Читать книгу Muhammad: Man and Prophet - Adil Salahi - Страница 19
ОглавлениеTHE SITUATION IN Makkah was growing more tense every day. The Quraysh were waking up to the realization that the new faith was establishing its roots and gaining more recruits in all clans. Its followers belonged to all sectors of society. Attempts to strike a compromise with the Prophet proved to be of little value. Persecution brought no results. The hard-line approach was gaining ground. On the other hand, the Prophet went on preaching his faith and conveying God’s message. Those who responded to him were keen to make it clear to their people that their new faith had a positive influence on life as a whole. They also made it clear that they were not prepared to barter their faith for the richest of prizes. However, the Prophet realized that no amount of persuasion or negotiation would make the leaders of Makkah change their hostile attitude to Islam, or convince them that they should take an objective look at it and judge it on its merits. Indeed, the Makkans started to escalate their campaign of repression, subjecting the weaker Muslims to much torture and endless persecution. Those of the Prophet’s companions who belonged to strong tribes and were assured of tribal protection were tormented by ridicule. Nevertheless, Islam was gaining more converts every day.
Always a far-sighted and well-informed leader, the Prophet advised his companions to emigrate to Abyssinia where the Christian king, Negus, was known for his abhorrence of injustice. Although the main reason for this exodus given by most historians is that the Muslims were simply fleeing to save their lives, the move was certainly a very shrewd one, taken after a very careful consideration of the whole situation. In his choice of a possible refuge for his companions, the Prophet was keen to make sure that the Muslims would not be substituting one kind of repression for another. Since Negus had gained a wide reputation for his justice, Abyssinia was to be a second home for the Islamic call.
The first party of Muslim emigrants to Abyssinia consisted of 16 people, four of whom were women. The most notable figure among them was ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, who was to become the third Caliph, and his wife, Ruqayyah, daughter of the Prophet. Indeed, ʿUthmān was the first man ever to emigrate with his wife for no other reason than serving God’s cause since Prophet Lot had emigrated many centuries earlier. Those sixteen people managed to find a boat which carried them to their destination. Apparently, they were chased by the Quraysh, who sought to force them to return but their pursuers arrived at the coast when the boat had already set sail. Other parties of emigrants followed at frequent intervals.1
About ten of those who had emigrated to Abyssinia soon returned home, not because they found their new abode unwelcome, but because they heard that the Quraysh had accepted the message of Prophet Muhammad and embraced Islam. Shortly before arriving back in Makkah, they realized that those reports which had precipitated their return were hasty and inaccurate. Therefore, they had to arrange shelter for themselves if they wanted to get safely into Makkah. They managed to get that shelter from some fair-minded personalities in Makkah.
The truth about that report was that the Prophet recited Sūrah 53, entitled The Star, or al-Najm, when a large number of people, many of whom were non-Muslims, were in the mosque. This sūrah has a very powerful ending, which reminds people of God’s Majesty and His control of the universe, and that they will surely die and be resurrected. The sūrah reaches its climax with the last verse, which commands all mankind to prostrate themselves to God and to worship Him alone. Here is the ending of this sūrah:
With your Lord is the end [of all that exists]; and it is He alone who causes you to laugh and to weep; and it is He alone who deals death and grants life; and it is He who creates the two kinds – the male and the female – out of a mere drop of sperm as it is brought forth, and it is within His power to bring about a second life; and it is He alone who frees from want and causes to possess; and it is He who is the Lord of Sirius; and it is He who destroyed the ancient people of ʿĀd and Thamūd, leaving no trace of them, as well as the people of Noah before them, since they all had indeed been most wilful in their evildoing and most overweening, just as He thrust into perdition those cities that were overthrown, and then covered them from sight for ever.
About which, then, of your Lord’s powers can you remain in doubt? This is a warning like those warnings of old: that Last Hour which is so near, draws ever nearer, although none but God can unveil it. Do you, perchance, find this revelation strange? And do you laugh instead of weeping and divert yourselves all the while? Nay, but prostrate yourselves before God and worship Him alone! (53: 43-62)
When one considers that the Qur’ān always has a powerful rhythm which is most suitable for its subject matter, one can imagine that the powerful rhythm here makes these verses sound like very strong hammering. Those Arabs listening to this sūrah being recited by Muhammad, the Prophet, to whom it was revealed, knew deep at heart that He never told a falsehood. Hence, every single one of them, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, prostrated himself as commanded by God. Al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, an old man and an unbeliever, took a handful of dust and put his forehead on it. As the news of this event travelled to Abyssinia, it reached those Muslims there in a distorted fashion suggesting to them that all trouble in Makkah was over and that the Quraysh decided to accept Islam. Hence their quick return.2
Fabricated Justification
Soon afterwards, the unbelievers realized what had happened. Others, like Abū Jahl, could not believe their ears when they heard the story. They wanted to continue to oppose the Prophet, but they had to explain their behaviour and to dismiss the whole incident as a nonevent. One of their poets came up with the devilish idea that Muhammad mentioned their deities in favourable terms. They went as far as coining a couplet of verses praising their idols and claimed that these were used by the Prophet as he recited the sūrah to them. It was easy for them to do that, since the sūrah mentions three of their most famous idols, al-Lāt, al-ʿUzzā and Manāt. But what does the Qur’ān have to say about them in this particular sūrah?
