In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary of the book:
"Ramadan: Events and Lessons."
The arrival of the delegations of Thaqif and Himyar
to declare their Islam.
The time was Ramadan
of the ninth year after the Hijrah.
The conquest of Mecca had a resounding echo
and a profound impact among the Arabs.
Entering Mecca, cleansing it of idols,
and ruling it by the law of Islam
was a long-awaited moment for the people
who had not yet accepted Islam,
whose implicit attitude was:
"Let us wait and see how Muhammad fares with his own people."
Thus, when the dawn of conquest gleamed in the sky of Mecca
and the glad tidings of glory and empowerment appeared
on its horizons in favor of the Muslims,
falsehood was dispelled at that moment
from those people,
and they came forward pledging allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
in Islam, in groups and individually.
So in Ramadan of the ninth year
of the Hijrah,
right after the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
from Tabuk,
two delegations reached Medina to declare their acceptance of Islam
on behalf of their respective peoples.
The first delegation was that of Thaqif,
and the second was that of the kings of Himyar.
First:
The Delegation of Thaqif.
Thaqif suffered two heavy, consecutive blows.
The first was the Muslims' conquest of Mecca,
which in itself was
a severe psychological shock to them.
The second was the Battle of Hunayn,
in which they, along with the other allied tribes
allied with them, suffered a major military
and economic loss.
Then the power of the Muslims became clearly evident to them as well
when remnants of their forces fled
to al-Ta'if and fortified themselves there,
whereupon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pursued them
with a host of Muslims
and besieged them for more than a month,
before turning back from them to Medina.
Before the Prophet (peace be upon him) reached
Medina, Urwah
ibn Mas'ud al-Thaqafi caught up with him and embraced Islam.
He then sought permission from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
to return to his people, Thaqif,
to call them to Islam.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him:
"They will kill you."
That was because the Prophet of Allah knew
their fierce pride and refusal to submit.
But Urwah said, "I am dearer to them
than their own firstborn children," for he was
beloved and obeyed among them.
Yet a person may be deceived by people's love for him
when he agrees with what they desire
and does not oppose what they dislike,
unaware that opposing them in such matters
may reveal aspects of people's character
and actions that he never expected from them.
Nevertheless, Urwah returned to Thaqif,
eager for their acceptance of Islam and committed to conveying the message to them.
When he reached them,
he informed them of his new religion
and called them to it,
but they gave him no respite and shot arrows at him
until they killed him (may Allah be pleased with him).
Thus it transpired just as the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) had foretold.
This informs us that popular affection
should not be relied upon nor depended upon,
for a single stance in which the beloved figure opposes
the public's desires
may turn their love for him into intense hostility.
Therefore, a believer should always maintain his focus on pleasing Allah
and act among people in accordance with that,
without caring much about people's approval
or disapproval,
for such feelings are swift to change in them.
A few months after the killing of Urwah, Thaqif
deliberated among themselves
and concluded that they had no power
to fight the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
and the Arabs who were with him,
even though they were a formidable and powerful tribe.
So they sent a delegation to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
among whom was Uthman ibn Abi al-Aas,
who was the youngest of the group,
seeking to pledge allegiance and accept Islam.
This was a wise decision on their part,
and better for them in their worldly life and the Hereafter,
for praiseworthy courage
is that which is accompanied by sound judgment.
That delegation remained in Medina,
negotiating with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
regarding conditions they sought to stipulate,
including that he permit them to commit fornication,
drink wine, and consume usury,
that he leave them their idol al-Lat,
exempt them from performing the prayer,
and that they not demolish their idols with their own hands.
But the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) refused
and accepted none of that from them,
except that he exempted them from destroying their idols
with their own hands.
So he sent Abu Sufyan and al-Mughirah for that purpose.
During the days that the delegation remained
in Medina, Uthman ibn Abi al-Aas
(may Allah be pleased with him) was the most eager among the delegation
to gain understanding of the religion (fiqh) and listen to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
He listened extensively to the Messenger of Allah
and memorized what he could of the Qur'an.
