7.
'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) was with the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu
‘alaihi wa sallam) when he went around to the tribes and presented the
call to Islam to them, and he attended the negotiations with Banu
Shayban
It was narrated from Abh ibn Taghlib from 'Ikrimah from Ibn 'Abbas: 'Ali ibn Abi Talib told me: When Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) commanded His Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
to present himself to the Arab tribes, he went out, and Abu Bakr and I
went with him, to Mina, where we joined one of the gatherings of the
Arabs. Abu Bakr went forward and greeted them, and he was known for his
prominence in doing good and his knowledge of Arab lineages ... Then we
went to another gathering, which was a gathering of dignified and
respectable people. Abu Bakr went forward and greeted them, and he said:
"Who are you?' They said: "Banu Shayban ibn Tha'labah." Abu Bakr turned to the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihiwa sallam) and said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. These are the best of the people, and among them is Mafrooq,
who is the most eloquent and handsome among them." He had two braids
falling down his chest, and he was sitting closest to Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr
said: "How many are you?" Mafrooq said: 'We are more than one
thousand and will never be defeated because of lack of numbers." Abu
Bakr said: "How powerful are you?' Mafrooq said: "We are at our
most angry when we meet (our enemies in battle), and we are most likely
to engage them when we are angry. We love horses more than children and
weapons more than women. Victory comes from Allah; He grants victory to
us sometimes, and He grants victory against us sometimes. Perhaps you
are the man from Quraysh [the Messenger of Allah]?' Abu Bakr said: "If you have heard that he is the Messenger of Allah, here he is." Mafrooq said: "O man of Quraysh, what are you calling us to?"
The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: "I
am calling you to bear witness that there is no god except Allah alone
with no partner or associate, and that I am the slave of Allah and His
Messenger, and to give me refuge and support me, for Quraysh have
rebelled against Allah and disbelieved in His Messenger. They have
preferred falsehood to truth, but Allah is Independent of Means, Most
Praiseworthy."Mafrooq said: "What else are you calling
for, O man of Quraysh? For by Allah, I have never heard any words more
beautiful than this." The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) recited:
“Say
[O Muhammad]: Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited you
from: Join not anything in worship with Him; be good and dutifnl to your
parents; kill not your children because of poverty - We provide
sustenance for you and for them; come not near to Al-Fawahish [shameful
sins and illegal sexual intercourse] whether committed openly or
secretly; and kill not anyone whom Allah has forbidden, except for a
just cause [according to Islamic law]. This He has commanded you that
you may understand.” (Qur'an, Surah Al-An’am, 6: 151)
Mafrooq
said: "By Allah, you are calling to the noblest of attitudes and the
best of deeds, and the people who disbelieve in you and oppose you are
wrongdoers." Then he referred the matter to Hani' ibn Qubaysah,
saying: “This is Hani' our chief, who is in charge of our religions
affairs." Hani’ said: "I have heard what you said, O man of Quraysh, and
I think that giving up our religion and following yours the first time
we meet you is not a good idea and is a sign of not thinking through the
consequences. Haste leads to mistakes, and we do not want to make a
deal on behalf of those whom we left behind. But we will go hack and you
will go back, and we will think about it." Then it was as if he wanted al-Muthanna ibn Hsrithah to contribute to the discussion, and he said: "Al-Muthanna
here is our chief and is in charge of our military affairs."
Al-Muthanna - who became Muslim later on - said: "I have heard what you
have to say, O man of Quraysh, and my answer is the same as that of
Hani' ibn Qubaysah with regard to our giving up our religion
and following yours. We are located between two sources of water, one of
which is al-Yamamah and the other is al-Samamah." The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: "What are these two sources of water?"
He said: "Rivers of Chosroes and water of the Arabs. As for the rivers
of Chosroes, if we offend him, then he will not forgive us or accept any
excuse; we are allowed to camp there on the basis of a promise that we
gave to Chosroes not to do any wrong and not to give refuge to any
wrongdoer. I think that this matter to which you are calling us, O man
of Quraysh, is something that kings dislike, but if you want us to give
you refuge and to support you in the areas near the Arab waters, we will
do that." The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: "Your answer is not bad, because you have spoken sincerely. No one can support the religion of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)
except the one who will support it in all ways. Why don't you wait a
while, and soon you will see how Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) will give
you inheritance of their land and yon will take their women as slaves?
Why don't you glorify and sanctify Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)?"AnNu'man ibn Shareek said: "Then we grant you that."
This hadith contains lessons that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) learned from this incident, including the following:
1.'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) learned that the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
refused to give any guarantee of power to any individual by way of
reward for their support for the call of Islam. That is because the call
of Islam is in fact a call to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), and
the basic condition with regard to the one who believes in it and is
prepared to support it is that it should be sincerely for Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)
alone, and seeking His pleasure should he the utmost aim that the
person is trying to achieve by means of his support and sacrifice, not
the hope for power or the desire for authority. That is because the
motive for a person's action is what will have an impact on the way he
tries to go about it, so it is essential that the aim behind supporting
the call should he free from any material interest, in order to
guarantee continuous support for it, to protect it from any deviation
and to guarantee the maximum support for it and sacrifices for its sake.
So everyone who wants to adhere to the main body of Muslims that calls
people to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) should not stipulate any
condition that he should be given a position or any kind of worldly
gain, because this call is to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) alone. The matter is in the hands of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), and He decides things as He wills. The one who wants to join the effort should seek thereby the countenance of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)
and strive to raise His banner. But if position and status are what is
motivating him, this is a serious sign which indicates that there was
something wrong with his intention. Hence Yahya ibn Mu'adh ar-Razi said: He will never prosper from whom you sense any sign of aspiration to leadership positions.
2.'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) learned from the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
that the type of support that the he was seeking from the tribal
leaders for his call should not he connected to any international
treaties that conflicted with the call and from which they could not
free themselves. In that situation, their support for the call might
expose it to danger of destruction by the state with which they had the
treaty, and this would pose a threat to the Islamic call and its
interests. Conditional or partial support does not achieve the desired
aim. Banu Shayban would never have fought against Chosroes if he had wanted to capture the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and his followers. Thus the negotiations failed.
3. The religion of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) will never be supported except by one who is prepared to support it in all ways. This was the response of the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) to al-Muthanna ibn Harithah when he suggested to the prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)
that he could offer him protection at the Arab water but not-at the
Persian water. Whoever has lengthy experience of politics will recognise
the unequalled farsightedness of the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).
4.'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) saw the impact of Islam on al-Muthanna and his people after they became Muslim, and how Banu Shayban took upon themselves the burden of standing up to the Persians. Al-Muthanna ibn Harithah - later on - was one of the leaders of the conquest of Iraq at the time of Ahu Bakr (radhyAllahu ‘anhu). Their faith in this religion gave them the courage to fight the Persians.
These are some of the concepts and lessons that 'Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) learned from the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) in his negotiations with the leaders of BanuShayban.
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