Episode 20: Expansion of Islam in Madinah

The teachings of Islam were so appealing that the people of the Aus and the Khazraj, awakened to interest, quickly attested their faith in it. S’ad Ibn Mu’adh was the first to embrace, then Usayd Ibn Hudayr, the leader of Bani ‘Abdul Ash’hal, a clan of Aus followed suit. The wise and courteous stance of Mus’ab Ibn Umary, together with the proper manner in which he presented Islam to them, convinced these people of the truth that is Islam. Then the remaining clansmen of Bani ‘Abdul Ash’al were led to accept the faith such that shortly thereafter, there was not a house of the Ansaar in which a man or a woman had not given his or her faith to Islam. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp. 436?38)

The second pledge of ‘Aqaba

In the next year, during Hajj, Mus’ab Ibn Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) went back to Makkah with a number of Ansaar Muslims and other polytheists of Madinah. After the Ansaar had performed their pilgrimage, the Prophet peace be and blessings upon him met them at the previous year’s meeting place late in the middle of the night. At this time, there were seventy?three of them, including two women. The Prophet of God peace be and blessings upon him came accompanied by his Uncle, ‘Abbas Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib, who had still not embraced Islam. The Prophet peace be and blessings upon him talked to them, read some of the Qur’an and invited them to accept Islam. Then he said, “I invite your allegiance on a condition that you would protect me in the same way as you would your women and children.” They gave allegiance to the Prophet peace be and blessings upon him but demanded that he would not leave them nor return to his own people. The Prophet peace be and blessings upon him then said in reply, “I am of you and you are of me. I will fight against them that make war upon you and have peace with those that keep peace with you.”

Thereafter the Prophet peace be and blessings upon him selected twelve of them, nine from the Khazraj and three from the Aus, as their leaders. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp. 436?38)

Rejection of Islam

Any new movement or cause that emerges for the first time in a society will be considered strange and unfamiliar and will be met with skepticism, apprehensiveness, and doubt and - in most cases - opposition, rejection and disapproval. The wider the gap between the society in its beliefs, customs and laws and the ideals of the new movement, the greater the conflict between the two. The pre-Islamic Arabs were a people beset by corruption, deviant beliefs, foolish customs, and engrossed in idolatry. It was in stark contrast to the message that the Prophet Muhammad peace be and blessings upon him brought; a message that called on the people to reject all of their false deities - their rocks and trees and idols - and to purify all of their worship for Allah alone; The enormous difference between pre-Islamic society and Islam was enough as a cause for the difficulties that Islam and the early Muslims faced. However, there were some other distinct and specific causes that deserve mentioning because of their importance in explaining the hardships early Muslims had to endure.

(These causes would be the subject in next four episodes)

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