- Islamic Biography / Prophetic Biography
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- Understanding prophetic biography
Dear gentle brother! In the previous lessons we talked about the administrative, health, educational and political organizations that the prophet PBUH made. The most important of these is the making of a treaty that included all groups of Medina's inhabitants and that stated that Medina's inhabitants are one nation and that the believers unit in their peace and war. This indicates citizenship and coexistence. Those who misunderstand Islam, make endless troubles to Muslims. Today, we have a new lesson in Fiqh Al-Seera
Reminder:
The Prophetic Prosperity in Medina:
1-The Tribal Communities in Forts:
When the Prophet PBUH arrived at Medina, its inhabitants were distributed as tribes in small villages. The most perfect housing community is the community of villages. Modern studies have shown that if man lives in a limited community, his behavioral discipline will be enhanced and that the gloomiest place is big cities. That’s why a number of the most senior western scholars studying the reasons of violence in the world said: big communities are one reason of violence in the world, and villagers are more disciplined than city-inhabitants because everybody is well known and identified in the village.
Medina's inhabitants were distributed either in small villages or forts. Each tribe lived in a fort surrounded by walls. The fort-inhabitants worked in agriculture and industry and in the evening they entered their forts and locked their gates to secure themselves. There were 59 forts distributed on tribes and clans.
I know that Damascus had many gates; Toma gate and Sharqee gate. These gates were closed at night. People used to know each other well so, the community enjoyed discipline and security. This was applied in Medina.
I have been informed that the biggest city in the world (New York) has some closed districts in which Muslims live. These districts are closed at night. There are no drugs, no night clubs, nor anything of this kind. As a result, the biggest companies compete in opening shops in these Islamic disciplined secure districts.
2- Providing Dwelling and Job for the Immigrants:
Dear brother! When the immigrants arrived at Medina, the Prophet had the task of providing dwelling and livelihood for them.
The Principle of Brotherhood
Helpers had great contributions well known to you all.The Prophet PBUH established bonds of brotherhood between the Helpers and the Immigrants. The Helper used to say to the Immigrant: I have two orchards, take one of them! I have two houses, take one of them! I have two shops take one of them!
Some Muslims don’t know that it isn’t recorded in the history that no one Immigrant took a single thing from a Helper. The first one granted but the second one restrained.
When Sa’ad bin Rabi’ – may Allah be pleased with him- offered an orchard, a house and a shop to Abd Al-Rahman bin A’wf, He – Abd Al- Rahman- said his famous saying: “May Allah bless your money but show me the way to the trading centre”. Then, he entered the trading centre, did some business and became rich.
This Companion was one of the most prominent merchants. He had some instructions such as “ … I didn’t underestimate a profit nor sold in debt” he meant that he accepted the least profit margin so he used to sell quickly,get back his capital, then buy another merchandise, and sell it to get back his capital.
In economics, the capital is turned over twice or thrice a year. When the capital is turned over twice, the merchant is considered prominent but if it is turned over thrice, the merchant is considered very prominent. The capital of some merchants is turned over just every two or three years.
This venerable Companion heard the mother of the believers A’isha- may Allah be pleased with her- saying: “Abd Al-Rahman bin Awf enters Paradise crawling. He said: No, I will enter it trotting. I don’t mind if I spend one hundred in the morning then Allah bestows one thousand upon me in the evening”
Money is Strength:
Dear brother! Money is strength. He who becomes rich and seeks to serve Muslims through his money by providing job opportunities, treating the sick or marrying the young, will be elevated by his money.The Prophet PBUH said:
“Do not wish to be like anyone except in two cases (the first one) A person whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it righteously ;( the second is) the one whom Allah has given wisdom ( The Holy Quran) and he acts according to it and teaches it to sh3er. ”
This indicates that the prophet elevated the rank of the benevolent rich man to the rank of a scholar. Knowledge is strength, money is strength and they’re integral.
What the prophet did to provide Dwelling and jobs for the Immigrants?
