Tahaaluf Siyasi (Phase 1, Series 3) – Examples

There have been a few occurrences of Tahaaluf during the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Some of the examples are elaborated as below.

The treaty of Mutayyibin

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once mentioned about the concept of Tahaaluf in a hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad, which said “I have witnessed the agreement of al-Mutayyibin and I will not break the treaty even if I am given the best red camel as an exchange”.

This treaty was constructed when there were clashes and disagreements amongst the tribes pertaining the duties of guarding the Ka’abah, rights of supplying food and hospitality towards the pilgrimage and the Zam-Zam well administration. An agreement was achieved later that the tribes would respect the duties of one another and would not transgress their boundaries of responsibilities.

Soon after the agreement was made, the leader of Bani Abd Manaf tribe brought a bowl of water with beautiful scent in front of the Ka’abah. All tribes were asked to dip their palms into the water and declared an oath of unity. They then placed their hands onto the Ka’abah. The treaty was coined the al-Mutayyibin treaty which means the treaty of men with beautiful scents.

The treaty of Fudhul

During the pre-Islamic history, oppression was common. The al-Mutayyibin treaty led to another treaty to be formed in hope of ending the oppressions throughout the city of Makkah. Ibnu Ishak narrated a hadith from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) which goes, “I was in the house of Abdullah bin Jud’an and I witnessed the treaty (of al-Fudhul) and I will never break it even if I am given a red camel as an exchange. And if the treaty was reinstated during Islamhood, I will definitely agree upon it”.

The al-Fudhul treaty was formed by the allegiances of the Bani Hasyim, Bani Mutali, Asad bin Abdul Uzza, Zuhrah bin Kilab and Taim bin Murrah tribes.

A scholar named Imam Suhaili noted that the al-Fudhul treaty was the best of treaty ever constructed amongst the Arabs during the period of pre-Islamhood. He also explained that the reason for the construction of the treaty was because of the actions of a man name al-Ashi bin Wai’l. Al-Ashi was a rich, notable man in Makkah. One day, he went to the market and bought some goods from a badwi (nomad) but refused to pay for it. Later, the badwi reported this occurrence to a few tribes, namely the Makhzum, Abd Daar and A’di bin Kaab tribes, but were shamefully rejected. Dissatisfied with the way he was treated, the badwi walked up the Qubais hill in the early afternoon and shouted: “O those whom witnessed the oppression of the poor in Makkah. I am a man from afar, and I am from the people with worn-out clothes and have yet to perform my umrah (series of prayers around Ka’abah). O people in Hijr Ismail and Hajar Aswad, verily this land is only suited those with great humility and piousness, not to those whom are sinners and astray”.

Zubair Abdul Mutallib heard the call, and he immediately reacted. He said to the people around him that this should not be left unresolved. It was later that Zubair called the other tribe leaders to the house of Abdullah bin Jud’an and declared allegiances with them in the treaty of al-Fudhul.

Al-Fadhil Ustaz Nasrudin Haji Hassan At-Tantawi

The author is the Deputy Chief of PAS Youth Wing. He blogs at http://ustaznasrudin-tantawi.blogspot.com

The translator is a Cardiff University student reading Exploration & Resource Geology.

Previous installations of the ‘Tahaaluf Siyasi’ series can be viewed in the ‘Idealism’ category of this blog.