First pledge of al-Aqabah

The following year, twelve of the Ansar came on the pilgrimage and met Muhammad at al-Aqabah, this being the frist al-Aqabah, and took an oath of allegiance to him according to the terms of the "pledge of women". A footnote in Tabari reads: "This was a pledge to accept and practice the religion of Islam, but without any undertaking to protect Muhammad."The Ansar (Medina Muslims) had, as we will see below, not learned much about Islam in advance, but took the pledge in confidence to Muhammad having good intentions. This was before the duty of making war was laid upon them. Clear enough. Shortly after, making war would become religious duty in Islam. Everyone considering Islam to be a religion of peace should be made aware of this. A long list of participants follows. Ubadah b. al-Samit relates: "I was among those who were present at the first al-Aqabah. There were twelve of us, and we took an oath of allegiance to him according to the terms of the "pledge of women," this being before the duty of making war was laid upon us." Notice that the allegiance was sworn to Muhammad personally, not to Allah. The duty of making war is confirmed by an eyewitness. The terms were that we should not associate anything with Allah, should not steal, should not commit adultery, should not kill our children, should not produce any lie we have devised between our hand and feet, and should not disobey him in what was proper. While Muhammad himself had broken or would break most of these terms, we actually have here something from Muhammad that is not evil or inhuman. The Arabs had a tradition for killing children they could not feed or care for. The Hadith has no account of any Muslim ever doing this. However, killing in general is not banned, and 'adultery' is not defined at all. This was to have significant consequences later. The ending "should not disobey him in what was proper." rings a bit hollow, as Muhammad would himself be the final arbiter of what was proper and what was wrong, and used this authority extensively. If we fulfilled this, we should have paradise, and if we committed any of these sins, we should be punished with the described penalties in this world, which would be an expiation of them, while if we concealed them to the Day of Ressurection, then the matter was in Allah's hands; if he wished, He would punish us, and if He wished, He would forgive us. It is an open question what would happen to Muhammad for violation of these terms, as we was the one giving them, not accepting them. We know that he did not receive punishment for them during his lifetime, so presumably the matter is in the hand of Allah, who is free to do with Muhammad what he wishes. This somewhat despotic trait contrasts with the rule of law of European tradition. The option to simply hide your sins and have Allah proclaim final judgement at his will looks like a lottery ticket on the consequences of bad behaviour.

