Series of answers by the eminent scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, to the questions of his Facebook page followers "Fiqhi"
Answer to Question
To: Ghaith Ghaith
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
Our Sheikh, I have a question if I may. It is known that the Prophet ﷺ sought Nusrah from the tribes, but was Quraysh among the tribes from whom the Prophet ﷺ sought Nusrah?
May Allah reward you with all goodness.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
Seeking Nusrah (material support/protection) is done from those who respond to Islam and embrace it... and who are from the people of power and protection (Ahl al-Quwwah wal-Man’ah) such that they can provide support for Islam and establish ruling by what Allah has revealed... These two conditions must be met in whoever Nusrah is sought from. If they do not respond to Islam and become Muslim, or if they are not from the people of power and protection capable of bringing about change—whether alone as a tribe or with others—then they are not among the people of Nusrah (Ahl an-Nusrah).
Quraysh did not meet these conditions before the Conquest (al-Fath); the people of power and protection among them who were capable of bringing about change did not embrace Islam at that time. Consequently, the Messenger ﷺ did not seek Nusrah from them. Rather, he was calling people in Makkah to Islam, and those who embraced it were the weak, or some strong individuals as individuals without their tribes—like Umar and Hamzah—who were thus unable to bring about systemic change. Therefore, there was no seeking of Nusrah from the people of Makkah due to the absence of these two conditions. Instead, there was a call (Da’wah) to Islam in Makkah, but there was no response to Islam from the people of power and protection in Makkah who were capable of change. Thus, Nusrah was not sought in Makkah; rather, it was eventually opened through conquest...
For this reason, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to present himself to the tribes possessing power and protection, inviting them to Islam first and then seeking their Nusrah if they embraced Islam. Here is some of what has been mentioned regarding this in the Seerah:
First: From Seerah Ibn Hisham:
1- Seeking Nusrah from Thaqif:
[Ibn Ishaq said: When Abu Talib died, Quraysh inflicted harm upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that they could not inflict during the life of his uncle Abu Talib. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to At-Ta’if, seeking Nusrah from Thaqif and protection through them against his people, hoping they would accept what he brought them from Allah the Almighty. He went out to them alone.
Ibn Ishaq said: Yazid bin Ziyad narrated to me, from Muhammad bin Ka’b al-Qurazi, who said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached At-Ta’if, he headed towards a group of Thaqif who were the leaders and nobles of Thaqif at that time. They were three brothers: Abd Yalil bin Amr bin Umair, Mas’ud bin Amr bin Umair, and Habib bin Amr bin Umair... One of them had a woman from Quraysh from the Banu Jumah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sat with them, invited them to Allah, and spoke to them about what he had come for—seeking their support for Islam and to stand with him against those of his people who opposed him. One of them said to him: "He would be tearing the cloth of the Ka'bah if Allah had sent you." The second said: "Could Allah find no one to send but you?" The third said: "By Allah, I will never speak to you. If you are a Messenger from Allah as you say, you are too important for me to reply to; and if you are lying against Allah, I should not speak to you." So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up from them, having despaired of any goodness from Thaqif...]
2- The Messenger presenting himself to Banu 'Amir:
[Ibn Ishaq said: Az-Zuhri narrated to me that he came to Banu 'Amir bin Sa’sa’ah, invited them to Allah the Almighty, and presented himself to them. A man from them called Bayharah bin Firas said: "By Allah, if I were to take this young man from Quraysh, I would consume the Arabs through him." Then he said: "What do you think, if we give you Bay'ah (allegiance) upon your matter, and then Allah grants you victory over those who oppose you, will the authority (al-Amr) be ours after you?" He ﷺ said: "The authority belongs to Allah; He places it wherever He wills." The man said: "Shall we then offer our necks to the Arabs for your sake, and then when Allah grants you victory, the authority goes to others? We have no need for your matter." So they refused him...]
Second: From the book al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir ad-Dimashqi:
[He said: Then we reached a gathering characterized by tranquility and dignity, where there were elders of stature and appearance. Abu Bakr went forward and gave greetings—Ali said: Abu Bakr was foremost in every good thing—Abu Bakr asked them: "From which people are you?" They said: "From Banu Shayban bin Tha’labah."
