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Pact of Brotherhood between Muhajirun and Ansar

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Pact of Brotherhood between the Muhajirun and Ansar was a fundamental step taken by Prophet Muhammad (s) in the first year of the Hijra to establish the Islamic Ummah and strengthen social cohesion among Muslims in Medina. The pact aimed to strengthen unity between the Muhajirun and the Ansar, resolve their differences, and help Muslims confront internal and external threats. It also fostered a stronger sense of social responsibility among them.

The number of initial participants in the Pact of Brotherhood is reported to have been ninety or one hundred. This number gradually increased as the Muslim population grew in subsequent years. Historical sources indicate that the Prophet (s) personally paired individuals, taking their moral and social standing into account. According to both Shi'a and Sunni sources, at the end of the ceremony, the Prophet (s) chose Ali b. Abi Talib (a) as his own brother and said: "Your position with me is like that of Aaron with Moses, except that there is no prophet after me."

Some historical sources report that the original rules of the Pact of Brotherhood included inheritance between religious brothers. This ruling was later abrogated by the revelation of the Ulu l-Arham Verse. However, some researchers have questioned the authenticity of this report.

The Pact of Brotherhood in Medina: Foundation of the Islamic Ummah

The Pact of Brotherhood between the Muhajirun and the Ansar was established by Prophet Muhammad (s) in the first year of the Hijra, at God's command.[1] One day, at a public gathering, the Messenger of God (s) addressed his companions and said: "Pair off and establish bonds of religious brotherhood with one another."[2] The pact is regarded as the first and one of the most important political and social measures taken by the Prophet of Islam after his migration from Mecca to Medina. It is also considered a sign of the formation of a unified Muslim community in the early days of Islam.[3]

Time and Place

Al-Shaykh al-Mufid, a Shi'a scholar, dates the establishment of the Pact of Brotherhood between the Muhajirun and Ansar to 12 Ramadan of the first year after the Hijra.[4] Other accounts, however, give different dates.[5] Some place the pact three months after the Hijra, others five months after, and still others eight months after.[6] According to a narration transmitted by Anas b. Malik, the ceremony was held in his house,[7] while other reports place it in al-Masjid al-Nabawi.[8]

Historians, including Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, report that although the Pact of Brotherhood began shortly after the Messenger of God (s) arrived in Medina,[9] the process continued afterward. Whenever someone became Muslim or arrived in Medina, the Prophet (s) would establish a bond of brotherhood between that person and another Muslim.[10]

Social and Political Goals

The main goal of the Pact of Brotherhood between the Muhajirun and Ansar was to strengthen the bonds among the Prophet's companions and unite them against the enemies of Islam.[11] According to Ja'far Subhani, a Shi'a scholar, after arriving in Medina, the Prophet (s) needed to safeguard himself and his companions against the influence of internal and external enemies. One of the challenges he faced was the differences between the Muhajirun and Ansar, who had grown up in different social environments and held different outlooks.[12]

Other goals and effects attributed to the pact include alleviating the Muhajirun's sense of estrangement and poverty in Medina,[13] reducing class divisions and promoting social justice,[14] fostering mutual responsibility among Muslims,[15] strengthening the spirit of self-sacrifice (ithar),[16] and paving the way for the establishment of Islamic values.[17]

Participants in the Pact

Historical sources report that ninety or one hundred people participated in the Pact of Brotherhood between the Muhajirun and Ansar in Medina, with forty-five or fifty people from each group.[18] Other accounts give figures of up to 186[19] and even three hundred participants.[20] According to one report, no Muhajir was left without being paired in brotherhood with one of the Ansar.[21] Some researchers suggest that the discrepancy between these figures may be due to other Muslims joining the pact gradually over the ten years the Prophet lived in Medina.[22]