Have you thought of al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā, as well as Manāt, the third and last of this trio? Why do you choose for yourselves males, whereas you assign to Him females? That is indeed an unfair division. These entities are nothing but empty names which you have invented, you and your forefathers, and for which God has bestowed no warrant from on high. They [who worship them] follow nothing but surmise and wishful thinking, although right guidance has indeed come to them from their Lord. (53: 19-23)
It was in the middle of this passage that those fabricators of the Quraysh sought to impose their invented couplet, after the names of their three idols. The fabricated couplet reads: “These are exalted birds, whose intercession is desirable.” Little did they reflect that such an imposition could not be accepted by any thinking person among them. Almost every verse in the sūrah is in conflict with such description, or such compromise. It is sufficient to try to read the above-quoted passage together with the claimed couplet to realize that the whole thing was total fabrication. Even the Makkan unbelievers themselves were unconvinced and they dropped the report altogether, although some unscrupulous Orientalists and other people who are hostile to Islam have tried to make something out of it.
It is well known that most of the Arabs at the time could not read or write. Therefore, it is not surprising that the dates of events were not recorded accurately. One cannot be certain how many groups of emigrants to Abyssinia from among the Muslims of Makkah had already gone before the first group, or some of its members, were on their journey back to Makkah. Many of those who returned felt they had to go back to Abyssinia after finding out that nothing had changed in Makkah. If anything, the situation became worse for the Muslims. The emigrants were going out in small groups, two or three families at a time. Many young Muslims were not yet married. Therefore, the number of men among the Muslims in Abyssinia far exceeded the women. Altogether, 82 or 83 men arrived in Abyssinia with 19 women. They constituted a large section of the Muslim community. Those who were left in Makkah might have been fewer than those who emigrated. That was a shrewd tactical move by the Prophet which defused a potentially explosive situation. To all appearances, the Muslims who stayed in Makkah did not constitute any threat to its social order. That was bound to weaken the argument of the hard liners, who advocated a strong-fisted approach to the problem represented by Islam. The Quraysh, however, were utterly displeased that the Muslims should be able to escape its tyranny and find peace and security in their new place of abode. A meeting was called to discuss the situation, and it was resolved to send a delegation to Negus requesting him to deport the Muslims and send them back home. ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ and ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Rabīʿah were chosen for the mission. ʿAmr in particular was well known for his diplomatic skills. He carried with him many gifts with which he sought to make the atmosphere at Negus’s court favourable when he made his request.
An Appeal to Extradite the Fugitives
ʿAmr’s plan was to present every one of the patriarchs who attended Negus’s court with a fine gift of animal hide. Feeling that he could rely on their help, he explained his mission, saying:
A few drop-outs of our people have arrived in your land. Having rebelled against our religion, they did not adopt yours. Instead, they have come up with a new trend, unknown to you or to us. We have come as representatives of our leaders to request the king to extradite these fugitives. When we make this request to the king, we hope you will counsel him to grant it without going to the trouble of calling them and speaking to them. You will undoubtedly agree that their own people are better equipped to judge them fairly and to determine whether their creed is of any use.
The patriarchs promised ʿAmr and his friend their support. Thus the ground was prepared for a quick decision by Negus in favour of ʿAmr and ʿAbdullāh.
When the two were admitted into court, they presented the king with a precious gift of superb camel hide. To him, that was the finest gift they could bring. He was so pleased with it that he immediately asked them to put their request.
Nothing was more loathsome to the Quraysh delegation than that Negus should call the Muslims in to present their case. Hence, they emphasized that the Muslims did not opt for Christianity, Negus’s own religion. They also stressed that they were making their request on behalf of the fugitives’ own parents and uncles, who could not be expected, particularly in the Arabian tribal society, to subject them to any harm. As they made their case, the patriarchs supported them, saying: “Certainly their people are best equipped to judge them. Extradition is the proper course for the king to take in these circumstances.”
Negus was very angry. He said: “A group of people who have sought my shelter, preferring me over everyone else, will not be summarily judged. I shall call them in first and give them a chance to answer what these two have alleged about them. Should I find these allegations true, I will extradite them. Otherwise, they will certainly enjoy my protection.” Thus the scene was set for a great encounter. Needless to say, the Makkan delegation were very disappointed at Negus’s decision, but they could do nothing about it. They had to attend the court when the Muslims were summoned.