The Second pledge of al-Aqabah

Some of the Muslim Ansar went on the pilgrimage together with polytheist pilgrims from their people, and when they came to Mecca, they agreed to meet Muhammad at al-Aqabar in the middle of the days of al-tashriq. Thus Allah wished to honor them, to aid his prophet, to make Islam and its followers mighty, and to humiliate polytheism and its followers. Might for Muslims and humiliation of infidels remain central to Islam today. We see that the polytheists (the worst of infidels) and the Muslims share identical pilgrimage rites, which have been incorporated unmodified from polytheism to Islam. And at this point Muslims and infidels seem to be coming along fine. Probably the key difference between the two groups was that the Muslims recognized Muhammad as the messenger of Allah, while the infidels did not. Kab b. Malik, who was one of those present at al-Aqabah and swore the oath of allegiance to Muhammad, relates: Also the second pledge of al-Aqabah was to Muhammad personally, not to Allah. We set out among the pilgrims of our tribe, having prayed and become instructed in our religion. When we set off on our journey and left Medina, al-Bara said to us: "By Allah, I have made a decision, and I do not know whether you will agree with it or not." We said: "What is that?" and he said: "I have decided that I shall not turn my back to this building (meaning the Kaaba) and that I shall pray toward it." We said: "By Allah, we have not heard that our prophet prays in any other direction than toward Syria, and we do not wish to differ from him." He answered: "I shall pray toward the Kaaba." "We shall not do so," we said. A footnote in Tabari reads: Facing towards Syria means, of course, facing towards Jerusalem as the Jews did. The final change of qiblah (direction faced in prayer), from Jerusalem to Mecca, occurred about February AD 624. This teological squabble is ripe with implications. While the change of qiblah is traditionally thought to have taken place in AD 624, this is contradicted by substantial archeological evidence, namely the qiblah of all mosques constructed in the 7th century. They all points towards Jerusalem, except one: The Dome of Rock in Jerusalem itself, which has none. Possibly, the change of qiblah has been edited into the text at a later point in time. Throughout the Quran, many stories about the sancticity of the Kaaba exist, and it is often seen as an object of worship itself. This analysis, however, leads down a dangerous path, as one of the basic Islamic tenets is that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah. The many contradicting creation accounts of the Kaaba are hard to take seriously. They simply cannot all be true. But the hadith does present one piece of archeological evidence that points to a completely different origin: While reconstruction the Kaaba in the early days of Muhammad, the Arabs came across a stone with an inscription in Syriac, quoting the Bible. The Kaaba might originally have been an abadoned church, worshipped as holy by the Arabs, and then populated with the ever-popular stone idols of Arabia. One may wonder, of course, what is so important about the direction to bend down in prayer. After all, Allah is supposed to be present everywhere, and the actual direction should matter little. Since Muhammad were in conflict with the Jews over his status as a prophet (or Messiah) of their tradition, the choice of Jerusalem for prayer direction might be seen as part of an attempt to substantiate that claim. In any case, the direction of prayer is sunnah, an example set by Muhammad, and still followed by Muslims worldwide. More deliberation over the correct bending direction follows until we return to al-Aqabah: Then we went on the pilgrimage, and agreed to meet Muhammad at al-Aqabah in the middle of the days of al-tashriq. When we had finished the pilgrimage, the night came upon us when we had promised to meet Muhammad. We had concealed our purpose from the polytheists among our people who were with us. We spent that night encamped with our people, but when a third of the night had gone by, we left our encampment to meet Muhammad. We slipped away secretly, moving as silently as sand grouse, and met in the ravine of al-Aqabah. Possibly the Muslims simply pretended to still be polytheists. Being a Muslim at this time is a very clandestine affair, slipping away to secret meetings at night and all.