Historical sources report that the Prophet himself selected individuals to be paired as brothers, using the phrase "The Messenger of God established brotherhood between so-and-so and so-and-so".[23] The Prophet (s) is said to have taken each person's moral and social standing into account when making these selections.[24] Sources such as the Sira of Ibn Hisham record the names of those who were paired as brothers.[25]

During the pact, the Prophet established bonds of brotherhood between Abu Bakr and Kharija b. Zayd, Umar and 'Utban b. Malik al-Ansari al-Khazraji, Uthman and Aws b. Thabit, Abu 'Ubayda al-Jarrah and Sa'd b. Mu'adh, Abd al-Rahman b. Awf and Sa'd b. al-Rabi', Talha and Ka'b b. Malik, Al-Zubayr and Salama b. Salam, Salman al-Farsi and Abu Darda', and Ammar b. Yasir and Hudhayfa b. Najjar—or, according to another report, Thabit b. Qays—and others.[26]

Brotherhood between the Prophet (s) and Imam Ali (a)

The bond of brotherhood between the Prophet (s) and Imam Ali (a) is regarded as one of the well-established historical reports transmitted on a mutawatir basis.[27] Historical sources report that after the Prophet (s) had established bonds of brotherhood among his companions, Imam Ali (a) expressed his sadness at not having been assigned a brother. The Prophet (s) responded by declaring that he was Ali's brother in this world and the Hereafter[28] and said: "Your position with me is like that of Aaron with Moses, except that there is no prophet after me. You are my brother and my heir."[29]

In addition to Shi'a sources,[30] numerous Sunni sources also report the brotherhood between the Prophet (s) and Imam Ali (a) during the Pact of Brotherhood in Medina.[31] In his book al-Ghadir, Allama Amini cites fifty sources for this report.[32]

Did Religious Brothers Inherit from Each Other?

According to some historical sources, the Pact of Brotherhood included inheritance in addition to the two principles of haqq (justice) and muwasat (mutual support).[33] Under this arrangement, Muslims inherited from one another as biological brothers.[34] However, this ruling was abrogated by the revelation of the verse "Blood relatives are closer to one another"[35] (Arabic: وَ أُولُو الْأَرْحَامِ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلَىٰ بِبَعْضٍ), after which blood relatives took precedence over religious brothers in matters of inheritance.[36]

