21. The Delegations

21. The Delegations

21.1 People Enter into the Religion of Allāh in Multitudes

Allāh says: When the victory of Allāh has come and the conquest. And you see the people entering into the Religion of Allāh in multitudes. Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him.  Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance. Sūrah An-Nasr

When the victory of Allāh has come and the conquest, the result of that would be that people will enter into Islām. As is mentioned in the books of Seerah, the tribes of Arabia were watching the conflict between Rasūlullāhﷺ and Quraish, and they were waiting to see who will win. When Rasūlullāhﷺ defeated Quraish, the Arabs then came in multitudes accepting Islām. Quraish was seen as the religious authority; they are the keepers of the House of Allāh, they are the ones who manage the affairs of the people in Hajj and ‘Umrah, they are the ones who live in Makkah, and Makkah was the religious centre of the Arabs, so people used to look up to them, and when Muhammadﷺ announced the Prophethood and the war between him and Quraish started, many of them wanted to sit on the side-lines and not take a position until they saw where this conflict was heading. After[wards] Makkah was Opened, and then pretty soon after that, the tribes around Makkah started accepting Islām, such as Hawāzin; many of them became Muslim, and then after that Thaqīf also came and accepted Islām, and we talked about how they were beseeched in At-Tā’if and Rasūlullāh left them; eventually they came with their own choice and accepted Islām. So you have Quraish and Thaqīf, the largest and most important two tribes in the area, accepting Islām.

After that people were just flooding into Madīnah accepting Islām, so the ninth year of Hijrah was called ‘Āmil Ūfūd – The Year of Delegations. These tribes would send their representatives to Madīnah and they would pledge allegiance to Rasūlullāhﷺ, and this pledge of allegiance was also a pledge of allegiance to the Islāmic State, and it is not like they are only accepting Islām and then leaving; no, they are becoming part of the political entity of Madīnah, because the Bay‘ah that they are giving is a Bay‘ah to the Head of State, Rasūlullāhﷺ, so they are accepting his Hukm, they are accepting his rule. Ibn Kathīr and Ibn Is’hāq and Al-Wāqidī mention many delegations, I will go through some of them. And we need to keep in mind here that even though these all became Muslim and they are counted as Sahābah of Rasūlullāhﷺ, but it is considered that whoever became Muslim before the Conquest of Makkah has a higher status than those who became Muslim after the Conquest of Makkah. Why? Because after the Conquest of Makkah it was becoming very clear that victory in Dunyā is for the Muslims, but the ones who accepted Islām before that, for them becoming Muslim was a choice that they would make and they would know that they would face hardship and would have to make sacrifices. So the earlier you became Muslim the more difficult it was, and that is why Allāh says: Not equal among you are those who spent before the conquest [of Makkah] and fought [and those who did so after it]. Those are greater in degree than they who spent afterwards and fought. Al-Hadīd: 10

Banū Thaqīf’s Attempt at Negotiation with Rasūlullāhﷺ and Al-Mughīrah’s Mockery of their Idol

The people of Thaqīf came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and they accepted Islām, and it says in the narration that they tried to negotiate with Rasūlullāhﷺ to leave their idol, their major idol, for a year. Rasūlullāhﷺ refused. They said, “Then leave it for a month,” because they were worried that the commoners among the people would be shocked and would not be able to handle seeing their so-called god fall down into rubble, fall down into pieces, so they wanted to take it slowly with the people so they said, “We will accept Islām, but we do not want our idol to be destroyed except after a year from now so that we could take it step by step with the people.” Rasūlullāhﷺ refused. They said, “A month.” He refused. “A week.” He refused, “A day.” He refused. And they tried their best to negotiate with Rasūlullāhﷺ, [but] Rasūlullāhﷺ made it clear that he is not going to approve such a thing; [for] a false god to stay for an additional moment was unacceptable. So then they said, “If that is the case then we are not going to bring it down, send someone from your end to do it.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ sent Abū Sufyān and Al-Mughīrah Bin Shu’bah who was from Thaqīf. They both went and people started saying, “Wait for diseases, wait for leprosy.” They were threatening and they were serious; they were threatening Al-Mughīrah Bin Shu’bah that the gods will destroy you. So it says that he wanted to make fun of this thought of theirs so he struck the idol with his axe and then he pretended that he fell down, so they all started screaming and shouting, happy that the gods had struck back against Al-Mughīrah Bin Shu’bah, and then he stood up and said, “You are fools, this is nothing but a piece of stone,” and he started breaking it into pieces.

21.2 Delegation from Banū Tamīm

And then we have the delegation that came from Banū Tamīm; they came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and he gave them the glad-tidings, and this is in Bukhārī, he said, “Iqbalul Bushrā Yā Banī Tamīm – Accept the glad-tidings O Banī Tamīm.” They said, “O Rasūlullāh, we have heard that, now give us.” We do not want good news, we do not want glad-tidings, we want you to give us something. So Rasūlullāhﷺ did not like that, and then there were people who came from Yemen, so he told them, “Iqbalul Bushrā Idh Lam Yaqbalhā Banū Tamīm – Accept the glad-tidings since Banū Tamīm did not accept them.” They said, “We accept it O Rasūlullāh.” Anyway, when a delegation came, it was Rasūlullāhﷺ who would then appoint among them a leader, so when Banū Tamīm came, there were two major leaders among them, one was Al-Aqra’ Bin Hābis and the other one was Al-Qa’qā’ Bin Ma’bad Bin Zarārah. So it says in Bukhārī that Abū Bakr  suggested to Rasūlullāhﷺ to appoint Al- Qa’qā’ Bin Ma’bad to be their leader, ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “No, appoint Al-Aqra’ Bin Hābis.” Abū Bakr became angry and said, “You said that only to go against my opinion.” ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb said, “I did not do that to go against your opinion.” And then they started arguing with each other and their voices became loud, and that is when Allāh revealed: Yā Ayyuhalladhīna Āmanū Lā Tuqaddimū Bayna Yadayillāhi Wa Rasūlih – O you who have believed, do not put [yourselves] beforeAllāh and His Messenger but fear Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is Hearing and Knowing. Al-Hujurāt: 1

This is the first Āyah in Sūrah Al-Hujurāt.

