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Hilf al-Fudul

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Ḥilf al-Fuḍūl (Arabic:حِلفُ الفُضُول) was the name of a pact announced between some clans of Quraysh at the Age of Ignorance, to support the oppressed in Mecca. Banu Hashim and Banu al-Muttalib, Banu 'Abd Manaf, Banu Zuhra b. Kilab, Banu Taym b. Murra, and Banu Asad b. 'Abd al-'Uzza b. Qusayy were the clans that followed the pact. After Bi'tha, the Holy Prophet (s) praised this effort.

Designation

This pact was named Hilf al-Fudul because it was formed after Hilf al-Mutayyabin and Hilf al-Ahlaf and so was different from them.[1] Also, it has been said that Hilf al-Fudul was called Hilf al-Fudul due to its excellence over all other pacts made among Arabs until that time and also due to the good qualities of those who participate in it.[2]

This designation is attributed to al-Zubayr b. 'Abd al-al-Muttalib who was from Banu Hashim clan[3] and it has been said that he wrote this pact for them and composed some poems about it.[4] Also, some have said that Arabs or Quraysh in particular named this pact as Hilf al-Fudul.[5] Other reasons explained the cause of naming, are not quite justifiable.

Time

It is said that Hilf al-Fudul was made 20 years after 'Am al-Fil/590 C.E, on the return of Quraysh from the Battle of Fijar. Battle of Fijar took place in Shawwal and Hilf al-Fudul was made in Dhu l-Qa'da.[6] However, there are reports which refer to the formation date of this pact to have been either five years before the beginning of the mission of the Prophet(s)/605 C.E[7] or in the childhood of the Prophet (s).[8]

Cause of Formation

The main cause which led to the formation of this pact was that members of Quraysh treated the foreigners or those who did not have any relatives in Mecca with cruelty.[9] One day a man who had brought goods to sell, went to Mecca from Zabid of Yemen. As b. Wa'il al-Sahmi (father of Amr b. al-'As) bought his goods but made delays in giving him the money thus making the vendor angry. The protesting vendor went to Quraysh and asked them to help him in claiming his right, but no one helped him. Later on, he decided to go up the Abu Qubays (a mountain near al-Masjid al-Haram) and loudly repeated some poems, calling for justice.[10]

Al-Zubayr b. 'Abd al-al-Muttalib, uncle of the Holy Prophet (s) and one of the elders of Quraysh, was the first person who spoke of Hilf al-Fudul and invited people to it.[11] Afterward, some clans of Quraysh gathered in Dar al-Nadwa (a meeting place for resolving issues) and agreed to claim the rights of the angry vendor.[12] Then, by the efforts of al-Zubayr b. 'Abd al-al-Muttalib, they gathered in the house of 'Abd Allah b. Jud'an al-Taymi, one of the elders of Quraysh. They soaked their hands in Zamzam water and according to another report they put their hands on the soil.[13] They made an agreement with each other that if any foreigner or anyone from Mecca is treated unjustly, they would help him reclaim his right from the oppressor,[14] they would prevent an oppressor from oppression, prohibit from evil[15] and help the needy in their day to day living.[16]18 Hilf al-Fudul was the most honorable and noble pact which remained among Arabs until then.[17]

Hilf al-Fudul was later considered as one of the bases for determining dates before Islam for its importance.[18]

Clans Involved

Quraysh clans involved the making of this pact were:

The name of Banu l-Harith b. Fihr has also been mentioned in records,[20] but there is no consent on their presence in Hilf al-Fudul.[21] Anyhow, the initiative and pioneering in Hilf al-Fudul belonged to Banu Hashim.[22]

Banu 'Abd al-Shams and Banu Nawfal that were two clans from 'Abd Manaf exited from this pact[23] because this pact was formed against Banu Umayya and their ally 'As b. Wa'il.[24] Some historians have said that the clans participating in Hilf al-Fudul were the same clans who previously participated in Hilf al-Mutayyabin.[25]

After Islam

Since Hilf al-Fudul was established in order to defend the rights of the oppressed against oppressors, Islam could approve of it and even reinforced it.[26] It is narrated from the Holy Prophet (s) that after Bi'tha, he (s) said:

"(together with my uncles) I witnessed a pact in the house of 'Abd Allah b. Jud'an which I would not like to break it even if all red-hair camels are given to me and if today I was invited to it again, I would accept it."[27]

