We are still discussing the Year of Delegations.
Banu Daws, the Tribe of Abu Hurairah RA:
The Story of Tufayl ibn Amr al-Dawsi
We now go back to the 7th/8th year of the Hijrah and discuss the delegation of the tribe of Daws. The tribe of Daws is a Yemeni tribe, and their chieftain is Tufayl ibn Amr al-Dawsi (الطفيل بن عمرو الدوسي). His story, we briefly mentioned in the Makkan era — Tufayl ibn Amr is the leader of the tribe of Daws, and he came to perform umrah in Makkah when the Prophet PBUH was still being persecuted. This was roughly the 7th year of the dawah when the persecution hadn't reached the level of assassination — but it was very uncomfortable and untenable. The Quraysh made it a policy that hujjaj that came would be warned against the Prophet PBUH. So when Tufayl arrived, the Quraysh said, "Careful; one of our sons has become a magician, and he is able to break the bonds between father and son, and brother and brother. Simply by listening to his speech, you become mesmerized." And Tufayl said, "They kept on telling me this until I became terrified of this man, so much so that when I would go to the Ka'bah to present in front of the idols, I would stuff my ears with cotton so that I don't hear anything from him [PBUH]."
One day, he did this, and lo and behold, the Prophet PBUH was praying salah and reciting the Quran. Tufayl said, "[Even though I had the cotton in my ears,] I could still hear the Prophet PBUH — and I had never heard anything like it (i.e., it had an impact on me). So I began reprimanding myself, 'Why can't you listen to him? What's the big deal? You are an intelligent man. You know truth from falsehood. Listen to the man and see what he has to say. If there's any good, then accept it; if there's not, then reject it.'" So he took the cotton off and said, "Ya Muhammad, your people have warned me against you — so for a few days, I have not come to you at all. But I heard you recite, and I want to hear what you have to say. If it is good, then so be it; and if it is bad, then so be it." So the Prophet PBUH sat him down, invited him to Islam, recited the Quran, and after all this, Tufayl embraced Islam on the spot. In fact, it's said the Prophet PBUH only recited Surah al-Ikhlas (الإخلاص), al-Falaq (الفلق), and al-Nas (الناس) (i.e., the last three Surahs), and Tufayl was so mesmerized and impressed he accepted Islam immediately. He said to the Prophet PBUH, "I will go back to my tribe and invite them to Islam as well — make du'a for me." So the Prophet PBUH made du'a for him and for his tribe, as recorded in the Sahih of al-Bukhari: "اللهم اهد دوسا وانت بهم (O Allah, give guidance to the people of Daws, and bring them [to Islam])." It's worth noting that some say this du'a was made in Madinah, others say Makkah. In any case, he PBUH told Tufayl to be gentle with his people.
So Tufayl went back to his people, and it's said that on the same day he returned, his father, mother, and wife, they all embraced Islam. He was very beloved by his people, so his entire family embraced Islam, and slowly but surely, more and more embraced Islam, until, it's said, over 80 families from the tribe of Daws embraced Islam at his hands.
And Tufayl made an offer to the Prophet PBUH when he was in Makkah, that, "O Messenger of Allah, why don't you come to my protective fortress?" meaning, "Emigrate to Yemen." But our Prophet PBUH did not take the offer because Allah did not give him permission — He SWT had willed for him PBUH to go to Yathrib, i.e., Madinah. So he PBUH didn't go to Tufayl's tribe — but still, it is significant that Tufayl offered his protection, i.e., this is the status of Tufayl ibn Amr. Later on, Tufayl decided to Emigrate to Madinah. So he came to Madinah not just as a delegate, but actually as an Emigrant — he decided to give up being the chieftain, to leave his tribe, and to become a Muhajir and reside in Madinah permanently. It is easy for us to say this, but imagine what this would have meant for Tufayl ibn Amr: He is not being persecuted wherever he is, he is the chieftain of his tribe, he has the status and honor, lineage and land — so for him to decide to give up all these really shows his Iman. And Iman was so strong in the people who embraced Islam with him that many of them decided to come with him to Madinah as well. And he arrived in Madinah —according to some reports— during the Battle of Khaybar (other reports say after).
