Chapter 1: Smashing the Idols of Tribalism
"Because of the covenants of the Quraysh,
covenants covering them winter and summer, let them worship the Lord of this
House Who provides them with food and saves them from fear." - Holy Qur'an (106:1-4)
As
would befit the final Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (s) was born into
the noblest tribe of his region. His
lineage stretched back to the prophets, and his fathers distinguished
themselves in integrity, monotheism, and bravery. Such virtues pacified the tribalist mentality of the early Arabs
who became the first Muslims and paved the way for them to accept the Prophet
(s) as their supreme leader.
However,
Islam was not to be a religion of tribalism.
By uplifting the impoverished and humbling the overpriviliged, the
revolutionary message of Islam shattered tribal, ethnic, and imperial
barriers. In a society where ancestry
dictated respect, the Prophet (s) announced:
"Anyone who has a smidgen on tribal prejudice (asabiyyah) in
his heart will not enter Paradise."[1] In stark contrast to the highly stratified
tribal society, he arranged the rich and the poor, the desert nomads and the
city dwellers, and the rulers and the ruled side by side in prayer to Allah at
the Holy Ka'bah. Their monotheism came
at a time when the Ka'bah, constructed initially by Prophet Ibrahim (as), had
been usurped for idol worship, and members of the Prophet's own tribe relied
upon the revenue from the pilgrims who flocked to the House of Idols. Needless to say, the Quraysh were less than
pleased with the idea of destroying the statues -- and the income -- in the
name of turning the Holy Ka'bah back to Allah.
Understandably,
then, despite their noble roots, the tribal relations of the Prophet (s) chafed
at his rapidly spreading messages of unity, equality, and monotheism. Accustomed to their status as the highest of
the high, they were less than thrilled with the proclamation from God which
read: "We made you into nations
and tribes [only] that ye may recognize each other; verily, the most honored of
you before Allah is the most righteous."
(49:13) While the sincere, such
as Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) and Hamzah, the uncle of the Prophet (s), immediately
recognized the truth and devoted their lives to it, the majority of the Quraysh
threw all their might against the Prophet (s).
War, sanctions, and exile were the welcome they gave their kinsman in
return for his sincerity towards Allah, and, for many years, they proved to be
the staunchest enemies of Islam.
While
the early Muslims were few, the Quraysh could be secure in their ridicule of
the Prophet (s) they considered an insane madman. "And you are not, by the grace of your Lord,
possessed." (68:2) But as his movement progressed from an
amusement to a nuisance, they forced him from his beloved birthplace of Makkah
into the city of Madinah. Nothing they
could have done would have aided Islam more, for the inhabitants of Madinah
were ready and willing to join the cause of Islam and bring Islam from the
personal to the public sphere. And
"soon your Lord will give you something which you will be happy
with." (93:5). Even military
opposition now could not stop the spread of the message of Islam, and after
nine years of exile, at the command of Allah, the Muslims were prepared to
retake the seat of monotheism and restore Makkah to the rule of prophets rather
than the rule of idolators.
Two
options now faced those of the Quraysh who opposed Islam: join the Muslims, or be destroyed. At the conquest of Makkah, many of the harshest
enemies of Islam who had thrown trash and stones at the Holy Prophet (s)
instantaneously became his best friends and supporters. Commanders who had fought against him one
day were suddenly with him the next.
Since they could not defeat the Prophet (s), the Quraysh joined him.
But,
as evinced by Surah al-Munafiqun, the Chapter of the Hypocrites, faith
did not enter all of their hearts.
While some of the Quraysh truly believed in and supported the Message of
God, others simply took it as a political movement and an opportunity for
power. And thus, an underground Quraysh
alliance formed. It formed at a time
when the Prophet (s) was one of the most powerful men in the world. In the span of a few years, he had
revolutionized and united a nation. His
word was the word of God, and the faithful flocked to his obedience. But he was still a human being. "And the messengers whom We sent before
thee were all [men] who ate food and walked through the streets." (25:20)
The Quraysh alliance knew that they could do nothing while the Prophet
(s) was still alive. But they knew that
he was mortal, and so they bided their time and plotted to take control of the
Muslim ummah into their own hands at the moment the Prophet's soul left
this world and went into the care of its Creator.
Their
patience would pay off, for not only would they succeed in their plans, but
through the divine work of their blood relative, they launched themselves to a
higher status. Whereas once their
influence had been confined to the House of Idols, now they had the opportunity
to lord over an entire nation and its wealth in the name of the Prophet
(s). And so this group resolved to keep
complete rule of the Muslim ummah in their hands. In the words of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: "The Quraysh examined [the situation]
and chose for themselves a leader, and it was successful in its choice." [2] The caliphate, the governorships, the
treasury -- all of it would be theirs.
They
might have begun infighting, had they not planned for that happenstance
too. But well-acquainted with the lust
for power, they agreed amongst themselves to allow three subdivisions of the
Quraysh to hold power successively: the
tribe of Taym, the tribe of 'Uday, and the tribe of Fihr. First Abu Bakr would represent Taym, then
'Umar would represent 'Uday, and then Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah would
represent Fihr; however, as it happened, 'Uthman ibn 'Affan later replaced
him. After the tribe of Fihr had
completed its turn, the tribe of Taym would take control again. They felt that this rotating agreement would
ensure harmony within the Quraysh and guarantee their safe domination over the
people and the wealth of the Muslim ummah.
However,
the Quraysh Alliance excluded one vital section of the Quraysh - namely, the
one to which the Prophet (s) belonged, the Bani Hashim. Their excuse was that the Bani Hashim were
already too powerful because the Prophet (s) sprang from them. As 'Umar ibn al-Khattab explained: "The
reason we did not want Bani Haashim to assume power after the death of the
Prophet was that the Quraysh disliked seeing both prophethood and leadership [imaamah]
vested in the family of Haashim."[3] But there was more to it than that; not
only did the Quraysh "dislike" seeing both prophethood and
successorship in one family, but the Prophet (s) had already nominated his
son-in-law and cousin, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, to succeed him, and this was
precisely what this group did not want.
They wanted to keep power for themselves, not for those who would refuse
to favor them in the name of the equality of Islam.