Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 79

Chapter Five 79 of the First Pledge of ‘Aqabah, named after the place ‘Aqabah located between Makkah and Minā. ‘Aqabah literally means a high mountain passage. At the request of these new Muslims, Muḥammad sa sent Muṣ‘ab bin ‘Umair ra to Yathrib with them as a teacher. The efforts of Muṣ‘ab ra bore fruit with the blessings of Allah, and Islam became well known in every house of Yathrib, and many influential people of Banū Aus and Banū Khazraj accepted Islam. Second Pledge of ‘Aqabah, 13 th Nabawī The following year at the time of Ḥajj , Muṣ‘ab bin ‘Umair ra brought 70 people with him who were either Muslims, or desired to accept Islam. Muḥammad sa met these people in complete seclusion at ‘Aqabah. Muḥammad’s uncle ‘Abbās ra was also present with him and although still not a Muslim, had great sympathy for him and was his well-wisher. The people of Yathrib came with the intention of taking Muḥammad sa with them to Yathrib. Since Muḥammad sa also had received Divine intimation about it, therefore, ‘Abbās ra addressing them said: O party of Khazraj! To this day, our clan had been the guarantor of the safety of Muḥammad sa during the time of every danger—if you wish to take him with you, we will agree to your request only if you take full responsibility of his security; otherwise, give a forthright answer, for true speech is good. Al-Barā’ bin Ma‘rūr ra replied: ‘Abbās, we heard you, but we want to hear directly from Muḥammad sa about the responsibilities that he expects us to carry.