One of the reasons why this story is so interesting is that one of the persons who converted at Tufayl's hand was to become one of the greatest legacies of our ummah, and that is Abu Hurairah Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr al-Dawsi. When Tufayl Emigrated to Madinah, with him came Abu Hurairah.
So Abu Hurairah was a part of this batch who Emigrated to Madinah towards the very end of the seerah, most likely mid-8 AH. So he only stayed with the Prophet PBUH for literally 2 years or so. But interestingly, as we know, he is called the Preserver of the Sunnah — nobody narrated the quantity of hadith like him, even though he was only with the Prophet PBUH for around 2 years. Why is this? How is this possible? He himself explained (as recorded in Bukhari): "You people say that, 'Abu Hurairah tells many ahadith from the Prophet PBUH,' and you also wonder, 'Why don't the Muhajirun and the Ansar narrate from the Prophet PBUH as Abu Hurairah does.' [Answer:] My Muhajir brothers were busy in the marketplace when I used to stick to the Prophet PBUH content with what fills my stomach; I used to be present when they were absent, so I used to remember when they used to forget. And my Ansari brothers used to be busy with their properties, but I was one of the poor Men of the Suffa (i.e., I didn't busy myself with trade). I used to remember when they used to forget. The Prophet PBUH once said, 'Whoever spreads his garment until I have finished my speech and then gathers it to himself will remember whatever I will say.' So I spread my colored garment which I was wearing until the Prophet PBUH had finished his saying, and then I gathered it to my chest, so I did not forget any of the narrations."
The story of Abu Hurairah is a very interesting one. He would say that, "Many times, I would ask a 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."
And it's said that Abu Hurairah narrated more than 5,500 ahadith. No other sahabi has that many. A few come close —e.g., Aisha RA and Jabir RA (they come to 4,000+)— but Abu Hurairah is number one on the list even though he did not accompany the Prophet PBUH as much as the other sahaba did. And subhan'Allah, it's amazing that all of the blessings of Abu Hurairah... —of course he will get the reward— but who else will get it? Tufayl ibn Amr, because he is the one who guided him to Islam. And that's why we should never trivialize any good deed that we do, because we don't know what may come of it. Most of us have never heard of Tufayl ibn Amr, but here he is, all of the hasanat of Abu Hurairah, he also gets the reward.
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The Delegation of Wa'il ibn Hujr:
What Goes Around Comes Around
Another interesting delegation is the delegation of Wa'il ibn Hujr (وائل بن حجر). This is happening in the 9th year. He is from the town of Hadhramaut in Yemen — as we said before, Yemen was one of the few places in Arabia that had mini-kingdoms. Lots of little kingdoms; Yemen was not as tribal. Wa'il ibn Hujr's great-grandfather was one of those kings. So he is of royal blood. In the 9th year, before he came to Madinah, the Prophet PBUH announced to the sahaba, that, "There shall come to you Wa'il ibn Hujr, one of the ashraf (أشراف - noblemen/princes) of Yemen. And he is coming wanting to embrace Islam without any pressure being put on him." And Wa'il ibn Hujr came 3 days after the Prophet's PBUH prophecy that he would be coming — and the Prophet PBUH honored him like he hardly honored anybody else. It's narrated that he PBUH did something that he did for no one else: He actually brought him up to the minbar with him. This is a huge honor, that alongside the Prophet PBUH is Wa'il on the minbar. And he made him sit down on his own rida' (رداء - cloak/garment), which was a custom of the Arabs at the time to honor somebody. And the Prophet PBUH made du'a for Wa'il and his children.