The Pledge

We were seventy men and two women. We gathered in the ravine to wait for Muhammad. He came to us accompanied by his paternal uncle al-Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib, who at that time still adhered to the religion of his people, but wished to be present when his nephew as negotiating and to see that there was a firm agreement. Interesting to have an independent watcher over this agreement. When he had sat down, al-Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib was the first to speak, and said: "Poeple of the Khazraj (the Arabs used to call the Ansar, the Khazraj and the Aws together, by the name of the Khazraj), you know what Muhammad's position is among us. We have protected him against those of our people who have the same religious views as ourselves. He is held in honour by his own people and is safe in his country. Actually, this is an obvious misrepresentation. He is determined to leave them and to join you, so if you think that you can fulfil the promises which you made in inviting him to come to you and can defend him against his enemies, then assume the responsibilities which you have taken upon yourselves. But if you think that you will abandon him and hand him over after he has come to you, then leave him alone now, for he is honored by his people and is safe in his country." The strife between Muhammad and the Meccans had been going on for a decade, and had only been temporarily settled through the Quraysh bargain compromise. Soon after this pledge, they'd even be an attempt on Muhammad's life. But elevating the status of Muhammad has a purpose: We said to him: "We have heard what you have said. Speak, Messenger of Allah, and choose what you want for yourself and your Lord." Muhammad spoke, recited the Quran, summoned us to Allah, and made us desirous of Islam. A pity that the actual words of Muhammad are not preserved. It would be interesting to see the details of what he promised the Muslims in return for the pledge that follows. Then he said: "I will enter a contract of allegiance with you, provided that you protect me as you would with your wives and children." His personal security was a matter of primary importance to Muhammad. It's a bit different from the attitude of Jesus when he faced danger. Possibly the fear of being orphaned still lingers. Then al-Bara b. Marur took his hand and said: "By Him who sent you with the truth, we shall defend you as we would our womenfolk. Administer the oath of allegience to us, O Messenger of Allah, for we are men of war and men of coats of mail; we have inherited this from generation to generation." Obviously, this is the kind of protection Muhammad desires. He was interrupted as he was speaking to Muhammad by Aby al-Haytham b. al-Tayyihan, the confederate of the Banu Abd al-Ashhal, who said: "O Messenger of Allah, there are ties between us and other people which we shall have to sever (meaning the Jews). If we do this and Allah gives us victory, will you perhaps return to your own people and leave us?" This is a good question. Muhammad is about to make the final step of breaking with his clan, and the Medina Muslims wish to make sure that he will not, a few years down the line, act in a similar manner to them. Muhammad smiled and then said: "Rather, blood is blood, and blood shed without retaliation is blood shed without retaliation. You are of me and I am of you. I shall fight whoever you fight and make peace with whomever you make peace with." While the first statement is egnimatic, the final answer is clear: Muhammad will be of Medina (actually still named Yathrib) from now on. Then he said: "Appoint twelve representatives (naqib) from among you for me, who will see to their people's affairs." They appointed twelve representatives, nine from the Khazraj and three from the Aws. It is amazing how Muhammad is permitted to rule the Medina Muslims from day 1. He has no track record of rulership and no miracles to show for his new religion. The confidence people have in Muhammad is nothing short of amazing. Muhammad said to the representatives: "You are to see to your people's affairs; you are a surity for them, as the disciples were for Jesus, son of Mary, and I am for my people." They agreed to this. It's a bit confusing who exactly is a surity for who. But this casting himself in the role of Jesus certainly goes down well with the Muslims, who for centuries have seen the Jews having a much more organized religion than themselves, but guarding their spiritual treasures jealously. The Jews have traditionally had very strict conditions for converting to their religion, and even after a millenium their religion didn't dominate the Arab peninsula.

The Terms

When they gathered to take the oath of allegiance to Muhammad, al-Abbas b. Ubadah said: "People of the Khazraj, do you know what you are pledging yourselves to in swearing allegiance to this man?" "Yes," they said. He continued: "In swearing allegiance to him, you are pledging yourselves to wage war against all mankind." Timeout. What exactly is going on here? Just how deeply is war to be entrenched into Islam? Isn't religion about saving people from evil, about settling conflicts peacefully, refraining from doing harm? While defending religious people from attack is meaningful, these terms go much beyond this. If you think that when your wealth is exhausted by misfortune and your nobles are depleted by death, you will give him up, then stop now, for by Allah, it is disgrace in this world and the next." This elaboration wasn't much better. But if you think that you will be faithful to the promises which you made in inviting him, even if you wealth is exhausted and your nobles killed, then take him, for, by Allah, he is the best thing for you in this world and the next." They answered: "We shall take him even if it brings the loss of our wealth and the killings of our nobles. What shall we gain in return for this, O Messenger of Allah, if we are faithful?" Somehow, this devastation and killing comes across as not very good. Hopefully Muhammad has something good to offer in return for the potential destruction of their wealth and clans? He answered: "Paradise." There is no doubt that after the pain, suffering and death they promise to endure, Paradise would be a nice change. After all, it is oft-repeated that this world has nothing useful to offer, and everything it contains belongs to Allah anyway. Of course, the Muslims have no way to verify that Muhammad is actually in a position to deliver on his promise. But their confidence in him is so great that it doesn't matter. It is good to know that Muhammad truely is the Messenger of Allah, as witnessed by the Quran, and that there should be no risk that Satan would cast false relevation on the tounges of prophets. Also, the "War is deceit" statement by Muhammad only applies to enemies of Islam, not to his own followers, no need to worry. This pledge given in the dark of night should not be suspected to be deceitful or diabolic. "Stretch out your hand," they said. He stretched out his hand, and they swore allegiance to him. At least now we know what promises have been made and what is in store for the future. In another translation of Tabari, the Muslims stretch their arms rather than their hands towards Muhammad. This seems reasonable, as stretching merely a hand doesn't accomplish much. Even today members of organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah greet their leaders with stretching of their right arms.

