In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
Authored by Sheikh Musa bin Rashid al-Azimi.
May Allah preserve him.
The Construction of the Prophet’s Mosque.
The first task undertaken by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
after settling in the Prophetic city of Medina,
was the construction of the Prophet’s Mosque.
The two Sheikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated in their Sahih collections from Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
He then commanded that the mosque be built.
He sent for the leaders of the Banu al-Najjar.
They came,
and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"O Banu al-Najjar,
name your price for this garden of yours."
They replied, "No, by Allah,
we seek no price for it except from Allah the Almighty."
In another narration in Sahih al-Bukhari,
Urwah Ibn al-Zubayr said:
"It (the she-camel) knelt down at the mosque of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in Medina."
Meaning, the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, knelt down.
At that time, some of the Muslims were praying there.
It was a drying yard for dates belonging to Sahl and Suhayl,
two orphan boys under the guardianship of As'ad Ibn Zurarah, may Allah be pleased with him.
When his mount knelt down, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"This, if Allah wills, is the place."
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, called the two boys
and bargained with them for the drying yard to take it as a mosque.
They said, "No,
rather, we give it to you as a gift, O Messenger of Allah."
But the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, refused to accept it from them as a gift,
until he purchased it from them.
Then he built it into a mosque.
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, began
the construction of the Prophet’s Mosque.
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad with a sound (sahih) chain of narration
from Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"The site of the Prophet’s mosque, peace be upon him, belonged to the Banu al-Najjar.
It contained palm trees, cultivated land, and graves from the pre-Islamic era."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ordered the palm trees to be cut down,
the cultivated land to be cleared,
and the graves to be exhumed.
In Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim,
it is narrated from Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ordered the graves of the polytheists to be exhumed,
the ruins to be leveled,
and the palm trees to be cut down."
They arranged the palm trunks to form the qibla of the mosque,
and they made its doorposts out of stone.
As they carried the stones, they chanted in rhythm,
and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was with them, saying:
"O Allah, there is no good except the good of the Hereafter,
so grant victory to the Ansar and the Muhajirun."
The Prophet’s Mosque was built in the simplest form.
Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from Nafi',
that Abdullah Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, reported
that the mosque, during the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
was built of mud bricks,
its roof was made of palm branches,
and its pillars were of palm wood.
The Construction of the Chambers for the Wives of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, built a chamber around his noble mosque
to serve as dwellings for him and his family.
They were in the simplest form.
Sawda Bint Zam'a, may Allah be pleased with her, had a house,
and another belonged to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her,
because the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had not married anyone else at that time.
Imam al-Bukhari narrated in Al-Adab al-Mufrad with a sound chain of narration
from Dawud Ibn Qays, who said:
"I saw the chambers made of palm branches,
covered on the outside with haircloth,"
meaning, a garment of hair.
"I estimate the width of the house from the door of the chamber to the door of the house
to be about six or seven cubits.
And I estimate the interior of the house to be ten cubits.
I think its height was between seven and eight cubits, or thereabouts.
I stood at the door of Aisha,
and it faced the west."
Imam al-Bukhari also narrated in Al-Adab al-Mufrad with a sound chain of narration
from Muhammad Ibn Hilal,
that he saw the chambers of the wives of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
made of palm branches covered with haircloth.
I asked him about the house of Aisha,
and he said:
"Its door was facing the direction of the Levant (al-Sham)."
I asked:
"Was it a single-leaf door or a double-leaf door?"
He said:
"It was a single door."
I asked:
"What was it made of?"
He said:
"Of juniper or teak wood."
The Brotherhood between the Muhajirun and the Ansar.
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, established brotherhood
between the Muhajirun and the Ansar, may Allah be pleased with them.
This brotherhood was contracted in the house of Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him.
The two Sheikhs narrated in their Sahih collections,
as did Imam Ahmad in his Musnad,
with the wording belonging to Ahmad,
from Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, established a pact of brotherhood
between the Muhajirun and the Ansar in our house."
Sufyan said:
"It is as if he meant he established brotherhood."
Al-Hafiz said in Al-Fath:
"The beginning of the brotherhood was in the early days of the arrival of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in Medina,
and he continued to renew it for those who entered Islam
or arrived in Medina."
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"He established brotherhood among them based on mutual support,
and they would inherit from one another after death, to the exclusion of their blood relatives,
until the time of the Battle of Badr."
Then Allah the Almighty revealed:
﴾But blood relatives are more entitled to inheritance in the decree of Allah.﴿
This returned the right of inheritance to blood relatives, rather than the bond of brotherhood.
Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak with a hasan (good) chain of narration
from al-Zubayr Ibn al-Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"Regarding us, this verse was revealed:
﴾But blood relatives are more entitled to inheritance...﴿"
He said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
had established brotherhood between a man from the Muhajirun and a man from the Ansar.
I did not doubt that we would inherit from one another if Ka'b died,"
meaning Ka'b Ibn Malik al-Ansari,
"and he had no one else to inherit from him.
So I thought that I would inherit from him,
and if I died, he would likewise inherit from me,
until this verse was revealed:
﴾But blood relatives are more entitled to inheritance...﴿"
Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak with a sound chain of narration
from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
"The Muhajirun used to inherit from one another to the exclusion of the desert Arabs,
then ﴾But blood relatives are more entitled to inheritance﴿ was revealed."
In another wording in Sunan Abi Dawud with a hasan chain of narration from him, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:
"A man would form a pact of brotherhood with another man,
even if there was no kinship between them,
and one would inherit from the other.
Then this was abrogated by Surah al-Anfal,
for Allah the Almighty said:
﴾But blood relatives are more entitled to inheritance...﴿"
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
If the longing of the worlds for some of them is long,
then the longing for you, O Messenger of Allah, has no bounds.
May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
and as long as lips move with the remainder of the remembrance.