21.3 Delegation from Banū ‘Abdil Qais

And then there is the delegation from Banū ‘Abdil Qais; these are from the extreme Eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Rasūlullāhﷺ told them, “I command you with four and I warn you from four. I command you to believe in Allāh, and do you know what believe in Allāh means? To testify that there is no one worthy of worship but Allāh, to establish Salāh, to pay Zakāh, to fast Ramadān, and to give the one fifth of the booty.” Because they are going to fight Fee Sabeelillāh and the rule is that when you gain any spoils of war you have to give one fifth of them to the leader. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ told them, “I warn you from four things,” and these are four different types of containers that they used to use for drinking their alcohol, so they were told not to drink alcohol and also not to use those containers to get them out of the habit of drinking.

The Incident of Thumāmah: And then there is the incident of Thumāmah. Now, this is mentioned among the delegations even though it does not belong here, because Thumāmah first of all did not come to Madīnah by will but he was arrested and captured, and second of all this incident happened before because Thumāmah is talking about Makkah being Kuffār at the time and now we are talking about a time when Makkah is already Muslim. But this is where Ibn Kathīr puts it in the sequence and you would find it in the books of Seerah also within the ‘Āmil Ūfūd; apparently they gathered all of the delegations that would come in one section even though the timing might not have been the same, for example they talk about At-Tufail Bin ‘Amr Ad-Dawsī even though he came to Rasūlullāhﷺ in Makkah, not in Madīnah.

Anyway, Rasūlullāhﷺ sent an army to Najd and they arrested and captured a man from Banī Hanīfah, his name was Thumāmah Bin Athāl. They bound him to a pillar in the Masjid, so Rasūlullāhﷺ went to him and said, “Mā ‘Indaka Yā Thumāmah? – What do you have to say?” He said, “‘Indī Khair Yā Muhammad – I have good to say. If you kill me, then you would kill a man who is very worthy among his people.” If you do kill me, you would have killed somebody who is important; that is one interpretation. The other interpretation [could] mean that you have killed someone who has blood on his hands and therefore there is no blame on you if you do so. “Wa In Tun‘im Tun‘im ‘Alā Shākir –But if yourelease me, you would release a person who is grateful. Wa Inkunta Turīdul Māl Fas’al Minhu Mā Shi’t – And if you want money, ask me what you want.” Rasūlullāhﷺ left him. And then he came to him the next day and asked, “What do you have to say?” He said the same thing, “‘Indī Mā Qultu Lak – I have what I already told you; if you release me you are releasing a man who is grateful.” And then he came to him the next day and asked him, “What do you have to say Thumāmah?” He said, “I have to say what you already heard.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Atliqū Thumāmah – Release him.” He left, and as soon as he got out of the Masjid he took a Ghusl – he bathed, and then he entered in the Masjid and said, “Ash’hadu Allā Ilāha Illallāh, Wa Anna Muhammad Ar-Rasūlullāh.” He did not want to do it when he was tied, but now he is grateful and he is free; he could leave if he wants, but he became Muslim and he said, “O Muhammad, there was no face on the face of the earth that was more despised to me than your face, now your face is the most beloved to me. There was no religion that was more despised to me than your religion and now your religion has become the most beloved to me. And there was no land that was more despised to me than your land and now your land is the most beloved to me. And your horsemen have captured me and I wanted to go to ‘Umrah, what do you think I should do?” Rasūlullāh told him to go and make ‘Umrah, so when he arrived to Makkah, they asked him, “A’sabawt? – Did you become an apostate?” That is what they would tell people who became Muslim. He said, “No, but I have become Muslim with Muhammadﷺ, and in the name of Allāh, not one single grain of wheat would reach you from Yamāmah until Rasūlullāhﷺ allows it to.” And this is an evidence used by those who accept the procedure of boycotting as a valid weapon of war, because what Thumāmah did was actually an economical boycott on Makkah, he prevented the caravans from carrying wheat to Makkah, so they say that this is evidence that boycotting the enemy is a valid way of fighting them.

21.4 The Delegation of Banū Hanīfah and Musailamah Al-Kadhdhāb

And then there is the delegation of Banū Hanīfah which included a man called Musailamah. Ibn ‘Abbās says that Musailamah the Liar came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and he was saying, “If Muhammad is going to appoint me to lead after him I would follow him.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ came to him along with Thābit Bin Qais Bin Shammās, and Rasūlullāhﷺ had in his hand a piece of wood from the leaves of a palm tree. And then he told Musailamah who was among his people, “Law Sa’altanī Hādhihil Qit‘ah Mā A’taitukahā – If you ask me to give you this I would not give it to you.” Let alone giving you the leadership of the Ummah after me, I would not even give you this piece of palm-leaf. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “Walan Ta’dū Amrallāhi Fīk –And you are not going to surpass what Allāh has destined for you. And if you leave, Allāh will destroy you. And I think that you are the one [about] whom I have seen what I saw.” And Rasūlullāhﷺ is referring to a dream that he has seen. “And here is Thābit, he will speak to you on my behalf,” and then Rasūlullāhﷺ left. The dream that Rasūlullāh is referring to; Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “While I was asleep, I saw two bracelets from gold on my arms, and I was told in my sleep to blow them away, so I blew them and they flew away; I interpreted that to mean two liars who would come after me, one of them is Al-Aswad Al-‘Ansī and the other one is Musailamah.”

