Brotherhood in the Early Madinan Society

 

 

Brotherhood
in the Early Madinan Society

Shaykh
Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid

Undoubtedly
the society that was established by the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) in Madeenah was an example of a stable and
secure society. That was manifestly apparent from the moment the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) first set foot
in Madeenah and started to form the Islamic state. The security
and stability of this society were due to a number of reasons and
factors, including the following:

The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) built the mosque
in Madeenah as soon as he arrived there, which helped to establish
a focal point to which people could turn when calamities struck,
and a place where the Muslims could gather to meet one another and
find out about one another, so they could find out who was sick
and go to visit them, attend the funerals of those who died, help
their poor and arrange marriages for those who were single.

These
are some of the ahaadeeth concerning that:

Sahih
Bukhari Volume 4, Book 51, Number 32 [


Narrated Anas:

When the Prophet ordered that the mosque be built, he said,
"O Bani An-Najjar! Suggest to me a price for this garden of
yours." They replied, "By Allah! We will demand its price
from none but Allah."

It
was narrated that al-Bara’ ibn ‘Aazib said: “[The verse] ‘and do not aim at that which is bad to spend from
it’ [al-Baqarah 2:267 – interpretation
of the meaning] was revealed concerning us Ansaar. We used
to own date palm trees. A man would bring (the harvest) from his
date palms, whether it was a little or a lot. A man would bring
one or two bunches of dates and hang them in the mosque. Ahl al-Suffah
– or according to a report narrated by Ibn Maajah, the poor among
the Muhaajireen – had no food, so if one of them got hungry he would
come and strike the bunch with his stick, and ripe and unripe dates
would fall, and he would eat them. But there were some uncharitable
people who would bring a bunch of dates that contained rotten or
dried-up dates, or a bunch that was damaged, and hang it up. Then
Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):

“O
you who believe! Spend of the good things which you have (legally)
earned, and of that which We have produced from the earth for you,
and do not aim at that which is bad to spend from it, (though) you
would not accept it save if you close your eyes and tolerate therein”
[al-Baqarah 2:267]

He
said: "If any one of you were to be given something like they gave,
he would not accept it unless he did so with his eyes closed or
out of shyness. He said, after that one of us would bring the best
dates that he had." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2987;
Ibn Maajah, 1822. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi,
2389.

Secondly:

The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) established
brotherhood between the Muhaajireen (the Emigrants who
had come from Makkah) and the Ansaar (helpers, the Muslims
in Madeenah). This action strengthened the bonds between the members
of the Madeenan society in a manner previously unheard of. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) established bonds of
brotherhood between non-Arabs and Arabs, between free men and former
slaves, between people of Quraysh and members of other tribes. So
the society became one entity, after which it was not surprising
that an Ansaari would ask a Muhaajir to take half
of his wealth, or an Ansaari would offer to divorce one
of his wives so that a Muhaajir could marry her, or a Muhaajir
would inherit from an Ansaari, because of the strength
of the bonds between them. Then inheritance between them was abrogated
by the verse on inheritance, but the Ansaar were encouraged
to bequeath something to them. This was an exemplary society.

There
follow some of the ahaadeeth concerning that:

 

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Auf came (from Mecca to Medina) and the Prophet
made a bond of brotherhood between him and Sad bin Ar-Rabi' Al-Ansari.
Al-Ansari had two wives, so he suggested that 'Abdur-Rahman take
half, his wives and property. 'Abdur-Rahman replied, "May Allah
bless you with your wives and property. Kindly show me the market."
So 'Abdur-Rahman went to the market and gained (in bargains) some
dried yoghurt and some butter. After a few days the Prophet saw
Abdur-Rahman with some yellow stains on his clothes and asked him,
"What is that, O 'Abdur-Rahman?" He replied, "I had
married an Ansari woman." The Prophet asked, "How much
Mahr did you give her?" He replied, "The weight of one
(date) stone of gold." The Prophet said, "Offer a banquet,
even with one sheep."

 
Narrated Said bin Jubair:

Ibn Abbas said, "In the verse: To every one We have
appointed ' (Muwaliya Mawaliya means one's) heirs (4.33).'
(And regarding the verse) 'And those with whom your right hands
have made a pledge.' Ibn 'Abbas said, "When the emigrants came
to the Prophet in Medina, the emigrant would inherit the Ansari
while the latter's relatives would not inherit him because of the
bond of brotherhood which the Prophet established between them (i.e.
the emigrants and the Ansar). When the verse: 'And to everyone
We have appointed heirs' (4.33) was revealed, it cancelled
(the bond (the pledge) of brotherhood regarding inheritance)."
Then he said, "The verse: To those also to whom your right
hands have pledged, remained valid regarding co-operation and mutual
advice, while the matter of inheritance was excluded and it became
permissible to assign something in one's testament to the person
who had the right of inheriting before.

Thirdly:

Zakaah
was prescribed in the second year of the Hijrah, which made the
rich and poor more equal and increased the coherence of the Madeenan
society, and the bonds of brotherhood for the sake of Allaah became
stronger than before. Indeed, the matter went further than zakaah
to include voluntary charity.

Sahih
Bukhari  Volume 7, Book 69, Number 515
 

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

Abu Talha had the largest number of datepalms from amongst the
Ansars of Medina. The dearest of his property to him was Bairuha
garden which was facing the (Prophet's) Mosque. Allah's Apostle
used to enter it and drink of its good fresh water. When the Holy
Verse:-- 'By no means shall you attain righteousness unless
you spend (in charity) of that which you love.' (3.92)
was revealed, Abu Talha got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle!
Allah says: By no means shall you attain righteousness unless you
spend of that which you love,' and the dearest of my property to
me is the Bairuha garden and I want to give it in charity in Allah's
Cause, seeking to be rewarded by Allah for that. So you can spend
it, O Allah's Apostle, where-ever Allah instructs you. ' Allah's
Apostle said, "Good! That is a perishable (or profitable) wealth"
('Abdullah is in doubt as to which word was used.) He said, "I
have heard what you have said but in my opinion you'd better give
it to your kith and kin." On that Abu Talha said, "I will
do so, O Allah's Apostle!" Abu Talha distributed that garden
among his kith and kin and cousins.

So
the signs of harmony appeared among the Muslims in Madeenah, and
the Muhaajireen recognized the rights that their Ansaar
brothers had over them. There are a number of ahaadeeth concerning
that, including the following:

It
was narrated that Anas said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah, the Muhaajireen
came to him and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, we have never seen
any people more generous when they have the means and more helpful
when they have little than the people among whom we have settled.
They have looked after us and they have let us join them and share
in all their happy occasions, to such an extent that we are afraid
that they will take all the reward." The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, “Not so long as
you pray for them and praise them.” Narrated
by al-Tirmidhi, 2487; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Tirmidhi, 2020.

Allaah
created loved between the hearts of the people of Madeenah, and
love for the sake of Allaah was one of the symbols of the people
that Allaah enjoined upon them and made it one of the signs of perfect
faith.

Sahih
Bukhari Volume 1, Book 2, Number 12: [ view
hadeeth ]:

Narrated Anas:

The Prophet said, "None of you will have faith till he wishes
for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself."

Sahih
Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 40 [


Narrated An-Nu'man bin Bashir:

Allah's Apostle said, "You see the believers as regards their
being merciful among themselves and showing love among themselves
and being kind, resembling one body, so that, if any part of the
body is not well then the whole body shares the sleeplessness (insomnia)
and fever with it."