Part 10

One of the Ansaar said: "lam the rubbing post and the fruitful propped-up palm*. Let us have two rulers: one from us and another from you, O people of Quraysh." Altercation waxed hotter and voices were raised until I was afraid lest a complete disunity should take place, so I said, ‘Stretch out your hand, O Abu Bakr. He did so and I paid him homage, then the Muhajireen swore the pledge of allegiance and so did the Ansaar afterwards.

Le. aman who can cure people's ills and ts held in high esteem on account of his

great experience and good counsel, {trans.)

“Umar added: “By Allah, there was no grater problem than the election of Abu Bakr; we were afraid that if we left the people, they might pledge allegiance after us to one of their men, in which case we would have given them our consent for something against our real wish, or would have opposed them and stirred commotion. So if anyone pledge allegiance to someone without consulting other Muslims, then the one he has selected should not be given allegiance, lest both of them should be killed."

On the authority of Ibn Mas* ood, may Allah be pleased with him, who says: Upon the demise of Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, the Ansaar suggested that there should be two leaders (one from the Ansaar and another from the Muhajireen), until finally ~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab intervened, saying: "O people of the Ansaar, know you not that Allah's Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered Abu Bakr to lead the people in Salaal? Which of you will willingly take precedence over Abu Bakr?" Thereupon the Ansaar said, "Allah forbid that we should take precedence over Abu Bakr!"

fast to it, Allah will guide you as He guided him. Allah has placed your affairs in the hands of the best of you, the Companion of Allah's Messenger, and the "second of the two who were in the cave". So arise and pledge allegiance to him. Thereupon the people pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr. after the pledge in the hall (of Banu Saa* idah).

Then Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, got up, praised and thanked Allah as He deserves, and then addressed the assembly thus: "O people, I have been given authority over you, yet [ am not the best of you. if 1 do well, give me your support, and if I do wrong, set me right. Truth is loyalty, and lying is treachery. The weak amongst you shall be strong in my eyes, until I secure his rights, Jnsha-Allah (Allah willing); and the strong amongst you shall be weak in my eyes, until I wrest from him the rights of others, Insha-Allah. If a people give up Jihad in the Cause of Allah, Allah will smite them with humiliation. And if obscenity permeates among a people, Allah will inflict calamities upon them. Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Messenger, and if [I disobey Allah and His Messenger, you owe me no obedience. Arise for Salaah, Allah have mercy upon you!"

Such was the Magna Charta the first Caliph of Islam, granted his people on the first day of his assuming post, without request.

Abu Bakr Sends out Usamah's Punitive Expedition:

Some weeks before his death, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, nominated Usamah Ibn Zayd, aged seventeen years then, to lead an expedition against the Levant.

He was to avenge the death of his father, Zayd, the freed slave of the Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him. Zayd was killed by the Levantines in the battle of Mu‘tah. The preparations of the expedition were under way when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, fell seriously ill and later passed away. That held up Usamah's expedition for some weeks.

As soon as Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, assumed the Caliphate, the first thing he thought of was the dispatch of Usamah's punitive expedition. The death of the Prophet led some people to think that the light of [slam was fading away, and that many tribes that had entered the fold of Islam only a short time before were by no means firm in faith and many of them had started to show signs of bolting out of the fold of Islam. All this showed that things were not going to be easy at all for the incumbent Caliph, Abu Bakr.

However, Abu Bakr had to carry out the commands of the Prophet at all costs. He was determined to send out the expedition initiated by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Some of the Companions suggested to Abu Bakr to better drop the idea for the time being claiming that the time was not ripe for that as trouble was brewing all around, and as such it was unwise to send troops out when they were urgently needed to quell the situation at home. However, Abu Bakr would not listen to all this, rather, he said: "How can I fold up the flag which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, himself unfurled?"

Then someone suggested that Usamah was too raw to lead the expedition, and that it was wiser to put a more experienced man in command. The suggestion caused Abu Bakr to get furious and said: "How can | dismiss a man whom the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,

So the troops marched out under the command of Usamah, about three weeks after the passing away of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, accompanied Usamah some distance out of Madeenah. The youthful commander was riding a horse, while the Caliph walked by his side to boost his morale and give his soldiers more confidence in him. Usamah said, "O successor of the Prophet, what about you getting on the horse while [ get down to walk beside you?" "By Allah," replied Abu Bakr, "I will agree to neither of the two things. What harm is there if a little dust covers my feet, while I go some steps in the Cause of Allah? For every step one takes in Allah's Cause one gets the reward of seven hundred good deeds."

When Abu Bakr needed ~Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, who was then one of the men under Usamah's command, to stay behind at Madeenah for purpose of consultation, he made a request to Usamah to allow * Umar stay behind, and Usamah agreed to his request.

Before bidding Muslim army farewell, Caliph Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, gave them useful advice and final instruction which serves as a code of conduct in war and this remains unsurpassed to this day, as they are still taught to school children throughout the Muslim World. Among those instructions were: "Never be dishonest nor treacherous. Do not steal from the booty you lay your hands on. Do not mutilate the dead bodies of the enemy. Do not kill the aged, children and women. Do not burn date-palms. Do not cut down fruit trees. Do not slaughter goats, or cows, or camel, except for nutritional purposes. You will come across people who have taken to asceticism and sitting in monasteries, so leave them alone."

Usamah's expedition proved very successful, as he raided the frontier districts of the Levant and was back in Madeenah after forty days.

The expedition had another good result. It proved an eyeopener to those who thought that Islam was dying out. They had a clear proof that Islam was still able to challenge one of the greatest powers of the world. This overawed the wavering tribes, and some of the tribes which had left Islam actually reentered its fold.

The consecutive victories of Muslims during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had the great impact of bringing many tribes that lived faraway from Madeenah to the fold of Islam. Some of these tribes embraced Islam in admiration of the victory achieved by Muslims, some embraced it in order to gain some worldly benefit, and some accepted Islam out of deep faith and profound conviction. This means that a great number of Muslims had not yet got rid of the remnants of Jafiliyyah, particularly the manners and behaviors which characterized the people before Islam. Some Muslims were still plagued with racism and pride, that give rise to hatred and ill-feelings among tribes that brought them back to their pre-Islamic manners. Thus, the Islamic creed was not yet wellestablished in the hearts of some Muslims. Allah Almighty says:

"The desert Arabs say, "We believe." Say, "Ye have no Faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah,’ for not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He_ will not belittle aught oft your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."" (Al-Hujoraat: 14)

That is why when ~Uyaynah Ibn Hisn, the chief of the tribe of Bani Fazarah, said when he supported Tulayhah, who claimed Prophet hood: "A Prophet from the two allies (i.e. the tribes of Asad and Ghatafaan) is far more better to us than a Prophet from Quraysh."

The spirit of racism of Jahilliyah reached its climax in some people who went to extreme and claimed to be Prophet s, in order to gain some pride and rank among their people not less than what Quraysh enjoyed when Islam prevailed in the lifetime of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. This is attributed to their misunderstanding of Islam, the religion which does not distinguishes between Quraysh and other tribes, even if they are non-Arabs.

Thus, Al-Aswad Al-* Ansi, began to convince the tribe of Mudhajaj that he was a Prophet who received revelation from Heaven, and was supported by some of his people; Musaylamah Al-Khadhaab (the liar) claimed Prophet hood in the tribe of Banu Haeefah; and Tulayhah Al-Asadyy in the tribe of Banu Asad also claimed to be a Prophet; likewise, Sajaah claimed Prophet hood in the tribe of Banu Tameem.