Musailamah would later write a letter to Rasūlullāhﷺ, and this is in the 11th year of Hijrah, and he sent this letter with two messengers that came to meet Rasūlullāhﷺ, he said: From Musailamah, the messenger of Allāh, to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allāh Peace be upon you. I have been involved in the affair with you; half of it belongs to us and half of it belongs to Quraish, but Quraish are a people who transgress. So he is saying that the kingdom needs to be split in half. So Rasūlullāhﷺ wrote back to him:

Bismillāhir Rahmānir Rahīm. From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allāh, to Musailamah Al-Kadhdhāb. Salāmun ‘Alā Manittaba‘al Hudā –Peace be upon those who follow guidance. Ammā Ba’d: Fa Innal Arda Lillāh, Yūrithuhā Mayyashā’u Min ‘Ibādih, Wal ‘Āqibatu Lil Muttaqīn –The earth belongs to Allāh, and He will give it to whomever He wills, and the end belongs to the righteous. Al-A’rāf: And then Rasūlullāhﷺ asked them [the two messengers], and this is narrated by Abū Dāwūd Tayalasī, Rasūlullāhﷺ asked them,“A’tash’hadān Annī Rasūlullāh? – Do you testify that I am the Messenger of Allāh?” They said, “We testify that Musailamah is the messenger of Allāh.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Āmantu Billāhi Wa Rusulih – I believe in Allāh and His Messengers, Walaw Kuntu Qātilar Rasūlan Laqataltukumā – and if I was going to kill a messenger I would have killed you.” ‘Abdullāh Ibn Mas‘ūd said, “It became Sunnah that messengers are not killed.” Carriers of letters, the messengers, in Islām, should not be killed, even if they are coming from the enemy, even if they are coming from people of war; as long as they are a messenger then they are not to be killed – that is the Sunnah.

21.5 The Delegation from Najrān

And then there is a delegation that came from Najrān, and this is a long story, you could refer to it in the Tafsīr of Ibn Kathīr on the Sūrah of Āl ‘Imrān, because there was a long dialogue that happened and debate about the difference between Christianity and Islām and the nature of ‘Īsā, and Rasūlullāhﷺ received the Revelation, about 80 Āyāt from Sūrah Āl ‘Imrān, talking about this, because the people of Najrān were Christian. Al-Bukhārī says [that] the ‘Āqib and the Sayyid came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and they wanted to do Mulā‘anah – and this is what is referred to also as Mubāhalah,where Rasūlullāhﷺ would come out and they would come out and they would ask Allāh to send His wrath and punishment on the liars – and they refused to do so because they said, “If he is truly a Messenger then that will be the end of us,” and they refused and they did not accept that. Eventually they had to accept the Hukm of Rasūlullāhﷺ even though they did not become Muslim, but they would pay Jizyah. So they said, “Send with us someone who is trustworthy, and only send a trustworthy man.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “I will send with you a man who is truly trustworthy,” and then Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Qum Yā Abā ‘Ubaidah –Stand up O Abū ‘Ubaidah.” And this is why ‘Āmir Ibn Jarrah has called Abū ‘Ubaidah Amīn Hādhihil Ummah – the Trustworthy Man of this Ummah.

‘Āmir Bin Tufail and Arbad Bin Rabī‘ah Meet Evil Endings: And then we have ‘Āmir Bin Tufail and another man called Arbad Bin Rabī‘ah, and these are men from Najd. And his people told him, and he was ahead of his people, “Abū ‘Āmir, people have become Muslim, why do you not become Muslim?” He said, “I have taken a vow that my life would not end until the Arabs follow me, and now you want me to follow this young man from Quraish?!” So you can see the poisoned minds of these men of Jāhiliyyah where the whole issue of life is seeking power and greed and authority over others, so his whole objective in life is to have the Arabs follow him, walk behind him, and he does not want to become Muslim because that contradicts with his goal in life, and people like this do not see the truth and do not follow it because their hearts are too far away from the Fitrah, their hearts are too attached to false goals of Dunyā which they are chasing like a mirage.

Anyway, they went to Rasūlullāhﷺ, they wanted to strike a deal, because they saw that the Muslims are a force that are to be reckoned with and if they want to have any authority in the Arabia of the day they are going to have to strike a deal with Rasūlullāhﷺ, and they are assuming that Rasūlullāhﷺ is just like them, like their tribal leaders, so they want to go and negotiate with him something; they are not knowing that this is Prophethood, this is Nubuwwah, this is something different. So they went to Rasūlullāhﷺ, they said, “We want you to split the affair between us and you.” Rasūlullāhﷺ refused. ‘Āmir said, “In the name of Allāh, I am going to fill it (meaning Madīnah) with horses and men.” And he belongs to people who are numerous and who are well-known as being horsemen and being good and strong fighters, so his threat is not bogus, he could truly do that and fill Madīnah with horses and men. But Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “Allāh would refuse that and the sons of Qailah.” Who are the sons of Qailah? Qailah is the mother of the Ansār, Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj. So Rasūlullāh is saying [that] Allāh refuses that and the sons of Qailah, and this shows you the confidence that Rasūlullāhﷺ had in the Ansār; he has tested them and lived with them now for nine years, and he has seen their strength and their sacrifice and their willingness to stand with Rasūlullāhﷺ.

Now, Abū ‘Āmir and Arbad said, “Let us then kill him.” If he refuses to negotiate with us, let us kill him. Abū ‘Āmir said, “I will speak to him and you come from behind him and strike him with your sword.” So he would talk to Rasūlullāhﷺ; one narration says that the hand of Arbad got stuck to the sword and he could not move it, while the other narration says that whenever he would try to strike Rasūlullāhﷺ, Rasūlullāhﷺ would disappear and he would only see Abū ‘Āmir in front of him. Later on Abū ‘Āmir told him, “What is wrong with you? In the name of Allāh, I used to fear no one as I used to fear you and now I see you as nothing.” Arbad told him, “What do you want me to do? Whenever I would try to strike him he would disappear and you were the one in front of me; did you want me to kill you?” And this is a miracle from Allāh. Anyway, they left with empty hands, and Subhān’Allāh, because of that threat they made to Rasūlullāhﷺ, Allāh is the One who took care of them; in the case of Abū ‘Āmir, on the way [back] he passed by a woman who belonged to his tribe and he slept in her house, by the time he woke up there was a big swelling in his neck, some kind of disease afflicted him and it was something that kills, so he did not want to die in the house of this woman, [and] even though he was in extreme pain, he went on his horse and he just kept on wandering until he died on his horseback and that was the end of him. And with Arbad, on the way back he was struck by a lightning that killed him along with his camel. And they mention this as fulfilment of the Āyah in Sūrah Ar-Ra’d where Allāh says: It is He who shows you lightening, [causing] fear and aspiration, and generates the heavy clouds. And the thunder exalts [Allāh] with praise of Him – and the angels [as well] from fear of Him – and He sends thunderbolts and strikes there with whom He wills while they dispute about Allāh; and He is severe in assault. Ar-Ra’d: 12-13

And that was the end of these two.

