The Prophet’s صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم Conduct with Delegations (part 1)
Author: Shahroz Ali Attari Madani
When the light of Islam spread from Mecca to Madina and beyond, not only did people from Arabia and non-Arab regions individually start to visit the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, but they also came in the form of delegations. Some were coming to embrace Islam, some to learn about the religion, some to seek solutions to their problems, some to cool their eyes by beholding the Prophetic countenance, some to attain the blessings of duꜤāˈ, and others to immerse themselves in a plethora of bounties.
Our beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم showed compassion, blessings, kindness, and mercy to those who came to him. Let us observe the various approaches adopted by the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم when meeting with delegations.
Unique manner of rectifying
The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was very conscientious about rectifying the arriving delegations. His manner of reformation was so gentle that the addressees would be ready to accept his words without any objections, as was the case with a delegation of 80 people from the Banu Kindah tribe who visited him. The leader of this delegation was AshꜤath b. Qays, who was renowned by the title of MꜤadī Karib رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ. He was a ruler of his area, and his companions were influential people too. Although all of them had accepted Islam, they were wearing silk. Thus, they entered Madina with all of them having wrapped shawls on their shoulders with edges embroidered with silk. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم asked, "Have you not accepted Islam?" They replied, "O Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم! By the grace of Allah, we have embraced the blessing of Islam." The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم then asked, "What is this silk then?" Becoming aware of their mistake, the delegation immediately threw their shawls on the ground. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was very pleased with their religious fervor. When they were about to leave, the Prophet presented the leader of the delegation, AshꜤath b. Qays, with 12 uqiyyah of silver, and the others received 10 uqiyyah each as a reward. (Ṭabaqāt lbn SꜤad, vol., p.248, Tārīkh Dimashq Madinah, vol.9, p.123)
Prophetic instruction
After the conquest of Mecca, a group from the tribe of Ṣadif came to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. These people had embraced Islam. When the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was delivering a sermon, they suddenly appeared, and without saying salaam, they sat down. The Prophet asked them, "Are you Muslims?" They replied, "O Messenger of Allah! We are Muslims." The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, "Then why didn't you say salaam?" Hearing this, they felt much remorse, and all of them immediately stood up and said, “السّلامُ عَلیکَ اَیَّہَا النَّبیُ وَرحمۃُ اللہِ.” The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم responded with, “وَعَلیکُمُ السَّلامُ” and instructed them to sit down. They sat and began asking him about the timings of prayer, so he taught them this. (al-Sīrah al-Nabī li Ibn Kathīr, vol.4, p.181, Ṭabaqāt lbn SꜤad, vol.1, p.248)
Changing the name of a delegation
Prior to the conquest of Mecca, a delegation of
Juhaynah came to visit the Prophet
صَلَّى
الـلّٰـهُ
عَلَيْهِ
وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.
This delegation visited under the command of ꜤAbd al-ꜤUzzā
b. Badr and his half-brother Abū RawꜤah. As the Prophet صَلَّى
الـلّٰـهُ
عَلَيْهِ
وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم greatly disliked the names from the
pre-Islamic era, he addressed ꜤAbd al-ꜤUzzā saying, "From now on, you are ꜤAbdullah." The Juhayna tribe was a
branch of the Banū Ghayyān, and as Ghayyān meant transgression,
he changed the name and said, “From today, the name of your tribe is Banū
Rashdān (i.e. guided people).” The valley in which they resided was called
Ghawā (misguidance), so the Prophet صَلَّى
الـلّٰـهُ
عَلَيْهِ
وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم changed it to Rushd (guidance). The Prophet
marked a place for their mosque. (Ṭabaqāt lbn SꜤad,
vol.1, p.251)
Once, a delegation of 250 individuals from the Aḥmas tribe came to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. He asked them, "Who are you?" They replied, "We are اَحْمَسُ اللہِ " (meaning those who are incited by Allah). In the pre-Islamic era, they were called by a similar name. So, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم changed their name to “اَحْمَسُ لِلہِ” (meaning, those who impart enthusiasm for the sake of Allah). (Ṭabaqāt lbn SꜤad, vol.1, p.261)
Being judicious when gifting
When the delegation of Banū Aḥmas arrived, the delegation of Banū Bajīlah was also present. The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم honoured the Banū Aḥmas delegation and instructed Sayyidunā Bilāl رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, "Give gifts to the delegation of Bajīlah, and start with the delegation of Aḥmas." His instructions were followed. (Subul al-Hudā wa al-Rashād, vol.6, p.261, Tārīkh Madina Dimashq, vol.24, p.422) On this occasion, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was mindful of the status and rank of the Aḥmas tribe, which is why they were given gifts first.
Offering duꜤā’
When the tribes of Aslam and Ghifār were also honoured to embrace Islam and visited the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, they said, "O Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم)! We have wholeheartedly chosen obeying Allah Almighty and you, so grant us something that would enable us to raise our heads with dignity in front of other tribes." In response to their request, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم raised his hands in prayer and said, "اَسْلَمُ سَالَمَهَا اللَّهُ وَغِفَارُ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَهَا ," meaning, "O Allah! Preserve Aslam and forgive Ghifār." (Ṭabaqāt lbn SꜤad, vol.1, p.265) This prayer was such an honour for the delegations that they could not contain their joy.
Similarly, not only did the beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم honour the tribe of Banū Ahmas, but he also prayed for their well-being. It is mentioned in Musnad Aḥmad: "O Lord! Bless the infantry and cavalry of Aḥmas." The beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم repeated this prayer seven times. (Musnad Ahmed, vol.31, p.129, Hadith 18,834)
(Continued in next month's issue)
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