The Muslims consulted with one another when the king’s messenger delivered to them an order to appear at court. They were unanimous that they would answer any questions put to them truthfully. They would state the whole truth, as they had been taught by the Prophet, regardless of what results it might produce.
When they were admitted into the king’s presence, he was surrounded by his patriarchs. The atmosphere was awesome. However, he came straight to the point and asked them: “What is this new religion over which you are in dispute with your own people and which is at variance with my own religion and with all other known religions?”
The Muslims had chosen Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib, the Prophet’s own cousin, as their spokesman. He put their case as follows:
In our recent past we were ignorant people: we worshipped idols, ate carrion, committed all sorts of sins, attached little value to maintaining good relations with our kinsfolk and behaved badly to our neighbours. Our overruling maxim was that might was right. This continued to be our situation until God sent us, from among ourselves, a Messenger whose good name, honesty, sincerity and integrity were well known to us. He called on us to believe in God, the one and only God, and to stop worshipping all idols which we and our forefathers used to worship alongside Him. He commanded us always to speak the truth and be honest, to be good to our relatives and neighbours, to preserve life and shed no blood, to refrain from sin, perjury, robbing the property of orphans entrusted to our care, and making false accusations against honourable women. He also commanded us to devote our worship to God alone, ascribing to Him no partners of any sort. He further commanded us to pray regularly, to give away certain purifying alms and to fast, etc. We gave him a favourable response, believed in him and gave him our full support. We followed these Divine commandments he conveyed to us. We began to worship God alone, refraining from what He forbade us and accepting what He made lawful for us. Our people, however, assaulted us and subjected us to physical torture to compel us to revert to idolatrous worship and to indulge in the sinful practices we used to indulge in. Having been overpowered, oppressed and denied the freedom to choose our faith and practise it, we sought refuge in your country, choosing you in preference to all other rulers, hoping that in your refuge we would suffer no injustice.
Negus asked Jaʿfar to read him a passage of the Qur’ān. Jaʿfar chose the opening of Sūrah 19, entitled Mary, which speaks about Prophet Zachariah and his son John before it goes on to relate the story of the virgin birth of Jesus. Negus and his patriarchs were in tears. Then he said: “What I have just heard comes from the same source as Jesus’s revelations.” He then dismissed the Quraysh delegation and assured the Muslims that they would have his full protection.3
It is not in the nature of things, however, that those who find themselves taking a stand against the truth accept defeat easily and abandon their attempts to suppress the cause they oppose. Hostility to the truth is often brutal, immoral, unyielding. If one imagines truth as a man, he would be of the honest, frank and straightforward type. Trying to make any gains, big or small, by petty or devious means, would be totally alien to his nature. Truth also has a direct, clear and logical way of putting its case to the human mind. Hence, the difficulty its opponents find in resisting it is very great. Therefore, they often find an inescapable need to resort to vile and devious means. This is a slippery road: once started, there is no stopping. The only way out of this dilemma is for the opponents of the truth to give up: they can either follow the truth or acknowledge the fact that they are at variance with it and allow it to take its course. Certainly the Quraysh delegation who tried to secure the extradition of the Muslim refugees in Abyssinia were in no such mood. Having failed in their attempt to overcome Negus’s sense of justice by offering precious, personal gifts to him and his patriarchs, they began to think of some other, more devious way to achieve their purpose. As they left Negus’s court, ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, the more cunning of the two-man delegation, said to his colleague, ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Rabīʿah: “I will come back to him tomorrow with something which would make him exterminate them all.” ʿAbdullāh counselled him against such a step, protesting the fact that they were still their own kinsfolk.
The following day ʿAmr went back to Negus and said to him: “These people make a very wild claim about Jesus. You may wish to question them on that.”4
When the Muslims realized the reason for their second summons to attend the king’s court, they were very alarmed. They resolved, however, to stick to the truth and put their case frankly and clearly. They would simply state what God’s Messenger had taught them, whatever the consequences.
Some people may argue that in their delicate situation the Muslims’ stand might have been foolhardy. The situation called for a somewhat ‘diplomatic’ stance. People of faith, however, consider such an argument to be short-sighted. Truth, they argue, speaks louder and more frankly. Given a chance, it will always prevail. To the Muslim refugees in Abyssinia, the case was simply stating a fact revealed by God and conveyed by His Messenger. Evasion was unthinkable. Moreover, evasion is alien to the nature of those who follow the truth.
