Asim ibn Umar ibn Qatada told me on the authority of some of the
leaders of his tribe that they said that when the apostle met them he
learned by inquiry that they were the Khazraj and were also allies of
the Jews of Medina.
He invite them to sit with him inviting them to Islam, reciting to
them the Quran. Now God had prepared the way for Islam in that they
live side by side with the Jews who were people of the scriptures and
knowledge, while they themselves were polytheists an idolaters. They
had often raided them (the Jews) in their district and whenever bad
feeling arose the Jews use to say to them `A prophet will be sent
soon. His day is at hand. We shall follow him and kill you by his aid,
in the same way the Aad and Iram perished'
So when they heard the apostle's message they said to one another
`This is the very Prophet whom the Jews warned us of. Do not let his
message reach them before it reaches our us!'
Thereupon, they accepted Islam saying, `We have left our tribe, for no
tribe is as divided by rancour and hatred as they are. Perhaps God
will unite them through you (i.e. the Prophet). So let us go to them
and invite them to this religion of yours; and if God unites them in
it, then no man will be mightier than you'. Thus they returned to
Medina as believers.
There were six of these men from Khazraj. When they arrived in Medina
they told their tribesmen about the Prophet, inviting them to accept
Islam until it became so well known amongst their tribe that there was
not a single home belonging to their tribe in Medina that was not a
Muslim home.
[Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, pp 197-8]
The account shows two things. Disunity within the tribe including
occassional raids on the Jewish residents of Medina and fear of
repurcussion by the Prophet the Jews spoke of who would come to
destroy them. What I wonder was the initial, knee jerk reaction by
these six men? Was it a fear of their tribe being squashed as the
Jewish residents had said motivating them to accept Islam before the
Jewish residents did? Was it a desire to bring harmony and unity back
to their tribe such that they could be trumped up with pride? Was it a
sincere appreciation of what Islam taught? Was it a combination of all
three, or something even something else?
In life people choose certain courses of action for a reason, whether
that reason is the right reason to do that action or not is another
matter. In this case these six men accepted Islam and they invited
members of their tribe in Medina to do the same. Doing so enabled
their tribe to find a level footing whose knock on effect brought unity.
As people, whoever we are, wherever we are, we need to unite. Unite on
the grounds of honesty, integrity, justice, fairness, and sincerty of
action; and may Allah Almighty have mercy on us all, ameen.
In peace, f
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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