(Series of Answers by the Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Amir of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to His Facebook Page)
To Ayman Alfjjary
Question:
As-Salamu Alaykum. A question for our Amir now and our Caliph soon, Allah willing:
It was mentioned in the book The Islamic State, regarding the Second Pledge of al-'Aqaba and what followed, that the Messenger (saw) "thought" in more than one place, even though the situation should be revelation from Allah and not just thinking from the Messenger (saw), such as: he thought about migration, and migration is revelation from Allah.
I hope for a clarification of what is meant by "thinking" here, and may Allah bless you.
Answer:
Wa Alaykum As-Salam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
Before answering directly regarding the Messenger's (saw) thinking about the migration (Hijrah), I will take you back to the beginning of the stage of seeking support (Talab an-Nusrah) until the Second Pledge of al-'Aqaba and then the migration, so that the answer becomes clear, Allah willing:
Khadija (ra) passed away three years before the migration, and in the same year, Abu Talib passed away, as mentioned in Uyun al-Athar:
(...On the authority of Qatadah, he said: Khadija died in Makkah three years before the migration, and she was the first to believe in the Prophet (saw). He said... then Khadija bint Khuwaylid and Abu Talib died in the same year. Thus, two calamities followed one after another for the Messenger of Allah (saw): the death of Khadija and Abu Talib. Khadija was a sincere advisor for Islam, and the Messenger of Allah (saw) would find comfort in her. He said: Ziyad al-Baka'i said on the authority of Ibn Ishaq: Khadija and Abu Talib died in one year, and that was after ten years had passed since the mission of the Messenger of Allah (saw), three years before his migration to Madinah. Ibn Qutaybah mentioned that Khadija died three days after Abu Talib, and al-Bayhaqi mentioned something similar.) End.
On the authority of al-Waqidi:
(Khadija died thirty-five nights before Abu Talib, and it was said otherwise. When Abu Talib perished, Quraysh inflicted harm upon the Messenger of Allah (saw) that they could not aspire to during the life of Abu Talib, until a fool from among the fools of Quraysh confronted him and scattered dust on his head. The Messenger of Allah (saw) entered his house with the dust on his head, and one of his daughters stood up and began washing the dust from him while crying. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«لا تبك يَا بُنَيَّةُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مَانِعٌ أَبَاكِ»
"Do not cry, my daughter, for Allah will protect your father."
And he said between that:
«مَا نَالَتْ مِنِّي قُرَيْشٌ شَيْئًا أَكْرَهُهُ حَتَّى مَاتَ أَبُو طَالِبٍ»
"Quraysh did not cause me any harm that I disliked until Abu Talib died.")
Under these difficult circumstances, Allah honored His Messenger (saw) with two great and magnificent events: the Night Journey and Ascension (al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj), and the permission for the Messenger (saw) to seek support (Talab an-Nusrah) from the people of power among the tribes to protect the Da'wah and establish the State. The topic of al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj is not for this place, but as for seeking support, the author of Uyun al-Athar and other biographers said:
(The Messenger of Allah (saw) went out to Ta'if at the end of Shawwal in the tenth year of the Prophethood. He went to Ta'if alone—and Ibn Sa'd said: with him was Zayd bin Harithah—seeking support from Thaqif and protection through them from his people, hoping that they would accept what he brought them from Allah. When he reached Ta'if, he headed to a group from Thaqif who were at that time the leaders and nobles of Thaqif. They were three brothers: 'Abd Yalil, Mas'ud, and Habib, the sons of 'Amr bin 'Umayr... and they did not respond... rather, they incited their fools against him...) End.
After that, the seeking of support continued. The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to present himself during the seasons of pilgrimage to the Arab tribes, calling them to Allah, informing them that he was a sent Prophet, and asking them to believe him and protect him so that he could clarify to them what Allah had sent him with. Peace and blessings be upon him, he went to Kinda in their dwellings, and among them was a leader of theirs called Mulayh. He called them to Allah (swt) and presented himself to them, but they refused him. He went to Kalb in their dwellings to a clan of theirs called Banu 'Abdullah; he called them to Allah and presented himself to them, even saying: "O Banu 'Abdullah, Allah has made the name of your father good," but they did not accept what he presented to them. He went to Banu Hanifa in their dwellings, called them to Allah, and presented himself, but none of the Arabs gave a more repulsive response than them. He went to Banu 'Amir bin Sa'sa'ah, called them to Allah, and presented himself to them. They stipulated that the matter of ruling should belong to them after the Messenger of Allah (saw). The Messenger (saw) said:
«الأمر لله يضعه حيث يشاء»
"The matter belongs to Allah; He places it where He wills."