Jaʿfar, the Muslims’ spokesman, therefore answered Negus’s question about their view of Jesus without hesitation: “Our view is that taught to us by our Prophet: Jesus is God’s servant and messenger. He is His spirit and His word delivered unto virgin Mary.” Negus picked a little stick from the floor and said: “What you have just said about Jesus does not go beyond the truth by the width of this stick.” To the jeers and sneers of the patriarchs he replied: “It is true, no matter what you say.” He then said to the Muslims: “You are safe in my land. Whoever harms you will be brought to justice. I would not harm any one of you for a mountain of gold.” He then ordered his patriarchs to return the gifts of the Quraysh delegation.5
A Shrewd Plan
The emigration of the Prophet’s companions to Abyssinia was a highly significant event, which can be accurately described as the first major political move taken by the Prophet. Although people often give more prominence to the Prophet’s desire to spare his companions the persecution inflicted by the Quraysh, it had some definite objectives. If one analyses the emigration and the whole situation that prevailed in Makkah at that time, one is bound to realize that there were other, far more important reasons, which made this emigration a shrewd strategic move on the part of the Prophet. A close examination of the list of people who travelled to Abyssinia shows that hardly any of the weak and vulnerable elements who were subjected to unbearable torture joined the travellers. Historians of that period are uncertain about ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir who was, together with his parents, a target for some of the most brutal types of torture. Indeed, both his parents died under torture. Historians are certain, however, that people like Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt and Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ, who were the most famous of ʿAmmār’s fellow sufferers, did not travel. On the other hand, one finds that the list of travellers includes names of many prominent people who belonged to famous clans which were able to afford them protection.
In this list are the names of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān of the Umayyah clan, Abū Ḥudhayfah ibn ʿUtbah of ʿAbd Shams, whose father was one of the chiefs in Makkah, and his wife Sahlah bint Suhayl of the ʿĀmir clan, whose father was later to become the governor of Makkah, al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām of Asad, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf of Zuhrah, Abū Salamah ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbd al-Asad of Makhzūm, Suhayl ibn Wahb of Fihr, Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr of ʿAbd al-Dār and Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib of the Hāshimite clan, who was the Prophet’s cousin.
One need only look at these names to realize that the emigrants belonged to most, if not all, the clans of the Quraysh, and many of them belonged to highly placed families in Makkah. In the tribal set-up of Arabia, such people could not be subjected to physical torture and persecution in the same way as the slaves, the allies and other vulnerable people. Perhaps the most that such people had to endure was verbal abuse, or on occasion they might be drawn into a slanging match or met with derision and ridicule. This may hurt people immensely but its total effect is different from that of physical torture, which the tyrannical chiefs of the Quraysh inflicted on the weaker Muslims. Such verbal abuse may be painful, but it does not call for a break of ties with one’s own clan and crossing the sea by desert people in order to live in a distant land among total strangers.
A point to be mentioned here is that Abū Bakr, the closest to the Prophet of all his companions, also embarked on this journey and travelled from Makkah. However, he was met some distance away from the city by Mālik ibn al-Dughunnah, who found it unacceptable that a man of the calibre of Abū Bakr should leave Makkah. Mālik persuaded him to return and extended his protection to him so that Abū Bakr would not be abused. It is impossible to imagine that Abū Bakr was subjected to any physical torture when he was the one who bought seven Muslim slaves to save them from physical persecution. Why would he travel when Bilāl, a former slave whom he had set free, did not find it necessary to do so? There cannot be a satisfactory answer to such a question unless we say that there is a much wider perspective to this emigration by the Prophet’s companions than the mere escape of persecuted people.
Realignment of Loyalties
In order to do that, one must take a fresh look at the situation in Makkah just before the Prophet’s decision to encourage his companions to go to Abyssinia. In the intervening period between the Prophet’s proclamation of his message and this emigration, almost two years, there was much turmoil in Makkah, with the Quraysh putting up strong opposition to the new message. The Quraysh were fundamentally shaken by the call to accept Islam. All attempts to contain it were futile. But if hard-liners were to escalate the pressure, where would it lead them?
Perhaps it was necessary to answer this question before it was put, so that the Quraysh could contemplate the consequences of any decision. The emigration to Abyssinia made that clear. The emigrants included one man, Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib and one woman, Ruqayyah, daughter of the Prophet from the Hāshimite clan, one man from the clan of ʿAbd ibn Quṣayy, one man from Nawfal and two from ʿAbd Shams, two from Taym, four from Asad, five from ʿAdiy, seven each from Umayyah, Zuhrah, ʿAbd al-Dār and ʿĀmir, eight from Makhzūm and a similar number from al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām, twelve from Jumaḥ and four from Sahm.6 This meant that an all-out confrontation would involve every clan of the Quraysh turning against some of its own people. That was totally unacceptable in that particular place at that particular time.
