Prophet Muhammad — 24: Ensuring Peace Within The Community
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim JournalsArab News
& Information - By Adil Salahi
The Prophet (peace be upon him) molded a society in
which all people were equal.
When Makkah fell to Islam without a fight, eight years
after the Prophet and his companions had to seek
refuge away from it as a result of a sustained
persecution campaign, Bilal, a black companion of the
Prophet and a former slave, stood on top of the Kaabah
to make the call to prayer. One of the chiefs of
Makkah said to another: “I am glad that my father had
died before he could see this taking place.” What he
did not wish his father to see was that a former slave
doing such an honorable action. Class distinction was
so important to those people, as it has always been in
many human societies. Islam, on the other hand, takes
a very different view. All human beings are equal.
They distinguish themselves by their deeds. Those of
them who are more God-fearing achieve a better
position in God’s standards.
The Prophet was very diligent in his efforts to purge
all considerations that separate people and divide
them into classes. No consideration of tribe, nation,
race, sex or color was of any value in the society the
Prophet molded. All were equal. The Muslims were very
happy with their new outlook. They felt that the bond
of faith was highly meaningful while their old tribal
bonds were of no real value.
Yet this was not an easy endeavor. It is difficult to
eradicate old values and traditional standards. Any
disturbance could lead to old prejudices surfacing
again. An example was the incident that took place
after the Prophet and his companions achieved great
success, with little fight in the Battle of Al-Mustalaq.
They were still encamping at the spring which provided
the stage for their battle. Servants were taking
horses to the water to drink. Among them was Jahjah,
Umar ibn Al-Khattab’s servant. Apparently, there was
some scrambling at the water among the servants.
Jahjah clashed with an ‘ally’ of the Khazraj, named
Sinan ibn Wabr. Neither man seemed to be endowed with
much wisdom: Punches were exchanged and each appealed
to his ‘group’ for help. Jahjah called on the
Muhajirin to defend him, while Sinan called on the
Ansar. Perhaps one should emphasize here that these
two noble groups of Muslims did not feel themselves to
be two separate communities. However, in a heated
situation, old habits resurfaced. Thus, some
individuals hastened to the combatants’ aid.
The Prophet was informed of what was happening. He
felt very angry that the Muslims should stand against
one another. He went out quickly to the spring where
the event was taking place. Speaking strongly to the
Muslims, he asked: “How come you are invoking the
loyalties of ignorance?” He calmed the two sides and
told them plainly that the loyalties they were
invoking — tribal and national loyalties — were
unworthy of them. They must abandon such ties because
they were alien to Islamic values. He described such
loyalties as “stinking” and ordered the Muslims to
abandon them altogether.
It is indeed worth noting that the Prophet moved
quickly to stamp out any tribal or communal division
among the Muslims. Indeed, he feared nothing more than
internal division in his newly formed community. This
should serve as a reminder to all Muslims that their
differences should at no time cause a split into
separate camps which are hostile to each other, when
the bond of Islam exists between them all. Muslims may
have different points of view, but such differences
must not be allowed to alienate any group of them from
the other. They must always feel that any Muslim
remains a brother with whom they have the strongest of
ties. The Muslim community must always remain a
single, united community, with mutual love and
compassion prevailing among all its members.
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