And w hen he reached his prime We gave him w isdom and know ledge. Thus We rew ard the good

Biography- Prophetic Biography- Understanding the Prophet's Biography- (Lesson 25-57): The Second Aqabah Pledge of Allegiance: Explicitness is the Secret of Success Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, w e know nothing but w hat You teach us. You are the All- Know er, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us w hat is good for us, and benefit us from w hat You taught us, and increase our know ledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep aw ay from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and know ledge, and from the muddy shallow s of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. The Second Aqaba Pledge of Allegiance: Its Significance Life without righteous work is vain and wasted Honorable brothers, this is a new lesson in the series Understanding the Prophet s Life and Deeds, and our subject today is the second Aqabah Pledge of Allegiance. But before w e go into this matter, let us note that w hen Allah allow s a man to become a great figure among those w ho call to Him, or one of the soldiers of Truth, or an instrument of Good, Allah Almighty w ill have given this man the greatest of gifts. ((It is I w ho created Good and Evil; so blessed is the one at w hose hands I destined Good to appear, and w oe to him at w hose hands I destined Evil to appear )) (Narrated by Tabarani in Al-Kabir from Ibn Abbas) This great Islam that has spread throughout the w orld, and w hose adherents number a billion and three hundred million Moslems, this Religion ow es its beginning to the first and second Aqabah pledges. Those w ho participated in either of these tw o pledges w ere the eminent figures of the Nation. And vain is the life of those w ho do not take part in establishing this Religion or spreading this Truth, be they rich or pow erful. For death puts a stop to everything: it ends the strength of the strong and the w eakness of the w eak, the riches of the rich and the poverty of the poor, the health of the healthy and the sickness of the sick, the fairness of the fair and the homeliness of the homely. Allah Almighty gave w ealth to those He liked as w ell as to those He did not like. He gave riches to Qaroun w hom He did not like, and also gave our master Osman w hom He liked. So w ealth is not a standard. He gave dominance to those He liked as w ell as to those He did not like, he gave the Pharaoh w hom He did not like, so rule and reign are not a true measure. But like Allah Almighty says: And w hen he reached his prime We gave him w isdom and know ledge. Thus We rew ard the good (Surat Yusuf) So if Allah s gift to you is know ledge and w isdom, then He has given you w hat He gave his Prophets, His beloved ones and His friends. So alw ays examine w hat He chooses for you. Dear brothers, the Prophet, peace be upon him, says in this aw esome Tradition: ((Hasten to do good deeds in anticipation of seven things: A dispelling poverty, a corrupting prosperity, old age senility, a sure death, the Dajjal (Anti-Christ), the w orst apprehended absent,

or the Hour (Doomsday), for the Hour is even more w retched and more bitter )) (Tirmizi from Abu Huraira) I quote these w ords so that everyone here understands perfectly that life is vain w ithout good deeds, and that those w ho come before Allah w ithout good deeds, Allah w ill give them no value on Resurrection Day, on the contrary Allah w ill humiliate them, for they spent their lives chasing their ow n interests, appetites and w hims. For this, w hen I read about the second Aqabah pledge of allegiance, I found each and every participant a foundational pillar of this religion. Aspects and Meanings of the Second Aqaba Pledge Dear brothers, the year that follow ed the first Aqabah pledge of allegiance, 73 men and tw o w omen of the Aw s and Khazraj tribes came to the Prophet, peace be upon him. Note the presence of w omen in both pledges, for it is established that w omen are the equals of men in religious obligations, in honors and in responsibility. To Allah, w omen are the match of men. But w omen have peculiarities of their ow n and so do men, and the peculiarities of each adapt perfectly to their responsibilities. So they acknow ledged him as their leader in the second Aqabah pledge of allegiance. And as I explained in our previous meeting, this present life is a place of religious obligations (Taklif) not of honors, a place of performance not of expectation, a phase w here the price of the Hereafter is earned, and this is w hy the pledge the companions took upon themselves to uphold their Prophet amounted to an act of sale, a sale of the self. (Translator s note: in Arabic, the w ord Bayaa is used for business deal or commercial transaction as w ell as for pledge of allegiance ). Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise) (Surat Al Tawba, 111) The faithful has sold himself to Allah, he gives money, effort, expertise, he sacrifices his health in return of eternal happiness in the life to come. Thus they pledged to defend him if he comes to them, note the detail, should he emigrate to them, they w ill uphold him, meaning they w ill defend him like they w ould defend themselves, their w omen and their children. The Congregation of the Faithful is Mercy and their Separation is Punishment The faithful live in communities, and in these communities the rule is All for One and One for All. You may not fully realize the value of the community, because people now adays are alienated, they only w orry about their ow n home, their ow n children, their ow n income, they are no longer interested in the general situation of Moslems Yet, the stronger the spirit of community in any given society, the stronger this society is and the closer it is to Allah, for Allah Almighty says: (Narrated by Tirmizi thru Ibn Abbas) And in other traditions: ((Allah's hand is w ith the congregation)) ((Allah's hand is over the congregation and w hoever breaks aw ay from it breaks aw ay to hell)) (Narrated by Al Hakem through Ibn Omar)