So they refused and said, "We have no need for your matter." Then the Messenger (saw) went out with Abu Bakr and Ali bin Abi Talib (ra). Ali said: Abu Bakr was foremost in every good thing. He said: "From which people are you?" They said: "From Shayban bin Tha'labah." Abu Bakr turned to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, these are the prominent ones among their people, and among them is Mafruq bin 'Amr." Mafruq said: "Perhaps you are the brother of Quraysh?" Abu Bakr said: "Has it reached you that he is the Messenger of Allah? Here he is." Mafruq said: "It has reached us that he mentions that. To what do you call, O brother of Quraysh?" The Messenger of Allah (saw) stepped forward and said:
«أَدْعُو إِلَى شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنِّي رَسُولُ اللهِ وَأَنْ تُؤْوُونِي وَتَنْصُرُونِي فَإِنَّ قُرَيْشًا قَدْ تَظَاهَرَتْ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللهِ وَكَذَّبَتْ رُسُلَهُ وَاسْتَغْنَتْ بِالْبَاطِلِ عَنِ الْحَقِّ وَاللهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ»
"I call you to bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and that I am the Messenger of Allah, and that you provide me shelter and support, for Quraysh have conspired against the matter of Allah, denied His messengers, and preferred falsehood over truth, while Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy."
The people said... "We have settled here upon a covenant taken from us by Kisra that we shall not initiate any new matter nor shelter any innovator. I see that this matter you call us to is something kings dislike. If you wish for us to shelter you and support you from the side of the Arab waters, we shall do so." The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«مَا أَسْأَتُمْ فِي الرَّدِّ إِذْ فَصَحْتُمْ فِي الصِّدْقِ وَإِنَّ دِينَ اللهِ لَنْ يَنْصُرَهُ إِلَّا مَنْ حَاطَهُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ جَوَانِبِهِ»
"You have not responded poorly since you have spoken frankly and truthfully. Indeed, the Deen of Allah shall not be supported except by those who embrace it from all its sides."
Then it was mentioned in Uyun al-Athar and other books of Seerah:
(Ibn Ishaq said: When Allah willed to manifest His Deen, honor His Prophet, and fulfill His promise to him, the Messenger of Allah (saw) went out during the season in which he met the group from the Ansar, a group from the Khazraj. The Messenger (saw) said to them:
«أَفَلا تَجْلِسُونَ أُكَلِّمُكُمْ؟»
"Will you not sit so that I may speak with you?"
They said: "Yes." They sat with him, and he called them to Allah and presented Islam to them... When the Messenger of Allah (saw) spoke to that group and called them to Allah, they said to one another: "Know, by Allah, that he is the Prophet whom the Jews threatened you with, so do not let them precede you to him." They responded to what he called them to by believing in him and accepting what he presented of Islam. They said to him: "We have left our people, and no people have such enmity and evil between them as they do. If Allah unites them upon you, then no man shall be more honored than you." Then they departed back to their land, having believed and testified...) End.
When the year turned and the sacred months returned, and the time for pilgrimage to Makkah came, twelve men from the people of Yathrib came during the season of the twelfth year. They met the Prophet at al-'Aqaba and pledged to him the First Pledge of al-'Aqaba. It was mentioned in Hada'iq al-Anwar: (In the season of the twelfth year: twelve men from the Ansar met him and pledged to him at [al-'Aqaba] the Pledge of Women...)
Ahmad narrated in his Musnad on the authority of 'Ubadah bin al-Samit, who said: "I was among those who attended the first 'Aqaba, and we were twelve men. We pledged to the Messenger of Allah (saw) according to the Pledge of Women, and that was before war was made obligatory:
«أَنْ لَا نُشْرِكَ بِاللهِ شَيْئًا، وَلَا نَسْرِقَ، وَلَا نَزْنِيَ، وَلَا نَقْتُلَ أَوْلَادَنَا، وَلَا نَأْتِيَ بِبُهْتَانٍ نَفْتَرِيهِ بَيْنَ أَيْدِينَا وَأَرْجُلِنَا، وَلَا نَعْصِيَهُ فِي مَعْرُوفٍ، فَإِنْ وَفَّيْتُمْ فَلَكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ، وَإِنْ غَشِيتُمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا، فَأَمْرُكُمْ إِلَى اللهِ إِنْ شَاءَ عَذَّبَكُمْ، وَإِنْ شَاءَ غَفَرَ لَكُمْ»
"That we associate nothing with Allah, that we do not steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill our children, nor bring a slander that we invent between our hands and feet, nor disobey him in what is right. If you fulfill this, then Paradise is yours. If you commit any of that, then your matter is with Allah; if He wills, He punishes you, and if He wills, He forgives you."
