Brotherhood among believers

It was not only the construction of a mosque as a place for people to meet and come together that concerned the Messenger of God ﷺ in Medina but also the financial situation of the believers, primarily those who had migrated from Mecca. For this purpose, the Prophet ﷺ decided to encourage brotherhood between the Muhajirs and Ansars, which was to become one of the most wonderful deeds that history has ever known.

At the initiative of the Messenger of God ﷺ, the Muhajirs and Ansars became brothers in the house of Anas bin Malik. There were 90 of them, half of whom were Muhajirs, the other half were Ansars. He led them to brotherhood, which was supposed to serve as a consolation for the Muhajirs who had lost their property, since in the event of the death of one of the named brothers, the other inherited his property along with his blood relatives.

This situation continued until the Battle of Badr, when Almighty Allah revealed the ayah which said (the meaning of the commentary), “And whoever believed later, but emigrated and fought with you, they are from you (O Muhajireen and Ansar) but blood relatives are closer to one another (in inheritance) …” (Sura Al-Anfal, ayah 75). After this, the inheritance of property by sworn brothers was abolished but the bonds of brotherhood remained.

The wisdom of brotherhood

As Imam al-Ghazali notes, the significance of this brotherhood was that thanks to it, the spirit of tribal intransigence, characteristic of the era of ignorance (jahiliya), disappeared. People became committed only to the norms of their religion, differences due to origin, skin color and place of birth were erased and each could stand out from others only by his courage or piety. The Prophet ﷺ made this act of brotherhood an actual agreement and not merely a matter of words. This brotherhood became a matter that had to do with the lives and property of the people. The people who were bound by the bonds of this brotherhood gave their brothers preference over themselves, sympathised with them and treated them as brothers, setting excellent examples of human relationships for the new society.

It is reported that when the Muhajirs came to Medina, the Prophet ﷺ paired Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Awf with Sa’d ibn ar-Rabi’ah, and Sa’d said to Abd ar-Rahman: “Indeed, I am the richest of the Ansar and I will give you half of what I have. And see which of my two wives pleases you, and I will give her to you, and when her term (iddah - the period during which a woman is not allowed to remarry after a divorce) is completed, you will marry her.” Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Awf said, “There is no need for that.” He asked, “Is there a market where people trade?” Sa’d replied, “There is the Qaynuqa market.” Abd ar-Rahman took some curd and butter there and began to go there regularly. His trade was so successful and profitable that one day when he came to the Messenger of God ﷺ there were yellow marks from the perfume on his clothes. The Prophet ﷺ asked him, “Have you married?” He said, “Yes.” The Prophet ﷺ asked, “To whom?” Abd ar-Rahman replied, “To a woman from the Ansar.” The Prophet ﷺ asked, “And how much did you give (mahr - property or money given by a husband to his wife upon marriage)?” Abd ar-Rahman said, “Gold equal in weight to a date kernel.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari).

One day the Ansar asked the Prophet ﷺ, “Divide the palm trees between us and our brothers (the Muhajirs).” He refused them, saying, “No.” Then they suggested (to the Muhajirs), “Look after our palm trees, and we will share the date harvest with you.” The Muhajirs agreed. All of the above indicates the warm welcome that the Ansar extended to their brothers, the Muhajirin, and how willing they were to sacrifice themselves for them. And how sincere and friendly the Muhajirin were, who duly appreciated this generosity, but used it in moderation and only in order to somehow maintain their existence.

This unique brotherhood, which was the result of correct and wise policy, made it possible to find an excellent solution to many of the problems of the Muslims, as we have already mentioned.

The treaty of brotherhood not only made the believers brothers, but also concluded another agreement that allowed people to overcome all tribal strife and left no room for maintaining the existence of the traditions of the previous times of ignorance (jahiliya).

Summary of the points of the agreement

The treaty began with the following words, “This is a letter from Muhammad ﷺ, the Prophet of God, concerning the relationship between the believers of the Quraysh tribe and the Muslims of the city of Yathrib, and those who followed them.

1. They form a single community, separate from other people.
2. The Muhajirun from among the Quraysh are a single entity and will pay each other veera (compensation for killing, wounding or maiming) and ransom their captives according to the customs and justice among the believers. Each tribe from among the Ansar will pay veera as it was before, and each group of them will ransom their captives according to the customs and justice among the believers.
3. The believers will not abandon any of their number in trouble, paying ransom or veera according to custom.
4. The believers will oppose anyone among them who sows discord among them, or commits injustice and sin, or stirs up enmity, or spreads corruption among the believers.
5. They will join forces against such a person, even if he is the son of one of them.
6. A believer will not kill a believer because of an unbeliever.
7. A believer will not support an unbeliever against a believer.
8. The protection of God ﷻ is unique, and He takes everyone under His protection, even the most insignificant of them.
9. Those Jews who follow them will be helped and given equal rights; no one will oppress them nor will anyone help others against them.
10. The conclusion of peace for the believers is unique. A believer will not declare a truce without the knowledge of another believer in the battles in the way of Allah, except according to the conditions of justice and equality between all.
11. The believers will provide one another with help and support.
12. A polytheist may not protect the property or life of a Quraysh and he should not come between a believer and a Quraysh.
13. Whoever kills a believer without cause should be killed, unless the relatives of the murdered person agree to something else (for example, the consent of the relatives to receive ransom for the murdered person).
14. It is not permissible for a believer to help a criminal or to shelter him. Whoever helps him or provides him with shelter will incur the curse of God ﷻ and His wrath on the Day of Judgment, and neither obligatory nor supererogatory (prayers, fasts and other types of worship) will be accepted from him.
15. Whatever one disagrees about something, he should turn to the Almighty (the decision of the Koran) and to Muhammad ﷺ (hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ).

Adil Ibragimov

Theologian