Some researchers question the authenticity of the report that religious brothers inherited from one another and its attribution to the Prophet (s). First, despite the significance of such a ruling, it is mentioned only in some historical sources, while other reports refer only to the principles of haqq and muwasat.[37] Second, abrogating a ruling before it has been put into effect is considered invalid.[38] According to historical sources, no Muslim died during the short period in which this ruling was supposedly in effect, so no inheritance was transferred under it.[39] These researchers therefore suggest that, based on pre-Islamic customs,[40] Muslims may have assumed that religious brothers could inherit from one another.[41]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, vol. 1, p. 505; Ibn Ḥayyūn, al-Manāqib wa l-mathālib, p. 136; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 3, p. 226.
  2. ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, vol. 1, p. 505; Ibn Ḥayyūn, Al-Manāqib wa l-mathālib, p. 136; Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 3, p. 226.
  3. ↑ Dih-Pahlavānī, Paymān-i barādarī miyān-i Muhājir wa Anṣār.
  4. ↑ Mufīd, Masār al-Shīʿa, p. 23.
  5. ↑ Hidāyatpanāh, Jāygāh-i paymān-i barādarī dar ḥukūmat-i nabawī, p. 256.
  6. ↑ Diyārbakrī, Tārīkh al-khamīs, vol. 1, p. 353; Ṣāliḥī Shāmī, Subul al-hudā, vol. 3, p. 367.
  7. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 184; Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Muntaẓam, vol. 3, p. 70.
  8. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 7, p. 271; Ṣāliḥī Shāmī, Subul al-hudā, vol. 3, p. 367.
  9. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 7, p. 271; Ṣāliḥī Shāmī, Subul al-hudā, vol. 3, p. 367.
  10. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 7, p. 271; Ṣāliḥī Shāmī, Subul al-hudā, vol. 3, p. 367.
  11. ↑ A Group of Authors, Mawsūʿat radd shubhāt, vol. 5, p. 22.
  12. ↑ Subḥānī, Furūgh-i abadīyat, pp. 445–446.
  13. ↑ ʿĀmirī Ḥaraḍī, Bahjat al-maḥāfil, vol. 1, p. 159.
  14. ↑ Sajjādī & Mahrūsh, Barādarī, vol. 9, p. 519.
  15. ↑ Zargarīnijād, Tārīkh-i ṣadr-i Islām, p. 350.
  16. ↑ Muṭahharī, Yāddāsht-hā, vol. 13, p. 136.
  17. ↑ Mālik, Paymān-i barādarī, p. 38.
  18. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 184; Ibn al-Jawzī, Al-Muntaẓam, vol. 3, p. 71.
  19. ↑ Maqrīzī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, vol. 1, p. 69.
  20. ↑ ʿĀmilī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Nabī, vol. 2, p. 220; Subḥānī, Furūgh-i abadīyat, p. 447.
  21. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 271; Maqrīzī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, vol. 1, p. 69.
  22. ↑ Hidāyatpanāh, Jāygāh-i paymān-i barādarī dar ḥukūmat-i nabawī, p. 256.
  23. ↑ See: Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Al-Istīʿāb, vol. 1, pp. 93, 117, 178; Ibn al-Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 1, pp. 112, 170, 218; Ibn Ḥajar, Al-Iṣāba, vol. 1, pp. 234, 300, 666.
  24. ↑ Ibn Idrīs, Mujtamaʿ al-Madīna fī ʿahd al-Rasūl, pp. 134–136.
  25. ↑ Ibn Hishām, Al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, vol. 1, pp. 505–506.
  26. ↑ Diyārbakrī, Tārīkh al-khamīs, vol. 1, p. 353.
  27. ↑ Shirrī, Amīr al-muʾminīn (a) uswa-yi waḥdat, p. 157.
  28. ↑ Ṭabarī, Dhakhāʾir al-ʿuqbā, p. 66.
  29. ↑ Qundūzī, Yanābīʿ al-mawadda, vol. 1, p. 177.
  30. ↑ See: Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 1, p. 66; Karājakī, Kanz al-fawāʾid, vol. 2, p. 180.
  31. ↑ See: Ibn Ḥayyūn, Sharḥ al-akhbār, vol. 2, p. 539; Ibn Kathīr, Al-Bidāya wa l-nihāya, vol. 7, p. 335; Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Al-Istīʿāb, vol. 3, p. 1098; Ibn Ṣabbāgh, Al-Fuṣūl al-muhimma, vol. 1, p. 220.
  32. ↑ Amīnī, Al-Ghadīr, vol. 3, pp. 162–180.
  33. ↑ "The Messenger of God (s) established brotherhood between the Muhajirun and Ansar based on truth and mutual support, and they inherited from one another after death." (Ibn Saʿd, Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 184; Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar, p. 71; Ṣāliḥī Shāmī, Subul al-hudā, vol. 3, p. 363.)
  34. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 17, p. 200.
  35. ↑ Qurʾān 33:6.
  36. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 184; Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar, p. 71; Ṣāliḥī Shāmī, Subul al-hudā, vol. 3, p. 363.
  37. ↑ Hidāyatpanāh, Jāygāh-i paymān-i barādarī dar ḥukūmat-i nabawī, p. 257.
  38. ↑ ʿĀmilī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Nabī, vol. 2, p. 220.
  39. ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar, p. 71.
  40. ↑ Wāqidī, Al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 329.
  41. ↑ Hidāyatpanāh, Jāygāh-i paymān-i barādarī dar ḥukūmat-i nabawī, p. 257.

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