Dumām Bin Tha’labah: Next delegation; they sent one man as a representative of the tribe and this man’s name is Dumām Bin Tha’labah. There are quite a few narrations, some of them in Bukhārī and other books of Hadīth of the conversation, there is some difference in wording; this narration is the one mentioned by Al-Imām Ahmad, this is narrated by ‘Abdullāh Ibn ‘Abbās. The tribe of Banū Sa’d Bin Bakr sent Dumām Bin Tha’labah as their representative to Rasūlullāhﷺ. So he came, he tied his camel, then he walked into the Masjid while Rasūlullāhﷺ was sitting with the Sahābah. Dumām was a strong man and he had long hair in two braids. So he asked, “Who among you is the son of ‘Abdul Muttalib?” And notice here he did not say the son of ‘Abdullāh, he said the son of ‘Abdul Muttalib, because ‘Abdullāh was not famous but ‘Abdul Muttalib was famous all around Arabia; remember, the important incident of the Elephant occurred when he was the leader of his people, and he was the one who went and met with Abrahah, so ‘Abdul Muttalib had a very high status among the Arabs and he was very well-known and famous.

So he asked, “Where is the son of ‘Abdul Muttalib?” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “I am the son of ‘Abdul Muttalib.” He asked, “Are you Muhammad?” He said, “Yes.” And then he said, “I am going to ask you and I am going to be strict in my questions, so do not be angry.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “I am not going to be angry, ask whatever you want.” He said, “I ask you in the name of Allāh, your God, and the God of the ones before you, and the God of the ones after you, did He send you as a Messenger?” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Allāhumma Na‘am – Yes, in the name of Allāh.” He said, “I ask you in the name of Allāh, your Lord, and the Lord of the ones before you, and the Lord of the ones after you, did Allāh ask you to tell us to worship no one but Him and to leave these gods that we used to worship?” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Yes, in the name of Allāh.” He said, “Then I ask you in the name of Allāh, your Lord, and the Lord of the ones before you, and the Lord of the ones after you, did Allāh order you that we pray these five daily Prayers?” He said, “In the name of Allāh, yes.” And then he kept on repeating the same thing with all of the five pillars of Islām and Rasūlullāhﷺ would give him the same answer. And then he said, “I testify that there is no one worthy of worship but Allāh and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh, and I am going to fulfil these obligations and I am going to leave what you warned me from and I am not going to add anything or subtract anything.” When he left, Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “If the man with the two braids is truthful, then he will enter into Paradise.”

And then he went on his camel and left. He went to his people, and as soon as he got there he said, “Al-Lāt and Al- ‘Uzzā are evil.” They said, “What are you saying O Dumām! You will be afflicted with leprosy or you will become insane.” He said, “Woe to you! They do not harm and they do not benefit. Allāh has sent a Messenger and has revealed to him a Book that will save you from what you used to do, and I testify that there is no God but Allāh and there is no one associated with Him, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, and I came to you from him and I am ordering you to do what he ordered me, and I warn you against the things he warned me from.” By the time that day ended, everyone, men and women in his tribe, became Muslim. Ibn ‘Abbās said, “We have never known of a delegation that was more blessed for his people than Dumām Bin Tha’labah.

‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim: And then we have the story of ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim. ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim  heard about the Prophethood of Muhammadﷺ; he was a Christian, and he did not like it, he was not happy with it, and he was hearing about the expansion of the Islāmic State and that it was reaching closer and closer to his people, the tribe of Taÿ in North- east Arabia. So he went to the Roman Empire and he said, “When I reached there I found it to be worse than my situation back home.” He was hating staying back home because of the Muslims coming closer and closer, and then when he went to the Roman Empire he found it to be even worse so he came back. And it says in one narration that he told one of his servants to prepare some very strong camels, and then he said, “Whenever you see the banners of the Muslims approaching, tell me.” So his servant did see the banners coming, he told him about it, so he took his fast camels and ran away. So the Muslims came and they took his aunt, and in one narration his sister, as prisoners of war, and they were brought into Madīnah. So his aunt told Rasūlullāhﷺ to free her and then Rasūlullāh asked her, “Who are you?” So she told him, so Rasūlullāhﷺ told her, “You are free.” ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib told her to ask Rasūlullāhﷺ to provide for her transportation, so Rasūlullāhﷺ did so. He was very kind with her and she left and she went to ‘Udaÿ and she told him, “What you have done is shameful.” You ran away and you left your family. And then she told him, “I have come from a man who is a Messenger of Allāh and he is telling the truth,” and she praised Rasūlullāhﷺ. So he decided to go and visit him, because now he was feeling safe about it, he was feeling that Rasūlullāh is someone you could approach, and this is a very important thing; the Mushrikīn of Arabia would hear false rumours about Rasūlullāhﷺ, but then when they would hear from people who knew him personally, they would see a man who is merciful and kind and is approachable, and this encouraged many people to come and meet Rasūlullāhﷺ and see him, but if it was a man whom they would feel terrorised from, then this would make them very reluctant to go and visit him.