((Stay in congregations and bew are of separation, for Satan is w ith the solitary person, w hile he is farther aw ay w hen you are tw o)) (Narrated by Ahmad in his musnad,tirmizi and Al Hakem in the Mustadrak thru Omar) ((Verily the w olf preys on stray sheep)) (Narrated by Abu Dawud thru Abu Darda a) So they promised to defend him if he came to them, like they w ould defend themselves, their w omen and their children. This pledge of allegiance w as the major turning point in the history of the Mission, for Islam had now a center of operations from w hich it could grow and spread, and this is w hat happened indeed. So the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave his Companions the permission to emigrate to Medina. The Second Aqabah Pledge: a Crucial turning point in the Call to Allah Honorable brothers, in holy Mecca, confrontation w as forbidden to the Companions: Have You not seen those w ho w ere told to hold back their hands (from fighting) and perform As-Salat (Surat Al Nisa a, 77) In holy Mecca the Moslems w ere not allow ed to challenge anyone, despite the fact that Quraish w ent to extremes in tormenting them, torturing them, boycotting them, and countless other doings. Yet, the Quranic directives and the Prophet s directives, peace be upon him, forbade all confrontation in Mecca. You might ask w hy it w as so. The reason is that many a household in Mecca counted Moslems and polytheists, under the same roof, and if confrontation w ere permitted it w ould have lead to a civil w ar. Furthermore, the Moslems had no structure in Mecca. They w ere a separate number of believers gathered around the Prophet, peace be upon him, but not a social entity per se. This is w hy the Aqabah pledge w as such an important turning point. For now there w as a territory uniting Moslems, a forming structure that later evolved into a society headed by the Prophet, peace be upon him; at this point Allah Almighty said: Permission (to fight) is given to those upon w hom w ar is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is w ell able to assist them [Surat Al Hajj] To sum it up, this pledge of allegiance w as a crucial turning point in the history of the Mission, for Islam had now a center of operations from w hich it could grow and spread, and this is w hat happened indeed, and consequently, the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave his Companions the permission to emigrate to Medina. Details of the Second Aqaba Pledge and its Meanings Here is the venerable Companion Kaab Ibn Malek telling us about the details of the second Aqabah pledge, he says: We set out on pilgrimage and arranged to rendezvous w ith the Prophet, peace be upon him, at the Aqabah on the middle day of Tashreeq (the three days follow ing the day of immolation during the pilgrimage, the Aqabah pledge took place on the second of these days). That very night w e slept w ith our people in our camps. After a

third of the night had elapsed, w e left to join the Prophet, peace be upon him, stealing aw ay like sand grouses, trying to conceal ourselves (Islam w as w eak, and the best of creation could not meet them in broad daylight, but late at night, and concealed) until w e got to the Aqabah pass, seventy three men w ith tw o of our w omen. We gathered ourselves in the pass and w aited for the Prophet, peace be upon him. Rough Starts Shining Conclusions Beginnings that are full of hardships and trials, lead to honorable conclusions. Take this person w ho studied 44 years to achieve higher levels of education. He spent countless nights w ithout sleep, foregoing all the joys of life, and now w ith this high degree, he is eligible for high incomes and deserves all respect. The prestige and the higher and income are the result of years of patience in the obedience of Allah: if you do not suffer the hardships of the beginnings you w ill not realize the honors at the finish. then the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to us in the company of his uncle Al Abbas, w ho at that time still professed his people s faith. The Role of Kinship and its Impact on the Mission It is clear that kinship has a great role to play in the Call to Allah, this is w hy Allah Almighty says: And w arn thy tribe of near kindred, And low er thy w ing (in kindness) unto those believers w ho follow thee [Surat Al Shuara a] and the Prophet, peace be upon him, w as accompanied by Al Abbas Ibn Abd Al Muttalib w ho w as still professing his people s faith, but w ho chose to attend and support his nephew in this matter. So w hen they sat dow n, Al Abbas Ibn Abd Al Muttalib w as the first to