Wa'il complained, "My family had taken away my right from me," meaning the right to the throne (as is always the case with royal families). And what did the Prophet PBUH say? "I will give you better than that," meaning Jannah, through Islam. So literally, we can say that Islam will give you more than being a king. We also know this from the explicit hadith of the Prophet PBUH: The lowest person of Jannah, Allah will say to him, "Go ahead and wish and wish and wish," and as much as he wishes, Allah will say, "You have all of the riches of this world and ten times like it." No king of this world has even 1/10th of the riches. So this is a beautiful hadith that the Prophet PBUH is literally telling a claimant to the throne that don't worry, "I will give you something better than your kingdom."
There is an interesting tidbit mentioned: Wa'il embraced Islam and the Prophet PBUH gave him the governorship of a small area in Yemen, and he PBUH sent with him Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan as an escort. So Muawiyah —whom we all know will be the khalifa after 30 years (right now he is barely 18 years old)— is sent with Wa'il. And Wa'il is on his camel and Muawiyah is walking. He asks Wa'il, "Can I ride with you?" And Wa'il is just a brand new convert —he is still upon his own ways— he says, "It's not befitting that someone like you rides with kings." So then Muawiyah —who at the time was dirt poor and his shoes were very tattered— said, "At least let me wear your shoes, because the stones are hot." But Wa'il says, "It's not befitting that the shoes of the king are given to you." So Muawiyah complains, "But the pebbles are hot!" And Wa'il says, "Take comfort from the shadow of my camel." So Wa'il is a Muslim, but he doesn't have the akhlaq right now.
Now, who does Muawiyah become in 30 years? The king. The first king in Islam [39 - 58 AH] — he starts a dynasty. And by the qadr of Allah, Wa'il also lives a long life. And this time, Wa'il is sent as a delegate to Muawiyah; so he enters into Muawiyah and now Muawiyah is on the throne. (See how Allah changes things around. This is the hikmah that Allah knows.) Muawiyah now is a 60-year-old man, and he reminds Wa'il of that day, that, "Do you remember on that day when you didn't even give me your shoes or camel to ride on?" Wa'il says, "How I wish I had done that." So this shows us we should never be selfish. Who could have ever imagined at that point in time that the family of Abu Sufyan would somehow become the khalifa? Remember, Abu Sufyan was a late convert at the last minute at the Conquest. So no one would imagine Muawiyah would become the king at the end of the day.
And by the way, during the Battle of Siffin [37 AH], Wa'il ibn Hujr joined the side of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Generally speaking, the people of Yemen sided with Ali RA.
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Banu Thaqif
The big story of the day —which is the most significant in the 9th year— is the story of the delegation of the tribe of Thaqif.
The Siege of Ta'if and the Battle of Hunayn were fought against the Banu Thaqif; this is the same tribe that rejected the Prophet PBUH and rebelled. Out of the entire province of Hejaz, the only tribe still upon paganism now is the tribe of Thaqif. Recall when the Prophet PBUH left them, he said to the sahaba, "Let them be, they will come to us" — and the sahaba initially said, "No, let's fight" — but they kept on losing, so eventually, they let them be [see episode 83].
