335
MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH
THE YEAR OF DEPUTATIONS
Arrival of Deputations in Medina
Allah first caused the Apostle of God to prevail over Mecca then
allowed him to return from the expedition of Tabuk with flying
colors. Earlier to that, he had sent letters to the rulers within the
country and to the kings and emperors of neighbouring lands
inviting them to accept Islam. These were received by some with
greatest accolades of honour, which sent back courteous
responses. Some were astounded or diffident, whereas others were
irreverent and insolent. God requited erelong the arrogant
suzerains thru their lives or kingdoms or both and such had been
prevalent in every one’s mouth all over Arabia.
Mecca had been the spiritual and religious centre of Arabia.
Submission of the Quraishite nobles to Islam was of greatest
importance for the whole of Arabia. The airy dreams of those who
had counted on the Quraish of bringing Islam to its knees had
fizzled out. While those who were ambivalent, waiting to see the
outcome of the struggle between the Muslims and the Quraish,
found the potential obstacle in their acceptance of Islam vanished
along the way. The noted Indian scholar of Traditions,
Muhammad Tahir Patni (d. 986/1578) writes in the Majm’a Behar
ul-Anwar.
“This was the Year of Deputation. For the Quraish were their
religious leaders and guardians of the House of God, the Arabian
tribes had adopted a policy to watch and wait in regard to Islam.
When the Quraish finally bowed out to Islam, Mecca was captured
and Thaqif also accepted Islam. They, too, realized that it would
not be possible for them to resist its ascendancy. Then deputations
started arriving in Medina from all over Arabia and the people
entered the faith of God in legions.”1 It was only natural that the
1
Majm’a Bahar ul-Anwar, Vol. V, p. 272
THE YEAR OF DEPUTATIONS
336
Arab tribes stated earlier, had an enormous effect on the Arabs
and prepared them to accept Islam. Representative parties of the
Arab tribes started calling upon the Apostle to accept Islam in
such a manner as if the beads of a broken rosary fell one after the
other.
These deputations returned to their homes bolstered with new
spirit of faith in calling their brethren to Islam to obliterate all
traces of paganism in their tribes.
One such deputation came from the large tribe of Bani Tami with
a number of its orators and poets and challenged the Muslims to a
contest in oratory and poetry. The contest ended in establishing
the superiority of Islam and its adherents. The chiefs and nobles of
Bani Tamim acknowledged the superiority of the Muslim orators
and poets, accepted Islam and left for their homes with valuable
gifts offered to them by the Apostle. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, pp.
560-68).
The deputation of Abu ‘Amir also came to Medina. Bani Sa'ad b.
Bakr sent Damam b. Th’alaba as their representative to the
Apostle. He accepted Islam and went back to his tribe determined
to invite them to his faith. When his tribesmen gathered around
him, the first thing he said to them was, “Woe be to al-Lat and alUzza!” “Heavens forbid! Damam”, said they, “beware of leprosy
and elephantiasis and madness!” Damam replied, “Confound you!
By God, they can neither hurt nor heal. God has sent an Apostle
and given a Book to him, and deliver you thereby from your
present state; and I bear witness that there is no god but one God
who is without any associate and that Muhammad is His slave and
Apostle. I have brought you what he has commanded you to do
and what he has forbidden you.” And by the time the evening was
over there was not a man or woman in his tribe who had not
joined the fold of Islam.1
1
Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 574
337
MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH
The deputation of Banu Hanifa came to the Apostle. With it came
Musaylama, the arch-liar who accepted Islam but later on turned
apostate and stake a claim to apostleship. He was killed fighting
with the Muslims.
The deputation of Bani Tayy also came to Medina bringing with
them their chief and gallant cavalier, Zaydul Khayl. The Apostle of
God changed his name to Zaydul Khayr1 and he proved himself to
be a staunch Muslim, strong in faith.
‘Adiy, the son of Hatim, whose name has long been proverbial for
generosity, called upon the Apostle. Impressed by the courteous
bearing and considerateness of the Apostle, ‘Adiy accepted Islam
and said, “By God, this is not the way Kings behave.”
The delegation of Bani Zubayd also came to the Apostle. It was
led by ‘Amr b. M’adikarib, the noted warrior of Arabia. Al-Ash’ath
b. Qays came with the deputation of another tribe, Kinda. Then
came the deputation from Azd and the envoys of the king Himyar,
who brought a letter to the Apostle informing him about the
acceptance of Islam by their tribes.
