Some Important Events during the Holy Prophet's Mission in Madinah

THE DECLARATION OF BROTHERHOOD

After his arrival in Madina, the Holy Prophet (S) was faced with a new challenge. For the first time, the Muslims were centralised and arrangements had to be made to run this new Muslim state.

The Holy Prophet (S) faced three main problems. These were:

The danger of attack from the Quraish in Makka and other idol worshippers from the rest of Arabia.

The presence of the Jews of Madina who lived within and outside the city and possessed enormous wealth.

The differences which existed between his own supporters.

He tackled the issue concerning the Muslims first. The people who had migrated with him from Makka (Muhajireen) and the local Muslims who lived in Madina (Ansar) had been brought up in different environments and there was a great difference in their thinking and culture. Moreover, the tribes of Aws and Khazraj, who made up the Ansar, were sworn enemies of each other and had been fighting for over a hundred years.

The first thing the Holy Prophet (S) did was to create peace between the tribes of Aws and Khazraj. He united them on the basis of their common faith in Islam, and told them to forget their old differences.

Then, the Holy Prophet (S) turned his attention to the needs of the Muhajireen. These brave Muslims had left all their wealth and possessions in Makka to come with the Holy Prophet (S) to Madina. They had no wealth or property. On the command of Allah, the Holy Prophet (S) established brotherhood between the Muhajireen and Ansar. He paired off each Muhajir with one Ansar and declared them brothers. The generous Ansar gave over one half of their wealth to their new brothers so that they could live comfortably in Madina.

At the end of all the pairings, only Imam Ali (A) was left. He asked the Holy Prophet (S) who his brother would be. The Holy Prophet (S) declared, "O Ali, you are my brother in this world as well as the next."

By this simple method, the Holy Prophet (S) ensured the unity of the Muslims and this unity enabled him to concentrate on the other two problems as well. To tackle the issue of security for all citizens of Madina, the Holy Prophet (S) drafted an agreement to establish peace between the Muslims and the Jews. The contents of that document represented a great leap forward for the unprincipled Arabs.