Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | PROLOGUEwho declared their faith.Then we all conferred and said: ‘Until when are we going to leave theProphet approaching different people, being chased around and in fear?’ Agroup of 70 people from among us went out to meet him in the pilgrimageseason. 4 We agreed to meet him at `Aqabah. We went there individually ortwo men at a time, until we all gathered there. We asked him: ‘Messenger ofGod! What pledge do we give you?’ He said: ‘You pledge to me to obey andcomply in situations of ease and hardship, and to donate for God’s cause intimes of poverty and plenty, and to enjoin what is right and forbid what isevil, and to stand up for God’s cause fearing no blame from anyone, and tosupport me and protect me when I come to you as you protect yourselves,your wives and children. Your reward will be Paradise.’We stood up to give him our pledges, but As`ad ibn Zurārah, who was one ofthe youngest among them, 5 said: ‘Cool it, people of Yathrib. We have nottravelled all this distance to meet him without knowing that he is certainlyGod’s Messenger. However, to take him from his people will be an act ofconfrontation with all the Arabs, which could mean that the best among youmay be killed and that swords will be put into you. If you accept to take allthat patiently, you take him and seek your reward from God. On the otherhand, if you fear that you may slacken, leave off now, and explain yourreasons. This may be better for you in God’s sight.’ They said: ‘Step aside,As`ad. By God, we will not turn away from our pledge, and we will not letanyone take it away from us.’ We stood up and gave him our pledges. Hestipulated his conditions, and promised us that we will be rewarded withParadise. 6The Anşār, then, were fully aware of the likely consequences of their pledge oncethey had given it. They were also aware that they were not promised anything in thisworld in return for their efforts. They were not even promised victory over theirenemies. The only reward they were promised was admittance into heaven. Yet theywere still keen to offer their pledges. Hence, they were definitely with the earlyMuhājirīn in taking the necessary preparations so that they would constitute the solidfoundation of the first Islamic society in Madinah.Early Indications of Weakness4 The fact is that they were 72, but the Arabs often round their figures.5 In al-Bayhaqī's version, ‘He was the youngest of the 70 apart from me.'6 Reported by Ibn Kathīr in his book Al-Bidāyah wal-Nihāyah, Maktabah al-Ma`ārif, Beirut and Riyadh,1996, Vol. 3, p. 159, as related by Imām Ahmad. There are several versions of this ĥadīth, reported byĤadīth scholars.7