The apostle sent Mu’adh b. Jabal and Abu Musa to invite the
people of Yemen to Islam. He also instructed them to make things
easy and not make them difficult, cheer up the people and refrain
from scaring them.2
Farwa b. ‘Amr al-Judhami was the governor of Ma’am and
surrounding lands in Syria on behalf of the Byzantines. He sent an
envoy to the Apostle informing him about his acceptance of Islam.
Banu al-Harith B. Ka'b, living in the territory known as Najran
were converted to Islam by Khalid b. al-Walid, who stayed with
the tribe and immersed them in the teachings of Islam. Khalid b.
Walid came back to the Apostle with representatives of Banu al1
Zaydul-Khayl means Zayd of Horses and Zaydul Khayr, Zayd of Goodness. The Apostle
preferred good and meaningful names.
2
Bukhari, Kitab ul-Maghazi.
THE YEAR OF DEPUTATIONS
338
Harith. When these men returned to their tribes the Apostle sent
‘Amr b. Hazm to fortify them in religion and to teach them the
Sunnah and the rituals of Islam as well as to collect the poor-tax
from them. Another deputation from Hamdan called upon the
Apostle of God.1
The Apostle authorized Mughira b. Shu'ba to break the idol al-Lat.
Mughira and his friends broke the idol into pieces and then raised
to ground the boundary-wall enclosing it. They returned the same
day after accomplishing the task assigned to them and the Apostle
praised them for it.2
The Apostle welcomed the deputation of ‘Abd al-Qays when it
came to him but he also forbade them to use the glazed jars
employed for brewing intoxicants. He since took the precaution ‘
Abd al-Qays were addicted to drinking liquors.3
Ash’aryin and the people from Yemen came to Medina singing
verse which expressed their eagerness to meet the Apostle.
Tomorrow shall we meet our soulmates,
Muhammad and his comrades.
When the Apostle saw them he said: “The people of Yemen have
come to you. They have the tenderest mind and the gentlest hearts.
Faith belongs to the Yemen and wisdom belongs to the Yemen.’4
The Apostle had sent Khalid b. Al-Walid with a party to invite the
people of Yemen to Islam. He stayed there for six months,
preaching the faith to them, but none had accepted his
proposition. Thereafter ‘Ali was assigned the same task who was
sent there and read out the Apostle’s letter to the people of
Hamdan. The entire tribe entered the fold of Islam and ‘Ali
1
Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 574
Ibn Kathir, Vol. IV, pp. 62-63
3
Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. II, p. 28; Sahihain, on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas
4
Bukhari, In another version “and understanding of Faith” also occurs after the word “wisdom”,
2
339
MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH
communicated the news to the Apostle. He prostrated before God
in thanksgiving and then raising his head from the dust, said,
“Peace be upon Hamdan, peace be upon Hamdan.”1
A delegation consisting of 400 men paid a visit to the Apostle
from the tribe of Muzayna. Another deputation from the
Christians of Najran called upon the Apostle. There came 60
people riding the mules, of whom 24 were chiefs and ecclesiastics
including Abu Harith, the great scholar of their religion. The Kings
of Byzantine honored him because of his extensive knowledge,
gave him subsidiary stipends and had built churches for him. Few
Qur’anic verses concerning these people were, on this occasion,
sent down by God.2
The delegation from Najran had come to see the Apostle after he
had sent a letter inviting them to Islam. They asked the Apostle a
number of questions, which were answered by God in the verse
included in Surah al-Imran.3 The Apostle of God proposed a
Mubahala,4 that is, a solemn meeting in which representatives were
to summon not only their men, but also their women and children,
and to earnestly pray to God in invoking His curse on the party
that belied His revelations. The Christians, being afraid to accept
the challenge of the Apostle, declined. They presented themselves
to the Apostle on the next day and begged that the protection of
the Islamic State be granted to them in return for the tribute. The
Apostle gave them a document specifying the tribute and sent Abu
‘Ubayda b. Al-Jarrah with them. The Apostle also said, “He is the
trustee of these people.”5
The Apostle of God felt happy on the arrival of a deputation from
Tujib. They asked questions about a number of things and the
Apostle had the answers to their questions written for them. Then
1
Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. II, p. 33
Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. II, pp. 35-36
3
Verses 1 to 34 in the 3rd chapter of the Qur’an.
4
See verse 3:61 of the Qur’an and commentary thereon
5
Ibn Kathir, Vol. IV, p. 100; also see Bukhari
2
THE YEAR OF DEPUTATIONS
340
they made a request on being told more about the Qur’an and the
Sunnah which caused the Apostle to express fondness for them.