As the Quraysh watched all those Muslims suddenly move out, across tribal lines, and join an exodus to seek a safer place where they could worship God, the Quraysh realized that their rejection of tribal values was irrevocable and allegiance to the new faith was total. Moreover, the Quraysh realized that Islam was able to gain ground in all sectors of society. Hence, any move to mount a full strike against the Muslims must win support throughout all the clans, because there were a number of Muslims in each and every clan. To unite them all in a determined confrontation with Muslims was impracticable because several clans had not given up hope of the possibility of working out a certain kind of understanding which would be satisfactory to both sides. It was not possible at that time to persuade the chiefs of some of these clans that they must fight some of their dearest sons, particularly when a good number of them belonged to the most prominent families. However, to those hardliners who were in the forefront of the confrontation with Islam, the collapse of tribal affiliation and blind loyalty to clan and tribe in the minds of Muslims was very clear. Hence they sought to forestall a move which was bound to emphasize their new allegiance to their faith.
The Prophet was keen to emphasize the very concept which the Quraysh wanted to block. He wanted his followers to realize that belonging to Islam meant that they no longer belonged to Hāshim, Umayyah, Sahm, ʿAdiy or any other clan. Their only tie of allegiance was to their faith. They were simply Muslims. As long as they were in Makkah, where hostile forces tried hard to play on feelings of tribal loyalty, this particular task was going to be difficult. Those companions of the Prophet also valued their tribal ties very highly until the moment they became Muslims. Living among their own people, where they needed tribal protection, would make it inevitable that they would have to seek some sort of modus vivendi with their own tribes who were still predominantly pagan. All that was needed was a tacit understanding of the relationship between a Muslim individual and his idolatrous tribe.
Leaving Makkah for a far away place like Abyssinia achieved the dual benefit of removing all social pressures which could be brought to bear on the Muslims and strengthening their own mutual ties, so that they could be moulded into a single, well-knit community. Those hundred or so Muslim emigrants belonged to no fewer than 15 clans of the Quraysh. Before Islam, these lines of separation could be very prominent. When they went out on their long trip to Abyssinia, every single one of them had in his mind only one tie of allegiance, which required him to give all his loyalty to the nation of Islam. When they faced the threat of extradition, their unity was complete.
These same ties of allegiance were also strengthened among those Muslims who remained in Makkah. Now that their number had been much reduced, they were even more keenly aware of their weakness. They were concerned for the safety of their brethren who went on their hazardous journey, and they were worried about their own safety. They trusted to the wisdom of the Prophet in encouraging his companions to leave for Abyssinia. They were now weaker than ever before, and it was only natural that their weakness brought them closer together. Thus the emigration to Abyssinia made the feelings of unity among Muslims even stronger, whether they were among the emigrants or those who stayed behind.
Establishing a New Muslim Community
When the first Muslim emigrants started on their journey to Abyssinia, the Prophet had been preaching the message of Islam in Makkah for five years, three of which were characterized by the secret approach. Although the new message went public with the proclamation made by the Prophet as he stood on the top of the hill of al-Ṣafā, Islam was still largely confined to Makkah, almost unknown to people outside. Only those Arab individuals who went to Makkah for pilgrimage or to visit the Kaʿbah, came to know about it. In the overwhelming majority of cases, such people could not take a decision without first referring to their own tribes. Moreover, those who heard of Islam did not pay much attention to it, considering it an internal matter which concerned only the Quraysh tribe. It was necessary, therefore, for Islam to break out of this imposed confinement and broaden the scope of its efforts of advocacy.
The emigration to Abyssinia gave the adherents to the new faith a chance to carry their message further afield. The Muslims in Abyssinia were able to establish a close community which conducted its affairs on the basis of Islamic teachings which they had learnt from the Prophet. Its life was the best advertisement for Islam on the world stage. The keen sense of unity among its members gave that Muslim community a real sense of confidence and reassured it that it followed the truth. The Muslim community in Abyssinia did not entertain any thoughts of establishing a separate entity in its new place of abode. No group of Muslims could establish such an entity when God’s Messenger lived with another group of Muslims in a different city. Enjoying their life of freedom and ease, the Muslims in Abyssinia were all the time thinking of their brethren in Makkah and of the Prophet, who continued his struggle and never despaired of winning the Quraysh people over to Islam.
Moreover, it became Abundantly clear to Muslims of that generation and of all subsequent generations, that it was possible to establish a Muslim society which implemented Islam without the presence of God’s Messenger to supervise that society and conduct its affairs. When the Prophet completed his mission and conveyed his message in full, establishing the model Muslim state which made submission to God its own foundation, his life on earth was over. His companions followed his guidance and continued along the road he mapped out. None of them ever entertained any thought that the absence of the Prophet could rule out the implementation of Islam, as is sometimes claimed by ignorant people or by tyrants who happen to rule over parts of the Muslim world. The Prophet’s companions provided a practical example of what human life could be like when Islam was implemented, and of the magnitude of the blessings that are enjoyed by mankind when they adopt Islam as a code of living. The emigration to Abyssinia provided practical training during the Prophet’s lifetime for the establishment of a Muslim society in which the Prophet does not live.