When they departed, the Messenger of Allah (saw) sent Mus'ab bin 'Umayr with them, as mentioned in the Seerah of Ibn Hisham and others:
(Ibn Ishaq said: When the people departed from him, the Messenger of Allah (saw) sent Mus'ab bin 'Umayr with them. He stayed with As'ad bin Zurarah bin 'Udas, Abu Umamah... Ibn Ishaq said: 'Ubaydullah bin al-Mughirah and Abdullah bin Abi Bakr narrated to me: As'ad bin Zurarah went out with Mus'ab bin 'Umayr heading to the dwellings of Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal and Banu Zafar. Sa'd bin Mu'adh was the maternal cousin of As'ad bin Zurarah. He entered a garden belonging to Banu Zafar... they sat in the garden, and men who had accepted Islam gathered around them. Sa'd bin Mu'adh and Usayd bin Hudayr were at that time the leaders of their people from Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal... but Allah opened their hearts to Islam... they accepted Islam, and Sa'd headed to the gathering of his people accompanied by Usayd bin Hudayr... When he stood before them, he said: "O Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal, how do you know my matter among you?" They said: "Our leader, the most connected of us, the best in opinion, and the most auspicious in leadership." He said: "Then the speech of your men and women is forbidden to me until you believe in Allah and His Messenger." They said: "By Allah, by evening, there was not a man or woman in the dwelling of Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal who was not a Muslim." As'ad and Mus'ab returned to the house of As'ad bin Zurarah, and he stayed with him calling people to Islam...)
It was mentioned in the Seerah of Ibn Hisham and Hada'iq al-Anwar:
(Then Mus'ab bin 'Umayr returned to Makkah, and those of the Ansar who had become Muslims went out for the pilgrimage season in the thirteenth year of the mission with the pilgrims of their people from the polytheists. When they arrived in Makkah, they made an appointment with the Messenger of Allah (saw) at al-'Aqaba during the middle of the days of Tashriq, when Allah willed for them His honor, support for His Prophet, and the empowerment of Islam and its people... Ka'b said: Then we went out for the pilgrimage and made an appointment with the Messenger of Allah (saw) at al-'Aqaba during the middle of the days of Tashriq. He said: When we finished the pilgrimage, and it was the night of the appointment... he said: We slept that night with our people in our camps. When a third of the night had passed, we slipped away from our camps to the meeting with the Messenger of Allah (saw), moving stealthily like sandgrouse, until we gathered in the mountain pass at al-'Aqaba. We were seventy-three men, and with us were two of our women... he said: We gathered in the mountain pass waiting for the Messenger of Allah (saw)... he said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) spoke, recited the Quran, called to Allah, and encouraged Islam. Then he said: 'I take your pledge on the condition that you protect me as you protect your women and children.' al-Bara' bin Ma'rur took his hand and said: 'Yes, by the One Who sent you with the truth as a Prophet, we shall protect you as we protect our own selves. So take our pledge, O Messenger of Allah, for we, by Allah, are the children of wars and people of weaponry; we inherited it from forefather to forefather.' Abu al-Haytham bin al-Tayyihan interrupted while al-Bara' was speaking and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, there are ties between us and other men—meaning the Jews—and we are going to sever them. If we do that and then Allah grants you victory, will you return to your people and leave us?' The Messenger of Allah (saw) smiled and said:
«بَلْ الدَّمَ الدَّمَ، وَالْهَدْمَ الْهَدْمَ، أَنَا مِنْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ مِنِّي، أُحَارِبُ مَنْ حَارَبْتُمْ، وَأُسَالِمُ مَنْ سَالَمْتُمْ»
"Rather, blood is blood and destruction is destruction. I am of you and you are of me. I will fight whom you fight and make peace with whom you make peace..." Ibn Ishaq said: 'Ubadah bin al-Walid narrated to me from his father, from his grandfather 'Ubadah bin al-Samit, who was one of the leaders (nuqaba'): "We pledged to the Messenger of Allah (saw) the Pledge of War—and 'Ubadah was among the twelve who pledged to him at the First 'Aqaba the Pledge of Women—upon hearing and obeying, in our hardship and ease, in our pleasure and dislike, even if we are passed over, and that we do not dispute the matter with those in authority, and that we speak the truth wherever we are, not fearing for the sake of Allah the blame of any blamer...") End.