Granting the Non-Agricultural lands for Building Houses.
Ibn Abbas said that when the prophet arrived at Medina, he gave every plot which isn’t reached by water to some Immigrants.
What can we figure out from this indication?
The Prophetic Perspective of Agricultural Land:
It’s really unlawful to cut down forests and replace them with a desert of cement. We shouldn’t build in a forested area, rather we should build in a desert place. This is what the Prophet indicated. He used the arid lands for building.The law of “Transferring the Ownership of a land to Whosoever Grows it”
This law means the transferring of the arid land into a green one. This is a civilized behavior.
In some countries, the government grants five- thousand m2 of land to anybody provided that he turns it into a green garden. He’s heavily paid by the government so that he can dig a well, build a house and reclaim this land. Man is after all a creature with a mouth that needs food. Man can manage without thousands of things but he can't manage without food. When a monetary inflation occurs, the salary is spent only in food and drink. Consequently, the Prophet prohibited building in land with a spring while the land with tide is used only for agriculture.
Also, in some countries, the fine of uprooting a tree reaches up to a million liras. Tree brings life, moderates the temperature, and brings rain. In addition, it gives a beautiful scene.
Yaqout Al-Hamawi in dictionary of countries said: “when the Prophet came from Mecca to Medina, he gave people houses, he gave bin Zahra a plot located at the back of the Mosque so Abd Al-Rahman bin Awf had a fort and he distributed the wastelands among his Companions to build houses on them”.
This is the Civilization of Islam:
Dear brother! The one who contemplates in what the prophet PBUH did, will see great things manifested in Medina’s prosperity, broadness and untidiness. He solved people’s problems by building houses, organizing them and providing water and services to them.
Once UmarUmar bin Al-Khattab asked a governor saying “what would you do if people bring you a thief or a robber? He said: I would cut off his hand. Omar said: so, if a man of your citizens came to me being hungry or unemployed, I would cut off your hand. Allah has appointed us as successors to satisfy people’s needs, and provide jobs for them. If we perform our tasks, we will be thanked. These hands are created to work and if they can’t find work with piety they will look for work with sin, so make them busy with piety before they make you busy with sin.
Dear gentle brother! It's mentioned in AlMaghaazi (military expeditions) for Al-Waqedy that in Uhud people who advocated fighting adopted the procedure of the completion of construction and closeness of houses so that women and children can participate in defending Medina and fighting the disbelievers.
Medina kept in its prosperity and building from the date of migration till the conquest of Mecca until it became the first capital of Islam.
During migration to Medina, the Prophet PBUH was followed by Suraqa in order to win 200 she-camels, an award promised to whosoever brought Muhammad dead or alive. The good-natured Prophet said: O Suraqa what if you wore the two bangles of Kisra (a title given to the king of Persians)? A fugitive chased person says like that?! This implies that I will arrive safely, establish a state and an army, fight the two strongest states at that time (the Romans and the Persians) and I will take war booties from Kisra and you, Suraqa, will have Kisra's bangles. This is how the believer should be. The believer never loses his strength.
"Faint not nor grieve for ye will overcome them if ye are (indeed) believers"
The Individual and Social Education of Medina Community:
Spreading Good Manners and Denying Bad Manners:
The Prophet PBUH used to enhance noblest manners and deny bad ones even he perfected the noblest ones.
He PBUH said:
"I have been sent as a teacher"
"I have been sent to perfect good character"
In the Meccan community, there was a believer and a disbeliever at the same house, each of them had his own circumstances and his own privacy. But in Medina the believers were united in the same place under one banner with one Prophet and one Quran. Hence, the first Surah revealed at Medina was:
"Woe unto the defrauders"
The legislation began here but the Meccan verses had indications to the universe:"By the sun and his brightness, And by the moon when she followeth him"
"By the dawn, And ten nights"
"By the morning hours, And by the night when it is stillest"
"Whereof do they question one another? (it is) of the awful tidings"
The Meccan Surahs talk about the belief in the Last Day and the universe as the most convincing evidence of the greatness of Allah. The Madinan Surahs were revealed for legislation.
