The First Aqabah Pledge
In the tenth year of Prophet’s mission (620 AD), Prophet Muhammad (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) met six people from ‘Yathrib’ who had come for the annual rites of pilgrimage at ‘Aqaba (near Mina in Makkah). They listened to him earnestly, learnt about Allah (The One God) and His revelations, and immediately recognized him as the prophet mentioned in Jewish scriptures as told by their fellow Jewish citizens. As a result, the six people accepted Islam. They pledged an oath of allegiance to the Prophet (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) and promised to return the next year with more people. Upon their return to ‘Yathrib’ they described the prophet (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) to the people and soon he became the talk of the town.
The following year, on the occasion of the pilgrimage, there came a group of twelve disciples ready to acknowledge Muhammad (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) as their Prophet. The group of men comprised five of the six who had met the Prophet (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) the year before, the sixth who stayed away was ‘Jabir bin ‘Abdullah bin Reyab’, the other seven were:
1. Mu‘adh bin Al-Harith, Ibn ‘Afra, from Khazraj.
2. Dhakwan bin ‘Abd Al-Qais, from Khazraj.
3. ‘Ubadah bin As-Samit, from Khazraj.
4. Yazeed bin Tha‘labah, from Khazraj.
5. ‘Al-‘Abbas bin ‘Ubadah bin Nadalah, from Khazraj.
6. Abul Haitham bin At-Taihan, from Aws.
7. ‘Uwaim bin Sa‘idah, from Aws.
They avowed their faith in Muhammad (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) as a Prophet and swore: "We will not worship any one but Allah; nor we will steal. We will not commit adultery, nor kill our children. And we will not utter slander, nor forge intentionally falsehood. And we will not disobey you in any just matter." When they had taken the pledge, Muhammad (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) said: "He who carries it out, Allah will reward him; and who neglects anything and is afflicted in this world, it may prove redemption for him in the Hereafter; and if the sin remains hidden from the eyes of the men and no grief comes to him, then his affair is with Allah. He may forgive him or He may not." (Bukhari 1/550; 2/727; 2/1003)
After the Pledge had been taken, the Prophet (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) sent to ‘Madinah’ ‘Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al-‘Abdari’, who was considered as the first ‘Muslim ambassador’ so as to teach the people their Islam, and give them practical guidance, and spread Islam among those who still professed polytheism. ‘As‘ad bin Zurarah’ hosted him in ‘Madinah’. Thus, the ground was so prepared to spread Islam rapidly from house to house and from tribe to tribe.
‘Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al-‘Abdari’ stayed in ‘Madinah’ carrying out his mission diligently and successfully until all the houses of Al-Ansar (the future Helpers) became real Muslims.
Shortly before the approach of the following pilgrimage season, i.e. the thirteenth year of Prophethood, ‘Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair’ returned to Makkah carrying to the Prophet (saaw, Peace Be Upon Him) glad tidings about the new fertile soil of Islam in Madinah, which was able to work and fight in the cause of Allah (SWT).
N.B
The name Yathrib was changed to Medinat-un-Nabawi, meaning the 'City of the Prophet' soon after the migration (622 AD).
By Youssef KHANNOU
References:
‘’The sealed nectar‘’, Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, ‘Dar-us-Salam’, 1994.
“Sirat Ibn Hisham”, ‘Ibn- Hisham’, ‘Dar Ibn Al-Haytham’, 2006.