So ‘Udaÿ Bin Hātim went. There are different narrations of what happened; one narration says that when he came in, he had a cross hanging on his chest, you know, the customs of the Christians, so Rasūlullāhﷺ told him:

Ittakhadhū Ahbārahum Wa Ruhbānahum Arbābam Min Dūnillāh – Theyhave taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allāh. At-Tawbah: 31

‘Udaÿ, assuming that Rasūlullāhﷺ does not understand about Christianity and that he is the expert since it is his religion said, “We do not take him as God besides Allāh.” Rasūlullāhﷺ asked him, “Did they not make what was Halāl Harām and what was Harām Halāl?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “Then you have worshipped them.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ taught him a meaning of taking them as gods, and that is when you give them the authority to make Halāl Harām and Harām Halāl, then you have made them as gods because this is something that is of the authority of Allāh alone. In another narration, Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “I understand your religion more than you do.” So ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim questioned that. Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Do you not belong to the sect of Rukūsiyah?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “And do you not charge your people Al-Mirbā’?” This is what he would take from them from their spoils. He said, “Yes.” He said, “That is not allowed in your religion,” and ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim knew that that was the case, he said, “As soon as Rasūlullāhﷺ said that, I was humbled – Fa Tawāda’tu Lahā.”

In Al-Bukhārī, ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim said, “We visited ‘Umar Ibn Al- Khattāb in a delegation. ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb would call the men one by one and he would name them,” meaning that ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb knew them all by name. “I asked him, ‘Do you not know me O Amīr Al-Mu’minīn?’” because ‘Umar did not call him. “He said, ‘Yes, I know you. You are the one who became Muslim when they were Disbelievers, and you were the one who came when they left, and you are the one who fulfilled when they have betrayed, and you are the one who accepted when they rejected.’” ‘Udaÿ said, “Then I do not care.” As long as you know that about me, then I do not care, meaning he was pleased that the Amīr Al-Mu’minīn knew about him and recognised him. By the way, ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim was the son of the man who was the most famous Arab in terms of his generosity, there are many tales and legends about the generosity of his father Hātim At-Tā’ī; ‘Udaÿ is his son.

‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim is a noble man in his society and he comes to Madīnah and he sees the situation there. In Al-Bukhārī it says that ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim was with Rasūlullāhﷺ and a man came to Rasūlullāhﷺ complaining about poverty, and then another man came and complained about bandits that were preventing the travellers. So Rasūlullāhﷺ, knowing what ‘Udaÿ is seeing from the situation of Madīnah, he told him, “O ‘Udaÿ, did you see Al-Hīrah?” Al-Hīrah is a city in ‘Irāq. He said, “I did not see it but I have heard about it.” Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “If you live long enough, you will see a woman travelling from Al-Hīrah until she reaches to Al -Ka’bah fearing no one but Allāh.” ‘Udaÿ said, “I told myself where are the bandits of Taÿ, the ones who have turned the land into fire?” Because travelling from Hīrah to Makkah, you have to pass through the land of ‘Udaÿ, and there were many armed robbers and bandits over there which made it impossible for a woman to travel, and now Rasūlullāhﷺ is saying that she would travel fearing no one but Allāh. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “And if you live long enough, the treasures of Kisrā would become spoils of war for us.” I asked, “Kisrā the son of Hurmuz?” And this was the Persian emperor. Rasūlullāh said, “Kisrā the son of Hurmuz.” And he said, “And if you live long enough, you will find a man coming with a handful of gold or silver trying to find someone who would accept it from him as Sadaqah and he would find no one…” to the end of the Hadīth; Rasūlullāhﷺ was telling him about what will happen on the Day of Judgement. ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim said, “Two of the three things that Rasūlullāhﷺ told me I have seen with my own eyes, and I am sure that the third one will happen because it was said by Rasūlullāhﷺ.”

In another narration, Rasūlullāhﷺ was telling ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim, “Probably the reason why you do not want to follow me is because you see that we are poor.” Many people go by what they see, what is apparent, and they are affected by the material aspect of things; they see people wealthy [and] if they see them as successful in Dunyā they are impressed with that, and this is false and this is wrong; one should look at the spirit, one should look at the essence of the Message and not at the material things. Because ‘Udaÿ Ibn Hātim admitted that this is what was turning him away from Islām, because he sees that Muslims are poor people, they do not have nice houses, they do not have beautiful roads, they do not have advanced cities like we have back home, and this was turning him away from Islām. Rasūlullāhﷺ was telling him that a time will come when what we mentioned will happen; a woman will travel peacefully without fearing anybody but Allāh and that the treasures of Kisrā will be spent in the path of Allāh.

21.6 The Delegation of Al-Ash‘ariyyīn

And then there was a delegation of Al-Ash‘ariyyīn; Al-Ash‘ariyyīn are from an area in Western Yemen in Tahāmah, an area called Zabīd, and they came to Rasūlullāhﷺ. In Bukhārī it says that when this delegation came to Rasūlullāhﷺ, Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “The people of Yemen have come to you, they are soft-hearted; Īmān is Yemeni and wisdom is Yemeni.” And this is the praise that Rasūlullāhﷺ has given to the people of Yemen, that Īmān and Hikmah are Yemeni, and this was said when Abū Mūsā Al-Ash‘arī and his people came to meet Rasūlullāhﷺ.

Jarīr Bin ‘Abdillāh Al-Bajalī: And then there was a delegation from the kings of Himyar which is also in Yemen. It is narrated by Abū Dāwūd that the Mālik Diyazan had given a gift to Rasūlullāhﷺ, a garment that cost him 33 camels – very expensive, and Rasūlullāhﷺ accepted this gift from him. And then Jarīr Bin ‘Abdillāh Al-Bajalī came to Rasūlullāhﷺ , [and] according to the narration of Imām Ahmad, Jarīr put his camel next to the Masjid and then he entered while Rasūlullāhﷺ was speaking, was giving Khutbah, and [he says], “People were staring at me.” Why were they looking at him? He assumed that the reason was because Rasūlullāhﷺ must have said something about him before he came in and that was the case, because he asked someone next to him, “Did Rasūlullāhﷺ mention me?” He said, “Yes, he mentioned you with a very good mentioning.” While Rasūlullāhﷺ was speaking in his Khutbah, he said, “Now a man will come in from this door and you would see on his face signs of a king.” He was very handsome, and Rasūlullāhﷺ said you would see on his face signs of a king. Jarīr said, “I praised Allāh for that.” And Jarīr says, “Never did Rasūlullāhﷺ refuse meeting me after I became Muslim, and whenever he would see me he would smile in my face. And I told him that I cannot stay firm on horses; he struck me in my chest and said, ‘O Allāh! Make him firm, and make him a guided man and guide through him.’” Jarīr said, “I never fell off a horse after that.” This is how Rasūlullāhﷺ won the hearts of people; he would smile in their faces, he would meet them, he was close to his followers.

