Preaching Efforts in Medina (II)

Narration 1

Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra), while speaking about Hazrat Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair being sent as a missionary to Medina and also in regard to the services he rendered, states:

“The Holy Prophet (sa) began to receive revelation which hinted the near possibility of migration from Mecca. Some idea of the place they were to migrate to was also given to him. It was a town of wells and date-groves. Initially, the Holy Prophet (sa) thought of Yamamah as the location of migration, but soon the thought was dismissed. The Holy Prophet (sa) then waited in the assurance that whatever place they were destined to go to would certainly become the cradle of Islam.

“During this time, the annual Hajj drew near and from all parts of Arabia, pilgrims began to arrive in Mecca. As was his practise, the Holy Prophet (sa) went wherever he found a group of people, expounded to them the teaching of the One God and told them to give up excesses of all kinds and prepare for the Kingdom of God. Some listened with interest and then left. Some wished to listen but were sent away by the Meccans. Some who had already made up their minds, stopped to ridicule. The Holy Prophet (sa) was in the valley of Mina when he saw a group of six or seven people, who were the citizens of Medina.

“He found that they belonged to the Khazraj tribe, one in alliance with the Jews. He asked them if they would listen to what he had to say. Since these people had heard of the Holy Prophet (sa) and were interested, they agreed and sat in his company. The Holy Prophet (sa) spent some time telling them that the Kingdom of God was at hand, that idols were going to disappear, that the idea of One God was due to triumph, and piety and purity were once again going to rule. Would they not, in Medina, welcome the Message? The group became much impressed. They accepted the Message and promised, on their return to Medina, to confer with others and report the following year whether Medina would be willing to receive Muslim refugees from Mecca. Subsequently, they returned and conferred with their friends and relations. There were, at the time, two Arab and three Jewish tribes at Medina. The Arab tribes were the Aus and the Khazraj and the Jewish tribes were the Banu Quraizah, the Banu Nazir and the Banu Qaynuqah. The Aus and the Khazraj were at war. The Quraizah and the Nazir were in alliance with the Aus and the Qaynuqah were with the Khazraj. Tired of unending warfare, they were inclined to peace. At last they agreed to acknowledge the Khazraj Chief, Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salool, as King of Medina. Since they had alliances with the Jews, the Aus and the Khazraj had heard of prophecies in the Bible. When the Jews would speak of their troubles and affliction, they would also mention that they had heard of the advent of a Prophet ‘like unto Moses.’ This advent was near at hand, the Jews used to say and that it was to mark their return to power and the destruction of their enemies.

“When the people of Medina, who had travelled for the pilgrimage, heard of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) claim, the truth of the claim penetrated their hearts and realised that this was the very Prophet who they had heard about from the Jews. Many young men were impressed by the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) teaching and the prophecies which they had previously heard from the Jews helped them in believing in the Holy Prophet (sa).

“At the next Hajj, twelve men from Medina came to Mecca with the intention to join the Holy Prophet’s (sa) faith. Ten of these belonged to the Khazraj and two to the Aus tribe. They met the Holy Prophet (sa) in the valley of Mina and, holding the Holy Prophet’s (sa) hand, solemnly declared their belief in the Oneness of God and their resolve to abstain from all common evils and immoralities, such as theft, killing their daughters, and from making false accusations against one another. They also resolved to obey the Prophet (sa) in all good things.

“When they returned to Medina, they started telling others of their new faith with even greater zeal. The idols from the houses of Medina were taken out of their homes and thrown on the streets. Those who used to bow before images began to hold their heads high. They resolved to bow to none except the One God. The Jews wondered. Centuries of friendship, exposition and debate had failed to produce the change which Islam had produced in a few days and the message of the One God penetrated into the hearts of the people of Medina.

“The people of Medina would go to the few Muslims in their midst and make enquiries about Islam and ask them to teach them their faith. But the few Muslims could not cope with the large numbers of enquiries, nor did they know enough about its teaching. They decided, therefore, to address a request to the Holy Prophet (sa) to send them someone to teach Islam. The Holy Prophet (sa) agreed to send Mus‘ab (ra), one of the Muslims who had returned from the migration to Abyssinia. Thus, Mus‘ab (ra) was the first missionary of Islam to go out of Mecca.”

(Dibacha Tafsir-ul-Quran, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 20, pp. 214-216)

Narration 2

At another occasion, whilst speaking on the same subject, Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) has stated:

“When the people of Medina came to know about Islam, some of them met the Holy Prophet (sa) during the pilgrimage of Hajj and became convinced of his truthfulness. They returned to their people and said to them that the Messenger whose advent the Jews of Medina used to speak of had taken place in Mecca. Hence, their hearts became inclined towards the Holy Prophet (sa) and, at the following Hajj, they sent a delegation to the Holy Prophet (sa). After a brief discussion, this delegation professed their belief and pledged their allegiance to the Holy Prophet (sa).

“Since the Holy Prophet (sa) was facing fierce opposition in Mecca at the time, this meeting took place in a valley away from the sight of the Meccans. As the Bai‘at also took place there, it is referred to as Bai‘at Aqabah.” “Aqabah” means a valley or a mountain that is difficult to manoeuvre through or a difficult mountainous path.

“The Holy Prophet (sa) gave this delegation the duty of organising the believers of Medina and advised them to propagate Islam. He sent one of his young companions, Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair to assist them and to teach the faith to the Muslims … Before departing, the delegation also extended an invitation to the Holy Prophet (sa) saying, should he ever need to leave Mecca, he should come to Medina. When these people returned to Medina, Islam spread in Medina within a very short period of time. Hence, the Holy Prophet (sa) sent some more companions to them, including Hazrat Umar (ra) … After that, upon receiving the command to migrate, he himself also went to Medina. Upon his arrival, all the idolaters of Medina accepted Islam within a very short period of time.”

(Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 1, pp. 171) (Farhang Sirat, p. 203, Aqabah, Zawwar Academy Publications, Karachi [2003])