The Prophet's Education of his Companions in Madina:
The First Hadith:
Anas narrated that Allah's Apostle said,
"None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind"
The Second Hadith:
Anas that Allah's Apostle said,
"None of you will have faith till he wishes for his brother what he likes for himself"
The loyalty was familial and tribal. The Prophet PBUH sublimated this loyalty making it for Allah, for Allah's religion and for Allah's Messenger.
"None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind" Umar spoke frankly to the Prophet: on the authority of Abdullah bin Hisham said: we were with the Prophet PBUH while he was holding Umar's hand.Umar said: O Messenger of Allah, I love you more than everything except for myself. The Prophet PBUH said: "No, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, till you love me more than yourself. Umar said: by Allah, now I love you even more than myself. The Prophet PBUH said: Now, o Umar?!"
The Prophet says:
"None of you will have faith till he wishes for his brother what he likes for himself"
In some versions:"None of you will have faith till he hates for his brother what he hates for himself"
As long as this brotherhood in this Hadith is not restricted, it's considered human brotherhood. If you say this is my brother in faith, kinship or neighbourhood, this is a restricted brotherhood. But in this Hadith it's absolute so it implies human brotherhood.
The Prophet's plans depended on consolidating bonds of brotherhood and
neighbourhood at their roots.
Once an aged Jewish called Sash drove a Jewish boy to chant a poem which Aws were chanting during their war with Khazraj. As a result, they got confused and agitated, exchanged insults and dragged their swords. Learning about that, the Prophet went to them and said: what a state of ignorance while I'm in your midst?!
As a result, this verse was revealed:
"How can ye disbelieve, when it is you unto whom Allah's revelations are reauthord, and His messenger in your midst?"
Allah- Al Mighty- considered dispute between the believers as disbelief.
The Third Hadith
That's why he said:
"Don't convert to disbelief after my death smiting the necks of one another"
This is what you're hearing every day in Palestine, Iraq and in most Muslim countries. Our enemies are planning to provoke sectarian unrests.The Fourth Hadith
Narrated by A'isha: the Prophet PBUH said:
"Gabriel continued to recommend me about treating the neighbours kindly and politely so much so I thought he would order me to make them as my heirs"
The Fifth Hadith
Narrated Abu Huraira, Allah's Apostle said:
"Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day shouldn't harm his neighbour, anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what's good or keep silent (i.e. abstain from all kinds of evil and dirty talk)"
The Sixth Hadith
Narrated by Abu Huraira, Allah's Apostle said:
"You can't enter paradise till you believe, you can't believe till you love one another. Shall I tell you what makes you love one another? Spread greetings among you".
The Seventh Hadith
The Prophet PBUH ordered the neighbours to cooperate and organize rights of easement between them.
Abu Hurairanarrated that Allah's Apostle said:
"No-one should prevent his neighbor from fixing a wooden peg in his wall." Abu Huraira said (to the companions), "Why do I find you averse to it? By Allah, I certainly will narrate it to you."
The Eighth Hadith
Ibn Abbas narrated that Allah's Apostle said:
"There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm"
The Ninth Hadith
Ibn Abbas narrated:
"The Prophet judged that seven cubits should be left as a public way when there was a dispute about the land and he said that he who's asked by his neighbour to fix something in his wall, must not prevent him"
The Tenth Hadith
Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-A's narrated that Allah's Apostle said:
"The best friends to Allah are those who are the best to their friends, and the best neighbours to Allah are those who are the best to their neighbours"
Conclusion:
The Prophet PBUH granted wastelands for building houses, coordinated between his Companions and gave orders so that the construction became twofold: one for houses, the other for hearts. In addition, he sublimated the loyalty for family and tribe to be for Allah, His Apostle and the believers in order for this society to be exemplary.