Perhaps some leaders of the Quraysh could see some of the benefits which this emigration to Abyssinia could bring to Islam. At least they realized that the emigration was bound to make Islam well known to people far beyond the boundaries of Arabia. Hence, their attempt to have the emigrants extradited.
Creating an Impression of Weakness
Important as the aforementioned reasons were, the Prophet might have preferred not to send his companions on such a trip had the atmosphere in Makkah been somewhat less hostile to Islam. He might have preferred to have all his followers near him in Makkah, had he felt that the Quraysh’s hostility to Islam could weaken, or had he felt that he could widen the geographical area in which he was able to preach his message. One can see clearly that the Quraysh imposed a tight siege on Islam and effectively prevented its message from going beyond the valley of Makkah. Worse still, the Quraysh, or the hard-line elements in it, were able to heighten the conflict and increase its polarization. The struggle against Islam was the subject of every conversation in the traditional social gatherings around the Kaʿbah. As the Prophet reviewed the situation, he could clearly detect the danger that could threaten the very existence of the Muslim community. As he rejected every offer of compromise which required him to abandon some Islamic principles, the position of the hardliners was inevitably strengthened. The voice of moderation in the Quraysh ranks was becoming weaker all the time. The question which needed a well considered answer was whether the extremists could persuade the chiefs of the different clans that an all-out strike for a final solution was necessary. It certainly was not beyond Abū Jahl to advocate that course of action. He was assured of enough supporters at the beginning to make it worth considering. If he could carry one or two of the influential chiefs with him, the balance could easily be tilted in his favour. If Islam could be seen to get stronger and stronger, Abū Jahl could plausibly argue that such a final solution was needed there and then. He was no different from many an extremist leader who lends temporary support to conciliatory efforts in order to show that moderation cannot bring the desired results. Once he had done that, he could easily win support for his extreme line.
As already mentioned, the fact that the Muslims belonged to most, if not all, the clans of the Quraysh was a negative factor working against this extremist way of thinking. Most Muslims were young men who were valued by their clans for their strength. No clan would readily sacrifice its young men to remove a danger of whose presence they were not utterly convinced. Hence, the hard-liners in Makkah were aware that they needed to work hard in order to have matters their way. They were of course able to argue that their approach of exterminating Islam altogether would weaken all clans to more or less the same degree. When these clans inflicted torture on the vulnerable elements in their ranks who followed the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), their action did not strengthen any single one of them at the expense of any other. Similarly, a radical effort against those in their ranks who followed Muhammad would maintain their relative strength.
The Prophet always tried to gather intelligence of what the enemies of Islam were planning. He was also keenly aware that the early period in the life of any new faith or creed was also the most dangerous, because it would not be difficult physically to kill such a new creed when its following was small. In the fifth year of the start of Islamic revelation, Islam faced a real danger of extermination.
Forestalling such danger was perhaps paramount in the Prophet’s thinking when he advised his companions to emigrate to Abyssinia. When the numbers of Muslims in Makkah were drastically reduced, the problem presented by Islam appeared to be a very simple one which could not warrant radical solutions, let alone extermination. The Prophet remained in Makkah surrounded by a small number of his companions, most of whom belonged to the weaker and more vulnerable elements in society. As such, Islam could not be seen to present a real danger to the social order in Makkah or Arabia as a whole. The Quraysh were sure to feel that they continued to hold the initiative and could strike at any moment. Moreover, the emigration of the Muslims made it clear to the Quraysh that a radical solution required unanimous support from all clans. It was not enough for two or three to agree to it, even though these might have been the strongest.
The emigration to Abyssinia was therefore a shrewd tactical move, calculated to make the Quraysh tend to dismiss Islam as representing little or no danger to its supremacy. Giving the enemy an impression of weakness could be a decisive factor in wars. Ten years later, when the Muslims fought their first major battle against the Quraysh in Badr, God Himself intervened to give the Quraysh the impression that the Muslims were a weak force: “God made you, when you met in battle, see them as small in number and made you appear few to them, so that God might accomplish a definite purpose of His.” (8: 44) We may ask: did not this move by the Prophet make those Muslims who stayed in Makkah more vulnerable? It certainly did, but it was a move that was taken after weighing up all eventualities in order to avoid the worst dangers and in the hope of preventing them all. One should not forget that the Prophet was being directed by God, assured of His help.
The emigration of the Prophet’s companions to Abyssinia took place in the fifth year of the start of the Qur’ānic revelations. It preceded emigration to Madinah by eight years. When the last of the Prophet’s companions who went to Abyssinia came back, they joined the Prophet and his army at the conquest of Khaybar, when the battle was already over. This took place in the seventh year after the Prophet’s settlement in Madinah. In other words, Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib and some of his companions stayed in Abyssinia for 15 years. The Prophet gave the new arrivals equal shares of the spoils of the war against the Jews in Khaybar. He did not apportion any share to any one of his companions who did not take part in the battle of Khaybar, apart from those returning emigrants from Abyssinia. The Prophet would not have given them such shares had he not considered that they were on a mission which was equal to that of those who took part in the Battle of Khaybar. He valued their contribution to the welfare of Islam and considered that their stay in Abyssinia was a part of the work to establish Islam as a Divine message for all mankind.