A Satanic Encounter

When we had all sworn the oath of allegiance to Muhammad, Satan shouted from the top of al-Aqabah in the most piercing voice I have ever heard: "People of the stations [sacrificial grounds] of Mina, do you want a blameworthy [a mocking reference to Muhammad] person and the apostates [people who have changed their religion] with him who have gathered together to wage war on you?" No need to speculate that Satan might have been present at al-Aqabah that night. He was, on a night that can be considered the founding moment of Islam as an independent religion. One might reasonably expected the company of Allah instead. Satan, while committing the sin of mocking Muhammad, got one thing right: Muhammad and the Muslims had declared war on their clan, on polytheism and on mankind at large. Muhammad said: "What does the enemy of Allah say? This is the [devil] Azabb of al-Aqabah, the son of the devil Azyab. Listen, Enemy of Allah. By Allah, I shall deal with you!" At least Muhammad seems to know who he's dealing with. A footnote in Tabari reads: "Nothing further is known about this matter." This is so both for where Muhammad got to know the name of who he was addressing, and for any possible follow-ups to his promise to deal with Satan later.

Parting

Muhammad told them to disperse to their encampments, and al-Abbas b. Ubadah said to them: "By Him who sent you with the truth, if you wish we shall fall upon the people of Mina with our swords tomorrow." Muhammad replied: "We have not been commanded to do this; go back to your encampments." This is weird. Al-Abbas seems to be ready to follow the suggestion from Satan? Muhammad discards the idea, but not on the ground that it's from Satan. Eventually this is actually what would take place. We went back to our beds and slept upon them until the morning, when the chief men of Quraysh came to us in our encampments and said to us: "Men of the Khazraj, we have heard that you have come to this companion of ours to take him from our midst and to swear an oath of allegiance to him to wage war against us. By Allah, there is no tribe of the Arabs between whom and ourselves we should be more unwilling for war to break out than you." Crystal clear. Muhammad and the Muslims want war. The Quraysh, in contrast, want to maintain peace. Those of the polytheists of our people who were there immediately swore to them by Allah that nothing of the sort had taken place and they knew nothing about it. They were telling the truth, for they did not know. Of course the Muslims kept quiet about their pledge and their plans. We looked at one another, and the men of Quraysh rose up, among them al-Harith b. Hisham, who was wearing a pair of new sandals. I (Kab b. Malik) spoke a few words as though I wished to associate all of our people with what the polytheists had said; "Abu Jabir, can you not get sandals like those of this young man of Quraysh (that is al-Harith) that you are one of our chiefs?" The Muslims thread gently over the issue of their new loyalty. Al-Harith heard these words, took the sandals off his feet, and threw them at me, saying: "By Allah, put them on your feet!" Abu Jabir said: "Gently! By Allah, you have annoyed the young man! Give him back his sandals." I replied: "By Allah, I will not! It is a good omen. If the omen proves true, I shall plunder him." This is Kab b. Malik's account of al-Aqabah and he witnessed there. With Muslims readying themself for plunder, the scene is set for the future of Islam. This night and this pledge may be considered the beginning of Islam as we know it. The fact that the person relating the story has the same name as the gatekeeper of Hell should be regarded as merely a coincidence. The chapter ends with various accounts of how the hostility between the Muslims and the Quraysh increased after this, leading to the eventual decision for the Muslims to emigrate to Medina. For a change, this event has no direct Quranic commentary.