MADINA AND CHANGING OF QIBLA |
In Arabic Yathrib means a place that hunts man or a place where man
becomes ill. This name was chosen by the Bedouins. The desert Bedouins considered it a
city of unfavourable climate and called it "Yathrib". The original inhabitants
of the city had named it "Tayyabah", that is, a pure and a loveable city.
Whenever one left the scorching sands of Arabia and entered the city one felt as if one
had entered the heavens. The Bedouins, who were brought up in the dry and barren climate
of the desert, could not bear the damp climate of the city and were soon taken ill.
However in due course of time they were used to the climate and later were not perturbed
by it. Majority of those who migrated from Makkah to Yathrib became ill. The
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace),
Abu BakrR.A and his freed slave Aamir bin Fahira also
became ill on reaching Madinah. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) on reaching Yathrib changed its name to Madinah. He did this
to avoid the name (Yathrib) becoming a cause of conflict between the Mohajir and Ansaar.
Madinah, at that time covered an area of about thirty kilometres. Besides the common
houses, there were present seventy-two forts, fifty-nine of which belonged to the Jews and
the remaining thirteen to Arabs. The city of Madinah is situated at a height and there are
two peaks in its north and south. On its three sides i.e. east, west and south is
spread solidified lava. Those days, the climate of Madinah The residents of Madinah, like the Makkans, were also divided into
various tribes -- each person was affiliated with a tribe. There was no police, no prison
or any court of law, hence, whosoever was aggrieved, referred to his tribe for the
restoration of his rights. Like Makkah, taking a human life was not considered a sin. The murderer
would lose all blame by paying the blood-money to the murdered persons tribe.
Minimum blood-money was one hundred camels, but more was demanded from the wealthier folk.
Half of the Medinites population was Arab and Jews. There were three tribes of Arabs in Madinah. They lived by cultivation
and rearing of animals. Some of them were traders or merchants. The Jews also had three
tribes; each was named according to its occupation. They dealt in gold, precious stones
and earned through orchards. Occasionally the Arabs of Madinah went for battles. One such battle was
fought before Islam on the cause of land dispute. Neither tribe benefited from the battle;
one person who did benefit was Abdullah bin Obei. He profited himself so
effectively that some of the Medinites began considering him their king. The goldsmiths of
Madinah in anticipation of his coronation took measurement of his forehead to cast a crown
for him. When they heard about the Prophets arrival, they discarded the idea of
coronation. A person named "Ashnaq", used to limit fixations on
blood-money and define punishment for a crime in Madinah. Abu BakrR.A also worked at such an
appointment before Hijrah. Whenever any murder took place, or someones eye was
gouged out or teeth broken one used to put up the complaint before Abu BakrR.A,
to fix blood money or ratio of Diyyah. This ratio was no more different in Madinah than in
Makkah. One hundred camels were taken for a human life, fifty camels for the eye, whereas
breaking a tooth was paid back in the same coin. In addition to the joy of the Prophets
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) arrival in Madinah, the Jews reared
an expectation that he would accept their religion. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) adopted (according to Allahs Decree) a reconciliation
attitude that further raised their expectations. When the Jews observed the Arch of Quba and Qibla directing towards
Bayt-al-Muqqaddis, they were convinced that the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would accept the religion of MosesR.A soon. In the Holy Quran also there were names of the
earlier Prophets, including IbrahimR.A, MosesR.A and ChristR.A, which
further strengthened their expectations. The Jews believed that if any nation could have a
prophet, only the Jews deserved the true entitlement. When the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was busy in the
construction of the Mosque, The replies given by the Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) to those sages made it clear that he would
not do so. They said, "O Muhammad (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace), if you intend to be a Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace), be a Jew first. Each and every
prophet till this day has belonged to the Jews because it is only the sages of the Jew
nation who could be entitled to converse with Allah. It is probable that Allah may reach
other nations as well, but it will only be the Jews to establish the link, as all the
other nations in the world rate inferior to us". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) answered, "I have not proclaimed a Prophethood by myself,
but have been chosen by Allah for the Apostleship. All nations are equal before Allah, and
it is His will to communicate with any, whenever or wherever He doth intend! And this
distinction is not for the Jews alone". Friday as a Special Day for Collective Prayers Friday was the first day when the Muslims offered prayers in the
Mosque of Quba. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) declared this day for the Muslims for collective worship. This again
went contrary to the Jewish expectancy, who were expecting it to be Saturday. One of the Jews accepted Islam in Quba. This Jew had announced the
Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
arrival in Madinah. Islamic historians have given his name as "Shalom". On one Friday when the Muslims gathered for prayers, some Jews also
joined them. In his "Khutbah", the Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) addressed the Jews to explain to them the
equality of all nations before Allah, negating the superiority of the Jews. However it is
only the pious and the abstainers that are of more virtue before Him. When the Jews came out of the Mosque, they were well aware that the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
was not going to accept their religion, therefore from that very day, they girdled up
their loins against the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) and the Muslims. They started expressing their enmity by
spreading rumours, "That according to a message by Allah, all the Muslim women will
go sterile, any woman who accepts Islam will become issueless forever". These rumours was spread at a time when the Muslim migrants were taken
ill due to climatic changes. The Muslim women who were ill, became psychologically
depressed and their illness. The Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) ordered the Muslims to gather in the Mosque and told
them about the rumours regarding the Muslim women. He told them that the rumours were
utterly unfounded and untrue. He ordered them to comfort their womenfolk, and added that
the reward for their consolation rests with Allah. Later Allah commanded His Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) to change the direction of the Qibla for
Muslims to Holy Kabah instead of Bayt-al-Muqqadas. Islamic historians have called
the mosque where it happened as "the Mosque with two Qiblas". The scholars of Islam have written that the injunctions of Islam were
not revealed all of a sudden, but gradually over a span of twenty-three years. The reason for gradual revelation of Islamic laws is quite apparent
because if the previous laws were cancelled by a stroke of pen to replace with the new
ones, it would have led the people to great confusion. The new laws would also not have
been easily acted upon. It was therefore quite imperative and logical for the new laws to
be implemented slowly and gradually to let the common man get used to them. In the Western countries where knowledge and technology has progressed
a great deal. The means of communication and mutual exchange of ideas like newspapers,
magazines, books, radio, television and telephone etc. have also spread everywhere. Even
today no government, how developed it may be, can implement or practise hundreds of laws
in a single day. If it does so, it would paralyse the people and the management of life.