Wā‘il Bin Hujr: And then you have another son of kings of Hadramaut, his name is Wā‘il Bin Hujr. He came to Rasūlullāhﷺ and he met Rasūlullāhﷺ and Rasūlullāhﷺ hosted him and treated him very well, and then Rasūlullāhﷺ gave him a piece of land. So Rasūlullāhﷺ wanted to show the location of the land to him so he sent Mu‘āwiyah Ibn Abī Sufyān with him. Mu’awyiah at the time was a young man, unknown; he was sent with Wā‘il to show him the location of the land. So Mu‘āwiyah is going with Wā‘il to guide him to the land and Wā‘il is riding on his camel and Mu‘āwiyah is walking and he was walking apparently barefoot or something, and Mu‘āwiyah told him, “I want to ride with you on your camel.” He said, “You are not going to ride with a king,” and he refused to allow him to ride! In another narration it says that Mu‘āwiyah told him, “I want to ride.” He said, “You are not a king to ride with kings.” And then Mu‘āwiyah told him, “The ground is very hot.” So Wā‘il told him, “Use the shade of the camel and walk in it.” So Mu‘āwiyah obviously would not forget how badly he was treated, and days passed by and Mu‘āwiyah becomes the Khalīfah of the Muslims, and who visits him? Wā‘il Bin Hujr. So when Wā‘il came in, Mu‘āwiyah had him sit with him next to him on his Sarīr which is the couch of the king, unlike when he wanted to ride the camel he was not allowed, and Mu‘āwiyah reminded him with what happened that day. Wā‘il would later say, “I wish that I not only had him ride with me on the camel but I wish that I would have had him ride in front of me.”

21.7 The Delegation of Tamīm Ad-Dārī

And then there is the delegation of Tamīm Ad-Dārī, and I already talked about this in the series on the Hereafter. Because it is a very long Hadīth I will not go through it again; he is the one who reported to Rasūlullāhﷺ the news of meeting Ad-Dajjāl, [the] Hadīth narrated by Al-Imām Muslim.

21.8 The Delegation of Al-Azd

Finally there is the delegation of Al-Azd [who] are a Yemeni tribe that are from the Southern part of Arabia, and Al-Azd are related to Al-Ansār because Al-Ansār are descendants of Al-Azd. Seven men from Al-Azd came to meet Rasūlullāhﷺ [and] Rasūlullāhﷺ was impressed by them; by their looks and their characters and their demeanour. He asked, “What are you?” They said, “We are Believers.” Rasūlullāhﷺ smiled and said, “There is a reality for everything so what is the reality of your statement and your Īmān?” Because they said they are Believers so what is the reality of that? What is the manifestation of that? They said, “15 characteristics; five of them were commanded by your messengers to us, five of them you have commanded us to do, and five of them were traditions from the time of Jāhiliyyah except if you want us to change them.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ asked, “What are the five which my messengers ordered you?” They said, “We are ordered to believe in Allāh, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and resurrection after death.” He asked, “And what are the five commands that I gave you?” They said, “You order us to say Lā Ilāha Illallāh, and to establish Salāh, and to pay Zakāh, to fast Ramadān, and to make Hajj for the one who is capable.” He asked, “And what are the five which you have made as your character in the time of Jāhiliyyah?” They said, “ Ash-Shukru ‘Indar Rakhā – Being grateful in times of ease, Wassabru ‘Indal Balā – and being patient in times of difficulty, War-Ridā Bi Marril Qadā – and to accept destiny, Was-Sidq Fī Muwātinil Liqā –and being truthful when the enemies meet, Wa Tarkush Shamātati Bil ‘Adā –and avoiding malicious joy out of our enemies,” meaning they do not go to extremes in making fun of their enemies; they are decent even with the enemy. Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “Hukamā’ ‘Ulamā’, Kādū Min Fiqhihim Ayyakūnū Ambiyā’ – You are wise and knowledgeable, and because of your knowledge you have almost become Prophets.” Rasūlullāhﷺ was very impressed by their wisdom. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “And I will give you five more so you will have 20 characteristics. If you are like what you say, do not collect what you will not eat, and do not build what you will not live in, and do not compete in something that you will leave tomorrow, and fear Allāh whom you will return to and whom you will be presented to, and strive for what you are facing ahead of you and where you will be living forever (meaning the afterlife)”. They left and they followed the advice of Rasūlullāhﷺ.

We have only covered some of the delegations that came to meet Rasūlullāhﷺ, so you can see that it was a busy year where people are coming and accepting Islām from the four corners of the Arabian Peninsula, and this is towards the end of the life of Rasūlullāhﷺ; he is now witnessing the fruit of his Da’wah, he is now harvesting the fruit of the seed which he planted in Makkah in the early days when it was very difficult; now Rasūlullāhﷺ is seeing the manifestation of his efforts due to the blessing of Allāh  and the Barakah that Allāh has put in his Da’wah.

21.9 Rasūlullāhﷺ Sends Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal and Abū Mūsā to Yemen and Advises Leniency and Encouragement

We are moving on to the events of the 10th year of Hijrah. Rasūlullāhﷺ sent Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal and Abū Mūsā Al-Ash‘arī to give Da’wah to the people of Yemen, and in Bukhārī it says, “And he sent each one of them on a province.” So everyone was an Amīr over a province and Yemen was two provinces at the time. Rasūlullāhﷺ told them, “Yassirā Walā Tu‘assirā Wa Bashshirā Walā Tunaffirā –Be lenient, not harsh, [and] encourage rather than repress.” And Rasūlullāhﷺ told them, “Co-operate and do not conflict.” In Da’wah, leniency is needed and not harshness. There is a difference between Da’wah and Jihād; we find that the Āyāt and the Ahādīth that talk about harshness with the Kuffār are in the context of fighting Fee Sabeelillāh, and here you have Rasūlullāhﷺ telling them to be lenient and not to be harsh and to encourage people and not to repress, because these are either people who are new Muslim or they are people who are receptive to listening to the Message of Islām.