The second caliph regarded the presence at Hilf al-Fudul a criterion for the superiority of different tribes for receiving more provisions and budget.[28] In one of the trips of Mu'awiya to Medina, 'Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr told Mu'awiya that he was with Imam al-Hasan (a) in Hilf al-Fudul and if one day Imam (a) asks him for help against Mu'awiya, he would help him. However, Mu'awiya refused to accept it by mocking his account.[29]

In another event, after the martyrdom of Imam al-Hasan (a), when according to his will, Imam al-Husayn (a) wanted to bury him beside the grave of the Holy Prophet (s), the Umayyad opposed it and he (a) turned to Hilf al-Fudul for assistance and even some tribes prepared to help him , but he (s) withdrew from taking action.[30]

Also, when al-Walid b. 'Utaba b. Abi Sufyan, the Umayyad governor of Medina (from 57-60/between 676-679-80 and 61-62/680-681-2) ignored the right of Imam al-Husayn (a) regarding a property or state which belonged to Imam (a); he (a) warned him that if he does not do justice towards Imam (a), he (a) will take his sword and will call people to Hilf al-Fudul. Following that event, some people expressed readiness for supporting Imam al-Husayn (a) and al-Walid, having no other options, gave him his rights.[31] According to Jawad 'Ali,[32] maybe Imam (a) meant that he (a) would call people to a pact similar to Hilf al-Fudul and so it cannot be inferred from this story that Hilf al-Fudul had been valid until then.

Hisham b. Muhammad b. Sa'ib al-Kalbi (d. 204/819-20) wrote a book called Hilf al-Fudul.[33]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 53, 54, 279; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 18.
  2. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balagha, vol. 14, p. 130; vol. 15, p. 203.
  3. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balagha, vol. 15, p. 203.
  4. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 187-189; Masʿūdī, al-Tanbīh wa al-ishrāf, p. 210.
  5. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 54, 279; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 26.
  6. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 18.
  7. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 24.
  8. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 128; Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 174, 186, 187; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 18.
  9. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 17.
  10. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 52, 53, 186; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 23; Masʿūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 3, p. 9; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 17.
  11. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 128; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balagha, vol. 14, p. 130.
  12. ↑ Masʿūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 3, p. 9.
  13. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 187; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 23-24; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balagha, vol. 14, p. 130; vol. 15, p. 205.
  14. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 1, p. 141; Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 53.
  15. ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balagha, vol. 14, p. 130.
  16. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 129; Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 187; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balagha, vol. 15, p. 203.
  17. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 52, 186; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balagha, vol. 15, p. 203.
  18. ↑ Masʿūdī, al-Tanbīh wa al-ishrāf, p. 209.
  19. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 1, p. 141; Ibn Ḥabīb, Kitāb al-muḥabbar, p. 167; Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 57; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 23; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 18.
  20. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 189; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 18.
  21. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, Kitāb al-muḥabbar, p. 167.
  22. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 129.
  23. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 1, p. 143; Ibn ʿAsākir, Tārīkh madīnat Dimashq, vol. 52, p. 186.
  24. ↑ ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-nabīyy al-aʿẓam, vol. 1, p. 99.
  25. ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 17-18; Masʿūdī, al-Tanbīh wa al-ishrāf, p. 210-211; Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ṣaḥīḥ, vol. 10, p. 217; Qurtubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 6, p. 33.
  26. ↑ Masʿūdī, al-Tanbīh wa al-ishrāf, p. 210; Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balagha, vol. 14, p. 130.
  27. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 1, p. 141-142; Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 129; Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Munammaq fī akhbār Quraysh, p. 53; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 24, 26-27.
  28. ↑ Shāfiʿī, al-Umm, vol. 4, p. 166; Ibn Ḥanbal, al-ʿIlal wa maʿrifat al-rijāl, vol. 3, p. 423; Muṭīʿī, al-Takmila al-thāniya, vol. 19, p. 381.
  29. ↑ Akhbār al-dawlat al-ʿAbāsiyya, p. 58-59.
  30. ↑ Ibn ʿAsākir, Tarjumat al-Imām al-Ḥasan, p. 222.
  31. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 1, p. 142; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 2, p. 26; Qurtubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 10, p. 169.
  32. ↑ Jawād ʿAlī, al-Mufaṣṣal fī tārīkh al-ʿarab, vol. 4, p. 89.
  33. ↑ Ibn al-Nadīm, al-Fihrist, p. 108; Ibn Khalkān, Wafayāt al-aʿyān, vol. 6, p. 82.

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