He turned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, there is no honor in their people beyond these."
In another narration: "There is no excuse beyond these among their people; these are the cream of their people, and the cream of the people."
Among them were Mafruq bin Amr, Hani bin Qubaisah, Al-Muthanna bin Harithah, and An-Nu’man bin Sharik. Mafruq bin Amr was the closest to Abu Bakr and excelled them in eloquence and speech...
Abu Bakr asked him: "What is your number?" He replied: "We exceed a thousand, and a thousand will not be defeated by being few." He asked: "How is the protection (al-Man’ah) among you?" He said: "We strive, and every people has their effort." Abu Bakr asked: "How is the war between you and your enemy?" Mafruq said: "We are most fierce when we are angry; we prefer thoroughbred horses over children, and weapons over livestock. Victory is from Allah; He grants it to us once and against us another. Perhaps you are the brother of Quraysh?" Abu Bakr said: "If it has reached you that he is the Messenger of Allah, then here he is..."
Mafruq said: "It has reached us that he mentions that. To what do you invite, O brother of Quraysh?" Then he turned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who sat down while Abu Bakr stood shading him with his garment. He ﷺ said:
أَدْعُوكُمْ إِلَى شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شريك لَهُ، وَأَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَأَنْ تؤوونى وَتَنْصُرُونِي حَتَّى أُؤَدِّيَ عَنِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَمَرَنِي بِهِ، فَإِنَّ قُرَيْشًا قَدْ تَظَاهَرَتْ عَلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ، وَكَذَّبَتْ رَسُولَهُ، وَاسْتَغْنَتْ بِالْبَاطِلِ عَنِ الْحَقِّ، وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ
"I invite 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 shelter and support me so that I may convey on behalf of Allah that which He commanded me; for indeed, Quraysh have combined against the command of Allah, denied His Messenger, and sufficed themselves with falsehood over truth, and Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy."...
Mafruq said: "And this is Al-Muthanna, our elder and master of our war." Al-Muthanna said: "I have heard your words and found them good, O brother of Quraysh, and what you spoke impressed me. My answer is the answer of Hani bin Qubaisah regarding leaving our religion and following you after a single meeting. We are settled between two borders (Sarayyan), one is Al-Yamamah and the other is As-Samawah."
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked him:
وَمَا هَذَانِ الصَّرَيَانِ؟
"And what are these two borders?"
He replied: "One of them is the wilderness and the land of the Arabs, and the other is the land of Persia and the rivers of Chosroes (Kisra). We have settled upon a covenant taken by Chosroes that we shall not initiate any matter nor provide shelter to any initiator of a matter. Perhaps this matter you invite us to is something that kings dislike. As for what borders the land of the Arabs, the sin of its perpetrator is forgiven and his excuse accepted; but as for what borders the land of Persia, the sin of its perpetrator is not forgiven and his excuse is not accepted. If you want us to support you and protect you against what borders the Arabs, we shall do so."
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مَا أَسَأْتُمُ الرَّدَّ إِذْ أَفْصَحْتُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ، إِنَّهُ لَا يَقُومُ بِدِينِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَنْ حَاطَهُ مِنْ جَمِيعِ جَوَانِبِهِ
"You did not respond poorly, as you have spoken with honesty. Indeed, none can stand for the Deen of Allah except the one who encompasses it from all its sides."]
Then came the First and Second Pledges of Al-Aqabah, then the Hijrah and the establishment of the State... The conclusion is that the conditions for the people of power and protection in Makkah were not fulfilled during the first years of the Messenger ﷺ in Makkah; Islam was not realized in them, followed by the readiness to support the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not seek their Nusrah to establish the State in Makkah via the method of Nusrah. He sought it from those in whom the conditions were met—that they respond to Islam and be from the people of power and protection capable of change... Thus, the Ansar attained this great honor in this world and the Hereafter and that great victory. Afterwards, the Islamic State opened Makkah through conquest (Fath)...
I hope this is sufficient, and Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
06 Safar 1443 AH Corresponding to 13/09/2021 CE
Link to the answer from the Ameer's page (may Allah protect him) on Facebook
Link to the answer from the Ameer's page (may Allah protect him) Web