He instructed Bilal to entertain them well. However, they had only
stayed for a few days with the Apostle but had already expressed
the desire to return home. When they were asked why they wanted
to depart so soon, they replied, “we want to go back to tell our
people how we met the Messenger of God, what discussions we
shared and what answers he had given to our questions.”
Thereafter they returned and again called upon the Apostle during
the pilgrimage in 10 A.H. when the Prophet was at Mina.1
A series of deputations also called upon the Apostle from Bani
Fazara, Bani Asad, Bahra and ‘Adhara, and all of them accepted
Islam. The Apostle promised them the capture of Syria, but
forbade them to have recourse to seers for divination of the future
and commanded them to cease offering the sacrifices they had
been doing hitherto. He also told them that only the sacrifice done
on the occasion of ‘Id-ul-Adhha was lawful for them. When the
delegations of Bali, Dhi Murrah and Khawlan called upon the
Apostle, he asked them about the idol of Khawlan.2
to which they had been paying divine honors. They replied, “God
bless you! God has replaced it by what has been brought by you.
There are, however, a few elderly persons and senile women who
are devoted to it but we will break it when we go back.3
Deputations also came to the Apostle from Muharib, Ghassan,
Ghamid and Nakh’a.4 The envoys of Arabian tribes coming to
Medina learnt about Islam and its institutions, watched the graceful
and genial behavior of the Apostle and benefited from the
company of the Apostle’s companions. Tents were often set-up
for them in the courtyard of the Prophet’s mosque where Muslims
offering prayers and reciting the Qur’an can be viewed upon.
1
Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. II, p. 43
Ibid., pp. 44-47
3
Ibid, p. 47
4
Ibid., pp. 47-55
2
341
MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH
They spoke plainly and frankly, asked whatever they wanted while
the Apostle replied to their questions in all sobriety, explained the
wisdom of Islam and quoted excerpts from the scripture which
were instrumental to their certitude and peace of heart.
APOSTLE’S CONVERSATION WITH A PAGAN:
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the character of the Arabs
was their openness, outspokenness or frankness to the point of
being blunt and tough. The talk that Kinana b. ‘Abd Yalil, a pagan
chief, had with the Apostle of God illustrates the brusqueness of
the sons of the desert.
Kinana said, “As for adultery, we mostly remain bachelors or
cannot get married,1 so we must need to indulge in it.”
The Apostle replied, “that is unlawful for you. God has commanded; and come
not near unto adultery. Lo! It is an abomination and an evil way.” (Qur’an
17:32)
Kinana said again, “What you say about usury means our entire
property is nothing but usury.”
“You have the right,” replied the Apostle, “to get back the original sum lent
by you for God has ordered: “o ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah,
and give up what remaineth (due to you) from usury, if ye are (in truth)
believers.” (Qur’an 2:278)
“As regards wine,” Kinana said further, “it is the juice of our lands
and a must for us.”
“Allah has forbidden it,” replied the Apostle and then recited the verse, “O ye
who believe! Strong drink and games of chance and idols and divining arrows
1
Kinana perhaps meant that they could get married as they were mostly out with commercial
caravans
THE YEAR OF DEPUTATIONS
342
are only an infamy of Satan’s handiwork. Leave it aside in order that ye may
succeed.” (Qur’an 5:90)
Kinana again inquired, “what do you say about the idol Rabbah?”
“Break it,” answered the Apostle. Kinana and his companions
were taken aback. They protested, “if Rabbah were to know that
you want to break her, she would finish all of her priest!”
‘Umar now intervened to say, “O ‘Abd Yalil, woe to you! How
ignorant are you?” What else is Rabbah except as a stone?”
Kinana and his friends replied angrily, “Ibn al-Khattab”, we have
not come to ask you.” Then turning to the Apostle he said, “You
may break it, but we cannot.” “The Apostle then said to them, “I
will send someone with you who will do it for you…” “The
deputation then took its leave from the Apostle who gave them a
go signal. Before leaving for their homes they requested the
Prophet to appoint for them a leader. ‘Uthman b. Abi al-As was
selected by the Apostle to act as one. He was the youngest among
them but the Apostle had noticed his keen interest in religion and
he had also learnt some of the Qur’an before leaving Medina.”1
COMMANDMENT FOR ZAKAT AND CHARITY
The divine commandment making it incumbent upon the Muslims
to pay Zakat i.e. a tax at a fixed rate in proportion to the worth of
the property, was revealed in the ninth year of the Hijrah.2 The
Apostle sent the order for collection of poor-due to all the
functionaries appointed in the areas where the people had
accepted Islam.
1
2
Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. II, p. 25
Tarikh Tabri, Vol. IV, p. 724