A Second Base for Islam
Perhaps one of the clearest indications to support this was the fact that some of the emigrants to Abyssinia stayed there for 15 years. As already mentioned, there was much more to the emigration than an attempt to spare the emigrants the verbal and physical abuse by the unbelievers in Makkah. Had this been the main reason, it might have been expected that those who went to Abyssinia would come back and join the Prophet in Madinah as soon as he settled there. The Muslim community in Madinah needed the support of every individual Muslim. There were more than a hundred in Abyssinia, and it would not have been acceptable for them to stay there at a time when the newly-founded Muslim state in Madinah was threatened by the Quraysh and the rest of the Arabian tribes. We cannot visualize the settlement of those Muslims in Abyssinia as something that was left to their own discretion. Indeed, contacts were maintained between them and the Prophet throughout their stay.
In this connection one can cite the fact that ʿAmr ibn Umayyah al-Ḍamrī, who embraced Islam in the third year after the Prophet’s settlement in Madinah, went to Abyssinia three times with messages from the Prophet to Negus. The first time was to ask Negus to arrange the Prophet’s marriage with one of the emigrants, Umm Ḥabībah bint Abī Sufyān. When she left Makkah on her journey to Abyssinia, she was accompanying her first husband, ʿUbaydullāh ibn Jaḥsh, who later in Abyssinia embraced Christianity and died a Christian. Her father was the leader of the Quraysh in its wars against the Prophet after the battle of Badr. She must have felt totally isolated in her place of emigration, having lost her husband and left her family and clan. To assure her of his care, the Prophet sent ʿAmr with this message. Negus acted on behalf of the Prophet, gave her a generous dowry and arranged the marriage before sending her to the Prophet in the company of ʿAmr ibn Umayyah. ʿAmr’s last trip was to request Negus to send all those emigrants living in Abyssinia. He complied with the request, sending them in two boats. Of the original 82 men and 19 women who travelled from Makkah to Abyssinia, only 16 men and a few women came with ʿAmr. A proper analysis of the emigration to Abyssinia would not be complete unless one knew what happened to the others.
Seven died in Abyssinia, while ten came back shortly after going there, as already related. Thirty-four came straight from Abyssinia to Madinah in small groups after the Battle of Badr. That leaves between 16 and 20 people, including ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān and his wife, Ruqayyah, the Prophet’s daughter, who arrived shortly after the Prophet’s emigration to Madinah.7 This suggests that the emigrants’ return was dictated by the circumstances of their mission in Abyssinia. They very much wanted to join the Prophet and his companions in Madinah, but they had tasks to fulfil in their place of abode: to establish a base for Islam in that remote land and to stress the universality of its message. This view is further confirmed by the following report by Abū Mūsā ʿAbdullāh ibn Qays al-Ashʿarī, a companion of the Prophet from Yemen:
We heard the news of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) emigration when we were in Yemen. We set out to join with two brothers of mine, both older than me, one called Abū Ruhm and the other Abū Burdah. We were in a group of our people consisting of fifty-odd men. We went on a boat, but the boat landed us in Abyssinia, ruled by Negus. We met there Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib and his companions. Jaʿfar said to us, “God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has sent us here and commanded us to stay. Why do you not stay with us?” We stayed with him until we returned, all of us, and met God’s Messenger after he had conquered Khaybar. He gave us shares of the spoils of war. He did not apportion a share to anyone who had not been with him at the conquest of Khaybar, with the exception of those who were in our boat with Jaʿfar and his companions. Some of the Prophet’s companions used to say to us, we have emigrated with the Prophet ahead of you. (Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
This report is highly significant in understanding the importance of the emigration to Abyssinia. It would have been the right thing for Abū Mūsā and his group to go on from Abyssinia to Madinah without staying there. After all, joining the Prophet was their reason for leaving Yemen. Jaʿfar would not have contemplated asking the Yemeni group to stay on in Abyssinia, had it not been for the fact that he was under specific instructions to fulfil a certain task. He told them that the Prophet had ordered them to stay. Since the order was not applicable to a specific number of people, but could include any Muslim who arrived in Abyssinia, he persuaded Abū Mūsā and his group to stay on. On their part, they recognized that the task which was to be done there was important. Otherwise, they would have either gone on and joined the Prophet or returned to their home country. There was no reason for them to leave, since they were not persecuted there. Moreover, they must have explained their situation to ʿAmr ibn Umayyah on one of his visits. Had their stay been unnecessary, he would have brought them word from the Prophet to that effect on his next visit.
