Today we will discuss the early days of life in Medina. Inshallah, this episode will discuss some of the events of the first two years of Medina’s life.
However, we are not describing all the events in a sequential manner, but rather we are describing some important events that have implications for the future. First, we will discuss the reaction of the Jews and polytheists to the arrival of the Prophet in Medina.
The migration to Medina was a great joy for Muslims. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) entered Medina, there was a flood of joy all around. But everyone shared in this happiness. May the Jews and polytheists of Medina be happy. The reason for this is their arrogance, bigotry, and jealousy. But they did not oppose openly but hatred remained hidden for a long time. A person can keep their state of mind a secret for a long time. His state of mind will one day be revealed through his words and actions. Islam and the mosque were not happy with the arrival of Islam and gradually their hatred began to manifest itself. They almost got into a fight with the Muslims when they reached a point of being at odds with the Jews. They almost threatened the Muslims and, breaking the agreement, they took up arms.
As a result, none of the three Jewish tribes were given a place in Medina. On the other hand, the polytheists were accepting Islam after the Battle of Badr, just for show. The enmity that existed in their hearts was gradually revealed to him. Especially when the call for jihad really came out, their true colors would come out. Once the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was going somewhere on his donkey. Suddenly he saw a gathering and went there, his donkey kicking up dust. So Abdullah ibn Ubayyah said, “Go away from here.” His annoyance shows what his state of mind was. He could not tolerate the Prophet. Because he could not become the king of Medina due to the arrival of the Prophet
He embraced Islam after the Battle of Badr, but there was no sincerity in it, rather he was a treacherous hypocrite.
Even if the Jews were dishonest and liars, there were still some good people among them. One of them is Abu Salam (may Allah be pleased with him). This man was the wisest among the Jews before the advent of Islam. Upon hearing of the arrival of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Medina, he decided to meet him. It is reported from a narration of Imam Abdullah that when he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), It was then that he realized that this face was not the face of a liar. It was as if the light of truth shone from the face of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Since Abdus Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) was a Jew, he wanted to test whether the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was truly a messenger of Allah. When news of the Prophet’s arrival reached Abu Salam, he hurried to meet him and asked a few questions. He went and said, “I am asking you three questions. No one knows the answers to these three questions.” The first question is what will be the first sign of the Hour? What is the first food of the people of Paradise? And why is the child sometimes like the father in shape and sometimes in mind?
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Gabriel (peace be upon him) has just informed me about this matter.” Hearing this, Abdus Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he was an enemy among the Jews. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the first sign of the Hour is a fire that will take people from the east to the west. And will gather everyone. The first food of the people of Paradise is fish liver. And finally, if the man ejaculates before the woman, the child will be male in shape, and if the mother ejaculates before the man, the child will be like the mother.
Then Abdus Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. Surely you are the Messenger of Allah. “
He said, “O Messenger of Allah, the Jews are skilled in slandering, so first find out about me from them.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) called them and said, “Tell me what kind of person Abdus Salam is.”
They said that he was the best of us and the son of the best of the best. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked them, “Tell me, what would happen if Abdus Salam embraced Islam?” Then they said that Allah had prevented him from doing this. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked them the same question again, and they gave the same answer. Then Abdus Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) left the house. And he said, “Verily, Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) are His messengers.”
Hearing this, the Jews began to say that he was the worst of us and the son of a wicked man. Then they insulted him and said many nonsense things. Then Abu Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “O Messenger of Allah, I was afraid of such a danger.” When Abdus Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned Gabriel (peace be upon him) as the enemy of the Jews in front of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) recited this verse to him:
Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Gabriel and Michael – then indeed, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers.
(Quran 2:98)
Allah created all angels and all angels obey Allah’s commands, so there is no reason to consider any angel as a weapon or an enemy. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) corrected this misconception of Abdus Salam. The Jews could not accept the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a prophet and Islam as the only true religion.
They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer]. They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous. And whatever good they do – never will it be removed from them. And Allah is Knowing of the righteous.
(Quran 3:113-115)
We have learned so far about the state of mind of the Jews and the polytheists, now let us learn about the state of the Muhajirs. The Muhajirin migrated from Mecca to Medina, but they still missed their homeland very much. They were born in Mecca and raised in Mecca, so it is natural to have a longing for Mecca. However, they loved Medina so much that they remained in Medina even after the conquest of Mecca. Medina is a peaceful place for Muslims to pray for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Now let’s find out who was the first Muslim child born in Medina. The first child born in Medina after the migration was the famous companion Zubair (RA), son of Asma bint Anwar.
Zubair (RA) was the first son of the Muhajirin. The Muslims were very happy after the birth of Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) because the Jews had preached that Muslims would not have any children. After this incident, the rumor was proven false and Muslims celebrated.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) took some measures to avoid financial crisis in Medina. One of these is to place it on the market. The main economic system in Medina was in the hands of the Jews, who controlled the markets and set the prices of goods.
That is why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted a market for Muslims where it would be easy to establish Islamic law. He designated a place next to the Masjid al-Haram as a market. This was the central market of Medina and he declared it a tax-free market.
The next topic is marriage to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). The Prophet (peace be upon him) married Aisha 6 to 7 months after the Hijrah. If their life together began towards the end of their life in Mecca when Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was six years old, After arriving in Medina, he was taken to the Prophet’s residence. At that time, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was 9 years old. The order to marry Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) came from Allah Himself. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was a very lively and enthusiastic man. So he seemed young.
The most important event we are going to discuss in today’s episode is the change of Qibla. This important event occurred fourteen months after the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) migrated to Medina. When he was in Mecca, the Qiblah was towards Jerusalem. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray facing the Kaaba and Jerusalem in the same direction. But after the migration to Medina, it was discovered that the positions of Jerusalem and the Kaaba were completely opposite.
But the Prophet (peace be upon him) had a special attraction to the Kaaba. He wanted to face the Kaaba to pray. He repeatedly looked up at the sky and wished that the Qiblah should be towards the Kaaba.
But this matter of changing the Qibla is beyond his power. This power belongs only to Allah.
In this regard, Allah Almighty says in the Quran:
We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.
(Quran 2:144)
Here Allah Almighty is telling the Prophet (peace be upon him) that I will give you whatever you ask for. After this verse was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed facing the Kaaba.
However, this incident caused a lot of controversy and that is why Allah revealed 40 verses on this subject. The Kaaba was the Qibla of the Arab polytheists. So when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) started praying facing the Kaaba, they started saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was returning to our religion because he had changed the Qiblah.
The change of Qibla was a test for Jews because Jews considered Jerusalem as the Qibla. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) changed the Qiblah, they started saying that he had changed Qibla the later prophets. And the same change is that he is not the Messenger of Allah.
And this was also a test for the Muslims because Allah wanted to see how many people could trust the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or his command. Are they also changing the Qiblah with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? This incident was a test for all Jews and Muslims.
And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you. And We did not make the qiblah which you used to face except that We might make evident who would follow the Messenger from who would turn back on his heels. And indeed, it is difficult except for those whom Allah has guided. And never would Allah have caused you to lose your faith. Indeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful.
(Quran 2:143)
In this verse, Allah Almighty used the word faith instead of prayer, which shows how important faith is. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that prayer is the difference between faith and disbelief.
Allah removed the superiority that He had given to the Children of Israel because of their monotheism. Because they are not followers of the true monotheism at that time. Meanwhile, the Jews continued to preach that if anyone changed the Qiblah, Allah would not accept his worship. For them, piety means facing the Qiblah.
Allah Almighty is declaring:
Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous.
(Quran 2:177)
The hearts of the Jews had become hardened by disobeying Allah.
