The Prophetic Constitution of Madinah by Dr Muhammad Al-Massari

The following was recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari (5/31/3780) under the chapter heading “The Prophet (peace be upon him) forming a brotherhood between the Muhajirin and the Ansar” as related by Ibrahim bin Sa’d from his father from his grandfather who said:

“When the Muhajirun (emigrants) arrived in Al-Madinah, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) established the bond of brotherhood between Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf and Sa’d bin Ar-Rabee’. Sa’d said to Abdur Rahman: “I am the wealthiest of all the Ansar, so I want to divide my wealth in half between us, and I have two wives, so see which of the two you like the most and tell me, so that I may divorce her, and when she finishes her prescribed period (i.e. 'Idda) of divorce, then marry her." Abdur-Rahman said, "May Allah bless you in your family and property; where is your marketplace?” So, they guided him to the marketplace of Bani Qainuqaa’. (He went there and) returned with a profit in the form of dried yogurt and butter. He continued going (to the market) till one day he came, bearing the traces of yellow on him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked: “What is this (scent)?” He replied: “I got married”. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked: “How much Mahr did you give her?” He replied: “I gave her a datestone of gold or a gold piece equal to the weight of a date-stone”. (The narrator, Ibrahim, is in doubt as to which was correct.)

It was also related in Sahih Al-Bukhari (5/31/3781) from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

“When Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf came to us (i.e. in Al-Madinah), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) established a bond of brotherhood between him and Sa’d bin Ar-Rabee’ and he had a lot of wealth. Sa’d said: “The Ansar know that I am from those who have the most wealth among them, so I will divide my wealth between us in half. And I have two wives, so look to see which of the two pleases you the most and I will divorce her, and when she completes her waiting period you may marry her”. Abdur Rahman said: “May Allah bless you in your family”. Then he did not return that day except with some cottage cheese and cooking fat which he had earned as a profit. It wasn’t long thereafter, until he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and he had traces of yellow scent on him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then said to him: “What is this?” He replied: “I married a woman from the Ansar”. He asked: “What dowry did you give her?” He answered: “The weight of date- stone of gold" Or he said: “A date-stone of gold” So, he (peace be upon him) said: “Have a banquet (Walimah), even if with only one sheep”.

It was related in Sahih Al-Bukhari (5/32/3782) that Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

The Ansar said to the Prophet (peace be upon him):

“Divide the date palm trees between us and them (i.e. the Muhajirun)" He replied: “No”. He said: “It is sufficient for us to assist (i.e. in the work) and they share the dates with us” They said: “We listen and obey”. .

We find the details and features of this “Mu’akhaah” (bonding of brotherhood) in Ibn Hajar’s “Fat’h ul-Bariy (7/270): “We have presented in respect to the qualities of the Ansar the chapter heading of the forming of brotherhood by the Prophet (peace be upon him) between the Muhajirin and the Ansar. Ibn Abdul Barr said that the formation of brotherhood occurred on two occasions; an occasion between the Muhajirin specifically which was in Makkah and an occasion between the Muhajirin and the Ansar, and it is the latter which is intended here. Ibn Sa’d mentioned, with the chains of transmission of Al-Waqidiy from a group of the Taabi’in who said: “When the Prophet (peace be upon him) arrived in Al-Madinah he formed a bond of brotherhood between the Muhajirin and the Ansar upon the basis of Al-Muwasaah (supporting one another) and they use to inherit from one another. They numbered ninety; some from the Muhajirin and some from the Ansar. It was also said that they numbered one hundred. When the Aayah related to “those tied by the womb” (8:75) was revealed the inheritance between in accordance to that brotherhood (Mu’akhaah) between them was negated. In the chapter of the “Faraa’id” (rules of inheritance), the Hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas will be mentioned: “When they arrived in Al-Madinah the Muhajiriy would inherit from the Ansariy, instead of those joined by the womb, through the bond of brotherhood that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) instituted, then the following was revealed …” .

Ahmad related similar to this from ‘Amr bin Sh’aib from his father from his grandfather. As-Suhailiy said: “He (peace be upon him) established a brotherhood (of pairs) amongst his companions to rid the loneliness of being estranged, to sooth them from the impact of the separation from the families and clan and so that they could support and strengthen each other. Then, when Islam became strong, the unity came together and the loneliness disappeared, the inheriting was abolished and he made the believers, all of them together, a brotherhood. This is when “Verily, the believers are but brothers” was revealed. This meant, in terms of affection and the prevalence of the Da’wah whilst they had differed at its beginning. It has been said that this took place five months after the Hijrah (migration), and it has been said that it occurred nine months after the Hijrah. It has also been said that it happened when he was building the Masjid, just as it was said that it was before its building and it was said that it happened after 13 months prior to Badr. .