speak, he said: "O people of the Khazraj - the Arabs used to call the Prophet s supporters (Ansar) Khazraj - you all know the position that Muhammad holds among us. We have protected him from our people w ho hold the same opinion of him as w e do. He is honored and respected among his people, but he insists on joining you. So if you think you can fulfill w hat you promised him, and if you can defend him against his enemies, then proceed w ith w hat you have taken upon yourselves. But if you think you w ill surrender him and betray him after you depart w ith him, then leave him right here and now. Explicitness and Clarity when Calling to Allah, and in business too This teaches us, dear brother, to be explicit in all our doings, be clear right from the start, explain everything, clarify everything, and inquire about everything. The clearer the initial display is, the more successful the conclusion. Most of the problems spreading today betw een Moslems are due to ill-defined beginnings; this is w hy it is said: lack of information in a cancelled agreement does not lead to conflict. Al Abbas Ibn Abd Al Muttalib made an explicit statement: O you people of the Khazraj you all know the position that Muhammad holds among us. We have protected him from our people w ho hold the same opinion of him as w e do. He is honored and respected among his people, but he insists on joining you. So if you think you can fulfill w hat you promised him, and if you can defend him against his enemies, then go ahead w ith w hat you have taken upon yourselves. But if you think you w ill surrender him and betray him after you depart w ith him, then leave him right here and now, for he is honored and respected in his land, among his people.

Again I say: in the marriage contract specify everything, in the articles of partnership specify everything, in the sales contract specify everything, in any deal, sale, purchase, or any act, be explicit at the start and you w ill find peace of mind at the end. So w e said to him: w e have heard your w ords, and now O Messenger of Allah, it is for you to speak and take from us w hat you w ant for your Lord and yourself. To be a servant of the Truth, a soldier of the Truth, to put your resources, your prestige at the service of the Truth, this is to Allah a high station indeed. The holy Ayah in w hich Allah Almighty addressed our master Moses says: And I have prepared thee for Myself [Surat Taha, 41] You are for Me. He said: the Prophet, peace be upon him, began to speak, recited verses of the Quran, called people unto Allah, exhorted them to enter the fold of Islam and concluded saying: I give you my pledge that you defend me from w hatever you defend your w omen and children from. So the Prophet, peace be upon him, entered into alliance w ith them w hereby they defend him against his opponents as they w ould defend their w omen and children. Here Al-Bara bin Ma rur, caught him by hand, and said: "Oh yes, w e sw ear by Allah, Who sent you as a Prophet in Truth, that w e w ill defend you from w hatever w e defend our w omen from. Have confidence in us, O Messenger of Allah. By Allah, w e are genuine fighters and quite reliable in w ar, it is a trait passed dow n to us from our ancestors." Then Abul Haitham At-Taihan interrupted and said: O Prophet of Allah! Betw een us and the Jew s, there are agreements w hich w e w ould then sever. If Allah grants you pow er and victory, should w e expect that you w ould not leave us, and join the ranks of your people (meaning Quraish)? Notice the directness, the boldness, the courtesy, the inquiries and clarifications. Again I say: ninety percent of marital problems are the result of ignorance, lack of clarity and duplicity. Be explicit if you propose to a w oman, be explicit if you get into a partnership. Any statement that is not explicit, a statement that is vague, ambiguous or fraudulent, is a sure recipe for trouble. In this sense, Al Abbas Ibn Abd Al Muttalib said: he is respected and protected among us, if he goes w ith you w ill you protect him like you w ould protect your w omen and children? Decide here and now. And similarly, the supporter (Ansari) inquired in return: O Prophet of Allah! Betw een us and the Jew s, there are agreements w hich w e w ould then sever. If Allah grants you pow er and victory, should w e expect that you w ould not leave us, and return to your people? So the Prophet, peace be upon him, the most loyal and generous of all men and all times, said: ((Nay, your blood w ill be my blood. In life and death I w ill be w ith you and you w ith me. I w ill fight w hom you fight and I w ill make peace w ith those w ith w hom you make peace)) Story: Example and Exhortation In this sense too did the Ansar come to the Prophet, peace be upon him, after the battle of Hunain, w hen, he distributed most of the spoils to those w ho recently entered into Islam, and he did not give the Ansar any. They resented this, and feared that if Allah gives him victory and he prevails, that he w ould leave them and return to Mecca. So the leader of the Ansar Saad Ibn Ubada came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said: O messenger of Allah, my people feel anger concerning those spoils you distributed and of w hich they got nothing. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: And how do you feel about this, O Saad?

