Second Pledge of Aqabah
With regard to the Second Pledge at Aqabah, it is written:
“The Holy Prophet (sa) had been informed of the arrival of the Ansar by Mus‘ab (ra), and a few of them had also met the Holy Prophet (sa) personally. On this occasion, since a collective and private meeting was necessary, after the rites of Hajj, the middle dates of the month of Dhul-Hijjah were set for this purpose. On that day near the middle of the night, all these people were to come and meet the Holy Prophet (sa) in the same valley as last year, so that a private meeting could be held in peace and complete attention. The Holy Prophet (sa) ordered the Ansar, ‘Do not come as a group, but arrive in pairs of one or two to the valley at the appointed time. Do not wake the sleeping and do not wait for the absent.’ Therefore, when the appointed date arrived, during the night, when about a third of the night had passed, the Holy Prophet (sa) left his home. He took his uncle Abbas along with him, who was still an idolater, but loved the Holy Prophet (sa) and was a chieftain of the Hashim dynasty. Both of them reached this valley, and it was not long before the Ansar began to arrive in pairs of one and two. These were 70 souls from the Aus and the Khazraj. In the very beginning, Abbas – the uncle of the Holy Prophet (sa) – began the discourse saying:
“‘O party of the Khazraj! Muhammad (sa) is revered and beloved within his dynasty. To this day, his dynasty has always remained responsible for his protection, and in times of danger has always come forward. But now, Muhammad (sa) intends to leave his homeland and reside with you. As such, if you wish to take him, you must protect him in every way, and will have to face every enemy. If you are prepared for this, then well and good, otherwise give a forthright answer, for true speech is good’
“Al-Bara bin Ma‘rur (ra), an aged and influential man from the tribe of the Ansar, said:
“‘Abbas, we have heard your address, but we would like to hear the Holy Prophet (sa) from his own blessed tongue, that he may expound the responsibility which he wishes to put upon us.’
“Upon this, the Holy Prophet (sa) recited a few verses from the Holy Quran and described the teachings of Islam in a brief address. Whilst alluding to Huqooqullah [rights owed to God] and Huqooqul-Ibad [rights owed to mankind], the Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘With regard to myself, all I desire is that, just as you protect your dear ones and your kindred, if need be, you deal with me in the same manner.’ When the Holy Prophet (sa) had completed his address, as per the custom of Arabia, al-Bara bin Ma‘rur (ra) took the hand of the Holy Prophet (sa) into his own, and said, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! We swear by the God Who has sent you with the truth that we shall protect you with our lives, for we have been raised under the shadows of swords…’ he had not yet completed his statement, when Abul-Haitham bin Tayyihan interjected and said:
“‘O Messenger of Allah! We have had long relations with the Jews. By supporting you, they shall be severed. May it not happen that when Allah grants you victory, you leave us and return to your homeland, and we are left with nothing.’
“The Holy Prophet (sa) laughed and said, ‘Nay, Nay! That shall not happen. For your blood shall be mine, your friends shall be my friends and your enemies shall be my enemies.’ Upon this, ‘Abbas (ra) bin Ubadah Ansari looked to his companions and said, ‘O People! Do you understand the purpose of this treaty and pledge? This means that you should prepare yourselves to confront everyone, no matter who they may be, and should be ready to offer any sacrifice.’
“The people said, ‘Yes, we understand, but O Messenger (sa) of Allah! What shall we receive in exchange for this?’ The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘You will receive the paradise of Allah, which is the greatest of all His rewards.’ Everyone said, ‘We agree to this bargain. O Messenger (sa) of Allah, extend your hand.’
“The Holy Prophet (sa) brought forth his blessed hand, and this group of seventy devotees were sold at the hand of the Holy Prophet (sa) in a defensive pact. The name of this Bai‘at is ‘The Second Bai‘at at Aqabah.’
“When the Bai‘at had taken place, the Holy Prophet (sa) said:
“‘Moses (as) appointed twelve chiefs among his people who served as their supervisors and protectors. I also wish to appoint twelve chiefs from among you who shall be your supervisors and your protectors. They shall be like the disciples of Jesus (as) unto me, and they shall be answerable to me regarding the people. As such, propose the names of worthy men before me.’
“Therefore, twelve men were proposed, who the Holy Prophet (sa) approved. Appointing each as a supervisor to one tribe, he explained to them their duties. For some tribes, the Holy Prophet (sa) appointed two chiefs.
“When the chiefs had been appointed, Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib who was the paternal uncle of the Holy Prophet (sa) reminded the Ansar to tread wisely and cautiously, for spies of the Quraish have their eyes set in every direction; may news of this meeting not leak out and cause further problems. He was perhaps still reminding, when in the middle of the night from atop the valley, the sound of a miscreant (who was spying on them) was heard saying, ‘O Quraish! Are you aware that here Mudhammam (God-forbid) and the rest of his apostates are making vows and pledges against you?’
“This voice startled everyone but the Holy Prophet (sa) remained completely calm and said, ‘Now you people should return to your dwellings just as you arrived, in pairs of one and two.’
“Abbas bin Nazla Ansari (ra) said, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah, we fear no one. If you were to order, we shall attack the Quraish at dawn and give them a taste of their cruelties.’ ‘Nay, Nay!’ said the Holy Prophet (sa), ‘For I have not yet received permission to fight. Do this much, quietly return to your pavilions,’ upon which everyone silently dispersed from the valley in pairs of one and two. The Holy Prophet (sa) also returned to Mecca with his paternal uncle Abbas.
“Since the Quraish had already found out that a secret meeting was held at night, the next morning, they reached the encampment of the people of Yathrib and said:
“‘We have had an old relationship and we do not desire in the least that these relations be tainted. But we have heard that last night, you had a secret mutual agreement with Muhammad (sa), what is this all about?’
“Since the idolatrous people of the Aus and the Khazraj were completely unaware of this, they were extremely bewildered and outright denied the occurrence of such a meeting. Abdullah bin Ubaiyy bin Sulul, who later became the leader of the hypocrites of Medina, was also among that group. He said, ‘This can never happen. How is it possible that the people of Medina agree to such a significant issue and I remain unaware of it?’
“Thus, the suspicion of the Quraish was dispelled and they returned. A short time thereafter, the Ansar left for Yathrib, but after their departure, the Quraish somehow received an affirmation that the people of Yathrib did in fact have a pledge and agreement with the Holy Prophet (sa). Upon this, a few men chased the people of Yathrib. The caravan had left, but for some reason, Sa‘d (ra) bin Ubadah was left behind. These people brought him back and assaulted him on the stony streets of Mecca. They dragged him here and there by the hair on his head. Finally, when Jubair bin Mut‘im and Harith bin Harb, who knew Sa‘d, received news of this, they saved him from the cruel Quraish.”
(Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra), pp. 227-229, 232-233)