The Prophets Of Allah

Preparing For Badr

We discussed the famous constitution of Madinah, and the people of the Suffah. Today we'll talk about a number of important changes/policies that were new and impossible to implement in Mecca. Today we'll discuss three of them:

1. Economic policy

2. Spiritual development

3. Political and military development

________

1. Economic Policies

In Mecca the prophet PBUH and the muslims were a minority. They could not have a seperate policy. However in Madinah they are now independant. And the prophet PBUH now has his own independance in terms of there is no more dictatorship. Therefore one of the first things the prophet PBUH did were to the businessmen/market people of Madinah (the sooks). The jews were known for their businesses while the Arabs were more known for cultivation. Further, the Arabs of Madinah did not have a major sook in the city. Most of their sooks were outside the city. So the prophet PBUH visited those sooks and disapproved of the practices, cheating, deception etc. He said to the muslim "this is not a sook for you" i.e. do not do business there its not a market place. He went back to the masjid and with his own feet he made lines in the sand and said "this shall be your sook so let it not be diminished and let no one tax the people in it". So the prophet PBUH is saying two things:

a. All business must be done in this sook

b. No taxes

It is not true by the way Islam promotes a capatilist system. If you are forced to compare, the Islamic system is closest to capatilism. But there are many differences. The prophet PBUH instituted a whole new policy of economics. Many books have been written on this. Notably, he banned interest completely. Also, he joined trading to religiousity. He praised honesty, he criticised dishonesty and said "the righteous businessman will be blessed by Allah". And anyone who understands the modern economics system knows if you don't have ethics and morals you can do whatever you want. The prophet PBUH however linked commerce with Islam and encouraged practices that were in accordance to Islam. He forbade cheating, lying, hiding defects. He once found a date seller with good quality dates at the top of the bag but inside the bag there were rotting dates. And the prophet PBUH said to him "whoever cheats us is not of us". Also the prophet PBUH forbade anyone living in Madinah to act as an agent for a beduoin who comes. There is clear wisdom here too. The biggest tricks/tactics of people is most of the profit goes to people who don't do much i.e. the middle men - but the prophet PBUH removed this middle man. Of course this sook flourished, therefore when the jewish tribes were expelled one by one, their sooks collapsed too but it had no effect on the muslims since they were wholly independant. Similarly when the Roman empire collapsed the muslims had total financial independance.

2. Spiritual Practices

As soon as the prophet PBUH immigrated, within a year, pretty much the entire shariah of worship had been revealed (except for Hajj - it was revealed 9th year of Hijrah). The Ramadan of the year of immigration nothing happened; next Muharram on the 10th, the prophet PBUH made the first of the 10th Muharram waajib as the stepping stone. And the prophet PBUH made a decree "whoever ate breakfast in the morning let him not eat anything for the rest of the day". That Ramadan Allah revealed in the Quran verse 185 of Baqarah. By unanimous consensus Ramadan became waajib in the 2nd year. In Ramadan zakaat-ul-fitr became waajib too. Again to make them used to the concept of zakat. Within the same month the full zakat came down i.e. 2.5% of your wealth. At this point of time the basic rulings of salah had been perfected, the prophet PBUH said "pray as you see me pray". Also when the prophet PBUH came to Madinah Zuhr to Isha increased in length (prior this they were only just 2 raka'at). The point is alot was happening in Madinah. By the time the second Ramadan finishes all the rulings of worship have come down.

3. Political and military developments

This is a whole new ballpark. In Mecca there were no military developments. The prophet PBUH never ONCE did anything military in Mecca. In Mecca the muslims are told "turn away from them"; "whatever they do to you, trust in Allah". Despite the fact the sahabah are literally being torn to shreds like Yasir, Sumaya, Bilal etc. Think about it - technically the prophet PBUH could have fought back. But he understands this isn't the right way. One needs to think 10 steps ahead. Even if Bilal is suffering to kill X would bring much more persecution. One must look at the overall picture and weights the benefits/negatives. In the early stage some people wanted to fight. Especially the youngest; but Allah criticises them "don't you see those people who were told 'lower your hands', (right now) establish salah and give charity.

In Mecca general rules of ethics came but no real laws or obligatory commandments came down, other than praying 2 raka'at of salah five times a day. Thus in Mecca the prophet PBUH is forced to tell the people to just concentrate on spirituality. But then Allah says "the same people bursting to fight, when Allah gave them permission, they got scared". This shows us those who talk the loudest act the least. So Allah criticised them for their hesitance and lack of enthusiasm now.

The first verse that was revealed about jihad really underscores the philosophy of jihad. It explains why Allah allows military fighting. Verse 39 to 41 Surah Hajj is the first concession for jihad. Allah says

"Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory."

"[They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right - only because they say, "Our Lord is Allah ." And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might."

Breaking it down: Allah says "Permission is given". Notice permission is given; before it was wrong, now its right. This means jihad is not the most important thing in Islam - before Allah has withheld them. Next "Because they have been wronged". Notice here fighting is done for those or on behalf of those who have been wronged against the oppressers. No law would not recognize this. Oppresed people whose rights have been taken away are allowed to fight. "Those who were kicked out of their houses because they said 'Our Lord is Allah'". Notice the reasoning is very clear: they wanted to kill you, they kicked them out of your houses, NOW I'm giving you permission to fight back. Because they have persecuted you etc permission is given. Any society on Earth would justify this. This country went to war because taxes on tea went up. "Were it not for the fact Allah allows wars, the world would go for chaos". You need to have wars to oppose Hitler, Stalin etc. You have to stand up. This is what Allah is saying. Allah is of great blessing that He allows war to fight against dholm/oppression and fasaad/chaos. This is exactly what is called a just war theory.

Non muslims criticise and accuse the prophet PBUH of basically being highway robbers. They say the prophet PBUH financed himself of highway robbery. This is the case with what the enemies of Islam do. They take something and distort the truth in it - there is an element of truth that is distorted in a sinister manner. They say the prophet PBUH were robbing the caravans of the Quraysh. This is what Allah says. The prophet PBUH is not attacking any tribe other than the Quraysh. This is a very important point. It's only them. And what is wrong with attacking people when they killed you, tortured you for 13 years, expelled you from your homes etc - after all they have done, now the prophet PBUH is getting back a fraction and people want to read into this?! Malcom X said "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing". We also see the hypcrisy of the Quraysh - they accuse the muslims of a sin but who are they to accuse anyone of a sin? The same thing Allah teaches us - yes we criticise, but Allah tells us are you going to ignore the context?!