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) observed
that deep eagerness in him,
he appointed him as the leader in prayer for his people
and imparted several counsels to him.
In the course of this delegation's negotiations
with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
concerning those sins,
there is a clear indication of their strong attachment to them.
Yet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) refused to accept
their Islam and pledge of allegiance
except on condition of abandoning them all,
because he wanted from them a pure Islam
untainted by those sins,
one with which Allah Almighty is pleased.
As for selective Islam,
which follows personal whims and desires,
it is not a complete Islam.
For how can it be true Islam
when there is no prayer in it?
So that delegation returned to Thaqif
after fasting the remainder of Ramadan with the Muslims,
having pledged allegiance to Islam
with all that Islam entails, without selecting
among its rulings.
When they arrived, al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah
(may Allah be pleased with him) took a pickaxe and demolished the idol,
then collected its wealth and jewelry.
He then sent word to Abu Sufyan,
saying to him that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
had commanded them to settle
the debts of Urwah ibn Mas'ud
and his brother al-Aswad ibn Mas'ud,
the father of Qarib ibn al-Aswad,
from the wealth of the idol.
So he settled their debts from it.
Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) commanded
that
to reconcile the heart and honor the son of al-Aswad,
Qarib ibn al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him).
Second: The Delegation of the Kings of Himyar.
News had spread among all the Arabs
of the victory of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
over Quraysh and other tribes
surrounding Mecca and Medina.
In fact, the strength of the Muslims had grown to such an extent
that they reached the point of engaging the Roman
Empire at Mu'tah,
and subsequently preparing to fight them at Tabuk.
This was something that had never crossed
the minds of the Arabs at that time.
Among those who received these reports
were the Arabs of Yemen in the south of the Peninsula,
who realized then that nothing was
better or more paramount than submission
and responding to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
Thus, the kings of Himyar sent,
in the month of Ramadan of the ninth year of the Hijrah,
a letter to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
informing him of their acceptance of Islam
and their renunciation of polytheism and its adherents.
They were al-Harith ibn Abd Kulal,
Nu'aym ibn Abd Kulal,
al-Nu'man, ruler of Dhu Yazan,
Ma'afir, and Hamdan.
They dispatched the letter with Zur'ah Dhu Yazan
and Malik ibn Murrah al-Rahawi.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied to them
with a letter praising Allah Almighty
for their acceptance of Islam,
in which he explained to them several Islamic rulings
such as zakat, spoils of war, and the jizyah tax,
and outlined the rights of the believers
as well as those under a covenant.
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) dispatched
a group of his Companions, appointing as their leader
Mu'adh ibn Jabal,
placing him over the upper province toward Aden,
between al-Sukun and al-Sakasik.
He served as a judge, a commander in times of war,
an administrator responsible for collecting charity and the jizyah,
He entrusted him with leading them in the five daily prayers.
And he dispatched Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him)
over the lower region:
Zabid, Ma'rib, Zama', and the coastal plain.
He instructed them: "Make things easy, and do not make them difficult.
Give glad tidings, and do not drive people away.
Cooperate with each other, and do not differ."
Mu'adh remained in Yemen
until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed away.
As for Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him),
he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
during the Farewell Pilgrimage.
This noble stance by the kings of Himyar
is a virtue among their virtues
and a meritorious legacy among their legacies,
for they declared their Islam
and severed ties with polytheism and the polytheists,
without war, stubbornness, or conditions—
unlike what Thaqif did—
and they facilitated the mission of the envoys of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent
to them, including Mu'adh, Abu Musa,
Khalid, and 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them).
And in this event
there are lessons: First,
the importance of exercising sound judgment and wisdom,
prioritizing them over being deceived by mere force.
Second, demonstrating the impact...
Third,
true Islam requires
a person to accept it in its entirety,
not to select only what accords with his desires
while abandoning the rest.
Fourth,
acquiring understanding of the religion and eagerness for knowledge
is the path to praiseworthy leadership.
Fifth,
the validity of sending teachers and guides
to instruct people and grant them understanding of Allah's religion.
Ramadan: Events and Lessons.