Thus, the Second Pledge of al-'Aqaba was completed—the Pledge of Support (Bay'at an-Nusrah)—after Islam had spread in Madinah, followed by the migration and the establishment of the State. It is clear from all this that the Messenger (saw) was commanded to seek support (Talab an-Nusrah) since the tenth year of the mission, about three years before the Pledge of al-'Aqaba, which took place in the season of the thirteenth year. This means the Messenger (saw) was receiving revelation regarding the actions of seeking support. He looked for the people of power among the tribes and sought their support. When news of Madinah reached him through Mus'ab bin 'Umayr, and then seventy-three men and two women came and pledged the Second Pledge of al-'Aqaba, the Messenger (saw) saw that Madinah was qualified to support him to establish the State and honor Islam and the Muslims. He thought about migrating to it because he (saw) was searching for people of power to support him so he could go to them and establish the rule of Islam. Thinking about the migration was necessitated by the seeking of support itself. Just as the Messenger of Allah (saw) would go to a tribe and seek its support, similarly, when he knew that Madinah had become qualified to give support and that the State could be established there, his thinking about migrating to Madinah was not outside the requirements of seeking support, which Allah had revealed to him three years before the Second Pledge of al-'Aqaba. Nevertheless, the Messenger (saw) did not migrate to Madinah until Allah (swt) showed him the land of migration and permitted him to migrate, as mentioned in al-Bukhari:
(Ibn Shihab said: 'Urwah bin al-Zubayr informed me that Aisha (ra), the wife of the Prophet (saw), said: "I do not remember my parents ever practicing anything other than the Deen (Islam), and not a day passed but the Messenger of Allah (saw) would visit us at both ends of the day, morning and evening... Then the Prophet (saw) said to the Muslims:
«إِنِّي أُرِيتُ دَارَ هِجْرَتِكُمْ، ذَاتَ نَخْلٍ بَيْنَ لاَبَتَيْنِ»
"I have been shown the land of your migration, a place of date palms between two lava tracts (harrahs)."
So those who migrated went towards Madinah, and most of those who had migrated to the land of Abyssinia returned to Madinah. Abu Bakr prepared himself to go to Madinah, but the Messenger of Allah (saw) said to him:
«عَلَى رِسْلِكَ، فَإِنِّي أَرْجُو أَنْ يُؤْذَنَ لِي»
"Be patient, for I hope that permission will be given to me."
Abu Bakr said: "Do you hope for that, may my father be sacrificed for you?" He said: "Yes."... Ibn Shihab said: 'Urwah said: Aisha said: "While we were one day sitting in the house of Abu Bakr in the heat of midday, someone said to Abu Bakr: 'This is the Messenger of Allah (saw) coming with his head covered, at an hour he does not usually come to us.' Abu Bakr said: 'May my father and mother be sacrificed for him, by Allah, nothing brought him at this hour except a matter.' She said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) came and asked permission, it was granted, and he entered. The Prophet (saw) said to Abu Bakr:
«أَخْرِجْ مَنْ عِنْدَكَ»
"Ask those who are with you to leave."
Abu Bakr said: "They are only your family, may my father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah." He said:
«فَإِنِّي قَدْ أُذِنَ لِي فِي الخُرُوجِ»
"I have been granted permission to depart."
Abu Bakr said: "Companionship, may my father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah?" The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Yes"...)
Thus, thinking about migrating to Madinah after its news reached him (saw) was part of the requirements of seeking support, which Allah had permitted him since the tenth year of the mission. It was like the Messenger (saw) going to Ta'if, Banu Shayban, and Banu 'Amir... however, the Messenger (saw) did not translate this thinking into action until Allah (swt) showed him the land of migration and permitted him (saw) to depart: "I have been shown the land of your migration, a place of date palms between two lava tracts" and "I have been granted permission to depart," as mentioned in al-Bukhari on the authority of Aisha, the Mother of the Believers (ra).
I hope the subject has become clear to you, and Allah (swt) is the Guardian of Success.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
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