Chaos will spread in the society to cause unsurmountable problems. One can easily
understand the problems of implementation of hundreds of new laws in the dark ages. After the Prophets (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) Apostleship, the previous laws remained
functional until they were cancelled later. On these grounds and on the basis of
concessions made by the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace), the Jews had developed a misconception that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was going
to accept their religion. |
Before the Qibla of the Muslims was changed, the following Quranic
verse of the second Surah, Al-Baqarah, was revealed; 115. Allah ordered the Muslims through second Surah Baqarah, verse
142,144,148,149 and 150, to change their Qibla towards Holy Kabah. In the verse 142 of Surah Baqarah is revealed: 142. 144. 148. 149. 150. Some Islamic mystics, in the light of the above verses, which do not
differentiate between the East and West with respect to status, have derived that each and
every place is same in the eyes of Allah: The Islamic saints and mystics were inspired
from these verses and for them monastery or Harem, Holy Kabah or idolatry and church
are the places where Allah is to be searched. It is important to mention the point that although east or west are the
same before Allah, when he orders His people to pray towards Holy Kabah, no one can
make it a pretext that east or west are the same before Him. The changing of Qibla bears extreme significance in the Islamic history
because it gave the Islamic Ummat its separate identity, which was quite different from
the Jewish or Christian nations. Islam is the religion, which was revealed to a prophet whose lineage
roots emanated from IbrahimR.A. The Holy Kabah is
also the same house whose foundation was laid by IbrahimR.A.
When Allah commanded the Muslims to change their Qibla towards Holy Kabah, it meant
the complete segregation of Islam from Judaism and Christianity. All Muslims, especially those who had migrated from Makkah were much
pleased on the changing of Qibla. The Holy Kabah bore great reverence among all the Arabs. They
could never forget Makkah which was their home town. When the decree of changing the Qibla
was revealed, their hearts were much appeased. In addition to building the Mosque, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also built houses in its
neighbourhood to give shelter to the needy. Some Muslims, including the Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) himself, had left their families in Makkah
while migrating. Those left in Makkah had to come to Madinah. The people in a family were
like the branches of a tree, which had to keep themselves attached with the stem. Cutting
off the branch was like amputating the hand from the body. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) who was considering to
bring his family to Madinah from Makkah went to the market-place of Madinah, before the
completion of the houses, and bought three dromedaries whose price was paid by Abu BakrR.A. As the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) and Abu BakrR.A already had
two dromedaries when they came to Madinah, their number now increased to five. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) sent for his cousin AliR.A
and said, "O AliR.A, as you know, my daughters and
my wives SawdahR.A and AishahR.A
are in Makkah, therefore you should bring them to Madinah on these dromedaries. Take ZaydR.A with you and also bring his wife Umm-e-Aiman". ZaydR.A was the freed slave whom the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had adopted as his son. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) had four daughters named FatimaR.A,
Umm-e-KalsoomR.A, ZaynabR.A
and RuqayyahR.A. RuqayyahR.A
along with her husband had reached Madinah whereas the rest of the three were still in
Makkah. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) also endowed five camels for the migration of the Muslim
families from Makkah to Madinah. When these camels returned to Madinah, they were
considered with reverence by the Muslims. Nobody obstructed them and they were free to
graze and drink anywhere in and around the city. When the Mosque was completed and the Makkan Muslims brought their
families to Madinah, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) in consultation with his companions composed the first
constitution for the city of Madinah. In the Islamic history, this constitution is known
as "Mithaq-e-Madinah". The constitution was composed in such a way that
believers of all the religions could live together freely on the principles of equality. Apart from Jews and the Believers there lived a third large group of
people in Madinah. In Islam they have been called the hypocrites. All the Arabs living in
Madinah were Muslims, except those who have been mentioned as Pretenders in
the Holy Quran. By Pretenders is not meant the opponents of Islam, as is generally
thought because these neither opposed Islam, nor supported it, they rather maintained the
middle policy. Monafiq or the Hypocrite or the Pretender is the one who
segregates. In Arabic language, Monafiq means an animal like a fox in search of a
hole to hide itself from danger. In the Fourth Surah of the Holy Quran, AL-Nisaa,
verse 137, Allah has expressed about such people: 137. In the same Surah, verse 145 is mentioned: 145. It is to be made clear here that Allah has sanctioned such a harsh
punishment not even for the non-Believers, as is recommended for a Hypocrite. Ancient Italys famous poet Alighieri Dante has taken reference
from the Holy Quran in his famous book "La Divine Commedia", and following
the incidents of "Mairaaj", has sketched purgatory, Heaven and Inferno. He
also has placed those with hypocrisy or duality the ones who neither support openly nor
oppose at the lowest section of Hell. However, the above mentioned verses reveal that
being hypocrite in religion is an unforgivable crime in the eyes of Allah. It was these
people who later joined with the Jews and helped the Quraysh in their continuous
opposition to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace). |