And as the Prophet PBUH prophesied ("They will come to us"), that's exactly what happened. Eventually, the tribe of Thaqif realized that they needed to come to Madinah to negotiate — even though one particular incident, which took place in the 8th year, made them very scared to negotiate:
The Islam of Urwah ibn Mas'ud & His Death
When the Prophet PBUH encircled the tribe of Thaqif in the 8th year and put a siege on them, a certain member of the tribe embraced Islam. In fact, it was one of their most respected leaders, Urwah ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi. He has a central story in the seerah. What did he say that was *so* famous? [See episode 64]: "O people, I have visited the kings and entered the palace of Caesar of Rome, Kisra of Persia, and Najashi of Abyssinia; but by Allah, I have never seen any king being shown respect the way that the Companions of Muhammad show respect to him. Wallahi, he didn't spit except one of his Companions caught that spit before it touched the ground and rubbed it on his face and body. And never did he wash himself (with wudu) except it is as if they were fighting one another to catch the drops of water coming from him. If he wanted to command them something, he only needed to raise his face and look, and they would race to do it. When he spoke, they all lowered their heads and voices in front of him, and none of them would look at him directly out of respect." Further, Urwah is referenced in the Quran directly when Allah SWT quoted al-Walid ibn al-Mughira in Surah al-Zukhruf [43], verse 31, "They said, 'Why isn't this Quran revealed to one of the two great men in the two cities?'"—and the two cities here are Makkah and Ta'if, and the two great men are al-Walid ibn al-Mughira and Urwah ibn Mas'ud. This shows the level and status Urwah ibn Mas'ud had amongst the people. He is also mentioned in the hadith of Bukhari and Muslim: The Prophet PBUH said that he saw all the prophets: "Musa (Moses) looks like a person from the tribe of Shanu'ah" —they are known for their sharp features (i.e., pointed noses) and their skin color is brownish—"And I saw Isa (Jesus) the son of Maryam (Mary), and the one who resembles him the most is Urwah ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi." And the Prophet PBUH described Isa AS as having broad shoulders, with glistening hair as if he had come out of a shower, and that he had a lighter complexion. (Side note: In modern movies, they portray Jesus as a Western man, but this is ridiculous and they know it. Everybody knows that Jesus was a Middle Easterner, a Bani Israel.)
So he arrived back in Ta'if at around Maghrib time. His people did not know he had embraced Islam. When he came, they all greeted him, and he told them, "I have embraced Islam. And I encourage you to also follow me." And this was right after the Siege. So what do you think will happen? They flipped immediately. And they cursed him and so on. He was distressed and distraught. The next morning, he got on the roof of his house at Fajr time and gave the adhan. When he reached "ash'hadu an la ilaha illaLlah, wa ash'hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah," an arrow came from the dark and struck him — his own people executed/killed him. And he fell down and injured himself, and he was fatally wounded. When he was about to die, his immediate family said, "What do we do about revenge and blood money?" He said, "Nothing. This (martyrdom) is a gift Allah has honored me with. And you will bury me with the shuhada of Hunayn." Subhan'Allah. So he is buried not in the family cemetery, but in the cemetery of the shuhada of the Muslims.
When the news reached the Prophet PBUH, he said the famous phrase, "This was a man who with his people was like the person of Ya-Sin with his people" [see episode 64]. And we all know the person in Surah Ya-Sin was the one who was rejected by his people for calling them to Allah [see Quran, 36:20-27].
Now, we need to understand that this is something extremely vulgar what the people of Thaqif did. It's not just any murder. It goes against everything they stand for. They didn't just kill one of their own, they killed THE Urwah ibn Mas'ud, one of their most respected leaders. Also, isn't it amazing that the Prophet PBUH knew better than Urwah about his own people? Of course, this is because (i) the Prophet PBUH is the Prophet PBUH; but also, (ii) when you are involved in a situation, you are blinded by it. You don't see clearly. Urwah, because it was his people and nation, he thought, "There's no way they would do this (harm me)." The Prophet PBUH who was a third party could examine it in an objective and fair manner. So he told Urwah, "I'm scared your people will kill you." But Urwah thought, "No way," but subhan'Allah, he was wrong.
Now, we need to understand that this is something extremely vulgar what the people of Thaqif did. It's not just any murder. It goes against everything they stand for. They didn't just kill one of their own, they killed THE Urwah ibn Mas'ud, one of their most respected leaders. Also, isn't it amazing that the Prophet PBUH knew better than Urwah about his own people? Of course, this is because (i) the Prophet PBUH is the Prophet PBUH; but also, (ii) when you are involved in a situation, you are blinded by it. You don't see clearly. Urwah, because it was his people and nation, he thought, "There's no way they would do this (harm me)." The Prophet PBUH who was a third party could examine it in an objective and fair manner. So he told Urwah, "I'm scared your people will kill you." But Urwah thought, "No way," but subhan'Allah, he was wrong.
