much so that when the Prophet PBUH came into the masjid to lead the congregational prayers, they would fall down due to weakness. Food given in charity to the Prophet PBUH was given to them — when the Prophet PBUH was offered food as a present, he would invite them to share it. Often, the Prophet PBUH would ask one of his other Companions to take some of the People of Suffa for supper and to entertain them as best they could. Sa'd ibn Ubadah (سعد بن عبادة) RA sometimes entertained as many as eighty men at once.
It is said that one of the sahaba said, "Why not anytime we get some food or harvest some dates, we give a portion to the People of the Suffa?" So a string was hung between the 2 pillars of the Suffa, and food (mainly dates) was put on it so that the people could eat without having to beg for it. By the way, this custom lasted up until the 1940s/1950s — so it lasted for 1300 years!
As we said, the most famous inhabitant of the Suffa was Abu Hurairah. His name was Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr (عبد الرحمن بن صخر), and he was from the tribe of Daws (بنو دوس) from Yemen. He came to Madinah after the Battle of Khaybar, i.e., the 7th year of the Hijrah. YET he is the number one narrator of hadith. He narrated so many ahadith that even some of the next generation said, "How can he know so much when some of the sahaba are longer Companions than him?" They began questioning him. And he explained himself how this is the case: Abu Hurairah said (in Bukhari and Muslim), "The people are complaining that I narrate too many ahadith. But were it not for the fact that Allah has criticized those who withhold knowledge (see Quran [2:159]), I would not have narrated one hadith! And I will tell you why I know more than our brothers of the Muhajirun and the Ansar. As for the Muhajirun, they were busy buying and selling in the marketplace. As for the Ansar, they were busy harvesting in the fields. As for me, I would stick to the Prophet PBUH with my hungry stomach. Therefore, I would memorize what they would not memorize."
By the way, Abu Hurairah was not poor; he was from what we would call a middle-class family. We know this because eventually, his mother who was in Yemen, when she moved to Madinah, she purchased a house in Madinah. But Abu Hurairah stayed in the Suffa. Why? Because not only was the Suffa a shelter, but it also became the first university of Islam. Because the Prophet PBUH spent significant time in his masjid. So Abu Hurairah stuck to the masjid to be with the Prophet PBUH and learn from him as much as he could. Abu Hurairah at this time gave up an easy life for the sake of knowledge. (Trivia: Some of the Sufi groups say the term 'Sufi' comes from Suffa — but this is not true.)
Even some of the Ansar moved into the Suffa. Hanzala (حنظلة), who was the one washed by the angels [episode 48], also did so. Ka'b ibn Malik (كعب بن مالك), who is famous for the story of repentance [episode 88], is also a member of the Suffa. This shows us that the Suffa isn't a freeloading shelter — it is primarily a place of learning. It's just too good — the Prophet PBUH is often there. Some of the Ansar therefore left their houses and moved into the Suffa. And also the Muhajirun: Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Suhayb al-Rumi, Bilal ibn Rabah, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud — they moved into the Suffa.
And the People of the Suffa became legendary amongst the sahaba for being the best of them: The most in the memorization of the Quran, the most in tahajjud, the most in knowledge, etc. And in every single major battle, amongst the top of the shuhada were the People of the Suffa; including in the Wars of Ridda [11-12 AH] — so many of the People of Suffa died that Umar RA wanted to compile the Quran because of it. Umar RA went to Abu Bakr RA and said, "O Abu Bakr, we have lost many of the People of the Suffa, and they were all memorizers of the Quran. And I am worried that unless you do something, if more of the memorizers die, we won't have the Quran." So think about the status of the People of Suffa and how it is associated with the Quran! The reason why the Quran is compiled is because so many of the People of Suffa died. In the Wars of Ridda against Musaylimah al-Kadhdhab, many of them died.
How many people were in the Suffa? At times, 5 or 10; other times, up to 70. Anytime a delegation came, they would stay in the Suffa. It is said that people from far villages would come and stay in the Suffa to learn the Quran, fiqh, how to pray, etc., and they would then go back to their people to teach them. Ibn Mas'ud said, "Anytime anyone came to us, the Prophet PBUH would assign one of us to the newcomer to teach him the Quran and salah." So the Suffa was like a university.
How many people were in the Suffa? At times, 5 or 10; other times, up to 70. Anytime a delegation came, they would stay in the Suffa. It is said that people from far villages would come and stay in the Suffa to learn the Quran, fiqh, how to pray, etc., and they would then go back to their people to teach them. Ibn Mas'ud said, "Anytime anyone came to us, the Prophet PBUH would assign one of us to the newcomer to teach him the Quran and salah." So the Suffa was like a university.
And after the Prophet PBUH died, the Suffa did not retain the status that it used to retain.
One final note: The covering (roof) of the Prophet's PBUH Masjid was only at the back, for the People of the Suffa. And this shows us he PBUH prioritized them over even the regular musallin (مصلين - congregation). He was more concerned about Ahl al-Suffa because they lived in the masjid.
One final note: The covering (roof) of the Prophet's PBUH Masjid was only at the back, for the People of the Suffa. And this shows us he PBUH prioritized them over even the regular musallin (مصلين - congregation). He was more concerned about Ahl al-Suffa because they lived in the masjid.
(Trivia: As for the raised platform in our time, people say that that is the place of the Suffa, but in fact, it appears that the Suffa was ahead of that point. Also, the Suffa was *not* a raised platform.)
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Sirma the Hanif of Madinah
Interesting story: We learn that around this time, one of the elderly people in Madinah converted to Islam, and his name was Sirma (صرمة). And Sirma was the only hanif we know of in Madinah. Recall "hanifs" were people who abandoned idolatry and said they would follow the [monotheistic] religion of Ibrahim AS [see episode 4]. And Sirma was the hanif of Madinah. He was 100+ years old when the Prophet PBUH came. When he was a young man, he was just like the hanifs of Makkah — he openly rejected the idolatry of his people. And one day, he decided to accept Christianity. But right before he converted, he said Christianity doesn't make sense either. So he said he would remain on the way of Ibrahim AS. Ibn Ishaq mentions that he would even do ghusl after intercourse, tell his woman to do ghusl after their menses, etc. — so he had some idea about the shariah of Ibrahim AS. He had poetry that praised monotheism and criticized paganism and idolatry. And he stayed amongst the Quraysh in Makkah for many years before the coming of the Prophet PBUH — but he didn't find what he wanted, so he returned back and became a hanif. When the Prophet PBUH Emigrated, he was still alive (the very last few weeks or months of his life), and Allah blessed him to convert. And he passed away shortly afterward. It's a beautiful story. For 120 years, he waited for the Truth, and it's as if Allah stretched his life out to give him the blessing of being a sahabi and of those who saw and lived with the Prophet PBUH — because he was that sincere. This shows that those who are sincere, Allah SWT will bless them in that sincerity.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, November 2023]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, November 2023]