[The Hadīth continues,] “And each one of them went to his province. They agreed that whenever one of them would be close to the other they should meet and renew the Salām on each other.” Because both of them were travelling, they were going from one village to another, from one town to another, so whenever their paths ran close to each other they decided that they should meet and come together and discuss their affairs and give Nasīhah to each other as we will see in this conversation. “Mu‘ādh was close to the province of Abū Mūsā so he came on his mule until he reached to Abū Mūsā. So he saw him sitting and people were gathered around him, and there was a man over there whose hands were tied to his neck, so Mu‘ādh said, ‘O ‘Abdullāh Ibn Qais (this is the name of Abū Mūsā), who is this?’ He said, ‘This is a man who committed apostasy after being a Muslim.’” In another narration it says that this man was a Yahūdī, so he was a Jew who became Muslim and then went back to becoming a Jew again. Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal said, “I am not coming down from my mount until he is executed.” Abū Mūsā said, “That is why we brought him, so come down.” Mu‘ādh said, “I am not coming down until he is executed,” and he was executed.

Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal and Abū Mūsā Discuss Styles of Reciting Qur’ān: Then Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal came down and he said, “O ‘Abdullāh, how do you recite Qur’ān?” Abū Mūsā said, “Atafawwuquhū Tafawwuqā.” The meaning of what Abū Mūsā said is that I read it continuously piece after piece, and this is from Tafawwuq – the milking of a camel; it would be milked and then left for a short while to rest and then milked again, and then left for some time to rest and then milked again. So the milking process happens in intervals that are all throughout the day, and that is how Abū Mūsā used to recite Qur’ān, meaning he would read, take a break, read, take a break, which means that he was reciting Qur’ān continuously day and night. And then he asked Mu‘ādh, “How do you recite O Mu‘ādh?” Mu‘ādh said, “I sleep the first part of the night, so I wake up while I have taken my need of sleep and then I would recite whatever Allāh destines for me to recite. So I would count my sleep to be an act that I will be rewarded for just like I am rewarded for praying.” Mu‘ādh here is telling Abū Mūsā that even though you exhaust yourself in the recitation of Qur’ān, I take my need of rest and I count that rest as an ‘Ibādah, because the reason I am doing it is to be able to pray after that. So this shows you that even your daily habits of sleeping, drinking, eating, washing, could be counted as something that you have Ajr – reward for, as long as you are doing them for the sake of Allāh in order to give you the ability to worship Him and to make you active when you are performing your rituals.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Advises Mu‘ādh to Do Da’wah Step by Step: In another narration in Bukhārī, Ibn ‘Abbās says that when Rasūlullāhﷺ sent Mu‘ādh to Yemen, he told him, “You are coming to a people who are a people of a Book,” because the people of Yemen, in Najrān, they were Christian, and many of the rest were Jews; they were Arabs in ancestry but they adopted the religion of Judaism. So Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “You are coming to a people who are a people of a Scripture, so call them to testify that there is no one worthy of worship but Allāh and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh. If they accept that, then tell them that Allāh has obligated on them five Prayers every night and day. If they accept that, then tell them that Allāh has obligated on them to pay Zakāh – charity that is taken from the rich among them and given to the poor among them.” And this is evidence for the ones who say that the Zakāh should be collected from a locality and spent in the same locality, the evidence they use is this Hadīth. Now, the scholars say that that is better, however if the need is greater in another area then you can send the Zakāh to that other area or your Sadaqah. “If they accept that, then beware of the best parts of their property.” Meaning when you go to choose for example the animals that you will take for Zakāh from the sheep or from the cattle, do not choose the best, choose the average; not the worst nor the best. “And beware from the prayers of the oppressed because nothing stands between his prayers and Allāh.” Rasūlullāhﷺ is telling Mu‘ādh to be careful; do not oppress anyone, because if you do oppress anyone and that person makes a Du‘ā’ against you, that Du‘ā’ will reach Allāh and nothing will stand between it and Allāh. So we need to be careful not to oppress anyone because oppression is a great sin on the Day of Judgement. You can also see from this Hadīth the step by step Da’wah that people should be taking step by step; Shahādah first, then Salāh, then Zakāh.

Rasūlullāh(Pbuh) Advises Mu‘ādh  to Recruit New Muslims Immediately: In a narration by Imām Ahmad, Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal said, “Rasūlullāhﷺ sent me to Yemen and told me, ‘You may pass by my grave and my mosque (this is an indication that Rasūlullāhﷺ would be meeting Mu‘ādh for the last time), and I am sending you to a people who have soft hearts, and they will fight for the truth twice, so fight with those who follow you the ones who disobey you.” Rasūlullāhﷺ is telling Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal [that] make Da’wah, [and] when people accept Islām, recruit them immediately and use them to fight against those who disbelieve. Rasūlullāhﷺ did not tell Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal to send them to an Islāmic university or to take them to special Tarbiyah sessions, not to say that knowledge is not important or Tarbiyah is not important, but it shows you that if a person accepts Islām then the obligation of fighting for the Religion is there and this is what Rasūlullāhﷺ is telling Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal to do; to recruit them when they become Muslim to fight the ones who did not become Muslim. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ told him, “When you fight with them against the ones who disobey, Islām would spread.” Rasūlullāhﷺ told him that Islām would spread, and you would find that a woman would leave her husband, and the child would leave the parents, and the brother would leave his brother, for the sake of Islām.