So the people of Ta'if were in fact terrified. Because this blood is on their hands, and their guilty conscience is eating them up anyway. And in this state of mind, they go to the Prophet PBUH. Ibn Ishaq mentions a long conversation between the Thaqif: Each one says, "I'm not going to go to Madinah," i.e., they are terrified to go as a delegation of Thaqif, because they might be called to task for the death of Urwah. Until they decided that ALL the leaders would go together. It wasn't just one leader, it was 6 or 7 of the leaders of Ta'if, along with their entourage:
The Delegation of Thaqif Comes to Embrace Islam & Their Unique Negotiations
So this delegation came to Madinah, and this took place in Ramadan of the 9th year of the Hijrah. When they reached Madinah, either they contacted their relative al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba, or he just happened to see them — Mughira began rejoicing that his tribe was coming to embrace Islam. And they tell him, "We will only embrace with conditions. We will make sure we are satisfied." Mughira runs back to the Masjid ecstatically. On the way, Abu Bakr sees him and says, "What's going on?" Mughira says, "The tribe of Thaqif has come, and I want to give the bishara (بشارة - good news) to the Prophet PBUH." Abu Bakr says, "I ask you by Allah, let ME give the good news to the Prophet PBUH." And Mughira allowed. This shows us how eager the sahaba were to gain the favor of the Prophet PBUH. Because when you give someone good news, you bring happiness to the person. So every sahabi wanted to be that person who brought happiness to the Prophet PBUH. Abu Bakr rushed back and said to the Prophet PBUH, "The tribe of Thaqif is here to embrace Islam!" The Prophet PBUH was overjoyed and asked the tribe to be brought in.
Mughira rushed to his tribe and taught them the protocol: "This is what you do, this is how you say salam, you address him by saying 'ya Rasulullah'" etc. But the tribe of Thaqif completely ignored this. Basically, you can tell that they did not come with the submission of other delegates. They had in their hearts great reluctance. They greeted the Prophet PBUH with the greeting of Jahiliyyah, they addressed him by his first name, etc. This demonstrates that as of right now, Iman is not yet in their heart. And the Prophet PBUH overlooked all of this even though it was the height of disrespect. They ignored all the proper Islamic protocols and did what they liked — but the Prophet PBUH literally overlooked everything; and in fact, he treated them as if they were honorable guests: He ordered that a special guest tent be built inside the Masjid just for them. So it was a double shelter.
And then began a series of negotiations that lasted at least 10 days. Obviously, we don't have all the details. Of what we do have: One of the senior members of the Quraysh, a distant cousin of the Prophet PBUH, Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As (خالد بن سعيد بن العاص), was chosen to be the emissary. (The way the jahili Arabs did it was that the two leaders don't actually meet until there is a dialogue at the lower level through an emissary. So Khalid ibn Sa'id was chosen to be the middleman.) It's said that the tribe of Thaqif was so worried about their status that they thought the food was poisoned, so they didn't eat until Khalid ate. They are paranoid because they have such a guilty conscience. Yet the Prophet PBUH treated them so generously.
The negotiations began by them asking, "Can we have a treaty or not?" i.e., "Is it possible after all that we have done?" The Prophet PBUH said, "Yes, if you embrace Islam, we can have a treaty," i.e., "If you don't, you will remain our enemies." So the ultimatum is given. So back and forth they ask the Prophet PBUH, "We have heard that riba (ربا - interest) is not allowed." The Prophet PBUH said, "Allah has forbidden riba," and he quoted them the verse in the Quran. They said, "But all of our money is riba." The Prophet PBUH said, "You get back your principal (the original amount)." Then they asked another question, "How about zina? We are merchants and we travel a lot so we need to do zina." The response comes back that, "Allah SWT has forbidden zina [see Quran, 17:32]." So they talked and discussed. Then the third question, "What about khamr?" They said, "You HAVE TO let us drink khamr. We can't give up khamr!" Ta'if was known for its grapes and wines. So they said, "Our culture is to drink. And it's a cool climate," so they were saying, "You have to at least make an exception for khamr." But the Prophet PBUH sends back the Quranic verse which forbids khamr [see Quran, 5:90]. So they conferred with one another, and one of them said, "Wallahi, we will not go back and tell our people that riba, zina, and khamr have been prohibited. There's no way they will accept this from us." (And indeed, this is something very difficult to imagine when there is no Iman in the heart. Iman is the one thing that prevents you from these things.) Another one said, "But what is the alternative? For wallahi, if we go back and he (the Prophet PBUH) sends another army, we will be finished in a month"—and to console themselves, the man said, "Well, after all, look at the people around him (i.e., the sahaba), didn't they give up riba and zina and khamr?" Subhan'Allah, isn't this beautiful? That they are saying, "If they can do it, so can we." This shows us the psychology of having a good, strong ummah. That when a new convert comes, he sees and says, "You know what, all of these people are doing it, so I can do it too." So they negotiate and agree to give these three up.
