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State of Madīnah

The migration of the Holy Prophet(sa) and his Companions has already been mentioned in Volume I of this book. Now, after the migration, the Medinite life of the Holy Prophet(sa) begins. However, before we begin to discuss this era, it seems necessary to briefly describe the state of Madīnah itself, and its population. Without this, it is difficult to fully understand certain aspects of the Medinite life of the Holy Prophet(sa). It has already been mentioned that prior to the migration of the Holy Prophet(sa), the city of Madīnah was known by the name Yathrib. However, after the migration of the Holy Prophet(sa), people began referring to it as Madīnatur-Rasūl, i.e., the City of God’s Messenger. Then, gradually thereafter, it became known only as Madīnah. Madīnah is an ancient city in the region of Ḥijāz, situated 200 to 250 miles north of Makkah, approximately 50 miles east, off the eastern coast of the Red Sea. In other words, Madīnah is situated close to the ancient desert trade-route which runs from Makkah towards Syria. It is for this reason that merchants travelling between Makkah and Syria would at times travel slightly out of their way and stop at Madīnah as well. As such, many people from Makkah and Madīnah were acquainted with one another, and some even maintained friendly relations.

As far as location is concerned, Madīnah is best described as a valley, which was surrounded by small mountains. Among these was the Mount of Uḥud, where a horrific war between the Muslims and disbelievers of Makkah took place, some time afterwards. In comparison to other regions of Arabia, Madīnah often receives substantial rainfall and the land is also not sandy and infertile, as is generally the case with other places in Arabia. It is for this reason that, since ancient times, the inhabitants of Madīnah have always been farmers by profession. In Madīnah, the warm season is intense, and the cold season is bitter. Furthermore, in the era under discussion, malaria and other such epidemics would often break out in Madīnah, and people would suffer severely from fever. As such, in the beginning, when the Holy Prophet(sa) and his Companions migrated to Madīnah, they suffered immensely due to a change of climate. Many Muslims were struck by fever, and their health was adversely affected. As such, the prayer in which the Holy Prophet(sa) supplicated to God upon witnessing this distress of the Companions is also recorded in the Aḥādīth.3 As a result, Allāh delivered the Muslims from this difficulty, and the air in Madīnah was cleansed of epidemic germs to a great extent.4

In that era, the population of Madīnah was not concentrated, rather, it was somewhat dispersed. Every tribe inhabited different areas and had built small castles for their own protection. Ancient records show that the first people to inhabit Yathrib were the ‘Amālīq, who planted date orchards there, and built small castles. After them, the Jews inhabited this area. There are varying accounts as to whether they were of Arab origin, or were immigrants. However, historians are of the general opinion that they were mostly from the Banī Isrā’īl, who migrated from their homeland to live in Arabia. Afterwards, various inhabitants of Arab origin also gradually converted to their religion and began to live with them. In any case, after the ‘Amālīq, the Jews took up residence in Madīnah, and they gradually uprooted, or expelled the ‘Amālīq, and took their place. These Jews were divided into three groups: Banū Qainuqā‘, Banū Naḍīr, and Banū Quraiẓah. In the beginning, these three tribes generally lived together in great harmony and unity. In accordance with the customs of that time, these Jews also built small castles for their own residence, which were not attached to one another; rather, they were situated at a distance from one another in the surroundings of Madīnah. Trade was the general occupation of the Jews, but some of them were also involved in agriculture. The people of Banū Qainuqā‘ were mostly skilled-labourers. Since the Jews were more civilized, well-mannered, and educated than the people around them; they began to develop influence among the people around them, and quickly attained a great deal of power. It was at this time that two tribes from the Banū Qaḥṭān, who were referred to as the Aus and Khazraj, emigrated from Yemen to settle in Madīnah. These tribes were from the progeny of an individual named Ḥārith bin Tha‘labah, who had two sons, i.e., Aus and Khazraj, and they lived together in great harmony and love. In the beginning, they lived in isolation from the Jews, but later became allies due to their strength and power.

After this, the Aus and Khazraj also began to spread and develop strength. They began to be on a par with the Jews, but in addition to being more intelligent, civilised, and influential; the Jewish people also had the upper hand in education and religious matters. The Aus and Khazraj were merely idol-worshippers and were generally uneducated. Hence, the Aus and Khazraj were deeply impressed by the Jews, so much so, that whenever an individual from the Aus or Khazraj was unable to give birth to a male child, he would vow that if a son was born to him, he would make him a Jew. As such, many people became Jews in this manner, and their strength grew day by day, to the extent that in the vanity of their power, the Jews began to inflict an array of cruelties upon the Aus and Khazraj. Due to this, relations between the Jews deteriorated substantially with the Aus and Khazraj. Eventually, on account of their frustration, the latter tribes had the eminent leaders from among the Jews cunningly murdered with the assistance of the leader of the state of Ghassān. The inevitable outcome of this was that the Jews lost their strength, and the Aus and Khazraj attained supremacy in the city. However, another outcome which slowly but surely began to manifest itself after the Jews lost their strength, was that the Aus and Khazraj, who, until then had lived together in peace and harmony, due to their opposition of the Jews, now began to fight and quarrel amongst themselves. Ultimately, these civil wars took on such a vast and horrific state, that on account of being relentlessly slaughtered at the hands of one another, both tribes became very weak. The Jews - who were probably responsible for igniting the fire of this civil war - found another opportunity to gain strength. The outcome was that the Aus and Khazraj, once again, looked towards the Jewish tribes for support, and sought their aid in opposition to one another. As such, the Banū Qainuqā‘ allied with the Khazraj, whereas the Banū Naḍīr and Banū Quraiẓah allied with the Aus. In this manner, the entire city became engulfed in the fire of a horrific civil war.

The people of Yathrib were in this very state of civil war, when - according to Divine command - the Holy Prophet(sa) made his claim to prophethood, in Makkah. As such, the last battle between the Aus and Khazraj - which is known as the Battle of Bu‘āth in Arab history - took place in the prophetic era of the Holy Prophet(sa), while he resided in Makkah. There was such immense carnage in this war, and so many people were killed from both parties, that as a last option, both the Aus and Khazraj were compelled to reconcile with one another. Hence, both tribes consulted each other and came to the agreement that in accordance with a few conditions, they would accept ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy bin Sulūl, who was a renowned and cunning chieftain from the Khazraj, to be their sole leader. Preparations for his formal coronation began. However, ‘Abdullāh had yet to be decorated with the crown of leadership over the Aus and Khazraj when the voice of Islām reached Madīnah, and the course of events took a new turn. It is for this reason that ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy considered the arrival of the Holy Prophet(sa) to Madīnah as being one of a rival, who had snatched away his proposed crown of leadership over the Aus and Khazraj. Hence, the fire of jealousy and enmity began to burn in his heart. Moreover, since he did not possess the courage to openly stand up against the Holy Prophet(sa) in the opposition of his tribe, instead of opposing the Holy Prophet(sa) openly, he began to secretly conspire and oppose him. After the Battle of Badr, he apparently accepted Islām as well. However, his ailment of the heart could not be lessened, and this is the state in which he died.5