Hijrah - Part 5

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('Hijrah' - migration, especially the Muslims' migrations to Medina. [Muhammad

Prophet For Our Time Glossary pg. 216].)

 

 

Hijrah - Part 5

 

(p.104) While awaiting developments in Yathrib, Muhammad made some changes in

his household. He needed a wife, and it was suggested that he should marry

Sawdah, the cousin and sister-in-law of Suhayl, the devout pagan chief of the

Qurayshan clan of Amir. She had been married to one of the Muslims who had

migrated to Abyssinia in 616, but was now a widow and this was a good match for

her. Abu Bakr was also anxious to forge a closer link with the Prophet, and

proposed that he should marry his daughter 'A'isha, who was then six years old.

'A'isha was formally betrothed to Muhammad in a ceremony at which the little

girl was not present. In later years, she recalled that the first inkling she

had of her new status was when her mother explained to her that she could no

longer play in the streets, but must invite her friends into the family home.

 

Muhammad's harem has excited a good deal of prurient and ill-natured speculation

in the West, but in Arabia, where polygamy was more common than the monogamous

marriage that Muhammad had enjoyed with Khadijah, it would have been

commonplace. (p.105) These marriages were not romantic or sexual love affairs

but were undertaken largely for practical ends. Sawdah seems to have been a

rather homely woman, who was past her first youth; but she could take care of

Muhammad's domestic needs. Muhammad may also have hoped to win over Suhayl, who

was still undecided about the revelations. There was no impropriety in

Muhammad's betrothal to 'A'isha. Marriages conducted in absentia to seal an

alliance were often contracted at this time between adults and minors who were

even younger than 'A'isha. This practice continued in Europe well into the early

modern period. There was no question of consummating the marriage until 'A'isha

reached puberty, when she would have been married off like any other girl.

Muhammad's marriages usually had a political aim. He was starting to establish

an entirely different kind of clan, based on ideology rather than kinship, but

the blood tie was still a sacred value and helped to cement this experimental

community.

 

During the hajj of 621, the six converts from Yathrib duly returned to Mecca,

bringing seven others with them. Again, they met Muhammad in the gully of

'Aqabah and, in what would become known as the Pledge of 'Aqabah, promised to

worship Allah alone, to refrain from stealing, lying, and infanticide, and

pledged to obey Muhammad's directives concerning social justice. In return,

Muhammad promised them Paradise. [20] In this first pact, the emphasis was on

religion and ethics and there was as yet no political commitment. When the

pilgrims returned to Yathrib, they took with them Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr, a trusted

Muslim, to instruct the people of Yathrib in their new faith.

 

(p.105) This was a wise move. Tribal hatred was so intense in the oasis, that

neither Aws nor Khazraj could bear to hear a rival leading the prayers or

reciting the Qur'an, so it was important that these offices were performed by a

neutral outsider. At first, the Aws were antagonistic to the faith, but

gradually the power of the Qur'an broke down their reserves. One day, Sa'd ibn

Mu'adh, chief of one of the leading Aws clans, was horrified to hear that Mus'ab

was preaching in his territory, so he dispatched his second-in-command to drive

him away, who bore down on the little group, brandishing his lance, and asked

the Muslim how he had the temerity to spread these lies among weak, foolish

people. But instead of retaliating with jahili rage, Mus'ab quietly asked him to

sit down and judge for himself. The deputy agreed, stuck his lance in the

ground, and, as he listened to the recitation, his face changed. " What wonderful

and beautiful discourse this is! " he cried, " What does one do to enter this

religion? " After he had proclaimed his faith in Allah and prostrated himself in

prayer, he went back to report to his chief. Sa'd was furious, grasped his own

lance, and marched off to confront Mus'ab himself, only to be overwhelmed in his

turn by the Qur'an. He then summoned his people and asked them to follow him;

trusting his leadership implicitly, the entire clan converted en masse. [21] The

news of Sa'd's dramatic about-face made a great impression on other chiefs, who

began to take Mus'ab more seriously.

 

Glossary (for above paragraph):

 

Aws--One of the Arab tribes in Medina. (Glossary, p.223).

Sa'd ibn Mu'adh--A chieftain of the Aws tribe in Medina. (Glossary, p.226).

jahiliyyah--Traditionally translated " Time of Ignorance, " and used to apply to

the pre-Islamic period in Arabia, but in the Muslim sources its primary meaning

is violent and explosive irascibility, arrogance, tribal chauvinism. (Glossary,

p.217).

 

 

It was not long before there were Muslims in almost every family in the oasis.

In Mecca, Muhammad's preaching mission had stalled largely because the Quraysh

could not believe that such an ordinary person could become the messenger of

Allah. (p.107) But conditions in Yathrib [later called 'Medina'] were different.

[22] Muhammad was no commonplace fellow, who could be seen strolling around the

marketplace and eating and drinking like anybody else, but a remote, mysterious

figure, whose coming was eagerly anticipated. In Mecca, Muhammad's teaching

threatened to damage the cult of the Haram [sanctuary surrounding the Kabah],

which was crucial to the economy, but there was no sanctuary full of idols in

Yathrib. Not everybody was enamored of the new faith, however. Ibn Ubayy

naturally feared that his position was being undermined; others were still

committed either to the old paganism or to the hanifiyyah, but at this stage the

opposition was muted. If the new prophet really could solve the problems of

Yathrib, there might be some material advantage to be gained from him. The

Jewish tribes were also prepared to give Muhammad the benefit of the doubt,

especially since the Muslims honored their prophets and had adopted some of

their own customs.

 

Glossary (for above paragraph):

 

Quraysh--Muhammad's tribe, rulers of Mecca; 'Adj.' Qurayshan; Qurayshi; a member

of the tribe. (Glossary, p.226).

 

Yathrib--An agricultural settlement, some 250 miles north of Mecca, populated by

Arabs and Jewish tribes. After the 'hijrah', it became known as Medina, the city

of the Prophet. (Glossary, p. 221).

 

'Abdullah ibn Ubayy--A chief of the Khazraj clan in Medina, who led the

opposition to Muhammad. (Glossary, p. 222).

 

hanifiyyah--the pure religion of Abraham, before this split into rival sects.

(Glossary, p.216).

 

Muhammad (Prophet For Our Time)

Chapter 3, 'Hijrah', p. 104-107

Karen Armstrong

Harper Perennial - London, New York, Toronto and Sydney

ISBN-13 978-0-00-723248-2

ISBN-10 0-00-723248-9

 

Notes:

 

[20] Ibn Ishaq, 289, in Bamyeh, 'Social Origins of Islam', 153-54.

 

[21] Ibid., 291-2, in Guillaume, 'Life of Muhammad'.

 

[22] Bamyeh, 'Social Origins of Islam', 153-3.