Then they asked about their idol. Who was their idol? Al-Lat. "How about our idol?" The Prophet PBUH said, "It shall be destroyed." There is just no question about this. So they said, "Okay. Give us three years." But the Prophet PBUH said, "No. You don't get three years." So they said, "Okay, two years." The Prophet PBUH said no. So they said, "Okay, one year." The Prophet PBUH said no. And they said 12 months, 11 months... all the way down to a single month. They negotiate that, "We want some time." (Side note: Why is this a big deal? Because to them, al-Lat was the most prestigious god, and it was the second most prestigious god of the jahili Arabs after Hubal. And it's a source of pride for them.) So the emissary is going back and forth, until they say, "Fine, but *we* cannot destroy it." The Prophet PBUH said, "You don't have to. We will take charge of that." So they agreed. And later on, the Prophet PBUH sent al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba, their own nephew, to destroy it.
Then they were told to pray and fast, etc., i.e., the pillars of Islam. And they began negotiating about that as well, believe it or not. They said, "We cannot bow our backs down because of the cold weather; so can you forgive us for the salah?" The Prophet PBUH said, "There is no good in any religion that has no salah in it." Subhan'Allah. (Side note: So with regards to the aqidah issue of what is the ruling of the status of salah, this hadith shows that there is no religion without salah. Prayer is the essence of being a Muslim.) Then they said, "Okay, forgive us from wudu, because Ta'if gets very cold." But once again, the Prophet PBUH did not allow this, and indeed he cannot. Then they said, "Okay, forgive us from zakat and jihad." And what did the Prophet PBUH say?:
Then they asked about their idol. Who was their idol? Al-Lat. "How about our idol?" The Prophet PBUH said, "It shall be destroyed." There is just no question about this. So they said, "Okay. Give us three years." But the Prophet PBUH said, "No. You don't get three years." So they said, "Okay, two years." The Prophet PBUH said no. So they said, "Okay, one year." The Prophet PBUH said no. And they said 12 months, 11 months... all the way down to a single month. They negotiate that, "We want some time." (Side note: Why is this a big deal? Because to them, al-Lat was the most prestigious god, and it was the second most prestigious god of the jahili Arabs after Hubal. And it's a source of pride for them.) So the emissary is going back and forth, until they say, "Fine, but *we* cannot destroy it." The Prophet PBUH said, "You don't have to. We will take charge of that." So they agreed. And later on, the Prophet PBUH sent al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba, their own nephew, to destroy it.
Then they were told to pray and fast, etc., i.e., the pillars of Islam. And they began negotiating about that as well, believe it or not. They said, "We cannot bow our backs down because of the cold weather; so can you forgive us for the salah?" The Prophet PBUH said, "There is no good in any religion that has no salah in it." Subhan'Allah. (Side note: So with regards to the aqidah issue of what is the ruling of the status of salah, this hadith shows that there is no religion without salah. Prayer is the essence of being a Muslim.) Then they said, "Okay, forgive us from wudu, because Ta'if gets very cold." But once again, the Prophet PBUH did not allow this, and indeed he cannot. Then they said, "Okay, forgive us from zakat and jihad." And what did the Prophet PBUH say?:
On Being Lenient to New Converts
Here is where an interesting bit comes, and it's a huge fiqh issue. The Thaqif said, "Okay, forgive us from zakat and jihad" — and what did the Prophet PBUH say? He said, "Okay, you are forgiven from zakat and jihad." But when they left a few days later, the Prophet PBUH said, "They SHALL give zakat and they SHALL go for jihad." Now, this is a huge discussion. What exactly has happened here? We know that there is NO compromise on tawhid or salah; but what is the understanding of saying, "Okay, no jihad or zakat," and then later says, "They shall give zakat and do jihad."
