Focus

In order to defend a country one needs not only to take military measures, but also to make administrative arrangements of a civil nature. We should begin with the latter and briefly dilate on the significant steps taken by the Prophet (peace be upon him) for the security of the small state he had founded in Madinah.

In ordinary circumstances it was perhaps not necessary to set up a new state at all. But the pagans of Makkah persistently persecuted the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his followers for years, confiscated their property and drove them out of their homeland. They pursued Muslims even after they had gone into exile and called upon the people of Madinah either to expel their enemy, the Prophet (peace be upon him), or to eliminate him altogether. In the event of their failure to comply with the demand the people of Madinah were warned of dire consequences. The threat of military invasion could not be taken lightly by any responsible leader, least of all by the Prophet (peace be upon him) who had to set an example for everyone and leave behind a model for Muslim rulers and military commanders of the succeeding generations.

The Prophet’s foremost concern soon after the Migration was the rehabilitation of the Emigrants. The institution of brotherhood he devised to meet the problem solved the issue to the satisfaction of all concerned. The other issue was the absence of a state in Madinah which had seen civil war for generations owing to inter-tribal hatred, animosity and jealousy. In the event of a tribe attacking another, those not directly involved remained neutral with the result that the tribe concerned had to bear the brunt of the attack alone.

It was an act of great statesmanship on the part of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to persuade the tribes to sink their differences and form a small state. He prevailed upon them to accept his proposal to set up a central authority despite their tribal and religious differences. The state that was set up embraced the major part of Madinah and comprised Muslims, Jews and the pagan tribes who were all unanimous in their selection of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as their leader. Every tribe retained internal autonomy and delegated a few subjects to the centre. The most important of these was defence, the provision was clearly made in the written Constitution of Madinah, a document which has been preserved for posterity. It was agreed that in the event of a conflict with an enemy, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would be responsible for making arrangements to meet the threat. He was authorized to decide whether or not the army would fight the enemy outside the city. He had the authority to grant or withhold permission to a person to participate in a battle for it was necessary to prevent subversion by those who might be hypocrites, traitors or enemy spies. These, then, were the preliminary arrangements for defence.

Having founded and secured a city-state from within, the Prophet (peace be upon him) proceeded to seek alliances with the tribes in the neighbourhood. He went first to the north at a distance of three or four days’ journey from Madinah, and succeeded in making a military alliance with the non-Muslim tribes. The treaty clearly stipulated that it had nothing to do with religious affairs and that it was exclusively a military arrangement. It was agreed that the contracting parties would help each other in the event of an attack by a third party.

(From The Emergence of Islam by Muhammad Hamidullah, pp. 213-215)