It is also significant that the Prophet gave them shares of the spoils of war, which were equal to the shares of those who fought in the Battle of Khaybar. This suggests that the Prophet considered them to have been on a mission of jihād. Their shares were not merely a gesture of personal generosity on the Prophet’s part. In later battles, the Prophet was keen not to give anyone who was not entitled to a share any portion whatsoever. After the Battle of Ḥunayn, he ordered all fighters to return any part of the spoils of war which they held. He did not allow any of his companions so much as a bunch of thread. Those emigrants to Abyssinia were entitled to their shares because they came from one mission of jihād and started another immediately. This is clearly indicated by the fact that they went on and joined the Prophet at Khaybar. Apparently the Prophet was aware that they did not fulfil their task in Abyssinia without problems. They must have met strong opposition. This is clear from the rest of the report quoted above:
Asmā’ bint ʿUmays, who was then Jaʿfar’s wife, visited Ḥafṣah [the Prophet’s wife and the daughter of ʿUmar]. While she was there, ʿUmar came in and asked who the woman was. Ḥafṣah said: “This is Asmā’.” ʿUmar said: “We have had the honour of emigrating with the Prophet before you. We have a better claim than yours to the companionship of God’s Messenger (peace be upon him).” Angry at what he said, Asmā’ retorted: “No, by God. You were with God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) who fed those of you who were hungry and admonished the ignorant, while we were in the land of hostile strangers, staying there only for the sake of God and His Messenger. By God, I shall not eat or drink until I have mentioned what you have just said to God’s Messenger. We were abused and we often experienced fear. I shall mention this to God’s Messenger (peace be upon him). By God. I shall not lie and shall not be guilty of distortion or exaggeration.” When the Prophet came in, she said: “God’s Messenger! ʿUmar has just said this and that.” The Prophet asked her what she said to him and she reported it. The Prophet said: “He does not have a better claim to me than you. He and his fellow Muslims have the reward of one emigration, while you, the people of the boat, shall have the reward of two emigrations.” Abū Mūsā and the people who came on the boat from Abyssinia came in groups to see Asmā’ and ask her about this ḥadīth. Nothing in this world gave them more joy and greater happiness than what God’s Messenger said to her. (Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
The emigrants’ meeting with the Prophet was a joyful occasion. Jaʿfar walked on one leg when he saw the Prophet, as a gesture of respect. Apparently, this was an Abyssinian tradition. Jaʿfar wanted to show every kind of respect when he saw the Prophet. On his part, the Prophet said: “I do not know which gives me greater pleasure: the conquest of Khaybar or the arrival of Jaʿfar.”8 When one considers that the conquest of Khaybar changed the fortunes of the Muslims in Madinah, ushering in a period of affluence after they had suffered great poverty, and when one considers that this conquest meant the liquidation of all opposition from the Jewish enemies of Islam, one realizes how happy the Prophet was to see Jaʿfar and those who emigrated with him to Abyssinia.
All the foregoing confirms the view that the emigration to Abyssinia was intended to accomplish very clear and important tasks. If one wants to identify them, one can only suggest that Jaʿfar and his fellow emigrants were asked by the Prophet to propagate the faith of Islam in Abyssinia. Their efforts were clearly met with opposition, as is clear from Asmā’s report. Of course, there was a favourable response from some people. Otherwise, there would have been no need for them to stay in Abyssinia when Muslim forces in Madinah needed strengthening. The question here is: how far were they successful? A report mentioned by al-Qurṭubī in his commentary on the Qur’ān states that Jaʿfar and his companions brought with them from Abyssinia 62 people who met the Prophet and believed in him. Another report mentioned by Muqātil and al-Kalbī, two prominent scholars in the early period of Islam, suggests that those who came with Jaʿfar included 40 people from Najrān, 32 from Abyssinia and 68 from Syria.9 The very fact that such a delegation of Abyssinian Muslims came to see the Prophet is enough to clarify the nature of the mission undertaken by Jaʿfar and his group in Abyssinia.
NOTES
1. Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dār al-Qalam, Beirut, Vol. 1, pp. 344-356. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, ʿUyūn al-Athar, Dār al-Turāth, Madinah, 1996, pp. 209-213.
2. Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., pp. 214-215.
3. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 358-360.
4. Ibid., pp. 360-361.
5. Ibid., pp. 361-362.
6. Ibid., pp. 344-353.
7. Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, op.cit., pp. 213-214.
8. Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wal-Nihāyah, Maktabat al-Maʿārif, Beirut, Vol. 3, pp. 71-72 and Vol. 4, pp. 205-208.
9. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Zād al-Maʿād fi Hadi Khayr al-ʿIbād, Vol.3, Mu’assasat al-Risālah, Beirut, 1986, pp. 332-333.