Two interpretations:
1) The Prophet PBUH simply said the first statement knowing that when Iman enters their heart, they will automatically pay zakat and do jihad. Thus according to this interpretation, what the Prophet PBUH is doing is only special to him PBUH, and no other person or leader can make such a condition; because the Prophet PBUH knows —as informed by Allah SWT to him— that in the future, the Thaqif will eventually do these two things. So maybe this was a prophecy of the future; that it was just an exception given to them simply because Allah knew Iman would enter their heart and they would then willingly give zakat and go for jihad. So it's a one-off.
2) However, the second interpretation is that the imam (which in this case means the political leader) has the right to accept incorrect conditions for new Muslims for a temporary period of time, and then LATER ON enforce the correct Islam on them.
1) The Prophet PBUH simply said the first statement knowing that when Iman enters their heart, they will automatically pay zakat and do jihad. Thus according to this interpretation, what the Prophet PBUH is doing is only special to him PBUH, and no other person or leader can make such a condition; because the Prophet PBUH knows —as informed by Allah SWT to him— that in the future, the Thaqif will eventually do these two things. So maybe this was a prophecy of the future; that it was just an exception given to them simply because Allah knew Iman would enter their heart and they would then willingly give zakat and go for jihad. So it's a one-off.
2) However, the second interpretation is that the imam (which in this case means the political leader) has the right to accept incorrect conditions for new Muslims for a temporary period of time, and then LATER ON enforce the correct Islam on them.
So it goes back to whether we understand this particular incident as being something theological or legal. If it's the former, then as we said, it's a one-off — something special for the Prophet PBUH only. But if it's fiqhi/legal, i.e., if it's a precedent, then... suppose in a legit Islamic state, if a group comes and says, "We shall embrace but with a condition," and that condition goes against Islam — does then the leader have the right to accept this condition? The scholars differ on this. Some say no. Some say yes — they say it's okay because at the end of the day, as we know from history, eventually, everyone who embraces Islam will live a true Islamic lifestyle from the heart. In other words, because Islam is the Truth, it's okay to persuade people with incentives, because we know that eventually, true Iman will come into their hearts.
Of course, this doesn't quite apply to us. However, on a practical note, in the West, when a non-Muslim comes and expresses an interest in Islam, and he or she says or does things that are not fully Islamic, we should be ultra-lenient and emphasize that which is the most important, and overlook anything haram or bad. (Side note: And there is a difference between overlooking and justifying. Don't justify it; just overlook.) Why? Because their Iman is still very weak. You want to let Iman grow in their heart. By being harsh and strict, you will turn the person away. We have to bring them into the religion, and then insha'Allah, when the Iman grows, they themselves will leave all the haram. And even if they don't, for them to be a Muslim while sinning is infinitely better than to be a kafir while sinning.
Of course, this doesn't quite apply to us. However, on a practical note, in the West, when a non-Muslim comes and expresses an interest in Islam, and he or she says or does things that are not fully Islamic, we should be ultra-lenient and emphasize that which is the most important, and overlook anything haram or bad. (Side note: And there is a difference between overlooking and justifying. Don't justify it; just overlook.) Why? Because their Iman is still very weak. You want to let Iman grow in their heart. By being harsh and strict, you will turn the person away. We have to bring them into the religion, and then insha'Allah, when the Iman grows, they themselves will leave all the haram. And even if they don't, for them to be a Muslim while sinning is infinitely better than to be a kafir while sinning.