Saad said: I am but one of my people He said: Gather your people for me So Saad gathered the Ansar, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, spoke to them in w ords that should be w ritten in w ater of gold, he said: ((O people of Ansar, I heard that you hold resentment in your hearts because of trifles I gave people to reconcile them w ith Islam, w hile I entrusted you to your Islam. O people of Ansar, there are w ords you can say, and surely people should believe you. If you w ant you can say in truth: you came to us disbelieved and w e believed in you, a fugitive and w e gave you shelter, in need and w e satisfied you)) (Biography of the Prophet thru an authenticated chain of transmission) See his loyalty, at the summit of his success, and the w hole Arabic Peninsula professing allegiance to him. (( O people of Ansar, w ere you not lost and Allah guided you thru me, w ere you not needy and Allah enriched you, w ere you not enemies and Allah joined your hearts in love? O people of Ansar, do you hold resentment in your hearts because of trifles I gave people to reconcile them w ith Islam, w hile I entrusted you to your Islam? O people of Ansar do you not accept that the people take the sheep and camels w hile you take home Allah s Messenger? He said: so they cried till their beards got w et w ith tears and said: w e accept Allah s Messenger as our share and fortune )) Dear brothers, how do w e categorize this story in the Prophet s biography, under loyalty or mercy, modesty or explicitness, or under w isdom in leadership? He controlled the incident, vented the resentment and declared his loyalty to the Ansar. In another tradition he is reported to have said: (( In life and death I w ill be w ith you )) ((If the Ansar follow ed a mountain pass and the rest of the people follow ed another, I w ill follow the Ansar s pass. O Allah have mercy upon the Ansar, and the sons of the Ansar and the sons of the sons of the Ansar )) I do not believe there can be more loyal than the Prophet, peace be upon him, w hen he said: ((Nay, your blood w ill be my blood. In life and death I w ill be w ith you and you w ith me. I w ill fight w hom you fight and I w ill make peace w ith those w ith w hom you make peace )) Kaab said: The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: choose tw elve leaders from yourselves to guide their ow n tribes. So they appointed tw elve leaders, nine from the Khazraj and three from the Aw s. Those leaders are the elite, those w ho pledged allegiance to the Prophet, peace be upon him. After the pledge, Al Abbas Ibn Ubada rose and said to the Prophet, peace be upon him: By Allah w ho sent you w ith the Truth, if you so desire, w e w ill put the people of Mina (Quraish) to our sw ords tomorrow, meaning: w e w ill fight them w ith you tomorrow, so the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ((I w as not ordered to follow this course, go back to your camps)) Like I said earlier, there w as a Divine directive forbidding Moslems to challenge anyone in Mecca, so the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: I w as not ordered to follow this course, go back to your camps. So they retired to their camps. Pay attention to this: on the morning of the next day, a group of Quraish leaders came to them asking about w hat transpired to Quraish about the pledge they made to the Prophet, peace be upon him, requesting him to emigrate to them. They w ere asking common men from the Khazraj w ho did not take part in the pledge, and w ho naturally answ ered, and sw ore by Allah, that they did not do these things. Do you see the meaning of Allah s w ords:

Surely Allah w ill defend those w ho believe [Surat Al Hajj, 38] ((Whoever seeks protection in me and not in my creatures, and I know from his intentions, even if the heavens and w hat they hold conspired against him, I w ill extricate him from their schemes. And w hoever seeks protection from a creature instead of Me, and I know from his intentions, I w ill forbid him the means of the heavens, and he w ill be in perpetual fall)) [Compiled by Ibn Asaker from Kaab Ibn Malek] So they sw ore that they did not do any of those things Once during a battle, the Prophet, peace be upon him, sent our master Hudhaifa on a mission. It w as very cold w eather, and the people w ere very hungry and extremely anxious. He sent him to the enemy s camp, and ordered him to mingle w ith them and gather information about them and w hat they planned to do. So he w ent, and sat among the enemy. And then Abu Sufyan said: there may be an outsider among you, so let everyone inspect his neighbor. By Allah s guidance and support, master Hudhaifa, the w anted man in question, anticipated his neighbor s reaction and asked him first w ho he w as, and the man answ ered. If Allah is w ith you w ho can be