The People of Taqwā are the Closest to Me – Rasūlullāhﷺ: In another narration by Al-Imām Ahmad, [it is mentioned that] when Rasūlullāhﷺ was sending Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal, he was giving him Nasīhah – advice, and Rasūlullāhﷺ was walking while Mu‘ādh was riding, and this is the humbleness and the simplicity of Rasūlullāhﷺ, the Head of State, the Prophetﷺ, the greatest of mankind; he is walking while Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal is riding on his mount. Rasūlullāhﷺ said, “O Mu‘ādh, you may not see me any more after this year, and you may pass next to my mosque and my grave.” Mu‘ādh cried. And then Rasūlullāhﷺ looked at Madīnah and said, “Inna Awlan Nāsi Bī Al-Muttaqūna Man Kānū Wa Haythu Kānū – The people who are closest to me are the people of Taqwā, wherever they are and whoever they are.” And this is a great Bushrā – rejoicing news from Rasūlullāhﷺ; Rasūlullāhﷺ is saying that the closest people to him are the people who have Taqwā wherever they are, in any land they are, and whoever they are; it does not matter what race or background they come from, as long as they are people of Taqwā.

Rasūlullāhﷺ Warns Mu‘ādh against Luxury

Another word of advice that Rasūlullāhﷺ gave Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal, and this is also in Musnad Al-Imām Ahmad, Rasūlullāhﷺ told Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal, “Beware of luxury, because the servants of Allāh are not luxurious.” Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal is sent to be what? A governor, so it is a job that affords him luxury if he wants to. So Rasūlullāhﷺ is warning him and telling him [to] beware of luxury. So that is the advice Rasūlullāhﷺ was giving to a man who afforded luxury, how is it then to the ones who are not in positions of luxury nevertheless they force themselves to live a life of luxury? And luxury is a very dangerous thing and Rasūlullāhﷺ is telling Mu‘ādh that the servants of Allāh, the true servants of Allāh, are not luxurious.

Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal Goes Bankrupt due to his Generosity: In another narration by ‘Abdur Razzāq San‘ānī, [it is narrated,] “Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal was a handsome and generous young man, one of the finest of his people.” Mu‘ādh, by the way, was young, and was a very active student of knowledge and very close to Rasūlullāhﷺ, and Rasūlullāhﷺ gave him special attention because Rasūlullāhﷺ used to love him and used to see in him signs of a scholar, so in this Hadīth it says, “Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal was a handsome and generous young man, one of the finest of his people. Anything ever asked of him he would give, so that eventually he had a debt that foreclosed all of his money. He told this to Rasūlullāhﷺ and asked him to speak to his creditors, and this Rasūlullāhﷺ did. However, the creditors did not excuse Mu‘ādh of anything even though Rasūlullāhﷺ interceded on his behalf.” So then his wealth was all split up; Iflās – he became bankrupt, so all of his wealth was split up among the creditors. “By the time Mu‘ādh left, he had nothing. When Rasūlullāhﷺ made Hajj, he sent Mu‘ādh to Yemen and he allowed him to invest the money that was under his authority.” The money of the treasury; he was allowed to invest it and he was the first one to do so. By the time Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal came back, Rasūlullāhﷺ had already passed away and it was the time of the Khilāfah of Abū Bakr, and his investment of the money was successful, and ‘Umar told Mu‘ādh, “Give this money back to Abū Bakr; if he gives you anything of it then fine, otherwise you should give it up.” Mu‘ādh said, “I am not going to give it up because Rasūlullāhﷺ sent me with the intention of having me gain some money again,” because of the story that we just talked about; he lost all of his money. So ‘Umar went to Abū Bakr and told him, “Send to this man and take some of his wealth and leave him some.” Abū Bakr refused and said, “Rasūlullāhﷺ has sent him in order that he wants him to benefit himself or to improve himself financially after he went bankrupt.” In the morning, Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal went to ‘Umar and said, “I think that I am going to do what you told me. I saw myself in my dream; I was being dragged to Hellfire and you were the one who was holding me back.” So he went to Abū Bakr and gave him everything, and then Abū Bakr As-Siddīq gave it to him back and said, “It is Halāl for you,” so now it was given to him with the approval of the Khalīfah.

21.10 Rasūlullāhﷺ Also Sends Khālid Bin Walīd and ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib to Yemen

Rasūlullāhﷺ also sent Khālid Bin Walīd to Yemen and he sent ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib. In Al -Bayhaqī it says that Rasūlullāhﷺ had sent Khālid Ibn Walīd to Yemen to call them to Islām; he stayed there for six months and people were not very receptive to his Da’wah. Rasūlullāhﷺ called him back and sent ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib in his place, and he told ‘Alï to allow whoever wanted to go back with Khālid to go back, and whoever wanted to stay behind with ‘Alï, it was up to them. And then ‘Alï Ibn Abī Tālib – and this was in front of the tribe of Hamdān – he had all of the Muslims line up and then he prayed Jamā‘ah, and then he had them also line up and he stood in front of them and he opened up the letter from Rasūlullāhﷺ and he read it to them. All of Hamdān, the entire tribe, became Muslim. ‘Alï wrote back to Rasūlullāhﷺ giving him the good news. When Rasūlullāhﷺ received the letter from ‘Alï telling him the good news, Rasūlullāhﷺ made Sujūd and then said, “Assalāmu ‘Ala Hamdān, Assalāmu ‘Ala Hamdān – May peace be on Hamdān,may peace be on Hamdān.” ‘Alï also says, “O Messenger of Allāh, you are sending me to a people who are older than me (because ‘Alï was very young and he was appointed as judge over them), and I am young in age and I do not have experience in being a judge.” So Rasūlullāhﷺ put his hand on the chest of ‘Alï and said, “O Allāh, make his tongue firm and guide his heart. O ‘Alï, when the two people who are disputing come and sit under you, do not judge between them until you hear from them both. If you do that, then it will be easy for you to judge.” ‘Alï said, “I was never confused in making a judgement after that.” And ‘Alï is very famous of being a judge, and he was a judge in the time of ‘Umar and he was a judge in the time of ‘Uthmān; they used to trust his judgement very much and they would appoint him to judge over the delicate cases that would be presented to the Islāmic government.