According to Abu Sa’eed in “Sharaf Al-Mustafa” the formation of this brotherhood among them took place in the Masjid whilst Ibn Ishaq mentioned the pact of brotherhood saying: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told his companions after they had migrated to form a brotherhood in pairs of brothers. He and ‘Ali were represented a pairing of brothers, Hamzah and Zaid bi n Harithah were paired as brothers, ja’far bin Abi Talib and Mu’adh bin Jabal were brothers. Ibn Hisham commented here that Ja’far was in Abyssinia at that time and as such this requires examination, while this matter has been discussed previously. Ibn Al-Kathir suggested that this brotherhood was set aside until he (Ja’far) came (to Al-Madinah). In the Tafsir of Sunaid it was stated that Mu’adh and Ibn Mas’ood, Abu Bakr and Kharija bn Zaid, and ‘Umar and ‘Atban bin Malik were all made brothers. We have previously mentioned, in the beginning of the chapter of the prayer, the statement of ‘Umar in which he said: “I had a brother from the Ansar”. It had been interpreted to have been ‘Atban and it is possible that his formation of a brotherhood with him had been delayed. Similarly, Abu Ad-Dardaa’ and Salman, Mus’ab bin ‘Umair and Abu Ayub, Abu Hudhaifah bin ‘Utbah and ‘Abbad bin Bishr were made brothers. And it has been said that rather it was ‘Ammar and Thabit bin Qais, because Hudhaifah only embraced Islam at the time of the battle of Uhud. Abu Dharr and Al-Mundhir bin ‘Amr were also made brothers. He commented that the Hijrah of Abu Dharr came later and the answer to that is the same as the case of Ja’far. Hatib bin Abi Balta’ah and ‘Uwaim bin Sa’idah, and Salman and Abu Ad-Dardaa’ were made brothers. He commented that the Islam of Salman and similarly, Abu Ad-Dardaa’, came later and the answer to that is the same that was provided in respect to Ja’far. The initiation of the brotherhood was from the beginning of his arrival in Al-Madinah and he continued to renew it in accordance with who embraced Islam or who arrived in Al-Madinah. The brotherhood bond between Salman and Abu Ad-Dardaa’ is authentic as has been transmitted in the chapter and by Ibn Sa’d. And (it has also been reported that) he (peace be upon him) established brotherhood between Abu Ad-Dardaa’ and ‘Auf bin Malik, however the Sanad (chain of transmission) is Da’if (weak). The relied upon account, in respect to this, is what has been related in the Sahih (what is authentic). The brotherhood of Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf and Sa’d bin Ar-Rabee’ is also mentioned in this chapter heading (related to the institutionalization of brotherhood). Ibn Abd ul-Barr also named a group of others (in addition to these). Ibn Taymiyyah, in a book refuting Ibn Al-Mutahhir Ar-Rafidiy, denied the “Mu’akhaah” (institutionalization of brotherhood) between the Muhajirin and specifically the formation of a brotherhood between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and ‘Ali, because it was legislated so that some would assist others and to bring together their hearts. As such, there is no meaning in the formation of a brotherhood between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and one of them or between one Muhajir and another Muhajir. This refutation is based on Qiyas (analogical reasoning) and disregards the Hikmah (wisdom) of the formation of the brotherhood. That is because some of the Muhajirin were stronger than others in terms of wealth, clan backing and strength. As such, the higher was made brothers with the lower, so that the lower could find support from the higher and the higher seek assistance from the lower. It is on this basis that the brotherhood between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and ‘Ali becomes apparent, as he used to undertake this with ‘Ali before the Prophethood and then continued upon that. Similarly, in the case of Hamzah and Zaid bin Harithah, because Zaid had been their Mawlaa. Their brotherhood has been established and they were from the Muhajirin. We will come to the statement of Zaid bin Harithah: “Verily the daughter of Hamzah is the daughter of my brother (niece)” in the chapter concerning the “’Umrat ul-Qadaa”. .

Al-Hakim and Ibn Abd ul-Barr, related, with a Hasan chain of transmission, from Abu Ash-Sha’thaa’ from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said that: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) made Az-Zubair and Ibn Mas’ud brothers” and they were both from the Muhajirin. Ad-Diyaa’ also recorded this in “Al-Mukhtarah” of “Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabir” of At- Tabarani. Ibn Taymiyyah states that the Ahadeeth of “Al-Mukhtarah” are more authentic and stronger than the Ahadeeth of “Al- Mustadrak”. .

The story of the first formation of brotherhood which Al-Hakim recorded from Jamee’ bin ‘Umair from Ibn ‘Umar was: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) established a brotherhood (of pairs) between Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, between Talhah and Az-Zubair, between Abdur Rahman and ‘Uthman, and he mentioned a group. He said: ‘Ali then said: “O Messenger of Allah, you have made pacts of brotherhood between your companions, so who will my brother be?” He replied: “I am your brother”. If this is added to what has been mentioned previously, it strengthens it. That is whilst we have presented in the chapter of “Al-Kafalah”, shortly preceding the “Book of Wakalah”, the discussion concerning the Hadith: “There is no Hilf (making of an alliance/pact) in Islam”, which doesn’t require revisiting.” [End of Quote]