against you? And if He is against you w ho can be w ith you? Sometimes Allah Almighty protects a great Mission w ith a very simple thing. This great Islam, this true religion professed by the third of the w orld population, how did Allah protect it in the cave? With a spider The spider p its w eb, w hich lead the pursuers to believe that the cave w as empty, otherw ise the spider s w eb w ould be torn. Because of the Perfect Greatness of Allah He can aw ard w orshippers w ith the least of things, and He can destroy people w ith the least of means. So on the morning of the next day, a group of Quraish leaders came to them asking about w hat transpired to Quraish about the pledge they made to the Prophet, peace be upon him, requesting him to emigrate to them. So the polytheists of the Khazraj and the Aw s sw ore that they knew nothing about this, w hile Moslems exchanged meaningful looks, and the crisis ended in peace, and the Ansar w ent back to Yathrib, yearning for the coming of the Prophet w ith the Moslems. O ye w ho believe! What aileth you that w hen it is said unto you: Go forth in the w ay of Allah, ye are bow ed dow n to the ground w ith heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the w orld rather than in the Hereafter? The comfort of the life of the w orld is but little in the Hereafter. If ye go not forth He w ill afflict you w ith a painful doom, and w ill choose instead of you a folk other than you. [Surat Al Tawba, 38 39] If you are prompted to some good deeds, then proceed to the performance of the good deed, because if you don t, others w ill: And bring in your place a people other than you, and you w ill do Him no harm This Ayah is very subtle: [Surat Al Tawba, 39] O ye w ho believe! What aileth you that w hen it is said unto you: Go forth in the w ay of Allah, ye are bow ed dow n to the ground w ith heaviness. Take ye pleasure in the life of the w orld rather than in the Hereafter? The comfort of the life of the w orld is but little in the Hereafter If you do not take the initiative others w ill. If you are invited to join in a good deed, and you refuse and apologize, and give the w ildest excuses, others w ill come and reap the honors. So if someone is invited to do good deeds, it is a sign of the perfection of his guidance and of his understanding if he hastens to it. Allah Almighty says

let those aspire, w ho have aspirations [Surat Al Mutaffifin, 26] For the like of this, then, let the w orkers w ork [Surat Al Saffat, 61] Those w ere the beginnings of Islam, it started as a stranger, and it w ill be a stranger again, so blessed be the strangers, like the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ((Righteous men among scores of evil people)) Imam Malek once said: The only thing that w ill set the last of this nation right is w hat set the first right. The first ones w ere virtuous because they w ere devoted to Allah, because they loved the Messenger of Allah, because of true sacrifices. If w e do not restore the w ays of our forefathers in reuniting around the Prophet, peace be upon him, there w ill be no w ay for us to guard against the conspiracies and aggressions. Dear brothers, a very subtle truth Allah Almighty says: But Allah w ould not punish them w hile thou w ast w ith them [Surat Al Anfal, 33] This Ayah applies until doomsday. But during the life of the Prophet, as long as the person of the Prophet w as among them, they w ere safe from Allah s punishment. But after his passage to the heavens this Ayah holds a different meaning: as long as your Tradition lives among them they are safe from Allah s punishment. So if w e apply the Prophet s tradition w e are safe from Allah s punishment: But Allah w ould not punish them w hile thou w ast w ith them, nor w ill He punish them w hile they seek forgiveness [Surat Al Anfal, 33] And if w e do not apply the Tradition, if w e transgress and then repent, w e are also safe, safe if w e apply the Prophet s w ays, peace be upon him, and safe if w e ask forgiveness after failing to comply. There is a subtle meaning in the w ords of Allah Almighty: Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah w ill love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful [Surat Al Imran, 31] The sign that you love Allah in your heart is that you follow the Prophet, peace be upon him. Honorable brothers, Allah w illing, w e w ill continue w ith this biography series in upcoming lessons. After that w e w ill move to the Prophet s expatriation to Medina (The Hegira). Emigration involves movement, and Islam is dynamic, not static. And emigration in its broader sense (leaving, deserting) can be applied in our daily lives, for anyone w ho leaves abominations, everyone w ho leaves violations and sins is to Allah an Emigrant (Muhajir). Translation : Iman Nashar Auditing : Zena El-Abaza