Or some converts might even have bizarre theological beliefs, e.g., he might say, "The story of Adam and Hawa AS is a fable. Allah SWT is just telling a fable," etc. Let him be at the early stage — let him first embrace Islam, pray, understand the sanctity of the Quran, etc. — and then when Iman grows in his heart, you come back to the issue.
First Day of Fasting
Ibn Ishaq mentions that the Thaqif stayed in Madinah for 15 days. And probably on the 10th day, they embraced Islam. Recall it's Ramadan, and so they actually fasted with the Prophet PBUH for the remaining 5 days. And they had iftar and suhur with the Muslims — Bilal RA would bring them suhur, and they said, "We can't eat. The sun has already risen." But Bilal said, "I have just come and [even] the Prophet PBUH is [still] eating." And when it was iftar time and Bilal brought the iftar, they said, "No, not yet. The sun has not yet set." And Bilal said, "I have come to you only after the Prophet PBUH broke his fast." (Side note: So we learn from this that the Prophet PBUH would delay the suhur and expedite the iftar.)
These new Muslims were trying to be extra cautious. An interesting first day of fasting.
The Most Eager to Study Islam
It's also known that the youngest member of the delegate was Uthman ibn Abi al-As (عثمان بن أبي العاص). He in fact embraced Islam before the group. And he would spend most of his time outside the tent. The seniors were in the tent, but he would sit with the Prophet PBUH memorizing the Quran, sat with Abu Bakr studying Islam, etc. — he was the most eager.
When the Thaqif were about to leave, Abu Bakr RA suggested to the Prophet PBUH, "Why don't you make Uthman their leader?" And the Prophet PBUH agreed to this. Subhan'Allah. The youngest one amongst them was made their leader because he was the most eager for the Quran.
The tribe returns and they basically tell their people, "Guys, we *have* to embrace Islam. That was part of the condition."
Destroying al-Lat
The tribe returns and they basically tell their people, "Guys, we *have* to embrace Islam. That was part of the condition."
The Prophet PBUH sends al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba and Abu Sufyan to destroy al-Lat. This story is not mentioned in Ibn Ishaq; it's found in al-Rawd al-Anf (الروض الأنف) and other later books of seerah: It's said that Mughira seems to be a bit of a jokester/prankster, so he says to Abu Sufyan, "Do you want me to play a joke on them?" Abu Sufyan says, "Go ahead." Now, imagine: He is going to destroy the idol — so what are the people thinking? 'Something bad is going to happen.' So all the people are gathered around and they are tense. (Of course, they know it has to happen, but they are still tense and upset.) The women are crying and the elderly are doing their walwalat. — Mughira takes his ax, hits the idol, and as soon as he does this, he yells out loudly and falls down on his face. Seeing this, the tribe goes wild with happiness, that, "Look what happened! Didn't we tell you al-Lat is this and that?!" And when the whole tribe is now rejoicing, Mughira jumps up and says, "You fools! I did this to show you how foolish you are!" (Side note: Is this Islamic or not, wallahu a'lam — but he did this with them.) And he destroyed al-Lat in front of their eyes one hit after the other.
The caretaker of the idol got so angry he said, "When you get to the base of the idol, you will see the earth will swallow you up"—these people genuinely believed in the idol. — But Mughira said, "Just to show you, I won't stop until I destroy down to the ground." And Mughira continued to destroy al-Lat until there was absolutely nothing left of it.
The Prophet PBUH sent a message to Uthman ibn Abi al-As to build a masjid where al-Lat stood, so they built a masjid there. And all of the treasures of the sanctuary were taken and given to the Bayt al-Mal; and the Prophet PBUH distributed it to the poor and the needy.
So this was the end of the paganism of the tribe of Thaqif.
Eventually Islam Entered Their Hearts
Eventually, the tribe of Thaqif accepted Islam wholeheartedly, exactly as the Prophet PBUH said, and they paid the zakat and engaged in jihad.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, January 2022]
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, January 2022]
